Flowers, Swords and France

The secret meeting between the Turkish special envoy and the French military leaders lasted until late that night. However, perhaps because specific strategic matters had been negotiated, Marshal Treville left after dinner. After leaving the conference room, the rest of the meeting was led by the Minister of War, General Saint-Arnaud. No one questioned this. After all, the marshal was already so old, and there was no need for him to waste energy on the next trivial matters.

However, for the special envoy, the contact with the Treville family did not end there.

The very next day, Mr. Omar Sahaz, the head of the special envoy and a close minister of the Sultan, left his residence in the palace and went to Charles-de-France, grandson of Marshal Treville and recently famous on the European continent. -Visit at the residence of His Excellency Minister Treville.

Although this minister is not currently serving in the diplomatic community, everyone knows that he is deeply favored by His Majesty the Emperor and has a great say in foreign affairs. When leaving Turkey, Omar Sahaz and Sultan When the monarchs and ministers discussed together, they almost unanimously agreed that it was necessary to have a good relationship with this young minister.

However, Omar Sahaz has little confidence in this, because everyone knows that this minister is sinister, vicious, sweet-talking, and almost full of bad ideas. It is really not easy to have a good relationship with such a cunning person. Easy, but now that he has the responsibility, he can only work hard for it.

Without any waiting, he was immediately received by the minister. However, he finally saw this famous young man with his own eyes for the first time, and was secretly surprised by his young age.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Sahaz." Upon seeing him, His Excellency Minister Treville also held his hand very politely and took him to his study diligently.

From the smiles and words on his face, Omar Sahaz felt the kind of education and grace that he had cultivated for a long time. He could not see the violent and cold attitude of his grandfather at all. If he didn't know this man in his heart, If you talk about all kinds of terrible legends about young people, I'm afraid he feels like a spring breeze now. But now, he did not dare to take it lightly, for fear that like the Russians and Austrians, he would be caught in a trap with steel pliers by this smiling hunter and give him a severe lesson.

Yes, many of his deeds have been spread throughout Europe. When people talk about this young man, they not only disdain his shameless and vicious behavior, but also secretly fear his various strategies.

With such a fear, he gathered all his energy, politely and with a bit of attentiveness, and sat down next to the minister with an attitude that included some personal dealings in addition to official business.

"Your Excellency, Minister, I saw your grandfather in the palace yesterday. He is really an admirable old general, awe-inspiring, and I have to be in awe of his demeanor." He first started by complimenting Marshal Treville. raised the topic, “We Turks worship warriors, and your grandfather I am such a warrior. He has never been afraid of many military exploits. Even at this age, he is still willing to do everything he can to serve the country. We admire him very much and firmly believe that under the leadership of such a commander-in-chief, your country's expeditionary force will be better. Be able to do your best and defeat the evil enemy!"

Ciel smiled slightly, and it was obvious that the other party's compliment really benefited him.

"It sounds like you and your colleagues have reached an agreement with the military?" he asked gently. "I hope everyone can negotiate as soon as possible so that things can be done as soon as possible."

"Yes, we have reached consensus on most issues. We are very grateful that France can help us in such a critical moment so that we can resist those hateful Russians." Omar Sahaz immediately bowed to Charles expressed his gratitude, "Now our country has only one request, and that is that the expeditionary force can arrive as soon as possible."

"As long as your country can provide sufficient conditions, of course we are willing to do it as soon as possible." Charles replied immediately. "To tell you the truth, we have been preparing for this war for a long time, and I am one of the main people in charge of the preparations. I can tell you without reservation that although there is no way to send all the troops directly to the Black Sea, It can only be transported part by part, but we can expand this army at an extremely fast speed and maintain most of the military supplies of this expeditionary force..."

"We are willing to provide all the remaining military supplies. This is what we promised your grandfather at the meeting yesterday. We will never make it difficult for our allies." The special envoy can certainly hear the subtext of the minister. So he responded immediately.

"That would be great if that's the case." Charles still smiled, "However, some problems cannot be solved with enthusiasm."

"What do you mean?" Omar Sahaz immediately became alert.

"Undoubtedly, I believe that your country can provide a large amount of materials to help us and can also raise such materials. However, even if there are materials, it is not so easy to transport them to where they are needed. Sufficient transportation is needed. , but also requires good organization, and this cannot be accomplished by recruiting labor, what do you think?”

