NOVPUBCompared to his ancestors who ravaged the continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa, Abdul-Aziz Sultan could very much be considered an obedient child. Since ascending to the throne, he fostered good relations with neighboring states and exercised extreme caution in foreign diplomacy to avoid conflicts with European powers as much as possible.
Aside from kicking Russia while it was down during the Prusso-Russian war, Abdul-Aziz Sultan had not actively initiated any wars. He could be said to be one of the few pacifists among the Sultans throughout history.
Moreover, the last war was fraught with undercurrents; if not for the secret instigation by the great powers, Abdul-Aziz Sultan would have most likely chosen to be a spectator.
Of course, he became this "pacifist" not by choice. It was entirely because the surrounding enemies were too powerful; since they were unbeatable, he had to opt for peace.
What goes around comes around, and now the Ottoman Empire is paying the price for having made enemies everywhere during its glory days.
It’s not fair to only allow you to bully others without letting them seek revenge, right? No sooner had the Ottoman Empire declined than Austria and Russia came seeking retribution. If they had the strength, even neighboring Persia might join in.
Now, Persia and the Ottoman Empire are both on the decline, like two peas in a pod. Due to its geographical location, the Ottoman Empire faced tragedies earlier, since it neighbored two great powers at the same time.
By comparison, the Persians to the east are in a much better situation, only needing to confront the British. At least they had a glimmer of hope; a decade or so earlier, the Persians had even thwarted a British invasion.
With a cold snort, Abdul-Aziz Sultan tore the battle report in his hands into pieces. Undoubtedly, it was more bad news; these days, Abdul-Aziz Sultan was nearly driven mad.
"Just yesterday, the Austrians had besieged Jerusalem, and today the Bosphorus Strait has fallen too. Does that mean in a few days, we’ll lose the Dardanelles Strait as well, waiting for the enemy to hold a parade in Ankara?"
Everyone kept their heads down, silent. It wasn’t that the Ottoman Army wasn’t trying; the disparity in strength between the two sides was simply too vast. The Russians weren’t fighting a blunt war either. Within a month after the outbreak of war, the Russian Army landed from five different ports.
Before the reinforcements dispatched by the Sultan Government could arrive, the Russian forces that had landed had already withdrawn, moving on to attack another port.
It seemed as though they hadn’t achieved much in the way of battle outcomes, but the actual damage inflicted on the Ottoman Empire was not insignificant. They scorched the earth as they went, forcing a large number of coastal civilians to flee inland.
While fighting the enemy, the Sultan Government also had to shoulder the burden of resettling war refugees. Despite Abdul-Aziz Sultan’s fierce declamations to have all citizens fight the enemy to the bitter end, the actual operation was not like that at all.
Once the Russians took over a place, they immediately began destruction: ruining farmland, burning down houses, demolishing iconic buildings, and driving local people to flood into the interior regions. n𝚘𝚟𝚙u𝚋.co𝚖
The Ottoman Empire’s coastline was too extensive to be fully defended, allowing the enemy to exploit the weaker areas.
With each successful landing by the Russian Army, the Ottoman Empire had tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, more war refugees. The rule that the law does not punish the masses applied in the Ottoman Empire as well; the Sultan Government couldn’t possibly hold so many fleeing people accountable.
People need to eat, and in just a short time, the Ottoman Empire saw the emergence of hundreds of thousands of refugees. To aid so many disaster victims threw the unprepared Sultan Government into chaos.
Other supplies might have been one thing, but the Ottoman People’s demands weren’t high; they just needed food to eat. Yet, even this basic requirement posed a difficulty for the Sultan Government.
Watching the stockpiled food diminish day by day, Abdul-Aziz Sultan felt increasingly distressed. Now with the fall of the Bosphorus Strait, it meant that there would be even more war refugees.
They could manage for a day or two, but if the war went on for a year or two, the Ottoman Government didn’t have nearly enough reserve food supplies.
War Minister Elmore answered nervously, "Your Majesty, the enemy holds naval superiority and moves swiftly on the battlefield. They withdraw in advance of our reinforcements’ arrival, refusing to engage in a decisive battle with us."
This explanation was clearly unsatisfactory to Abdul-Aziz Sultan: "There may indeed have been such issues in other areas, but the Bosphorus Strait was conquered all the way by the Russian Army. Don’t tell me you didn’t have time to call in reinforcements?"
