Chapter 132 A Sudden Enlightenment

As soon as you leave the Topkapi Palace and look down from the Cape Hill, you can see the entire Constantiniya. At this time, the city is empty.

Citizens came out of their homes to celebrate the Sultan's wedding. People were beaming with joy, and everyone was looking forward to the wedding.

Seeing this scene, Emperor Serbia couldn't help but sigh. This is the convenience of the imperial capital.

The political attribute of Constantiniya as an imperial capital is a bonus. Under this status, it will become the most prosperous city in the entire Ottoman Empire anyway.

What's more, Constantiniya's own conditions are not bad.

The most notable is its geographical advantage.

Constantiniya is located at the intersection of the Eurasian continent, on the east bank of the Bosphorus Strait, connecting the two continents of Asia and Europe.

It can be said that the reason why the fiscal revenue of the Ottoman Empire was the highest in Europe before the 17th century and the fact that Suleiman the Magnificent casually gave a poor Francis I one million ducats gold coins had a lot to do with the geographical advantages of Constantiniya.

And from the fact that Constantiniya was an important hub for trade and cultural exchanges between the East and the West, it can be seen that the Ottoman Empire was not a barrier on the so-called East-West Silk Road at all.

After the last prosperity of the Silk Road in the early Yuan Dynasty, the long-term wars and land desertification of the Mongolian Khanates made it difficult to restore this road.

At this time, the East-West trade, the land Silk Road is nothing, the big head is on the sea.

There are three old maritime trade routes:

First, the northern line. From the Black Sea to Constantinople, this line is for the sale of Slavic slaves (this is also one of the main sources of the Sultan's harem, the blonde big-breasted girl is the Sultan's favorite, and the Great Severus despises the behavior of his ancestors buying blonde female slaves.), wood, horses and other Slavic specialties.

Second, the middle route, China, Southeast Asia, India, the Persian Gulf, and the Levant.

Third, the southern route, China, Southeast Asia, India, the Red Sea, and Alexandria, Egypt.

These three routes are the legendary old routes, and they are also the basis for the Venetians to become famous in the Mediterranean and to be domineering.

Until the Portuguese Vasco da Gama came up with a new route, the Venetians suddenly became anxious.

For Portugal, the price difference of spices between Lisbon and Venice is the country's wealth. Therefore, completely blocking the old trade route and monopolizing the East-West trade is its strategic goal.

Facts have proved that since the Age of Exploration, except for a certain Eastern power that has not kept up with the times, European countries have basically performed well.

In the 1490s, they controlled the east coast of Africa and harassed the southern route of the old trade route.

In 1506, they occupied Socotra Island, controlled the exit of the Red Sea, and blocked the southern route.

In 1507, they captured Hormuz, controlled the Persian Gulf, and cut off the middle route.

In 1507, they captured Makistani and controlled Oman.

1509, Diu naval battle, defeated Egypt supported by Venice and Ottoman.

1511, controlled Malacca, intervened in the spice production area.

1517-1520 frequently sent warships to blockade the Red Sea.

This made Venice very uncomfortable. From 1502 to 1505, the import of spices on the old trade route fell by 2/3, and the price of Venice spices soared. This was also the largest price increase since 1453, caused by the Portuguese blockade.

As a beneficiary of the old trade route, Venice would lose the major transit profits in European trade once the old trade route was blocked.

But at the same time, due to the expansion of the Ottoman Empire in the Eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Europe, Venice had a sense of distrust of the Ottoman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire did not get involved in the trade route, so the ally first chose Egypt.

In 1503, Venice established a spice committee and secretly contacted Egypt to discuss countermeasures for the sharp decline in spice imports. Subsequently, it funded the Egyptian navy and instigated the war against Portugal.

As for the result, it has been explained above.

At this point, Venice would have to wait for death if it didn't make an effort, so this group of people went directly to the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottoman Empire was a latecomer in terms of shipping routes. After controlling Egypt in 1517, it faced the problem of the old trade route being blocked for the first time.

Due to the strong national strength of the Ottoman Empire, it quickly launched an offensive against Portugal. The Venetians provided both technology and people, and vigorously helped the Ottoman Empire prepare for the navy.

In the 1520s, the Ottoman Empire broke the Portuguese blockade, and the import of spices on the old trade route rebounded.

In 1547, it occupied Yemen, and in 1550, it occupied Bahrain.

In 1557, it controlled Oman and seized the hegemony of the Western Indian Ocean.

Thus, the Ottoman Empire controlled the Western Indian Ocean, Portugal got involved in the Eastern Indian Ocean, and the old trade route was revitalized.

In the 1580s, Spain and Portugal merged, Portugal gradually weakened, and was replaced by the Netherlands in the 17th century.