Although Omar Sahaz knew in his heart that what the other party said was very reasonable, he also knew that he could not just agree with the other party casually now, he had to ask clearly about the situation.

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"You know what I am good at. I have been working hard on the railway industry for many years, so I am afraid that no one is more proficient in this than me and my subordinates." Under the gaze of the other party, Charles said calmly expressed his request, "There is no doubt that if there is a railway, transportation will be much more convenient. Therefore, for the sake of the logistics support of the expeditionary force, I think your country should provide We provide the following conveniences - first, provide several dedicated ports in the strait for the expeditionary force to use as a base for placing logistics supplies. At the same time, we have the right to build military railways to transport supplies when necessary, and your country should provide land and manpower convenience, engineers and technicians will be provided by us, and their expenses should also be borne by your country..."

Omar Sahaz was silent for a moment.

To be fair, these requirements are not very demanding in literal terms, and are indeed necessary. After all, maintaining an expeditionary force of more than 100,000 people also requires huge logistical support, and this kind of support is also difficult to support by Turkey's national strength. , we can only let the French bear it according to their own needs.

However, military needs are one thing, and political needs are another. From a political point of view, the Turks cannot respond to the French's requests, and cannot become a puppet of the French even in times of crisis. They must maintain their most basic sovereignty and independence, and if the French take advantage of the situation, then this kind of Independence is at stake.

So the first priority is to maintain this independence.

And this task must be accomplished skillfully, because this group of French people must not be offended now.

"Mr. Treville, what you said makes perfect sense. To a certain extent, this is necessary, and I think this is contained in our commitment to 'make every effort to cooperate with the expeditionary force.' We have no reason to object." After a long silence, Omar Sahaz finally thought of words. "However, sir, we also have to make every effort to cooperate with the British Expeditionary Force, so to a certain extent, we think this is a tripartite issue rather than a problem between just two countries. You and the British need to communicate together. Coordination will allow the coalition to fight in the most united manner.”

The Turks alone could not scare the French, so Omar Sahaz simply did not mention his own concerns and directly brought up the British, hoping to use this method to indirectly frighten the French. , let them not get too carried away.

At the moment, the British have not officially declared war on Russia, but this is only a matter of time. British public opinion is now clamoring for war, and the British government is already eager to engage in this holy war against the Russians to defend the country. interests of the empire.

Therefore, Omar Sahaz's response can be said to be impeccable. Anyway, even if the French are dissatisfied, they can only look forward to the British. With the support of the British, Turkey does not need to accommodate the French too much and will not change. Become a poor creature dominated by them.

This answer did not surprise Charles, but for him, as long as the other party agreed to the literal conditions, he would be satisfied. After all, as long as there was a name, France would be able to do its own thing, and few Turks would dare to stand up against them. benefactor.

"Coordination with the British is of course crucial. We are also working hard for this. I believe that with the current close relationship between our two countries, this will be an easy problem to solve." Charles clicked Nodding, he did not feel displeased at all because of the other party's secret resistance, "However, I ask you to agree to make some suggestions. I think this is what must be done to win this war. I will not allow any People bring risks to this expedition, especially since my grandfather is its commander."

"I understand, sir. As long as we can do anything, we will definitely do it for you." Omar Sahaz bowed obligingly. In his opinion, all he needed to do was bring out the British to beat the young man. Your Excellency, the Minister, is enough. There is no need to stalemate the relationship with him.

"How long do you plan to stay in Paris? If you have time, I can take you to visit the warehouse we have prepared in the south. There are mountains of military supplies there that can be shipped at any time and sent to where they are needed through the port." Charles Ask the special envoy again, "It just so happens that I will go there for inspection in a few days, and at the same time send my grandfather off..."

"Thank you very much for your enthusiasm, but I'm afraid we don't have much time now." Special Envoy Omar Sahaz said carefully, "According to the next itinerary, we will say goodbye the day after tomorrow, and then go to the UK to accept Her Majesty the Queen’s reception, and at the same time discussing future cooperation matters with the British government.”

"Will you tell him about the agreement reached with the French?" Charles asked casually.

"I think we need to tell him." Omar Sahaz, who knew this was a test, pretended to answer casually. "After all, the British will soon join our coalition forces. We must let them know how far the situation has developed, and no aspects should be concealed."

