Chapter 109 Ali's Ambition
Alexandria, Egypt.
After the disastrous defeat, Muhammad Ali, the Pasha of Egypt and the conqueror of the Sultan, decided to reform the navy. On the one hand, he bought advanced warships from France, and on the other hand, he bought advanced technology to train workers to build warships.
Now the Egyptian Navy has one second-class battleship, fifteen third-class battleships, and hundreds of light gunboats of various types.
Ali Pasha admired his fleet, but his trump card was actually hidden in the dock.
In the dock, nine huge first-class battleships were being built, and there were ten third-class battleships that had already been built.
With these warships, Egypt will become the world's second largest naval power, but Ali Pasha's ambitions are far more than that.
Just a month ago, Ali Pasha's envoy arrived in St. Petersburg.
Ali Pasha's envoy handed over the Egyptian letter, and Tsar Nicholas I sneered and threw the letter to the ground after reading it.
"That Egyptian, what's your name?"
Anyone familiar with Sydney Gula I knew that the Tsar was going to kill someone.
In the letter of credence submitted to Russia, Ali Pasha said that he was willing to share the Ottoman Empire's legacy with the Tsar, with the Tigris River as the boundary.
Egypt was willing to form an alliance with Russia to fight against Britain. Egypt would give up the territory of the former Eastern Roman Empire and was willing to pay tribute to the Tsar year after year.
This was the most ridiculous joke Nicholas I had ever heard. Why did Egypt want to divide the Ottoman Empire with Russia? Was it based on their sense of humor?
At this time, the messenger replied.
"Egyptians have no names. Egyptians are Ali's servants. You can call me Abdul. But I want to remind you that you just dropped our letter of credence on the ground. Can I pick it up for you?"
The messenger answered neither humbly nor arrogantly, which surprised Nicholas I. He was a murderous man. Even those Cossack leaders who killed people's families at any time would unconsciously tremble when they saw Nicholas I.
Nicholas I did not answer, but just looked at Abdul coldly.
In fact, Abdul had already been sweating profusely, but his family was in Ali Pasha's hands, and he could only succeed and not fail.
"Your Majesty, why don't you take a look at the gift Ali Pasha prepared for you first."
Nicholas I still sat on the throne in silence, his left hand clenched into a fist and supporting his chin, like a lion waiting for prey.
Boxes of gold, silver and jewelry passed by Nicholas I, and his expression did not change at all.
Until a group of trembling people crawled in front of Nicholas I, he suddenly stood up with anger in his eyes.
Nicholas I was very tall, he was 205 cm tall, and he had been exercising for many years.
When he stood up, he felt full of oppression, and the Egyptian envoy couldn't help swallowing his saliva.
He knew why Nicholas I was angry. The Russian Tsar had always regarded himself as the savior of the Orthodox Church, and according to the Orthodox tradition, he had the obligation to rescue all Orthodox believers.
Even in the darkest moment of Eastern Europe, when the Tatars, Crimeans, and Ottomans were rampant, the Tsar would pay money from his own treasury every year to redeem people from the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate.
Now Nicholas I saw a group of Russian slaves appearing in his palace, and he could not accept it either emotionally or morally.
However, this was Abdul's gift. He knew that the gold and silver of Ali Pasha could not impress the Tsar at all. Only these Russian slaves could arouse the Tsar's anger and then choose to reach a secret agreement with Egypt.
"Your Majesty, I bought them in the slave market of the Ottoman Empire. I am now handing your subjects back to you, and I hope you..."
Before Abdul finished speaking, he was picked up by the Tsar by the neck.
In the hands of Nicholas I, who was 2.05 meters tall, Abdul, who was 1.55 meters tall, was like a child.
"Tell Muhammad Ali that I accepted his gift, but if one day I find a Russian slave on Egyptian territory, I promise that my army will flatten Cairo. No one will be left alive."
Abdul was thrown out by Nicholas I like trash, and turned to the Russians and said, "Get up, you are free."
The slaves looked at each other and stood up carefully. In fact, they had lived in the Ottoman Empire for several generations. Apart from their appearance, they could not even understand Russian, let alone have seen the Tsar.
They only knew that they were bought by an Egyptian master, and now they were handed over to a more powerful master. The strange thing was that this master looked very similar to them, but a little scary.
Nicholas I did not care about the strangeness of these slaves, but waved his hand to let his confidant Grand Duke Liubai take them away.
In fact, Nicholas I did not care about any secret agreements. The secret agreements torn up by Russia could be piled up into a mountain, and he didn't need one.
It is better to accept the gift first and see what the Egyptians will do. If the Egyptians can severely damage the British fleet, it will be great for Russia.
As for what to do if the Egyptians lose the war? Just pretend that nothing happened, anyway, the gift has been accepted.
Ali Pasha was overjoyed that Nicholas I agreed to the secret agreement with Egypt, because just now the Thiers government had assured Ali that if a war broke out between Britain and Egypt, France could intervene when necessary.
But Ali's Egyptian government must guarantee France's interests in Egypt. Ali Pasha knows what Thiers wants.
Now Egypt has become the second largest cotton exporter after the United States, and France has become the world's second largest cotton importer. France's textile industry cannot do without Egypt for a day.
When Egypt was invaded by France, Napoleon's strength is still fresh in his memory. But Ali Pasha did not expect the French to send troops directly, but he thought that as long as the French saw the opportunity to defeat Britain, the French would not miss this opportunity.
Speaking of Napoleon, Ali Pasha has always believed that Egypt is the graveyard of powerful empires. The Roman Empire was defeated by Cleopatra, the Mongol Empire was defeated by the Mamluks, and Napoleon was defeated by the rioters. He, Muhammad Ali, wants to end the world's ocean overlord-Britain here and create his own legend.
Ali Pasha, looking at the giant ships being built in the dock, suddenly felt a sense of pride in his chest.
Because no one knows the existence of these warships, he can use this information gap to defeat the arrogant British.
Because the British did not know the existence of these warships, it was impossible to send all the main forces to the battlefield at once.
If we follow the experience of the last time, the British will only send two or three first-class battleships to sit in the battle, supplemented by some third-class battleships as guards.
Then what the Egyptian Navy has to do is to annihilate them all. If possible, it is best to make the British surrender, so that the Egyptian Navy will be stronger.
After the British suffered a disastrous defeat, they will inevitably come to retaliate in anger. As long as they are not stupid, they will definitely ask the Ottomans for help. At that time, Ali’s real killer will come into play, because the British could not expect that the Ottoman fleet had been bought by Ali.
The self-righteous British had no choice but to surrender when they were attacked from both sides.
If the British Navy is eliminated, the Egyptian Navy will be able to dominate the ocean.
At that time, it will be able to annex the legacy of the Ottoman Empire and draw the Tigris River as the boundary with Russia.
In another ten years, he will be able to build an army of one million, go north to defeat Russia, and dominate Europe, Asia and Africa.
There are two versions about the height of Nicholas I. One is 1.9 meters and the other is 2.05 meters. The previous book wrote it as 1.9 meters, so this time it is written as 2.05 meters, which makes it more oppressive.