The ultimatum from Italy was a big deal for Istanbul. Although the Ottomans had already decided to fight Italy, when Italy actually sent the ultimatum, it was still a big deal for Istanbul's senior officials.
Very shocking news.
Of course, for them now, facing Italy's ultimatum, they need to consider the outbreak of war.
So this time His Majesty the Sultan convened a meeting, and the focus of the meeting was not an Italian ultimatum at all.
"Halim Pasha, can other countries still fight for it?"
Still in the new palace of Dolmabahçe, and in a meeting personally chaired by His Majesty Sultan Hamid, Kamil Pasha, the Grand Vizier, issued a question to Halim Pasha, who was in charge of diplomacy.
Although both are government officials, the efficiency of the diplomatic department this time was too low. The activity lasted so long. In addition to winning the support of France, other countries just stood aside and watched. And what's worse is that some countries are playing tricks.
It's an idea to take advantage of the situation.
If this is not a failure of the foreign ministry, is it a failure of the entire government?
Facing the Grand Vizier's question, Halim Pasha couldn't speak, because there was really no way to explain the matter. But after all, he still needed some explanation, so Halim Pasha thought about it and then spoke.
"As for other countries, Germany and Austria don't need to consider it at the moment. The only ones that can still fight for it are Britain and Russia."
Having said this, Halim Pasha secretly looked at the people present.
However, it seemed that the situation was not very good. Facing his words, the important ministers including the Sultan frowned. Halim Pasha was very clear about the reason for their frowns, that is, he mentioned Russia.
It would take three days and three nights to talk about the grievances and grievances between the Ottomans and Russia.
"Halim Pasha, tell me what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs think. Maybe they will have some good ideas."
The words of Grand Vizier Kamil Pasha broke the atmosphere of the scene and relieved him.
Halim Pasha cast a grateful look at the Grand Vizier and continued. "Currently, the only countries our country can win over are Britain and Russia. As long as we have the support of these two countries, then this will be a great advantage for our country and Italy."
War will be of great help."
What Halim Pasha meant in his words was to seek help from Russia, but considering the current mood and opinions in the Ottoman Empire, Britain had to be added as a cover. In Halim Pasha's view, although Russia is eyeing Istanbul,
But this will also mean that the Russians do not want other countries to have bad thoughts about them, and the Ottoman Empire can take advantage of Russia's attitude to benefit itself. If nothing else, as long as Russia sends some ordnance? It is also huge.
of help.
Of course, the intensity must be controlled well? Otherwise, if ten thousand British and French people think that the Ottoman Empire is leaning towards Russia, it will be really troublesome.
After Halim Pasha finished speaking, there was silence, and everyone was wondering about the meaning of his words.
"Halim Pasha, your proposal is very good? But considering the relationship between our country and Russia, we should focus our main diplomatic goals on our British friends."
This time it was His Majesty the Sultan who answered him? Obviously, regarding Halim Pasha’s idea of seeking help from Russia, His Majesty the Sultan was not willing.
Following Sultan's words, everyone present secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This result is considered the best, as it not only eliminates the need for them to express their opinions, but also solves this problem.
But no one noticed? A trace of unwillingness flashed in Halim Pasha's eyes.
However, in addition to seeking support from Britain and Russia, the Ottomans also have an urgent problem that needs to be solved, and that is the Bosnian issue.
The telegrams sent from Vienna reached double digits, and they all required Istanbul to make a decision on how to respond to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Regarding the telegram sent by the ambassador in Vienna? The ministers of the Ottoman Empire were also a little helpless.
Refuse, are you afraid that the Austro-Hungarian Empire will do it on their own? By then the empire will not look good. Agree, this will make Osman lose face again. So before this? Istanbul always adopted a drag-and-drop decision.
It’s just that it can’t be delayed now, and the telegrams from the Vienna ambassador are becoming more and more frequent? This also means that the patience of the Austro-Hungarians is about to be exhausted.
So take this opportunity? Halim Pasha raised a question about Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“So about the question that Austria-Hungary wants our country to transfer the suzerainty of Bosnia and Herzegovina? I don’t know how to reply?”
Facing another question raised by Halim Pasha, the ministers present were even more speechless.
The reason is very simple. At present, the Ottoman Empire only has nominal suzerainty in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the rest is managed by Austria-Hungary. This is actually a question of one sentence, but this sentence is not at all harmful to the Ottomans.
So it's time to solve this problem.
“What are the current conditions for Austrians?”
The person who asked this question was Grand Vizier Kamil Pasha. Facing this head of government of the Ottoman Empire, Halim Pasha could only answer truthfully.
"At present, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is willing to give 2.4 million pounds as compensation. According to the report of our ambassador in Vienna, the Austrians are already a little impatient. Their head of government, Count Carnoky, has said that if our country continues to refuse to agree, they will handle it themselves.
Bosnia and Herzegovina will no longer talk to our country.”
Halim Pasha's words caused the scene to be silent for a moment, and even the toughest Minister of War, Nuri Pasha, was silent. This field marshal was not a fool. What good fruit could he gain from shouting objections at this time?
