Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 554: Disagreement between Europe and Austria
"Lanet Olsun! You Franks are going too far! We have already made such great concessions, and you are still pushing for more?"
"Hahaha, Vahid Pasha, don't be angry. Why are we getting too greedy? Even if the land we want is not under our control for the time being, we can take it soon as long as we want. What are you angry about?"
"What did you mean by that? Threatening me? Humph! There's no point in negotiating today. Goodbye!"
In May 1626, after several rounds of negotiations between the two sides' middlemen, Philip and Ibrahim both confirmed that the other side was willing to negotiate a ceasefire and roughly understood each other's needs. After confirming that the gap between their needs was not too big, the two sides agreed on a time and sent a formal delegation. Then, the ceasefire negotiations were held in Athens.
The Ottomans were nominally led by Murad, the younger brother of the current sultan, but in reality they were led by Wahid, an Arab who had been an envoy to the Ming Dynasty and was recruited by Ibrahim when he was the governor of Baghdad in the Mesopotamian region.
Murad was a remarkable figure in history: he was the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire to personally fight on the battlefield. He used an iron fist to suppress powerful officials, eradicate corruption, and improve national strength... He once gave the country hope for revival. Unfortunately, he died at the age of 28. After him, there were no more heroic sultans. The Ottoman Empire fell into irreversible decline and eventually perished.
Unfortunately, although he was a person of great character, he encountered a time traveler. In the original historical plane, he succeeded to the Sultan in 1623, but now it is 1626. Because the time traveler changed history, he is still a prince. Although he knew why Ibrahim sent him, he had no way and ability to refuse.
As for the real leader of the delegation, Wahid, an Arab businessman, has the best temper and no problem with negotiation skills. But even with such a good temper, when facing the negotiation team headed by Earl Tilly sent by the EU, he lost control of his emotions many times and uttered all kinds of swear words.
After three days of talks between the two sides, a general framework has been reached, at least on the main issues.
First, the two sides should cease fire in the areas under their actual control.
Second, the Ottoman Empire recognized Spain's occupation of North Africa and Palestine (including Jerusalem).
Third, the EU recognizes the Ottoman occupation of the Balkans.
Fourth, both parties promised to return prisoners of war to each other. If the number of prisoners returned was unequal, the party with the smaller number would make up the difference to the other party at the price of 50 double pillars per person.
Within this big framework, the two sides also had many details on which they could not agree.
On the EU side, due to Philip’s insistence, in order to ensure the security of Palestine, especially Jerusalem. At the beginning, Count Tilly made a big request, demanding that the Ottoman Empire not only hand over Palestine, but also Lebanon and Syria. After Wahid angrily led his men to leave and expressed a strong refusal, Count Tilly took a step back: Syria is gone, but you have to give me the Lebanese area where Christians mainly believe. In addition, you have to hand over the Golan Heights, which borders Palestine and the Syrian Governorate.
The Golan Heights, this is what Philip really wants.
How important is this place? This highland is 300 meters higher than the average altitude of the coastal plains of Palestine and Lebanon. With this highland of more than 2,000 square kilometers, you can overlook the entire territory of Palestine, Lebanon and Damascus . And you can also control at least 30% of the water sources in the three surrounding areas!
But you, Philip, are a time traveler, while Yibrahim is not. Moreover, Yibrahim is a time traveler in the Middle East. How could he not know the importance of this highland? Therefore, on this point, Wahid, who received instructions from Yibrahim, was determined not to give in. The two sides negotiated several times, but could not reach a consensus on this point.
In addition to the Golan Heights, the second disagreement between the two sides was the ownership of Crete. For the Ottomans, it was harmless that Crete was previously controlled by the Venetians: Venice was at most a regional bully, and compared with the great powers of the time, such as the Ottomans, the gap in strength was huge, and it would not pose any threat to the Ottomans at all. When the Venetians controlled Crete, the Venetian fleet stationed on the island did not dare to take action in the face of the numerous Ottoman merchant ships.
But if the EU controlled this place, it would be a disaster: it would be like a sharp knife directly against the soft belly of the Ottoman Empire. From then on, the southern gate of the Aegean Sea was locked. The Ottoman navy would be trapped in the Aegean Sea and unable to go south. Even the Bosphorus Strait and even Istanbul would be in danger.
