The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 164 End of the Ottoman Campaign

On the morning of the second day after the Ming Wu Expeditionary Force's execution of pirates, French Chief Minister and Foreign Minister Gravier visited Fei Chun alone.

Charles Gravier was Count of Vergennes of France and French Foreign Minister during the American Revolutionary War.

After the signing of the Treaty of Yingtianfu, Gravier was promoted to Chief Minister, equivalent to Prime Minister.

Gravier is now sixty-nine years old and died earlier this year in the original history.

However, his death was mainly caused by France's internal and external troubles.

The French finances and government in this world are much better than the same period in history. At least they look very good to the king and the top leaders.

Without that much pressure, Gravier lived longer and is now in relatively good health.

After the two sides exchanged greetings, Gravier directly explained the purpose of his visit:

“Now that His Majesty the Justice has eliminated the pirates in North Africa for everyone, the future of the Mediterranean will be placed in the order established by His Majesty.

“Should the current war in the Mediterranean also end?

"To be honest, I am here on behalf of France to mediate between the Ming Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire. I wonder what the King Wu of the Ming Dynasty thinks? Are there any conditions?"

Gravière is now more polite towards Ming.

In the past, Ming Dynasty and France had cooperated twice. One time, Ming Dynasty took advantage of the chaos in North America to profit alone, and the other time, it carried out a garrison deterrence operation in Europe.

The French did not see the direct performance of the Ming army on the battlefield.

But starting this year, the Ming Dynasty's several battles in Egypt and North Africa demonstrated the combat capabilities of the Ming army to the Europeans.

Although Gravier had clear information to confirm that the Ming Dynasty used a batch of powerful rifles and artillery to achieve significant results at such a fast speed.

But weapons and equipment are also part of combat effectiveness. Strong combat effectiveness is strong, and there is no doubt about it.

At the same time, although the French believed that their army was the best in Europe, it was certainly not on the same level as the Ottomans and North African pirates.

But they would not be so arrogant as to think that their army could defeat the Ottomans as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

Otherwise, the pagan Ottoman Empire would have ceased to exist long ago.

A good place like Algeria in North Africa should have been France's own land long ago.

The Ming army was able to easily do things that the French army could not do, which shows that the Ming army's combat capability far exceeded that of the French army.

Therefore, France’s current diplomatic strategy should be to maintain friendly relations with the Ming Dynasty, while hoping that the Ming Dynasty can exercise restraint and not expand excessively in areas close to Europe.

At the same time, we hope that the Ming Dynasty can safeguard the basic interests of the French.

Fei Chun had a good impression of the French minister, who was almost 70 years old, so he stated his demands directly and frankly:
"Osman ignored our king's letter and never responded directly. Does he want our king to ask for peace with Osman?
"The Ottoman Sultan must give up Crete to our king as an apology based on the existing Ming occupation areas in order to end this war.

"Our troops will not stop their attack until the Ottoman Sultan responds positively and accepts this condition.

“At the same time, we will attack Crete next, and once our troops have occupied Crete, Crete can no longer be used as a condition.

"The Ottoman Sultan would have to use Cyprus as a condition for peace talks.

"The negotiation will take place in Cairo. After I finish my business here, I will go directly to Cairo and wait."

After listening to this, Gravier nodded very seriously:

“I will arrange for someone to convey the will of His Majesty King Wu to the Sultan as soon as possible. Please wait for my news.

“In addition, France hopes that the Ming Dynasty can protect the legal assets of French merchants in Egypt and North Africa.

“I hope French ships will be allowed to pass through the Suez Canal built by Ming Dynasty in the future.”

Fei Chun did not beat around the bush on this issue:

“The Ming army will not deprive the people in the occupied areas of their legitimate assets unless they are clearly engaged in acts of rebellion and aiding the enemy against the Ming army and officials.

“But we will not protect special powers that are not in accordance with Ming law, including any form of taxation and legal privileges.

“After the Suez Canal is completed, it will be open to all Ming allies and all neutral countries.

“No neutral country’s ship will be prohibited from passing through the canal unless it is determined that the passing ship is serving a country that is hostile to the Ming Dynasty.”

Gravier again expressed his acceptance:
"I understand that our demands are limited to legal assets, and we will require merchants to abide by the laws of the Ming Dynasty.

"We are very happy to thank the Ming Dynasty for its commitment to open the canal to navigation, which has avoided a lot of unnecessary worries.

"Finally, we hope that Ming will allow steam engines and steam sailing ships to be exported to France."

This time, Fei Chun clearly refused:

"All Ming steam engines and steam-driven machinery are strictly prohibited from export for the time being.

