In the 21st century, when people talk about the islands of the Mediterranean, when they talk about the Aegean Sea in Greece, what will be the first reaction?

Romantic, beautiful, a place to witness love, picturesque and beautiful scenery, intoxicating island style......

It is a well-known tourist resort all over the world.

But in the last years of the 18th century, when the Mediterranean had nothing to do with the beauty and beauty of the landscape, it was only a struggle for the national interest.

The political turmoil in France had caused their power in the Mediterranean to plummet, and the British took the opportunity to expand their influence. At the same time, Italy's Kingdom of Sardinia, the only kingdom in Italy that had so far remained independent, was also a member of the first anti-French coalition. The previous Battle of Toulon featured the Kingdom of Sardinia!

At the same time, the Ottomans, who won the war against Russia, after breathing a sigh of relief, no longer turned all their eyes to Russia, but began to turn their minds to this acre and three points of land at their doorstep.

During this period, Greece and Egypt belonged to the Ottoman Empire, so the entire eastern part of the Mediterranean was the Ottoman sphere of influence.

But the Ottoman navy could only compete with the Russians in the Black Sea, and in the wider and more complex Mediterranean, all they could do was hold the gates, and they would have to face repeated provocations from the British.

For example, the geographically important island of Crete. The British salivated.

Of course, the revolutionary regime in Paris, which had regained the fortress of Toulon, was now preparing to restore French influence in the Mediterranean. If they look a little further away, their eyes are also on Crete, and they are looking at Egypt further south of Crete.

The latter was a place of abundance, and more importantly, Egypt's eastern front was the Red Sea, from which an attack could effectively threaten the trade routes between the British and the eastern world.

The French in the proto-space-time plane launched an attack on Egypt in order to cut off the British eastern shipping routes, and it should be clear that Egypt at that time belonged to the Ottoman Empire.

The distance is so far away, and there are still their own opponents in the Mediterranean, such as the powerful British Mediterranean Fleet, sending people to Egypt in such a situation, it cannot but be said that the revolutionary regime dares to think and fight, and it is so crazy.

Therefore, the pressure on the Ottoman Empire today is actually not small.

In the original time and space, they were bullied and bullied by Russia, and most of their energy was put on the northern front against Russia and Austria, and for Egypt in the south, it was inevitable that they would be a little overwhelmed. This is also the ultimate reason why Muhammad Ali bin Ibrahim was able to steal the military and political power of Egypt and establish the Ali dynasty of Egypt after resisting the successive invasions of Britain and France.

But the situation is different now.

The two biggest enemies of the Ottoman Empire, one of which is already half-dead, and if it has not been well cultivated for ten or eight years, Russia will not be able to shake on the chessboard of the world. Austria's energy was so attracted by the noisy French that Russia had not long ago joined forces with Prussia to partition Poland twice without informing Vienna.

The Ottoman Empire had time to continue its reforms, time to gather its strength, and the same energy to take care of its own south, to take care of the sea area on its doorstep.

More than a year after the end of the Sixth War with the Russians, the situation has been completely stabilized, and the old and frail Abdul Hamid I has a great reputation in the country, but his life has indeed come to an end.

It's just that Abdul Hamid I has no regrets. Even when he went to the paradise of their true gods, and saw his grandfather and brothers, he could proudly tell those people that he had defeated the Russians.

So, Abdul Hamid I began to kill. Some of the 'stubborn' reformers, and some of the Guards who posed a great threat to the Sultan. Anyway, the relationship between the top leaders of the Ottoman Empire has always been a mess and foggy, and it is difficult for outsiders to see clearly if they are not really in it.

And although Chen Han has become more and more influential in the Ottoman Empire over the years, it is not that he can't understand the true background of those who were killed, but they don't need to do so.

The Wehrmacht hit the Ural River ~ Ural Mountain, cut off a Russian eagle's head, and the Russians have really lost their vitality, so the greatest role of the Ottoman Empire for Chen Han has disappeared.

Of course, the Ottomans themselves may not have realized this, and they may have thought that they had a closer relationship with China. Because their sultan's daughter was married to His Majesty the Emperor of China.

In fact, however, the importance of the Ottoman Empire to China has been downgraded from the first level of diplomatic relations to the second level.

