Bury the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 365 Do you want to pay for the Ming Dynasty?
The chaos in Ottoman was finally brought under control, but the price was a bit high - Selim III was killed, Mustafa IV was also killed, and the commander of the Ottoman Kapkulu Cavalry Legion was also lost Aliti and Grand Vizier Ozgul.

In addition, when Mustafa usurped the throne and seized power, he killed a lot of innovative Ottoman nobles. Now that Alemdar led troops to take down Istanbul and appointed Mahmoud as the new sultan, he naturally killed a lot of them. A lot of old-fashioned nobles.

Calculated in this way, Ottoman's loss this time is at least two sultans, caliphs, plus a leader of the military department, a chief minister of the dynasty, and more than half of the nobles and relatives of the capital. Well, at least it's a cramp.

Therefore, how to eliminate Ottoman's current turmoil, how to restore Ottoman's vitality as soon as possible while fulfilling the contract signed with Daming and Sand Goose, has become the most troublesome problem for the new Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II.

In addition, there are still a lot of problems waiting for Mahmud II to solve.

For example, the abuse of Waqf (that is, religious property), the financial problems of the Ottoman treasury, and the increasingly weak combat effectiveness of the army under the traditional Ottoman system.

Among these messy problems, the financial problems of the Ottoman treasury are the most troublesome.

The first is the military expenses to be paid to Sand Goose, the second is the military pay required by the Ottoman army, and the third is the construction costs required for the establishment of the concession.

In short, there is a lack of money, an extreme lack of money, so short that Mahmud II wanted to sell the Topkapi Palace for money.

Of course, the financial problem of the treasury is only a headache for Mahmud II. Even if Mahmud wants to sell the Topkapi Palace for money, it will not cause Mahmud II a headache so much that he wants to die.

It was Alemdar Mustafa Pasha who really gave Mahmud II such a headache that he wanted to die.

Had it not been for Alemdar Mustafa Pasha who led his troops to attack Istanbul, Mustafa IV would not have jumped the wall, Selim III would not have died, and Mahmud would not have become the Ottoman Sultan and caliph.

Therefore, whether it is calculated from the previous war with Sand Goose or simply calculated from the interests of Mahmud, Alemdar Mustafa Pasha has made meritorious service.

As the former Grand Vizier Ozgul said, Alemdar Mustafa Pasha had served Ottoman, been wounded, and bled.

It is basically a matter of course to make Alemdar Mustafa Pasha the new Grand Vizier.

However, from a political point of view, it is definitely not the right choice to make Alemdar Mustafa Pasha, who has actual military power, the new Grand Vizier.

What's more, Alemdar Mustafa Pasha is a very radical reformer, and he can't wait to implement all the reforms enacted by Selim III immediately, while Mahmud II obviously hopes to be more stable.

This is where the differences between the two parties come from.

If it weren't for Alemdar who needed Mahmud to support his reforms as a sultan and caliph, and if it wasn't for Mahmud II who needed Alemdar's support to secure his position as a sultan, I'm afraid the two of them would have died a long time ago. Parted ways.

It is precisely this kind of situation that no one can do without the other, so Mahmud II and Alemdar can only suppress their inner discomfort and try to compromise with each other.

Alemdar no longer demanded the immediate and comprehensive implementation of the reform system enacted by Selim III, and Mahmud II also recognized the "Alliance Charter" agreement reached between Alemdar and the Anatolian rebels.

In addition, Mahmoud II and Alemdar also changed the institutions belonging to the Ottoman court into a yamen system similar to that of the Ming Dynasty. Various "departments" replaced the original yamen, and a large number of committees were established. , At the same time, the treatment of civil servants was improved and their salaries were increased.

But, after all, Mahmoud II ascended the throne hastily, and most of the innovative systems formulated by Selim III are in a state of ignorance, and Alemdar has led troops to fight all year round, so his personality is inevitably a bit arrogant. He is also far less familiar with politics than the grand viziers during the period of Selim III and Mustafa IV.

