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

Chapter 1682 Recruitment
In Grand Vizier Olma's office, documents were piled up like mountains. Murad V's conscription order was too sudden, or rather, the Ottoman Empire's conscription structure at that time was too loose.

"This number is far from enough. What the Sultan needs is a force capable of confronting the Holy Alliance, but our current military strength is not even enough to deal with the Russians."

Tell the local governors that if they cannot recruit enough soldiers, the vacancies will be filled by their family members.

If their family doesn't have enough descendants, they should sell their property to hire people; otherwise, their family will surely perish before the country.

Afudepasha, standing to the side, said with some concern.

"Grand Vizier, aren't you going a bit too far?"

"Too much?" Olma said irritably. "I also want to go back and sleep with my wives, but this country is about to collapse, so what's the big deal?"

"But Grand Vizier, it's the busy spring farming season now, the most crucial time of the year for farmers. Who would be willing to join the army?"

Afford Pasha's persuasion had no effect whatsoever; instead, it only made the Grand Vizier even angrier.

"I don't care if they are farmers, shepherds, or anything else. I put them in military uniforms and tell them they are fighting for the country, for Allah, for the Sultan."

This is what governors should be doing!
We can promise them honor, we can promise them wealth, and if necessary, we can use any means to force them to enlist.

There's no time to hesitate any longer!

In fact, it is not a wise move to carry out large-scale conscription at this time of year. Many families will be torn apart, fields will be abandoned, food production will be reduced, and starvation will be everywhere. These are all foreseeable future events.

For those peasants who were forcibly conscripted, the most important thing to consider was how to come back alive from the battlefield, rather than any honor or victory.

In the eyes of the Ottoman government, Russia was the culprit behind all of this, and that the arrival of the Russians would destroy everything.

But in the eyes of most ordinary Ottomans, the Ottoman government was the real culprit. Many of them had lived their entire lives in Anatolia and had never even seen what a Russian looked like.

In fact, Afdal Pasha was not entirely stingy with the people's resources. As a legitimate Ottoman, he actually harbored deep resentment towards other non-Muslims.

To Afdalpasha, the concept of a nation was a deceptive lie; deep down, he believed that those who were not of his kind must have different intentions.

While the reforms of Megid I ostensibly granted equal rights to everyone in the Ottoman Empire, some traditions remained deeply entrenched.

The so-called new army (New Order Army) was almost entirely composed of Muslims. The situation of the new army (New Ottoman Army) was slightly better at this time, but in order to prevent non-Muslims from gaining power and causing rebellion or war, most of the non-Muslim new army was still just an abstract concept.

The number of Muslims in the entire Ottoman Empire willing to fight alongside Christians was very limited, but Murad V's demands clearly did not take this into account; he only considered military feasibility.

However, if non-Muslims were not allowed to enlist, the countryside of the Ottoman Empire would likely fall into the hands of these non-Muslims, and Muslim families who had lost their men would likely become easy prey.

Moreover, if those guys aren't enlisted, Murad V's conscription targets will likely be difficult to meet.

But Grand Vizier Olma didn't care about Afdalpasha's concerns. Strictly speaking, he wasn't an Ottoman, and he didn't care what would happen to the Ottoman Empire in the future. He only wanted to preserve his hard-won life and power.

Therefore, Olma would use his power as Grand Vizier to complete Murad V's conscription task at all costs.

As for the concern of Afdalpasha about defection during the battle, Olma, who had actually been on the battlefield, didn't care. After all, even if they wanted to defect, they would need an opportunity. The Slavs didn't fully understand each other's languages, and their so-called trust was very shallow. Even if they escaped, they would most likely be arrested as spies, and to ensure this, the Ottoman army would definitely send spies to confuse the situation.

Besides the quota of 800,000 troops, the corresponding material allocation is even more critical.

The Ottoman Empire's treasury had long been emptied, and the loans from European bankers had been almost entirely spent. Now, all that remained was the Ottoman Empire's prestige, aside from further loans.

In just a few weeks, Ottoman Finance Minister Sadiq Pasha lost all his hair. Faced with mountains of bills and a massive amount of funds to be raised, few could remain rational.

"Your Excellency Grand Vizier, the treasury is already empty. This year's taxes haven't been collected yet, but even if they were, it wouldn't solve our immediate crisis."

We've always borrowed from British and French banks, but now they're raising interest rates. Furthermore, the loan details are still under negotiation, and our chances of success are slim.

Grand Vizier said with a hint of helplessness.

"Borrow as much as you can; it's better than nothing. We can't afford to lose this war."

Sadiq Pasha's face looked very grim.

"Grand Vizier, I mean we don't even have money to cover our daily expenses, let alone the war effort."

Grand Vizier's face grew even uglier. Sadiq's words were true; after hundreds of years of development, the Ottoman Empire's bureaucratic system had become unbelievably bloated.

This is a chronic problem that everyone is aware of, but the current situation is by no means normal.

“Sadiq, listen up. If anyone dares to embezzle funds again, make them explain to the Sultan what they are for. If they can’t give a clear explanation, shut them up.”

We have nowhere to retreat now. Without supplies, we can't keep the army; without an army, there is no country. If you don't want to spend the rest of your life on the run, start raising money now.

Even if the Ottoman Empire has to bear the debts of ten generations, we must fight to the very end!

Believe me, the Russians will not give us a way out. They will do the same thing they did when they took Dobroga after they breached Constantinople.”

After Russia conquered Dobroga, the locals resisted fiercely, and the Russian army carried out several sweeps. Then a plague broke out, and the Russians pointed the finger at the local Muslim population, which had been reduced to less than one-tenth, believing that they were the source of the plague.

By this time, the Muslims of Dobroga had completely disappeared.

The negotiations between Sadiq Pasha and the European bankers quickly came to an end—a 5% interest rate hike. This was the bottom line for the European bankers, because lending money to the Ottoman Empire at this point was too risky, and few were willing to take the gamble.

"This is blatant robbery!"

Grand Vizier Olma angrily rebuked.

"Grand Vizier, I know that too, but do we have any other choice?"

Finance Minister Sadiq said helplessly.