Of course, even if it is a second level, this is the highest diplomatic level that China has now when it comes to exchanges with other countries around the world.

In addition to Britain and France, there was only one Sweden in the previous second level, and Sweden was downgraded to the third level, and there were only two countries in the second level and one Ottoman.

Chen Zhan didn't know why these generals and officials were executed, and he was not interested in figuring out the reasons for these people's deaths. Even though some of them were former mid-to-senior generals in the Ottoman army, and their influence was huge, but now that they are dead, everything is gone.

Abdul Hamid I had a whole life of his life, and when he died, he rose up, and these people were killed.

There is always a reason for their death.

And isn't this the case with political struggles, the majestic army generals will kill when they say they will kill, the style of the Ottomans has always been very arrogant, and now this style has been restrained a lot.

In the case of every change of imperial power of the Ottomans before, it was accompanied by bloody storms, and now their style has converged a lot. For example, Osman III, or Mustafa III, who had only killed his limited brothers, would no longer be killed, but would be imprisoned. This phenomenon also extends to the nobles, at least some people instead of killing everyone, is this the 'progress' of the Ottomans?

Osman III was known as the 'royal prisoner', and the reigning Abdul Hamid I also spent his youth in captivity, until he reached the middle of his life when he was struck by the joy that fell from the sky.

Time is ticking, and traditions are changing.

However, the influence of tradition on the Ottomans was not small, and although the political struggle in the Ottoman Empire was not as great as in the past, it was always very cruel.

But these have nothing to do with Chen Zhan.

Chen Zhan was a distinguished guest of the Ottoman Empire, and when he passed by the Ottoman Empire before, Chen Zhan hardly stopped, but after he arrived in London, he met with the British royal nobles, and he slipped into the Mediterranean.

The winter in London gave him a very bad feeling, even colder than Nanjing, and even colder than Nanjing.

At this time, Chen Zhan was nestled in a manor house near the docks in Heraklion, the largest city on the island of Crete and the largest port. He was urgently invited by Alemdal Mustafa Pasha, the newly appointed Ottoman Grand Vizi, the Ottoman reformist commander who had previously been stationed on the banks of the Danube and was one of the top commanders of the Ottoman army facing the Russian army head-on.

And now he finally doesn't need to worry about the army anymore.

As soon as Alemdar Mustafa Pasha came, he gave Chen Zhan a big gift. He clearly told Chen Zhan that he intended to reduce all the Greeks in Greece who had colluded with the British and Russians to slavery. Hearing that the Chinese liked to buy Caucasian slave girls, he could call the shots and let Chen Zhan choose a thousand of them first—and sell them at a fairly favorable price, but only if Chen Zhan needed to pay for them with guns and ships.

After knowing what Alemdal Mustafa Pasha meant, Chen Zhan was suddenly surprised and delighted. It's really pie from the sky.

Although he Jieyang King has no ambition to fight for the throne, he will never dislike the gold in his pocket that is too much and too heavy.

The price given by the Ottomans is definitely a preferential price, and it is three or five times the profit to get it to China, and if you can find a few excellent products, the price will become higher and better.

He didn't ask for a high standard, just as beautiful as the eight Greek maids that the Ottomans had given him.

Chen Zhan, the man of Alemdar Mustafa, has heard of it a few times, this gentleman is a reform cadre promoted by the former Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III, and has a very good relationship with the current sultan prince, the son of the former Sultan Mustafa III, and the nephew of the current Sultan Abdul Hamid I, Selim bin Mustafa bin Ahmed.

Now that he was in the position of Osman Grand Viqi, it was clear that Abdul Hamid I was paving the way for his nephew. And all he asked for was that Selim bin Mustafa bin Ahmed would be able to take good care of his two minor positions, and take care of his two minor cousins.

Of course, Alemdar Mustafa has been put in the position of the Great Vizi this time, and even with the current prestige of Abdul Hamid I, there is no telling how many fierce confrontations and political exchanges have been behind it.

Crete has long been known as a Mediterranean garden, a place full of flowers, a warm climate, and a woolen coat is enough to keep you warm. The wind and the sun are beautiful, the plants are evergreen, and olives, grapes, citrus and other olives, grapes are commonly planted on the island. The olive oil produced here is among the best in Europe and is now exported to China.

