The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 350 The Ottomans Change Their Minds

January 1735, 1, Istanbul.

Of all the cities in the Ottoman Empire, Istanbul was the largest, wealthiest, most greedy, and most influential.

The city's royal palace, Topkapi Palace, represented the unifying force that held together the sprawling empire, and the city sat at a point that connected the bell-shaped Asian part to the balloon-shaped European part.

The military camps here are home to the largest standing army in Europe, the famous Janissary Corps, whose lives are dedicated to war.

The shipyards near the Gulf bear witness to the Ottoman Empire's ambition to bring both the Black Sea and the White Sea under its control - of course, this did not last very long, as with the rise of European maritime power, the empire became increasingly unable to control the oceans.

Just as an imperial army marching through the countryside could feed itself without the help of nearby villages, Istanbul seemed to need no help from surrounding areas and could extend its tentacles directly to the most remote corners of the empire.

During this period, Istanbul baked 270 tons of bread every day, slaughtered 2 cows a month, and slaughtered as many as 700 million sheep and lambs a year - one-tenth of which was sent to the palace. More than 2000 ships brought food to the city every year.

Princes and servants along the Black Sea coast provided nuts and fruits to the city of Istanbul, fiefdoms on the Balkan Peninsula provided timber for the empire's fleet, Bulgarian herdsmen raised horses for the empire's cavalry, Greeks on the islands ground olives for His Majesty the Sultan, countless fishermen cast their nets, and from the sacred shores of Lake Ohrid in the Macedonian mountains, the Sultan's messengers galloped out non-stop, carrying buckets of delicious salmon that were rarely seen in the world.

The Ottomans themselves did not actually do much business, but they collected taxes from businessmen, both on imports and exports, and were willing to offer preferential trade policies to any country that promised a stable supply.

The first country to benefit from this treatment was France, which, as the empire's only Catholic ally, was allowed to enjoy preferential tariffs, buy a limited number of Ottoman goods, and import anything else it chose.

Later, the English also obtained this trade advantage, and soon after, the Dutch also succeeded.

However, if we talk about which country enjoyed the most favorable, largest and least restrictive trade policy in the Ottoman Empire, it must be Qi.

Moreover, with the increasing invasion of Qi's commercial power, the French, English, Dutch, and even the humiliating Venetians and Genoese were slowly squeezed out of the huge Ottoman Empire market and reduced to insignificant marginal roles.

In the city’s most famous Grand Bazar, there are more than 4,000 shops and more than 2,000 workshops, and almost 70% of them are run by Qi merchants or have Qi capital involved.

Here you can find all the goods you want: patterned brocade and exquisite porcelain from the Eastern Qin Dynasty, velvet from the Persian Empire, carpets from Anatolia, shawls and cashmere products from India, fine cotton cloth from Qi, exquisite pocket watches and clocks, as well as a variety of industrial products.

The slave market was located at the southernmost part of the Grand Bazaar, near the Bayezid Shrine. The most prized "goods" were slaves from the countries along the northern border of the Ottoman Empire, including Circassians, Russians, Poles, and even black women from the farthest reaches of Africa.

It was said that there were more than 2,000 slave traders in Istanbul, who lived in a large hotel behind the slave market and were a ruthless group of people who encouraged potential buyers to inspect every aspect of the slaves being sold.

You'll see buyers checking slaves' mouths to see if they have missing teeth, then checking thighs and "most intimate parts." Losing virginity lowers a young girl's price. Buyers can take a slave home overnight before paying, in theory to see if she's snoring and bothering her master, but no doubt also to assess other aspects of "quality."

Of course, slave traders will give more discounts to customers who buy in bulk.

Last year, as the Crimean Khanate launched a new round of invasions into the Russian Empire, the supply of slaves suddenly increased sharply, causing a severe impact on the Istanbul slave market.

All slave traders were actively looking for new customers. The limited market of the empire alone could not absorb so many "goods". In addition, the Barbary pirates in the Maghreb region (North Africa) were also competing with them for customers, constantly offering discounts and promotions, various offers, and using their superior geographical location to attract many potential buyers.

Sometimes you might see stall owners looking nervous in Istanbul's many markets. That's because they spot the inspectors patrolling the markets to make sure everything is in order. The inspectors' job is to check the merchandise and try to stop merchants from taking more than 10% profit.

However, the latter task was almost impossible to accomplish, because merchants had various ways to circumvent or escape the 10% profit ban, especially those from foreign countries, who could escape punishment by virtue of the extraterritoriality granted by the empire even if they were found to have violated this principle.

Once an illegal businessman was arrested, he was immediately thrown to the ground and his feet were whipped. For the next few days, he would stagger in agony.

Every week, if there are no other particularly urgent matters to deal with, the Imperial Grand Vizier will inspect with the market supervisor. One of the many duties of the Grand Vizier is the market inspector.

"The imperial market would be much more depressed without you Qi merchants. On behalf of His Majesty the Sultan and the imperial government, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you Qi merchants."

