The Crescent of the Sultan

Selim believed that his reforms could be said to be both fierce and gentle at the same time.

What is fierce is that Selim has always been merciless when it comes to the power of the monarch.

He will severely crack down on any political force that threatens the monarchy and centralization of power.

In this era of great strife, if the central government of the Ottoman Empire still needs to negotiate with local wealthy families, then it would be better to just commit suicide instead of reforming.

Only by establishing a stable and effective autocratic monarchy can the Ottoman Empire be forced to reform step by step with an iron fist. Only in this way can this ancient empire that is about to decay step by step get back on track.

This is also the reason why Selim first launched the Russo-Turkish War, he needed to use this to regain power.

As for whether the Ottoman Empire can defeat it, this is nothing more than a matter of tactics and troops.

In terms of tactics, luring the enemy deep and then counterattack, and striving to attack with superior force in every battle, can be said to be quite adequate to achieve this.

As for the army, are the soldiers of the Ottoman Empire really much worse than the Tsarist Russian army? This is really not the case.

Tsarist Russia's military strength is actually not strong. In terms of recent large-scale wars, his performance in the Seven Years' War was not too impressive.

Throughout the Seven Years' War, the most outstanding performance was actually the Austrian army and the Prussian army under the command of Daun.

Daun is known for his skill in defensive warfare and his ability to reorganize defeated armies.

He fought four battles with Frederick the Great of Prussia, winning three times and losing one. Frederick called him the Fabian of Germany.

(Fabian was a Roman consul, known as the "Procrastinator". He is famous in history for using delaying tactics against Hannibal in the Second Punic War and saving Rome from danger)

The French army has a relatively high military quality and is purely a commander-in-chief, which results in the French army's performance not being good.

The Prussian army has relatively high military quality, and its commanding ability is quite good, but it often defeats more with less.

The Austrian army under the command of Daun can be said to be another peak after Prince Eugen.

Eugen is considered one of the most outstanding military commanders in the history of Austria and Europe.

French Generalissimo Hermann Maurice Sachs, King Frederick II of Prussia, and French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte all respected him.

He has defeated France, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Spain, so he has gained enough experience.

It's just that after the peak, there was a decline. By Selim's period, the Austrian army, well, can only be said to have average combat power.

As for the Russian army, the quality of the Russian army is even worse.

Judging from the marching regulations of the late 18th century, in terms of marching footwork alone, the Russian army was inferior to France, Prussia, Austria and the British lobster soldiers.

Don't underestimate the British army during this period. The lobster soldier is actually just a joking name.

When it comes to the army, Britain has always been relatively strong.

During the Hundred Years' War, the unlucky guy who was captured by others even though he fought against the many, relying on his son to pay the ransom, was the Dharma King.

Basically, it can be said that the quality of the Russian army is the worst among the European powers at this time.

Oh, and Prussia, since the death of Frederick the Great, the Prussian army marched to Nanshan, stretching their hips all the way.

As for Spain, the army of salted ducks.

Emperor Sai doesn't understand, he doesn't feel very strong.

So the question is, what is the Ottoman Empire's army like?

In the last Russian-Turkish war, Rumyantsev defeated the Ottoman Empire's army all the way. He was so high that he flew into the heart of the Ottoman Empire, and he went deep alone.

Almost only two cities he conquered are related to him.

If you are so addicted to fighting, you will easily suffer retribution.

After receiving the news, the Ottoman government quickly organized a large army to besiege.

Rumyantsev was eventually attacked by Ottoman Khalili Pasha's forces.

He was almost in despair at that time, thinking that he would die without a burial place.

It's just that Khalili Pasha's military quality is too rubbish.

Under his leadership, the Ottoman Empire army suddenly changed its original station and advanced towards Trayan Tucheng. It passed south of the Russian army station. The team dragged for several miles and then stopped about 7 miles away from Tucheng. Build a barracks 8 versts away.

This camp of the Ottoman army was actually located in a unique "pocket" between the depression and the Prut River, occupying the commanding heights passing through it.

It is limited by Trayan Tucheng to the north, to the west is the deeper Kagul River, to the east is a wide depression, and to the south the passable area gradually narrows and extends to connect with the Prut Valley.

There are four valley ridges scattered like fans in the space between the Prut River and the depression. The middle valley ridge passes through Trayantu City and continues to extend southward for about 4 miles.

From all aspects, the Turkish army's new position has advantages: the Ottoman army can control the commanding heights; the low-lying areas between the ridges can easily mobilize cavalry to attack the Russian army in the south, and even the Russian army's rear - if the Russian army An attempt was made to attack the Turkish barracks from here.

But that's all Khalili Pasha's level was.

After Rumyantsev saw this situation, he immediately realized the fatal weakness of the Ottoman army's new position.

That is to say, the Turkish army is stationed in such a small area with superior strength, and the connection between the units is cut by the ridge. This is the perfect opportunity for the Russian army to annihilate each other, not to mention the left wing of the Turkish army is almost unmanned. defensive status.

It is said that he once said boldly at that time: "If the Turks dare to put up a tent here, I will attack tonight."

Did Halili Pasha see this problem? Maybe he did, because he sent people to repair the fortifications.

Unfortunately, Rumyantsev arrived too quickly. As a result, under the leadership of Halili Pasha, Rumyantsev defeated the Ottoman Army, which was five times his strength.

But, is it really impossible for the Ottoman Empire's army to fight?

If he couldn't fight, Rumyantsev wouldn't have such worries.

The Praetorian Guard did decline, but not all troops did.

The Ottoman Empire was never that conservative.

Many soldiers of the Imperial Guard have been using new European training methods.

This may be just a few legions, but there are some.

This situation was more common in the private armies of the wealthy families of the Ottoman Empire.

An example that illustrates this very well is that the artillerymen of the Ottoman Empire's family private soldiers knew mathematics.

This is outrageous, even the Ottoman Empire's Guards artillery basically doesn't know how to do it.

Therefore, the military system of the Ottoman Empire was not far behind, but the military quality of the commanders was not flattering.

The reason why Selim invited Napoleon was because of this. A genius is always a genius, tactical literacy can be learned, and strategic awareness is innate.

This is why Selim promoted historically high-level New Army officers while asking wealthy families to disband their private soldiers.

The military force of the empire could only be in the hands of the Sultan, and no discussion was allowed.

After saying something strong, let’s say it softly.

What is gentle is the reform of religion, and this must be done slowly.

What Emperor Sai has to do is to keep the two sides as close as possible. What are the two sides?

That is, the people who can become Muslims and Islam itself.

Through this slight reform, he made Islam more suitable for proselytizing bit by bit, and on the non-Muslim side, he used a large number of preferential policies to attract them to convert.

Only by combining strength and softness can this country truly recover.

Originally, this section was mainly about weddings, but I hadn’t written the hidden plot that goes with the wedding, so I was stuck, so I had to drag the line out a bit.