In the halls of the Sultan's Palace, Selim III quickly met two familiar envoys.

Dressed in a proper dress, with a white wig, and the smell of perfume all over the body, there is a hint of arrogance in the 'gentleness', which is the aristocracy of England and Austria.

It's just that Selim III finds it amusing that the two of them had shown him their faces not long ago, and now they are going to sell them to him.

That's how it is from country to country.

It is often said that husbands and wives do not have overnight feuds, and this sentence is more applicable between countries. Two once-hostile countries may become allies overnight for something, such as Britain and France during World War I; Two once-close allies can also become enemies overnight because of something, like Germany and Tsarist Russia, and Britain.

The Ottomans were enemies of Austria, and their relations with the British were not much better, but the Europeans had been playing diplomacy for hundreds of years, and the basic qualities of professional diplomats were still there, and the two sides were still very friendly when they met. Both the two ambassadors and Selim III greeted each other very politely.

After the polite greeting, Selim III directly asked his own question:

"I wonder what the two envoys are coming to Istanbul for? I heard that you have just returned to London and Vienna and are leaving for Istanbul again, so urgently, it must be good news, right? Selim III's words implied a hint of mockery.

George Johnson, the envoy of the British, said:

"Your Majesty the Sultan, a new year is upon us, and in this joyous season, the two of us do bring the good news you have hoped for. But in addition to these, we also bring some small requirements. If these small demands can be met, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Holy Roman Empire will give His Majesty even greater and more good news. ”

There is only temptation, no threat. Johnson didn't say anything what would happen if their 'small' demands weren't met.

London's wisdom can be seen.

The Ottoman Empire is no longer the Ottoman Empire of the original, and their 'strength' can be seen.

This is the only first-class power in the Celestial World. For a country that can resist a joint Austrian-Russian attack on its own for two or three years, too blunt threats are a very stupid diplomatic ploy,

Selim III also laughed, knowing the scruples of London and Vienna, this feeling made him feel really good. What could be more sour than the fact that an enemy who oppresses himself does not dare to say a hard word to himself?

The British and Austrians in front of them dare to be angry but dare not speak, right? Their 'blackmail' was not the use of force, but the use of economic gain as a bargaining chip, and Selim III was not angry about such blackmail:

"Then Mr. Ambassador, please tell me more about it!"

"Your Majesty the Sultan. Our good news is here. The British ambassador immediately pulled out a large list. £300,000 in orders for food, arms and medicines, and £700,000 in purchase intentions. As soon as our requests are met, they will be turned into gold and sent to His Majesty's palace! ”

And this million pounds is only the answer given by the London family, let's not forget that the Austrians also have to give blood, and the Russians. The three families together are a lot of wealth, two million is only a lot more. Even if the Ottomans could only make a small profit from it, it would be two or three hundred thousand pounds.

Of course, more profits lie in China, and the Ottomans' career as second-way dealers is, to put it bluntly, to take advantage of the fire for China. In the material trade with the French, the British were more ruthless than the Ottoman agent than the producer behind it.

But no one in Istanbul as a whole has yet seen through this, or in the face of huge profits, they simply ignore it.

Selim III took the list and glanced at it.

The list of materials purchased is nothing more than cotton yarn, food, medicine, munitions, etc., except for the relatively large quantities, there is nothing special about it. When it came to the purchase intention, he found a large number of names of copper, iron, lead, tin and other metals. This surprised Selim III, could it be that the great war in Europe had affected this point?

"As for our little request. It is hoped that the Ottoman Empire, which is ruled by His Majesty, will reduce hostility with the Russian Empire, maintain peace, and allow the people on both sides to live a life free from war and blood. ”

The British were so low that they even chose to turn a blind eye to the faint 'trade' between the Ottomans and France. This is really not good for Selim III. Of course, although the British put their posture very low, in the end, Johnson still revealed a small suggestion for Austrian and French trade: in the future, the Ottomans could sell the goods between the Ottomans and France to Britain and Austria at the same price.

If the Ottomans were willing to give up trade with France, they were even willing to buy it at a premium.

This is almost to say that we understand the position of the Ottomans - their friendship with France has a long history, so we do not have the luxury of expecting the Ottomans to completely sever their relations with France in the current situation. But it's always okay to ask the Ottoman Empire to do as little business with the French as possible, right? If the Ottomans really had the goods in their hands, Britain and Austria could have sold them at their own expense.

