Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1919 Influence ([-])

After a long and careful conversation with Grand Vizier Mustafa, Gao Wengang finally figured out why they asked for money, and at the same time gained a deeper understanding of the current difficult situation of this huge empire.

Gao Wengang learned that due to the rapid advance of the enemy troops, the Ottoman Empire’s previous financial and taxation areas were greatly damaged: Hungary, not to mention, was under rapid attack from the headquarters of the Austrian army. The best generals and the most capable troops participated in the defense in the past, but still had little effect, and land was lost every day; the Serbian region was attacked by the German coalition forces, and the military town of Belgrade fell due to accidental factors, although it is currently organizing Recaptured by manpower, those complex German coalition forces have also been able to rob, but after all, the entire area has been corrupted and cannot provide any source for the empire's finances; Although they stopped one after another in the middle of last year, the bad influence has already been caused, and commercial activities cannot be resumed in a short time, and these Venetians also restrained a large number of Ottoman troops. , making fiscal expenditures in these areas increase and consumption intensified.

All in all, the finances of the Ottoman Empire, which was already fragile before the war, experienced a nightmare defeat in the city of Vienna. At present, many of the original financial and taxation centers have fallen into the flames of war, and their income has dropped sharply. It is understandable that the government revenue has plummeted due to tax evasion.

While government revenues have been greatly reduced, expenditures have increased dramatically.At present, the Austrians have received assistance from Poland, Malta, the Papal States, and some Italian and German states. The troops are strong and the funds are not bad. It is time to make great strides.Moreover, it is said that Polish envoys are also active in Moscow. They seem to be planning to reach a compromise with the Russians on the Ukrainian issue, so as to attract the Russian Empire to join and launch a fatal blow to the Turks-very strange, I don’t know the Poles Why is there so much resentment towards Osman, it should be the beams that were formed in Podolia and Ukraine before.

As a result, the Ottoman Empire was even more stretched.It seems that in the future, they will fight against the main forces of Poland and Russia in Ukraine, the main elite of Austria in Hungary, the coalition forces of German and Italian princes in Serbia and Bosnia, and the Venetians in Dalmatia, Albania and the coastal waters of Greece—— Well, this challenge line is really a blessing to the people on the east coast, otherwise more than [-] people would have to be restrained.

Adding up several battlefields, Grand Vizier Fasher Mustafa gave a vague figure: 20 to 25 Ottoman troops have been fighting against the above-mentioned forces all year round, and once the Russians join in, they will need to expand their troops to 30. Only ten thousand people can withstand it, this is simply fatal!

In fact, in the past, the Ottoman Empire would not have had to mobilize so many troops.But who caused the most elite and most capable troops to suffer heavy losses when they were under the city of Vienna?Moreover, the Ganishari Legion and the Spasi Army are not very obedient, and the local army is very dissatisfied because of the serious arrears of their salaries. There are riots and mutinies one after another-the soldiers of an army need full leadership salaries to be willing When carrying out the orders of the superior commanders, one can imagine how much they still have to fight.

"Is the empire's finances so unhealthy?" Gao Wengang was also shocked after a long talk with the well-informed Grand Vizier Mustafa: "Many fiscal and taxation-heavy areas have been caught in the flames of war. The massive expropriation of goods, materials, and money has greatly restricted economic activities. The production capacity of materials and grain has declined, and the activity of trade has dropped to a terrible minimum level. This is a level of economic difficulty that has never been seen before. No wonder, no wonder Already!"

In fact, the Ottoman Empire has gradually failed to compete with Central and Western European countries in the past 30 years. Apart from the fact that the West took the lead in carrying out military reforms and stripping away the quality of the backward army in the Middle Ages, there are no other factors—such as finances—factors. ?How can it be!

In fact, prior to military reforms, reforms in the economic field were carried out in Western Europe!The increasing activity of the bourgeoisie has brought about the extreme development of the commodity economy, which has directly or indirectly promoted the development of productive forces.Coupled with the huge profits brought by overseas colonization and trade activities, these undoubtedly enriched the economic strength of Western and Central European countries step by step.

