You Will Return Like Lightning (4)

News of the Russia victory spread far and wide. In Greece, Eastern Orthodoxy Christians, walking hand in hand, greeted each other with barely suppressed joy in their eyes. A legend began to circulate among them. "The rightful emperor of the Senate and the Rome people, the great Constantine XI, did not die in the siege of Constantinople. He was taken away by an angel, hidden in a cave, and transformed into a marble statue. When the descendants of the Roman Empire recapture Constantinople, he will return like lightning. The priests of Hagia Sophia have also disappeared into the walls; when the Eastern Orthodoxy recaptures Constantinople, they will emerge to continue their worship."

In the church, during the worship service, Eastern Orthodoxy Christians gathered together, their hearts filled with unease and anticipation.

"Father Stefanos, we are all devout believers here, there is absolutely no traitor among us. Tell us about the Roman Empire back then!" a young man said.

"Alright." Elder Stefanos looked at the crowd. These people who came to listen to his sermon were all children he had watched grow up. There was certainly no traitor among them.

"Let me tell you about the fall of Constantinople. Back then..." Elder Stefanos began, recounting how Constantine XI, the last legitimate Rome and the last Rome, raised his lance and charged at the countless infidels.

"Holy Mother!" someone whispered from below.

"Elder, some say that His Constantine XI did not die. An angel protected him, took him away, and turned him into a marble statue. They say that one day, when we recapture Constantinople and the Temple of God, His Constantine XI will miraculously return. Is this true, Elder?"

"Ah, my child, God has done so many wondrous things, what can I, a mere old man, possibly know? But one thing I am certain of is that the Turkey did not find His Majesty's remains after the fall of Constantinople."

"They must have been rescued by angels. Praise God, may your kingdom come soon, Amen!" said another man who looked like a farmer.

"Elder, I heard that the Turkey just suffered a defeat in the north, is that true?" someone else asked.

"How could I possibly know about something like this?" Elder Stefanos shook his head.

Just as everyone was sighing in disappointment, Elder Stefano said again, "However, a friend of mine has just returned from abroad, and he knows some new information..."

Austria's new ambassador to France, Ludwig, recently visited France Foreign Minister Talleyrand to gauge the France's stance on the current situation, particularly the war between Turkey and Russia.

Austria certainly didn't want the Russia to advance so smoothly, eventually conquering Constantinople, rebuilding the Eastern Roman Empire, and bringing the Balkans and Peloponnese under its sphere of influence. And he believed the France wouldn't want that either.

So what he and Talleyrand discussed was how to stop the Russia from advancing.

In order to gain the trust of France, Austria has been incredibly lax in its military preparedness in recent years. So, relying solely on the Austria army? Ha! The entire Austrian army is smaller than a single Russia army group. Moreover, its equipment and training are only slightly better than the Turkey', and probably not much different from the Russian army's level. In short, Austria's military strength is only enough to suppress its own people. To think that Austria can compete with Russia for the Balkans? That's wishful thinking.

Therefore, to limit Russia's expansion, it was necessary to involve France.

For France, it is not a good thing if any country on the Europe continent, other than France, becomes too powerful. Therefore, the France naturally do not want to see Russia dominate the Balkans or even seize Constantinople, the center of Eurasia.

However, at this time, the France had limited options. Although their army was not deployed in large numbers to any particular battlefield, its presence suppressed the Britain French Army. It was precisely to guard against a possible French Army landing that the Britain had to maintain a large army on their home soil, and even when the situation in Dublin became critical, they dared not send too many troops to reinforce it.

However, if the France were to turn against Russia now for the sake of Turkey and send their army to the East, they could certainly force the Russia to retreat. In fact, the Russia would retreat on their own once France troops set foot on the Balkans. But this would harm France interests in the West. Both Napoleon and Joseph believed that eliminating Britain was more important than preventing the Russia from controlling the Balkans or even seizing Constantinople.

However, France is the world's leading power, unlike pseudo-powers like Austria. Even without using its military, France has ways to influence the course of the war.

Joseph and Napoleon had Lucien compile intelligence on the Russia's purchases of weapons and ammunition over the years, as well as their establishment of military factories, and then they discussed the matter together.

"According to our intelligence, the Russia aren't actually in a better position either. Their ammunition consumption far exceeds their production capacity. We've also been very restrained in exporting to them. So, although they've achieved a decisive victory, as long as we stop exporting ammunition to them, the Russia won't have enough ammunition to support another battle like this," Lucien explained.

"In that case, we will cut off arms and ammunition exports to Russia and supply the Turkey with weapons and ammunition through loans," Joseph said.

"But that might not be useful." Napoleon shook his head. "Weapons are important, but the people who use them are even more important. Hmm, Joseph, isn't that something you often say? Turkey lost its most elite troops in this campaign. Even if we provided them with enough weapons, what use would those weapons be in the hands of the Janissaries today? They might even help the Russia solve their ammunition shortage problem."

Joseph fell silent. He knew that Napoleon was right. Even if they gave the Turkey their best weapons and ammunition, they might not be able to stop the Russia now. Just like the Allied forces in later generations equipped with American weapons, they were basically useless in combat.

