Dominate the Country

When people in the 21st century talk about the Mediterranean islands, what will be their first reaction when they talk about the Aegean Sea in Greece?

Romantic, beautiful, a place of witnessing love, picturesque scenery, intoxicating island style...

It is a tourist resort famous all over the world.

But in the last few years of the 18th century, the Mediterranean at that time had nothing to do with the beautiful and intoxicating scenery. There was only a struggle with national interests at stake.

The political turmoil in France caused their power in the Mediterranean to plummet, and the British took the opportunity to expand their influence. At the same time, the Kingdom of Sardinia in Italy was also ready to move. The latter is the only kingdom in Italy that has maintained independence so far, and it is also a member of the first anti-French alliance. The Kingdom of Sardinia was present in the previous Battle of Toulon!

At the same time, because the Ottomans won the war against Russia, after taking a breath, they no longer focused all their attention on Russia, but began to turn their attention to the small piece of land at their doorstep.

During this period, Greece and Egypt belonged to the Ottoman Empire, so the entire eastern Mediterranean was the Ottoman sphere of influence.

However, the Ottoman navy could only practice with the Russians in the Black Sea, and in the wider and more complex Mediterranean, all they could do was to guard the gate tightly, and they had to face repeated provocations from the British.

For example, the island of Crete, which is geographically crucial. The British are salivating.

Of course, the Parisian revolutionary regime, which has recovered the Toulon fortress, is now preparing to restore France's influence in the Mediterranean. If they look further, their eyes are also on Crete and Egypt, which is further south of Crete.

The latter is a place rich in resources, and more importantly, Egypt's eastern line is the Red Sea. Attacking from there can effectively threaten the British trade line with the Eastern world.

The French in the original time and space plane launched an attack on Egypt in order to cut off Britain's eastern transportation line. It should be clear that Egypt at that time belonged to the Ottoman Empire.

The distance is so far, and there are obstacles from their own opponents in the Mediterranean, such as the powerful British Mediterranean Fleet. Under such circumstances, sending people to Egypt for an expedition, we must say that the revolutionary regime is daring to think, fight and act, and it is so crazy.

Therefore, the Ottoman Empire is actually under great pressure today.

In the original time and space, they were bullied by Russia again and again, and most of their energy was put on the northern line against Russia and Austria. For Egypt in the south, it was inevitable that they were somewhat unable to cope with it. This is also the ultimate reason why Muhammad Ali Ben Ibrahim was able to steal the military and political power of Egypt and establish the Ali Dynasty of Egypt after resisting the successive invasions of Britain and France.

But the situation is different now.

The two biggest enemies of the Ottoman Empire, one is already half dead, and if Russia does not recuperate for ten or eight years, it will not be able to shake on the chessboard of the world. And Austria's energy was attracted by the noisy French, so that Russia and Prussia not long ago, divided Poland for the second time without informing Vienna.

The Ottoman Empire had time to continue its reforms, to accumulate its own strength, and to take care of its own south and the sea at its doorstep.

The sixth war with the Russians had ended for more than a year, and the situation had completely stabilized. The old and frail Abdul Hamid I was "very famous" in the country, but his life had indeed come to the end.

But Abdul Hamid I had no regrets. Even if he went to the heaven of their true God and met his ancestors and brothers, he could proudly tell those people that he had defeated the Russians.

So, Abdul Hamid I began to kill people. Some "stubborn" reformers, and some people from the Guards Corps who posed a huge threat to the Sultan's line. Anyway, the relationship between the top leaders of the Ottoman Empire has always been a mess, full of fog, and it is difficult for outsiders to see clearly without really being in it.

Although Chen Han's influence on the Ottoman Empire has been increasing over the years, if he really puts some thought into it, he can figure out the true background of those who were killed, but they don't need to do so.

The National Defense Army reached the Ural River and the Ural Mountains, cutting off a Russian eagle head. The Russians have really been seriously injured, so the greatest role of the Ottoman Empire for Chen Han has disappeared.

Of course, the Ottomans themselves may not realize this yet. They may still think that their relationship with China is closer. Because their Sultan's daughter married His Majesty the Emperor of China.