"If you want to obtain the Ming Dynasty's steam engines and steam sailing ships, you have to become a vassal of the Ming Dynasty like Wu and Min.

“The Kingdom of America and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, of which His Royal Highness King Wu is the king, are also unable to obtain export qualifications.

"France and other completely independent countries are even less likely to be allowed to export."

Gravier seemed to be in a dilemma.
“We are actually discussing the export and joint R&D of steam engines with the UK.

"There is a Mr. Watt in England who has also made a steam engine that can reciprocate.

"The British have now installed it on their ships and made British-style steam-powered ships.

"But we know that the British steam engine level is far less mature than that of the Ming Dynasty."

Fei Chun understood what Gravier meant. He wanted to use the possibility of exporting to Britain to persuade the Ming Dynasty to export directly.

But Fei Chun knew that it was impossible for the British to export steam engines, which were an important bargaining chip for the British to maintain their lead over other European countries.

In particular, it was impossible for Britain to export to the French.

The French wanted to develop a steam engine, but they had to research it on their own, and they didn't even have a physical reference to imitate.

The most we can do is try to find craftsmen from Britain or Ming Dynasty for guidance.

But Fei Chun also knew that the level of Ming Dynasty's steam engines was directly limited by the manufacturing process.

Without supporting metal smelting and processing technology, even if the French and other Europeans copied the steam engine, its reliability and efficiency would be greatly reduced.

Fei Chun continued to wave his hands and said:
"We don't care what the British decide. We in the Ming Dynasty cannot export."

After Gravière confirmed Daming's intention, he said goodbye with great regret.

After the French left, representatives from several other countries came over to say hello. They all had their own ideas, but they all raised the issue of canal access rights.

Fei Chun agreed to all of them without exception.

The Ming people dug the canal to make money. In addition to transporting goods from their own country to Europe and the United States, official and civilian merchant ships from other countries could also pass through if they paid.

European politicians can all see how valuable this canal in Egypt is.

They also believed in the ability of the Ming people to build the canal.

At the same time, all relevant countries had to recognize the fact that the Ming Dynasty controlled Egypt and North Africa.

After all, they had been directly occupied militarily and had already resisted the first wave of rebellion.

I can only hope that the Ming Dynasty won't get in my way.

Therefore, they were quite satisfied with Fei Chun's response, expressed their gratitude politely and then said goodbye.

After the talks, French Prime Minister Gravier met with British Foreign Secretary Francis Godolphin Osborne.

Osborne himself, together with Gravier's subordinate Armand Marc, went to Istanbul to persuade the Ottoman Sultan.

Although Britain and France are sworn enemies, they are likely to cooperate when there are benefits or risks.

Both Britain and France had special economic interests in the Ottoman Empire and neither wanted it to collapse.

In particular, they did not want the Ottoman Empire to be divided up by the Habsburgs and Russia. As for the situation in the Ming Dynasty, they had no choice but to accept it.
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After the Ottoman Sultan and his Grand Vizier were defeated in the naval battle in the Mediterranean, only after the deserters from Egypt returned did they realize that Egypt had been lost.

At that time, the Grand Vizier was filled with astonishment and exclaimed:

"There was no news from the battlefield before, it turned out that the Ming Dynasty's attack speed was simply too fast.

“The war in Egypt has not even reached a stalemate.

"The local garrison had no chance to send back the news of the war, and they were captured by the Ming Dynasty..."

The Ottoman Sultan could hardly accept this fact:

"Egypt's 50,000 troops? They were destroyed by the Ming Dynasty without any reaction? How is this possible..."

Although the Grand Vizier was also shocked, he believed this judgment based on the circumstances:
“But this should be the fact, and we should be thankful that the Ming Dynasty seems to have directed its attack towards North Africa.

"But this war can no longer be won, and we must find a way to stop it.

"At the same time, I hope that all the allies I can find can play a role..."

The Ottoman Grand Vizier was extremely busy in the next few days.

Talk to the envoys and merchants from European countries, and talk to the envoys of the Shun State Mongolian tribes, to win their support and help for the Ottoman Empire.

But the Egyptian campaign was just the beginning, and what followed was another series of bad news.

The Russians in the northeast continued to advance, and the Romanian areas east of the Carpathian Mountains continued to be lost.

The Habsburgs in the northwest were equally difficult to resist, and tribes such as the Serbs in the Balkans welcomed the Habsburg liberation.

When the Ottomans had sufficient military power, they could still defend the Balkan Peninsula.

Now the Ottoman Empire is getting weaker day by day, and it has less and less power to defend these places.

