Chapter 139 Arabian Nights (Part 2)

Ottoman, Istanbul.

The Grand Saraki Palace, on the top floor of a minaret, overlooks the Sea of ​​Marmara and the Bosphorus.

The Ottoman Grand Vizier, Fer Czak, is kneeling on the ground, waiting for their guests with Sultan Mahmud II.

They are a notorious traitorous combination in history. Algeria was occupied by France, Tunisia was independent, Greece was independent, Serbia became a country within a country, Egypt Muhammad Ali was independent and conquered Syria, Wallachia and Moldavia became Russian protectorates.

The eighth Russo-Turkish war was a disastrous defeat, the first Turkish-Egyptian war was a disastrous defeat, the Navarino naval battle was a disastrous defeat, the Greek War of Independence was a disastrous defeat, and the overwhelming unequal treaties firmly nailed them to the pillar of shame in history.

The Treaty of Unkar-Iskelesi has a secret clause that stipulates that once Russia requests, Turkey will block the Dardanelles and not allow warships from any other country to pass through, making the Ottoman Empire a watchdog of Russia.

They signed numerous agreements with European countries, and Europeans could enjoy a variety of privileges in the Ottoman Empire.

However, these two people were actually the pioneers of the Ottoman Empire's reforms, and even Kemal's reforms in later generations borrowed from Mahmud II's reforms.

As soon as Mahmud II ascended the throne, he killed the Guards, one of the culprits of the Ottoman Empire at this time.

The Ottoman Guards used to be the reliance of the entire empire, but now they are the most terrible enemy within the empire. They oppose all reforms and have enough strength to prevent reforms. If they are not eliminated, reforms cannot be carried out.

The Ottoman Guards also killed the former Sultan, Mahmud II's father. He learned from his father's lessons and made sufficient preparations to completely eliminate the Guards.

When those Ottoman Guards turned the camp pot upside down again, they also sentenced themselves to death.

The camp pot turned upside down means rebellion.

The Ottoman Guards planned to rush into the Hippodrome again, just like the mutiny in 1807, and then marched towards the Sultan's palace with murderous intent, demanding the heads of the Sultan's reformist ministers, repeating the old drama of previous mutinies.

But Mahmud was not his father. At this time, the walls of the Great Sarakirio Palace were filled with new artillery and soldiers with live ammunition.

In just half an hour, this army that had made Europe and even the world tremble for five centuries came to an end.

After that, it was the drama that the Ottoman Empire had been performing for hundreds of years - massacre.

Mahmud II completely wiped out the remnants of the Guards and the Ulema system that had been in collusion with the Guards for hundreds of years.

Mahmud II, who had eliminated the Guards, was in high spirits and immediately began to reform the army.

Mahmud II did not choose instructors from Britain or France, but chose Helmut Karl Bernhard von Moltke, a young lieutenant of the Prussian Army, as an adviser to the Ottoman Army.

This young lieutenant was the "Old Moltke" who later became famous in Europe.

After that, the Ottoman Empire also sent military cadets and officers to exchange studies with Prussia, and since then the Ottoman Army has taken the path of Prussianization.

Mahmud II abolished the backward tima system and tax farming system, greatly strengthening centralization and Ottoman fiscal revenue.

At the same time, Mahmud II also promulgated a new code, abandoning religious power and encouraging the development of industry and commerce.

Starting in 1824, the Ottoman Empire began to implement compulsory education, restored many closed universities, and sent students to Britain, France, Prussia and other countries to learn advanced culture and technology.

Austria was a sworn enemy of Russia and the Ottoman Empire, so it did not directly send students abroad.

In addition, he also founded two military academies, one modeled after the Ottoman Academy of Military Sciences founded by Napoleon, and the other was the Imperial Academy of Music, which specialized in training drummers and musicians.

Mahmud II even followed the example of Peter the Great, opposing ministers from growing beards, and rewarding those who were willing to cut their beards. He abandoned the traditional Ottoman robes and changed to Western-style military uniforms and breeches. He even invented the fez hat specifically to change the Ottoman habit of wearing turbans.

The fez hat, a cylindrical felt hat, usually has a string of tassels. If it is a soldier or official, a crescent moon logo is embroidered on it.

After 1834, Mahmud II restored the ambassador system and founded the Ottoman Empire's first newspaper, the Ottoman Monitor.

After losing to Muhammad Ali in the First Turkish-Egyptian War, Mahmud II quickly rebuilt the Ottoman Navy and even built the world's largest sailing battleship, the Mahmud.

And he imitated the West to build arsenals, develop new guns and cannons, and encourage the development of industry and commerce.

However, as Mahmud II's reforms deepened, he encountered more and more resistance. Some religious groups encouraged local officials to launch uprisings and even sent people to assassinate the Sultan and his close ministers.

At the same time, with the introduction of Western ideas and the worsening of the Ottoman Empire's national crisis, the national consciousness of various ethnic groups in the country began to awaken.

The complexity of ethnic issues in the Ottoman Empire was not inferior to that of the Austrian Empire, especially under the blessing of internal and external troubles, making Mahmud II's reforms difficult.

Several religious groups within the Muslim community also openly opposed Mahmud II's reforms because the reforms touched the interests of too many religious groups.

Although the Ottoman Empire was defeated repeatedly in international wars, the civilians only thought that the Sultan was incompetent.

The people still looked down on Europeans, and some even paid high prices to buy white slaves to enhance the prestige of the Ottoman Empire.

In the eyes of the Ottomans, Albanians = people who sell stinky water, Dutch = cheese sellers, French = guys without faith, Austrians = blasphemous pagans, Russians = crazy pagans, British = fools who do not believe in God, Italians = descendants of slaves, Spaniards = lazy pigs, Poles = arrogant pagans.

There is the Austrian Empire in the west and the crazy Russians in the north. These two countries have forced the Ottoman Empire to bleed on the border for hundreds of years.

The first thing every tsar did when he took office was to launch a Russo-Turkish war.

The Austrian Empire has always regarded the Ottoman Empire as a major threat. Although there has been no large-scale war between the two sides, small frictions have never stopped. The provinces adjacent to the Austrian Empire are all negative benefits for the Ottoman Empire.

Britain and France have been digging into the Ottomans. Greece and Algeria are their masterpieces.

And now British Foreign Secretary Palmerston has claimed that he will protect the Egyptians in the Ottoman Empire and is ready to establish a country for them.

Palmerston's plan is this: people, everyone will provide, and land, the Ottomans will provide.

Mahmud II really wanted to cut off the hands and feet of this pagan and throw him into the Red Sea to feed the fish.

Inside the Ottoman Empire, there is also Muhammad Ali, the black sheep.

"Am I a sinner?" Mahmud II asked.

"No, you are the greatest sultan in the world, and I am willing to follow you to death." Fer Chak replied.

"No, I want you to live! I may not be able to witness the day when the Ottoman Empire rises again, but you must assist my descendants to continue my reforms. Revitalize the glory of the Ottoman Empire, and one day kill all the pagans and build our world."