May 1839.

The sudden appearance of Austrian troops in Novi Sad caused panic among the Bosnian governors, and at the same time Serbia sent a distress signal to the Ottoman Empire.

Because as soon as the Austrians crossed the Danube, they could attack them.

The Austrian side had at least 50,000 regular troops, and neither Bosnia nor Serbia had the strength to fight against it.

After Serbia overthrew the rule of Miloš Obrenovic, the whole country was plunged into turmoil. The members of the Council of Seventeen bribed the Ottoman Pasha to fight each other for the so-called supreme power.

This was a good thing for the Ottoman Empire, and Esor Pasha was happy to see it, as he wanted to take advantage of the weakness of disunity within the Serbs to weaken them and eventually regain control of Serbia.

However, the sudden visit of the Austrian Imperial Army made the situation tense. Vučić, who had the advantage on the surface, lost his troops in the civil war, and even offended the Serbian princes.

Behind Vučić were the Russians, and behind Miloš Obrenovic, whom he suppressed, was none other than the Austrians.

In fact, Miloš Obrenovic has never been genuinely loyal to either side, and he can follow Karajchor (a former leader of the Serbian independence faction) in his quest for independence. He was also able to cut off Karajjor for the sake of glory and wealth, and gave his head to the Sultan as a ladder for his promotion.

He could declare allegiance to Russia for independence, or he could get rid of Russian influence and Austria.

Miloš always had only one goal, to build a Greater Serbia, and he had in mind that Greater Serbia was a super-empire that included Slovenia, Croatia, and the entire Balkan Peninsula.

Miloš's double-faced swords had already offended Austria, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire.

But Vučić and the Council of Seventeen did not know that the Austrians were going to send troops to help Miloš suppress the rebellion.

Vučić's emissaries soon arrived in Russia, but were told that the Tsar could only guarantee that Serbia would not be annexed by Austria, that there was only one Russian military adviser for reinforcements, and that even the Russian spies who had been ubiquitous before had disappeared unconsciously.

At this time, Vučić and the Council of Seventeen could only temporarily abandon their personal prejudices, stop attacking each other, and ask for help from the Ottoman Empire together.

On the other hand, Bosnian Pasha was also panicked, Serbia had an army of 15,000 men and 5,000 Ottoman soldiers of Esor Pasha, while the whole of Bosnia only had 5,000 soldiers, and they were distributed among nearly 100 fortresses, large and small.

Bosnia, a province with negative income from the Ottoman Empire, has not collected enough tax revenues to cover the costs of maintaining its stability, with 150,000 Croats and nearly 300,000 Serbs living in Bosnia, with only 240,000 local Bosniaks.

All three of these nations were considered disloyal by the orthodox Ottomans.

Fearing that the Austrian Empire was going to attack Bosnia, he could only take his troops to the guerrillas.

The news reached Istanbul.

Mahmud II was furious.

"Damn! Guy who doesn't believe his word! Perfidious villain! Savage Russians, vile Austrians, shameless British! ”

Mahmud II scolded the Great Powers, but he could only get Grand Vizierfer Chak to urgently recall the Balkan troops, let the troops return to Tulcea to continue the confrontation with Russia across the Danube, and at the same time divide troops to reinforce Serbia.

Bosnia was of low importance to the Ottoman Empire, with negligible benefits and high costs to maintain stability.

In the face of this rotten land, the Ottoman Empire also ruled in a state of rottenness. The Ottomans only had a stronghold in the towns, and the taxes were as much as they could, and the rebels turned a blind eye as long as they did not shout for independence or attack the city.

More than 90 per cent of the region is rugged and mountainous, and crop yields are less than one-fifth of those in the neighbouring province of Vojvodina.

Industrial and commercial trade was almost non-existent, and by the nineteenth century it was still dependent on agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, and hunting.

Moreover, the mountain people here are wild and untamable, fierce and warlike, and they revolt and cause trouble at every turn. The Ottoman Empire sent large armies to encircle and suppress it many times, but they all returned in vain.

Although this rotten land is the "ancestral inheritance" of the Ottomans, Mahmoud II did not feel sorry at all for losing it. On the contrary, Serbia, which is now basically independent, cannot afford to lose for the Ottoman Empire.

Because once Serbia fell, Austria's path into the Ottoman Empire would be unimpeded. There is also a century-old grudge between the two countries, and once the Austrians taste the taste of blood, they will become the next Russia, and they will engage in a "Turkish-Austrian war" or something at every turn.

As a result, at this time, Mahmud II had to leave 150,000 troops to confront Russia and Austria, and only 200,000 troops on the southern front, which was weaker than the forces of Muhammad Ali, he could only hope that the civil strife in Egypt was real, and his vanguard could directly take Syria.

Syrian battlefield.

The vanguard of the Ottomans, led by Havertz Pasha, quickly entered Syria, and at first met no resistance, and he wanted to take Damascus in one fell swoop, taking advantage of the lack of Egyptian forces.

What Havertz Pasha did not know, however, was that from the moment he entered Syria, he had fallen into Ibrahim's trap.

When the Ottoman army advanced all the way to Aleppo, Havertz Pasha decided to repair and replenish supplies in the small town of Nizip.

As a result, the Egyptian troops, who had long been ambushed in Nizip, and Ibrahim's main forces, who had come later, suffered heavy losses in front and rear, and Hafzipasha himself was captured.

Ibrahim personally cut off the heads of Havertz Pasha and cut off the beards of all the prisoners of war, giving them to Mahmud II as gifts.

In the palace of Grand Saraqurio, fifty-four-year-old Mahmud II cursed Muhammad Ali and everything in the world, and he himself had devoted his life to reform day and night, but had suffered repeated setbacks and was on the verge of madness.

The news of the fiasco was torn to shreds by him, and Havertz Pasha was kicked in the head.

"I still have a new army! I still have a fleet! Send the Mahmoudiyya! Tell Ahmed that if you can't win, come and see you! ”

"Go and call that Palmerston, where is the support of the British, and if I can't see the British fleet, cut off his head!"

Fer Chuck wrote the order worriedly, he didn't know where the war was going, but he was more worried about the Sultan's health than about it.

Fifty-four years old is already considered a high life expectancy in this era. (Average age 30)

As soon as the commander of the front, Ahmet, received the order, he had his army march along the coastline, with both land and water armies advancing together, so that they could support each other in the event of an encounter with the Egyptian army.

But what Ahmed Pasha didn't know was that the Ottoman navy had long been bought by Muhammad Ali with money.

(End of chapter)