The number of Ottoman troops stationed around the Bosphorus Strait exceeded two hundred thousand, while the attacking Russian forces were only around one hundred thousand. On paper, the Ottoman Army had an absolute advantage in numbers, but regretfully, they still suffered defeat.
War isn’t just about numbers; more importantly, it’s about the deployment of forces. Although the Ottoman Army seemed to have more troops, they actually had to spread their forces across various locations, leaving them at a disadvantage when engaged in combat with the Russian forces.
Elmore hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, though the Bosphorus Strait has been lost, the Russian Army was also severely hit, and the landing forces have lost the capacity to continue a major offensive in the short term.
"We are amassing heavy troops, preparing to drive them into the sea."
"Now that the Russo-Polish War has erupted, the Tsarist Government should not be sending any more reinforcements. Although it seems we lost this battle on the surface, strategically, the situation is developing in our favor."
This explanation was sufficient to satisfy Abdul-Aziz Sultan, who was not militarily astute. Subconsciously, Abdul-Aziz Sultan just wanted to hear good news.
As for whether the counterattack plan can be realized, that no longer mattered. The battlefield is full of uncertainties, and accidents are more the rule than the exception.
Minister of Internal Affairs Muhaida frowned upon realizing the issue and, with a quick glance at the Sultan’s expression, decisively chose to play dumb.
After some hesitation, perhaps out of a troubled conscience or maybe the fear that if the Ottoman Empire’s ship sank, everyone would be doomed,
Muhaida subtly reminded, "Up to now, the number of war refugees within the country has already surpassed the 750,000 mark, which is a very dangerous figure.
If it continues to increase, we won’t have enough food to provide relief. It’s very likely to cause a massive turmoil."
It’s not just likely to cause massive turmoil, it is inevitable. With a population of just over 16 million, the refugees already made up 4.7% of the overall population.
So many people lost their livelihoods, there are just not enough job positions domestically, they can only rely on the government for support.
If defeats continue on the battlefield, the number of refugees will keep climbing. The Ottoman Empire is not a major grain-producing nation, and with overseas trade blockaded, the continuous increase in refugees almost certainly will lead to a food crisis.
The actual situation would be even worse. So many people doing nothing every day except waiting for relief from the government is a significant problem for public order.
Different people would interpret these words differently. Originally, this was said to put pressure on the military, but when heard by Abdul-Aziz Sultan, the intended meaning was lost.
"To conserve food, from now on, we will differentiate in providing relief to refugees. Give priority to our own people blessed by *** and leave the rest to fend for themselves!
It’s also a problem that the refugees are concentrated in one place. The government should find ways to disperse and settle them. If we can’t find a solution, then let the heretics make way."
Upon hearing the Sultan’s words, Muhaida broke out in a cold sweat. Was this not asking for more trouble? If someone else had said this, he would have suspected they were paid off by the enemy to disrupt the Ottoman Empire.
The Empire already had serious national and religious conflicts. With such discrimination, wasn’t this pushing people to rebel?
Internal and external troubles, as well as collusion of insiders with outsiders, these phrases surfaced in Muhaida’s mind, and he urgently advised, "Your Majesty, this must not happen!
We are in a time of war, the nation cannot afford unrest. If we exacerbate the conflicts now, the heretics might very well collude with the enemy, and the Empire will be in danger."
Regrettably, Abdul-Aziz Sultan was no longer the ambitious Sultan who had just acceded to the throne, but became someone who was defeated by reality and was resigned to his fate.
Before 1872, Abdul-Aziz Sultan could still be considered a wise ruler. Domestically, he allowed people to recuperate and nurtured life, setting up universities and codifying laws, secularizing reforms in the Ottoman Empire.
After strong backlash from the Conservatives, the reforms in the Ottoman Empire failed in 1872, and Abdul-Aziz Sultan fell from grace, never again showing his former talent and grandiosity.
His actions became more radical and he completely stopped listening to advice. Faced with religious and national issues, he didn’t think about solving the problems from the roots and instead brutally suppressed them with force.
In the original timeline, Abdul-Aziz Sultan went too far and was overthrown by the people in 1876, dying in despair.
If we follow Abdul-Aziz Sultan’s wishes, perhaps we won’t need to wait two years; maybe in just two months, there would be a change of rulers here.
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