Chapter 142 Anglo-Turkish Commercial Treaty
Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.
Franz was leaning back in his chair, while Talia was reading the newspaper for him.
Adjani was reading a report. Franz arranged for her to take charge of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce and Industry, but the actual controller was Lusen Sina.
Lusen Sina would send a huge amount of intelligence every week, most of which were useless garbage, and only a few would have an impact on the current situation. The burden of distinguishing the value of this intelligence fell on Adjani alone.
She really wanted to throw all the intelligence to Franz, but she knew very well that the consequence of doing so was to be marginalized. By then, not only would her freedom be hopeless, but even her life might be lost here.
Madame Sophie promised: As long as Adjani served Franz wholeheartedly, she would reunite her with her husband in ten years, and give them a sum of money to go to South America, a place where no one could find them.
What Ajani saw and heard around Franz made her realize that the top brass of the Polish Restoration Army was a joke. Most people were just cheating for food and drink in the name of the Polish Restoration Army.
Those self-righteous guys were simply a bunch of retards compared to the kid in front of them.
And even if she wanted to return to the Polish Restoration Army now, it would probably be impossible, because no one would believe her, and they might even hang her as a traitor.
Franz saw Ajani's dilemma and said.
"Ajani, you can let Mr. Sina select important intelligence for you. There is no need to report everything to you, which will make both of you tired. And Mr. Sina's subordinates should be better at handling such things. If they can't handle it well, it proves that they are not competent enough for the job, and then they will be replaced."
In fact, Franz did not expect the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, a semi-commercial and semi-intelligence organization, to really provide too much intelligence. After all, businessmen still like to make money by themselves.
The value of this organization is to make the Rothschild family lose their eyes in Austria. After all, there are not many organizations that can speculate and fleece the Austrian Empire in this era.
At the same time, this organization is also convenient for Franz to guide the business community to develop in the direction he wants.
Adjani breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, she had wanted to do this for a long time, but she was a little afraid that Franz would think she was incompetent.
"If you have any ideas, just tell me. After all, I don't know what problems my plan will encounter when it is actually implemented. If you don't say it, the problem will not be solved, and you will be the only one who suffers."
Adjani clasped her hands together and nodded, looking like she understood and was very grateful.
At this time, Talia read an important news, and Franz knew that the war was about to begin.
"Britain and the Ottoman government signed a new trade agreement, stipulating that the Ottoman government's tariff on imported goods shall not exceed 5%, and the tariff on exported goods shall not exceed 12%, abolishing all monopoly systems in the Ottoman Empire, and foreigners have the right to freely trade in the Ottoman Empire."
Obviously, this empire includes Egypt. Once the Anglo-Turkish Trade Agreement is implemented, Egypt's economy will completely collapse. It is so cruel.
You must know that Muhammad Ali made his fortune entirely by this monopoly system. If there is no monopoly system, I am afraid that Egypt's income will be reduced by more than 80%.
Egypt's exports mainly rely on cotton, tobacco, and indigo, while domestic exploitation relies on sugar and salt.
If foreigners can open shops in Egypt, then those high-priced goods in Egyptian government stores will probably no longer be in demand.
As for export goods, they will be snapped up by foreign merchants. After all, cotton and indigo are important raw materials for the textile industry at this time, and they are in short supply in Europe.
Muhammad Ali could not sit back and watch this happen, so the Turkish-Egyptian war was inevitable. Now Franz was just curious, which side would make the first move?
Egypt, Manio Palace.
As soon as the Ottoman envoy finished reading the Sultan's will, Muhammad Ali drew his scimitar and walked towards the other side. He ignored the other side's pleas for mercy and raised the scimitar to stab the envoy in the lower abdomen.
Soon, the envoy from the Ottoman Empire fell in a pool of blood, and the bloody smell filled the entire palace.
"Asshole! I declare independence now. I wonder what Mahmud II and his toy soldiers can do to me? I can't wait to see the panic of those damn British guys."
But his eldest son Ibrahim quickly raised objections.
"If we become independent, it would be a violation of the previous Kutahya Agreement, which would put us in a passive position. If the Russians use this as an excuse to violate our secret agreement, I'm afraid the French will also back off."
Although Ibrahim is known as the "executioner from hell", he was scared after seeing the cruelty of the Russian army. He would never fight this army, so there was a secret agreement between Egypt and Russia.
Foreign Minister Abdul also said.
"Great Ali, we can declare that we refuse to recognize the Anglo-Turkish Commercial Treaty and stop paying tribute."
"Then how can Egypt be independent!" Muhammad Ali roared.
"Great Ali, we are actually independent." Abdul said.
Muhammad Ali slapped Abdul in the face.
"War! I want war!"
"I can immediately send a group of people to pretend to be Ottoman troops and rob in Syria, so that we can blame the Ottomans for starting the war."
"Asshole! Not now! My ship is not built yet!"
Muhammad Ali's face was almost touching Abdul's face, and Abdul could only kneel on the ground and whisper.
"Whenever you want a war, I will send people."
Ali's energy in his later years was not as good as before, and he was always looking for medicine that could make him rejuvenated.
Recently, an Arab wandering merchant brought him a magical wine that not only makes people energetic, but also makes people forget all their sorrows.
The only side effect is that once you leave this wine, people will become manic and hysterical, and even have red eyes and muscle twitching.
Ibrahim immediately opened the wine cabinet, and as soon as the lid was opened, an unpleasant smell came out, but Muhammad Ali looked very intoxicated, and he was no longer anxious, but asked his eldest son to pour him a glass.
After drinking a glass of opium, Muhammad Ali let out a long sigh.
"Stupid Sultan, he must not have thought that I have given him a great gift. Don't the British like to protest? Let them protest and immediately announce that Egypt does not accept the Ottoman decree. Any foreign merchant who dares to set foot on Egyptian soil will have his teeth knocked out and his beard burned."
Burning beards is a very serious humiliation in the Arab world.
"There is nothing to worry about. We just need to wait for the opportunity. After all, Egypt will become stronger and stronger, while the Ottoman Empire and Britain will only become weaker and weaker. They should be anxious."