"What? The Sultan Selim shelled the military port of Sevastopol, and is currently engaged in a fierce confrontation with the Russian Black Sea Fleet together with the Khairedin?! Allahu Akbar, I%#&(beep...... ）！ ”

In the Topkapi Palace, which is full of Islamic style, Taratbey, chairman of the "Unity and Progress Council" and the head of the political circles of the Ottoman Empire, is roaring like a bull in the council chamber. His eyes were wide open, his face was as red as fire, and his thick, strong arms kept pounding on the table with a loud thudding sound. At this time, Talatbey's heart was already furious to the point of wanting to kill: he never imagined that the Germans would be so bold and reckless, hanging the Ottoman star and moon flag with a red background to stab the Russians for the first time! Isn't this the rhythm of the Germans having to make their hard-working errands pay for prostitution after they are done?

A few steps away, the Chief of the Army General Staff Enver and the Admiral Zemar couldn't help but rub their ears in pain when they heard Talatbey's thunderous roar like a bell. The interior minister from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean is the most standard Turkish man: a pound (0.454kg) of caviar can be swallowed in one gulp with two glasses of brandy and two bottles of champagne. And his voice was perfectly in keeping with his burly physique, and whenever he roared in anger, no other sound could be heard in the room.

"Alright, Talat, now is not the time for you to be angry!" The lanky Zemar roared like grass swaying in a storm; After a while, the thunderous roar of the hurricane finally stopped. He gasped for a few breaths before he spoke, "Now what we need to discuss." What the Empire should do next. The Germans issued a war call to the Russians in our name. It is time for us to absolve ourselves of our responsibilities. Or do you want to get on a German chariot? ”

"We must not hesitate to explain to the world the circumstances of this incident and declare that I, the Ottomans, have no intention of getting involved in this European war." Taratbey took a deep breath and said categorically in an unwavering tone, "We have just suffered defeat in the Balkan War, and both the economy and the army need a lot of time to recover; If he rashly joined this war at this time, it would undoubtedly wipe out the empire's current hard-won momentum of recovery. At present, although Germany has a certain advantage on the battlefield, it is still far from the final victory; The current ambiguous attitude of the Italians is enough to explain the problem! ”

"But. Our Hayreddin, in order to protect the Sultan Selim, is also engaged in a confrontation with the Russian fleet at this moment. Under such circumstances, it is impossible for us to unilaterally shirk our responsibilities. Enver spoke unhurriedly, his sharp beard curling upward, "and most importantly, what means can we take to absolve ourselves of responsibility?" If it was just a no-nonsense statement, the Russians who had been shelled would not have bought it, and the Entente bloc, led by Britain and France, would not have agreed. And if a substantial compromise is to be made on this matter, the German army and navy delegations will be expelled in accordance with the neutrality demands previously put forward by Britain and France. Again, this is something that the Empire cannot do. Right now, the government, the royal palace, the capital, the people of us, our families, our power, and the Sultan Caliphate. We are all under the guns of this German battleship, and we simply do not have the confidence and ability to touch the bottom line of the Germans. ”

Talat Bey was silent. He slowly sat back in his chair, his hand on his forehead, a look of pain and hatred on his face. Enver's words directly singled out the most difficult part of the problem: even if he wanted to shirk his responsibility, the battleship Khairedin, which was engaged with the Russian fleet, confirmed the fact that Turkey deliberately provoked the war!

"Zemar, what do you think about this?" Taratbey turned his gaze to Zemar Pasha, another member of the current Ottoman Empire's "troika", the Minister of the Navy and the head of the national police.

"The Germans have done this hand and pushed us directly to the point where we have to choose sides: and in the present situation, our joining the Allies to declare war on the Entente is almost the only option." Zemar was silent for a long time, and then slowly spoke, "At present, whether from the political, economic, military, or national sentiments, it is impossible for us to turn our eyes on Germany, which is sympathetic to pan-Islamism, who helped us build the Great Eastern Railway, and rebuild our army, to the Entente camp that is intent on overthrowing the caliphate and disdainful of us." What's more, the shameless British also robbed my battleship Sultan Suleiman, how can this deep feud not be settled with them? ”

Hearing the irrepressible hatred in Zemar's words, Taratbey's lips twitched, and he finally sighed quietly in his heart, and did not say anything again. In order to allow the Ottoman Navy to have a world-class super-dreadnought and revive the glory of the Star and Moon Flag, Zemar has worked hard in the past few years. From the expansion of the slipway, the equipping of various auxiliary facilities, to the raising of funds and the training of personnel, he carried out all of them single-handedly. This time, the Ottoman government no longer had the Austro-Hungarian indemnity money at its disposal, as it had in 1908, and the cost of ordering capital ships had to be raised from scratch, which was more than an order of magnitude more difficult.