Grand Vizier Topal Osman, surrounded by many officials and guards, strolled in the bustling market. Beside him, there was a middle-aged man with an oriental face, with a warm smile on his slightly plump face, who followed him closely.

"Grand Vizier, we Qi merchants sincerely thank the Empire for all the preferential trade policies it has given us." Qiu Yanjie, the chief treasurer of the Qi Ottoman Trading Company, bowed slightly to Grand Vizier and said sincerely, "Over the years, if the Empire had not created a fair and orderly business environment for us Qi merchants, we would not have achieved such a brilliant success today."

Oh, if you Ottomans were not open enough, how could our Qi commercial forces dominate the market so easily?
Grand Vizier Topal Osman nodded and said casually, "In recent years, His Majesty the Sultan and the government have frequently received feedback from diplomatic envoys and business groups from various countries, saying that the Empire's trade policy is extremely unfair. In terms of tariffs, domestic circulation taxes, commodity consumption taxes, and commodity import and export licenses, too many concessions are given to Qi merchants, which is an unfair act towards other merchants."

"Oh?" Qiu Yanjie rolled his eyes after hearing this, and then said angrily: "Da Weiqi, what those merchants said is completely unfounded. As everyone knows, the goods of our Qi country are not only the best in the world, but also the cheapest. It is precisely because of the large number of Qi country goods that the market of the empire has become so prosperous and flourishing. And it is also because of the large number of cheap and high-quality Qi country goods that the millions of people in the empire can enjoy a life that people in other countries cannot have. It can be said that the existence of Qi country goods has invisibly created more social value and people's livelihood benefits for the empire, and contributed a steady stream of tax revenue and finance to the empire."

"Haha..." Grand Vizitopal Osman smiled, "But it is precisely because of the continuous influx of goods from your country of Qi that the empire's gold and silver are constantly flowing out, causing the empire's finances to become increasingly difficult. Mr. Qiu, do you think that if the empire reduces the amount of goods imported from Qi, it can slightly improve the phenomenon of gold and silver outflow, and then alleviate the empire's financial problems?"

"..." Qiu Yanjie paused and considered his words. "Grand Vizier, if the Empire adopts a policy of restricting the import of Qi goods, it will not only hurt our Qi merchants, but the biggest losses will be suffered by the Imperial Government and tens of millions of Imperial citizens. You can imagine that if the Imperial market lacks high-quality and low-priced Qi goods, it will inevitably cause a shortage of market materials. The Empire's fiscal revenue will continue to decrease, and the volume of commodity transactions will continue to shrink. The people will be dissatisfied because they cannot buy suitable goods, and the entire market will become extremely depressed. All this should be what Grand Vizier does not want to see, right?"

"Is it really that serious?" Grand Vizier Topal Osman smiled, then stopped and looked at the powerful Qi businessman. "Otherwise, Mr. Qiu should go to Egypt and invite your Qi envoy back to Istanbul. Then we can have an in-depth discussion on this issue and decide whether to impose restrictions on Qi goods."

"..." Qiu Yanjie understood immediately after hearing this, "Well, it just so happens that I will be going to Egypt in a few days. I will then convey the invitation of the Grand Vizier to my Qi envoy."

Damn it, you wanted to see my envoy from Qi State, but you had to go through so much trouble and even brought up trade as an issue.

I was so scared that I thought that the Ottoman Empire was going to completely change its direction and was ready to part ways with our Qi State. Seeing that the other party was so sensible, Grand Vizier Topal Osman nodded with satisfaction, then stepped forward and continued to inspect the market.

The Crimean Khanate's massive invasion of the southern Russian steppes completely angered the Russians.

In addition, the Orthodox residents in Ukraine and the Caucasus region launched armed uprisings against the Ottoman Empire and suffered bloody massacres, which further aroused the Russians' revengeful nature.

In November 1734, after settling the issue of the Polish succession, the Russian Empire immediately changed direction and began to counterattack the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate.

In mid-December 1734, Russian General Leontiev led 12 troops and, despite the severe winter cold, marched quickly to raid Perekop in the north of the Rim Khanate.

However, they did not expect that this fortress, which was originally built with rammed earth and wood, was replaced by solid bricks, stones and cement, and more than 20 artillery pieces were deployed on the top of the city. The Russian army suffered a heavy blow and failed to capture the city after several days of fierce attack. Instead, they suffered more than 5,000 casualties and heavy losses. They were forced to retreat into Russian territory and wait for follow-up reinforcements.

Through this battle, the Russian army keenly discovered that the Tatar cavalry, who were originally only able to ride horses and carry swords, were actually equipped with a large number of firearms, and had also formed a large-scale infantry musket unit, and were quite organized in terms of defense and guarding the city.

Therefore, the Russian army stopped the attack and began to take advantage of the coming winter to slowly gather soldiers recruited from all over the country towards Ukraine and Crimea. They also took the time to train new recruits and replenish supplies, waiting for the arrival of spring to launch a thundering attack on the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate.

