Retreat

After selling their country at a bargain price once again, the Turkey finally managed to hold off the Russia with the help of the crusaders sent by the Papal States —ah, the South Italian Volunteer Army— by relying on the Prut River.

In fact, neither side engaged in any serious fighting. The Russia had consumed far too much ammunition in previous battles (Kutuzov: I've been very frugal!), and one of the most important things Alandar Mustafa Pasha did before surrendering was to completely deplete the Turkey army's supplies, especially ammunition. When they finally surrendered, the Russia were fully expecting to make a fortune from the spoils. In the end, they did capture a considerable amount of weapons, but their ammunition was pitifully scarce. As a result, each Russia cannon now has an average of less than five shells.

If the opposing force were a group of Janissaries, the Russia might try to fight them seriously and see if they could get some ammunition. But the Italy... well, if many years later the Russia heard that the enemy was "the lovely Italy," they wouldn't even need a powerful political commissar to use his skills; their morale would skyrocket.

Just imagine, the "lovable Italy"! They always carry delicious Italy sausages, and besides, Italy are so talented; everyone knows one or two musical instruments. With them, you could rehearse a performance of "The Marriage of Figaro" in the POW camp. The entire army could suddenly have a whole bunch of new military bands. And the Russia cooks could all take a break—can you imagine how wonderful that would be!

However, the Italy of this era were not the "lovable Italy" type. In this era, Italy was divided into numerous states, and war was a common occurrence. Although the Italy were notoriously cunning and dishonest, their fighting ability was still considered reliable.

Furthermore, under the command of Marshal Suvorov, many Russia generals had personally witnessed how the Northern Italy ravaged the Austria in defensive battles. Although the Austria insisted that they were France dressed in Italy uniforms, everyone knew they were Italy. Since the Northern Italy were so formidable, the Southern Italy shouldn't be too far behind... Hmm, with this in mind, and considering the current state of the army, the Russia decided to withdraw while they were ahead.

As for the South Italian Volunteer Army, well, they had even less intention to launch an offensive. After all, they were just there to make money. If they could get money by simply holding out, that would certainly be better than getting money by fighting.

The two armies then faced off across the Prut River. Meanwhile, Russia and Turkey began negotiations.

The Russia, of course, made a series of outrageous demands. Cessation of territory and reparations were just the basics. They also demanded that Turkey allow Russia ships, including warships, free access to the Black Sea straits. Furthermore, they demanded that Turkey restore the Hagia Sophia to its original state, that is, convert it back into an Eastern Orthodoxy church, and demolish the minarets that the Turkey had illegally constructed later.

The Turkey naturally rejected the demand to restore the Hagia Sophia Mosque to its Hagia Sophia without hesitation. Agreeing to such a thing would essentially erode the legitimacy of the Turkey regime.

Of course, when the Russia made this demand, they knew the Turkey would never agree. It was merely an exorbitant price to put pressure on the Turkey, and also to give Turkey an excuse to make concessions in other areas. In short, it allowed the Turkey to say to their country, "Look, we are still capable of protecting our national interests; we firmly rejected their unreasonable demands... What, ceding territory and paying reparations? This isn't our fault; it's mainly because the previous Selim III wasn't devout enough. He didn't honestly rely on his devotion to the true God to solve problems, but instead resorted to the crooked practices of those infidels... Back then, why were we Turkey victorious in every battle? Because we devoutly trusted in the true God. Those who pursue reforms, the more they try, the worse the world becomes..."

After such propaganda, the new Turkey Sultan's betrayal of his country even carried a tragic air. So much so that many years later, some Turkey still felt that Mustafa IV was actually not bad, and that the cession of territory and payment of reparations were not his fault. There was even a saying on the internet in later years that goes something like "You don't know the hardships of the fourth Sultan when you're young, but you know the true Sultan when you're older."

The remaining issues were territorial concessions, reparations, and navigation rights. According to Mustafa IV, this was easy to negotiate. Territorial concessions and reparations? Great Turkey possessed vast territories and had everything; it was simply a matter of using Turkey's resources to appease the other nations. No problem at all!

Mustafa IV said to his Grand Vizier, Jevas al-Bashe Mimaspasha, "My brother, Selim III, far surpassed me in both talent and wisdom. Yet he ultimately failed. Do you know why?"

Jevasbashe Mimaspa shook his head.

"Selim III was pursuing unattainable goals. He spent too much time gazing at the stars and forgot what the earth was really like." Mustafa IV also shook his head. "He wanted to bring Turkey back to the great era of Suleiman the Magnificent, but he didn't realize that times had changed!"

He observed that the pagan nations of Europe were rapidly rising in power, growing stronger day by day, while the Turkey flag with its star and crescent was no longer as prominent as it had been many years ago. He then attempted to learn from these pagan nations, without considering that they were fundamentally different from Turkey.

The rise of those countries largely came at the cost of weakening religion, and the relationship between their kings and the church was completely different from ours. Their kings were always vying for power with the church. When the church's power weakened, the government's power actually increased. But we are different; in our tradition, religion and political power are inseparable. Weakening religion means weakening the government. Perhaps his approach will indeed make Turkey stronger, but it will weaken our government. Heh, my brother always thinks I'm a country bumpkin who's never seen the world, that I don't know how the outside world has changed. Heh...

