As the absolute protagonist of this war, Abdul Hamid II only felt that the pressure was great, and the situation was too unfriendly.

Throughout history, the Ottoman Empire did not have a sultan like him. Thinking back to the glorious days of the ancestors, it was invincible and invincible.

The Habsburgs were beaten by them, the Russians trembled under their troops, and the European continent was clouded by the Ottoman cavalry.

How can it be "three hundred years to the east of the river, three hundred years to the west of the river", feng shui takes turns, and a realistic version of "don't bully the old and poor" is staged.

From beating people to being beaten, every time he thinks of this earth-shattering reversal, Abdul Hamid II can't help but complain about his ancestors in the depths of his heart.

It's just a matter of pulling hatred around, and if you have a feud, you will cut the grass and eradicate the roots! Don't you hear that "cutting grass does not remove roots, and the spring breeze blows and grows", this is simply a model for the descendants of the pit.

Suppressing the grievances in his heart, Abdul Hamid II asked, "Prime Minister, how are you preparing?" ”

Midhart replied slowly: "The government has mobilized 1.2 million young men to join the army, and it is expected that the mobilization will increase to 2 million in the next three months."

Considering the menacing enemy, the government is ready to abandon the coastal areas, and the military will lure the enemy deep into the interior and fight them in the interior. ”

Abdul Hamid II never believed in the phrase "luring the enemy deep", and if he won the war, who would want to give up the elite of the coast?

In fact, after the last war in the Near East, the Ottoman Empire strengthened its coastal defenses. However, the time is too short and the coastline is too long, so I can't take care of it at all.

As the newspaper sarcastically put it: "The Ottoman coastline stretched for thousands of miles, but only the beach belonged to itself." ”

The presence of a sea without defense is the truest portrayal of the Ottoman Empire.

Abdul Hamid II shook his head: "This is far from enough, during the Russo-Prussian War, the Tsarist government alone mobilized more than 8 million people to join the army, and the total number of troops at its peak was as high as 5 million.

In this war, we were faced not only with the Russian Empire, but also with an even more powerful Austria.

Don't say that two million troops, even if two million are mobilized, it is not enough. Order all the people to be soldiers, and arm everyone.

Men and women, young and old, must take up arms and fight the enemy. Only in this way will we have a glimmer of life. ”

Midhart was keen to correct the Sultan's assertion that the Russians' army of five million was not all front-line combatants, and that at least half of them were men who were transporting supplies.

It's just that the people also have to protect the safety of the materials, and they also took up arms, so they were counted in the army.

Although the Russo-Prussian War was fiercely fought, the front-line combat units put into the front line never exceeded two million in the real sense.

This is the limitation of the times, and the army's operations must be subject to logistical constraints, and it is impossible to blindly increase the number of troops.

Thinking of the poor relationship between the two, Midhat decisively chose to give up correcting the Sultan's misconceptions.

One is a representative of the conservative faction, and the other is a spokesman for the reformists; One side is the embodiment of imperial power and religious power, and the other side is the subject of relative power and secular power, which is not a person in essence.

In a sense, the sudden war in the Near East saved Midhart, otherwise he would not have been able to return to the position of prime minister.

"Your Majesty, we are already mobilized to the limit. Young and strong entered the army, women and children took on the responsibility of production, logistics and transportation, and there was no idler in the entire Ottoman Empire. ”

Without mentioning the old and weak, Midhat was really afraid that the Sultan would send everyone to the battlefield, which would mean that the defeat would really wipe out the race.

If you look at the history of the Ottoman succession to the throne, you will know what is the representative of barbarism, and every sultan succeeds to the throne without killing, and the brutal sultan is worthy of the name.

Including Abdul Hamid II, too, who overthrew his brother and father, and inherited the throne by coup d'état.

The monarch who grew up in this environment lacked everything, but not ruthlessness.

In a sense, they are all psychopaths. stepping on the bones of his father and brother, it is difficult not to twist his heart.

Abdul Hamid II glared at Midhart fiercely, as if realizing that now was not the time to turn his face, and forcibly suppressed the dissatisfaction in his heart.

"My prime minister, it is better to be able to do as you say, there is not a single idler in the Ottoman Empire," he warned. ”

……

Midhart did not represent the Ottoman people, and as a multi-ethnic country with serious ethnic contradictions, the Ottomans were never at peace.

Not everyone was worried about the Turkish alliance, on the contrary, there were still some people in the Ottoman Empire who welcomed the alliance.

Where there is oppression, there is resistance.

Deep in the interior of the peninsula of Asia Minor, a small town welcomes an uninvited guest tonight.

"My old friend, the butcher's knife of the Ottomans is about to be cut at your neck, are you still sleeping?"

The plainly dressed middle-aged man shook his head: "Holman, I haven't seen you for so many years, you are still so alarmist.

You launched the war in the Near East, the Ottoman government is too busy to take care of itself, it is too late to stabilize the situation in the country, where is there any effort to create trouble at this time. ”

Holman smiled, "Draco, don't hide it anymore, your expression has revealed your true thoughts."

You're scared. The last defeat had made that hot-blooded Draco no longer exist, and now only a rich man who was greedy for life and afraid of death remained. ”

Draco nodded, "You're right, I'm scared. The young and ignorant Draco is dead, and now he is the one who recognizes reality.

