I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1086 Target Suez

“Selim III is worried that we will station troops in Egypt.” Joseph smiled. “Well then, I’ll have to trouble you to make another trip to Constantinople.”

Talleyrand bowed and said, “As you command, Your Highness. I will depart tomorrow.”

The palace guards ahead had already pushed open the doors to the Hall of Mirrors. Joseph turned his head and instructed, "By the way, you should also go and see that officer named Muhammad Ali, and tell him to make preparations in advance."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Joseph entered the ballroom, the court orchestra playing "The King's Hymn" in his ears, but his mind was preoccupied with how to stabilize the situation in the Suez region and how to raise the enormous funds needed for the future construction of the canal that would shake the whole of Europe.

……

Ottoman.

Constantine.

Inside the opulent halls of Topkapi Palace, British Foreign Secretary Fox looked on with a mixture of confusion and astonishment.

He glanced at the translator beside him, then looked at the newly appointed Ottoman Grand Vizier Izet: "Are you sure you understand what I mean? I mean, 8 flintlock muskets and 30 cannons, ample instructors, and..."

Izzet replied directly in English, "Yes, I understand, Your Excellency. However, our country has no plans to expand its military at the moment, and we do not wish to have a conflict with France or Russia."

"Why?" Fox was getting impatient. He had traveled across the Mediterranean to get here and spent a great deal of time persuading the Ottomans, but they had rejected the Empire's military aid without hesitation.

"Are you just going to sit idly by and watch the French occupy Algiers? I assure you, if you want to reclaim your interests, our country will give you its full support. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

Izette rested her hands on her knees and leaned forward slightly: "Your Excellency, if His Majesty the Sultan truly intends to send troops to Algiers, he must first cross Egypt."

"You know that Murad and Ibrahim will certainly not agree to the Sultan's army entering Egypt."

“If you are willing to send 1 expeditionary troops to help us defeat these two dictators, I believe His Majesty the Sultan will gladly accept your offer.”

He was referring to the two leaders of the Mamluk Sultanate, who are currently the de facto rulers of Egypt.

Fox stood up, somewhat annoyed. These foolish Ottomans, making such an arrogant demand.

"Perhaps when the Sultan changes his mind, you will have to come to London and talk to me about this."

Izzet gave a polite smile and rose to see him off, inwardly scoffing at the self-important Englishman.

Just a week ago, the French Foreign Minister promised Sudan that France would send at least 1 troops to help the empire suppress the Mamluk rebels and withdraw from Egypt immediately after the war, in exchange for Sudan's recognition of French control over Algiers.

The Mamluks have been a major threat to the empire for over 200 years. If they can be completely eliminated, the empire will once again rule over the extremely wealthy Egypt.

In comparison, Algiers, far away and practically independent of the empire, was utterly worthless. In fact, Algiers had stopped sending even symbolic tribute to Constantine.

The British, in their attempt to provoke a conflict between the Empire and France with cheap weapons, were practically making a fool of him. Indeed, "assisting the Ottomans in reclaiming Egypt" was Joseph's strategy to appease Selim III.

Trade between France and Turkey was growing, and Ottoman cotton and sugarcane were raw materials that France desperately needed. Therefore, the situation in Algiers must not cause any discord between the two countries.

If France wants to achieve its strategic goal of building the Suez Canal, it must first deal with the Mamluk separatist regime.

It could be said that they went with the flow.

Joseph knew very well that the Mamluks had ruled Egypt for centuries, their influence permeating every corner of the country. Even if he could defeat the Mamluk army and eliminate Murad and Ibrahim, controlling Egypt would still require bypassing the Mamluk forces.

Historically, Napoleon first killed a large number of Mamluk leaders, then confiscated their property, and used a combination of divide and conquer tactics, which took three years, but he still failed to completely control Egypt.

Later, after the French suffered a naval defeat at the Battle of Interfalgar and withdrew from Egypt, the remaining Mamluks immediately resurfaced. The British, who occupied Egypt, were powerless against them and had no choice but to give up and leave amidst frequent riots in Egypt.

It wasn't until Mohammed Ali became the governor of Egypt and carefully cultivated the region for nearly ten years, winning over religious forces and the common people, that the Mamluks' power was truly brought to an end.

Therefore, Joseph was not worried at all that the Ottomans would drive France out of the country after they recaptured Egypt.

Muhammad Ali was a very capable and ambitious man. After taking control of Egypt, he immediately began to expand into the Hejaz, which later became Saudi Arabia.

Subsequently, he successively occupied Palestine, Syria, Transjordan, and other places. His military advance reached Constantinople, and he nearly destroyed the Ottoman Empire.

Ali was forced to withdraw his troops only after Britain, France, and Russia intervened with a joint force, fearing the emergence of a powerful empire in the Middle East.

Even so, he later launched several wars against the Ottomans. It wasn't until he grew old and frail that the Ottomans finally found peace.

Joseph was waiting for the Ottomans to be overwhelmed by Muhammad Ali before stepping in to "mediate" the conflict between Egypt and Turkey, naturally with his army.

At that time, both Egypt and Turkey would need France's help, and Joseph would be able to take the opportunity to seek control of the Suez region and then begin digging the canal.

It is estimated that construction will begin 30 to 40 years earlier than in previous years.

After a routine banquet, Isett saw the British Foreign Secretary off to his ship and immediately began to assemble his army—although France was helping, the Empire still needed to be well prepared to contend with such a powerful military group as the Mamluks.

The overall commander was Kuja Sokuru. He would command 3 Janissary guards, plus Deli cavalry and Haidut infantry, totaling more than 2 men as the main force.

The French seemed to greatly admire the officer named Muhammad Ali and proposed that he lead the Albanian army into battle.

Although Isette didn't particularly like this disobedient officer, she had to admit that he was quite capable in warfare—his ability to single-handedly wreak havoc on Wallachia last time was proof of that—so she accepted the French's suggestion.

Starting in late June, nearly 7 Ottoman troops began intensive preparations for war.

(End of this chapter)