The Ottomans are seeking money, the British and the Austrians are rich, whose money is not earned?

"Huh!" Selim III burst out laughing.

This attitude of the British is good, very good. But it's too 'simple' to think!

At present, the trade volume between the Ottomans and France accounts for more than half of the Ottoman entrepot trade, which is not a small number. Some of the money the French received from China, the sale of Louisiana, was turned into military supplies that Napoleon desperately needed. This was something that the Ottomans had to hand over to the French. Therefore, it is really impossible for the Ottomans to completely cut off trade with France.

However, from a certain point of view, this promise of the British has a lot of loopholes to exploit and is a great benefit.

You must know that France is different from Britain, the war has caused a heavy blow to France's textile industry, and the colonial interests have been sharply reduced due to the isolation of local interests. Nearly 60 percent of the sales of the Ottomans in the three major categories of cotton cloth, cotton yarn and raw silk were exported to France.

The Ottomans' 'help' solved a big problem for France, and if the British and Austrians were willing to buy it at a 'premium', it would be great. Of course, the Ottomans would still do business with the French, and some things could not be bought with money. At this time, the Ottomans maintained trade with France, which was constantly transfusing blood to France, which was saving France's life and could deeply consolidate the friendship between France and the Ottomans.

Even if the British and Austrians were willing to pay the same price for the goods, Selim III would not have agreed. 、

Moreover, this trade was not only enormous, but would also last a long time, and Selim III felt that as long as the war in Europe continued like this, the Ottomans and France would maintain trade of this scale for decades to come.

Moreover, this will also make the friendship between France and the Ottomans completely solidified, which is directly related to the strategic plan of the Ottoman Empire, and its long-term plan for the future - China in the east, France in the west, with these two major allies, the interests of the Ottoman Empire will be completely protected.

And if France does not have Ottoman supplies, the 'advantage' of Britain and Austria and other anti-French alliance countries over France will rise sharply. Even because of the changes in history, Napoleon may finish his glorious life ahead of schedule, and it is not difficult for the history of the French Revolution to be directly rewritten. Then Chen Han's interests were lost too much, and Ottoman's interests were also greatly lost.

Even if Selim III was willing to agree to the British's proposal, Chen Ming behind him would not let him nod. In case the French Revolution was suppressed by the anti-French coalition in advance, Chen Han's losses would be directly at the strategic level. And for Selim III and the Ottoman Empire he ruled, it was also a catastrophe. The French Revolution was suppressed, how could they still be second-hand dealers? How can you continue to sell weapons to France?

In the next few years, the British would not pay the Ottomans in advance.

Of course, Selim III also wanted Europe to remain at war. Although a strong European country was not in Ottoman interest, if Britain and France were destined to become stronger, Istanbul would rather that person be Britain than France.

A powerful maritime Britain had great interests for both the Ottomans and Selim III himself. This would have made the power of the continent inherently attractive, and thus the safety of the Ottomans would be more guaranteed.

However, the rivalry between Britain and France has lasted for three or four hundred years, and the comparison has made France, the hegemon of the European continent, completely fall, and maintain the competition between the two powers, which is more favorable to the Ottomans.

Sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight, the two tigers will fight each other must have an injury, the snipe and the clam fight, and the fisherman will benefit......

Selim III's mind resounded with a flurry of 'Chinese words'. The vast and profound Chinese culture is completely 'portrayed' in a few simple words, vividly and vividly, except for everything that the Ottoman Empire is facing at the moment.

Moreover, the Russians and Austrians were the sworn enemies of the Ottoman Empire, and they were inspired by the British to fight to the death against the French Empire, which was simply the most favorable development for the Ottomans.

This is also a testament to the wisdom of the French sages, as the hegemon of the European continent, France is indeed a natural ally of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire, which could easily threaten the core interests of Austria and Russia, really complemented France in good harmony.

"Mr. Special Envoy, you understand very well what the purpose of commerce is, and that all commercial acts are for profit, and therefore want to exchange the power of money for the goods we sell to France. But you forget one thing, for a country, there is one thing that is priceless, something that money cannot buy. That's credibility! ”

"If the money is gone, you can make it again, if the credibility is gone, no matter how much money you have, you can't get it back!"

Second, dealers also emphasize credibility and dignity.

"Oh? What else did the Ottomans have? Johnson didn't say anything, but a hint of mockery flashed in his eyes.

