In the world-famous Istanbul, there have been few pedestrians recently, and even the pedestrians on the road are in a hurry. There is no way, the empire is in some difficulties now, so as a person in the capital, you can naturally feel the danger of the situation.
Of course, in addition to this, the spies who have been rampant recently are somewhat arrogant, which is one of the reasons why people in the capital are reluctant to go out. Some time ago, several daring people were arrested after objecting to the imperial government's improper handling of this war.
to prison.
Logically speaking, the arrest of several people should not be widely known. The problem is that these people are very well-known in the empire, so they obviously made a fuss.
Of course, no matter how much trouble is made, it will not affect the overall situation of the empire.
But when it comes to the busiest place in Istanbul right now, it has to be the Ministry of War.
The War Department located on Suman the Great Street is bustling with people. Even in the evening, people are still coming and going. The current war has made the War Department very busy, whether it is troop deployment, material supply, troop recruitment and other tasks.
All require the brain to operate at full capacity.
As the brain in the brain, Minister of War Nuri Pasha is naturally even busier. Many things require his signature and approval, and these are all important issues and cannot be sloppy at all.
Therefore, during this period of time, the old marshal basically lived in the Ministry of War and rarely even went home. When he was tired, he would lie down on the camp bed in his office for a while, and then get up and continue working.
This kind of life made the old marshal, who was originally a little overweight, lose several pounds in less than half a month.
But even so, Marshal Nuri Pasha was still worried about the Ottoman army.
"Send a telegram to Lieutenant General Himan Pasha, asking him to pay close attention to the Greeks' actions and allow him to retreat to Salonika with the Twelve Army if they encounter a large-scale attack."
The Twelfth Army mentioned by Nuri Pasha is a newly formed unit by the Ottomans this year. It has three divisions: 47, 49, and 64. It can be seen from the number of this unit that it is mainly composed of new soldiers and ranks second in combat effectiveness.
The last troops.
Their previous mission was to monitor Greece's actions and wait for rescue from other troops when the Greeks had evil intentions.
However, the current situation forced Nuri Pasha to change their mission. Because the Ottoman army is simply not enough at present, it was given priority to retreat when it was attacked by the Greek army. As for its officers and soldiers, they were mainly composed of local people.
Was it formed, might big problems arise during the retreat? He couldn't care about that much anymore.
Although the two countries, Serbia and Greece, have not yet sent troops, the situation is already very unfavorable to the Ottomans. Are the Balkan countries adding Italy? The current Ottoman army is simply not enough. Nuri Pasha also knows this, so he is letting him
The staff officers worked hard to formulate a new mobilization order.
While the old marshal was busy issuing various orders, the adjutant hurried in. He came to the old marshal and whispered in his ear.
After hearing what the adjutant said, Nuri Pasha opened his eyes wide and said, "Please come in quickly."
Then he continued to say to other people in the office, "You guys go out first."
Facing the Minister of War? Others left in a hurry? Although they wanted to know which big shot this was, no one dared to stay to find out.
After the other people were cleared, the adjutant came in with a man who wrapped himself tightly in a hood.
As soon as he saw the human image, Nuri Pasha immediately became happy. "Your Excellency, Grand Vizier? What are you doing? Are we afraid that someone will know about our meeting?"
That's right, the person who came was Kamil Pasha. After he took off his hood, he saw the old marshal in front of him and said helplessly. "Marshal Nuri Pasha, I don't want to do this, but sometimes to avoid suspicion? No.
Not so."
Although Kamil Pasha did not say who to avoid, but the old marshal knew what he meant? His face tightened. "If your Majesty asks, I will answer truthfully."
Of course Kamil Pasha knew the attitude of the old marshal in front of him? He felt that the other party had misunderstood. Besides, the most trusted person of the Sultan, he would be crazy to talk nonsense to this person.
"I don't intend to hide it? It's just to avoid the crazy talk below."
Kamil Pasha’s explanation? Marshal Nuri Pasha also believed it? After all, the other party also knew that he was loyal to His Majesty the Sultan.
"Then, Your Excellency, why are you looking for me this time?"
Faced with the question from the Minister of War, Kamil Pasha did not answer immediately. Instead, he asked, "I wonder, Marshal, do you think our country still has a chance to win this war?"
In the face of Kamil Pasha's inquiry, Marshal Nuri Pasha remained silent. He was the one who knew the war situation verbally, and of course he was also the one who knew the facts best. When it came to fighting Italy alone, he was 50% sure of maintaining the balance of the war situation.
, although this may cause the Ottomans to lose Mediterranean islands, at least the core European territory can be preserved.
But with the addition of Bulgaria and Montenegro, he only has three levels of certainty: giving up part of his territory, holding key cities, and waiting for reinforcements from Asia.
The main thing that made Marshal Nuri Pasha lose confidence was Bulgaria. The country's position divided the Ottoman territory in Europe, and was all connected by the coastal belt of Western Thrace. This was a taboo in the military and there was no way to change it.
. Unless he wants to provoke the Eleventh Russo-Turkish War, this result cannot be changed.
Although the relationship between Bulgaria and Russia has been very bad recently, as long as the empire shows its intention to deal with Bulgaria, the two countries will quickly get closer.
As for the current situation, even Marshal Nuri Pasha, a famous general, also knows that the Ottomans are already in a losing situation in this war, and the only outcome is how much they lose.
But even if this is the case, he will not reveal the truth. "Although our situation is not good, the imperial army is not afraid. Although we are not confident of victory, they still need to pay the price of blood."
Well, the old marshal pointed here and there and answered the wrong question.
Seeing that the person in front of him refused to tell the result, Kamil Pasha certainly knew what the other person was taboo about.
As the number one person in the military, if he says that he has no confidence, then the army will lose even more confidence and morale.
Since the other party didn't want to talk, Kamil Pasha didn't make things difficult for him. He just said, "If this war continues, the empire will suffer huge losses, and the conditions it will encounter will be even more harsh."
"Pa! You want to sue for peace?"
Faced with these words of Kamil Pasha in front of him, Marshal Nuri Pasha stood up and slapped the table and angrily scolded him. "What do the officers and soldiers fighting bloody battles at the front think? You have to know that this will cause a big mess."
.Are you colluding with the Italians?"
Facing the angry old marshal, Kamil Pasha did not speak, but looked at him quietly with calmness in his eyes.
Faced with the Grand Vizier's expression, Nuri Pasha gradually calmed down his anger.
"After this war, no matter whether I win or lose, I can't continue to sit in this position, so I have nothing to fear this time. Yes, the Italians contacted me and proposed a peace treaty with Bulgaria.
Montenegro has the conditions.”
Then Kamil Pasha told the other party's conditions. After hearing the news that Italy needed Libya and Albania, and then wanted to make Crete independent, Marshal Nuri Pasha blushed and waited.
After hearing that Bulgaria wanted half of Macedonia, he couldn't sit still.
"This is their delusion, and our Ottoman army will never agree to it."
Marshal Nuri Pasha's stubborn behavior gave Kamil Pasha a headache. Why are you delaying at this time?
Just when he was about to speak to persuade the other party, the door was suddenly opened, and the adjutant walked in with an anxious look on his face, holding a telegram.
"Marshal, Comodini has fallen. The enemy has captured the city."
"What!"
Marshal Nuri Pasha and Kamil Pasha at the scene exclaimed in unison.
