The Crescent of the Sultan

For Dai Ying, curbing the overexpansion of the Ottoman Empire was not the only reason that Pitt said would break the balance.

In addition to this, there is actually another point, that is, the Ottoman Empire, which has regained dominance over the old routes, is a natural threat to countries like Portugal, the Netherlands, and England.

The new sea route was opened around the fifteenth century, and in 1453, the conqueror Mehmet II captured Constantinople, and the last embers of Rome were extinguished.

The European countries, which have always buried their heads in the sand like ostriches and paid little attention to the Ottoman Empire's attacks on the Balkan countries, fully understood.

Now, a hegemon appeared on the land of Europe - the Ottoman Empire.

At this time, perhaps it is inevitable to find a replacement for the Mediterranean trade route.

This is also the reason why Kalemani Pasha appeared in Napoleon's camp today.

"General, your idea is good, but your plan is not too risky.

You must know that His Majesty is already traveling far away at this time and it is impossible to support you.

Even if His Majesty is still in Constantiniya at this time, the empire will not give you any military help at this time. Your Majesty will not take such a risk. "

Napoleon said with a smile.

"It doesn't matter, Kalemani Pasha, I don't need the Sultan to take this risk for me.

My cooperation with Sudan is to rebuild trade in the Mediterranean. Sudan already has the Eastern Mediterranean, so I will take out the Western Mediterranean.

The connection between the East and West Mediterranean is the Venetians. Ludovico Manin, the Governor of Venice, has already made plans to join forces with us. Once the plan is successful, the Sultan and I will ensure the security of Venice on land. They only need to do it at sea. Good service. "

Kalemani Pasha nodded.

"Since the general has already made his own plans, I won't interrupt him. If you need anything, please inform me in time."

Kalemani Pasha immediately turned and left. He just came to inquire about the situation. His Majesty also told him not to interfere with Napoleon's actions. Just a reminder is enough. Why bother?

Lucien Bonaparte, who had been standing aside for a long time, asked at this time.

"Brother, why do you care so much about the so-called Mediterranean trade route? We, like the British, have good ports on the Atlantic Ocean. Are Dunkirk and Calais any worse than Marseille?

Besides, the core of France is Paris, which is close to the Atlantic Ocean. Why should we value Lyon too much?

This is simply far away! "

Napoleon was amused by the young man's remarks, and he explained.

"Lucien, I'm relieved that you can see this, I'm very happy because you've grown a lot, but it's not enough.

The first thing you need to understand is that Paris has never been within easy reach for me. In fact, it was the same for many French kings.

Henry IV also had to fight hard in the "Three Henrys' War" and finally converted from Huguenot to Catholicism before he could safely enter Paris.

Louis XIV was also forced to flee in panic by the Fronde and relied on Mazarin to gain a foothold.

Paris is the center of France, the center of power, and the capital of Europe. Vienna's history is not as old as it is, the prosperity of London is not as prosperous as his past, and Madrid and Berlin are simply ridiculous in front of him.

Only two cities in Europe could compare with him, the Rome of the Pope and the Constantinople of the Ottoman Sultan.

Paris's honor is destined to be complicated. At this time, she is more dangerous than at any time in history. The Accords and Girondins fought against each other in the Assembly, the sans-culottes refused to obey, and the invaders from the north threatened her.

I, a major general born in Corsica, with no reputation, could not have her. "

Lucien nodded as if he understood.

"So, brother, is this why you chose Lyon instead of Paris?

But since we have considered the trade routes in the Mediterranean, why not choose Marseille directly? "

Napoleon brought a map, spread it out and said.

“Look here, Lucien, look carefully and you will see why I chose Lyon.

The Rhone Basin formed by the interweaving of the Rhone and Saône rivers is a treasure. This is why Lyon was the earliest in France's large cities and continues to flourish to this day.

Unlike the Rhone, which leads to the Mediterranean in the south, the Saône was a stepping stone for Lyon to join the later more complex trading system in the north.

Following a tributary of the Saône River north, you can directly insert yourself into the center of the famous Champagne Grand Market.

The Champagne Grand Market is not Champagne, but mainly four cities supported by the Count of Champagne. This Champagne Grand Market has a great background.

In the 11th and 2nd centuries, with the rise of urban merchants, many markets were born in Europe, among which the Champagne Market was located at the intersection of the German-Spanish and Flanders-Italian trade routes.

Merchants from all over the world come to trade in the Champagne Grand Market, which is a bustling super market.

If an Italian merchant needs to sell his goods to various parts of Europe, but does not want to go up the Rhone River, then the first step he has to do is to cross the Alps to Lyon, and then pass up the Saone River and go upstream. Then arrive at the Champagne Grand Market.

