The Dolmabahçe New Palace in Istanbul is the residence of the current Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Although it is not large, only more than 600 meters long, the interior of the palace is extremely luxurious.
In order to build the Dolmabahçe Palace, the Ottoman Empire invested a lot of money and owed a large amount of foreign debt. It is said that a total of fourteen tons of gold and forty tons of silver were used to decorate the entire palace.
Therefore, after the palace was built, the sultans chose this place as their residence. Of course, Abdul Hamid II also chose to sit here, but compared with the previous sultans, Abdul Hamid II
German II seemed to live in seclusion here, and could not easily see the Ottoman monarch.
But this time, the threat from Italy made Hamid II appear in front of everyone again.
"The news sent back from Rome is that Italy wants to use the murder of missionaries in Syria to launch a war against our country."
In the palace, in front of the Sultan and other important ministers, Halim Pasha, who was in charge of diplomacy, stated the contents of this negotiation.
"Halim, is this news accurate?"
The person who asked the question was Kamil Pasha, the Ottoman Grand Vizier. The Grand Vizier was equivalent to the position of Prime Minister, but it was called by a different name.
"The news is very accurate. This is a telegram sent by the ambassador in Rome, Mansu. In addition, I also sent someone to find out. Italy is currently spreading bad news about our country. In addition, from our international friends, we also learned that Italy
The army has canceled its vacations and has begun mobilizing retired officers and soldiers. And Italy has sent news to the European debt market that they will issue a huge bond."
As Halim Pasha spoke about the current situation in Italy, everyone present looked unhappy. Everyone had been in politics for a long time, and they still couldn't figure out what the Italians wanted to do.
As for the international friends Halim Pasha mentioned, no one can have more than three or five close friends.
So after Halim Pasha finished speaking, Kamil Pasha, the Grand Vizier, stood up.
"The current situation is already obvious. The Italians' hostile attitude towards our country is very clear. They can't wait to seize North Africa and Albania from the empire. In this regard, our country must not let the Italians succeed in their attempts."
Just as Grand Vizier Kamil Pasha was speaking, a loud bell-like voice sounded.
"They can never hope that His Majesty the Sultan's army will let these Italians know what wishful thinking is."
The speaker was the Minister of War, Field Marshal Osman Nuri Pasha of the Ottoman Empire, and the veteran expressed his attitude angrily.
This is one of the few famous generals in the Ottoman Empire. In the 10th Turkish-Russian War, he led an army of the Ottoman Empire to hold off the Russian coalition's 300,000 troops in Pleven for five months. If it were not for the ammunition,
Lack of food and grass? He could still hold on. But he failed to break through and was captured? That made him less than perfect in the Turkish-Russian War.
But despite this, after returning to the Ottoman Empire at the end of the war, Nuri Pasha was still warmly welcomed, and Sultan Hamid II personally hosted a welcome ceremony for him.
This also shows his status in the eyes of the Sudan. This is his second time as Minister of War.
Faced with the threat of war in Italy? The old commander did not hesitate to step forward to lead the Ottoman army? Once again he set foot on the battlefield.
Although the words of the Minister of War were very inspiring, Kamil Pasha still had something to say. "Marshal Nuri Pasha, I can understand your mood. I am as angry as you. But wanting to fight is not good for the empire.
It’s not easy for you to say? ”
Why did Kamil Pasha say this? Because the Ottoman Empire’s treasury is empty and currently cannot even get out five million Ottoman lire.
Speaking of which, the Ottoman Empire was not weaker than Italy in terms of population and economy. Logically speaking, its fiscal revenue should be very good.
But it is a pity that Kamil Pasha, who is the Grand Vizier, knows best. The Ottoman Empire is basically heavily in debt at present. The local finance is in a mess, and the corruption among officials is very serious. For every one lira turned over to the treasury, at least five or six lira have been stolen.
These officials put it in their own pockets.
This also resulted in the income of the Ottoman government being far less than that of the European powers. In addition, His Majesty the Sultan wanted to live a decent life, so there was less money to distribute.
In addition, the Ottomans borrowed a lot from foreign countries. All of this money must be repaid? In addition, 7,788 expenses are deducted? The Ottoman Empire has a deficit of nearly 100 million Ottoman liras every year.
You must know that although Italy's annual deficit is higher than that of the Ottomans, it is because of large-scale construction and the advancement of its own industrialization. However, the Ottomans have reduced these two huge expenditures, but still have such a high deficit. It is conceivable that the Ottomans
How bad the finances are.
Faced with such a situation, how could Kamil Pasha, the grand vizier, dare to start a war? After all, once the war started, it would require massive financial support. And in a situation like Osman's, where could he find these funds?
"Then let's find loans from other countries. We can't give up these two territories to the Italians just because we are short of money."
As for Kamil Pasha saying that he had no money, Nuri Pasha would certainly not care about the government's financial issues. He was the Minister of War, not the Grand Vizier.
Hearing what the Minister of War said, Kamil Pasha didn't know what to say. How can it be so easy to borrow money? Who would lend Osman a large sum of money without agreeing to some additional conditions? You know it would cost at least 500 million lire.
, this is Kamil Pasha’s preliminary estimate based on the last Turkish-Russian war.
"If you want to borrow money now, it's not easy to borrow such a large amount of money."
"But now Italy is close to declaring war."
"I also know that borrowing money is not that easy."
As the atmosphere at the scene became more and more intense, the two of them were about to get into a fight.
"Okay, everyone, please calm down."
This time it was His Majesty the Sultan who spoke, and his words brought an end to the dispute between the two.
"We cannot just ignore the Italians' threat of war and immediately prepare to mobilize the army. We will also look to Britain and France to purchase weapons. For borrowing issues, we can look to a few more countries."
Following Hamid II's words, the next move of the Ottoman Empire was also destined.
"As you command, Your Majesty."
"As commanded."
After Hamid II was satisfied to see that everyone present listened to him respectfully, he spoke again. "In addition, we cannot give up on diplomacy. In addition to Britain, France and Germany, other countries are also seeking support.
Like the last war."
Although Hamid II stopped talking, everyone present knew that the Sultan was talking about the Tenth Turkish-Russian War, which completely destroyed the Ottomans. Fortunately, excellent diplomacy allowed the Ottomans to retain part of the Balkan territory.
.
Actually, this is not a good example at all, but the diplomatic work that time was indeed outstanding.
Following Hamid II's words, the Ottoman Empire also started its own actions. First, the army began to mobilize to prepare for the war. The other was to borrow money urgently. Although this would definitely cost someone a fortune, they could not care about it at this time.
So many.
In addition, diplomatic work for various countries is also a top priority for Ottoman.
