The Crescent of the Sultan

However, Emperor Sai did not answer immediately, but asked the question to Yusuf Pasha.

Selim said with a smile.

"Grand Vizier, you are about to step down from office, why not take your last stand for the empire and find a solution to this matter."

Yusuf Pasha's old face was twitching. He didn't know why, but he felt like he wanted to hide his face and cry.

He's about to retire, and yet he's been dragged out by the Sultan to be this villain, working together to squeeze out the last bit of use value, right?

“Your Majesty, I thought there was no need to do what Haji Pasha said.

There is still a big difference between the Kurds and the Mamluks.

Of course, this is also related to geographical location and development potential.

The Egypt controlled by the Mamluks could go south along the Nile River into Africa. Their south was said to be a fertile land that could be used as a granary. The leader of the rebels who were suppressed by Hassan Pasha had gone south. Pioneering ideas.

Egypt itself also has huge potential, and the governance capabilities of the Mamluks are simply appalling. Under their governance, Cairo has long lost the prosperity of the Alexander and Roman eras.

But the potential of Lower Egypt cannot be ignored. It is one of the most superior cities in North Africa. The empire's other strongholds in North Africa, such as Tripoli and Tunisia, are simply difficult to compare with.

Secondly, there is the geographical location. The difference between Egypt and the Kurdish region is that Egypt has almost no external pressure, while the Kurdish region faces the threat from Persia, which makes the Kurdish region more dependent on the empire than Egypt.

In this case, the Kurds were much docile than the Mamluks. "

Looking at the Sultan's unchanged face, Haji Pasha's faint sarcasm and Ishak Pasha's aloof appearance.

Yusuf Pasha continued.

"Of course, these are not enough reasons to pardon the Kurds' crimes. The most critical issue is actually the essential difference between the Kurds and the Mamluks.

The Mamluks implemented oppression into almost every aspect of the lives of the Egyptian people they ruled. This is why Your Majesty decided to send Haji Pasha to deal with the Mamluks by force, and I did not object.

But the Kurds are different. The rulers of these Kurdish emir states have a strong appeal to their subjects.

Once you choose to deal with them the way you dealt with the Mamluks, what the empire will gain in the Kurdish region will never be peace and stability, but endless rebellion.

This is why I don't agree with Haji Pasha's method. Treating the Kurds with violence will only lead to the same violence.

Haji Pasha said at this moment.

"Yusuf Pasha, you don't need to be alarmist. The Kurdish rulers are indeed stronger than the Mamluks, but how much stronger can they be?

Their luxurious life is no worse than that of Constantiniya's high-ranking officials. Your rhetoric is not very convincing. "

Yusuf Pasha, who had always been a harmonious person, did not have much prestige. At this time, his proposal was clearly rejected by Haji Pasha, but he had almost no choice.

Haji Pasha destroyed the Mamluks and took charge of Egypt, and he was almost designated as his successor. Ishak Pasha would never oppose him, and His Majesty's attitude was also unpredictable.

In this case, the only thing Yusuf could do was to pray that His Majesty would eventually choose his plan. After all, Haji Pasha had never dealt with the Kurds, so it was normal to make such a judgment.

But Yusuf is different. He has been in contact with this group of Kurds. If His Majesty rashly chooses Haji Pasha's plan, it is likely to cause the empire's energy to be tied up, which is what he does not want to see. .

After much consideration, Emperor Sai finally decided to follow Yusuf Pasha's method. Blind use of this method will eventually have a bad impact on the imperial government.

However, at this time, Muhammad Ali signaled to Sai Dadi, as if he wanted to speak.

Selim waved his hand and said.

"Tell me, Muhammad Ali, express your opinion. After all, you are the leader of the Sipashi cavalry in Syria. No matter how we solve it, you must go up."

Muhammad Ali glanced at Haji Pasha apologetically and then said.

"Your Majesty, I also agree with Yusuf Pasha's idea. He is right. We cannot solve the Kurds the same way we solved the Mamluks.

