Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 518 Osman's Response
According to the population records of various countries at that time and the inferences of later demographers, in the 17th century Europe in the historical plane, excluding Russia and the Balkans under the control of the Ottomans , there were about 70 million people.
In this dimension, due to the strength of Spain, the religious war lasted only two years. Philip began to learn from Eastern countries to conduct household registration, and there were also improvements in medicine and personal hygiene. At this time, the European Union under the control of Spain actually controlled a population of nearly 100 million (including nearly 10 million in the American colonies).
Of course, due to the rise of the Industrial Revolution, a large number of strong laborers entered the factories. Due to the inertia of the times and the slow change of personal concepts, more strong laborers continued to be bound to the land. Therefore, at this time, it was almost the limit for European countries to mobilize such a large army.
The mobilization of nearly 600,000 troops and more than one million civilians was a mobilization of the entire society for the population and national system of Europe at that time. With such a large-scale mobilization, there was no way to keep the intelligence secret from the enemy. In fact, Philip did not want to keep it secret either - he was still hoping that this new hot spot would completely cover up the sudden death of Rudolf.
Therefore, the special meeting held by the Ottoman Empire in response to this large-scale military buildup in Europe actually occurred earlier than the events of the Conference of Rome.
In October 1624, Ibrahim, headed by Chief Civil Secretary Richelieu, Hayreddin who was based in Tripoli, as well as governors and pashas of various provinces, gathered at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul to discuss how to deal with the upcoming large-scale invasion from Europe.
"Our intelligence personnel have already found out that those shameless Franks are preparing to invade Allah's world again. In fact, the scale of this mobilization is so large that it is completely impossible to conceal. I believe that all the Pashas can easily use their own channels to obtain this intelligence."
Seeing that all the pashas present nodded solemnly, Ibrahim said, "I know that some of you present here are still dissatisfied with the way I came to power. But ask yourself, if the Janissary Group did the same to you, would you resist? If the resistance fails, then there is nothing to say. If the resistance succeeds, will you do the same as I did?"
Seeing the governors and pashas below either remaining silent or nodding slightly, Ibrahim breathed a sigh of relief: "No matter what you think in your heart, you must admit that I have brought vitality to this country! In the four years since the 321st year of the Imperial Calendar (1620 AD), has this country been rapidly reversing its previous decline?"
Having said that, no matter how loyal one is to His Majesty the Sultan or how dissatisfied one is with Ibrahim, one can only nod.
In the four years since he became the Grand Vizier, Ibrahim has achieved great results with his selfless and high-intensity work. Internally, the Ottoman Empire established more than 30 light and heavy industrial factories. In addition to the sharp increase in coal and iron production, the Ottoman Empire was able to produce its own armaments, from rifles to light machine guns, heavy machine guns, and even mortars and cannons of various calibers. Externally, it basically maintained a peaceful international environment.
Of course, Ibrahim was in power for a very short time, so his work in the past four years was mainly focused on preparing for war. He had no time to take care of basic sciences or the coordinated development of society.
"Of course, although the country has made great achievements in recent years, we have too little time to correct the chaos. So in this war, at least on the surface, our strength is still a certain distance away from those Franks. I would like to ask Mr. Richelieu to explain this in detail."
"Everyone." After receiving a signal from Ibrahim, Richelieu stood up and said, "Although I am a Catholic, I am very sure in my heart that Europe has been collectively deceived by the demons sent by the evil god. Therefore, over the years, I have served the Grand Vizier wholeheartedly in order to let Europe bathe in the true sunshine of the Lord again. In fact, in this great country of the Ottoman Empire, in addition to the Star-Crescent Christians, there are also countless Christians fighting for this country. I am just a slightly more conspicuous one among them."
After briefly explaining his position, Richelieu walked behind Iprahim, picked up his baton, and drew a big circle on the huge map of Europe and the Near East on the wall: "This war may last for a long time. It will be a continuous consumption of the national strength of both sides... At present, Spain has basically controlled all of Europe except the Balkan Peninsula and the Russian wilderness, and its population is close to 100 million. This does not include the population controlled by EU countries in Africa. And we Ottomans..." He shrugged helplessly: "The large-scale population census of the empire that began last year has not yet been completed. There are only 15.3 million people registered in the empire. Even if the census is completed, it is estimated that there will be only about 17 million people.
The huge population difference and the damage done to this country by the Janissary Group in the early years have caused our navy to completely lag behind the enemy. Therefore, in the early stages of this war, on land, we will focus on defense. On the sea, we will be forced to give up the control of the sea in the Eastern Mediterranean. "
Amid the creaking sound, Hayreddin of Tripoli stood up and said, "Mr. Civil Secretary, do you mean that we should abandon Tripoli or even the whole of Libya?"
"Yes, Lord Hayreddin. We all know that Libya is a barren land except for some production along the Mediterranean Sea. In normal times, the supplies there are mainly transported by sea. Once the war breaks out, it is obvious that shipping from the core area of the empire to Libya will be completely cut off. If we start from Egypt and go overland to supply you, the road is too far and too difficult."
"...So where are we going after we withdraw?"
"Go to the Aegean Sea." Richelieu pointed his baton at the Aegean Sea. "There are many islands and harbors here, which are convenient for the fleet to hide and ambush. After you retreat here, you can rely on your advantage of being familiar with the sea conditions to launch guerrilla warfare against the enemy fleet."
"..." After staring at the numerous islands in the Aegean Sea for a while, Hayreddin laughed heartily: "Hahaha, the first generation of Hayreddin started out as pirates, but I didn't expect that my generation would have to go back to the old ways. Secretary, I'll take on this mission."
"Thank you for your support." After nodding his head, Richelieu tapped his baton in the direction of Egypt again: "According to our intelligence, the Spanish army has a total of more than 500,000 soldiers. Among them, 300,000 are on the southern front, and the first target of the southern front is Egypt. The key to whether Egypt can be defended lies in the port of Alexandria. Therefore, our first line of defense to block the enemy on the southern front is here. According to the order of the Grand Vizier, we will deploy three new divisions and a reinforced artillery regiment here, totaling more than 53,000 people. Its commander is the Governor-General of Egypt, His Excellency Mustafa."
Mustafa was a common name in the Ottoman Empire. Specifically speaking, he had a reputation as a miser in the Ottoman officialdom. And Ibrahim took advantage of this: I will give you the support of more than 50,000 new-style troops, plus your own more than 10,000 old-style troops in Egypt. This force is not small, right? As for you, as long as you can defend Alexandria for a year, I promise that as long as I am in power, you will be the permanent governor of Egypt. If you fail to defend it, I'm sorry, your wealth in Egypt will definitely disappear, and your estates and other fixed assets on the Anatolian Peninsula will definitely be confiscated by me - why don't you fight for it?
Of course, Ibrahim knew that such old-style bureaucrats could not command a new-style army, so he also sent a new commander to the Egyptian Corps: the Russian Nicholas Boris, who was a fierce general he had conquered when he was the governor of Transcaucasia. He had followed him for many years and was already familiar with the command methods of the new-style army.
"In addition to blocking the enemy at Alexandria, we will also form a siege around Jerusalem. Here, we will deploy 100,000 new troops."
After Mustafa stood up and made an impassioned assurance, Richelieu smiled and said, "Everyone, we all know that as professional soldiers, we naturally hate political purposes interfering too much in the military process. But isn't this Spanish invasion under the banner of holy war? In this case, Jerusalem is where the enemy must attack. We will open the periphery of Jerusalem, and if the enemy comes in, we will annihilate them! If the enemy does not come, then our spies and diplomats will have work to do."
