The second to find Metternich was the French, and Thiers hated Metternich for his involvement in the dismemberment of Napoleon's empire.

But now France needs allies, at least Austria must not be left to the side of the British, otherwise Egypt will face the catastrophe of annihilation.

This was, of course, not the strength of the Austrian Imperial Navy, but the fact that Austria could supply the British fleet and at the same time make the French fleet dare not participate in the siege of the British fleet.

Thiers had the confidence to deal with England, but he did not have the confidence to confront the whole of Europe, and he believed that the root cause of Napoleon's defeat was that he had too many enemies, so he did not want to follow in his footsteps.

Thiers expressed his willingness to support Austria's establishment of an Apennine Customs Union in Italy, and at the same time to share the Egyptian colony with Austria.

Metternich was not satisfied with Thiers' terms, because the Apennine Customs Union did not need the support of France at all, and after the defeat of Egypt, Austria could also share Egypt's resources with Britain.

"Monsieur Thiers, I think you should know that at present the Apennine Customs Union is only attended by the countries ruled by members of the Habsburgs, and your support should not be needed. As for the resources of Egypt, you French will not be able to eat them, and they will certainly be willing to do business with Austria. ”

"Believe me, Mr. Metternich, once the British enter Egypt, they will find a way to monopolize the export of Egyptian cotton, and by that time the raw material security of the Austrian textile industry will be in the hands of the British." Thiers said.

"Aren't there still Americans? I heard that Brazilians have also started to grow cotton, and I believe that we will not worry about cotton anymore in the future. Metternich replied.

Thiers was reluctant to cede real benefits to Austria because Austria was not strong enough to be worth the greater cost.

The conversation between the two sides naturally ended unhappily, and Thiers now pinned his hopes on the Egyptians to quickly reach an agreement with the Ottoman Empire and avoid collective intervention by the great powers, so that France would only have to deal with the British.

Abandoning an alliance with the powerful Anglo-French was not in line with Metternich's usual style, but their offer was too low, and he could not accept that they wanted Austria to do things without being prepared to give them to Austria.

Nesherlov was much more cheerful than Palmerston and Thiers.

"Your Excellency, what can I do in exchange for your support?"

"Belgrade, not all of Serbia. To this end, we are willing to exchange the three nearby provinces of Tuzla, Sarajevo and Focha for Serbian land. Metternich didn't go around in circles, because he was afraid that the other side would not understand.

Exchanging three provinces for one province in Serbia should have been earned. Moreover, the population of these three provinces is predominantly Serb, which can definitely greatly strengthen the strength of the Slavs here, and presumably His Majesty the Tsar will agree.

It suddenly occurred to Neserlov that something seemed wrong.

"Wait, Your Excellency. The three provinces you are talking about seem to be territories belonging to the Ottoman Empire. ”

"Yes, but Austria could get the lands from the Ottomans and exchange them for Serbia. This is a letter from the Grand Duke of Serbia, Miloš Obrenovic, to the Austrian Imperial Family. ”

With that, Prince Metternich handed a letter to Neserlov and continued.

"I think you should know that our Austrian Empire can completely eradicate the pro-Russian faction in Serbia under the banner of helping to quell the rebellion, and then take the opportunity to support a puppet state. This transaction is entirely out of the long-standing friendship between the two countries. ”

Neserlov was convinced that he could not decide on the deal, but he felt that it was necessary to let His Majesty the Tsar know the importance of the deal.

In the subsequent negotiations, Austria sided with Russia, which forced Britain and France to briefly join forces to prevent Russia from moving south.

In fact, Russia did not intend to go south, unless the Egyptians intended to break the secret agreement with Russia and encroach on the Balkans, or the area north of the Euphrates.

However, the European gendarme Russia gave people a strong sense of oppression, so that Britain and France had to join hands to defend against the enemy.

But Russia had the support of Austria, and the two countries joined forces, and there was no rival in the Balkans.

Just as the two sides were at loggerheads, Mahmoud II died.

July 1, 1839.

Mahmoud II, who had been ill for a long time, received bad news one after another, first the surrender of the Egyptians to the fleet he had spent so much money on, and then the new Ottoman army, which he had devoted all his efforts to, was defeated in the Fourth Battle of Nizip and almost completely wiped out, and his most trusted general was killed in battle.

Mahmoud II shouted with the last of his strength.

"The king is not the king of the dead country, and the minister is not the minister of the dead country. It's really that the wisdom of the people has not yet opened, and you still need to work hard."

Then the whole man collapsed as if he had been emptied, and his heir, Abdul McJid, came with the medicine.

"McGid, though you are weak, you are my wisest son. You will surely become the greatest Sultan in the future. You have to take advantage of the contradictions between the great powers to fight for the interests of the Ottoman Empire, and you must open up the wisdom of the people, otherwise the people only recognize the gold and not the country, and in the end they will fall short."

"Father, drink the medicine."

Mahmoud II drank the medicine, and soon after lying down, his eyes widened, and he vomited a mouthful of black blood, and died of exhaustion.

Although Mahmud II was known as the first national thief of the Ottoman Empire at that time, later generations ranked him as one of the greatest sultans.

Unlike his great ancestors, Mahmoud II was not a military genius or a playful diplomat. Under his rule, the territory of the Ottoman Empire continued to shrink and the sovereignty of the country was constantly undermined.

However, during his reign, he cleared the way for reform in the Ottoman Empire, and with far-sighted planning, he halted the decline of the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottoman Empire thus had a chance to be reborn and began to slowly move towards a modern state.

After the death of Mahmud II, his 16-year-old son, Abdul Mejid, succeeded him as sultan.

Mejid looks suave, completely unable to find the fierce shadow of his ancestors, and with slender arms, he is known as "the thinnest sultan".

However, beneath its weak exterior lies a huge ambition that is not at all inferior to its ancestors.

Quietly, McJid replaced all the important ministers of the court with his henchmen, and those who opposed him either died suddenly or were transferred to the front against the Egyptian army.

He inherited a country in tatters, with internal religious and reactionary forces trying to seize power, and outside Muhammad Ali's army was approaching.

At a moment when everyone thought that the Sultan would definitely call for the unanimous external forces at home.

But Mejid made a surprising move to make peace with Muhammad Ali.

At the same time, he asked the ambassadors of various countries to come to his flower hall and listen to his speech.

Ask for a ticket

(End of chapter)