After Napoleon's decision to reinforce was made, the Battle of Trappes became an extraordinary battle that decided the fate of France and the Allied Forces. The Allied Forces' nearly 50,000 troops were fully committed to the battle. Currently, the French side only has troops led by Prince Condé.
The Fourth Army and the 20,000 troops sent by Paris, while Napoleon continued to sit in Paris, and he still had a mobile force of more than 10,000 men.
In this way, if the two sides are added together, this will be a battle involving a total of 100,000 people, which can be said to be a battle that will determine the next stage of the coalition's direction.
While the war in Paris was in full swing, and the two sides were facing a decisive battle ahead of schedule because of a fourth army, in Brandenburg, Prussia, William was also receiving a special guest.
This guest is from the Ottomans. He is the brother-in-law of the current Ottoman Sultan Selim III.
"His Majesty the King of Prussia, I have admired your reputation for a long time, and it is truly an honor for me to have the honor of meeting you today!"
Facing the respectful Ottoman envoy, William seemed quite approachable and said:
"Guests from the Ottomans, please don't be restrained. Since you have arrived in Brandenburg, you are our Prussian friend!"
After the two exchanged pleasantries, at William's signal, the man named Conakry immediately sat down next to William's subordinate in fear.
Originally, Conakry was also an envoy of the Ottoman Empire after all, not to mention that his brother-in-law was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Although the Ottoman Empire can only be said to be a second-rate power in Europe, it can still be regarded as a powerful country. He Konakry
It's not like this here.
But there is a reason why Conakry is so respectful to William. After William came to the throne, in order to win over the Ottoman Empire to deal with Austria, Prussia used a series of means to strengthen its influence in the Ottoman Empire, and this Conakry was a
A pro-Prussian minister.
In addition, Conakry came to Brandenburg this time to shoulder an important mission given by Selim III.
With the death of Hamid I and the accession of Selim III to the throne, the situation in the Ottoman Empire became more complicated. It is undeniable that Selim III was a powerful emperor. In the face of a man who was like his own father,
When Hamid I was killed by the Yeniseri group, Selim III vowed to cut those damn guys into pieces.
After he ascended the throne, the Ottoman royal family led by Selim III naturally launched an attack on the Yenisseri Group. However, the Yenisseri Group had its own way of survival after taking root in the Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years.
Lim was the Sultan, but for a while he was helpless against the Yeniseri Group.
Moreover, we must know that the Yeniseri Group is deeply rooted in the Ottoman Empire and can even shake the Sultan's position. Under this situation, if you don't want to completely trigger a civil war in the Ottoman Empire, you can only do it slowly.
In this case, Selim III thought of the idea of developing a new army to curb the power of Jeniseli. In fact, in the Ottoman Empire, the new army that was different from that of Jeniseli had been established decades ago.
.It’s just that because of concerns about the existence of the Jeniseli Group, this new army that imitated Europe has not made great progress.
Even during the Russo-Turkish War, the new army that had been developed for decades only had more than 30,000 people. Under this situation, in order to strengthen its control over the Ottoman Empire and suppress the Yeniseri Group
In order to meet the needs, Selim III decided to continue and even surpass Hamid I's policy of developing a new type of army on a large scale.
At present, the total strength of the new army in the Ottoman Empire is less than 50,000. Correspondingly, the total strength of the Yenisseri Army represented by the Yenisseri Group has reached nearly 200,000.
If he wants to fight against the Yeniseri Group, it means that Selim III needs to train at least tens of thousands of troops.
In this case, Selim III naturally set his sights on Prussia.
You must know that Prussia's army is recognized as the best in Europe. Even the Habsburg dynasty and the Bourbon dynasty that once enveloped Europe are now dying under the Prussian military front. In this case, in order to be able to implement it in the Ottoman country
With regard to the new army, Selim III naturally set his sights on Prussia.
This time Conakry came to Brandenburg precisely to apply for Prussian military assistance.
According to the plan given by Selim III's staff, if he wants to overwhelm the power of the Jeniseli Group within five years, then Selim will need at least 400 Prussian officers to help him train an army of 100,000 people!
Obviously, Selim III would not have been able to recruit 400 officers in Prussia without the consent of the Prussian government. It was precisely this situation that led to Conakry's mission.
Four hundred Prussian officers were a huge asset no matter which country they were placed in, and if Osman wanted to get the support of Prussia, he would have to pay a certain price.
