Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 422 Ottoman's Trip ([-])

"Have they agreed with your taxation method?" Gao Mo immediately asked with great interest.This insulting taxation method is even worse than the blood tax. I don't know how those Christians will react.

"Of course they must agree." Hassan said proudly. After speaking, he said nothing, and the group quickly arrived at the "goods yard" behind the village.

The freight yard is on the edge of a small forest, and many livestock (mainly horses and camels) are tied to the trees, and some young women are tending them.Many simple huts were built outside the grove, and people came and went in and out of the huts from time to time. Gao Mo looked from a distance and found that almost all of them were Bulgarian or Moldavian girls with big thick braids and small flower hats.They looked quite young in appearance, maybe in their teens, maybe in their twenties, or even older, Gao Mo couldn't tell the difference.

Some of them are cleaning the wool, some are gathering branches for cooking.There are only a few soldiers guarding them. These poor women have names and origins. If they escape, their relatives in their hometown will suffer.Therefore, the Ottomans only sent a few soldiers of the Ganishari Army to guard them, but in terms of actual effect, they were actually protecting them more.

"There are more than 2000 people here, all of whom are fertile women between the ages of 15 and 30. According to the agreement, each one is 80 yuan. If you agree to the construction of the battleship 'Bayezid', this price is not It can’t be lowered any further, and we promise to double the number of people provided every year.” Hassan glanced at Gao Mo with a sideways glance, and said slowly.

Gao Mo smiled wryly and shook his head. These Turks have spent a lot of money, but this matter is really too big, and they can't be the masters.But I can have a good talk with the native, um, I will write a letter after I get back, explaining the situation here in detail.

"Later, the port of Burgas exclusively exported women and wool; Smyrna exported copper, graphite, mercury, and sulfur; Saloniki exported olives, grapes, plums, and slave girls; Suez exported silk, livestock, and wool. Look, how much A perfect business network. You know, whether it is the British, the Dutch, or the French who have a good relationship with the upper echelon of the empire, the scope of activities of merchants in their countries is very limited, and many trade activities are strictly restricted. We allow your country It is already a great sincerity to open a business office in the above four ports, and this is the kind of friendship that can only be treated with a brotherly country, I hope you can understand this." Hassan is still persuading non-stop.Moreover, it seems that his persuasion behavior is not without effect, at least Gao Mo and others seem to have been persuaded by him.

Gao Mo smiled noncommittally, and then he and his followers dismounted.The soldiers of the Ottoman new army in the distance saw the situation and were ready to come over to ask, but after seeing a group of well-equipped cavalry guarding them, these usually arrogant Ganishari soldiers shrank back obediently.Just kidding, this is the Sipahi cavalry. Although their number is not very large, far inferior to the Ganisari Guards Corps, which has become a climate today, they are a well-trained and excellent troop. The top soldiers of the Guard Corps asked themselves that they couldn't afford to offend them.

Over the years, under the vigorous rectification of the former Sultan Murad IV and Grand Vizicomanks Kara Mustafa Pasha, the Ottoman Empire has gradually recovered from the previous dilemma of continuous political turmoil and financial collapse A trace of vitality.It has to be said that Mustafa is a capable person with considerable means. First of all, he successfully suppressed the rebellious Ganishari new army and banned coffee and tobacco throughout the country (because coffee houses are the gathering place for the new rebel army land), and took the opportunity to cut down a large number of new army soldiers who were either disobedient, or whose combat strength had dropped sharply due to lax military discipline. At the same time, it also reduced the extravagant and wasteful behavior of some Sudanese courts and governments, effectively reducing the financial burden of the empire.At the same time, in order to reduce inflation, he ordered to increase the content of gold and silver in the minted currency; he also sent people to abolish corrupt officials, re-inspected the taxed land after many years, issued new land certificates, and based on the existing land output to re-establish the taxable quota.In short, thanks to his efforts, the finances of the Ottoman Empire were finally balanced, and the salaries of soldiers and officials were paid on time again.

But this guy is also unlucky-it seems that the reformers of any country will not end well, because the reform policy he vigorously promoted has annoyed many nobles in the Ottoman court. Under their series, the dissatisfied Sudan, The empress dowager whose power had been weakened, the Turkish nobles whose interests had been violated, and the officers and soldiers of the new army who had been retrenched united against him. Impasha, acting as their ostensible agent, started the rebellion in Aleppo and then marched on to Istanbul.Then... nothing more, Nasukh Pasha's local army was defeated magnificently in front of the Ganishari Guards, and the opposition was completely suppressed.

