Chapter 9 Welcome to the Ottoman Empire
If the world is a country, then the capital must be Istanbul.
——Napoleon Bonaparte
When introducing Istanbul, later travel websites always quote Napoleon's words.
But does anyone really know how 18-year-old Napoleon felt when he was invited by the Sultan to step into Istanbul for the first time?
For Napoleon, he has only been to two places so far - Corsica and Paris, and the difference between the two is like going from the countryside to the city.
But when he stepped into Istanbul or Constantinieh in Turkish people's mouth, he found that the scenery of Paris was far inferior to the sunset of the Golden Horn.
Unlike Paris, which looks bright and beautiful, it is actually full of sewage. Istanbul has a complete drainage system and the streets are clean and tidy. In this regard, Paris is far inferior.
As for cultural heritage, the great historical cultures of ancient Greek civilization, Roman civilization, Byzantine civilization, and Ottoman Turkish civilization have all flowed through this city. Therefore, it can be said that Istanbul's urban construction is a combination of human civilizations, which is unique, unrepeatable, and indescribable in words.
The most typical representative is the architectural art. Opposite the Hagia Sophia is the Ahmed Mosque built by the Ottomans, also known as the Blue Mosque, which is the pinnacle of Islamic architecture inherited from the Byzantine construction style.
The entire Istanbul and Turkey's subsequent mosque construction also borrowed and continued the style of the Blue Mosque. When Napoleon saw the Orthodox and Islamic-style buildings appear on the same screen for the first time, unlike the text he saw in the book, the shocking beauty could not be described in words at all.
Looking at the little man who was a little absent-minded, Selim was very happy in his heart. He walked to Napoleon and patted him on the shoulder: "Dear Napoleon, welcome to the Ottoman Empire."
"Sorry, Your Majesty, I am rude." The little man apologized slightly, "I wonder what you want to see me for today?"
"It's like this, the observation report of the Guards will be submitted today, and I would like to entrust you to help me mark the papers and select some talents for the empire."
Selim smiled, how could His Majesty the Sultan not know the level of the Guards? This kind of nonsense with no content and no writing style, you expect the Sultan to read it alone, it's simply wishful thinking.
So, free labor is not wasted, and Selim also wants to see what level the good seedlings he values are in Napoleon's eyes? As for the other guards officers? Well, shouldn't they recognize their fate of running with them long ago?
Selim and Napoleon walked into the marking room, while the candidates outside were thinking about whether they could be selected by the Sultan and soar to the sky from then on.
"It is obvious that your Majesty lacks basic logistical considerations. The cost of an exercise is equivalent to the income of my bakery for several years."
"Your Majesty showed extraordinary command in the exercise. First, he drove the tiger to devour the wolf, then delayed the enemy with a small number of troops, and finally held his position and won the final victory. In this exercise, whether it is the grasp of timing, tactical deployment or strategic arrangement, your Majesty is top-notch."
"In my opinion, the one who should be most ashamed in this battle is Hussein Pasha. Although he successfully defeated your Majesty's outpost, he failed to go further. He obviously had a large army, but he did not dare to fight with the little guy, which led to the fact that he was almost won by a Frenchman in the end. Fortunately, your Majesty was wise and brave and defended the dignity of the Ottoman Empire."
Selim looked at the first answer sheet and was so confused that he didn't know what to say. If these people had not monopolized the business in Constantiniya, Selim suspected that they would have lost all their underwear.
As for the other two, either these two people didn't understand anything, or they were high-level black. Considering the level of the Guards, the former is more likely. However, these two people are still praising the Sultan, so Selim decided to give them a good grade, anyway, he didn't expect them to fight any big battles.
As for the first one, mocking the Sultan, young man, you are very stubborn, Selim took out his own monogram and directly awarded the other party a failure.
The whole monogram consists of five parts, namely Sere: indicating the name of the Sultan, and honorary titles and the like. For example, Selim is the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, the Great Caliph, the reflection of God on earth, the Sword of Allah, etc. It sounds very awesome, but in fact, every generation of Sultan has these titles.
Beyze (egg): There are two rings on the left side of the monogram, representing the two oceans ruled by the empire, the large ring represents the Mediterranean, and the small ring represents the Black Sea.
Tug (flagpole): The three vertical bars in the middle of the monogram symbolize the independence of the empire.
Zulfe (wind): The three "S"-shaped curves interlaced with the three stripes indicate that the wind blows from east to west, symbolizing the expansion route of the Ottoman Empire.
Hancer (sword): The tail on the right side of the monogram is like a long sword, symbolizing the power and prestige of the Sultan.