The rise of those pagan nations came not only at the cost of religious decline, but also at the cost of the decline of the monarchy. Look at Britain: they were the first to behead the king. Although they later retained the monarchy, the king's power and authority had been trampled underfoot by Parliament. At this cost, Britain briefly became the most powerful nation in the world.

In order to surpass Britain, the France also beheaded their king and queen, and transformed the kingdom into a republic—thereafter there was no king.

After paying such a price, the France surpassed Britain to become the most powerful nation in the world. So, if we follow their example and want to become as powerful as they are, what price would we have to pay? Would it be like Britain, beheading a sultan and handing the next sultan a covenant dictating what he could and could not do; or like France, beheading the king and queen and turning Turkey into a republic?

No, if Turkey is to become as powerful as Suleiman the Magnificent was, merely reaching the level of the France would not be enough. It might require sacrificing the entire Ottoman Empire dynasty. Therefore, the path my brother took was absolutely a wrong one—a path that protected Turkey, not the Ottoman Empire!

If Turkey's rulers weren't the Ottoman Empire, what would be the point of Turkey being so advanced and powerful? The real difference between me and my cousin lies in whether we chose to preserve Turkey or the Ottoman Empire."

Thus, the Ottoman Empire Turkey leadership quickly reached a consensus: first, protect the Ottoman Empire; second, protect the Ottoman Empire nobles and clergy; and finally, protect Turkey as a secondary consideration.

With this guiding principle, the subsequent situation was predictable. However, the France intervened. They not only kept encouraging the Turkey, telling them that reparations could be considered (after all, Turkey had no money and could only borrow from the France, and at least in this timeline, no one dared to default on loans from the France), but also that territorial concessions were acceptable for those already occupied by the Russia, but absolutely not for those not yet occupied. Their attitude towards the Russia's demand for navigation rights was even more rigid.

"We must not allow Russia warships to enter the Mediterranean Sea at will!" The France ambassador to Turkey bluntly offered guidance to Turkey's diplomacy.

"But Mr. Ambassador, the Russia will not agree if we do not make concessions on this point. We are no match for them right now..." Djevasbashe Mimaspasha explained.

The France ambassador immediately retorted, "The Russia sword is sharp, but is our France sword not sharp? Allowing Russia warships into the Mediterranean Sea harms our national interests. If your country cannot protect our interests... does your country intend to see how we France protect France interests?"

Well, so the issue of navigation rights became really difficult to negotiate. No matter how much pressure the Russia applied, the Turkey wouldn't budge. After all, the Russia had already been offended, and they would never become friends with Turkey. Of course, if they discovered in time that someone was plotting to overthrow the Sultan, they might temporarily become friends. But that would only be temporary. Geographically, they were inherently enemies. Satisfying the Russia at the expense of the more powerful France was clearly not an option. So, the negotiations dragged on. However, the Italy weren't in a hurry about the negotiations dragging on; every extra day meant more money to pay.

Finally, it was the Russia who became anxious. They had also incurred a huge debt from the war and urgently needed reparations to pay off their debts and invest in their domestic legal campaign. So the Russia backed down, proposing that Turkey guarantee Russia merchant ships free access to the Black Sea straits. As for warships, the Russia said that this could be discussed, for example, capital ships could not pass through.

Of course, determining what constitutes a capital ship was another point of contention. However, apart from the Russia, no one was in a hurry about this. In the end, it was agreed that battleships and supercruisers were not allowed to pass through. The total tonnage of cruisers and smaller warships entering and leaving the strait each year was limited to a certain amount. As for the standards for battleships and supercruisers, the existing standards of the French Navy would be followed.

This overcame the most difficult hurdle, and Turkey then signed a new peace treaty with Russia. According to this treaty, Turkey ceded the entire Bessarabia, as well as a portion of its Caucasus, to Russia. In addition, Turkey paid Russia 100 million francs in reparations.

Even for wealthy Turkey, this sum of money was not a small amount that could be easily obtained. However, the Russia demanded that Turkey in full at once, with a very tight deadline. In order to raise the money, Turkey applied for a loan from the Roman Bank.

Ultimately, the Turkey spent a total of 300 million francs on this, of which 100 million went to the Russia, and the remaining 200 million were, of course, the legitimate profits of the Roman Bank.

Just as the flames of war in the East were gradually dying down, the siege of Dublin in Ireland was reaching its final stage. After the ammunition supply to Russia was halted, the ammunition supply to the France artillery outside Dublin finally improved. As a result, the Franco-Irish forces' attack on Dublin became much more effective.

These days, the number of shells raining down on the Britain is at least three times higher than before. Coupled with the far-reaching range of France cannons, they have a clear advantage in their confrontation with Britain artillery.

Relying on the high vantage point of observation from hot air balloons and the immense range of the 280mm and 203mm cannons, the French Army destroyed a significant number of Britain cannons in the artillery battles. In particular, because the Britain lacked smokeless powder technology, their cannons always had very obvious markings when fired, which allowed the France to quickly spot them and rain shells down on them.

Now, a portion of the Independence Army had seized the last strategic point leading to the city, so the Britain had already been preparing for their retreat.

In the history of world warfare, the Britain Army wasn't particularly outstanding in many aspects, but there was one skill that could be considered unparalleled: the Britain evacuation tactics. The Britain Army excelled at organizing evacuations, especially by sea...