Suleiman, who had not yet departed, received this news, and his heart was thrown into utter chaos, as if trampled by ten thousand alpacas.
Casting suspicious glances at Xu Hong and then at the Ming imperial guards who had delivered the message, Suleiman suddenly burst into laughter. "You're all in cahoots to trick me, aren't you? We in the Ottoman Empire only received news from Mukalla this morning, and you have word this afternoon that Mukalla City has fallen? Ambassador Xu, your deception skills are hardly masterful!"
Xu Hong cast a pitying glance at Suleiman and said, "The commander of Mukalla City is Deniz, correct? Following the demise of your Sultan Mahmud II and the Grand Commander of the Janissaries, Owuz, Mukalla City was temporarily commanded by Deniz. Mukalla City has a total of twenty thousand troops, divided into two ten-thousand-man units, with the commanders of these units being Aytac and Delia. Below them are twenty-man units, correct?"
Suleiman was immediately struck with terror, pointing at Xu Hong and exclaiming, "You... you, you..."
At this point, Suleiman could no longer disbelieve.
The commander of Mukalla City was not originally the conservative Deniz, but another officer leaning towards reform – Mukalla Port handled transit between east and west, with a large number of merchant ships passing through daily. It was unlikely that the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II would entrust this post to a conservative officer.
However, as the commander of Mukalla City, along with Sultan Mahmud II and the Janissary Commander Owuz, met an unfortunate end, Deniz temporarily took over command, without any formal appointment from the Ottoman court.
This meant that unless the news came from Mukalla City itself, the Ming ambassador before him would have no way of knowing about the temporary change in command at Mukalla City.
Therefore, the only possibility was that the news from the Ming people was true? It had reached the Ming ambassador faster than the Ottoman army could relay messages?
While Suleiman was in a state of utter dread, Xu Hong frowned slightly and said in a stern voice, "Whether His Excellency the Grand Vizier believes it or not, you are free to leave now."
Suleiman managed to compose himself, cast a deep look at Xu Hong, and then coldly snorted, "Since that is the case, Suleiman shall take his leave. I hope Ambassador Xu can maintain this composure."
After Suleiman hastily departed, the Ming imperial guard captain who had delivered the message to Xu Hong frowned and asked, "Why didn't you just kill him? Killing a Grand Vizier would cause chaos in the Ottoman court."
Xu Hong smiled and shook his head, saying, "Killing one Suleiman would indeed cause chaos in the Ottoman court, but by keeping him, we can cause the entire Ottoman Empire to descend into chaos."
Seeing the bewildered expression on the Ming imperial guard captain's face, Xu Hong continued, "After Suleiman returns, he will surely inform Mustafa Pasha of Mukalla City's fall. They will not only have to send people to verify the news from Mukalla City but will also have to revise all their previously agreed-upon plans. It's a situation where a single move affects the entire game."
"The Ottoman Empire is not a small country. Although its army has been depleted, its numbers are still considerable. If Suleiman and Mustafa Pasha further expand their conscription, it's possible they could gather hundreds of thousands of troops – with hundreds of thousands of troops being mobilized and delayed, not to mention the countless daily expenses of feeding men and horses, the mere delay in seizing the opportune moment for battle is enough to be fatal."
"Furthermore, the Ottoman court is riddled with leaks. The news of Mukalla City's fall will soon spread throughout the Ottoman Empire. With a panicked Ottoman Empire, how can it resist the celestial troops of our Great Ming?"
The Ming imperial guard captain looked at Xu Hong with admiration and muttered softly, "No wonder they say you scholars are wicked. We Ming imperial guards don't have as many convoluted schemes as you do."
Xu Hong seemed not to hear the Ming imperial guard captain's complaint, but instead smiled and said, "There are two matters that will require the assistance of the Ming imperial guards – the first is, if possible, to arrange for an 'accident' to send the official in charge of the Ottoman treasury to join their true God."
"As for the second matter, I would trouble you to send word to those merchants of our Great Ming who have not yet moved into the concessions, telling them to either move into the concessions quickly or be prepared for the Ottoman dogs to lash out in desperation. Also, please send word to the French concession ambassador, informing him that I wish to meet with him."
