Although the Conference of Constantinople had already ended, the Austrian Empire still had some loose ends to tie up.
For instance, there was the matter of taking over Canaan. Although the Ottoman Empire had signed the treaty, they neither wished nor dared to hand Canaan over to the Austrian Empire.
Of course, the Ottoman Empire also did not dare stop the Austrian Empire from entering Canaan, but that did not mean they did not dare incite the people.
In truth, Empress Dowager Shevkyevza had not relinquished her power. She was incomparably furious at Mehdi's actions.
Yet Mehdi now had the support of the British and had reached an understanding with Pasha Omar.
For the moment, Empress Dowager Shevkyevza truly had no way to deal with him.
When the other side held power over the military, government, diplomacy, and economy, the nation's nominal leader had no path left but crooked and unorthodox ways.
Empress Dowager Shevkyevza decided to incite the faithful. Jerusalem was, after all, the Third Holy City, and using it to launch a holy war would be all too easy.
It was only that the Ottoman Empire, its strength now badly battered, simply did not dare confront Austria head-on. Otherwise, the ten-year armistice treaty would turn into nothing but a scrap of paper.
That scrap of paper had been bought with a third of the Ottoman Empire's territory, and Empress Dowager Shevkyevza had even paid for it with her eldest son.
In fact, news of Murad V's death had still not been made public, and the Ottoman Empire had no choice in the matter.
The Ottoman Empire was in the midst of troubled times. It had just suffered a crushing defeat, ceded land, and paid reparations—and was about to lose the Holy City as well.
If the Sultan's death