Although there are not many names, Selim has many tricks. Through the choice of monogram color and texture design, Selim is confident that his monogram is not inferior to Suleiman the Magnificent. To round it off, Selim himself is not inferior to Suleiman the Magnificent.
While the Sultan was fantasizing, Napoleon was surprised by the advanced military thinking of the Ottoman officers. Isn't it said that the Ottoman Guards are all a bunch of rubbish?
Napoleon was puzzled, especially the two signed by Muhammad Ali and Alandar Mustafa, which were completely in the tone of French officers, focusing on the use of cavalry and artillery.
For example, Muhammad Ali briefly talked about the decision-making of cavalry when facing the other three arms when engaging the enemy.
"First, the attack on the enemy cavalry, usually from all directions, encircling the enemy with dense horizontal formations of each squad or facing the enemy with dense horizontal formations of the whole army. General Napoleon used this tactic when encircling Hussein Pasha, which wiped out Hussein Pasha's army.
As for the attack on the enemy infantry and artillery, if the enemy is on the march, it will be deployed according to the number of enemy troops, or overlap, or attack from several directions. When General Napoleon ambushed Hussein Pasha's army for the first time, he chose to attack from several directions, and with the support of his own artillery, he quickly broke through Hussein Pasha. The junction of Xia's troops made it impossible for the front and rear to take care of each other, creating conditions for the subsequent division and annihilation.
If the enemy has entered the position and has been deployed, for infantry, the attack deployment is generally more than three lines (columns), such as attacking artillery, usually more than two lines. At this time, the commander must spread out the various squads of his headquarters so that each unit is deployed in overlapping width and depth. The units of the first line must overlap and disperse the queues to increase the intervals between the cavalry and the distance between the columns. It was in this way that General Napoleon completed the dispersion of the troops on the one hand, and on the other hand This avoided the damage caused by the artillery fire of His Majesty the Sultan.
When the subsequent cavalry attacked from all directions, General Napoleon deployed in a wide front. After the second charge of his own infantry, he charged at a smaller interval and distance, further tearing His Majesty's defense line.
At the same time, General Napoleon arranged the second line of troops to continue the attack directly behind the front troops, and continued to charge in depth to sweep away the remaining enemies.
The reserve troops that had previously gone around the back actually became the first to attack, charging from the back of the enemy, destroying the artillery formation of His Majesty's troops in the first place, It provided cover for the subsequent attacks of the troops. "
To be honest, this Muhammad Ali's judgment was definitely the most brilliant Napoleon had ever seen. He not only pointed out the tactics he used, but also analyzed every part of the exercise. Napoleon couldn't help but sighed: "This Sultan really picked up a treasure."
The whole examination took about a morning. People like Ali and Mustafa were naturally honored to be selected for the reorganization of the Guards Division. At the same time, some officers were drawn from the new army, and Napoleon was responsible for forming a model unit of the Guards.
As for the others, when they heard the news that the Sultan had finished the examination, they saluted the Sultan and hurried home to eat.
And our Sultan comrade took Napoleon back to Topkapi Palace. The two sat in the royal kitchen and enjoyed the delicious dishes made by the imperial chef. "Has Bonaparte tasted the food of the empire?" Selim asked Napoleon, who was also eating with greasy hands, while gnawing at the barbecue in his hand.
In fact, he knew the answer. After all, Napoleon was sent to a military academy at the age of 10, and later transferred to the Raphael Artillery Regiment. How could he have such an opportunity? But why not try to tease a celebrity? Selim was also a funny person in his previous life.
"No, Your Majesty the Sultan, if it weren't for the subsidy for the family, I wouldn't even choose to come to the Ottoman Empire, after all, you are pagans."
Napoleon picked up a piece of barbecue and continued: "But when I arrived here, I found that the Ottoman Empire was actually different from what the nobles described. You have your own culture, clothing, and food. You are tolerant and allow Orthodox Christians, Jews, and Arabs to live in the empire. In contrast, Louis XIV, who couldn't even tolerate an Edict of Nantes, was simply not worthy of being called the Sun King. The crescent moon of the Ottoman Sultan gently sprinkled on every resident of the empire, but Louis XIV never shone equally on the Kingdom of France, and my hometown Corsica suffered from the French's contempt and bullying."
At this time, Napoleon, stimulated by alcohol, seemed to begin to relax a little. He talked with Selim and criticized the current affairs. He had a feeling of "the spirit of a scholar, arguing, pointing out the world, stirring up words, and dung the former marquis".
Looking at the tipsy Napoleon in front of him, Selim raised his glass and said, "Dear Napoleon Bonaparte, welcome to the Ottoman Empire!"
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