Selim's attitude was entirely sincere, and his tone was earnest. However, Mustafa did not believe him, even though Selim had sworn upon the True God.
After a moment of consideration, Mustafa simply placed his hand on his chest and said with apparent sincerity, "The True God is my witness, I, Mustafa, have no desire for the Sultanate. Furthermore, I sincerely believe my elder brother, Selim III, is a great ruler, and I pledge my loyalty to him!"
Selim III waved his hand, sighing, "Mustafa, there is no need for you to swear. Oaths cannot change anything, at least not the decline of the Ottoman Empire."
"The special envoy dispatched to the Ming Kingdom has not yet returned. This can only mean one of two things: either the negotiations were successful, or they have failed once more."
"If the negotiations fail again, then the Ming armies will undoubtedly accelerate their advance. The doom of the Ottoman Empire is imminent, and someone must bear the responsibility for this."
As he spoke, Selim III's expression turned somewhat bitter. "Even if the negotiations succeed, the price will likely be considerable, and someone must bear the responsibility for that as well."
"From top to bottom in the Ottoman Empire, aside from the special envoy I sent to the Ming Kingdom, is there anyone better suited to bear this responsibility than myself?"
Mustafa blinked and asked, "Whether successful or failed, the envoy..."
Selim III interrupted, waving his hand, and countered, "If one envoy is sacrificed today, and another tomorrow, what about the day after? Will anyone still be willing to contribute to the Ottoman Empire?"
Mustafa was left speechless.
Selim III sighed and said, "Our Ottoman Empire has a history of six hundred years. Now, it is like an elder afflicted with a terminal illness, or perhaps like a venerable tree that has begun to decay, and on top of that, many insects are gnawing at its trunk."
"Without potent medicine, or the resolve to cut off the branches that have been infested with insects, the elder cannot be saved, and the tree will surely wither and die."
"Unfortunately, I, as the Sultan-physician, have not earned the trust of all the Ottoman nobility. They will not allow me to implement the reforms I desire; instead, they will do everything they can to obstruct them, even if it means replacing the Sultan."
"And the best candidate for a new Sultan is you, Mustafa—now, I require you to swear to the True God, to make the most terrible oath: if you become the new Sultan and Caliph, then you must do as I have just told you. Recruit new armies, reform the Ottoman Empire, and sweep away those decadent nobles into the dustbin of history!"
Mustafa's expression immediately became uncertain and conflicted.
In Mustafa's view, people should know gratitude.
Since the old nobles had supported him, he should not fail them; much less should he turn against them.
More importantly, Mustafa believed that Selim III's reforms violated religious doctrine and would plunge the entire Ottoman Empire into turmoil.
This was something Mustafa was utterly unwilling to accept.
After a long silence, Mustafa finally looked up and said to Selim III with unwavering resolve, "Kill me then. If you kill me, I will no longer be a threat to your position."
Selim III understood Mustafa's underlying meaning—Mustafa believed his reforms were wrong and would not support them, not even offer perfunctory agreement.
Gazing at Mustafa, who closed his eyes and offered his neck for slaughter, Selim III merely sighed softly and said, "Why should I kill you? If I kill you, must I also kill Mahmud?"
Selim III pursed his lips. "The blood of the Ottoman royal family has been spilled enough."
Mahmud, like Mustafa, was a son of Abdul Hamid I and a cousin of Selim III.
Selim III continued, "Moreover, even if you were both killed, the conservative noble factions would still rebel, and the Ottoman Sultanate might fall into the hands of someone else."
"Therefore, why should I kill you? Even if you oppose me, you do so for the betterment of the Ottoman Empire. Our goals are the same, only our methods differ, and that is all."
Sighing again, Selim III simply closed his eyes and stopped looking at Mustafa, instructing in a voice barely audible, "You may go. Return to your residence and await the day when those conservative nobles escort you into Topkapi."
Mustafa rose from the rug, his heart filled with uncertainty and his gaze towards Selim III a mixture of conflict.
To say that Selim III's candid words today had not touched Mustafa in the slightest would be a lie. But to say that Mustafa had changed his mind because of them would be an even greater lie.
Faith and governance, kinship intertwined, hope and confusion for the future mixed, leaving Mustafa with a sense of defeat and uncertainty.
Mustafa even began to doubt whether his own ideas were right or wrong, and whether Selim III's ideas were wrong or right.
After a long period of silence, Mustafa shook his head vigorously, trying to banish these "dangerous" thoughts from his mind.
However, just as Mustafa was about to bid farewell to Selim III, a man stumbled into the palace from outside, shouting excitedly as he reached Selim III, "Sultan, it's a success!"
"The negotiations this time were successful! The Ming Kingdom has allowed us to join the Small Broken Pot, and the Ming armies will cease their advance immediately!"
Selim III, who had been languishing and almost despairing moments before, suddenly perked up. He stood up abruptly, grabbed Mahayir by the shoulders, and asked, "Successful!?"
Mahayir nodded vigorously and replied, "Yes, great Sultan, we have succeeded!"
Selim III suddenly felt his legs go weak, as if all strength had been drained from him, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Mahayir had succeeded, the Ottoman Empire had joined the Small Broken Pot, the Ming armies were about to halt their advance, and the Ottoman Empire had finally gained a moment of respite!
However, his joy was short-lived. Selim III forced himself to calm down and asked Mahayir, "What terms did the Ming Kingdom demand?"