With the weakening of the Ottoman Empire, the Netherlands completely controlled the spice trade. Under the competition of the new trade route and the influence of the Dutch, the old trade route was gradually abandoned. As the old trade routes gradually declined, Venice completely became an ordinary city.

This is also the reason why the fiscal revenue of the Ottoman Empire was not as good as in 1700, and the Akçe silver coin used to calculate the fiscal revenue during this period was still devalued.

Therefore, in order to revive the glory of the Ottoman Empire in the future, the Red Sea and Persian Gulf regions must be involved. The former has been obtained, and the latter will be asked from the Qajar Dynasty.

As for whether this will attract the attention of Britain, let alone Britain has not completely swallowed up India at this time, and has no power to look east.

Even if India is completely swallowed up, what does it matter? During this period, with the fall of the Safavid Dynasty, Persia has fallen into a tripartite division.

Given the power projection of the Ottoman Empire on the Iranian Plateau, it was not an excessive thing to do something during this period.

Moreover, the anti-French war that had already begun would involve the main energy of the European countries, and Britain would naturally have to join in.

If we don't ask the Persians for something during this period, then when will we ask for it? Will we wait until Napoleon fails, Britain swallows India, France is keeping its tail between its legs, and Russia is eyeing us covetously before we open up branches?

The Great Selim is not stupid. As long as he does not cross the Zagros Mountains and actually controls the western part of the Iranian Plateau, Britain will not have too intense a reaction.

As for whether to help France or not in this Napoleonic War, and whether to join the war.

Selim actually made a certain decision. First of all, in the Napoleonic War of the original time and space, did Britain go all out?

This question is difficult to explain, but Britain's aid to the two countries on the peninsula is more than 3 million pounds a year.

There is another example to illustrate Britain's strength. Since 1808, its average annual military expenditure for its allies is equivalent to France's annual fiscal revenue.

As far as Sergei the Great was concerned, Britain might not have done its best.

In 1786, British Prime Minister Pitt announced in the House of Commons: "The vitality and destiny of this nation are based on the national debt."

The financial system of Britain determines its unrivaled financing capacity. If Britain expands the scale of national debt and borrowing, it is difficult to predict how much power it can put in.

France can certainly take this risk. Jules Ferry once said: "You can't become a great country if you stay in the back garden forever."

This may also be the reason why the French are committed to hegemony.

The French nation is the most imperial nation and the least like the people of the empire.

They have imperial colors because they believe they can influence the world and build a world empire.

At the same time, they believe that world civilization should have French characteristics and the imprint of the French nation.

This idea is linked to the French nation being God's chosen people, and they are responsible for spreading Catholicism and loyalty to the monarch.

After the French Revolution, rationalism, republicanism, and secularization became France's new imperial mission.

But no matter what the form is, compared with other empires, France is most like the fusion of empire and nation. France can be understood as "a nation expanding outward".

This is different from the nations of the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Dynasty and other empires. The French do not accept a diversified and multi-ethnic empire.

France must first belong to the French and possess the unique qualities of the French nation. So Gary Wilder mixed the two concepts and proposed the "French Empire Nation-State", which seems to be quite accurate to describe the French and their empire.

With the blessing of this god-level Buff, coupled with the fact that the land of France is really very good, it provides a very stable lower limit.

From the Thirty Years' War to the Napoleonic Wars, most of the wars for hegemony were fought on the land of Germany and Spain, and the French mainland was not seriously damaged.

This is the confidence of France to dare to fight for hegemony.

But does the Ottoman Empire have this confidence?

From the perspective of national issues, Sergei the Great's reform of weakening national consciousness through religious narratives is still in its infancy, and it will take time to produce results.

At this time, if there is any defeat, it is itself a shake of confidence in the conversion of Orthodox Christians.

What's more terrifying is that if the Ottoman Empire participated, France would still be defeated in the end.

The French could just give up and retreat directly to the border of 1789, but could the Ottoman Empire do that?

This is just a dream. In any case, Britain must give Austria and Russia enough compensation.

Where will this compensation come from? It must come from the Ottoman Empire. Can there be less reparations, cession of territory, and humiliating treaties?

It's impossible, given Britain's proficiency in finding people to sign contracts all over the world and the experience of European countries in drafting treaties for hundreds of years.

As long as the Ottoman Empire is defeated, it will be a professional match, and the Serbian Emperor will have nothing to do.

From the perspective of the battlefield, once the Ottoman Empire goes to war, the war will inevitably burn on its homeland.

Although Moldavia and Serbia are not the main investment areas, the war has indeed caused huge economic damage to the Ottoman Empire.