Take the Austrian and Ottoman armies as an example, the same army, what the Ottomans were like 30 years ago, is almost the same now, except that some elite troops have thrown away the old muskets and replaced them with cheap and high-quality ones. Except for shore guns, there has been almost no progress in the rest.And what about the Austrians?In the past few decades, it has really made great progress. Not to mention anything else, it can be seen from the fact that the armor rate of the troops has increased several times. The quantity and cost of armor production have increased rapidly. What kind of advantage?This can also be pushed to the production of other weapons and military resources. Austria’s productivity is improving day by day, and the army has also fully trained with the French for many years. There are not as many miscellaneous bad things as you. It’s a ghost if you can’t win—the Ottoman Empire, that is, you think you are very powerful, but now you have been beaten up and revealed your original shape, how sad!

In terms of the organization and construction of the modern army, the Ottoman Empire is also in a mess.Taking logistics supply as an example, the Austrians have fully learned the French military depot system, and the supply and distribution of logistics materials have been done in an orderly manner, and a complete system has been formed.And what about the Turks?It is still completely medieval, and it also has a strong prairie legacy of relying on food to the enemy. This was not fatal in the past, but it has become more and more deadly in the past 20 years!You only brought some food and grass with you when you went out to fight, so after entering the enemy's territory, you will inevitably divide your troops to plunder the grass valley. This will delay your own marching speed and expose your position, and secondly, it will also give the enemy more troops If there are few, the chance of concentrating the main force to eat up the soldiers and horses you allocated is quite a big disadvantage.

Unfortunately, the Ottoman army is still in the middle ages. It is not professional or advanced at all, and its army building is a mess.Of course, their military system may also be related to the country's fiscal taxation and social productivity. Their productivity is too backward, and their domestic transportation, storage and distribution capabilities are not strong enough. However, it is definitely impossible to prepare all the supplies on your own. A large part of the gap must be plundered in the enemy's territory to solve it, such as this time.

In short, in this era of war, it has become more and more inclined to compete as a whole. The advantage of the Ottoman Empire's large size is getting smaller and smaller, and the situation will only become more and more tense.The war that is going on now has made them vaguely aware of this. Countless villages and towns have been caught in the flames of war, thousands of people have fled in exile, and the rear has vigorously confiscated strong men and money and food. The old, weak, women and children left behind cannot afford Heavy agricultural and animal husbandry labor, food and material production dropped sharply.The shortage of money and food caused the price of urban goods to skyrocket, and the supply at the front line was insufficient. Soldiers who fled and returned with nothing left looted everywhere in the countryside, continuing to destroy the small agricultural and animal husbandry production activities, and the government's income decreased day by day.As a last resort, they began to pass on more onerous taxes to others, which caused more people to go bankrupt and flee, and the whole country was in a mess.The government can only deal with all this passively. They arrest all kinds of broken soldiers, rioters or tax resisters who committed crimes, and exile them to Crete or Cyprus. It is very beneficial, and even feels like adding fuel to the fire.

Now, all strata of the country, whether it is the low-level common people, middle-level landlords, businessmen, or upper-level officials, nobles and senior clergy, are extremely disappointed with this incompetent and fatuous government.The Ganishari Legion, which has always had the tradition of abolishing the monarchy, is about to move. The forces of all parties are constantly colluding in private, and the undercurrent is surging. The whole country has fallen into a strange "stiffness" state from top to bottom-fortunately, there are some patriotic The generals or lords are still desperately resisting the enemy's attack, and the military discipline of the Austrians is really not good, otherwise the huge Ottoman Empire may have been torn apart and collapsed.

"Yes, that's right, the situation has reached the most critical moment, and we have nothing to do." Fahir Mustafa Daweizi said in a heavy voice: "If we want to take the initiative to intervene in the situation, use To develop in a positive direction, it is necessary to inject a large amount of funds in a short period of time to relieve the huge burden of front-line military expenditure on the rear, so that local production can resume as soon as possible. Otherwise, it may be dragged by the enemy for a few years, I am afraid We didn't fail on the battlefield, but the rear caught fire, and it would be too unfair to lose."

Of course, what Vizi Mustafa said may be a little exaggerated, because seriously, Osman, a country with millions of square kilometers of land, is not incapable of dealing with the difficult situation in front of us. .If the situation is really on the verge of irreversibility, they can also resort to a big move, which is to depose the person responsible for causing this situation-in history, even Sultan Mehmet IV was abolished by the joint ministers- Then he and all his party members were executed, and his family property was confiscated, which could greatly alleviate the financial difficulties.

