At the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, the French Expeditionary Force landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula and began to set up temporary camps at great speed, preparing to use it as a base to continue to gather troops and then proceed to the next step of the operation. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Turkish officials, on the other hand, were pleased to see that their allies had brought their troops together so quickly, and were doing their best to make it easier for them. Although in order to speed up the construction of the camp, the French team directly forcibly recruited people from the surrounding villages and towns, but this did not affect the high mood of the officials - they did not care at all about the small sacrifice made in order to save the country.

Then, at the warm invitation of the Turkish court, the commander of the expeditionary force, Field Marshal Trevier, and some of his high-ranking officers came to Constantinople.

Before they entered the city, they were greeted with a grand ceremony, and the marshal and his party rode tall horses, bathed in the sound of tidal cheers, and a large crowd of citizens was gathered to cheer and salute the allies of the empire, and the Turkish officials were even more respectful, for fear of snubbing these distinguished guests and causing diplomatic trouble.

As soon as they entered the city, the officials of the Sultan's court immediately greeted them, and then eagerly led them to the Sultan's dormitory, Topkapi Palace, to meet the Sultan and the important ministers of the empire.

After passing through the walls and the dense streets, the army came to the majestic palace city, where the tall walls towered in front of them, and the towers and battlements of the stones looked down on the land, hiding behind them the Sultan's legendary palaces.

Although the defensive ability of these walls is questionable in this era of artillery, one can still feel a little bit of the majesty of an empire that once reigned for a while when standing beneath the palace walls.

Amid the roar of the cannon salute, the gates under the palace walls slowly opened, and the road ahead became unobstructed again, and the French officers on horseback slowly rode forward, while the Turkish court guards on both sides raised their guns and saluted them at the same time.

Originally, the guards here were the Sultan's forbidden army, those soldiers wearing traditional Turkish military uniforms and feathered scarves and hats on their heads were once representatives of the great military tradition of this empire, in the past few centuries, the army carefully built by successive sultans had made great achievements, but in the passage of time, the forbidden army finally inevitably went to corruption, and used their power to guard the palace and began to seek political status, holding the Sultan and the entire court hostage, In the end, they had to fight to the death against the imperial court, resisting reforms, and killing or deposing several sultans who wanted to change the trajectory of the country's decline.

It was not until 1826 that the then Sultan Mehmed II deliberately issued a resolution to reform the Janissaries through the Imperial Parliament composed of important ministers, and then suppressed the rebellion of these Janissaries by force, and announced the abolition of the Praetorian Guards. With the support of some religious forces and some high-ranking generals who supported the reforms, he used his newly established forces to carry out a brutal, eradicated purge of the Praetorian Guards, and the remnants of the Janissaries were quickly purged across the country.

It was also after this that a group of guards were re-recruited within the Sultan's court, and they only served as guards and ceremonial personnel, and could no longer interfere in domestic politics.

Surrounded by guards dressed in European uniforms and wearing small red felt hats, the French marshals and generals dismounted, followed the court officials on foot through the famous Gate of Reverence to the inner court.

After passing through the courtyards and the treasury full of treasures, they came to a large hall surrounded by a colonnade of twenty-two columns, supported by a large roof with overhanging eaves, and the owner of the palace, who was sitting upright on his throne, quietly watching the guests who had come from afar.

The young sultan sat on a slightly higher throne with a calm expression, and he was dressed in a golden robe inlaid with a large number of precious stones, and his whole body was bathed in a dazzling golden light, and everywhere he could see it was rich ornaments, the ceiling was painted blue-blue, and the golden stars were decorated with the bricks of the walls, and the walls were all blue, white, or blue, and were equipped with precious carpets and pillows, and the walls of the main hall were full of all kinds of exquisite workmanship, and the blue jewels were brilliant and golden. On the other side of the main hall, there is a spring of water gushing out of the wall, and the sound of the murmuring water gives the hall a little more life, so that the flaunting of wealth regardless of work can impress any visitor without forgetting the awe of the power of the sultan.

As far as the eye can see, in the midst of this bejeweled atmosphere, people dressed in European and Turkish dresses are all more extravagant and grandiose than the pomp of His Majesty the Emperor of the French Empire in the Tuileries Palace, and the sacredness of the monarchy comes from the solemnity of the elaborate and grand ceremonies.

After the roll call by the master of ceremonies, General Michel Ney, Duke of Elchingen, who had followed Marshal Treville, and others fell down on one knee to salute him, giving the foreign monarch the highest military courtesy, while Marshal Treville bowed and hung his marshal's staff on the ground.

In ancient times, when receiving foreign envoys, the most elaborate rites would be held in the main hall of the audience, and then those envoys would kiss the edge of the sultan's hem in the company of officials, and the people of the present day did not want to repeat that set of etiquette, so the generals used the common etiquette of meeting their own emperors, and the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force was simply exempted from even kneeling.

In this way, accompanied by members of the French mission in Turkey, the Marquis of Treville and several of his generals came to the Sultan's palace to meet His Majesty Abdel-Mejid I, the supreme king of the Ottoman Empire.

In order to thank the French for coming to the rescue of his empire, and to demonstrate his authority and wealth, the Sultan deliberately prepared a grand pomp and circumstance, and dressed in magnificent costumes, with a dignified and friendly attitude. He is young and strong-blooded, and he wants his country to wash away the old sorrows and get back on his feet from the mire to restore the glory of his ancestors, but the dying empire is powerless, and every time he feels disappointed, so his dignity is inevitably a little more melancholy and helpless.

