The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1659 There is no cure
Grand Vizier Olma frowned and finally said what he had been wanting to say all along.

"Where did all the loans from Britain and France go? There's no money for military reform, no money for economic reform, businessmen can't get loans, the new army has no money, the government has no money, and we even have to piece together the debts of the Russians."

Where did our money go?

No one answered, but the Grand Vizier already knew the answer in his heart.

"The quantity of new artillery and rifles procured is less than one-third of the order agreed upon with the British, and British arms dealers are already coming to us!"

The Grand Vizier's words caused Ahmed Yilmaz to break out in a cold sweat, and he couldn't help but back away.

However, Olma had no intention of letting his former subordinate off the hook, and he continued to ask.

Why are our soldiers still carrying outdated flintlock rifles? Why are cadets at the NCO academy complaining about not getting paid? Why do soldiers freeze to death in the mountains every year due to a lack of winter clothing?

Ahmed Yilmaz swallowed hard.

"Your Excellency Grand Vizier, not all of that money was used for our new army! We only received a small portion of it!"
But I have a clear record of where the money spent on our new army went!
Please investigate this matter thoroughly!

At this moment, Olma turned to look at the finance minister beside him, and Deftdal immediately stammered.

"Grand Vizier, as you know, our Ottoman Empire still has many old debts to repay."

These debts mainly came from domestic merchants, European bankers, and the support from various families.

"Borrowing new money to pay off old debts? But where did all that money go?"

Olma Pasha pressed for an answer.

“Grand Vizier, you always have to pay interest on loans. So much money will naturally generate a huge amount of interest, it’s a bottomless pit, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Deftdal shrugged, indicating that he had really done his best.

The so-called "borrowing new money to repay old debts" is actually a legal financial version of "robbing Peter to pay Paul." As long as the wall is strong enough and both parties are transparent, the hole can be temporarily plugged, and even good fortune can be averted.

However, if the intended use is concealed or the guarantor is unaware, it could result in losing both money and the person involved.

These words sound fine according to modern business logic, but they become somewhat intriguing when considered in the context of the time, since those so-called bottomless pits were mostly meticulously designed by people.

At that time, it was not uncommon for private lending rates to exceed 10%, but the interest rates on large sums of money lent to the national government rarely exceeded 8% in practice.

In fact, the interest rates on loans from banks around the world to the Ottoman Empire were mostly between 6% and 8%.

However, the interest rates for loans taken out by the great nobles within the Ottoman Empire were outrageous. If a European banker saw those loan lists, he would surely suspect that they were filled out haphazardly.

In fact, those princes and officials used their power to drastically increase the interest rates on their loans. They didn't even care whether they could get their principal back, or rather, they wanted to lend money indefinitely so they could keep reaping the benefits.

This practice had long been customary among the Ottoman bureaucracy and nobility, and it was one of their important sources of income. Some exceptionally powerful individuals could even conjure up money out of thin air and lend it to the state treasury, thereby obtaining long-term legitimate income.

At this point, Olma already knew he couldn't investigate any further. The Ottoman Empire's bureaucratic system was far too complex, with an ambiguous relationship between the Sultan's private treasury and the national treasury.

Before the Tanzimat reforms, Sudan's private treasury and state treasury were not separated, which made it easier to investigate, since Sudan did not want to have an extra debt on its head.

However, after the reforms, Sudan's private treasury was nominally separate from the state treasury.

But when Sudan needs money, it actually comes from the national treasury.

This includes, but is not limited to, the construction of new palaces, the holding of celebrations, weddings and funerals within the Sultan's family, the rewards given to officials, and all daily expenses, all of which are paid for from the national treasury.

If this matter continues to be investigated, it will most likely eventually lead to the Sultan and the Queen Mother, which will certainly affect the country's dignity and authority.

Most importantly, this matter will not have any substantial results; the problem may simply fade away, but the person who created the problem will definitely be held accountable.

Olma had already climbed to the position of Grand Vizier, which was no small feat for someone not born within the Ottoman Empire, and he had no intention of becoming a martyr.

Olma came to the Ottoman Empire to get promoted and make money; otherwise, wouldn't it have been better for him to stay in the Austrian Empire's army as a minor clerk?
Of course, if he could, Olma would still prefer to be the prime minister of a powerful country, but the reality is that he is powerless to do so.

The Ottoman Empire's extravagant aristocracy and bureaucracy, bloated administrative system, and deeply ingrained traditional values ​​gave it an air of decay.

Megid I also harbored dreams of achieving great things and changing the fate of the Ottoman Empire, but faced with constraints from all sides, he ultimately had no choice but to give up.

Although the matter came to an abrupt end, the arguments continued, with the various factions indulging in the thrill of mutual attacks, seemingly forgetting that the Russians were closing in step by step.

In fact, the Ottomans were quite ambitious. They wanted to establish a modern banking and credit system throughout the Ottoman Empire to support local industries and encourage the development of industry and commerce.

Unfortunately, although the bank was established, it did not have the money to lend to businesses, and even when it did have the money, it was high-interest loans.

Moreover, these usurious loans issued by the Ottoman government were far more brutal than ordinary usurious loans; they would even send troops to forcibly collect the interest.

Of course, some people do manage to get genuinely low-interest loans, but these people are often closely connected with certain powerful figures. Even if they get the money, they may not necessarily start businesses or invest in production.

Instead, they are more likely to use these low-interest loans for usury, which not only fails to develop the economy but also creates more rentiers.

The most outrageous thing was the Ottoman Empire's naval construction. The British originally intended to help the Ottomans restore their naval strength and rebuild a large fleet of more than one hundred ships, including twelve sailing battleships and ten steam frigates.

However, at this time the Ottoman Navy only had eight steam frigates ordered from Britain, three decommissioned British sailing battleships, eight old sailing battleships that should have been decommissioned long ago, and various light vessels, totaling only 42 ships.

This strength was far inferior to that of Russia, and completely incomparable to that of Britain and Austria.

On the other hand, Murad V was unaware of the underhanded dealings involved; he only knew that his country was on the defensive at the time, which greatly displeased him.

"Why do you only have a defensive plan and no offensive plan? Do you know how Napoleon marched to Moscow?"
Attack! Attack! Attack again!