Through small-scale troop infiltration and armed reconnaissance, the Ottomans gradually found out the basic force size and military deployment of the Russian army.

It is reported that the Russian military top brass formulated a war strategy of first south then north, first west then east, that is, first go south with superior forces to defeat the Ottoman Empire and its affiliated Crimean Khanate, as well as the Astrakhan Khanate in the Volga River Basin, and then turn back to deal with the military threat from the Kingdom of Sweden.

After gradually dealing with several enemies in western Europe, the Russian army dispatched troops to the distant Siberia region to deal with the Tatars in the east.

By the end of December, the Russian army had stockpiled more than 12 troops in the Dnieper River and Don River regions, and stationed troops in the Volga River basin. Countless military supplies were also being transported from the inland hinterland of Russia via sleds, horse-drawn carriages, sledges and other means of transportation.

It can be predicted that once spring comes, hundreds of thousands of Russian troops will inevitably attack the imperial border and the Crimean Khanate with an overwhelming force. If we do not take it seriously, not only will the left bank of the Dnieper River and the Crimean Khanate be captured by the Russian army, but they may even attack Moldavia and threaten Wallachia.

In view of this, the empire also began a general domestic mobilization, ordering the governors of each province and the subordinate principalities to immediately recruit troops and march to the Austro-Russian border area in accordance with the orders of the Imperial General Staff (in 1685, the Imperial Army General Staff was established at the suggestion of the Qi State Military Advisory Group).

At the same time, the Sultan and the Grand Vizier of the Empire also issued a series of decrees, requiring the governors of each province to send all the taxes of the current year to Istanbul for use in military supplies.

However, the empire's fragile fiscal revenue alone could not sustain a war with a rising military power like Russia. Moreover, Qi, the empire's largest financial sponsor, had not provided any economic assistance for four consecutive years. The heavy annual debt interest had already made the empire breathless.

In recent years, because there have been no large-scale external wars - of course, the numerous rebellions and riots within the empire still took up a lot of the empire's energy and financial resources - the entire empire's finances can barely support the normal operation of the government.

However, this sudden Austro-Russian War immediately detonated the empire's finances.

Without adequate military pay, not only would the Sipahi Corps from all over the place refuse to obey orders, but even the Janissary Corps of the Imperial Guard would mutiny at any moment, turn their guns around and shoot at their commanders and superiors.

What to do?
Two years ago, he had just deposed Ahmed III and raided the home of the previous Grand Vizier Daoud Ibrahim Pasha, seizing three to four million akçes, which enriched the pockets of many dignitaries and military personnel.

But if we fight a large-scale war, we can't just rob the homes of a few powerful people to raise the much-needed military funds, right?
Now, Istanbul's political situation has finally stabilized. If one wants to find some targets to confiscate and exterminate, it will be difficult. If one is not careful, it may bring disaster to oneself or break the existing balance.

Then, the only way out is to borrow money from someone.

The French are not to be relied upon, they only pay lip service and have never given any substantial support to the Empire. They always want to make the Empire's foreign policy more radical, fighting against the Austrian Emperor on one side and the Russian Empress Anna on the other, purely using us Ottomans as pawns.

A dozen days ago, after the French army suffered a major defeat in Palestro, Italy, French Minister Villeneuve asked the Ottoman Empire to send troops to attack Austria and launch an offensive from Wallachia and Serbia to attract the attention of the Austrians.

In response to the French demands, Grand Vizier Topal Osman also offered the other party a price that did not allow any room for negotiation: the two countries immediately formed an offensive and defensive alliance, each assuming the obligation to unconditionally support the other party militarily, and this alliance had to be signed in person by the Sultan of the Empire and the King of France.

This demand of the Ottoman Empire was equivalent to asking France, a Christian country, to openly ally itself with pagans, which was absolutely unacceptable to the French.

Therefore, whether it was the French Minister Villeneuve, Louis XV in the Palace of Versailles, or even Cardinal Fleury, the man in power behind the French king, all vehemently and stubbornly opposed this proposal.

But while rejecting this proposal, the French continued lengthy negotiations with the Ottoman government regarding an attack on the Austrians.
Get the hell out of here!
After careful consideration, the Ottoman Empire still felt that the people of Qi were the most reliable and their support for the empire was absolutely "sincere". Previously, whenever the empire was in crisis, it was Qi that extended a helping hand and tried its best to pull the empire out of the quagmire.

Of course, Qi also had the intention of using the empire to obtain corresponding geopolitical or commercial benefits, but at least they would pay real money and never showed any hostility towards the empire.

After their failure to regain Crete, they simply stopped economic aid without making any harsh remarks or using their influence in the Mediterranean and Persia to threaten the empire militarily.

Alas, only after losing it do we realize the value of "true love".

In this case, the empire might as well lower its stance, admit its mistakes to Qi, and ask for favor, so that the two sides can resume their relationship and be reconciled as before.

Our Ottoman Empire really cannot do without Qi!

(End of this chapter)