I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 664 From Egypt to Poland
Of course, France's control over Tunisia was already an established fact, but recognition from the Ottoman Empire eliminated the last hidden danger.

From now on, Tunisia is France's indisputable inherent territory.

Talleyrand bargained further and eventually raised the priority purchase ratio to 70% and agreed on a series of preferential trade terms.

At this point, the Ottoman trend of turning towards Britain was officially reversed.

Selim III then invited Talleyrand to a banquet.

When the two of them, surrounded by officials, walked around the huge swimming pool in the palace, Talleyrand suddenly said with worry:

"Your Majesty, I am somewhat concerned about whether Egypt can fully carry out your will."

After a long series of preparations, this is now the highlight of his trip.

Selim frowned slightly. Although he lacked confidence, he still waved his hand proudly:

"Please rest assured that they dare not go against my will, otherwise they will face God's punishment."

"That puts me at ease." Talleyrand exhaled exaggeratedly, and as if he had thought of something, he moved closer to the Sultan and whispered, "Your Majesty, in fact, now is a good opportunity for you to conquer those rebellious people."

"I don't understand what you mean."

"The conflict between Murad, Ibrahim and the local beys of Egypt is getting bigger and bigger. Even the 'Bey Alliance' is hostile to each other. Even people in Paris are talking about it. If we send a large army to eliminate the disloyal ministers now, we will surely be able to restore the glory of Hassan Pasha in the past!"

Today, Egypt is still nominally an Ottoman province, and the Sultan also sends governors, or "Pashas", there, but for hundreds of years, it was the Mamluk military group that actually ruled Egypt.

Especially in recent years, with the death of Hassan, a fierce Ottoman general - he had led his army to defeat the Mamluk army in a local battle and recovered the taxes owed by the latter to the empire - the Mamluks have completely controlled Egypt and began to proclaim themselves Pashas. The Pashas sent by the Ottomans to Egypt were restricted to their residences and were "closely protected" by Mamluk guards when they went in and out.

However, the Mamluk group also declined after its peak, and began to have internal strife. The central and local military leaders fought against each other, and there were constant conflicts between the clergy group and the Mamluks. Historically, it was during the Mamluk civil strife that Napoleon led his army to defeat them in one fell swoop and gain control of Egypt.

Salem III glanced at the Frenchman and said meaningfully:

"The evil beasts of the north are eyeing the Empire. As soon as our army marches to Egypt, they will howl and come south to tear a piece of flesh from the Empire."

What he failed to mention was that Austria also had its eyes on Ottoman territory from Wallachia to Bulgaria.

This is also the reason why the Ottoman Empire never dared to solve the Egyptian problem.

Historically, it was not until Napoleon defeated the Mamluks and withdrew to France under the pressure of the British Navy that the Ottomans took the opportunity to regain the empty Egypt.

Joseph would naturally not follow the old path of using the emperor to help others, but instead instigated Osman to consume the Mamluks first and then reap the benefits when the opportunity arose.

Talleyrand deliberately quickened his pace, put some distance between himself and the Ottoman officials beside him, and whispered to the Sultan:

"I have an important piece of information for you. Russia will not have time to look south for quite a long time, at least a year."

Selim III's eyes flashed with surprise, but he returned to normal in an instant:

"How do you know what Russia will do?"

Talleyrand didn't know how the intelligence department got such important information, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was very sure that Russia would attack Poland, so he must be right.

He said with great confidence: "Your Majesty, this is reliable information obtained by our intelligence personnel from the Winter Palace.

“Within six months to a year, Russia will fully invade Poland.

"But I can assure you that they will be in for a tough battle." Selim III immediately turned his head and stared at Talleyrand.

The latter continued: "If you don't believe it, you can send someone to investigate Russia's troop movements and material reserves around Poland."

Selim III turned around and a middle-aged eunuch with fair skin hurried over and whispered a few words to him.

The Sultan looked at Talleyrand again, nodded to confirm his information, but still said calmly:

"Even if your prediction comes true, it would still be too risky for the Empire to rashly attack Egypt."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Talleyrand nodded. "It is indeed risky to conquer the Mamluks with the current imperial army, but what if we add 2 new Topizians?"

Selim III couldn't help but pause.

Talleyrand added: "A full set of French equipment."

Selim III's eyes flashed with excitement, and he said in a deep voice:
"What if Poland is defeated by the Russians before the Empire reclaims Egypt?"

Talleyrand was secretly delighted. He didn't expect the Sultan to say what he was about to say.

He immediately said seriously: "Your Majesty, so you must provide Poland with as much help as possible to resist the attack of Russia."

"That's impossible," Selim III said without hesitation, "I can't declare war on Russia for Poland."

Well, Russia is giving face by not attacking the Ottoman Empire. How could the Ottoman Empire dare to provoke it?
Talleyrand smiled and shook his head:
"Your Majesty, you misunderstood. You know that Poland is a poor country. You only need to provide them with some logistical supplies to greatly enhance their combat effectiveness."

The Sultan frowned and spoke with some difficulty:
"The Empire no longer shares a border with Poland. How can we deliver supplies there?"

In the early days, Turkey and Poland were bordering each other, but the Treaty of Jassy ceded Crimea to Russia. Since then, the two countries have been separated by Ochakov.

Talleyrand said: "You send people to transport the supplies through the Black Sea to the mouth of the Dnieper River, and then the Crimean resistance will go north along the Dnieper River into Poland."

To be honest, he himself felt that this plan was a bit strange, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked him to convince the Sultan.

After a while, Selim III said:

"After the banquet, please tell me the details."

……

South bank of the Seine.

A strange ship, painted white all over, with only two slender masts installed at the bow and stern, and a thick chimney standing in the middle of the deck, was floating quietly on the water.

On the wooden platform next to the dock, Joseph threw a bottle of wine tied to a long rope at the steamship behind him, under the gaze of hundreds of nobles and reporters.

With a "pop" sound, the wine scattered everywhere, and cheerful music and warm applause suddenly rang out all around.

Joseph turned back and announced loudly:

"The 'Poloskafi' has officially set sail! May it always have enough coal!"

(End of this chapter)