Chapter 178 The Burning Sea

Ottoman Empire, Istanbul.

Magid pushed the waiter away and ran to the window in great joy.

However, the scene inside the Golden Horn shocked him.

A lone British warship sailed into the Golden Horn. The sails were full of holes, and the hull also had many exaggerated damages. Even the bow deck collapsed, and there were scorch marks everywhere. The glass on the poop was almost Everything was shattered.

Wounded people and corpses were constantly being carried out of the ship. A man who looked like a general was sitting on a box, his head resting weakly on a large wooden barrel beside him, breathing hard.

Helmut still underestimated the size of the Egyptian navy. The opponent's number of capital ships was seven times that of the British army, and there were countless small ships.

The Egyptians rushed towards the British warships desperately. Helmut thought they wanted to get close to the British warships, but who knew that the other side actually used fire attack tactics, pouring kerosene, which is refined from petroleum, onto the outer shell of the ships. Combustible materials are difficult to extinguish once they catch fire.

The traditional method of extinguishing fires with water has little effect on kerosene, and the fire will become more intense as the water is poured on it, and the fire will even spread more and more as the water flows.

The Egyptian light gunboats only had 6-pound guns, but instead of shooting at the hull, they chose to get close to the gun ports. This almost suicidal attack method caused heavy losses to the British fleet. Two third-level battleships were destroyed in this way. They killed it.

It is already a miracle that the "Birmingham" escaped. Of course, if Helmut had chosen to escape as soon as he found out that he was ambushed, the result might have been much better.

But without if, Helmut created Britain's most disastrous defeat since the Napoleonic Wars.

Viscount Stratford immediately found Helmut.

"Where is your fleet? General!"

"That's all," Helmut said, pointing to the dilapidated but still unwilling "Birmingham".

Magid returned to his seat in despair, his eyes seeming to have lost focus. Metternich looked very calm. Of course he knew what happened, because it was he who sent the British intelligence to Egypt.

"Dear Sultan, if you are in need, we can support you and help you solve your troubles." Metternich said.

"Okay, I agree to all the conditions you just mentioned. As long as Austria can make Muhammad Ali withdraw, I can give up on Bosnia and Serbia."

Looking at Magid who had lost his mind, Metternich showed a very amiable smile, but in his heart he had already laughed at this so-called "smart man".

"Just now? Regarding the matter in Bosnia, we will help you solve the problem in Serbia in return. As for our support for you"

Magid felt very frustrated. He did not expect that the British would lose so miserably, nor did he expect that the Ottoman Empire would turn to Austria, a feuding country, for support.

He thought again that he had tried to humiliate Metternich before, and now the other party would definitely make things difficult or humiliate him, but for the sake of the Ottoman Empire and his rule, Magid had no choice but to swallow his anger.

But who knew that the second half of Metternich's sentence was actually...

"Are we allies? We should support each other more."

After hearing this, Magid had mixed feelings in his heart. He was still inexperienced and could not understand the meaning.

Although Metternich spoke grandly, he was just selling the other person's favor after having achieved his goal. He also took advantage of the other person's little thoughts and humiliated the other person.

To be honest, if it was him in the past, he would never have the intention of humiliating the other party. Instead, he will comfort him with kind words, let the other party feel his sincerity, and prepare for future negotiations.

But in Metternich's heart, Austria and the Ottomans were sworn enemies. After the empire integrated Italy and Germany, sooner or later it would launch an attack on the hegemony of the Near East.

"Prime Minister Metternich, please send troops as soon as possible." Magid's attitude was very low this time.

"Please rest assured Sudan, we in Austria will keep our promises, but we also ask Sudan to sign the treaty and hand over Bosnia to our country," Metternich said.

Magid signed the agreement in a daze, and Metternich was now most worried about the Austrian navy.

It would be best if Archduke Friedrich could become famous in one battle, but if he lost like the British, wouldn't it mean that his achievements would be in vain? It's better to stop as soon as possible. Anyway, the goal of capturing Belgrade and Bosnia has been achieved.

It was difficult for politicians like Metternich to understand the true meaning of promoting peace. They always feel that the agreement means everything, and that the fait accompli can drive away all prying beasts.

But a country without swords is a different concept from having a sword but not using it. For a country without a sword, the agreement signed is just a piece of waste paper. What was taken away, let you return. What you eat can also make you vomit it out.

In order to live in better peace with other countries, and to drive away those tigers and wolves that peek at the food on your plate, it is also important to prove that you have a sword.

Franz hoped that the Egyptian navy could end Britain's maritime hegemony, but that was impossible. Even if the French navy and the Austrian navy were added, the result would be the same.

As for why they showed their swords to the Egyptians, of course they violated the rules of the game and attacked the British fleet, which was equivalent to declaring war on the great powers. Even if the British bombarded Beirut first, the Western countries were still united. This is of course impossible.

There is only one reason, interest! The rise of Egypt is not in the interests of Austria, and it may even involve Austria in an unnecessary war for hegemony in advance.

In order to maintain its status and influence in the subsequent Five-Nation Conference, Austria needs a hearty victory to keep its victory and continue to enjoy peace.

Muhammad Ali's ambition is too big, and his strength is not enough to support his ambition. Even if Austria does not take action, Russia will take action sooner or later. The so-called agreement cannot restrain Russia's hands and feet.

It is almost impossible to defeat Britain on the sea and Russia on land. If the Egyptians really did it, then Austria should take advantage of it to destroy it now.

Battle of Beirut.

The British Navy lost seven warships, six of which were sunk and one was captured. About 1,500 personnel were buried in the sea, and more than 1,000 were missing. The Egyptian Navy killed all the British prisoners to vent their anger.

In Beirut, all five forts were destroyed and 35 cannons were lost. Two-thirds of the Beirut port was engulfed by fire, and more than 1,000 ships of various types were lost, including fishing boats, civilian ships, merchant ships, warships, etc. More than 3,000 people were lost.

The main fleet of the Egyptian Navy lost two third-class battleships and 35 large and small ships (mainly light gunboats and sampans), with more than 1,000 casualties.

However, the battle report that Muhammad Ali saw only said that the Egyptian Navy had won a great victory. This result made him very satisfied. He felt that as long as the French cooperated with him to annihilate another British fleet, the Egyptian Navy would be able to dominate the Mediterranean.

Even if the main fleet of the British arrived later, he still had a secret fleet as a trump card, and Egypt's maritime hegemony would be just around the corner at that time.