The Crescent of the Sultan

When Napoleon brought Louis XVI and his family back to Paris, news of Selim's "Royal Edict" had already reached here.

This thunder is still spreading, crossing the English Channel and reaching London.

Across the Rhineland, the Low Countries heard it all.

Across the Carpathian Mountains, Vienna and Berlin are known.

The Baltic Sea breeze carried all this to St. Petersburg.

London, Buckingham Palace, George III once again started a state meeting with Prime Minister Pitt in the name of a family dinner.

"So, Peter, what do you think the Sultan's chances of success are?"

While enjoying the food in front of him, George III asked Prime Minister Pitt opposite.

“Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, there is a possibility of success.

We might as well take a look at the Sultan's current hand.

The first is the army. As far as I know, the army the Sultan has on hand should be enough to overwhelm all the resistance forces in the Ottoman Empire. After all, the Mamluks and some local powerful people are already dead.

This group of people was short-sighted and could not see the situation clearly. It can be said that they deserved to be attacked by the Sultan.

The second is politics. This Sultan is the first Sultan in the past 150 years to completely get rid of the control of the Guards.

Without the armed assistance of the Guards, the group of jurists headed by the Grand Mufti was unable to confront the Sultan.

The local tax farming system has been dug into many holes by the Sultan. This is the best moment for the Ottoman Empire to establish a vertical management model for the entire country. As long as it controls the grassroots, the Ottoman Empire will become powerful again.

The third is the economy. The Sultan still has some brains. A central bank that takes orders from the country is very necessary. "

King George III hurriedly asked after hearing this.

"According to what you said, Prime Minister, he will definitely be able to succeed in reform."

Prime Minister Pitt replied calmly.

“Not so, Your Majesty, we must not only see the Sultan’s strengths, but also his weaknesses.

He needs time. In fact, his previous behavior was taking risks.

But he had no choice. The French people's thoughts were like poison. Once the national consciousness rose, it was difficult to contain it.

The diversity of ethnic groups in the Ottoman Empire was simply irritating.

For France, nationalism will only make them more united and stronger.

For Germany, this would promote their unification, even though we don't want to see it.

It will only be beneficial to Tsarist Russia and Spain.

But as for the Ottoman Empire, this country has survived to this day without disintegration. Although the Millet system played an irreplaceable role, it also laid hidden dangers.

If the above is a national issue, then the religious issue is even more divisive. It is simply unimaginable to me that in this huge empire, there is no religion that covers more than 60% of the population of the empire.

Finally, there are local issues. The administrative machinery of the Ottoman Empire is simply a pile of scum.

But this is both an advantage and a disadvantage for Sultan. The advantage is that he can shape it into what he wants at will, but the disadvantage is that this project is relatively large. "

George III nodded, and the second princess Sophia on the side intervened.

"Uncle Peter, it seems Selim is not married yet. This is not what a sultan should be like."

Pete nodded.

"Indeed, he lacks a successor, which will lead some people to wait and see about his reforms.

After all, what would happen if there was an accident and people died?

Are these also factors that must be considered? The princess is very smart. "

Hearing Peter praise his daughter, George III immediately became excited, and the conversation between the two gradually went off the rails.

Paris, National Constituent Assembly, Brissot was put into a very embarrassing situation, with attacks from Robespierre, Roland's inaction, and the failure to recover Louis XVI.

This put Brissot in a very embarrassing situation, especially since Roland had brought people back. In contrast, many Girondins felt that he was no longer suitable as a leader and turned to Roland.

Robespierre's speech continued, but Brissot could no longer listen.

"So, I think the Girondins have betrayed the revolution and you are no longer suitable to lead us. The Jacobins are the best performers of this task.

Look to the east. A sultan knows the need for reform, but our king refuses all this. Why leave the monarchy behind? "

Robespierre finished his speech, but at this time, Roland stood up.

"Dear Robespierre, I want to ask you something. On December 25 last year, that night, a grand celebration was held in Paris, but you seemed not to be there. Can you tell everyone your whereabouts? ?"

Roland's words caused a lot of discussion among the members of the House of Representatives. Listening to these words, it seemed that Robespierre had let the king go.

"You don't dare to say that, it doesn't matter, Robespierre, I say for you, you are on the city wall, on the wall of Porte Saint-Martin, right?

You don’t have to admit it, but I have witnesses. "

Robespierre remained expressionless. His experience as a lawyer made him feel that the other party was indeed prepared, but he also believed that he had not been exposed and the guards would not be able to recognize him.

"It's nonsense, Roland, it's just an excuse for you to fight for power."

"The Incorruptible" replied calmly, and the French once again performed their traditional ability - wrangling.

In Vienna, after hearing the news of Selim's edict, Leopold II just said lightly that he understood.

He walked alone on the streets of Vienna and came to Stephen's Cathedral, the ancestor of Habsburg and the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Frederick III once left a sentence here - Austria is destined.

But Leopold seemed to see no hope. He thought of the many ancestors buried under the Capuchin church.

There were two people he missed the most. Mother Maria Theresa and brother Joseph II.

Leopold still remembered the scene when his brother was buried.

His coffin is the plainest of all emperors and is easily identifiable in the royal tomb.

My brother has devoted his life to reform, but has been repeatedly frustrated.

"Although he had good intentions, he accomplished nothing in the end. He is buried here."

This is the inscription that my brother chose for himself and engraved on his simple coffin.

This made Leopold cry every time he thought about it.

The forty-three-year-old emperor looked like he was sixty years old. He walked slowly on the streets of Vienna, nostalgic for the past glory of the empire.

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