However, Turkey was, after all, a declining empire, and its influence and power were no longer what they used to be, and the Sultan's might could not be compared with that of his ancestors who shook the whole of Europe.

Of course, the Sultan and his ministers themselves knew that the empire was no longer what it used to be, so they were not annoyed by the French reserve, and they were happy, at least on the surface, to show the friendship between the allies.

"I am very grateful to my brother, His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon, for coming here at this time of crisis to fight for us against the most vicious enemy." After the first hearing, the Sultan said to the French generals with great friendliness, "And you, the guests who have come from afar, will be the most distinguished guests of our country, and we will entertain you with the highest courtesy, and invite you to enjoy our generous hospitality to the fullest." ”

The Sultan had a good court education and was therefore fluent in French, and he intended to use this as a way to get closer to the French.

"We are very grateful for your enthusiasm, Your Majesty, but we are here to fight, and there is nothing to enjoy until we are victorious, and our task now is only to defeat the common enemies of France and Turkey." Marshal Trevier straightened his back, and then replied to the Sultan in a calm tone, "And, of course, the British. ”

The marshal's tone was tactful and dignified, but there was a pride that made the Sultan slightly uneasy, and he could not help but look sideways slightly, and looked at the Grand Vichal, Muhammad Ali Pasha, who was standing on the side.

Muhammad Ali Pasha was a middle-aged man with a beard, he was energetic, had previously worked as an interpreter for the British ambassador to Turkey, and was well versed in the affairs of European countries, and it was for this reason that he was favored by the Sultan as the equivalent of the prime minister.

In the previous era, the Great Vichle used to be the existence of the empire and even more authoritative than the Sultan, and many prime ministers put the Sultan in the air and managed this huge empire on their own, which also gave the empire a glimmer of vitality, but now the glorious era has passed, and His Majesty Abdul Majid I is young and vigorous, and because of the decline of the country and impetuous, and even the bureaucracy of the original empire is becoming more and more unpleasant, so he has repeatedly replaced his court ministers, Almost every year, I have to change my own big Vickyl.

Unfortunately, such measures did not save the empire from decline, but further weakened the authority of the imperial court and important ministers, and the empire continued to fall into a semi-paralyzed state.

In any case, the Grand Vechiel was still the apex of the empire's bureaucracy, and had the power to intervene in everything, so even if the authority was not as strong as that of his predecessors, Muhammad Ali Pasha still had enough say to serve the country in this court.

"Yes, and the British." "Your Excellency, the British have issued an ultimatum to the Russians, and their army will be coming here at once...... We are intensively preparing to open a new camp for them. ”

"Yes, that's excellent news." The marshal nodded, "The British are on our side, enough for the world to see who is destined to win." But...... The British, unlike the French, do not have a large standing army, so I am afraid that their help on land is bound to be limited, and we can only overcome this difficulty with great effort. ”

This did worry the Sultan, but the French Army, which had always been well-known in Europe, believed that the French would be able to hold off the Russians, but they wanted to know how the French intended to do so.

"So what are your current military plans?" The Sultan couldn't help but ask. "As far as we know, the Russians have amassed a large number of forces in the south, and there are also large reserve corps being formed, ready to be thrown into the place where we are engaged."

"It's very simple, first divide it into two steps - on land, we will first choose to stand still, gather troops, and wait until there are enough troops to land directly in the Crimea and fight a decisive battle with the main force of the Russians; And before that, we are going to sweep the Black Sea with our navy, so that the Russian navy will disappear and will no longer be able to interfere with any of the actions of our army. Field Marshal Trevier explained to the Sultan in a loud voice, "Although the Russians are relatively close to the battlefield, their interior is very barren and the transportation of supplies is inconvenient, so our logistical pressure is not greater than theirs, as long as they have complete control of the sea, then their home field advantage is complete." ”

"I'm glad that your team has such confidence." The Grand Vizier was quite happy in his heart, and his tone became much more soothing, "Now that the strait is completely open to your navy, your warships can sail to the Black Sea at any time...... And our navy will do its best to cooperate with you. ”

"Do you want to wait a little longer for the British fleet? As far as I know, their Mediterranean fleet is also about to arrive. The Sultan interjected, "If the fleets of our three countries are concentrated, the Russians will never be able to make any action on the sea." ”

"It's wartime, and every day is very important to us...... We must race against time, and we will not have to wait for the British, for our navy will be ready to move at once, and we think that the French fleet will be enough to defeat the Russians," said Marshal Tréville confidently, "and, of course, if the British fleet arrives in time, we will be happy to share the joy of war with them." ”

The Sultan and the Grand Villachre looked at each other, and they could see the Frenchman's eagerness to try for success, but it was a good thing that they were so confident anyway.

"You are the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, and of course you can command your fleet to do anything." Davichel nodded, not arguing about the deployment of the marshal, "But since our three countries are united to fight, then the unity and cooperation between everyone is naturally the most important thing...... We should always keep this in mind. ”

"We will always keep that in mind, Your Majesty." The marshal laughed, "So we suggest that your * team maintain the offensive in the Caucasus, and form a pincer offensive in two directions with our army, so that the Russians will not be able to take care of it." ”

These words made the Sultan and the Great Vichle look at each other again.

Although it was put mildly, the marshal meant nothing more than saying that the French army did not want to fight alongside the Turkish army at all, even if it was not allowed to be an auxiliary force, preferring to fight on its own—or at most the British, and "maintaining the Caucasian offensive" was just a polite phrase for him.

This contempt for the Turkish army made them unhappy, but now, they also knew that this was not the time to lose their temper.