In a sense, these places are the raw material production areas and markets of the first industrialized areas. Once they are destroyed by war, they will undoubtedly slow down the speed of industrialization envisioned by Serbian Emperor.

Of course, in addition to these two points, there is actually another possibility, that is, France won.

So how much benefit can the Ottoman Empire get?

Once the entire anti-French war entered the peak period of Napoleon, Selim the Great did not have to think that there would definitely be radicals in the imperial government who hoped to form an alliance with France.

Their expansion target must be placed in Europe. The problem is that the benefits of taking over European land to the Ottoman Empire are far less than the investment.

There are too many ethnic groups on this pile of land. Others cannot see the historical process of how the Austrian Empire became the Austro-Hungarian Empire and eventually disintegrated, but it does not mean that Selim the Great cannot see it.

The Habsburgs have not left any obvious legacy after so many years of operation. Isn’t it a landmine for the Ottoman Empire to take over the land?

Selim originally found it extremely difficult to assimilate the current Balkan ethnic groups, otherwise he would not have thought of using the means of the Indians to do this.

What's more, even if he really took it, Selim could guarantee that there would be no problems while he was alive, but what if the thunder exploded later?

The successor sultan may not have the ability to handle this.

This is the most direct benefit that the Ottoman Empire can get, but what can France get?

He can directly unify the French-speaking areas of Europe, he can directly dismember Germany and create a bunch of vassals, he can put the entire Iberian Peninsula under control, he can expand his colonies outward, and he can let the Russians go back.

This is unbalanced. Why did Austria and Russia finally turn against each other on the issue of the Ottoman Empire in the original time and space?

The Russians are too greedy, which is certainly an important reason, but the main reason is that Austria can get too little in return.

There are Yugoslavs but no Germans in this area. Can Austria do such a stupid thing to help the Russians make wedding clothes for the hatred of the Middle Ages?

It is for this reason that the European troublemaker who is best at finding opportunities to take advantage of opportunities-the British Empire successfully divided the Austro-Russian alliance, so that Austria not only did not send troops to the Crimean War in 1853, but also gave supplies reluctantly.

Apart from other things, even if Austria did not send troops, just transporting supplies to the Russians would be enough to disgust Britain and France. If they want to win the Crimean War, Britain, France and Turkey will have to pay a greater price.

In the final analysis, if Serbia the Great allies with France, he will suffer a miserable fate if he loses the war, and he will not get any benefits if he wins.

In this case, why go?

From the perspective of the Ottoman Empire's geography, his strategy in the short term is actually similar to that of Britain in the past.

After all, Persia and Africa can be the expansion direction of the Ottoman Empire. While exerting efforts in these places, Serbia the Great needs a Europe that is unable to pay attention to him.

The British are well aware of this, and it is the biggest beneficiary of the Vienna Conference in 1815.

Austria painstakingly maintained stability for thirty years, but in the end it had nothing, and it was purely making wedding clothes for the British.

So, if the Ottoman Empire does not go, from the perspective of the emperor in this time and space, if it loses, it will be nothing more than the Vienna system, and if it wins.

It will definitely not win, but it may be able to make peace.

Either of these two situations is good for the Ottoman Empire, it just takes time.

And the revival of a country requires patience.

Selim gradually withdrew his thoughts. It must be said that sometimes, when people stand on a high mountain, their thoughts will suddenly become much clearer.

Constantinia is very important, very important. If Turkey had not lost a large area of ​​territory in the Balkan Peninsula, resulting in no strategic buffer, it would have moved the capital out of madness.

For some reason, there have been some rumors in the past few days that Selim is going to move the capital. He has not yet found out why such rumors were spread when he was about to get married, but the danger of such remarks cannot be ignored.

Constantinia is located on an important route for maritime trade between the East and the West. It has a strategic position and plays an important role in controlling and supervising maritime trade.

At the same time, it has superior geographical conditions. Constantinia is located in a hilly area, surrounded by oceans and straits, forming a natural fortification.

Equally important is the political symbolic significance of Constantinie: the Ottoman Empire chose this place as its capital, marking the empire's inheritance and continuation of the Roman Empire's ruins, proclaiming the empire's authority and dominance to the outside world, and inheriting the glory of the ancient empire.

The later generations of Turkey have not been forced to abandon this place, and Serbia the Great will not do so either. He came out of Kinmen today to pick up his bride. Since this place has belonged to the Ottoman Empire since 1453, it will belong to it forever.

Thanks to panzer5, pshe player Kuangxi, Gengdong, Yangguang Puzhao Avenue and book friend 928.db for their monthly tickets. After talking about picking up the bride for a few days, I finally went out.

This is two chapters in one