The Ming imperial guard captain nodded, rising to leave, and said, "That's three things. You can't treat this captain like a fool who can't count!"
...
After rushing back to Topkapi Palace, Suleiman said to Mustafa Pasha with a thoroughly gloomy expression, "The talks have broken down."
After briefly recounting his conversation with Xu Hong, the Ming Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Suleiman made his final summary: "The Ming stated that for us to escort Ming merchants to Mukalla City, we must first obtain permission from the Ming Emperor. Therefore, this is equivalent to the talks breaking down."
"Additionally, the Ming people seem to have some special method of transmitting messages. Today, a Ming person reported a piece of news to the Ming Ambassador, stating that Mukalla City has already fallen and even mentioning the names of Deniz and the others."
"If this news is false, it would be easier to handle. But if it's true... I fear there will be no further talks."
Upon hearing the news brought back by Suleiman, Mustafa Pasha sat down on the carpet and laughed self-deprecatingly, "If there are no more talks, then there are no more talks. However, we cannot just sit here and wait to die."
Suleiman nodded and said, "Indeed. We must now plan for the worst. You will be responsible for resolving the military issues, and I will go meet with the envoys from England, Persia, and the foolish Eagle to see if I can persuade them."
After thinking for a moment, Suleiman added, "The great Sultan and Caliph Mahmud II, and the great general Owuz, have paid the price with their lives to resist the evil rule of the Ming Emperor. We Ottomans have a responsibility to avenge them!"
Mustafa Pasha nodded and gritted his teeth, saying, "Indeed, even if only one man remains in the Ottoman Empire, we will make the Ming people pay in blood!"
However, after uttering these harsh words, Mustafa Pasha and Suleiman were somewhat at a loss for words – making threats was easy, but what about after the threats were made?
Just as Suleiman had said, Mustafa Pasha was responsible for resolving the military issues.
The entire Ottoman military, from top to bottom, had a multitude of problems. Officers who favored the traditional aristocratic system of commanding troops and officers who favored reform were at odds with each other. Traditional officers were suppressed, while reformist officers had not yet gained complete control of power. How could such conflicts be resolved?
Even setting aside the issue of traditional aristocratic officers and reformist officers being at odds, Mustafa Pasha had to consider the issue of Ottoman military recruitment.
The Ottoman government and military systems were similar to the governor-general responsibility system, generally following a strong center and strong branches approach – it wasn't that the approach of strong center and strong branches was wrong, but the problem was that with Sultan Mahmud II and the Grand Commander of the Janissaries Owuz meeting an unfortunate end, the current Ottoman military was in a state of strong branches and weak center.
Would the governors of various regions heed Mustafa Pasha's orders?
Even if the governors of various regions obediently followed Mustafa Pasha's orders, could the hastily conscripted and assembled troops achieve strict obedience?
Moreover, while Liu Huaiwen constantly claimed the Great Ming's national treasury was empty, this was based on the principle of the squeaky wheel getting the grease. The Ottoman treasury, however, was genuinely empty.
Money from oil sales?
The largest oil customer on the entire small planet was the Great Ming. The oil sold to the Great Ming was only at a price that barely covered costs. The combined procurement from other countries on the small planet was not as much as the Great Ming's procurement, and the small profits earned were converted into firearms and artillery by Mahmud II.
Therefore, the Ottoman treasury was truly poor. It wasn't so poor that rats would starve upon arrival, but at least they would leave with tears in their eyes.
Without money, how could the army be mobilized?
Or, to take a step back – even if the Ottoman army could fight for their faith by bringing their own provisions, how would the consumption of weaponry be replenished? How would the consumption of soldiers be replenished?
The schools of the Great Ming taught all sorts of things, with the prefectural schools offering courses on manufacturing flintlock muskets, and universities offering courses on manufacturing percussion guns. The Royal Academy and the Shao Fu and Jiang Zuo Jian of the Great Ming possessed the most advanced technology and manufacturing processes, and workshops everywhere had ample equipment and technology. Even if the Great Ming army truly emptied the national treasury and destroyed all its firearms and artillery, they could always manufacture replacements.