It may lead to the possible intervention of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. When faced with the pressure of war between Italy and Austria, even a fool knows that it is impossible to win.
Not to mention that it may trigger a chain reaction throughout the Balkans. You must know that countries such as Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria are eyeing the Ottoman Empire's territory in the Balkans. Whether Istanbul can be saved by then is a question.
Therefore, at this time, you must not speak at will.
This time, the atmosphere at the scene became more solemn, and the scene of silence reappeared.
Looking at the performance of the ministers in the hall, Abdul Hamid II, as the Sultan, felt a little excited. Needless to say, he knew that these people were waiting for him to make a decision.
When he thought of leaving any problems these people had that he couldn't solve to himself, Hamid II had the idea of replacing all the people in front of him. But this kind of thought was just a thought. If he really wanted to do this,
There will be no one left to handle the affairs of the empire for him.
Although he couldn't replace them, as the sultan, he could still give him a small punishment. So he pointed his finger at Kamil Pasha, the grand vizier, and asked, "My
Grand Vizier, what do you think should be done about this matter?"
Faced with the Sultan naming the problem to him, Kamil Pasha changed slightly, but under the Sultan's attention, he could only bite the bullet and said. "Your Majesty, I think it is best to talk?"
"
Kamil Pasha's words made the Sultan furious. "Why are you saying this again? Just tell me from the Chamber of Commerce that we want to talk. Now the Austrians almost don't want to talk, and you still want to talk."
Facing His Majesty the Sultan's anger, Kamil Pasha was sweating on his forehead. He knew that when His Majesty the Sultan became angry, he had no other choice but to meet his demands, so he could only defend himself.
"Your Majesty, the last talk was to squeeze more conditions from the Austrians, so we did not set a goal to achieve it, but this time it is different. I will send a telegram to the Vienna Ambassador to agree to Austria-Hungary's conditions in an appropriate and practical manner.
."
After seeing that the Grand Vizier assumed his due responsibilities, Abdul Hamid II turned his attention to other people.
"What the Grand Vizier said is very good, I have no objection."
"I don't have any objection either."
The answers came one after another, allowing Kamil Pasha to take on this responsibility.
After solving this problem, the meeting continued, but many people looked at Foreign Minister Halim Pasha frequently, fearing that he would raise problems again.
Halim Pasha, who was being watched, could only smile bitterly. If he didn't mention this issue, should he just pretend it never happened?
After solving these two problems, the next step was much better, because it talked about preparations for war, which gave the Minister of War Osman Nuri Pasha the starring role.
The Secretary of the Army went on to talk about several existing problems of the Army, such as insufficient supplies, insufficient ammunition stocks, training of officers and soldiers, mobilization of troops, and other problems. However, the problems of the Secretary of the Army must be easily solved by the government.
Most of these problems can be solved with money.
At present, the war bonds issued by the Ottomans in Britain, France and other countries are quite good, so the Ottoman finances are quite comfortable.
Time was lost in such discussions, and the two days given by Italy passed by in this situation.
Istanbul certainly did not forget the threat from Italy. With less than three hours before the final time, a telegram was sent to the ambassador in Rome, Akhtar Mohammad Mansu.
Looking at the telegram in his hand, Mansu felt uncomfortable at all even though he had been mentally prepared. However, the order from Istanbul gave him no choice.
But before preparing to go out, he had ordered the embassy to burn confidential documents immediately and prepare luggage because they would not be able to stay long.
When he arrived at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its Foreign Minister Gemini Bacona was already waiting here. He looked at his pocket watch. "Very good, there are still forty-five minutes left. I want to know your attitude towards your country."
What is it?"
Faced with Bakona's words, Mansu, who was expressionless, nodded slightly and said, "Our country will never agree to your unreasonable request. This is our country's answer."
After finishing speaking, he took out the formal reply message from Istanbul and handed it over.
After receiving the telegram from the ambassador, Bacona glanced at it briefly and put it aside. Then he took out a declaration of war that he had prepared and handed it to Ambassador Mansu.
"I'm sorry, but since your country has made such a choice, our country has no other choice but to meet you on the battlefield."
Faced with the declaration of war in front of him, Mansu took it silently. "I'm sorry, since this is your country's choice, let's meet on the battlefield. Let the guns decide who is the loser."
Bakona looked at the tough Ottoman ambassador in front of him with admiration. "Mansu, you have seventy-two hours to evacuate. I don't think you will forget it."
Faced with Bakona's words, Mansu replied calmly. "We will not forget that this is the basic quality of a qualified diplomat. Goodbye, Your Excellency Bakona, I hope to see you in Istanbul."
"Don't worry, I will be waiting for your representative in Rome."
In the evening, the front-page headlines in major newspapers read that Italy was now in a state of war with the Ottoman Empire because it had rudely rejected reasonable demands.
At this moment, the date on the newspaper was so eye-catching. On March 4, 1890, Italy and the Ottomans went to war.
