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

Chapter 1149 Old Ali's Transaction (Part )

“But your country is very powerful. We witnessed with our own eyes how the Austrian Empire’s Invincible Fleet defeated the British twice.

We also know how those British people disappeared at sea."

Muhammad Ali was smart and courageous, but Franz didn't like being threatened at all.

"so what?"

Franz's tone was cold, but Old Ali continued to talk to himself.

"As long as Austria is willing to support our country, we have nothing to fear when our two countries join forces. I believe in your country's naval strength."

He is so shameless that he is worthy of being a self-made king.

"Let's talk about cooperation first. If we want to cooperate, we can't just limit it to Sudan. Egypt should also be open. This will facilitate win-win cooperation."

After being pressured for a long time, it’s time for Franz to fight back.

Old Ali felt a little uneasy. He had no problem asking him to lend a hand, but he still found it hard to accept if the foreign powers really entered Egypt.

But the old man soon figured it out. He didn't have to worry about too many lice anyway. He could use the Austrians to contain the British and French.

But Franz knew tobacco was his bottom line. After all, Muhammad Ali was a tobacco dealer, and touching tobacco would be the same as killing him.

In fact, tobacco monopoly was also Muhammad Ali’s last trump card. Historically, he died in depression because he lost this trump card.

Franz doesn't care whether this guy lives or dies, but Egypt's attitude will greatly affect Austria's future strategy.

Moreover, it is easier to talk business with smart people. If a fool comes to power, he may not understand the situation, which will affect Franz's plan.

After some bargaining between the two sides, Austria obtained the commercial rights that the British had longed for in Egypt. It not only gained a closer source of raw materials but also a million-level market.

Egypt was guaranteed to obtain the east bank of the Jordan River, which was far from Muhammad Ali's demand to reclaim all his homeland.

But both sides knew that Egypt's goal was Aqaba, the port city at the end of the Red Sea, and control of the Gulf of Aqaba.

Aqaba is the gateway to Egypt and the springboard for Egypt to attack the Hejaz region. Old Ali's ambitions never really disappeared, they were just hidden.

In fact, Franz had an unexpected gain this time. The Tunisian king was a loyal fan of Muhammad Ali, so he was willing to offer Austria the most favorable conditions to ensure that he would not be annexed by Duke Omar.

Duke Omar, the self-proclaimed Lord of North Africa, had no plans to attack Tunisia, thanks to the Tri-Atlas Mountains, the natural geographical dividing line between Tunisia and Algeria.

In fact, before coming here, Muhammad Ali had already made up his mind to cling to the Austrian Empire, so no matter what proposal Franz made, he would gain.

When both the guests and the hosts were having a great time and old Ali thought everything was over, Franz finally took action.

"Old Pasha, do you know why the Ottoman Empire was able to prosper for 500 years?"

Mohammed Ali was stunned for a moment. He thought that the deal was over by exchanging the gold mines in Sudan and the opening of Egypt for Aqaba.

What old Ali treasured was at most icing on the cake in Franz's eyes and was not worth the latter wasting so much time on.

"Holy war? Accepting the Byzantine legacy?"

Countless thoughts flashed through old Ali's mind. He also fought under the banner of reviving the Great Arab Empire, but no one responded to him. Even the Arabs in Najd and Hejaz only wanted independence and had little interest in the Arab empire.

"Do you want me to focus my energy on the Anatolian Plateau? But I will encounter the Russians again."

Muhammad Ali secretly complained in his heart, but this was seriously inconsistent with the previous attitude of the Austrian Empire. What was this young kid in front of him planning?
"You are wrong, old Pasha. What really made the Ottomans rise was their control of the Silk Road. They then monopolized the trade between the East and the West." Muhammad Ali suddenly realized that the Ottoman Empire had indeed prospered for hundreds of years by monopolizing the trade between the East and the West, but after the Age of Discovery, the oceans restored the trade between the East and the West, and the Ottoman Empire began to decline.

"But what does all this have to do with Egypt? Unless your country can support us in taking over the entire Asia Minor, I am willing to sell you goods from the East at cost price.

Then sell your country’s goods at the highest possible price.”

The old guy started to make empty promises again, but what he didn't know was that Franz had seen more empty promises in his previous life than he had ever heard of.

"No, I said that your country is not strong enough to occupy all of Asia Minor, and the British and Russians will not allow any country to do so."

Franz suddenly changed the subject.

“But Egypt can create a new path of its own.”

"new road?"

"That's right! There were actually two ancient Silk Roads. One was the land route, which is now occupied by the Ottomans."

"What about the other one?"

Old Ali asked eagerly.

Franz asked someone to bring a huge map that drew the route of the Maritime Silk Road.

"In Egypt."

Old Ali's eyes widened with excitement at first, but soon dimmed.

"Your Majesty, what you are talking about happened more than a thousand years ago. Who would be willing to sell the goods to us now?

I have ruled Egypt for so long, and there are only a handful of Eastern merchants who come to Egypt to do business. Moreover, the British caravans almost monopolize all trade. They would rather bypass Africa than sell goods to me. "

Franz smiled.

“Times have changed, and Egypt should change as well.”

"how to change?"

“Open a route from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.”

"What's the point? The British can still choose to go around Africa instead of the Red Sea. They will never let other countries take advantage of them."

"No, as long as you open a route from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, the British will beg you to fleece them."

"why?"

"If the British don't leave, the French will leave, the Russians will leave, and our country will leave as well.

If the British want to maintain their competitive advantage, they must go to the Red Ocean to reduce costs, otherwise their products will lose their competitiveness and die a slow death. "

Old Ali was born into a merchant family, so he naturally understood the importance of cost. Otherwise, he would not have risked being killed by robbers and bandits to purchase tobacco leaves in the Macedonian mountains.

As long as Egypt dug a new shipping route from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, the merchant ships of all the great powers would have to pay tolls, and they could even extort money not only from European powers, but also from the great Eastern powers.

The Austrian Empire was the most direct beneficiary after the opening of the new waterway, so it makes sense for them to take the initiative to help themselves.

Exploiting the whole world, this made old Ali excited again.