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Chapter 1127 Special Gift

Although Tabar Pasha never expressed his intention to agree to the negotiations, Wang Datou felt that his life was saved. The prime minister of the Ottoman Empire was just as the rumors said. He understood what he said and was weighing the pros and cons.

Let's add some more benefits. Who doesn't love money? Even the emperor of the Ming Empire had to count his fingers to make ends meet. Murad IV must not have been very well-off.

We don't want your cities, nor do we support the Mamluk Beys' independence. We just want to open up a trade route to the Mediterranean and create a lot of taxes for you. There is no reason why we can't talk but fight.

In addition, the Ottoman Empire’s enemies were not just the Persians. The Mediterranean to the west was also not peaceful. The profiteers of the Republic of Venice were always eyeing the Greek islands.

If the goods of the Ming Empire could flow into the Mediterranean through the Port of Suez, the ones who would suffer the most would not be the Ottoman Empire, but the Venetian profiteers who had been middlemen for generations.

At that time, the Ottoman Empire could use these goods to negotiate with the Venetians, reach an agreement that both sides could tolerate, and redefine their sphere of influence.

In that way, the Ottoman Empire could save a lot of manpower, financial resources and material resources every year in defending against Venetian maritime harassment. One could figure out this account without having to be a Sultan or a Grand Vizier.

“You know Osman very well, and you have a smart mind and eloquence, but no matter how hard you try, you can only get a little bit of dividends from the bank.

Have you ever thought about leaving Sun Moon Bank and gaining more benefits for yourself? For example, come to Osman and become a respected Bey or Pasha. I can provide a lot of help in this regard. "

Having said that, Tabar Pasha stopped pretending. As the saying goes, one should not speak in secret. But he did not want to agree to the negotiation request too readily. Instead, he wanted to play a trick to cut off the source of the trouble. If you are thinking about Suez City, then I will poach your people.

Murad IV would not raise any objection to this, as the empire's high-ranking officials included Turkmen, Georgians and Europeans. In terms of inclusiveness, the Ottoman Empire was no less than any other country.

"Thank you for your appreciation, Grand Vizier. There is a saying in the Ming Dynasty: Good birds choose trees to rest in, and good ministers choose masters to serve. My skills and life are all gifts from His Majesty the Emperor, and I will never forget it.

To show my respect, I brought a very special gift this time, but it was withheld before I met the Grand Vizier. Can you allow me to present the gift in person?"

Wang Datou politely refused this blatant temptation. What are you thinking? Bey and Pasha, let alone whether they can adapt to Islam, they just can't follow the habit of killing ministers.

Whoever does well and has made great contributions will die quickly. You must not get too close to such a monarch, and such a country has no future. The more capable one is, the faster one will die. In one or two generations, no capable people will dare to serve the country, and those who sit in high positions are all useless and ambitious.

The guards quickly brought Wang Datou's belongings up and laid them out neatly on the carpet. They were simple, a leather bag containing a pocket watch, a dagger, a first aid kit, a lighter, and a black iron object.

"This gift is very good. Not only do I recognize it, I also own one, but I did not buy it. Instead, I seized it from a Persian noble in the city of Tabriz."

Among these items, the beautifully crafted, shiny pocket watch looked the most like a gift, and it was the first to attract Tabar Pasha's attention. From his expression, he was very satisfied with the gift. He took it and played with it without waiting for the host to introduce it, and casually talked about his glorious achievements in conquering the Persians. "No, the pocket watch is for my own use, and it has my name on it. It is not suitable as a gift. It is specially prepared for the Grand Vizier. Although it looks inconspicuous, it is very rare. There may be only one in the entire Ottoman Empire and Persia!"

Wang Datou did not take advantage of the situation, but explained rudely that the pocket watch already had an owner. Then he grabbed the black iron thing, held it high in both hands and presented it to the displeased Tabar Pasha.

"..." Tabar Pasha stretched out two fingers, pinched the iron thing and lifted it up. He looked left and right for a long time, but still couldn't figure out what it was used for. He had to turn his gaze back to the messenger.

"It's a musket. If the Pasha allows, I can demonstrate how to use it." Wang Datou did not reach out to take it. If he took the gun in his hand and then said it was a gun, the possibility of being hacked to death on the spot would be very high.

"Musketeer...you show me...put your helmet on the ground!"

When Tabar Pasha heard that it was a musket, he was not panicked, nor did he suspect that the messenger was an assassin. Instead, he was very curious. He first returned the musket to the messenger, and then ordered a guard to take off the helmet and put it more than ten meters away.

There are also short muskets from Europe, about the same length as the forearm, which can be hung or inserted into the belt, but they are definitely not as small as this one, only slightly larger than the palm.

"Pah... Puff..." Wang Datou did not refuse. After the soldier put the helmet away, he sat on the carpet to prepare. He quickly held the gun with one hand, aimed slightly, and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately, the shot missed, and a cloud of dust rose from the ground a short distance from the helmet.

"Snap, snap, snap, snap... Ding, ding, puff, ding..." The soldiers of the Ottoman Guards Corps who were about to laugh were all shocked by what happened next.

The messenger did not give up because the first shot missed, and he pulled the trigger four times in succession. The black musket, which was only slightly larger than the palm, actually fired four bullets in succession, three of which hit the helmet and one hit the ground.

Five rounds in a row! In the days when muskets were still flintlock, muzzle-loading, and smoothbore, the sudden appearance of a small model that could fire five times in a row was very shocking.

"Bring me the helmet!"

Even Tabar Pasha, who had always been as calm as a rock and never showed his emotions, could not hold back. He stood up and shouted at the guards, while staring at the smoking musket in Wang Datou's hand out of the corner of his eye, all his muscles tensed.

"You can only shoot five times, and you need to reload before shooting again. I don't carry any extra bullets with me, but it doesn't matter, you can send someone back to get them at any time." Wang Datou may have sensed the cold gaze, and he picked up the musket with both hands and presented it again.

"...Do the Piyali rebels also have these guns?" Holding a metal helmet with three small holes made by bullets in one hand and a musket that was still warm in the other, Tabar Pasha felt complicated.

(End of this chapter)