Chapter 731: The Franco-Ottoman Trade Agreement
Constantinople – A Citywide Celebration
The streets of Constantinople were packed.
Every resident, carrying a candle, had taken to the roads to celebrate.
Just a week earlier, the Ottoman army had won a major victory at Tur, defeating the Mamluk eastern forces in Egypt.
In a panic, the two Mamluk rulers, Murad Bey and Ibrahim Bey, had quickly sent envoys to Selim III, begging for forgiveness.
Now, Selim III's grand carriage rolled out of Topkapi Palace, escorted by rows of elaborately dressed Janissary formations, heading toward the Blue Mosque for a series of victory ceremonies.
Inside the carriage, Stehler, the general manager of the French Eastern Mediterranean Trading Company, received a small box of dates from Medina from the Sultan himself.
He bowed slightly and spoke in Arabic:
"Thank you for Your Majesty's generous gift!"
Receiving a product from the Holy Land was an extraordinary honor.
Stehler had earned this privilege because the Topçu Ocakları (Topijis) New Army had played a critical role in the battle.
And it was Stehler who had arranged their training.
Outside the carriage, drums and bagpipes played lively tunes, with the occasional "boom" of fireworks exploding overhead.
Stehler took the opportunity to ask:
"Your Majesty, when will Mustafa Pasha launch his next offensive? Oh, you see, I need to prepare the necessary supplies for the army in advance."
This campaign's logistics had been partially handled by the French Eastern Mediterranean Trading Company, which had supplied over one-third of the Ottoman army's provisions—at prices 30% cheaper than the Janissaries' own suppliers.
But Selim III simply shook his head and answered indifferently:
"The war is over."
He cast a brief glance at his Grand Vizier, Meleka Mehmed Pasha, who immediately stepped in to explain:
"Mr. Stehler, Murad Bey has already handed over the rebellious officers, including Karamanlı, who initiated the battle against the Sultan's army. They will be tried in Constantinople.
"In His Majesty's great mercy, the Sultan has chosen to pardon the Mamluks."
"Of course," he added with a smile, "Governor Hasan Pasha's authority in Egypt has been strengthened, and the Mamluk nobles will pay additional taxes to demonstrate their loyalty to the Empire."
Hasan Pasha was the Ottoman-appointed governor of Egypt.
Stehler was not surprised by this outcome.
Instead, he sighed internally—Prince Joseph had predicted this perfectly.
It wasn't prophecy, but rather logical deduction based on history.
From Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, Joseph knew that the Mamluks were far from weak—they were skilled warriors, well-trained, and highly mobile.
This was precisely why he had encouraged Talleyrand to push Selim III into a war with the Mamluks—because he knew the Ottomans couldn't completely destroy them.
The Reality of War
The Battle of Tur had seen Mustafa Pasha crush an Egyptian force of 10,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry.
However, the Mamluk total army consisted of over 30,000 infantry and 20,000 cavalry—so their core strength remained intact.
The Ottomans had also suffered heavy casualties:
Two and a half Janissary corpsMassive cavalry and Balkan troop lossesA total of 7,000–8,000 dead
Had the war continued, the Mamluks could have counterattacked, especially as the Topçu New Army became worn down.
This was exactly what Joseph had wanted.
The Key to Egypt's Future
In this era, Egypt—and more importantly, the yet-to-be-built Suez Canal—was the key to global trade.
Whoever controlled Suez would dominate trade between Europe and Asia.
This trade was worth billions of francs annually!
In real history, Napoleon, influenced by Talleyrand, had also recognized Suez's importance—so he launched an invasion of Egypt.
However, his strategy was too crude.
By directly occupying Egypt, he alarmed both the Mamluks and the Ottomans, who immediately united against him.
Even though Napoleon won the Battle of the Pyramids, he failed to truly control Egypt.
Then, when the French Mediterranean fleet was destroyed by the British, Napoleon was forced to abandon his army in Egypt and flee back to Paris.
To avoid a similar mistake, Joseph had:
Helped the Ottomans train a modern army to boost Selim III's confidenceProvoked an Ottoman-Mamluk conflict early, ensuring that when France intervened, it could do so as a "mediator" rather than an invader
After this war, Ottoman-Mamluk cooperation was unlikely.
In the future, France could position itself as the key power in Egypt's affairs.
Of course, all of this depended on France's ability to keep the British navy out of the Mediterranean.
Without that, a French-controlled Suez Canal would simply become a gift to Britain.
With steam-powered warships now entering service, France was finally gaining the ability to challenge Britain's naval dominance.
So the Egyptian strategy had to move forward.
The Franco-Ottoman Deal
Meleka Mehmed Pasha turned toward Stehler, while Selim III, still tossing coins to the crowd, remained silent.
"Mr. Stehler, given the impressive performance of the Topçu New Army, His Majesty wishes for France to train more of our soldiers."
Previously, Spain, Austria, and even Russia had helped train Ottoman troops—but they had simply sent instructors to train a batch of soldiers within the Ottoman Empire.
This had only produced slightly improved Janissaries.
But Joseph had done something radically different.
He had removed the Topçu New Army from the Ottoman environment, sending them to be trained in a French camp in Tunisia.
Only by doing so had they truly developed into a modern military force.
Clearly, Selim III was very pleased with the results.
Given how the Topçu army had performed in Tur, the Sultan believed that with just 5,000 such soldiers, he could effectively suppress Constantinople's 100,000 Janissary guards.
And breaking the power of the Janissaries was the first step toward revitalizing the Ottoman Empire.
Stehler smiled and nodded.
"I would be honored to serve His Majesty. However, as you know, training so many soldiers requires significant time and effort. It could even disrupt our own military training."
The Grand Vizier immediately reassured him:
"Do not worry. His Majesty is prepared to pay whatever is necessary."
But Stehler shook his head.
"Ah, you misunderstand. His Highness, Prince Joseph, has said that we will train Ottoman troops for free."
The Grand Vizier's eyes narrowed. "Then what does His Highness desire?"
Stehler smiled. "His Highness hopes to strengthen Franco-Ottoman trade ties. Perhaps… through a new trade agreement?"
Seeing that Selim III continued tossing coins, Stehler added:
"We only ask for an expansion in the number of permitted trade goods. Of course, Your Majesty may set the tariff rates as you see fit. Meanwhile, the French market will also open to Ottoman merchants."
Joseph understood that in the worst-case scenario, Britain would block most of France's overseas trade.
In that case, the Mediterranean would become France's lifeline.
And the Ottoman Empire, being the wealthiest non-French nation on the Mediterranean, would be a critical trading partner.
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