Chapter 49: The French Envoy
"Roland, do you have any good suggestions?" At this moment, Napoleon also turned his gaze towards Roland.
"Uncle Napoleon, I believe the Turks pose no significant threat," Roland stated firmly, looking at Napoleon.
"Oh?" Napoleon exclaimed, surprised by Roland's assertion.
"Uncle Napoleon, I think the Turkish desire to attack us is not very strong, or rather, they lack the confidence to defeat us," Roland explained with a smile.
"And your reasons?" Napoleon asked, standing up straight and then leaning slightly forward, clearly interested in Roland's reasoning.
"Uncle Napoleon, generals, consider this: if the Turks were truly intent on waging war, they would have declared war on us as soon as we left the port of Toulon. But the Turks have been dragging their feet, only stepping forward now after the British defeated our navy at Alexandria."
"Even though the Turks have made their move, they still hold back. Otherwise, they would have directly engaged in full combat, rather than issuing a tepid warning like now, then supporting Murad to attack us, which precisely exposes the weakness of the Turks."
Roland analyzed calmly, and with each sentence he spoke, the French generals nodded in agreement, recognizing the soundness of his reasoning.
Initially tense because of the sudden Turkish aggression, they had been somewhat nervous. But now, after hearing Roland's analysis, their initial anxiety had dissipated, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well done, Roland! Worthy to be my nephew," Napoleon said excitedly from the stage, even he hadn't considered the Turkish perspective.
At the same time, he couldn't help but marvel at Roland's wisdom. Despite being just a teenager of sixteen or seventeen years old, his intellect was impressive.
"General Napoleon, since Master Roland has said so, I suggest we first order our forces to advance east to Suez and eliminate Murad," Marmont stood out and said loudly from below the stage.
"Damn Marmont, stealing my thunder, that was what I intended to say," Murat thought resentfully, although he quickly stood up and added:
"General Napoleon, for this campaign, I am willing to serve as the vanguard. Last time at Ramaniya, I did not manage to capture Murad. This time, I will definitely catch him and bring him before you."
"Very well, since all of you are so ambitious, I won't hinder you. Issue my command, let the rebellion suppression troops depart ahead of schedule. This time, we must thoroughly annihilate Murad and severely deter Turkey."
Following Napoleon's orders, the French forces stationed in Cairo were once again mobilized. They were gathered by Napoleon to head east and suppress Murad's rebellion.
In this action, Napoleon demanded the frontline troops to quickly eliminate Murad and to severely intimidate the Turks, thereby restoring peace to the eastern part of Egypt.
...
Turkey was once a very powerful country. It made the major European powers flee in panic, and it took the entire continent to unite to stand against it. However, as the Industrial Revolution began, many strong European nations grew stronger, while the Ottoman Empire continued to decline, eventually becoming the "Sick Man of Europe" that was bullied by European powers.
Although Turkey has not yet fallen to the point of being carved up by other countries, the decline of Turkey is an undeniable fact.
Inside Turkey's Syrian colony:
Today, Syria welcomed a distinguished guest, Kléber, an envoy sent by Napoleon. He was commissioned by Napoleon to meet with the Turkish Governor of Syria, Bazzel.
"Welcome to Syria, Mr. Kléber. I am Bazzel, the Governor of Syria," greeted Bazzel, coming out with his guards to welcome the French envoy in front of a luxurious palace.
Although the relationship between Turkey and France is somewhat awkward at the moment, France is after all a powerful country, and Turkey, being weak, has to be spirited in response.
As a high official of the Ottoman Empire, Bazzel knew that the empire was not ready to confront France directly. The empire internally lacked confidence in defeating France.
Their support for Murad was merely encouraged by the British, and also because the British had won the Battle of Alexandria, which gave them some confidence. Otherwise, the Ottoman Empire would not dare to provoke France directly.
Therefore, facing Kléber who had come from afar, Bazzel was very enthusiastic. If they could settle the issue of Egypt at the negotiation table, that would naturally be best for everyone.