He made it very clear, which means that the Turks do not intend to make any secret agreement with the French, and still regard the British as the Turks' biggest backers, even if the French are the first to stand up and fight against the Russians to save them. them.

Under the current circumstances, the Sultan's envoys would do anything to please the French, except for one thing - a change of policy towards the British.

Because moving closer to the British was the consensus of almost everyone in the Sultan and his court, and they were willing to do their best to please the British in exchange for the British's interest in maintaining their crumbling empire.

Compared to France, the Turks are more willing to be pawns of the British, but this is not surprising, because after all, Britain is the empire that never sets across the four oceans of the world. Although France is also a major European country, it cannot match it, so it is not surprising. There is no stopping others from wanting to hug thicker thighs.

Now I can only think of ways to grab what I can grab first.

It is very clear that the British do not want to see the French get involved in Egypt and the most critical communication route between them and India. On the contrary, because their state religion and the orthodox Christian church have parted ways, they have no interest in the Middle East or the They say that the Holy Land of Christ in Jerusalem has no feelings. In other words, they will never tolerate other countries controlling Egypt, but they can tolerate other countries controlling Syria or other places.

Of course, Louis Bonaparte and his ministers had no interest in directly conflicting interests with the British at this time. As long as they could take advantage of this opportunity to gain enough benefits to satisfy their own needs and prevaricate the French people, Good - after all, there are many French people who are skeptical about this war, and they should certainly try their best to convince these people.

For Charles, there is no unreasonable kindness in the world, and countries never talk about repaying favors, but give priority to interests, so the Turks' actions will not anger him, as long as they treat each other Just do what you should do well.

"You are right. The British are our friends now and will be our allies in the future. We should not hide anything." Charles did not get angry as Omar Sahaz feared, but was very angry. He calmly accepted his statement and encouraged him, "I hope you can openly coordinate your position with the British and do your best to cooperate with their actions. This will benefit us a lot."

"Thank you very much for your reasonableness, Your Excellency, Minister." Omar Sahaz saluted Sal with great gratitude, and then suddenly lowered his voice, "In addition, Your Excellency, when leaving Istanbul, the Sultan once spoke to We have confessed that we must take advantage of this opportunity to fight side by side to reach a long-lasting understanding with the people of your country, so that this war can become a battle between two great nations. This is an opportunity to continue friendly exchanges, and from this point of view, I think you are also the best person to help us. We sincerely hope that through you, we can get along well with the French nation in the future, and our friendship will last forever... Sudan is very happy He cannot wait for the opportunity to show you his generosity and welcome you to our capital as soon as possible to receive you as a distinguished guest."

Everyone knows that Treville is as greedy as his predecessor, the famous Prince Talleyrand, and his favorite thing is money, so Omar Sahaz did not play tricks and started talking directly. Bribery on top.

Minister Treville holds a high position in France, and his influence is growing day by day. He is one of the important participants in this war. If we can become friends with him, then of course it will be excellent news for Turkey—— As for his personal moral issues, who cares?

The young Sultan Abdel-Meguid I was full of blood and worked hard to govern. He was full of ideals of saving the country and wanted to save his country's declining power. One of his major goals was to use various means to conquer the country. European countries swept away the unpleasant reputation of the past and established a new image of the Ottoman Empire as forging ahead and embracing the civilized world.

Read the original article in Liu#9@书/吧!

And he also made a lot of efforts to this end. Not only did he show goodwill to the ambassadors of European countries on many occasions and diligently tried to build good relations, he even helped Ireland when it suffered an unprecedented famine and the English government turned a blind eye. He also withstood the pressure and sent several shipments of food to Ireland.

Through his various efforts, today's European countries have slightly changed their view of Turkey. They no longer have the same sworn hatred as in previous centuries. However, after all, the image of hundreds of years is hard to recover, and it is not so easy to become friendly.

"I am very grateful for the Sultan's kindness." Charles couldn't help laughing, but he still shook his head, "But you also know that I am busy with official duties. Even if I go to Turkey, I can only focus on official duties and maintain military supplies. See it as the only big thing..."

"Official affairs are of course the most important, but we are all humans, not machines. We have private lives besides official affairs, and meeting the needs of private life is naturally also very important." Omar Sahaz did not want to show off to the minister. , he said it openly, "Although we don't have everything, Sultan is really sincere to you. As long as you have something you like, we will prepare it for you."