However, Mustafa's good days did not last long. At the beginning of this year, the new Ganishari army, just like the role it played in previous Turkish court rebellions, betrayed Grand Vizier Mustafa again. Then assisted the Sultan in executing him.After the death of the Iron Prime Minister who ruled the country for many years, the power of Ottoman has now fallen into the hands of Sultan Ibrahim's teacher Xinsi Hauka, Queen Mother Kosem Sultan and others. Xianyu turned over again and became a celebrity in the Ottoman court.

"After the death of Mustafa, Sultan Ibrahim's main energy turned to his harem concubines. Now Xinsi Hauka and the Empress Dowager are in charge of the court, and Nasukh Pasha is currently the favorite of both of them. People. With such a relationship, I think the foundation of our cooperation will be more solid." When Hassan said this, his face was a little unnatural, and there seemed to be a hint of anger mixed in.

"Hassan, I heard that someone in your family is serving in the Sipahi army. What do you think of the Ganishari Guards, which has great influence in the Sultan's court? If—I mean, if we reach an agreement Agreement, so how to balance the relationship with the new army? I heard that your Sipahi Cavalry Corps has a bad relationship with them. If they come forward to oppose it, I think any agreement we reach may not be able to proceed. As you know, Sultan Ibrahim executed Mustafa this time relying on the strength of the Ganishari Army, but at the same time, it also inflated the power of the Ganishari Army. I heard that there are dozens of important people in the city of Istanbul. The positions were awarded to the officers or soldiers of the Ganishari Regiment." Gaomo expressed his worries.

"Nasukh Pasha is a miraculous person. He has a good relationship with the Aghas (commanders) of the Guards. With him, there will be no major problems. Besides, don't you know that the Janishari Guards Have the Ajias of the legion always had a good impression of you?" Hassan looked at Gao Mo with a strange look, and then said: "You have sold so many army weapons to our country, and at least half of these weapons have been equipped to our country. The Guards Corps, they responded very well after using it. That is to say, they have no prejudice against you, provided that you give them enough benefits and don't offend them at the same time."

Gao Mo was speechless.The Ottoman matter is very complicated, but in fact it is very simple. The troubles are nothing more than a few forces at work, that is, the court forces, military forces and local power factions. As long as they can coexist peacefully and share interests , then there would be no problem doing business in the Ottoman Empire.However, there are many things to pay attention to here. For example, the palace forces are divided into the Sultan faction and the Empress Dowager faction; The forces mainly include some Christian lords in the Balkans, the Algiers pashas in North Africa, the Tunisian pashas, ​​the Mamluk feudal lords in Egypt and other local forces.The relationship here is complicated, and without the guidance of an insider, it is absolutely impossible to figure it out, and it is very likely to offend many people unintentionally without knowing it.

"The Ganishari Guards are the moths of the country, Gao, I'm only saying this here today, and I won't say it again in the future, and I won't admit that I said these words." Hassan said with a serious face , "Although these pagan-born guys have converted to Allah, they are still greedy robbers. They habitually rebel in order to grab their own benefits, and their power and influence will deepen after each rebellion. The country Sooner or later it will be destroyed in their hands."

After talking for a while, Hassan was silent for a while, and then said: "There are too many ignorant and conservative people in this country. Unfortunately, many of these people are nobles who hold the power of the country. They are obsessed with the empire. The glory of the past, but we can’t see the growing gap between the empire and the western countries. Gao, I asked you to help us build warships, repair roads, docks, track carriages, and sell advanced army weapons. In order to let the domestic idiots see the rapid development of Western countries and face the gap between us and the outside world. No matter what, we have to try. Don’t worry, you won’t suffer. I have seen your roads. It's great, the road from Istanbul to Edirne is sure to surprise the old bastards when it's completed. Then Edirne to Plovdiv, Plovdiv to Sofia, Sofia to Belgrade , These roads are all yours! The construction is done by our people, and the design, materials, and supervision are all done by you. This is a lucrative business. Trust me, Gao, I will not let you suffer.”

(End of this chapter)