This is indeed not conducive to the empire’s rule in the Kurdish region.”

Muhammad Ali said seriously.

He has seen the power of the Kurds in these areas. If he advances so rashly, it will hardly end well.

Seeing this, Isaac Pasha immediately said.

“Your Majesty, I also think that Haji Pasha’s method is not suitable for solving the Kurdish problem.

One of the purposes of this great expedition was to threaten the Qajar dynasty on the Iranian plateau, forcing them to spend more energy on us and delaying their process of unifying Persia.

But the attention we can attract is limited after all. The obstruction of the Zagros Mountains and the innate advantages of the Iranian Plateau limit our power projection.

If the empire invests regardless of loss, it can of course threaten the other party, but this goes against your wishes.

And we have a more efficient and lower-investment method at this time, which is the Kurds.

After listening to Isaac Pasha's words, Emperor Sai suddenly had an idea, and he said immediately.

"Go on, Isaac, and explain your method clearly."

Isaac Pasha laughed.

"In that case, let me show off my shallow knowledge in front of Your Majesty and everyone."

Isaac Pasha waved his hand, and the guard on the side immediately sent a map.

Isaac Pasha pointed at the map and said.

"As you can see, Kurdish areas do not only exist in the empire, there are also Kurds in the Qajar dynasty.

There is no need for us to massacre all the Kurdish leaders. This will only allow the Qajar dynasty to use these Kurds to counter us.

The eunuch of Qajar is not an easy person to deal with.

So my idea is that instead of “killing” we should “please”. "

"Killing and inviting, it's interesting, let's continue."

Selim continued.

"For this "please", we naturally have to be courteous first. Muhammad Ali Pasha has Sipaxi cavalry in Syria. Your Majesty, you will lead the army from Constantiniya towards the Arabian Peninsula.

Under such circumstances, what sense of crisis can the Kurds have?

They never imagined that the empire would also target them this time.

At that time, Your Majesty, you can first hold a banquet to gather these Kurdish emirs.

Then state your conditions directly. As for how to do it specifically, that is not my concern. Maybe Your Majesty already has the answer in your mind. "

Selim did not answer directly. He roughly guessed what Isaac Pasha was thinking. He probably wanted to take this opportunity to bring these emirs back to Constantiniya, and then take over the country of these emirs.

However, this did not maximize the benefits at all. Emperor Sai came up with a better strategy - the push order.

This kind of favor order is not the other's favor order. The things used by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty were indeed good, but they still needed to be improved.

As for how to improve it, Emperor Sai already had a general idea at this time.

The first is this expedition to the Bedouin. If the supplies for this time follow the empire's old method of transporting part from Constantiniya and collecting part locally, the consumption will definitely be huge.

In this case, why not just ask the Kurds for it?

This time, it is impossible to deal with the Bedouin only by the Emperor Sai.

One is that the supply pressure is too great, and the other is that it is unrealistic.

If you want to completely deal with the Bedouin, there is only one way to defeat them completely.

To this end, Selim planned to send troops in three directions.

First, he led his own army, which set out from Constantiniya, passed through the Kurdish region, and arrived in Baghdad to oppress the Bedouins from the north.

The second was a large army led by Muhammad Ali, which set out from Damascus and oppressed the Bedouin from the west.

The third is to send troops from Egypt to oppress the Bedouin from the south. As for the commander of this route, the emperor has not yet decided whether to use Alandar Mustafa or Hassan.

In a three-pronged attack, the Bedouin had no choice but to go east. He could try a field battle, as long as he really dared.

Here comes the problem. To the east of the Bedouins is Oman. When the time comes, we can let Oman help annihilate them first, and then defeat Oman's army in a battle.

This makes Oman belong to the Ottoman Empire in name. As for the essence, the emperor does not want to be beaten by the British. As for how to solve the colony of Oman (Oman does have colonies, and they are also veterans of the East African labor tool trade), it is estimated that by then We have to discuss it with the British.