If you want to use me as a pawn again, don't even think about it. I will not take the lives of my compatriots to pave the way for you.

It's ridiculous that I still take you as a friend, the last time you promised Armenian independence, did you fulfill it?

……”

Listening to Draco's babbling complaints, Holman didn't get any impatient until he spoke dry.

"Alright, old friend. I know you're wronged, why don't you take a sip of water to moisten your throat and continue to tell your grievances? ”

Looking at Holman as he handed over the glass, Draco knocked it off with one hand, speechless with rage.

Seeing that the momentum was almost gone, Holman continued: "My friend, is it really our responsibility for the last failure?

We offered to let you move to the Caucasus and establish a state in Transcaucasia, on the border between Asia and Europe, but some people insisted on staying, reluctant to accept the prosperity of the Asia Minor peninsula.

It's okay to stay, but unfortunately you won't wait for the war to end, and you'll be finished first. How do you want us to keep our promises?

Austria owes you nothing, and national independence has always been a matter of its own efforts. If your government itself is not angry, do you still need us to be responsible? ”

Seeing a dejected Draco, Holman tapped him on the shoulder with his hand and continued, "Friends don't have much time left for you, and there is no hope if you don't pick yourself up."

As long as you are not isolated from the rest of the world, you should know that a civil war broke out in France, and there was no one in the European world who could save the Ottomans.

Once the Ottoman Empire falls, this is our world and that of the Russians. We have not contributed to this war, so why should we support your independence?

No, maybe you won't have to wait yet. In normal times, the Ottomans have a much richer coastal plain and don't care about your rotten land.

But this time it was different, as the coastal areas would become battlefields when war broke out, and a large number of refugees would pour inland.

If I don't ask you to get land, how can the Sudanese government feed so many people? Even if the Sultan government doesn't take away your land, it will at least increase your taxes, right?

They have to mobilize two million troops, and on average, one out of four people will enlist, and all the young and strong will go to battle.

If nothing else, it won't be long before the conscripts come.

Once you have entered the Ottoman army, you should know what fate awaits you. ”

Threats + intimidation + inducements, Draco knew very well that he had no choice.

Whether or not Holman's promise is kept, now he must take sides, and all the peoples of the Ottoman Empire must take sides.

In these days, there are no human rights to speak of, and standing on the wrong side will kill people. It's not a question of one or two, but the kind of death of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands.

The Russo-Prussian War has proven that the European world is not so civilized. Millions of people are starving to death, and the international community is only shouting a few times.

Comparatively speaking, Austria is a good eater among the great powers. Although the expulsion and exile are often done, after all, they have never played massacre.

Draco asked bitterly, "I'm not the only one of you who has a choice, if I refuse, won't I see the sun tomorrow?" ”

Holman shook his head: "You think too much, my friend. I'm just an intelligence agent, not an executioner, and it's not my job to kill people.

With what I know of you, even if you don't agree, it's impossible to tell the truth. ”

Draco could only half believe this, it was indeed not Holman's job to kill people, but it was difficult to say what to say.

As far as he knew, there were many Armenians with Austrian connections, including in this humble town.

In normal times, he might still be the respected Mr. Draco, but now if he doesn't say a word, I'm afraid that these people will be disposed of as a hidden danger.

Draco sighed, "Looks like I don't have a choice!" If you think I'm a friend, help send all the kids out of town!

They are innocent, and the war has nothing to do with them. I know you have the strength, and I'll die for you if you send them away. ”

Holman smiled bitterly: "This is really difficult, if before the outbreak of war, not a few hundred, even tens of thousands, we can send them away."

But now it's different, Austria's face is not good here. If you want to send away so many children, you must use British and French channels.

In this war, we are on opposite sides, and the Anglo-French-Austrian Triple Alliance is now only a face-saving alliance, and it is difficult to use their strength.

If it's just a child to send away, I can still help......"

Draco interrupted with a wave of his hand, "Alright, my friend. Don't talk this nonsense, I know you can do it.

If I just send my child away, what will anyone else think? If you want to start a wave of independence in the Ottoman hinterland, it is not enough for me to work alone.

Rest assured, old friend. I won't make it difficult for you, we can give you all the money, just raise these children to adulthood. ”

That's right, it can be done, it's nothing more than a matter of money. Money doesn't necessarily make a ghost grind, but it can definitely make people grind.

There were quite a few European capitalists active in the Ottomans, and as long as they were given money, they did not mind a special shipment.

Draco didn't look for these capitalists, not because they didn't have money, but because there was no guarantee that they would fulfill their contracts.

Greed is the nature of capital, and no one can guarantee that the capitalists will take the money and sell these children to the Ottomans.

It was different with Austria intervening, the capitalists could not ignore them, but they could not ignore the Austrian government.

Seeing that Holman was still hesitating, Draco continued to lobby: "My friend, presumably after this war, you are also a big man, and it is not a problem to get a fief at all.

I know you're from an aristocratic background, but your family has long since declined, and you don't have the ability to provide you with follow-up resources.

These children can be trained to become your team. ”

Holman nodded, with such a generous condition, he really couldn't find a reason to refuse, even if he needed to take a lot of favors, it was worth it.

"Don't worry, my friend. From now on, your son will be my son, and I will take him as my godson and raise him to adulthood. ”

……