But in fact, the importance of the Ottoman Empire to China has been downgraded from the first level of diplomatic relations to the second level.

Of course, even if it is the second level, this is the highest diplomatic level for China to communicate with other countries in the world.

Before, there was only one Sweden at the second level except Britain and France, and now Sweden has been downgraded to the third level. There are only Britain, France and one Ottoman at the second level.

Chen Zhan didn't know why these generals and officials were executed, and he was not interested in finding out the reasons for their deaths. Even though some of them were high-ranking generals in the Ottoman army and had great influence, they are dead now, and everything is gone.

Abdul Hamid I was a coward all his life, but he stood up before his death, so these people were killed.

There must be a reason for their death.

Isn't political struggle like this? The majestic military generals kill people at will. The Ottoman style has always been very bold, but now such a style has been restrained a lot.

For example, every change of the Ottoman imperial power was accompanied by blood and rain. Now their style has been restrained a lot. For example, the previous Osman III or Mustafa III no longer killed all their limited brothers, but imprisoned them. This phenomenon also extended to the nobles and ministers. At least some people were killed instead of everyone. Is this the "progress" of the Ottomans?

Osman III was known as the "royal prisoner". Abdul Hamid I, who is now in power, also spent his youth in prison. It was not until he reached middle age that he was hit by the joy that fell from the sky.

Time is passing, and traditions are changing.

But the Ottomans are not small in the influence of tradition. Although the scope of the political struggle in the Ottoman Empire is not as huge as in the past, it has always been very cruel.

But these have nothing to do with Chen Zhan.

Chen Zhan was a distinguished guest of the Ottoman Empire. When he passed by the Ottoman Empire before, Chen Zhan hardly stayed. But after he arrived in London, he met with the British royal nobles and then sneaked to the Mediterranean.

The winter in London gave him a bad feeling, even colder than Nanjing.

At this time, Chen Zhan was hiding in a manor villa near the dock in Heraklion, which is the largest city and the largest port on Crete. He was urgently invited by Alemdar Mustafa Pasha, the newly appointed Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. This commander of the Ottoman Empire reformists had been stationed on the Danube River before and was one of the highest commanders of the Ottoman army facing the Russian army.

And now he finally doesn't need to worry about the army anymore.

Alemdar Mustafa Pasha gave Chen Zhan a big gift as soon as he came. He clearly told Chen Zhan that he planned to demote all Greeks in Greece who colluded with the British and Russians into slaves. Hearing that the Chinese like to buy white female slaves, he can make the decision and let Chen Zhan select 1,000 of them first - and sell them at a very favorable price, but the premise is that Chen Zhan needs to pay the money with guns and warships.

After knowing what Alemdar Mustafa Pasha meant, Chen Zhan was surprised and happy. This is really a pie in the sky.

Although he, the King of Jieyang, has no ambition to fight for the throne, he never dislikes the gold in his pocket.

The price given by the Ottomans is definitely a preferential price. If they are taken to China, they will make three or five times the profit. If they can find a few top-quality ones, the price will become higher and better.

He doesn't ask for a high standard, just as beautiful as the eight Greek maids given to him by the Ottomans.

Chen Zhan had heard of Alemdar Mustafa a few times. He was a reformer promoted by the former Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III. He had a very good relationship with Selim bin Mustafa bin Ahmed, the current crown prince, the son of the former Sultan Mustafa III, and the nephew of the current Sultan Abdul Hamid I.

Now that this man has taken the position of Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, it is obvious that Abdul Hamid I is paving the way for his nephew. And what he wants is that Selim bin Mustafa bin Ahmed can take good care of his two minor cousins.

Of course, Alemdar Mustafa was promoted to the position of Grand Vizier this time. Even with the current reputation of Abdul Hamid I, it is unknown how many fierce confrontations and political exchanges have gone through behind it.

Crete has always been known as the Mediterranean Garden. It is a place full of flowers, with a warm climate and no cold in winter. A woolen coat is enough to keep warm. The weather is sunny and the plants are evergreen. Olives, grapes, citrus fruits, etc. are commonly grown on the island. The olive oil produced here is the top olive oil in Europe and is now exported to China.