Therefore, Wahid made it clear during the negotiations: You, the European Union, destroyed the Republic of Venice some time ago and looted the famous Bank of Venice. The millions of gold coins and tens of millions of silver coins seized from its vaults helped you make back most of the military expenses for this war. We won’t talk about the stomachache you suffered - that’s because you are ruthless enough to attack your own allies. We can’t learn from you.
However, Venice itself belongs to you, and we don't want its other overseas territories. But Crete must be given to us.
Naturally, the EU would not do this: I just want to drive a nail into your stomach. My navy now has an absolute advantage. Not only Crete, but also Cyprus, which is currently controlled by your Ottoman Empire, I want to swallow it up!
As a result, when Count Tilly not only rejected Wahid's request to take Crete, but also said something provocative like "I didn't expect you Ottomans to be so greedy, so we might as well take over your Cyprus while the navy controls the Mediterranean", Wahid, no matter how good his temper was, could not help it, and he stood up, threw his things and left.
…
"Your Majesty, this boring negotiation has lasted for three days. In general, I have noticed that the Ottomans want a ceasefire more than we do. Because, whether in terms of manpower, material resources or even economy, the Ottomans are far inferior to us. Especially after we conquered the despicable country of Venice and made a good supplement, this gap is even more obvious.
During the three days of negotiations, the two sides have almost reached a general framework. The main differences are the following three points... The third point is that the Ottomans asked us to withdraw from Zagreb and hand over Budapest. Wahid made it very clear in a private conversation with me that although their Grand Vizier has a very high reputation in the country after the victory in Jerusalem, people's memories are very short. If they lose the entire North African region in the negotiations and lose their traditional holdings in the Balkans, then their Grand Vizier may be attacked by domestic opposition forces after this national crisis is over.
I personally don't care about how the other side's Grand Vizier's political life will end. But after all, the young Grand Vizier is in power in the other side. If we make him lose face, then the other side may insist on fighting. However, although our situation is much better than the other side, Alexander on the southern front has not been completely captured, and the main force on the southern front has not been withdrawn to the north, while the northern front is in danger of collapse. In addition, we still have nearly 40,000 prisoners of war in the hands of the other side... Therefore, I sincerely suggest that we make some appropriate concessions on the three main points of dispute between the two sides and get certain compensation in other places.
My specific suggestion is..."
On May 18, 1626, Count Tilly's letter arrived in Rome.
"Laimondo, Turenne, come and read the Count's letter."
As part of the training program for peerless generals, Raimondo Montecuccoli and Turenne were both outstanding commanders in the historical plane. The former led the Austrian army to repel the Ottoman invasion many times and was known as the "savior of the Christian world." Needless to say, the latter was one of the six great marshals of France in the 17th century and the sharpest sword of the Sun King Louis XIV.
And now, after Rudolf's death, Philip kept them by his side as teenagers, and while training them carefully, he was also enhancing the relationship between the two sides - these two, as well as the five-year-old Condé, were the future commanders of the European coalition forces.
These two young men had joined the Maurice Corps to relieve Jerusalem some time ago, and although they were defeated by Richelieu, as lieutenants, they did their best to gather the troops and resisted all the way during the retreat, and their performance was quite impressive.
"Your Majesty." After carefully reading Count Tilly's letter, 18-year-old Raimondo spoke first: "I think we can make some concessions in the Balkans, but we must keep the Golan Heights."
"Well, it seems that Raimondo is in favor of a temporary ceasefire. What about you, Durenni?"
"Your Majesty, I also agree with a ceasefire. After all, we have exposed many problems in this war. However, young nobles across Europe have now set off a holy war frenzy. What if this emotion cannot be guided and vented?"
"Haha, it doesn't matter. I can send them to America or North Africa, which is newly included in the EU's rule. Tell them to build colonies well and accumulate more strength so that the next holy war can be successful."
"I deeply admire your wisdom, Your Majesty. Let's make some concessions and reach a ceasefire as soon as possible. After all, Europe has many internal problems right now. Keeping an enemy around will help us maintain unity."
"Hahaha, Durenne, you are such a genius! Your idea just now, as the ancient Chinese said, is to be born in sorrow and die in comfort!"
