My Italy

The Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul is the residence of Abdul Hamid II, the current Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Although it is not big, only more than 600 meters, the interior of the palace is extremely luxurious.

In order to build Dolmabahçe Palace, the Ottoman Empire invested a lot of money and owed a large amount of foreign debt for this purpose. It is said that a total of fourteen tons of gold and forty tons of silver were used to decorate the entire palace.

Therefore, after the palace was built, the Sultan chose this place as his residence. Of course, Abdul Hamid II also chose to sit here, but compared with the previous sultan, Abdul Hamid II seemed to live in seclusion here and could not easily see the Ottoman The monarch of the empire.

But this time, the threat from Italy made Hamid II appear in front of everyone again.

"The news sent back from Rome is that Italy wants to use the murder of missionaries in Syria to launch a war against our country."

In the palace, in front of the Sultan and other important ministers, Halim Pasha, who was in charge of diplomacy, told the contents of this discussion.

"Halim, is this news accurate?"

The questioner was the Ottoman Grand Vizier Kamil Pasha. The Grand Vizier is equivalent to the position of Prime Minister, just called by a different name.

"The news is very accurate. This is a telegram sent by the Ambassador to Rome, Mansu. In addition, I also sent someone to inquire about it. Currently, Italy is spreading bad news about our country. In addition, from our international friends, we also learned that Italy News that the army has canceled vacations and begun mobilizing retired officers and soldiers. And Italy sent news in the European debt market that they will issue a huge bond."

As Halim Pasha spoke about the current situation in Italy, everyone present looked unhappy. We are all people who have been in politics for a long time, and we still can’t figure out what the Italians want to do.

As for the international friends Halim Pasha mentioned, no one can have more than three or five close friends.

So when Halim Pasha finished speaking, Kamil Pasha, the Grand Vizier, stood up.

"The current situation is already obvious. The Italians' hostile attitude towards our country is very clear. They can't wait to seize North Africa and Albania from the empire. In this regard, our country must not let the Italians succeed in their attempts."

Just as Grand Vizier Kamil Pasha was speaking, a loud bell-like voice sounded.

"They can't even imagine that His Majesty the Sultan's army will let these Italians know what wishful thinking is."

The speaker was the Minister of War, Field Marshal Osman Nuri Pasha of the Ottoman Empire, and the veteran expressed his attitude angrily.

This was one of the few famous generals in the Ottoman Empire. In the 10th Turkish-Russian War, he led an army of the Ottoman Empire to hold off the Russian coalition's 300,000 troops in Pleven for five months. If it were not for the ammunition, Even though food and grass were running low, he could still hold on. However, his subsequent failed breakout and capture made him less than perfect in the Turkish-Russian War.

But despite this, after returning to the Ottoman Empire at the end of the war, Nuri Pasha was still warmly welcomed, and Sultan Hamid II personally hosted a welcome ceremony for him.

This also shows his status in the eyes of the Sultan. This is his second time serving as Minister of War.

Faced with the threat of war in Italy, the old commander stepped forward without hesitation to lead the Ottoman army onto the battlefield again.

Although the words of the Minister of War were inspiring, Kamil Pasha still had something to say. "Marshal Nuri Pasha, I can understand your mood. I am as angry as you. But it is not easy for the empire to fight a war."

Why did Kamil Pasha say this, because the Ottoman Empire's treasury is empty and currently cannot even get out five million Ottoman lire.

Speaking of which, the Ottoman Empire was not weaker than Italy in terms of population and economy. Logically speaking, its fiscal revenue should be very good.

Unfortunately, Kamil Pasha, as Grand Vizier, knows best that the Ottoman Empire is currently heavily in debt, local finances are in a mess, and officials are very corrupt. For every lira turned over to the treasury, at least five or six lira have been stolen. These officials put it in their pockets.

This also resulted in the Ottoman government's income being far less than that of the European powers. In addition, His Majesty the Sultan had to live a decent life, so there was less money to distribute.

In addition, the Ottomans borrowed a lot from foreign countries, all of which must be repaid. In addition, after deducting 7,788 expenses, the Ottoman Empire had a deficit of nearly 100 million Ottoman liras every year.

You must know that although Italy's annual deficit is higher than that of the Ottomans, it is because of large-scale construction and the advancement of its own industrialization. The Ottomans have lost these two huge expenditures, but still have such a high deficit. You can imagine how bad the Ottoman finances are.

Faced with such a situation, how could Kamil Pasha, the grand vizier, dare to start a war? After all, once a war started, it would require massive financial support. And in Osman's situation, where can he find these funds?

"Then let's borrow money from other countries. We can't give up these two territories to the Italians just because we are short of money."

As for Kamil Pasha saying that he had no money, Nuri Pasha would certainly not care about the government's financial problems. He is the Minister of War, not the Grand Vizier.

Hearing the words of the Minister of War, Kamil Pasha didn't know what to say. It’s not that easy to borrow money. Who would lend the Ottomans a large sum of money without agreeing to some additional conditions? You must know that this requires at least 500 million lire. This is what Kamil Pasha made based on the last Turkish-Russian war. made a preliminary estimate.

“If you want to borrow money now, it’s not easy to borrow such a large amount of money.”

"But now Italy is close to declaring war."

"I also know that borrowing money is not that easy."

As the atmosphere at the scene became more and more intense, the two of them were almost on the verge of a fight.

"Okay, everyone, calm down."

This time it was His Majesty the Sultan who spoke, and his words brought an end to the argument between the two.

"We cannot just ignore the Italians' war threat. We are immediately ready to mobilize the army. We will also look to Britain and France to purchase weapons. For borrowing issues, we can look to a few more countries."

With Hamid II's words, the Ottoman Empire's next move was also destined.

"As you command, Your Majesty."

"As commanded."

After Hamid II was satisfied that everyone present listened to him respectfully, he spoke again. "In addition, we cannot give up on diplomacy. In addition to Britain, France and Germany, other countries are also seeking support, just like the last war."

Although Hamid II stopped talking, everyone present knew that the Sultan was talking about the Tenth Turkish-Russian War, which caused the Ottomans to completely decline. Thanks to excellent diplomacy, the Ottomans were able to retain some of their Balkan territories.

In fact, this is not a good example at all, but the diplomatic work that time was indeed outstanding.

Following Hamid II's words, the Ottoman Empire also started its own actions. First, the army began to mobilize to prepare for the war. The other was to borrow money urgently. Although this would definitely cost someone a fortune, they could not care about it at this time. So many.

In addition, diplomatic work for various countries is also a top priority for Ottoman.