"Really?" After Charles pondered for a moment, there was something strange in his smile, "What I envy the most about the Sultan is his huge harem. Think about it, how enviable it is to have so many legal wives. ... He will never need to be afraid of his wife to stay with other women. If I have this ability, I won’t have to worry..."

Omar Sahaz twitched a few times strangely and laughed awkwardly. He didn't know whether the young minister meant to mock or was telling the truth.

The Sultan did have an enviable harem, with all races, including native Asia Minor, Slavs, Jews, and even Western Europeans. Many of the royal family were descended from foreigners, even Abu Sultan Durmecid I himself had a Russian Jew on his mother's side.

However, no matter what happens, the Sultan will not let his harem receive this minister? Besides, what does it mean to say such inappropriate words in a semi-official diplomatic meeting?

Just when he was still full of doubts, the minister also woke up. He looked at the special envoy, his own expression was a little embarrassed. "Oh, don't take it to heart, it's just my temporary sigh...it has no other meaning, so you don't need to be upset about it."

Hey, he's French after all.

After carefully sizing up the other person and confirming that it was indeed just a momentary gaffe, Omar Sahaz felt relieved, and because of this gaffe, he felt that the distance between the two people was a little closer, and they were no longer so cold. Test each other.

"Sir, actually you don't need to apologize. We are all men. Who doesn't have some hobbies..." Omar Sahaz raised the corner of his mouth slightly, showing an 'I understand' smile, "If you have We will definitely make good arrangements for you in this regard.”

Then, he emphasized his voice and said a little more, "Arrange it well."

"You don't have to worry too much about this kind of thing..." Charles still looked a little embarrassed.

…………………………

In the afternoon, the Turkish special envoy Mr. Omar Sahaz finally left the residence of His Excellency Minister Treville. When he came out, his expression was much more relaxed than when he came in. It was obvious that he got what he wanted from the minister. something.

And just after he left, another guest came to the reception room.

This guest was much younger, with a straight face and no expression, and his pace was neither fast nor slow, and his whole person had a gloomy mood.

"The Turks are going to the UK soon. You should seize the time to get to know their background and find out what kind of tacit understanding they plan to have with the British." As soon as he came in, Charles directly gave him an order, "While this is the case, Since they are still very satisfied with France, we need to pry something more out of their mouths.”

"Don't you trust the Turks and the British?" Kongze asked in a low voice.

"Now, I still quite trust, but it has nothing to do with trust or distrust. We must find out what they are doing in private. The more we know, the better." Charles shook his head, "This matter is very important. It’s important, do it right away.”

"Okay." Kong Ze nodded immediately. "I'll get started on it later."

"...Also, let your friends in Turkey and Odessa prepare. It's time to start." Charles continued, "You also need to prepare. When the time comes, let me take the lead. I will go there myself. I’ll be counting on you when I get there.”

Seeing that Kongze was a little confused, Charles explained, "I'm not doubting their credibility or their guarantees, I just don't trust the capabilities of the Turks. Their government is corrupt and incompetent, and their actions are very slow. By the time they finish their duties, Promise, God knows when it is, but we can’t afford to wait! So instead of waiting for them to do it slowly, we should do it ourselves.”

"Then how do you plan to arrange my identity?" Kong Ze asked immediately. "If it is a private identity, it will not be easy to deal with them."

"Of course there will be an official status." Charles immediately replied, "Aren't you a director of the Shipping Federation? Now I want to specially hire you as one of my assistants. Also, the Turks have promised me to allow us Build military railways in their territory, so we will have a large number of engineers and workers passing by Go, and you happen to be the leader of this engineering organization. This status is enough to scare the Turks. I don’t think anyone will make trouble for you, and you can also use your status as an engineer and worker to cover your friends. In their eyes, I am a corrupt and lustful person, so they probably won’t be so wary of me.”

"Aren't you?" Kong Ze asked, seemingly a little surprised, and then the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, as if he was smiling.

Charles was startled for a moment, then raised his head and looked at Kong Ze with a very strange expression, as if he didn't expect that his subordinate would dare to talk to him like this.

Seeing that his employer seemed to be angry, Kong Ze's smile flashed away, and his expression immediately returned to normal indifference. Then he straightened his back, nodded to Charles, and walked out without looking back.