I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 661 Monopoly of Mediterranean Trade

"I understand your good wishes." Melka Mohammed adjusted his huge white turban and straightened his back. "But His Majesty the Sultan has decided that our country's trade will be completely oriented towards Britain."

Talleyrand shook his head: "The girl you are infatuated with may still be smiling at you sweetly, but what you may not know is that she turns around and goes to have a tryst with your enemy.

"Ah, I mean, the man who stole the Northern Peninsula from your family."

The northernmost Ottoman peninsula was only Crimea, so he was obviously referring to Russia.

Melka Mohammed narrowed his eyes and said, "The trade between Britain and Russia has always been very close, but this does not affect the increasing number of British merchant ships coming to Constantiniya.

"Moreover, Britain's huge commercial influence on Russia may at some point be used to help us balance Russia."

"Haha," Talleyrand laughed heartily, "You actually have expectations for a woman who has changed her mind?

“Oh, you mentioned merchant ships.

"I almost forgot. The main reason I came to see you this time was to talk about merchant ships."

Ottoman Grand Vizier's face flashed with displeasure: "Although your country has obtained control of the ports of Tunis and Tripoli through some improper means, British merchant ships can completely bypass these places, replenish oars in Mitiga, and then go directly to Constantiniya."

"I must remind you that our country is only clearing out pirates. Moreover, these pirates are all from Anatolia. The Duke of Tunis decided to pledge allegiance to His Majesty the King because he was grateful for our country's just actions." Talleyrand first refuted with righteous words, and then changed his expression to talk business.

"Let's get back to the merchant ships. You should know that the rowers who boarded the ship from Mitiga would be exhausted at most by the time they reached Egypt. After that, they would either stay in Alexandria for several days or take on new rowers there.

"Either way, it will significantly increase transportation costs."

Melka Mohammed seemed to be losing his patience: "This cost is acceptable, Mr. Talleyrand. If you intend to use this as a bargaining chip, I'm afraid..."

Talleyrand took a deep breath of the coffee aroma in the cup, revealing an intoxicated look: "Such a fragrant coffee cannot be tasted even in the Palace of Versailles. Oh, if this cup of coffee can be shipped to France within 6 days, I believe it can be sold for as high as 1 franc."

"Six days?" The Grand Vizier shook his head. "Even an emergency voyage wouldn't be able to reach that speed, and that would make the cost of this cup of coffee more than 6 francs."

When people talk about coffee, most of them think of the coffee culture in Europe and subconsciously believe that it is the center of the coffee trade.

In fact, the Ottomans were the coffee overlords at that time. From Yemen to Ethiopia, the Ottomans produced more than one-third of the coffee needed by Europe. And this coffee was also an important export commodity of the Ottomans.

Less than a hundred years ago, this figure was 90%! It was not until Indonesia and America began to grow coffee on a large scale that the Ottoman monopoly was broken, but Yemeni coffee still stands out from the crowd in terms of quality and price.

The "emergency sailing" that Melka Mohammed mentioned refers to sailing through the Mediterranean at the fastest speed, regardless of the lives of the rowers. This is usually only used to convey emergency messages.

However, if used in the commercial field, the cost will be unacceptably high.

Just like the 8 franc coffee he just mentioned, the price in the Ottoman Levant port would not exceed 2 sous, and the rest was the cost of the rowers.

Talleyrand shook his coffee cup comfortably and smiled, "What if my merchant ship can maintain a speed of more than 8 knots without using oarsmen?" "How is that possible?" Melka Mohammed said nonchalantly, "It's impossible to reach such a fast speed with just sails."

"Yes. But we can rely on coal. The steamship in Brittany has started production and can arrive here from France in just 6 days." Talleyrand looked at him with a proud tone.

He laughed: "The cost is only slightly higher than that of an ordinary galley. Oh, if the British ship is supplied in Algiers, the cost will be even higher than that of a steamship."

Yes, the main stage of steam paddle steamers is inland shipping, but they can also be used in the calm waters of the Mediterranean.

Of course, there are only a few coal mines in Tunisia along the Mediterranean coast, so it is very difficult to add coal along the way. Merchant ships can only carry a large amount of coal, resulting in a decrease in cargo volume.

But this did not prevent Talleyrand from impressing the Ottomans with bright prospects.

He had just returned to Marseille after signing an agreement with Mohammed to promote trade, and heard the news that the Brest shipyard had begun producing steam paddle steamers. He immediately realized that this could be used to renegotiate trade with the Ottomans.

However, the main reason why he was eager to return to Constantiniere was that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had given him a diplomatic mission related to the situation in Poland.

Melka Mohammed's eyes widened immediately: "Are you serious?"

"You see, I am a very honest man." Talleyrand gestured to the west, "A steamer will arrive at the port in three days. You can go and see for yourself.

"Oh, that ship left Nantes when I left Marseille. It crossed most of France, but it was only three days later than me."

Melka Mohammed's heart was suddenly filled with turmoil.

If there really is such a ship that does not require rowers and can maintain a high speed, it can be predicted that Mediterranean shipping will soon be monopolized by it!

You know, the biggest factor restricting paddle boats is not the cost, but the rowers.

Whether it is Alexandria or the Levant, you can see a large number of merchant ships queuing up to hire oars every day. Of course, wealthy ship owners will buy slaves to row, but the cost is too high, and slaves also have to rest frequently to replenish their energy.

Therefore, any shipper who wanted to ship goods to Italy or France would certainly choose a steamship without hesitation, which had no restrictions on sailing.

What's more, the speed of steamships is much faster - it usually takes 12 days or even half a month for an ordinary paddle ship to travel from Constantiniere to Marseille.

No wonder the lame man in front of him said confidently that France would be the Ottoman Empire's largest trading partner.

They really couldn't eat a whole sheep, but in the future, the meat in their store might have to be shipped out for sale using their own ships.

With such a huge gap in cost and efficiency, any ban would be useless. Ottoman merchant ships would immediately hand over goods from the port to steamships parked offshore. Anyone who did not do so would lose competitiveness in front of their peers.

The Grand Vizier suddenly thought of a question and raised his hand to hold Talleyrand's coffee cup: "The British will not sit idly by and watch you monopolize Mediterranean shipping. Their fleet will control the entire Aegean Sea to the Gulf of Surt."

(End of this chapter)