I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 731: French-Turkish Trade Agreement
The streets of Constantiniya were deserted, and all residents followed the request, holding candles, taking to the streets to participate in the celebration.

Just a week earlier, the Ottoman army had won a great victory by defeating the Mamluk Eastern Army at Tours, Egypt.

The two supreme rulers of the Mamluks, Murad and Ibrahim, hurriedly sent envoys to apologize to Selim III.

Selim III's luxurious carriage drove out of the Topkapi Palace and, surrounded by more than a dozen gorgeously dressed imperial guards, headed for the Blue Mosque for a series of celebration ceremonies.

In the carriage, Stelle, the general manager of the French Eastern Mediterranean Trading Company, took a handful of dates shipped from Medina from the Sultan, bowed and said in Arabic:
"Thank you for your reward, Your Majesty!"

This is a product of the holy land and is a very high reward.

The reason why Steller was awarded this honor was because the New Army of Topizius played an extremely important role in this battle.

Previously, Styler was responsible for arranging the pick-up and drop-off for the new troops during training.

Outside the car, there were cheerful sounds of drums and bagpipes, occasionally mixed with the "bang" sound of fireworks exploding.

Steller continued, "Your Majesty, I wonder when Mustafa Pasha will launch his next offensive? Oh, you know, I have to prepare the necessary supplies for the army in advance."

More than one-third of the Ottoman army's logistical supplies were provided by the Eastern Mediterranean Trading Company, and the price was 30% cheaper than what the Guards could raise on their own.

"You have done your duty very well, but the war is over." Selim III shook his head calmly and glanced at the Grand Vizier beside him.

Melka Mohammed hurriedly said: "Mr. Stell, Murad Bey has taken Karamanli and other officers who had fought against the Sultan's army without authorization to Constantiniya for trial. The merciful Sultan has decided to forgive the Mamluks.

“Of course, Hassan Pasha’s authority in Egypt would be strengthened, and the Mamluk nobles would pay more taxes to the empire to demonstrate their loyalty.”

Hassan was the governor sent by Ottomans to Egypt.

Upon hearing this, Styler did not seem surprised, but sighed in his heart that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's prediction was indeed correct.

Yes, Joseph had told Selim III as early as when he sent troops to Egypt that it was impossible for the Ottomans to completely defeat the Mamluks and they could only stop while they were ahead.

It's not that he was a prophet, but based on the historical records of battles between the Mamluks and Napoleon, he judged that the Mamluks' fighting power was definitely not weak.

This is why he dared to let Talleyrand instigate Selim III to deal with the Mamluks - the Ottoman army, which was mainly composed of the Janissaries, could not defeat the Mamluks. And the number of the new army was too small to decide the outcome of the war.

This is indeed the case in the actual battle situation.

In the Battle of Tours, Mustafa defeated 1 Egyptian infantry and 4 cavalry, but the Mamluks' total strength was about 3 infantry and more than 2 cavalry, and they were not seriously harmed.

The Ottoman army also lost two and a half Janissary Corps, as well as a large number of cavalry and Balkan soldiers, totaling about 7,000 to 8,000 people.

If the Ottomans continued to fight, after the new army of Topizius had suffered heavy losses, they might even be pushed back by the Mamluks.

And the current result is exactly what Joseph wanted.

In this era, Egypt, or more precisely the Suez Canal which has not yet been opened, will be the fulcrum for prying the whole of Europe!
Whoever controls Suez can dominate trade between Europe and Asia.

That’s a trade volume of hundreds of millions or even billions of francs per year!

Historically, under the advice of Talleyrand, Emperor Napoleon also deeply realized the importance of Suez, so he decided to send troops to Egypt.

However, his strategic planning was too crude. The direct occupation of Egypt made both the Mamluks and the Ottomans feel a huge threat, causing the two forces, which had always been at odds with each other, to immediately choose to join forces.

In the end, although Napoleon won a great victory at the Battle of the Pyramids, he was still unable to completely control the situation in Egypt. In addition, the French Mediterranean Fleet was attacked by the British, so Napoleon had to leave his army in Egypt and sneak back to Paris in a small boat.

Therefore, in order to avoid similar situations, Joseph spared no effort to help Osman train new troops and enhance the confidence of Selim III, thus triggering the conflict between Osman and Mamluk in advance.

In this way, when necessary, France can appear in Egypt as a mediator and have the best of both worlds.

At least, after this war, the possibility of the Ottomans and Mamluks joining forces again is very low.

Of course, if the strategic concept regarding Egypt is to be realized, a basic prerequisite is that the French Navy can block the British fleet outside the Mediterranean.

Otherwise, even if the Suez Canal was repaired, it would be a gift to the British.

After steam battleships began to serve, France had initially acquired this capability.

Then the planning on the Egyptian side must keep up.

Melka Mohammed glanced at the Sultan who was opening the car window and throwing money to the people on the roadside, and said to Styler:

"Mr. Styler, the new Topizhis army performed very well this time, so His Majesty hopes that your country can train more new troops for our country."

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In fact, Spain, Austria, and even Russia had helped the Ottoman Empire train new troops before, but the model was basically to send instructors to the Ottoman Empire and select a group of new recruits for training.

The ones trained in this mode can at best be considered as improved versions of the Janissaries.

This time, Joseph directly brought the new army of Topijs to the French military camp in Tunisia for training. Only after they were completely separated from the Ottoman environment did they train a truly new army.

It was obvious that Selim III was very satisfied with the results of the training.

Based on the combat effectiveness Topizius demonstrated in Tours this time, he estimated that with just 5 new troops, he could effectively suppress Constantinius's more than Janissary Guards.

The Janissaries were the biggest obstacle to his advancement of Ottoman reforms.

The empire's restoration to glory will begin from here!
Styler smiled and nodded: "I am happy to serve Your Majesty. However, you know that training so many soldiers is a very time-consuming and laborious task, and it may even affect the training of our army."

The Grand Vizier immediately said: "Please rest assured that His Majesty will pay enough to your country."

"Ah, you misunderstood." Styler said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that he could train new troops for His Majesty the Sultan for free."

"So what does Your Highness want?"

"Your Highness hopes to strengthen trade between France and Turkey. For example, a new trade agreement."

Seeing that Selim III just kept throwing money out of the window, Styler added:
"As long as you can increase the types of goods allowed to enter the country, your country can set a satisfactory tariff rate. At the same time, the French market will also be open to your country."

Joseph knew that in the worst case scenario, most of France's maritime trade would be blocked by Britain. At that time, the Mediterranean would be France's trade lifeline.

The Ottoman Empire was the richest country on the Mediterranean coast besides France, and the market here would be vital to France.

(End of this chapter)