In other words, unlike modern countries with stable incomes like the East Coast, a large part of the income of a feudal country like Ottoman Turkey is realized by "fines", that is, confiscating the property and servants of the guilty , to supplement the state finances.The share of this part is definitely not small. You can know from the number of Ottoman officials and their families who are exiled to Xinhua Island or the east coast every year. If this country is really going to be ruthless, it will definitely surprise you. After all, the grassland blood DNA is ingrained in their culture.

Of course, everyone knows how dangerous it is to do this kind of ransacking and extermination.Especially what you want to move is that you currently hold a large part of the military power, political power and even the Sudan himself. Even if everyone has reached a tacit agreement in private, this kind of "operation" is still very difficult, and it will lead to accidents if you are not careful. A huge scourge has put the country in a more dangerous situation.

Because of this, Grand Vizier Mustafa's first choice was to borrow money from people on the east coast.He is currently the nominal steward of the entire empire. Unless it is a last resort, who is willing to take the risk of carrying out a major internal cleansing (although he has indeed done so in history), do you think the current country is not chaotic enough?

But his sudden request caught Gao Wengang off guard and it was difficult to deal with it.He originally estimated that the defeat of the Ottoman Empire on the front line should be very difficult at present, but after such an in-depth understanding, he found that he, an "outsider", really didn't know enough about this country, and he estimated the dire situation the country was currently facing. insufficient.

"The funds of 200 million ducats are a huge burden for any country. His Excellency the Grand Vizier wants us to take it out now, which is really too difficult." Gao Wengang said with a wry smile.Of course, there is another meaning he did not explain, that is, loans require collateral. What do the Ottomans plan to use as collateral?

Given the precarious situation of the Ottoman Empire, even if it has survived the current hurdle, it is believed that for a long time in the future, it will still face challenges in Ukraine, Moldavia, Transylvania, Hungary, Serbia, and Bosnia. The possibility (in fact, it is almost inevitable) of wars in other regions, the vast majority of the country's labor force, wealth and energy will be consumed in the above-mentioned regions.In such a situation, how can they pay back the money?I'm afraid it will be a bad debt in the end, and it will still be a bad debt with an astonishing amount of 200 million ducats. No one can afford this responsibility!Therefore, if the Ottoman Empire wants to obtain this loan-let's assume that the east bank government is willing to lend-it must provide sufficient collateral, and there is no other possibility.

Therefore, he quickly mentioned this to Grand Vizier Fahir Mustafa tactfully, and said that the amount of 200 million ducats is too large, and although the East Coast Republic is rich, it can only bear a small part of it. For the rest, I am afraid that I have to find an international bank consortium to find a solution-of course, the East Bank is willing to take the lead in helping the Ottoman Empire obtain loans on more favorable terms. After all, it may be difficult with their channels.

Of course, Grand Vizier Mustafa knew this well. He also knew that the Ottoman Empire's ability to repay the loan was limited, so he proposed the Suez Canal and railway plans as collateral.In addition, he also said that goods from the east coast can be more deeply involved in the Ottoman Empire market, and "special advantages for other countries' goods" can be obtained. At the same time, more autonomy can be obtained in the Black Sea region, such as the Crimea Khanate side.

To be honest, these conditions are very coveted by people on the east coast, and they are not usually available, but the real value of these things is really difficult to estimate.For example, people on the east coast don't want to build the Suez Canal at all at this stage. They just upgrade the current wooden-clad iron railway to light rail, which is completely enough.For another example, to gain greater autonomy in the Crimean Khanate, are you sure it wasn't the Ottoman Empire who saw the situation as critical and Russia was in danger of ending at any time and pulled people to fill in the pit?It is also interesting to gain an advantage in the commodity market, but this will not see benefits in the short term. Who knows what will happen in the future in the long run?

What really interests people on the east coast is actually "taking over" the economic and military reform power of the Ottoman Empire, sending consultants and scholars to help this big country reform its backward political, military and economic systems, in order to achieve national transformation .In this process, the economic benefits are undoubtedly extremely huge, and will be extremely strong, but I don't know if the Ottomans agree or not.

Of course, no matter what, Gao Wengang will truthfully report what happened here to the mainland, and let the members of the Executive Committee decide, because this is obviously beyond his handling authority.But before that, it seems that he can also help the Ottoman Empire with some small loans for emergency relief within the scope of his authority, or persuade familiar Italian businessmen to come to the Ottoman Empire for trade, so as to supplement the country with various urgently needed supplies. .

I wish you all a Happy New Year!

(End of this chapter)