It is one of the few bulk commodities that can be shown in the trade between the Ottoman Empire and China.

Chen Zhan certainly would not personally select female slaves, as he had many servants under his command.

Greece, one of the birthplaces of European civilization, was conquered by the Ottomans more than three hundred years ago, but the Greeks have never completely surrendered to the Ottomans. The Ottoman Empire used Albanian governors to rule Greece and Greek bureaucrats to rule Romanians and Slavs.

With the help of the Russians, the Greeks established a secret organization "Friendship Society" in Odessa, Ukraine.

St. Petersburg would not give up the Greeks, a useful pawn, for nothing. Although they have not completely occupied the Black Sea, this does not prevent them from contacting the Greeks early.

During the Russo-Turkish war, the Friendship Society was very active in Greece and Macedonia. The influence of the French Revolution also stimulated this activity and excitement. And now is the time for the Ottomans to make a list and settle accounts.

As a capital city with a backward system, slaves have always existed in the Ottoman Empire. Not to mention that the current white slave trade has added a new buyer, China, who is rich and powerful.

Just when Chen Zhan was enjoying himself on the island of Crete, the Ottoman army began to commit crimes in Greece. While they were plundering spoils, they were also hunting down people related to the Friendship Society. Countless Greek families suffered a devastating battle, and the whole of Greece fell into an extremely miserable situation.

The Ottomans have a long tradition of obsessing over spoils. In the Ottoman Empire, military generals were required to present spoils to His Majesty the Sultan after the war. Therefore, countless Greeks were detained on the charge of "collaborating with the enemy", and then their property was confiscated and became spoils of war for Ottoman officers at all levels.

In this way, countless gold and silver properties fell into the pockets of Ottoman officers and soldiers. The Ottomans were happy, and the Greeks had more hatred in their hearts.

Chen Zhan and his men witnessed the whole process, and then Chen Zhan said to his men in private: "No one can stop the corruption of the Ottoman Empire. Sooner or later, this empire will be ruined."

Having annexed land for more than 300 years, not to mention complete Ottomanization, they are still so reckless. Is this because they are afraid that the Greeks will not hate the Ottoman Empire?

Sometimes Chen Zhan wants to ask these Ottoman rulers, when are they going to continue this kind of rule?

Will the conquered countries in the country no longer be able to endure the oppression and oppression, and rise up one after another?

Just by checking a friendship society, how many Greek villages did the Ottomans turn into ruins and how many Greek people became slaves? This is to do it to death. This is because they are afraid that the Greeks will not hate them.

You must know that the Ottomans did not just treat a Greek like this. They had strong violent suppression on the Macedonians, Serbs, and Romanians. Aren't these Ottomans afraid that one day, these people will rise up in rebellion?

You know, in the 21st century, it is not the Germans and Americans who hate Russia the most, but the Poles.

Your biggest enemy is not the person who hates you the most, but the ‘people’ you conquered before, who hate you even more after regaining ‘freedom’.

But Chen Zhan was too lazy to care so much. Although he had just arrived here, there were envoys from China to the Ottoman Empire. In the years of exchanges between the two countries, too many strange things have been recorded. Although this country looks like it is radiating new vitality, it is still in a state of decadence and chaos. It is still on the road to decline and it is difficult to turn back.

He doesn’t care about what will happen to the Ottoman Empire next. He only cares about how to complete his ‘business’.

Chen Zhan originally came here to play and see the horizon, but he didn’t expect the Ottomans to give him such a big gift.

Even the ambassadors stationed here were envious. On the surface, he served as a diplomatic envoy to the Ottoman Empire, but in fact, he was more of an arms broker, slave trader, and importer and exporter, dealing with all kinds of people in the Ottoman political arena. Although both sides exchanged gifts, the gifts he gave were much more valuable than the gifts he received.

For example, the military and political officials here, the local governors, the charlatans, the eunuchs and concubines in the palace, and the Jewish merchants who had considerable power in the Ottoman Empire. To deal with these people, the ambassador would always use a trick that made him invincible - giving gifts.

This was a perfect magic weapon summed up by the predecessors after repeated setbacks and troubles, as well as repeated successes and joys.