I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 663 Giving and Gaining

Seeing the Ottoman Grand Vizier's puzzled expression, Talleyrand smiled and explained:

"Your Highness the Crown Prince has ordered the General Staff to recruit local residents in Tunisia and form the Royal Legion as the main defense force in North Africa. There are currently 2500 soldiers, most of whom share your beliefs."

The image of the Tunisian soldier immediately appeared in Melka Mohammed's mind, and he hesitated:

"Your Majesty the Sultan needs elite troops who can defeat the enemy in the north."

The Ottoman Empire had only one major enemy in the north, and that was Tsarist Russia.

Talleyrand wiped the coffee stains from the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief and looked very satisfied:
"Please rest assured that Lieutenant Colonel Moreau is an excellent commander, and the Tunisian Corps under his command is considered an elite force in our country."

Of course, this Tunisian standing army was only slightly stronger than the old French army, but that didn't stop him from bragging. And for the Ottomans, the French Tunisian Legion was definitely the ceiling.

Melka Mohammed was immediately delighted: "Great, can you invite 20 Tunisian instructors for Topiz? I promise to pay your country sufficient remuneration."

Talleyrand smiled and shook his head: "This is not appropriate."

The Grand Vizier was a little disappointed: "Then, ten instructors should be fine, right?"

The lame man still shook his head.

"Mr. Talleyrand, you know that if there are too few instructors, it is difficult to ensure the quality of training..."

"You misunderstood," Talleyrand waved his hand. "What I meant was that if the new troops were trained in Constantiniere, they would inevitably be affected by the previous environment. Let them go to Tunisia and train with our soldiers. This will achieve the best results."

He blinked mysteriously again: "Besides, since they are separated by half of the Mediterranean Sea, it is impossible for those people in the Royal Guards to know the exact number of Topizs.

"Also, the soldiers' salaries can be paid to our country in the name of 'consulting fees', and then transferred to the officers of Topizius. This way, the Guards will not be able to estimate the size of the new army by checking the accounts."

Melka Mohammed's eyes suddenly lit up.

This is indeed a good way to get rid of the constraints of the Guards. If they can really train 1 Topizians behind their backs, no, even if there are only 5 people, when this new army returns to Constantinie, it will be able to completely suppress the power of the Guards.

He was very clear about the combat effectiveness of his own "Yericheni" guards. At the current level of Topiz, 1 soldiers could defeat 5 guards. Not to mention the Topiz trained by the French army - 5 people were enough to firmly control the entire capital.

At the same time, Tunisia is an Islamic environment, so there is basically no need to worry that the new army will be subject to "bad influences" from Europe there.

It's a perfect plan.

If the empire's financial resources could sustain it, it would not be impossible to train 5 Topizians in Tunisia, defeat Russia, and retake Crimea!

Of course, this was just his wishful thinking.

Joseph would certainly not allow Ottomans to train such a strong army. At most four or five thousand new troops would be enough.

After all, he was going to dig the Suez Canal in the future. Don't wait for him to go, the new Ottoman army will first eliminate the Mamluks and then recapture the whole of Egypt, that would be great fun.

Melka Mohammed's smile suddenly froze. As the "big boss" of the empire, after a brief moment of joy, he immediately thought that if he did what Talleyrand said, it would be equivalent to the empire recognizing that Tunisia belonged to France.

He sighed bitterly: "Your Majesty the Sultan still needs to make a decision on this matter."

Talleyrand did not have to wait long, for he was summoned by the Ottoman Sultan at noon the next day.

In the spacious vaulted hall of Topkapi Palace, Selim III leaned on a soft couch and gestured to the eunuch beside him. Immediately, a beautiful slave girl with half her upper body naked placed a cup of fragrant coffee in front of the French Foreign Minister.

The latter smiled and nodded to the Sultan: "Thank you very much, Your Majesty."

"I heard that you like the coffee here very much," Selim III pointed to the coffee cup, "This is freshly shipped from Mocha. I hope you like it."

Talleyrand blew on the coffee, took a sip, and praised exaggeratedly:
"This is absolutely the best drink I've ever had! You've made me even more obsessed with Constantinyeh!"

Selim III raised his index finger and waved at the eunuch:
"Send a shipload of royal coffee to the port of Marseille for my friend."

"As you command, my greatest master."

Talleyrand smiled and was about to thank him when Selim III looked at him and said:

"My friend, I have learned of your sincere intentions from the Grand Vizier.

"Now, I hope to hear from you the real purpose of your visit to Constantiniya this time."

Talleyrand immediately said enthusiastically: "Of course, it is to promote the prosperity of French-Turkish trade."

The young Sultan just smiled at him.

Talleyrand thought that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was right. The man in Topkapi Palace was much more difficult to deal with than his predecessor.

He pushed the coffee cup away, stood up and saluted: "Your eyes can see through everything, Your Majesty."

"I'm listening."

"England, my target is England."

"Please sit down and talk."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Talleyrand said, bowing. "You know that our country is in fierce competition with Britain. His Royal Highness the Dauphin hopes to exchange some of your needs for Syrian cotton and Egyptian sugar cane. Oh, the Franco-Turkish trade must also be extremely important."

Selim III nodded slightly.

He was naturally aware of the fierce competition between Britain and France in the textile industry. Although the cotton production in his hands was not large, it was enough to influence the balance.

Last week, he received news from the Caribbean that black people were rioting, which meant that there would be a serious shortage of sugarcane this year. Egypt's sugarcane would become a strategic resource.

He pondered for a few seconds, twisted the "Taisbiha" beads in his hand, and said:

"We will control at least 40% of the steamships entering the port, a gun foundry capable of manufacturing 32-pound guns, and 2 sets of French military equipment for the Topijs training in Tunisia.

“And you, my friend, will have the right of first refusal for 60% of the goods produced in Syria and Egypt.”

Talleyrand felt relieved, it seemed that he had been fooled. But to be honest, he only knew that His Royal Highness wanted to link the situation in Egypt and Poland, but he was not sure about the deeper strategic goal.

Then he smiled again.

The Sultan's words just now have made it clear that the Ottomans intend to recognize France's claim to Tunisia.

(End of this chapter)