The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1147 The Old Man and the Sea
Although Muhammad Ali had given up opium and women, at the age of 79 he knew that he did not have much time left.

From a beggar to a powerful lord, from a hegemon who twice tried to conquer the world to a weak monarch today who has to depend on the powers for their favor even if he wins.

Muhammad Ali felt that he had seen through everything. It was impossible for Egypt to fight against the entire Europe and the Ottoman Empire with its national strength alone.

If Egypt wanted to swallow up the Ottoman Empire and the entire Africa, it would have to take advantage of the conflicts among the great powers, throw out bait to make the great powers fight each other, and then Egypt could take advantage of the opportunity to profit.

If he were given another hundred years, the whole world would crawl at his feet, but Muhammad Ali himself had no hope. Fortunately, he still had descendants.

At this time, Muhammad Ali was determined to pave the way for future generations.
In fact, his arrival was somewhat beyond Franz's expectations. First of all, according to the regulations of the meeting, the monarchs of various countries were not required to attend. Only ambassadors from various countries came.

Muhammad Ali did not lower his status, but handed over the position of Pasha of Egypt to his son, and then attended the conference as an ambassador. However, everyone knew that this lion-like old man was the real ruler of Egypt.

Above the blue sea, the sea breeze was blowing gently. On Muhammad Ali's boat were his confidants, and everyone was enjoying this moment of tranquility.

Suddenly there was a burst of rapid knocking sounds and the lookout shouted.

"A fleet is approaching quickly!"

The crew members were indifferent, explained a close confidant of Mohammed Ali.

"My Lord, you don't have to worry. This is just a normal avoidance."

The captain frowned, something was obviously not right. Pirates in the Mediterranean nowadays did not dare to travel in groups, so there was no need to panic when seeing the fleet, they just needed to avoid it normally.

"telescope."

The first mate at the side immediately took it out of the box and handed it to the captain.

During this period, telescopes were still considered high-end navigation equipment. It was impossible to just put them on the waist as shown in some movies. Most of the time, they were placed in special leather suitcases or wooden boxes, and there were even people dedicated to their maintenance.

When the captain saw the scene in the distance, he swallowed his saliva and was speechless for a moment.

Everyone around turned their eyes to the captain, who put down his telescope and just said.

“What a big ship...”

Everyone was somewhat disdainful, after all, they had once captured the world's largest sailing battleship, the Mahmoudiya.

Although the "Egypt" that Muhammad Ali was on was only 1200 tons, its configuration was not much worse than those third-level battleships.

However, their expressions soon froze on their faces as huge warships slowly approached. The ships were enormous, with thick smoke coming out of black chimneys and the steel hulls sparkling in the sun.

Everyone put down their work. They could only look up at this moment. The fear of giants hidden in human instinct controlled the crew's bodies.

It was not until a sharp whistle sounded that people came to their senses.

"Quick! Emergency evasion! Emergency evasion!"

It was not until the huge steam fleet sailed away that Muhammad Ali realized that he was sitting on the deck. It felt as if some huge beast was clutching his heart, and his forehead was covered with fine beads of cold sweat.

"Whose boat is that?"

Muhammad Ali asked hurriedly.

The captain looked at the flag and explained quickly, "My Lord, that is an Austrian ship. They were sailing normally just now, and we blocked their path."

The captain knew Muhammad Ali very well, and he was really afraid that the Egyptian helmsman would get so angry that he would seek revenge.

If I were to use a small ship of 1200 tons to reason with an entire fleet, the least powerful ship in that fleet would probably be a 5000-ton steam battleship.

But this time Muhammad Ali did not get angry, he just sat back in his seat quietly as if nothing had happened.

When the "Egypt" entered the Adriatic Sea, the sailors on board realized how ridiculous they were.

The Mahmoudiya was really nothing, as steamships accounted for one-third of the passing ships.

There was only one steamship in the whole of Egypt, which was a gift from the British government to Muhammad Ali. The crew on the "Egypt" no longer had the arrogance they had when they first arrived.

"You've been hit so hard that you can't even raise your head?"

The great hero Muhammad Ali finally spoke, and the officials around him remained silent, especially the young people, whose faces showed disappointment.

"Don't worry, this is just the beginning."

Muhammad Ali no longer had the arrogance of his youth. The two defeats made him realize the huge gap between himself and the great powers.

But he still wants the young people of his country to see this gap clearly. Only by facing up to the gap can they defeat the enemy.

Muhammad Ali did not think that this gap was absolute. When he started his army, he had only 300 people and only a hundred rifles.

It took only six years to completely conquer Egypt, and he even defeated the British army that tried to overthrow him. After Napoleon's death, he was the biggest headache for the great powers, and the only protagonist in the Near East for thirty years.

However, the Venice before him was far beyond his imagination. In his imagination, Venice should be composed of countless winding waterways and Gothic buildings.

The banks are lined with closely packed houses, and the waterways are sailed by gaudy gondolas (a small boat characteristic of Venice).

"This is impossible!"

Muhammad Ali finally screamed out. This was completely different from what he had imagined. This despair was enough to crush the will of an ordinary person.

The port in front of us is frighteningly large in scale. The endless docks and the densely packed warehouses behind them make people feel uneasy.

Countless masts and chimneys shuttle back and forth in the port, and all kinds of ships carrying all kinds of cargo are carried to all directions by countless workers like ants.

Various strange facilities were used to transfer goods that could not be carried manually to other areas, or directly load them onto carts pulled by heavy draft horses.

The roar of the huge machinery was deafening, and the heat waves spewing out by the steam engines were unbearable, but what was even more terrifying was the sense of oppression from the Austrian Empire.

At this time, Muhammad Ali had no doubt that this city had the industrial capacity to crush the entire country of Egypt.

At the very center of the dock is a very exaggerated train station, with countless railways extending across the land like blood vessels.

Finally, an Egyptian official accompanying him asked.

“How can we defeat such an opponent?”

Everyone looked at each other, and suddenly someone started vomiting violently. No one knew whether it was due to the unfamiliar climate or excessive mental stress.