My Italian: Chapter 202 Ottoman\'s Countermeasures

The new palace of Dolmabahce in Istanbul is the residence of the current Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Although it is not big, only more than 600 meters, but the interior of the palace is extremely luxurious.

In order to build the Dolmabahce Palace, the Ottoman Empire invested a lot of money and owed a lot of foreign debts for this. It is said that fourteen tons of gold and forty tons of silver were used to decorate the entire palace.

Therefore, after the completion of the palace, the sultans chose this place as their residence. Abdul Hamid II of course also chose to sit here, but compared with the previous sultan, Abdul Hamid II is more like a seclusion here, and it is easy to see the Ottoman monarch of the empire.

But this time, the threat from Italy made this Hamid II appear in front of everyone again.

"Information from Rome that Italy wants to use the murder of a missionary in Syria to wage war against our country."

In the palace, in the presence of the sultan and other important ministers, Harim Pasha, in charge of diplomacy, spoke out the content of this discussion.

"Halim, is this news accurate?"

It was Ottoman Grand Vizier Kamil Pasha who asked the question. The Grand Vizier is equivalent to the Prime Minister's post, but the name is different.

"The news is very accurate. This is a telegram sent by the ambassador to Rome, Manrso. In addition, I have also learned about it. At present, the bad news for our country is being hyped up in Italy. In addition, from our international friends, we have also received information from Italy. The army has canceled furloughs, and news of the mobilization of retired officers and soldiers has begun. And Italy is sending news in the European debt market that they are going to issue a huge bond.”

As Harim Pasha spoke out about the current situation in Italy, everyone present did not look very good. Everyone has been in politics for a long time, and they can't see what the Italians want to do.

As for the international friends that Harim Pasha said, who can't have three or five close friends?

So when Harim Pasha finished speaking, Camille Pasha, the Grand Vizier, stood up.

"The current situation is already obvious. The Italians' hostile attitude towards our country is very clear. They can't wait to seize North Africa and Albania from the empire. In this regard, our country must not let the Italians beat their attempts."

Just as the Grand Vizier Kamil Pasha was speaking, a sound like a bell rang.

"They can't reach it. The army of His Majesty the Sultan will let these Italians know what is wishful thinking."

The one who spoke was Osman Nuri Pasha, Marshal of the Ottoman Empire, Minister of War, and I saw the veteran general expressing his attitude angrily.

This is one of the few famous generals in the Ottoman Empire. In the tenth Turkish-Russian War, he led an army of the Ottoman Empire to block the 300,000 troops of the Russian coalition in Pleven for five months, if not for ammunition. Food and grass are scarce, but he can continue to persevere. It was only later that he failed to break through and was captured, which made him less perfect in the Turkish-Russian War.

But despite this, after returning to Ottoman after the war, Nuri Pasha was still warmly welcomed, and Sultan Hamid II personally presided over the welcoming ceremony for him.

This also shows its status in the minds of the Sultan, and this is the second time he has served as Minister of War.

Facing the threat of war in Italy, the old coach did not hesitate to come forward to lead the Ottoman army and set foot on the battlefield again.

While the words of the War Minister were inspiring, Kamil Pasha still had something to say. "Marshal Nuri Pasha, I can understand your mood, and I am as angry as yours. But it is very difficult for the empire to fight a war."

Why does Camille Pasha say this, because the Ottoman Empire's treasury is empty, and currently he can't even get five million Ottoman liras.

Speaking of which, the Ottoman Empire is not weaker than Italy in terms of population and economy. According to reason, its fiscal revenue should be very good.

But unfortunately, as the grand vizier, Kamil Pasha knows best that the Ottoman Empire is basically in debt, the local finances are in a mess, the officials are very corrupt, and one lire is turned over to the state treasury, and at least five or six liras of money have been stolen. These officials put them in their pockets.

This also led to the fact that the revenue of the Ottoman government was far less than that of the European powers. In addition, His Majesty the Sultan had to live a decent life, so there was less money to be distributed.

In addition, the Ottomans have borrowed a lot from foreign countries, and these money must be repaid. In addition, after deducting seventy-seven or eighty-eight expenses, the Ottoman Empire has an annual deficit of nearly 100 million Ottoman liras.

You must know that although Italy has a higher annual deficit than the Ottomans, it is because of large-scale construction and at the same time promoting its own industrialization. And Ottoman lacks these two huge expenses, but still has such a high deficit, one can imagine how bad Ottoman's finances are.

In the face of such a situation, as the Grand Vizier, Kamil Pasha, how dare to start a war lightly, after all, once the war starts, it needs massive financial support. And in Ottoman's situation, where to find these funds.

"Then borrow money from other countries. We can't give up these two territories to the Italians because of lack of money."

For the words of Kamil Pasha who have no money, of course Nuri Pasha will not care about the government's financial problems. He is the Minister of War and not the Grand Vizier.

Hearing the words of the Minister of War, Camille Pasha didn't know what to say. Borrowing money is so easy to borrow. If you don’t agree to some additional conditions, who will lend Ottoman a large sum of money. You must know that it will cost at least 500 million lire. This is what Camille Pasha made based on the last Turkish-Russian war. preliminary estimates.

"It's not easy to borrow such a large sum of money if you want to borrow money now."

"But now Italy is close to declaring war."

"I also know that it's not that easy to borrow money~www.mtlnovel.com~ As the atmosphere on the scene became more and more intense, the two of them were about to be on top of each other.

"Okay, everyone calm down."

This time, it was His Majesty the Sultan who spoke, and his words ended the dispute between the two.

"We can't just ignore the threat of war from the Italians and prepare to mobilize the army immediately. In addition, we can look to Britain and France to purchase weapons. For the issue of borrowing, we can look to a few more countries."

With the words of Hamid II, the next move of the Ottoman Empire is also doomed.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"As ordered."

After Hamid II was satisfied to see that everyone present listened to him respectfully, he spoke again. "Also diplomatically, we can't give up. In addition to Britain, France and Germany, other countries are also seeking support, just like the last war."

Although Hamid II has pointed it out, everyone present knows that the sultan is talking about the tenth Turkish-Russian war, which completely declined the Ottomans. Fortunately, excellent diplomacy allowed the Ottomans to keep some of the Balkan territories.

In fact, it is not good to use this example at all, but the diplomatic work that time was really excellent.

Following the words of Hamid II, the Ottoman Empire also began its own actions. First, the army began to mobilize to prepare for the coming of war. The other was to borrow money urgently. Although it would definitely be knocked out, it would not be worth it at this time. So much.

In addition, the diplomatic work of various countries is also the top priority of Ottoman.