"Perhaps we can help the Turkey contact some mercenaries? Like those Italy, for example?" Lucien suddenly said.

Over the years, due to prolonged peace, the mercenary business has declined, and most mercenaries have now changed professions. Even in places like southern Italy, where numerous states exist, there are far fewer mercenaries than before.

"Italy mercenaries? How many do you have left? A thousand or two at most. What use are so few?" Napoleon shook his head.

"Italy? Ah, doesn't His Holiness the Pope have an army of 20,000? Although it's not as strong as our army, nor as strong as the army of the Northern Italian Republic, it's still stronger Janissaries. If we take them over and ensure their logistical support, that should be enough." Joseph suddenly slapped his thigh and said.

"Joseph, are you out of your mind? Do you think the Pope is one of us France? No matter what, the Eastern Orthodoxy and the Catholicism still believe in the same God. You want His Holiness the Pope to send troops to support the Crescent Moon Church? Do you think the Pope will agree to that? Although the Holy See is the most shameless person in the world behind the scenes, they still have a lot of face on the surface, okay?"

"Lucien, if you don't understand politics, don't interrupt!" Napoleon said. "Compared to interests, what is face? If we're talking about who in this world, besides the Turkey Sultan, would least like to see the Russia, or more precisely, the Eastern Orthodoxy Christians, reclaim Constantinople, it's definitely the Holy See. If the Russia really reclaim Constantinople and re-establish the universal Church, it won't be good for the Holy See. So as long as our Sultan can show some sincerity, and produce something sufficient to demonstrate that sincerity, the Holy See can fully support him."

"Sudan probably doesn't have any money left either," Lucien said.

"We can lend him the money, but money alone is not enough. Just like you said, the Holy See still has some face to save. The Sultan needs to show something more sincere," Joseph said.

"With something sincere, Joseph, what do you mean?" Lucien asked.

"Jerusalem, or at least some of the important holy sites in Jerusalem," Joseph said. "Imagine if the Turkey Sultan handed over sovereignty and administration of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and other holy sites to the Holy See, and offered them a sum of money, wouldn't the Holy See be tempted?" Joseph replied.

This was indeed a very feasible plan, so Napoleon entrusted the matter to Talleyrand, instructing him to contact the Turkey and the Holy See to expedite its implementation.

At this time, Selim III was in a state of panic. The biggest problem brought about by this great defeat was not just who could stop the Russia —that was an important question, but not the most important one. The most important question was: what to do domestically?

A key reason why Selim III was able to push through the Ottoman Empire Turkey reforms despite the discontent of the conservatives within the country was that he had a new type of army loyal to him and supporting him. Although this army was far smaller than the Janissaries, it was far superior in combat effectiveness.

The conservatives who opposed his reforms also knew this, so although they were very dissatisfied with his reforms, they dared not openly oppose his rule. At most, they would only try to create trouble for his reforms by paying lip service to them.

But after this battle, the situation changed completely. His new army, which he had relied on to suppress domestic opposition, was completely annihilated in the battle, and the balance of power within the country had now been completely reversed. This meant that if the problem could not be resolved quickly, not only would his reforms be in jeopardy, but even his own life might not be spared. In Turkey history, there have been far too many sultans who died from various unnatural causes.

So when the Turkey ambassador to France relayed the France suggestion to him via telegram, he agreed almost without hesitation. What did it matter if he could quickly acquire an army to support his position, take out a loan, and receive a few churches—and pagan churches at that?

He immediately called back the ambassador to France, urging him to push forward the matter and implement it as soon as possible.

Soon, under Talleyrand's arrangement, the Turkey ambassador to France and representatives of the Holy See held secret talks. Because both sides were very sincere, they quickly reached an agreement and initialed it.

The Holy See then organized its 20,000 troops. Of course, for the sake of appearances, they couldn't say that these were the Papal States' troops sent to rescue the infidels. Instead, they claimed that Turkey had used the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the freedom of Catholicism as conditions to obtain permission to recruit mercenaries in southern Italy.

Then the entire Papal States army, totaling 20,000 men, was transformed into mercenaries and began preparing to go to Turkey to help the infidels fight against the heresy of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Of course, this army was also renamed the "South Italian Volunteer Army."

Selim III's actions were certainly not unknown to his enemies within the country. They knew that if His Majesty Selim III were to acquire such an army, the balance of power, which had finally begun to tilt in their favor, would shift again...

Around the same time, in Greece, a group of people began to use the Eastern Orthodoxy Church as cover to contact each other and prepare to launch an uprising in pursuit of independence and freedom. The uprising first broke out in the Bernie, and within a few days, several uprisings broke out in Greece. The rebels attacked Turkey garrisons and government institutions and quickly took control of nearly half of Greece.

In order to suppress the Greece uprising, Selim III had no choice but to send out the few thousand newly-equipped troops he had left. After all, Greece was too close to Constantinople. If the Greece uprising could not be suppressed as soon as possible and they were allowed to operate there, the Turkey would be caught between two forces and would have little chance of stopping Russia and holding Constantinople.

But this move also gave his opponents a golden opportunity. Shortly after the new reinforcements went to suppress the Greece uprising, a coup d'état occurred in Constantinople, the Janissaries stormed the palace, and Selim III became the new emperor.