As the occupation of the northeast, northwest and south rapidly deteriorated, the Ottoman Sultan's initial mentality of revenge against Russia quickly dissipated.

By mid-March, the Ottoman Sultan could no longer hold out and kept asking and urging the Grand Vizier:
"How is the battle situation on the front line now?"

"Tripoli seems to have completely surrendered. Is it possible that Algiers and Morocco can delay the progress of the Ming Dynasty?"

"What is the international situation? Can France, Britain and Prussia help us?"

"Can the Mongols in Shun Country be contacted?"

"Should we give Murad and others status, let them handle Egyptian affairs on their own and interfere with the rear of the Ming Dynasty?"

The Ottoman Sultan was no fool and knew where to exert his strength.

The Grand Vizier has also been doing these things.

Indeed, it has achieved results.

"If the North African pirates can't hold out for long, once the Ming Dynasty has dealt with them, the main direction of attack may shift to the Ottoman mainland.

“Then the already bad situation will take a sharp turn for the worse.

“However, Britain, France, Prussia and other countries do not want the Habsburgs and Russia to continue to grow stronger, and they have agreed to mediate.

"As for the Ming Dynasty, they hope to be able to restrict it. The key is whether the Egyptians can do something."

As the Ottoman Sultan and the Grand Vizier waited anxiously, the forces from all sides finally began to take effect.

Russia and the Habsburgs were forced to halt their offensive.

The situation in the North seemed to be saved.

But the situation in the south is still deteriorating.

The Mamluks in Egypt launched a rebellion, which was directly suppressed by the Ming Dynasty.

The pirate lairs in North Africa were cleared out one by one.

As the Ming Dynasty is about to complete its control over North Africa, subsequent forces will definitely be transferred to the Ottoman homeland.

Just at this time, diplomatic envoys from France and Britain arrived.

The Ottoman Sultan and the Grand Vizier immediately received them.

Under the expectant gaze of the Ottoman Sultan, the French representative was responsible for explaining the attitude of the Ming Dynasty.

Hearing that the Ming Dynasty was willing to accept peace talks and that Russia and the Habsburgs could also cease fire, the Sultan and the Grand Vizier both breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the Ottoman Sultan found the terms of the armistice somewhat unacceptable.

The Sultan asked reluctantly:

“I can respond positively to the letter from the King of Wu of the Ming Dynasty, allowing the Ming Dynasty to execute those pirates.

"But, Ming must have Crete? Can this condition be discussed further?"

British Foreign Secretary Osman said with a smile:

"No, His Majesty the Sultan did not understand the Ming Dynasty's attitude. The Ming Dynasty meant to immediately cease fire, under the current conditions.

"If the Sultan hesitates, Ming will only continue to increase its demands.

“For example, after occupying Crete, they will demand Cyprus.

“At the same time, Britain and France’s interests in the Ottoman Empire have been damaged, and we should also receive basic compensation.

"We want to acquire two small islands on either side of Crete for storing goods and repairing cargo ships sailing in the Mediterranean."

Britain and France are not good guys.

They discovered that the Ming Dynasty was about to build the Suez Canal, and the value of the Mediterranean route would soon soar.

So it is natural that they want to build a few islands in the eastern Mediterranean.

It would be most convenient to take it from Osman.

The Sultan felt uncomfortable after hearing the previous requests, and became even more angry after hearing the last two sentences:

“It was the Ming’s fighting that affected your interests, not anything the Ottomans did to you.

“Why do you need Ottomans to provide you with compensation?”

Armand Marc, the French diplomatic envoy, immediately smiled and said:
"Does His Majesty the Sultan mean to let the war continue?

"We have learned about the new army of the Ming Dynasty. They are simply the natural enemy of the old army.

"As long as the Ming Dynasty wants, it can immediately capture Crete, other small islands, and even any area such as the Mesopotamian Basin.

“France and Britain do not have to control the war, they can also join the alliance between Ming, Habsburg and Russia to offset the interference of Prussia and Shun.

"Ending the war now is the best situation for the Ottoman Empire. Your Majesty should cherish it."

The Ottoman Sultan was somewhat angry, but the Grand Vizier spoke up:

“Your Majesty, this is indeed the most favorable outcome for us.

"If Britain and France also stand against us, the situation will be even worse.

"Let us accept the mediation conditions of Britain and France now."

The Sultan closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time before finally waving his hand feebly:
"Let the Grand Vizier handle it..."

The Grand Vizier stood up and received the order, and the Ottoman Sultan left the meeting directly.

The Grand Vizier immediately began discussions with representatives from Britain and France to confirm the location and personnel for the subsequent formal talks.

(End of this chapter)