With such a long front, Muhammad Ali could get supplies from Syria, and the Egyptian army could draw supplies from the Lower Egypt area. The emperor of Cyprus, in line with the idea that no one should suffer from himself, naturally had to draw supplies from the Kurdish region.

As for the specific operation, the Kurdish leaders can certainly be placed under house arrest, but their descendants must become the Sudan's tool to control the Kurdish region.

At that time, let the Kurdish leaders directly announce their abdication and pass it on to their own heirs.

But Emperor Sai would definitely not let the other party's heir succeed to the throne so easily.

These emirs have more than one heir. When the time comes, Emperor Cyprus cannot bear to see some young Kurdish heroes who do not have their own territory and speak up.

The original heir can get the biggest and best piece, and the other brothers can get some.

Shouldn't these brothers who have been assigned territories thank the great Sultan? If they thank the Sultan, shouldn't they contribute to the Bedouin people of Sudan? To contribute to the Bedouin people of Sudan, shouldn't they provide both troops and supplies? ?

All this is simply logical and reasonable. No matter from which angle, Emperor Sai can't see any problem.

As for the heir who gets the biggest and best territory, although according to common sense the other party should get all the territory, but brothers must be friendly. Since they have divided their brothers' territories, shouldn't they be happy about it? If you are happy for this, shouldn't you be grateful to Sultan? If you are grateful to Sultan, shouldn't you do something for Sultan?

Out of some inner guilt, Emperor Sai would not ask them to send food, but he still had to send troops. After all, it was tradition.

Since these heirs do not have to provide food compared to their brothers, it is always appropriate to help the Sultan.

I just want to use the connections between these Kurds to incite some troubles for the Qajar dynasty and keep him busy. If these Kurds still live up to their expectations, Emperor Sai would not mind giving them some assistance and allowing them to establish a country.

How could the great Kurdish nation succumb to the evil rule of the Qajar dynasty!

This kind of oppression is unjust and inappropriate. It should be changed and should be helped by civilized countries.

The great Kurdish nation should be liberated, and their pursuit of freedom and independence is worthy of recognition.

As a member of the Sunni sect, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire would never allow these fellow Sunni believers to be oppressed by the heretical Shia Qajar dynasty.

You said there are Kurds in the Ottoman Empire, why not let them establish an independent country.

This is simply nonsense. There are no Kurds in the Ottoman Empire. To borrow a later saying from Kemal, these are no Kurds. They are clearly mountain Turks.

You said he doesn't know Turkish, so what's the matter? Didn't you already say he is a mountain Turk? It is normal for mountain Turks to have poor education, and it is also normal for them not to speak Turkish.

After thinking for a while, Emperor Sai had convinced himself morally, psychologically, logically, etc.

At this time, Haji Pasha's face was a little ugly. From the Sultan's expression, he could conclude that the Sultan must have been persuaded by Yusuf Pasha.

After a while, Selim spoke.

"Dear Haji Pasha, let's put aside the Kurdish issue for now. What do you think about Oman's handling?"

"Oman? Your Majesty, I think Oman should not be impatient. Oman has the support of the British behind it. It is not wise to rashly try to annex them.

It seems to me that we might try to make them nominally subject to our rule.

Oman's navy is very good. At least our Persian Gulf Fleet and Red Sea Fleet combined cannot compare to each other.

This is due to their excellent shipbuilding industry and sailors.

These two are exactly what the empire lacks. Through nominal surrender, we can ask the other party to share naval resources with us.

As for how to make the other party submit to the rule of the empire in name, as the caliph of the Islamic world, you should have the right to rule Oman.

Of course, this kind of nominal dominance will definitely not make Oman surrender, so we have to fight with the opponent's army. It is best to completely eliminate the opponent's land power, and then take the opportunity to capture Muscat. .

After weakening the other party and giving us an absolute advantage, we can then negotiate with the other party. "

Haji Pasha said sternly that he had to save some face through his approach to Aman.