It was one of the few large items that the Ottoman Empire could get hold of in trade with China.

Of course, Chen Zhan would not personally select female slaves, some of his subordinates were attendants.

Greece, one of the cradles of European civilization, was conquered by the Ottomans more than 300 years ago, but the Greeks never completely submitted to the Ottomans. The Ottoman Empire adopted Albanian governors to rule Greece and Greek bureaucrats to rule Romanians and Slavs.

The Greeks, with the help of the Russians, established the secret organization "Society of Friendship" in Odessa, Ukraine.

St. Petersburg will not give up the Greeks as a useful pawn in vain, although they have not yet completely occupied the Black Sea, but this does not delay them from getting in touch with the Greeks early.

In this Russo-Turkish war, the Friendship Society was very active in Greece and Macedonia. The influence of the French Revolution also spurred this activity and excitement. And now it's time for the Ottomans to pull the list and settle the ledger.

As a backward national capital, slaves have always existed in the Ottoman Empire. Not to mention that there are now more Chinese buyers in the white slave trade.

While Chen Zhan was enjoying himself on the island of Crete, the Ottoman army began its own crimes in Greece. On the one hand, they looted the spoils of war, and on the other hand, they searched for the relevant personnel of the Friendship Society, and countless Greek families suffered a battle of annihilation, and the whole of Greece fell into an extremely miserable situation.

The Ottomans had a long tradition of obsessing with the spoils of war, and in the Ottoman Empire, army generals were expected to present the spoils to His Majesty the Sultan after the war. As a result, countless Greeks were taken into custody on charges of 'collaborating with the enemy', and then their property was confiscated and became the spoils of war by Ottoman officers of all ranks.

In this way, countless gold and silver goods fell into the pockets of the Ottoman officers and soldiers, the Ottomans were happy, and the hatred in the hearts of the Greeks increased.

Chen Zhan and his men witnessed the whole process, and then Chen Zhan said to his subordinates in private: "No one can stop the Ottoman decay, sooner or later, this empire will be finished." ”

The land that has been annexed for more than 300 years, not to mention the complete Ottomanization, is still acting so wantonly, this is because I am afraid that the Greeks do not hate the Ottomans, right?

Sometimes Chen Zhan wanted to ask these Ottoman rulers how long they were going to continue this rule?

When the conquered countries in the territory can no longer endure the oppression and oppression, and rise up one after another?

Just by taking stock of a friendship society, how many Greek villages were reduced to ruins and how many Greek people were reduced to slavery by the Ottomans? This is done to death. This is a deep fear that the Greeks will not hate them.

You must know that the Ottomans did not treat just one Greek like this, they had a strong violent suppression of Macedonians, Serbs, and Romanians. Aren't the Ottomans afraid that one day they will all rise up and rebel?

You know, in the 21st century, it is not the Germans and Americans who hate Russia the most, but the Poles.

Your greatest enemy is not the one who hates you the most, but the 'people' you have conquered before, who hate you even more after regaining their 'freedom'.

However, Chen Zhan didn't bother to care so much, although he had just arrived here, but the Chinese envoys in the Ottomans were there, and too many strange things had been recorded in the years of exchanges between the two countries. Although the country looks like it is being rejuvenated, it is still dull and chaotic, and it is still walking downhill, and it is difficult to turn back.

He didn't care about what happened next for the Ottoman Empire, he only cared about how to get his 'business' done.

Chen Zhan originally came to have a game and look at his vision, but he didn't expect the Ottomans to give him such a big gift.

Speaking of which, even Chen Han's ambassador here was envious, who ostensibly served as diplomatic envoy plenipotentiary in the Ottoman Empire, but in reality he was playing more of the role of an arms broker, a slave trader, an importer and exporter, dealing with all sorts of figures in the Ottoman political arena, and although both sides exchanged gifts, more often than not, the gifts he gave were far more valuable than the gifts he received.

For example, the military and political officials here, the local governors, and the gods one by one, as well as the eunuchs and concubines in the palace, as well as the Jewish merchants who had a lot of power in the Ottoman Empire, to deal with these people, the ambassador would always perform a big trick that made him invincible - gifts.

This is the magic weapon summed up by the predecessors who have encountered walls and troubles again and again, as well as success and joy again and again.