The Fox of France - Chapter 485 (Patreon)

Chapter 485: Return Like Lightning

Victories achieved by the Russians spread far and wide. In Greece, as Orthodox believers greeted each other on the streets, joy uncontainable shone from their eyes. A legend quietly spread among them: "The legitimate Emperor of the Senate and the Roman People, the great Emperor Constantine XI, did not die in the siege of Constantinople. An angel took him away, hid him in a cave, turned into a marble statue. When the descendants of the Roman Empire reclaim Constantinople, he will return like lightning. The priests of Hagia Sophia have also merged into the walls, and will resume worship when Orthodoxy is restored in Constantinople."

Inside the church, during the worship ceremony, Orthodox believers gathered together, their hearts filled with unrest and anticipation.

"Father Stefanos, we are all devout believers here, definitely no traitors among us. Tell us about the old times of the Roman Empire!" a young man spoke.

"Very well," Elder Stefanos looked around at the attendees, all familiar faces he had watched grow up, indeed no traitors here.

"Let me tell you about the fall of Constantinople back then," Elder Stefanos began, narrating up to the last stand of Emperor Constantine XI, the last legitimate Roman Emperor, who bravely charged at the countless heretics with his spear.

"Mother of God!" someone whispered from below.

"Elder, some say Emperor Constantine XI did not die, that an angel protected him, took him away, and turned him into a marble statue, and that he will miraculously return once we reclaim Constantinople and God's holy temple. Is this true, elder?"

"Ah, my child, God has performed many wonders; I am but an ordinary old man, what more could I know? But one thing I am sure of, after the fall of Constantinople, the Turks never found His Majesty's body."

"That must have been the work of angels. Praise God, may His kingdom come soon, Amen!" another person, looking like a farmer, added.

"Elder, I heard that the Turks just suffered a defeat up north, is that true?" another asked.

"Such matters, how could I know?" Elder Stefanos shook his head.

Just as everyone sighed in disappointment, Elder Stefanos added, "However, a friend of mine who just returned from abroad does have some new information..."

...

Austria's new ambassador to France, Ludwig, had just visited the French Foreign Minister Talleyrand to probe the French perspective on the current situation, particularly the war between Turkey and Russia.

Austria certainly did not want the Russians to continue their victorious march and ultimately storm through to Constantinople to resurrect the Eastern Roman Empire, and also take the Balkans and the Peloponnese into their sphere of influence. He believed that the French would also be reluctant to see such a scenario.

Thus, he discussed with Talleyrand how to halt the Russian advance.

Given the relaxed state of Austrian military readiness over the years, relying on Austria's military alone was laughable—the entire Austrian army was not even as large as one of Russia's armies, and its equipment and training were only slightly better than that of the Turks, hardly on par with the Russian forces. Essentially, Austria alone was only capable of suppressing its own citizens, not competing with Russia over the Balkans.

So, to limit Russian expansion, France must be involved.

For France, any European power becoming too dominant was undesirable. Hence, the French were naturally also against Russia dominating the Balkans or taking Constantinople.

However, the current capabilities of the French military were limited. Although their army was not heavily committed to any single battlefield, it restrained the British army. The British had to maintain a substantial force at home, particularly as the situation in Dublin was dire yet they dared not send too many troops to reinforce it.

But if France were now to fall out with Russia over Turkey, deploying its army to the East could indeed push back the Russians, and merely the presence of French troops on the Balkan Peninsula would make the Russians retreat. However, this would compromise French interests in the West. Both Napoleon and Joseph considered defeating Britain a higher priority than stopping the Russians in the Balkans.

Still, as the leading global power, France had ways to influence the situation without deploying its military.

Joseph and Napoleon had Lucien compile intelligence on Russian arms and ammunition purchases and the state of their munitions factories, then discussed the issue together.

"According to our intelligence, the Russians are actually not doing so well. Their ammunition consumption far exceeds their production capacity. We've been quite restrained in our exports to them. So, while they've achieved a decisive victory, without our continued ammunition exports, the Russians wouldn't have enough for another campaign like this," Lucien explained.

"Then let's cut off weapon and ammunition exports to Russia and provide them to the Turks on credit instead," Joseph suggested.

"But that might not be effective," Napoleon shook his head, "

Weapons are important, but the men who wield them are more so. Isn't that something you often say, Joseph? The Turks have lost their finest troops in this battle, even if we supply them with enough weapons, what use would they be in the hands of the current Sultan's guards? It might even help the Russians by solving their ammunition shortage."

Joseph fell silent; he knew Napoleon was right. Even if they provided the best weapons and ammunition to the Turks, they might not be able to withstand the Russians. It was similar to those forces equipped with American gear in later eras, generally ineffective.

"Perhaps we could help the Turks hire some mercenaries? Like those Italians?" Lucien suddenly suggested.

Over the years, due to prolonged peace, the mercenary business had dwindled. Even in the fragmented regions of southern Italy, mercenaries were far fewer than before.

