sultan's crescent

Chapter 125
Selim thinks that his reforms can be said to be tough and gentle at the same time.

The fierce thing is that Selim has always been relentless when it comes to the power of the monarch.

He will severely crack down on any political forces capable of threatening the absolute monarchy and centralization.

In this world of great controversy, if the central government of the Ottoman Empire still needs to negotiate with the local wealthy families, then don't reform, it is better to cut itself directly.

Only by establishing a stable and effective autocratic monarchy can the reforms of the Ottoman Empire be pushed forward step by step with an iron fist. Only in this way can this ancient and decaying empire be brought back on track step by step.

This is also the reason why Selim launched the Russian-Turkish war in the first place, and he needed to use this to regain power.

As for whether the Ottoman Empire can fight or not, this is nothing more than a question of tactics and troops.

In terms of tactics, it can be said that it is quite in place to lure the enemy to go deep and then counterattack, and strive to attack with superior forces in each battle.

As for the army, are the soldiers of the Ottoman Empire really much worse than the Tsarist Russian army?That's really not the case.

Tsarist Russia's military strength is actually not strong. In terms of recent large-scale wars, his performance in the Seven Years War was not too impressive.

Throughout the Seven Years War, the most eye-catching performances were actually the Austrian army and the Prussian army under the command of Daun.

Dawn is known for his skills in defensive warfare and reorganizing defeated troops.

He fought four times with Frederick the Great of Prussia, winning three and one loss, and was called the Fabian of Germany by Frederick.

(Fabian is the consul of Rome, titled "Procrastinator". He is famous in the annals of history for using delaying tactics against Hannibal in the Second Punic War and saving Rome from danger.)

The French army has a relatively high military quality, and it is purely because the commander pulls his hips, which makes the French army's record not good.

The Prussian army has a relatively high military quality, and its commanding ability is quite good, but it often fights more with less.

The Austrian army under the command of Daun can be said to be another peak after Prince Eugen.

Eugen is considered to be one of the most outstanding military commanders in the history of Austria and even Europe.

French Generalissimo Herman Maurice Sax, King Frederick II of Prussia, and French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte all admired him.

He has defeated France, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Spain, which can be regarded as full of experience.

It's just that after the peak, there is a decline. The Austrian army in Selim's period, um, can only be said to be of average combat power.

As for the Russian army, the quality of the Russian army is even worse.

Judging from the marching regulations at the end of the 18th century, the Russian army is inferior to the French, Prussian, Austrian and British lobster soldiers in terms of marching footwork alone.

Don't underestimate the British army in this period, the lobster soldier is actually just a joking name.

When it comes to the army, Britain has always been relatively strong.

During the Hundred Years' War, the unlucky guy who relied on his son to pay the ransom was the king of France, who was captured by others more or less.

Basically, it can be said that the quality of the Russian army is considered to be the worst among the European powers at this time.

Oh, and Prussia, since the death of Frederick the Great, the Prussian army sent horses to Nanshan, pulling their hips all the way.

As for Spain, the army of salted ducks.
Emperor Sai didn't understand, he didn't feel very strong.

So the question is, what is the army of the Ottoman Empire like?
In the last Russian-Turkish war, Rumyantsev defeated the Ottoman army all the way. He was so excited that he flew into the hinterland of the Ottoman Empire, and he went deep alone.

Almost only two of the cities he conquered were connected with him.

If you are so addicted to beating, you will easily suffer retribution.

The Ottoman government who got the news quickly organized a large army to besiege.

Rumyantsev was eventually attacked by the forces of the Ottoman Khalili Pasha.

He was almost desperate at the time, thinking that he would die without a place to bury him.

It's just that Khalili Pasha's military quality is too rubbish.

Under his leadership, the Ottoman army suddenly changed its original garrison, marched towards Trajan Tucheng, passed south of the Russian army garrison, and the team dragged for several versts. Build barracks at a distance of 7 versts.

This camp of the Ottoman army was actually in a unique "pocket" between the swale and the Prut River, occupying the commanding heights passing through it.

It is bounded by the Trajan Tucheng in the north, the deep Cagur River in the west, a wide depression in the east, and the passable area in the south gradually narrows and extends to connect with the Prut Valley.

There are four valley ridges scattered like a fan in the space between the Prut River and the depression, and the middle valley ridge passes through the city of Trajan and continues southward for about 4 versts.

From all aspects, the new position of the Turkish army is superior: the Ottoman army can grasp the commanding heights; the low-lying area between the ridges can easily mobilize cavalry to attack the Russian army in the south, and even the rear of the Russian army-if the Russian army Attempt to attack the barracks of the Turkish army from here.

But Khalili Pasha's level is only at this point.

After seeing this situation, Rumyantsev immediately perceived the fatal weakness of the new position of the Ottoman army.

That is to say, the Turkish army was stationed in such a narrow area with superior forces, and the connection between the various units was cut by the ridge. Defensive state.

It is said that he once said at the time: "If the Turks dare to pitch a tent here, I will attack tonight."

Did Khalili Pasha see this problem, maybe he did, because he sent people to repair the fortifications.

It's a pity that Rumyantsev came too fast. As a result, under the leadership of Khalili Pasha, Rumyantsev defeated the Ottoman army with five times his own strength.

However, is it true that the Ottoman army cannot fight?
If he could not fight, Rumyantsev would not have such worries.

The Praetorian Guard did decline, but not all units did.

The Ottoman Empire was never that conservative.

Many soldiers of the Imperial Guard have been using the new European training methods.

This may be just an individual legion, but there are also some.

And this situation is more common in the private forces of the wealthy families of the Ottoman Empire.

An example that illustrates this very well is the artillery of the family private soldiers of the Ottoman Empire who knew mathematics.

This is outrageous, even the artillery of the Guards of the Ottoman Empire basically didn't know it.

Therefore, the military system of the Ottoman Empire was not far behind, but the commander's military quality is not flattering.

This is the reason why Selim invited Napoleon. A genius is always a genius. Tactical literacy can be learned, but strategic awareness is born.

This is also the reason why Selim promoted the new army officers with high levels in history, and at the same time asked the wealthy family to disband the private soldiers.

The military power of the empire can only be in the hands of the sultan, and there is no room for discussion.

After talking hard, let's talk softly.

To be gentle is to reform religion, and this must be done slowly.

What Emperor Saida had to do was to keep the two sides as close as possible.What are the two sides?
Namely the group of people who can become Muslims and Islam itself.

Through this slight reform, he made Islam more suitable for preaching little by little, while on the non-Muslim side, he used a large number of preferential policies to attract the conversion of the other party.

The combination of rigidity and softness can truly revive the country.

　Originally, this section was mainly about the wedding, but I hadn’t written about the hidden plot that goes with the wedding, so I was stuck all the time, so I had to procrastinate for a while.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)