You must know that to train the new army, it is not only enough to have Prussian officers. The Ottomans also need systematic training and weapons and equipment from the Prussians, and these things need to be approved by the supreme ruler of Prussia.
"His Majesty the King, His Majesty the Sultan of our country sent me to Brandenburg this time just for the possibility of further cooperation between the two countries! Our Majesty is full of sincerity for the cooperation between your two countries. Moreover, your country has helped our country over the years.
, His Majesty the Sultan of our country sees it in his eyes, so if your country has any requirements, our country can still try its best to satisfy it!"
In order to show his sincerity, Conakry actually went against the official words of all diplomats and spoke to William with sincerity.
But when he heard Conakry's sincere words, William was stunned. You must know that Conakry's words not only showed his sincerity, but also seemed to mean that Prussia could impose any conditions.
Things that went against the rules naturally made William more confused.
"Your Excellency Conakry, you should also know that if your country and the two countries have been friendly for generations in normal times, then it would be no problem to dispatch military officers to support your country. However, currently, our country is still fighting France in Europe. In this case,
If officers are deployed on a large scale to support your country, it will undoubtedly greatly weaken the combat effectiveness of our army. This..."
After speaking, William pondered for a while, but at this time Conakry said:
"His Majesty the King, His Majesty the Sultan of our country's ambition to reform the military cannot be shaken at all. Under this situation, our country is willing to pay some price. Of course, in exchange, your country needs to provide our country with the highest quality officer team!"
With that said, Conakry spread out a piece of paper and pushed it in front of William.
William took a closer look and saw on this piece of paper written the conditions that the Ottoman Empire was willing to provide officers to Prussia this time.
The Ottoman Empire was rich in gold, silver, jewelry and amber. Under such circumstances, the Ottomans naturally used this as a condition of exchange with Prussia.
As long as Prussia is willing to send a large-scale team of officers to the Ottomans to help the Ottomans train their troops, the Ottoman government is willing to provide Prussia with up to three million gold marks free of charge in gold and silver jewelry. At the same time, while these Prussian officers are helping to train the Ottoman army, these officers
All military pay will be provided by the Ottoman Empire!
The conditions offered by the Ottomans were not unfavorable. Three million Prussian gold marks was definitely a huge fortune. Even William couldn't help but feel excited when faced with this wealth.
But although a qualified officer was not uncommon in the Prussian army, the Ottomans wanted not one or two but four hundred!
What is the concept of four hundred? The concept of four hundred outstanding officers is to remove all the officers from the Prussian army of ten divisions!
Many people may think this is an exaggeration, but in fact it is not.
According to the Prussian military system, only those with the rank of platoon leader and above can be called officers. How many officers can a Prussian division have among more than 10,000 people? What's more, the Ottomans also need the best among them.
It was under this circumstance, faced with such a huge sum of money provided by the Ottomans, that William hesitated
Seemingly seeing the hesitation on William's face, Conakry immediately said:
"Of course, His Majesty the Sultan of our country also knows the current situation of your country, and His Majesty the King of our country can also understand it. Therefore, in this case, His Majesty the Sultan of our country has appropriately relaxed the conditions, that is, your country only needs to submit to our country within the next three years.
Just provide four hundred outstanding officers!
I think it will not be difficult for your country to send more than a hundred outstanding officers to our country every year. After all, your country's Brandenburg Military Academy sends hundreds of outstanding officers to your army every year.
of military talent!”
Hearing Conakry's words, William was really moved.
Indeed, if four hundred officers are provided to the Ottoman Empire in three years, then it will not be any difficult for Prussia. After all, as Conakry said, the Brandenburg Military Academy will be like this every year.
The Prussian army transported hundreds of officers.
But precisely because the conditions of the Ottoman Empire were so generous, William felt something was wrong.
You must know that there is never a free lunch in the world, and the Ottomans paid such a high price. Obviously, they did not ask for more than this. After all, if it was for Prussia to provide more than a hundred officers to the Ottoman Empire every year, then the Ottoman Empire would not be able to do so at all.
No need to pay three million gold marks, such a generous condition!
Seemingly seeing the confused look on William's face, Conakry smiled and said:
"Of course, it is not easy for our country's current military situation to be able to spend three million gold marks. Therefore, His Majesty the King of our country also has a condition, that is, these officers must serve in our country's army for three years!"