This also led to the superficial innovations promoted by Mahmud II and Alemdar.

What's even more damning is that because he has been actively participating in Europa's circle, Osman has been deeply influenced by Europa in many ways, such as the style of luxury and waste.

The Ottoman innovative nobles were even obsessed with the operas, music and various performances of France and the noodle country. How the European nobles consumed and enjoyed themselves, the dignitaries and wealthy businessmen of the Ottoman Empire were not far behind.

European-style furniture and daily necessities were grandly placed in the homes of dignitaries and wealthy citizens. Merchants, nobles and celebrities moved out of their residences in the old city and lived in Italian-style villas along the Bosphorus, the big city of the Ottoman Empire. Here, many French-style parks have also been built.

For a while, Osman even had an atmosphere of dancing with demons.

According to the records of the Austrian politician Metternich, he once participated in the social evening held by the British ambassador in Istanbul, and found that the dignitaries and dignitaries of the Ottoman Empire defied the canon in order to show their openness and proficiency in European etiquette. Champagne, playing cards and even dancing with the ladies of Europa.

Therefore, Metternich's evaluation of Mahmud II's innovation is: the most serious mistake of the New Deal is that it pays too much attention to the surface and form, while ignoring the essence; It will be another result if these measures become a method suitable for the characteristics of the nation.

Of course, it doesn't matter how much of the innovation promoted by Mahmud II and Alemdar can be implemented, especially for Daming, the chaos of Ottoman's demons dancing is more like a farce, if Not for Ottoman's oil, I'm afraid no one will care about Ottoman's life or death.

Mahmoud II and Alemdar certainly knew that something was wrong with Osman's current situation. After all, the teaching of the true god said that drinking is not allowed, and women must be tightly wrapped. But no one in Osman now takes the teaching of the true god seriously. Son?
But, Osman's current situation is like a heavy vehicle going downhill, and it is difficult to change course.

What made Mahmud II and Alemdar even more troublesome was the financial pressure on the Ottoman treasury and the contracts signed with Daming.

Both of them knew very well in their hearts that whether the contract was effective or not mainly depended on who signed it with whom—whether it was the contract signed between Osman and Daming, or the contract signed between Osman and other countries, it didn't matter whether it was effective or not. Daming has the final say, Osman himself has the final say.

The point is that it costs money to fulfill the contract signed with Daming.

Whether it is the establishment of the concession, or the exploration and transportation of oil, Ottoman needs to pay a sum of money first, and Ottoman's treasury happens to be unable to provide that much money.

In desperation, Mahmud II and Alemdar could only sit together and discuss slowly.

Alemdar's proposal is very punishable: "It is very reasonable and legal to prohibit officials from collecting fees from people who cross the state and provinces, and it is very reasonable and legal for the Ottoman Empire to collect fees, which is in line with the teachings of the true God."

However, Mahmud II, who has been studying the culture of the Ming Dynasty recently, has a different opinion: "The sages of the Ming Dynasty said that nothing is more terrifying than a tiger. Once the oppressed civilians cannot survive, the civilians will stand up and rebel. There is no fundamental difference between prohibiting officials from collecting taxes from people crossing states and provinces and changing to the Ottoman Empire, and it is likely to bring greater turmoil to the Ottomans."

Seeing that his proposal was rejected, Alemdar went on to propose another very dubious plan: "Let high taxes be imposed on the Kafirs, especially those nobles who followed Mustafa IV. , They have already abandoned the belief of the true God, and copying their property is naturally in line with the teaching of the true God."

Mahmud II still disagreed with Alemdar's proposal: "Istanbul is already messy enough. If the cleaning continues, I am afraid that the entire Ottomans will have to be cleaned. This kind of cruel cleaning will only force those nobles. Raise troops and cause chaos."

"In addition, if the nobles of the traditional conservative sect have already abandoned their belief in the true God, what about the behavior of the nobles of the reformist sect who drink, dance, and even "did not cover their bodies"? Could it be that they are also called Kafei? le?"

