Chapter 510 Sheep Eating Dirt

Andrei Uvarov's roar made the guards around the palace nervous, and Mejid himself was frightened, but no one dared to act rashly.

In fact, the Russian delegation was also frightened. They were all old subordinates of Nesherlov. Their usual work was basically to read from the script, and they did not need to convey the will of His Majesty the Tsar without any error.

The young duke did not play by the rules at the beginning. His behavior could even be called a provocation. After all, this was on the territory of the Ottomans.

On the other hand, this roar made Mejid sober up a lot. He was addicted to wine and sex all day long and finally remembered this neighbor in the north who was eyeing him covetously.

A concubine saw that the Sultan was frightened, and the guards around him were numb and had no reaction, so she pointed at the Russian envoy and was about to say something.

But before she could say anything, she was slapped hard. The young concubine looked at Mejid in disbelief and said aggrievedly.

"I"

Then she was responded with another loud slap.

"Who told you to talk? Get out!"

The two concubines could only cross their hands in front of their chests to salute, and then silently exited the palace.

Sultan Mejid looked at Andrei Uvarov again, and the two young men began the second round of confrontation.

"Thank you for your visit, Mr. Duke. I hope that the friendly relations between Russia and Turkey will last forever, and I hope we will have a wonderful afternoon."

"Thank you very much for your hospitality, and we also hope that the friendship between Russia and Turkey will last forever. At the same time, we also look forward to working with you and your empire to promote closer economic, political and security relations between the two countries. I hope you can have a pleasant afternoon.

But I still hope you can understand something, because it may undermine this harmonious relationship."

Andrei Uvarov was born in an aristocratic family and was naturally no stranger to this kind of diplomatic rhetoric. Moreover, as a double graduate of St. Petersburg State University and the Russian Imperial Military Academy, he was not someone who was easily fooled.

The other party's answer was neither humble nor arrogant, and the real purpose was exposed. Sultan Mejid knew that he could not avoid it, so he said.

"Oh? What's the matter? How come I didn't know about this?"

Mejid's attitude was within Andrei Uvarov's expectations, and the latter explained calmly.

"Recently, near the Caucasus, a goat ate the cotton planted by our farmers."

"Oh? What's the matter? Sheep eat grass, wolves eat meat, isn't this normal?"

"But this goat belongs to your country."

Andrei Uvarov was interrupted by Mejid before he finished speaking.

"It's just some cotton. I sympathize with the serf, and I am willing to give him 100 kilograms of high-quality cotton privately. Are you satisfied with this solution?"

Mejid wanted to cut the Gordian knot, but the other party obviously didn't want him to do so.

"Dear Sultan, you don't understand. It was your country's goat that ate the cotton planted by our farmers."

Mejid interrupted Andrei Uvarov again.

"If you have any objections to the compensation of cotton, then I can also decide to compensate one hundred goats. Your country should be satisfied this time, right?"

Faced with Magid's stupid answer, Andrei Uvarov was not angry, but finished his words slowly.

"Dear Sultan, you don't understand. It was your country's goats that ate the cotton planted by our farmers. These were originally gifts to His Majesty the Tsar."

Magid frowned. He didn't expect that the stupid Russian envoy would be replaced every time, and he didn't expect that this cotton near the Black Sea could be related to the Tsar.

"How about this, in addition to the previous compensation, I will personally select a gift for His Majesty the Tsar and send it to St. Petersburg. What do you think?"

Magid has given enough face to the other side, but he still kept a secret. He didn't say what the so-called gift was.

Although it was a big pie in the sky, usually at this time, diplomats from other countries can only choose to shut up.

However, Andrei Uvarov was a Russian envoy. He did not ask what the so-called gift was, but he did not intend to let the other party go.

"Dear Sultan, the great Tsar Nicholas I once said that he was the loving father of 30 million farmers in Russia. The gift from a son to his father cannot be replaced by any treasure. I hope you can understand this."

Magid was almost speechless. He did not expect the other party to be so shameless. He had to resign himself to his fate.

"What do you mean?"

"It's not what I mean, but the great Tsar proposed that if you can't manage the sheep on your land, we, the Russian Empire, are willing to do it for you.

The generous Tsar can help you manage the country. After we take over the Kars Province, we will pay you taxes according to the average tax revenue in the past ten years."

Andrei Uvarov spoke slowly, but Magid was sweating.

The so-called Kars Province is located near the Black Sea, bordering Russia and the Persian Empire, and is an important buffer zone on the eastern border of the Ottoman Empire.

The Kars Province at that time actually included the modern Turkish provinces of Artes, Adalhan, and Kars, as well as the southwestern region of Georgia, with a total area of ​​about 21,000 square kilometers.

(Slightly smaller than the 23,000 square kilometers of the Lombardy Province in northern Italy in the Austrian Empire)

Magid could never accept such a thing. He did not want to cede land and pay compensation like his ancestors. Moreover, Russia was a greedy beast with an endless appetite. A moment of weakness would only lead to endless bullying.

But Magid knew very well that his 500,000-man army was simply unable to stop this powerful enemy. He needed allies. Although the British gave a lot of help to the Ottoman Empire, they often asked for more. This approach was tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst.

Although the French had been showing goodwill to the Ottoman Empire, if there had not been the Turkish-Egyptian War, Maggid's father would not have died, and the country would not have declined to this point. The culprit of all this was the French.

The most important thing was that the French had never been soft-handed when grabbing territory. Large tracts of Algeria that once belonged to the Ottoman Empire were being trampled under their iron hoofs.

In fact, the French massacre of local Arabs and religions had caused dissatisfaction on the Ottoman side, but they did not dare to express it due to their national strength.

As for the Austrians, although they were not very interested in the territory and market of the Ottoman Empire, they were allies of the Russians after all, and they could not gain Magid's trust.

Moreover, the Austrians attacked the Egyptian navy and captured some Ottoman ships, but they refused to return them, even if the British stepped in.

In addition, the Ottoman Empire besieged Vienna twice in history, and the feud between the two sides had long been established.

Although Magid could not think of a solution for the time being, he would not directly agree to such a humiliating treaty. It was still the old way of "delaying". Magid felt that the great powers would definitely not want to see Russia dominate the Middle East, and they would definitely come forward to mediate.