This route is: Italy-Alps-Lyon-Hinterland of France.

As an important transit point for southern Europe to join European trade, Lyon gained a lot from this trade route.

With the arrival of Italian merchants and the introduction of printing, in the second half of the fifteenth century, Lyon rapidly grew as an important trading node and became one of the printing industry centers in Europe.

Printing commercial papers greatly facilitated bankers' business, and Lyon soon grew into the financial center of the entire French region.

Another branch of the Saone River turns eastward, heading towards the Rhine River to connect with the productivity of the German region. The Rhine has many branches, many of which pass through the most industrially developed areas of southern Germany.

The climate of South Germany is no different than that of the Mediterranean, and growing the same crops requires more hard work and deep cultivation. Deep farming requires high-quality steel farm tools. As early as the 11th and 12th centuries, a large number of Germanic people began to study metal smelting.

This iron smelting technology soon spread to Northern Europe along the seaports in the northern part of Germany, bringing a large number of Germanic metallurgical talents and technologies to countries such as Sweden and Norway.

In the southward direction, the spread of Alpine iron products encountered a bottleneck.

The Black Forest in the Baden-Württemberg region and the Swiss Alps further south now block the transportation of iron products on the road.

The metal trade in southern France and even the Mediterranean and German regions must be carried by the Saone River, and Lyon happened to become its trade node and distribution center.

This is one of the reasons why I chose Lyon.

Second, if you have studied history, you should make your own summary and learn to analyze it yourself.

In my opinion, France has never been a country with mature maritime power thinking, because successive French kings have never deliberately operated ports on the Atlantic line for maritime hegemony.

Therefore, the entire political and economic activities in northern France actually revolve around the Île-de-France (ie Grand Paris).

Since the establishment of France's national theme framework, the goals of successive French kings have remained consistent.

To the north is the Rhineland and the Lowlands, and to the south is Northern Italy. These two richest regions in Europe have actually been coveted by successive French rulers. This is undoubtedly a very typical thinking of land power. With this France, the Atlantic ports of Lorient, Nantes, La Rochelle, and Bordeaux, which are the foundation of the country, do not actually have decisive strategic significance.

This is also a tradition that is obviously different from northern Italy and the lowlands in France, and it is also closely related to the founding history of France.

The history of France is actually centered on Paris, with the Ile-de-France and surrounding areas as its basic base, and a history of continuous expansion. Therefore, France does not rely on the sea, so that they have never fully explored their value in sea power. Although France's coastline covers a larger area than Germany's, throughout history, France has not attached as much importance to sea power as the Dutch.

Therefore, in my opinion, southern France, located on the eastern Mediterranean coast, is a relatively independent economic system compared to northern France. The Rhone River Basin is also a very unique area in the entire French territory, even in terms of the interactivity of economic activities. In particular, southern France has an even closer connection with northern Italy and the Mediterranean coast of Spain.

Therefore, no matter how long the history of Europe's economic center of gravity has been moving northward, the Mediterranean coast has always been an economic and trade hotspot. Therefore, Marseille's status can even be said to be destined, and many ports on the southern French coastline have also been destroyed due to trade and shipping. It is destined to have its irreplaceable value.

In fact, when human civilization was still in a relatively underdeveloped stage, one of the most important industries carried by ports was often fishery. The reason why the North Sea coast began to gradually compete with the Mediterranean coast in the Middle Ages was largely because of the fishery industry. The developed Beihai trade routes gradually prospered, leading to the gradual rise of important cities such as Bruges (for Beihai, Bruges was the Venice of the North in the Middle Ages).

Therefore, the two major centers of maritime trade in Western Europe have always been the Mediterranean Sea and the North Sea.

Lyon is the best place to connect Southern France near the Mediterranean Sea with Northern France near the Atlantic Ocean. "

After Napoleon finished speaking, he patted Lucien on the shoulder and told him to think for himself.

His gray-blue eyes looked out the window, thinking of the reason he hadn't mentioned to his brother.

The British already had an advantage on the sea, and it was almost impossible for France to compete with them in this regard.

In this case, then rely on the Mediterranean to compete with the British. Napoleon believed that with the cooperation between the Ottoman Empire and France, they were fully capable of competing with the British.

What's more, once the plan that the Sultan showed him, the project to connect the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, could succeed, what would the British care about?

France will once again usher in glory in his hands, the future emperor firmly believes.

Corsican independence no longer existed in him. After seeing the authority of a sultan, he was no longer willing to submit to the island.

Big update today, hehe