"Then Osman will be even more chaotic!"

Mahmoud II opposed his proposal one after another, which made Alemdar feel very uncomfortable.

After thinking about it for a long time, he couldn't think of any other reliable method. Alemdal simply chose to flip the table: "This won't work, and that won't work. Do you have any good solution?"

However, what Alemdar did not expect was that Mahmud II nodded seriously, took a picture of a newspaper on the table, and then tentatively said: "Why can't we borrow money from the Ming Dynasty like France? "

Before Alemdar could react, Mahmud II asked himself and said: "The Ming Dynasty needs a lot of oil, and our Ottomans have the largest oil reserves, isn't it true?"

After Alemdar nodded foolishly, Mahmud II went on to say: "We will use the oil as collateral to borrow Ming Guolong Yuanbao banknotes of [-] billion [-] million Ming Guolong. Take oil as payment."

"Besides, there is an even greater benefit to borrowing money from Ming."

"Look at France, how poor France was before, and the Saxon bandits in England would bully France from time to time, but since France borrowed money from Ming, have the Saxon bandits in England become more honest? "

"There is also Portugal. The original Portugal seemed to be going cold, but it turned out that it suddenly owed a large amount of money to the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, no one in the countries in Europa dare to touch Portugal. debt."

Alemdar looked at Mahmud II with a confused face. Although he always felt that something was wrong, Alemdar thought for a long time but couldn't figure out what was wrong.

It seems that there is nothing wrong with it?
Mahmoud II went on to say: "I remember that in the agreement signed between Mahmoud and the Ming Dynasty, it was agreed that Ottomans can send no more than 1000 foreign students to the Ming Dynasty. The annual cost of each student is about Ten thousand dragon yuan, 1000 foreign students is [-] million dragon yuan. Such a large amount of money will definitely put an unimaginable pressure on Ottoman's treasury. You can’t afford to send a hundred foreign students.”

Hearing this, Alemdar couldn't help complaining in his heart - if you don't repair the French-style "Dorma Bachche Palace", the Ottomans that lie between the Ming Dynasty and Europa will not be in trouble. Poor like a bird now!

Also, if it wasn't for the Ottoman sultan who took the lead in extravagance and corruption, how could the nobles of the reformation faction do such behaviors as drinking and dancing that betrayed the belief of the true god?
Well now, how the hell do you have the face to say that the financial pressure on the treasury is too great?

After complaining secretly, Alemdar finally agreed to Mahmud II's proposal. Anyway, Osman is now as poor as a dog, and it seems no big deal to owe more debt.

However, the decision of Alemdar and Mahmud II surprised even Zhu Jinsong, the emperor of Ming Dynasty—they all said that there was a piece of cloth on his head, and I was the richest in the world, and I should be the richest Osman. Want to borrow money from Daming?

Moreover, after borrowing money from Ming Dynasty, it was used to develop Ottoman domestic innovations, less than half of which was for the purchase of ordnance, and the plan to pay for Ottoman students abroad accounted for only a small part, even ten percent. Not even one or two.

Zhu Jinsong suddenly thought of a word.

Blank ticket?

After thinking about it, Zhu Jinsong simply asked people to call Zeng Cheng, Liu Huaiwen and other bigwigs into the palace, and then directly threw the information to Liu Huaiwen: "Uncle Huaiwen, Osman said that their treasury is under pressure. It’s very big, you want to borrow [-] billion [-] million from our Daming treasury, and pay it back to us every year in installments, what do you think?”

Liu Huaiwen couldn't help but rolled his eyes, and said, "I don't think so! His Ottoman's treasury is empty, isn't our Daming's treasury not empty? If it wasn't because the treasury was empty, how could the poor and poor department give them money?" One thousand places for studying abroad?"

But after Liu Huaiwen's voice fell, Zeng Cheng, the chief assistant of the Ming Dynasty, suddenly said: "Lend it to him! Isn't it just one billion eight hundred million dragon ingots, lend them first!"

(End of this chapter)