In order to raise enough money, Zemar did his homework and made generous public speeches to the common people to encourage the whole people to donate money for the purchase of battleships; How much bitterness and fatigue there is in this, only Zemar himself understands. And in the end, how can a super dreadnought who has already paid in full be wasted like this, not causing him extreme mental pain?

"Enver, you must have advocated an immediate response to Germany's request for an alliance a month and a half ago, and a declaration of war on the Entente, right?" Talat Bey asked.

"My opinion is the same as before. Germany will be the wave of the future, and only by following in Berlin's footsteps can we bring Haussmann back to its former glory. Listening to Talat Bey's inquiry, Enver, a well-known man in history who single-mindedly advocated an alliance with Germany, now unabashedly expressed his firm position. He paused, then added: "If it were not for the lucrative benefits of swinging the offer, I would have ordered the Imperial Army to fight alongside Germany at the beginning of the war." ”

Taratbey let out a long sigh from his seat, the pain on his face deepening a little. Although he himself is grateful to Germany and hates Britain and Russia, after all, the two have very different attitudes towards Turkey, but from the perspective of national strategy, it is undoubtedly an extremely risky move to bet rashly when the current situation in Europe has not yet decided the outcome of the war. However, the bombardment of Russian warships by his own ships has become an established fact, so he can't afford to continue patrolling and delaying any longer!

"Now is our chance. The Russians were at war with Germany and Austria on the Western Front, and their forces deployed in the South Caucasus were bound to be empty; We can take advantage of this opportunity to reclaim a large part of the land that they have previously swallowed. Unlike the war 35 years ago, we are not fighting alone, and Germany and Austria-Hungary will become our strongest allies in revenge against Russia. Enver began to draw up a blueprint for his own family, as if the great empire had once reigned again in the Middle East, "The British Mediterranean fleet only has some old ships, none of which are the opponents of our two battleships, and we can just let that group of shameless Saxon robbers know what kind of serious consequences will be if the believers of Allah are angered!" ……”

Just as he was about to continue to stir Talatbeyi to make up his mind, there was a sudden sound of tapping at the door of the conference hall. A moment later, an old man in a suit walked in, who was none other than the German diplomatic ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Seeing the Ottoman triumvirate gathered in the chamber, the German ambassador seemed to have expected this to happen; He smiled slightly, bowed gracefully to the three of them, and said in fluent Turkish: "Three Pashas, we have just received news that General Ettman had shelled the Russian military port of Sevastopol without informing the Imperial Admiralty; On behalf of the German Empire, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies to your country for this situation. ”

Looking at the smiling German ambassador without a hint of apology on his face, Talat Bey felt the urge to press him to the ground and beat him up. He clenched his steel teeth and said in a voice that popped out from between his teeth: "I have heard that German soldiers are strict and upright, and it is their duty to absolutely obey orders, but I didn't expect that such an anomaly would appear. Your country's use of this man to command the battleship Sultan is truly far-sighted, and Talat admires it immensely. ”

The German ambassador's face did not change, as if he did not hear the slightest hint of Talat Bey's words. He pulled out a delicate sheet of paper with the Black Vulture Iron Cross and the Starry Crescent from his briefcase and handed it to his desk with both hands. Enver, who had spent three years in Berlin (historical facts), recognized at a glance the German and Turkish Chinese language written on it, which was actually an official document of the conclusion of an offensive and defensive alliance between Germany and Turkey!

"If the Pasha is willing to sign on this, a loan of 100 million marks will appear in the account of your central bank within 24 hours." The German ambassador smiled, but in the eyes of Talat Bey, it looked like the temptation of the devil, "Brilliant or ruined, I believe that Pasha will make the right choice." ”

The pendulum rings softly, and the breeze blows; The red ink stain dripped quietly, splashing a bewitching blood flower on the ground. (To be continued......)

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