"Italian mercenaries? How many could there possibly be now? Maybe a thousand or two at most. What use would they be?" Napoleon shook his head.

"Italy? Ah, doesn't the Pope command a 20,000-strong army? Although it's not comparable to our army or the North Italian Republic's, it's surely better than the Sultan's guards. We could bring them over and guarantee their logistics; that should be sufficient," Joseph suddenly exclaimed, slapping his thigh.

"I say, Joseph, are you feverish? You think the Pope is one of us French? Whatever the case, both the Orthodox and Catholic churches believe in the same God. You want His Holiness to send troops to support the crescent believers? The Holy See might be the most shameless in the world privately, but they still care about appearances publicly," Napoleon said.

"Lucien, if you don't understand politics, don't interrupt!" Napoleon retorted, "Compared to interests, what's a face worth? If there's anyone in the world, apart from the Turkish Sultan, who would least like to see the Russians, or more precisely, the Orthodox believers reclaim Constantinople, it would definitely be the Holy See. If the Russians do reclaim Constantinople and re-establish the universal church, it would be bad for the Holy See. So as long as our Sultan shows some sincerity, offers something genuinely convincing, the Holy See can definitely support him."

"The Sultan's probably out of money now," Lucien mentioned.

"We can lend him the money, but money alone isn't enough. Like you said, the Holy See still cares about appearances. The Sultan needs to offer something more convincing," Joseph stated.

"What convincing thing are you referring to, Joseph?" Lucien asked.

"Jerusalem, or at least some of its important holy sites," Joseph replied, "Think about it, if the Turkish Sultan hands over the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and other such holy sites' sovereignty and administration to the Holy See, plus some money, wouldn't the Holy See be tempted?"

This was indeed a viable plan, so Napoleon tasked Talleyrand with negotiating with the Turks and the Holy See to expedite the matter.

At that time, Sultan Selim III was in a state of panic. The recent major defeat had brought more than just the problem of who could hold back the Russians; though significant, it wasn't the most pressing issue. The most crucial concern was: what to do domestically.

Sultan Selim III had been able to push Ottoman Turkey's reforms despite domestic conservative opposition primarily because he had a new-style army loyal to him, supporting his initiatives. Although this army was numerically smaller than the Sultan's guards, their combat effectiveness far exceeded them.

The conservative opponents were aware of this, so although they were very dissatisfied with his reforms, they dared not openly oppose his rule, at most resorting to passive-aggressive tactics to disrupt his reforms.

However, the situation changed completely after this battle. The force he relied on to suppress domestic opponents, his new-style army, was entirely wiped out. The balance of power at home had completely shifted. This meant that if he couldn't resolve the situation quickly, not only his reforms but even his life might not be secure. In Turkish history, there were plenty of Sultans who died under various unnatural circumstances.

So when the Turkish ambassador to France communicated the French proposal via telegraph, he almost immediately agreed, eager to rapidly secure an army that could support his position, take on a debt, and give away a few churches, even if they were of a different faith.

He immediately responded to the ambassador, urging full support for this initiative, to implement it as soon as possible.

Soon, under Talleyrand's arrangements, the Turkish ambassador in France and representatives of the Holy See conducted secret negotiations. Both parties were very sincere, so they quickly reached an agreement and drafted a contract.

The Holy See then organized its 20,000-strong army, although for the sake of appearances, they couldn't openly declare these were troops from the Papal States going to rescue heretics. They instead announced that Turkey had granted permission to recruit mercenaries

 in southern Italy using the "Church of the Holy Sepulchre" and the freedom of Catholic pilgrimages as conditions.

Thus, the entire Papal army, all 20,000 troops, became "mercenaries" and began preparing to head to Turkey to help the heretics resist the Orthodox heresy. Naturally, they were renamed the "South Italian Volunteer Army."

Sultan Selim III's opponents at home were naturally aware of his actions. They knew if Sultan Selim III indeed obtained such a military force, the power balance that had just tipped in their favor would shift again...

Meanwhile, in the Greek region, a group began using the cover of the Orthodox Church to coordinate and prepare for an uprising seeking independence and freedom. The uprising first broke out in the Peloponnese, and within days, multiple uprisings occurred across Greece. The insurgents attacked Turkish military and government establishments, quickly gaining control of nearly half of Greece.

To suppress the Greek uprising, Sultan Selim III had no choice but to deploy the few thousand troops of his new-style army remaining at his side. Given the proximity of Greece to Constantinople, if the uprising wasn't quickly suppressed, allowing them to remain active, the Turks would be caught between two fronts, making it nearly impossible to hold off the Russians and protect Constantinople.

This deployment, however, provided a perfect opportunity for his opponents. Soon after the new reinforcements headed to suppress the Greek uprising, a coup occurred in Constantinople. The Sultan's guards stormed the palace, and then Sultan Selim III became the former Sultan.

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