He didn't believe that the Ottoman had any credibility as a second-hand dealer. During the Silk Road at that time, although China earned a lot of gold from Europe, the Tianfang people benefited even more. These shameless people have never had much credibility. What is there in this trade that cannot be exchanged? It's not a sky-high asking price, and I want to reap more benefits.

"Whether it's as an ordinary businessman or as a country, credibility is a very important quality. Without credibility, will the country still be trusted? And how much trouble will a country be in which nothing is believed in what it says? Selim III affirmed with a straight face.

This is wealth, money, in the short term; In the long run, it is to shape the image of the Ottoman country, and it is also to increase the deep friendship between the Ottomans and France.

Even if France is defeated, according to France's size and population, according to France's technology and heritage, it will not take long for France to rise again and become the hegemon of the European continent again.

On the road to Europe, the only one who has the capital to compete with France is Russia, but Russia is too poor and too backward. Sandwiched between the two is the 'First German Reich', so fundamentally there will not be much conflict.

"Uh......" The two British and Austrian envoys were stunned at the same time.

This is completely a 'on the platform' statement, and no one can refute it. No one can directly say that credibility does not matter, especially career diplomats like them. But at the same time, they also know very well that the so-called national credibility is completely guaranteed by the guns behind them, and it is impossible for people to abide by their promises without strength.

This is the Western rule of the game, which is a completely different mode of operation from the 'millennium' umbrella produced in China.

However, even if they knew that Selim III was using big words to gag the mouths of the two, they could not find a reason to refute it. And by saying this, they made it clear that Selim III would never agree to the suspension of 'commercial' trade with France.

Looking at the two envoys in front of him with a relieved and lost expression, Selim III was very happy.

As long as the supply of supplies and weapons to France continued, and Napoleon continued to fight with the countries of the anti-French coalition, the Europeans who were concentrating on infighting would certainly have no time to take care of the Ottomans. Selim III used this time to hope that he would be able to uproot the conservative political forces that had hindered reform in the country and completely secularize the Ottomans.

Heaven under faith will not be able to bear flowers and fruits of science and technology, and in the future world, if the country wants to be competitive, it must not leave science and technology.

Science and technology are the primary productive forces!

These words, which came from the mouth of Emperor Chen in the East, deeply affected Selim III. Even in the whole world, both in the East and the West, in the heavenly world, it has had a great influence.

Everyone understands the meaning of the word 'productivity', and the meaning of 'first' is also obvious. Emperor Chen's admiration for science and technology can be seen from this.

The more Selim III was influenced by this idea, the clearer he became aware of the inhibition of technology by faith. If the Ottomans could not become a secular society, the flower of science would never have been able to bloom in the land of the Ottomans.

The de-secularized Ottoman Empire should have died down and completely retreated into the background, but a Suez Canal made it impossible for the Ottomans to retreat. It turned into a large glowing fireball, towering over the countries of Europe. And driven by interests, Osman not only did not stay out of the matter, but was deeply involved.

Don't look at the current Ottoman Empire, there are no troops and no wars, don't strategic materials count? They're already caught up in it. The amount of profit they made from this was how much hatred they won from Austria, England, and even Russia.

Recognizing Selim III's position, the ambassadors of the two countries finally gave up hope of success through peaceful means. They looked at each other, and finally it was the British envoy Johnson who spoke:

"Your Majesty, the war in Europe involves the great powers of the entire Western world, and although your country's actions seem to win great benefits in the short term, in the long run, ...... hope that Your Majesty will consider it carefully."

Johnson's words were like a warning to Selim III to think twice.

Selim III hooked the corners of his mouth and smiled disdainfully.

This is the usual trick of diplomats, if it is soft, it will be hard, and if it is not possible to negotiate, it will be threatened. The reason why Johnson said so gently at this meeting is entirely because the British today cannot threaten the Ottomans at all.

Perhaps in the coming year, the British cruisers will be all over the Mediterranean to slaughter Ottoman merchant ships, but Selim III is not afraid.

Science and technology are the primary productive forces!

Steamships produce wealth from energy sources.

Do you really think that the Ottomans will stay the same? Selim III had already prepared, and by next year, the steamers with hybrid engines and sails in the Golden Horn should be built, and with the speed of steamships, neither cruisers nor battleships could catch up. Except for the flying shear bow warship in a tailwind state.

But the shear bow battleship is even more invulnerable than the steam-powered paddle steamer!