I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 939: New Trends in Europe

Finally, in the Anglo-Dutch War ten years ago, the British defeated the Netherlands, an important member of the Armed Neutrality Alliance, and made it their younger brother.

The British then pressed Prussia.

It just so happened that war broke out between Sweden and Russia, which greatly depleted Sweden's national strength and had no intention of caring about maritime affairs.

At this point, the Armed Neutrality Alliance existed in name only.

It was under this situation that Britain was able to blockade France's maritime trade.

"This is indeed an opportunity." Regent Frederick nodded and said, "The Armed Neutrality Alliance is the diplomatic wealth of the Russian Tsar, and she will definitely support this.

“The Netherlands had just gotten rid of the control of Britain, and with huge domestic financial pressure, it was time to expand trade.

"My only concern is what the Swedes will choose."

Sweden had just gone to war with Russia and would most likely refuse any form of cooperation with Russia.

Schulenburg's tone was full of confidence: "Your Highness, Regent, I believe that as long as France can be persuaded to put pressure on Sweden, His Majesty Gustav III will most likely consider it carefully.

"And renewing the alliance of armed neutrality is exactly what France needs."

Bernstorff nodded in agreement: "France is now the country with the fastest growing trade volume in Europe. Sweden's financial situation is very worrying because of the war with Russia. They are in urgent need of trade with France."

After he finished speaking, everyone in the room fell silent for a moment.

Because Britain blockaded the French coast, Denmark, which relied entirely on maritime trade, suffered heavy losses.

Denmark's main exports are seafood, grain, oils and fats, and ship equipment.

Except for the last one, all of them are short-lived goods. In the nearly one year since the loss of the French market, Denmark's trade volume has plummeted by more than one-fifth!

Denmark's fiscal situation may be even more precarious than Sweden's.

This is also one of the important reasons why they are eager to restart the armed neutrality alliance.

At night, after careful discussion among several important members of the Privy Council, the Danish Regent ordered:

"It was decided then, and Count Bernstorff went to St. Petersburg to urge the Tsar to promote a new alliance of armed neutrality.

"As for the Palace of Versailles, I will go there in person. Duke Schulenburg, please help me prepare a presentable gift as soon as possible."

In fact, the League of Armed Neutrality was his real gift to France.

……

Ottoman.

Constantiniere.

In Topkapi Palace, the port tax inspector knelt on the ground and spoke nervously:

"…Then the French army raided Bavaria and at one point reached the gates of Vienna.

"The French general withdrew his troops only after Bavaria surrendered.

"Then Austria could no longer hold out and surrendered. France thus gained Austria's entire sphere of influence on the west bank of the Rhine and northern Italy.

"And because of this defeat, Austria also suffered a serious riot. Their Chancellor Thugut was dismissed and fled the capital..."

In front of him, Sultan Selim III and Grand Vizier Melka kept looking at each other, with shock and unstoppable excitement in their eyes. Yes, due to the shockingly low efficiency of the Ottoman Empire's intelligence system, Constantiniere has not yet learned the specific situation in Europe recently.

Today, when a Genoese merchant ship was docked at the port to unload cargo, the captain told the Ottoman tax inspector about the news in Europe, and the Sultan got the first-hand information.

When the Sultan and his Grand Vizier first heard that France had become a powerful rival to several European powers and had gained control of the Mediterranean sea, they were secretly glad that they had made the right decision to choose France.

Since the Ottoman Empire had previously deepened its trade and shipping cooperation with France, it can be predicted that their trade revenue will increase significantly in the future.

What concerned the Ottoman Sultan even more was Austria's defeat and the large-scale riots that broke out in the country.

After Selim III asked the tax inspector to leave, the Grand Vizier immediately bowed to the Sultan and said:

"Your Majesty, this will be a golden opportunity for the Empire. The warriors of the Empire will use their blood and scimitars to recover Wallachia's lost territory for you!"

Wallachia was the northwesternmost territory of the Ottoman Empire, but it had previously been occupied by Austria.

Austria was at its weakest right now, and the Ottoman Empire had gained a lot after defeating the Mamluks of Egypt, and its national strength had recovered by 70% to 80% from the defeat in the Russo-Turkish War.

It was simply the perfect opportunity to retake Wallachia.

Selim III obviously had the same idea, but he took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and asked:
"How many troops can the empire mobilize now?"

Melekal thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, the troops that can be sent to the north include 2 new Topyris troops, about 3 Janissary Guards, and about 3 local troops from Bulgaria, Thrace, etc."

Selim III shook his head slightly: "No, this is not enough..."

Judging from the Ottoman Empire’s previous record against Austria, the Ottoman Empire’s military strength must be at least three times that of the enemy in order to have a chance of winning.

We also have to exclude the Thracian local troops that are just there to make up the numbers. They can't even control the public security in the occupied areas, and they may even weaken the morale of the Guards by fleeing too quickly on the battlefield.

In other words, the number of troops that could actually be deployed to fight against Austria was less than 4.

Of course, now that Selim III had Topizian's new army, he felt a little more confident.

But the number of new troops was too small after all.

Selim III sighed again: "Besides, the Russians will not sit idly by and watch us attack Wallachia."

Although Catherine II had promised to cede all of Wallachia to Austria—in order to persuade the latter to declare war on Poland—the Russian-controlled Ottoman territory of Moldavia lay immediately to the east of Wallachia.

The Russians would certainly worry that after the Ottoman army occupied Wallachia, they would take advantage of the situation to encroach on their territory.

Another possibility is that Russia took advantage of the Ottoman concentration of its forces in Wallachia and directly invaded the Ottoman Tarnovo region to the south, which was less than 100 kilometers away from Constantinie.

Melka immediately said: “Your Majesty, Russia has suffered severe losses from the invasion of Poland and is currently at its weakest.

“As long as the Empire has a large army in Tarnovo, the Russians will not choose to go to war.

"As for the army that took Wallachia..."

He paused and looked at the Sultan: "We can turn to our French friends for help."

Yes, the French had become friends of the Sultan after the French-trained new army of Topizians defeated the Mamluks.

As for pagans and the like, the empire itself has many Christians, so it has no impact at all.

(End of this chapter)