I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 940: New Trends in Europe

And there is a traditional friendship between the Ottoman Empire and France.

Well, two hundred years ago, King Francis I of France and Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent formed the "Profane Alliance" - the Alliance of the Crescent and the Lily - to jointly deal with the threat posed by the Habsburgs.

Although this alliance has now effectively ceased to exist, and it is indeed shameful to form an alliance with pagans, the two countries have not officially announced the abolition of the alliance. [Note 1]

Grand Vizier Melka continued: "We can purchase a large number of weapons from France, expand the number of training for the new Topizian army, and try to get France to persuade Russia not to interfere in the Empire's war against Austria.

"From what I understand, France and Russia have formed an alliance, and they have considerable influence over the Tsar."

Selim III paused while twisting his tasbiha beads and asked: "How can we impress the French?"

Melka hesitated for a moment and said, “You can pay them in gold coins, Your Majesty. I heard that France’s financial situation is not good, and the government owes as much as 60 billion kurudos.

"Besides, the French are in great need of sugar and cotton, and we can give all our production of these two to France for sale."

Selim III did not seem to be as confident as the Grand Vizier. Although the Ottoman Empire was wealthy, the Sultan was quite short of money and could not give much money to France.

He thought for a moment, waved his hand and said, “Send someone to Paris to talk to Mr. Talleyrand. Perhaps they will propose some diplomatic conditions, and if they are not excessive, they can just agree to them.

"In short, I need to double the number of Topizian's new army, as well as at least 10,000 French-made flintlock rifles and as many cannons as possible."

Although France built a cannon foundry for the Ottomans during the last cooperation, the quality of the cannons made by the Ottomans was always far behind, and the French ones were still better.

As for being able to get the French to persuade Russia not to interfere in Wallachia, he had no hope at all.

The next day, the Sultan's envoys rushed to Paris on a steam paddle steamer.

At the same time, Melka's order to mobilize troops was also issued to the Ottoman army...

Western England, Ireland.

On the second floor of an inconspicuous house in the south of Wexford, thick curtains blocked out all the light. Five or six men of different clothes and ages were sitting around a candle, whispering about something.

"The people of Vienna have set an example for us!" A middle-aged man with sunken eyes, a high nose bridge, and a mouth that is always pressed down said excitedly, "Freedom, human rights, equality, listen to these wonderful words!

"The Austrians have a right to all this, and the Irish should have it too!"

"Yes, Lord Fitzgerald, freedom and human rights are indeed good." The kind-looking old man with sparse hair said, "But don't forget that the liberal movement in Austria has been brutally suppressed..."

Another man wearing glasses and looking bookish nodded: "We should accept the spirit of the people of Vienna."

He raised the book “The Meaning of Freedom and Human Rights” in his hand—yes, it was a hardcover edition, obviously it had been carefully typeset and reprinted—and continued, “But at the same time, we must also learn from their lessons.

"The biggest mistake they made was to keep hoping that they could persuade the evil emperor to grant them a little freedom.

"But everyone saw that the emperor gave them only cannonballs!"

Lord Fitzgerald spread his hands and said, "Their new recruits also fought, but what's the use?" "You are right," said the man with glasses, "It was because their new recruits were too small and they were all new recruits that they failed!
"What we want is more soldiers, trained soldiers, and preferably artillery.

"The King of the English will not let us go free unless he is sure that his army cannot defeat us."

Calling on people to unite, to overthrow British rule with freedom and human rights as their goal"

The kind-looking old man sighed:
"Yes, Mr. McCracken, we need men, but where are we going to get the cannon? We don't even have many flintlocks.

"Lord Fitzgerald is able to train new soldiers, and there are many young men willing to receive training. However, we simply do not have enough funds to do these things..."

McCracken put his hands on the table, leaned forward and said, “We can ask the French for help!

“They are enemies of the British government and would certainly like Ireland to be free from British control.

"I know there are many smugglers on the Dutch border. They can easily transport steam engines to Birmingham, and it will certainly not be a problem to transport some cannons to Wexford."

"Are you too optimistic?" The round-faced middle-aged man who had been silent all this time lifted a corner of the curtain and glanced outside. After confirming that there were no secret police on the street, he continued, "Why would their king pay to support a group of peasants and coolies to overthrow the rule of another king?

"Although they are fighting fiercely now, if the 'untouchables' rebel, the French will even send troops to suppress us!"

"What about the Austrians?" the kind-looking old man suggested, "I mean their liberals. I heard there's an organization called the 'Illuminati', which is backed by bankers and wealthy businessmen.

"If our business is successful, we can support their actions in Austria in return."

"We can give it a try." The round-faced middle-aged man nodded, "The liberal fighters there are wanted by the emperor, and they should be willing to come to Ireland to show their skills.

"Oh, and the United States. They should also be looking forward to the emergence of more republics. Their relationship with the British is also very bad. After all, they have been enslaved by the British for hundreds of years. It is said that they once sent volunteers to help the French army fight the British."

Several people nodded in agreement.

Then they began to discuss who to send to Austria and the United States, and how to convince each other.

After everything was almost settled, McCracken suddenly said unwillingly:
"I still think we should give France a try. Even if it doesn't work, we won't lose much."

The round-faced man looked at his stubborn expression and finally nodded, "Okay, then you go to Paris. But I may not have much funding for you."

……

Amsterdam.

An officer rushed into the Parliament Building, grabbed an official and asked him a few questions, then ran up to an office on the second floor and said with a pale face:

"Our troops suffered a disastrous defeat at Utrecht..."

【Note 1】The so-called Crescent and Lily Alliance was not strictly an alliance. What the two countries signed at the time was a trade agreement plus a military mutual assistance agreement, and there were no mandatory clauses between allies.

(End of this chapter)