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

Chapter 1671 Murad V's Decision
Deep within an inconspicuous side hall of Topkapi Palace, a eunuch hurriedly walked to a bookshelf and pulled out a book.

Soon, the sound of a mechanism pulling chains could be heard, and then a hidden compartment appeared on the ground.

The eunuch quickly entered, and then the hidden compartment slowly closed, the bricks on the ground fitting together perfectly as if nothing had happened.

The eunuch quickly traversed the tunnel and soon arrived at a spacious and bright room. In the center of the room was a huge square table made of walnut wood, on which sat a large sand table.

The sand table includes all countries from Sudan in the south to Sweden in the north, from Persia in the east to France in the west.

The entire sand table is made up of countless squares, and each square contains a wealth of detailed information about the local area, including its mountains and rivers, human environment, customs and troop deployments.

Its exquisite craftsmanship and detailed content are unmatched even by the war tables of the major European powers.

On the sand table, a boy is lying on his back, holding a copy of "Napoleon's War".

"Honcalum, something terrible has happened! Aford Pasha wants to see you!"

Honcalam, meaning Lord, Sovereign, or Majesty, is a very old and solemn title, though usually only eunuchs would address the Ottoman Sultan in this way.

The boy casually tossed the book aside.

"Oh? That traitor? What does he want from me? Isn't the money allocated to him enough to bribe the Russian envoy?"

The eunuch in front of him was one of the boy's closest people, and he was a real eunuch, so his attitude was very casual.

The eunuch's name was Abdullah. He didn't know where he came from; he only knew that he had been sent to the palace as a eunuch to serve Majid I when he was young.

Because he grew up by the side of Majid I, he enjoyed the deep trust of Majid I.

Murad V was someone he had watched grow up. Abdullah was one of the very few people in the entire Ottoman Empire who could simultaneously gain the trust of both Queen Mother Shefkefza and Murad V.

Therefore, Abdullah was also in charge of the court's external intelligence work, and Afudpasha's little tricks did not escape the eyes of this court steward.

“Honcalum, Aford Pasha has let you down; he's messed things up. The Russians have most likely gotten what they wanted. Perhaps we can salvage the situation by killing Aford Pasha now.”

Murad V became interested after hearing Abdullah say that.

"Oh? What did that traitor say? What does he want to say now? I'd like to hear it. Make the arrangements for me."

Abdullah was an excellent servant; he did not insist on immediately preparing for the meeting as Murad V had planned.

Soon Afd Pasha met Murad V in military uniform. To be honest, although Afd Pasha was the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he was essentially an extreme xenophobe, so he disliked Western clothing, including Western military uniforms.

"Your Majesty, I, Afude, have come to report the results of my meeting with the Russian envoy."

Afudpasha's voice was solemn and resolute, like that of a martyr about to die a martyr, but Murad V showed no concern whatsoever, which made Afudpasha's heart sink.

“Your Majesty, from the day the Russian envoy arrived in Istanbul, I knew he had come for war. The firmness of his will and the wickedness of his purpose are unprecedented in my life.”

I and my colleagues in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tried every means to deal with him, but his mind was made up. It just so happened that there were some ominous things recorded in the case files by several clerks, which he used as leverage.

I am guilty."

Although Afudpasha had thought a lot on the way, his survival instincts prevailed when he met Murad V.

Although he said that he was guilty, he had already shifted all the blame onto others.

Murad V asked with little interest.

"That's all?" Aford Pasha replied in a panic.

"Your Majesty, I have finished speaking."

Murad V sat up straight and said.

"Okay, I have a question."

Afudepasha didn't understand, but he still spoke.

"Your Majesty, please speak."

Murad V said.

Why did you come to see me first, instead of the Empress Dowager?

Before Afudpasha could explain, Murad V spoke first.

“I know what you’re thinking. You’re afraid my mother will kill you to please the Russians. That’s why you came to me for a chance to survive, because you think I will believe you, let you go, and give you an important position.”

is not it? "

Afudepasha immediately knelt down, his forehead already covered in sweat.

"I dare not"

"There's nothing I wouldn't dare to do! I'm going to promote you and give you important responsibilities! I'm going to tell everyone that I'm going to stand up to the Russians!"
My father was neither wise nor brave enough back then, but I am different.

What Napoleon couldn't do, I will do!

Murad V's words at the beginning deeply moved Afudpasha, but the last sentence left him somewhat puzzled.

In any case, he has most likely survived and has also had a chance to showcase his talents.

Overjoyed, he burst into tears.

"Your Majesty, I will surely make you the King of the World, destroy Europe, and conquer the Christian world!"

In fact, Murad V had always wanted to strike first. After all, through his long-term study of Napoleon's war chronicles and memoirs, he had come to the conclusion that the side that launched the first attack, whether on land or at sea, would always win.

Murad V greatly admired Napoleon, and thus maintained a secret correspondence with Napoleon III, the emperor of the Second French Empire.

During this period, Murad V expressed his desire to conquer Russia again to Louis Napoleon on more than one occasion, and the latter also expressed his support for Murad V's idea.

Napoleon III would naturally support Murad V's idea, since the more chaotic the situation was for France, the better. It would be best if everyone was fighting each other to the death, so that France could take advantage of the chaos.

However, Murad V regarded France as an invisible ally. He believed that as long as the Ottomans launched an attack on Russia, France would definitely join in, thus forming a tripartite alliance between Britain, the Ottomans, and France.

Such a powerful military alliance would be no less powerful than the Holy Alliance, and once the Holy Alliance was defeated, the Ottomans and France could unite to expel Britain from Europe, and then the world would be divided between the Ottomans and France.

Of course, Afudpasha was unaware of Murad V's thoughts; he only knew that the Ottoman Empire was about to experience a turning point.

Seeing the young Sultan so confident, he couldn't help but relax a little. Perhaps things weren't as bad as he thought, and maybe the great Sultan had some backup plan.

By the time Viscount Strathford and Queen Mother Shefkefza learned of this, Duke Uvarov had already left Istanbul by ship.

Or rather, they only realized things might have gotten out of control when Prince Uvarov left by boat.