Furthermore, the Great Ming had a tradition of military training since the Liang Meng Gu period. Students who attended county schools and ordinary young and middle-aged men had received complete military training. Even if the Great Ming army suffered heavy casualties, they could always obtain millions of supplementary troops.
And the Ottoman Empire?
The Ottoman Empire did have universities, but there was only one Istanbul University in the entire Ottoman Empire. The students there were passionate, but the crucial courses were all about how the true God created the world and how sinners were punished, with absolutely no courses on manufacturing firearms and artillery.
The Ottoman Empire, in the midst of a transition between traditional and new military systems, also lacked a complete military training process. Its troop conscription model was still in a very primitive state of fighting for money. Not only was the army prone to breaking apart, but it was also difficult to replenish after it broke apart.
There was even a custom in the civilian population of hunting down straggling routed soldiers.
Suleiman expected Mustafa Pasha to resolve these issues, but the key point was how these issues were to be resolved?
The more he thought about it, the more his head ached, and the more he found no starting point. Mustafa Pasha even felt a sense of being trapped in a vicious cycle.
Compared to the flustered Mustafa Pasha, Suleiman was not much better off.
In Suleiman's view, the Ottoman Empire had formed an alliance with England, Persia, and the Habsburgs. Although this alliance was not very reliable, the Ottoman Empire was now openly confronting the Great Ming. Should England, Persia, and the Habsburgs not seize this opportunity to rise up?
Even disregarding the alliance, and even disregarding the notion of "fish lips without teeth, the cold will be felt," these allied powers should have mobilized their armies at this time.
Because only by mobilizing at this time could they create an atmosphere where one person leads, others follow, and the entire small planet gangs up on the Great Ming.
If they missed this opportunity, it would be even harder to rally support and stir up trouble next time.
However, events unfolded as a certain decadent literary figure once said: ideals are beautiful, but reality is harsh.
Suleiman thought that England, Persia, and the Habsburgs should have risen up and declared war on the Great Ming along with the Ottoman Empire. However, the special envoys sent by England, Persia, and the Habsburgs to the Ottoman Empire had no such intention.
Alliance was alliance, and gaining benefits was gaining benefits, but engaging in real warfare was another matter entirely.
Especially the ambassador of the foolish Eagle to the Ottoman Empire said it most directly: "Our foolish Eagle is tens of thousands of miles away from the Great Ming, and we have no conflict of interest with the Great Ming – on the contrary, we need to rely on the two princes of the Great Ming to do business with the Great Ming."
All the words ultimately boiled down to one sentence: making money is not shameful.
As for the ambassadors from England, Persia, and the Habsburgs, although their words were not as direct as the ambassador from the foolish Eagle, their underlying meaning was similar.
Furthermore, England and Persia had personally experienced the terror of the Great Ming.
The English East India Company had been recruiting laborers in India for the Great Ming and had witnessed firsthand the ferocity of those short, ugly Japanese dwarves. They also knew that those ferocious Japanese dwarves were merely auxiliary troops of the Great Ming.
Persia's lesson was even more direct – Paul I and his son Alexander were plotting against each other, resulting in Paul I's sudden and inexplicable death. Alexander's favorite warhorse had its hooves chopped off, and its head was placed by Alexander's bedside. Even Alexander's most beloved sister, Catherine Pavlovna, inexplicably disappeared from the Tsar's palace for an entire night. The result was that Persia signed a large number of treaties with the Great Ming again.
As for the Habsburg family... although the Habsburg family had not been directly beaten by the Great Ming, they had been severely beaten by Napoleon several times – according to widespread rumors, Napoleon, known as the God of War in Europe, did not perform very well in the Ming military academy. There were many generals in the Great Ming who were stronger than Napoleon.
Therefore, Suleiman expected his allies, who suffered from fear of the Ming and fear of France, to rise up?
Besides, even if the ambassadors of England, Persia, and the Habsburgs agreed to declare war now, what good would it do?
Ambassadors could represent kings, but they were not kings. Even if they agreed to rise up with the Ottoman Empire and declare war, they would still have to obtain consent from their respective countries.
(End of chapter)