Mustafa also looked at Mahayir with anticipation.
Emotionally, Mustafa did not wish to see Selim III deposed by the conservative noble factions.
However, rationally, Mustafa hoped that Mahayir had negotiated some humiliating terms, thus providing the conservative noble factions with sufficient reason to depose Selim III—only then could he ascend to the Sultanate!
Seeing Selim III and Mustafa both staring intently at him, Mahayir felt an immense pressure.
After carefully considering his wording, Mahayir began, "The Ming Kingdom had several conditions. The first is to lease the desert territories already occupied by the Ming armies to the Ming Kingdom for ninety-nine years, with an annual rent of one tael of silver."
Selim III's expression darkened, and he frowned. "Continue."
Mahayir bowed slightly in acknowledgment and went on, "The second condition from the Ming Kingdom is to establish a concession in Istanbul, where Ming law will be enforced, and Ming nationals within the concession will not be subject to Ottoman law."
"The third condition is to establish a separate Ming embassy outside the concession in Istanbul, guarded by a Ming military force not exceeding three hundred men. All state affairs between the Ottoman Empire and the Ming Kingdom will be communicated through the embassy."
By the time Mahayir finished stating the three conditions, Selim III and Mustafa's faces had turned black with anger. Mustafa exclaimed furiously, "These greedy Kafir! They are challenging the majesty of the True God! They are provoking war!"
However, as Mustafa clamored for a full-scale war in defense of the True God's majesty, Selim III surprisingly remained calm. He looked at Mahayir and asked, "Besides these three conditions, did the Ming people have any others? Are the terms for the Habsburg family the same for France and England?"
Mahayir bowed, placing his hand on his chest in salute, and replied, "As wise as you are, Sultan! The Ming people did not propose any further conditions. France and England have presented similar terms to the Habsburg family, and the plenipotentiary envoy sent by the Habsburg family has already agreed to these conditions."
Selim III nodded and uttered an "Hmm," then asked, "It seems you have also agreed to these terms from the Ming people?"
Mahayir replied, "Yes, Sultan, I have agreed to the Ming people's conditions. As you can see, unless ordered by the Emperor of the Ming Kingdom, neither towering mountains nor swift rivers can stop the advance of the Ming armies."
Selim III grunted, "But that doesn't seem to be enough for you to agree to the Ming people's terms?"
Mahayir responded, "As wise as you are, Sultan! If it were merely for this reason, I would not have agreed to the Ming people's terms."
"The reason I agreed to the Ming people's first condition, which is to lease those desert regions to the Ming, is because the Ming people promised to manage the sandstorms in those desert regions and make them gradually habitable."
"Furthermore, the Ming people's proposal is not for complete cession, but for a lease, albeit a long one. Compared to the insatiable practices of European countries, the Ming people's approach is clearly much more civilized."
"Moreover, the Ming people's second condition is not targeted specifically at us Ottomans; rather, many countries have such concessions. Some concessions belong to the Ming, some to France or England, or even to the foolish Eagle or the Russian Bear."
"And the Ming people's third condition is reciprocal. The Ming and other countries will establish embassies in the Ottoman Empire, and we Ottomans can also establish embassies in other countries."
"The only difference is that embassies of the Ming in any other country are guarded by Ming troops, while embassies of other countries in the Ming Kingdom must be guarded by Ming troops."
After Mahayir finished speaking, Selim III let out a cold snort, "The Ming Kingdom is indeed quite overbearing!"
Mahayir nodded and said, "Yes, the Ming people are indeed very overbearing, even towards their allies like France. The Ming embassy in France is guarded by Ming soldiers, and the French embassy in the Ming Kingdom is also guarded by Ming soldiers."
Upon hearing this, Selim III's expression finally eased somewhat.
However, Mustafa snorted disdainfully, "In the end, it's the Ming people who gain all the advantages. They simply don't take other countries seriously!"
Mahayir was immediately rendered speechless.
As Mustafa said, the Ming people indeed only care about their own interests and not about the feelings of other countries.
But then again, why should the Ming people care about the feelings of other countries?
After all, the strength of other countries is not as great as that of the Ming!
While Mahayir was left speechless, Selim III was not: "Mustafa, we resent the Ming people's arrogance not because of their arrogance, but because the Ottoman Empire lacks the power to be as arrogant as the Ming people!"
"I believe that if our Ottoman Empire possessed the same strength as the Ming Kingdom, our actions would be even more excessive than theirs!"
This was indeed the truth, as historically, the Ottoman Empire had actively participated in wars of many European countries and had committed many ignoble deeds.
Selim III changed his tone and continued, "Stop thinking about other things, Mustafa. The only way to change all of this is to change the Ottoman Empire, to make it as powerful as the Ming Kingdom. Complaining solves nothing."
After Selim III's words, Mustafa once again fell into a state of confusion.
Was he right, or was Selim right? Should the country be governed according to religious doctrine, or should reforms be carried out boldly?
If governing according to religious doctrine was correct, then he should have been killed by now. The fratricide edict certainly aligned with religious doctrine!
If bold reforms were to be implemented... then the Ottoman Empire would inevitably fall into turmoil.
Furthermore, who could guarantee that the reforms would be successful?
However, as he was thinking, Mustafa suddenly came back to his senses and urgently said to Selim III, "Great Sultan, I need to go back and think about this carefully."
Before coming to the Topkapi Palace, Mustafa had worried that Selim might take action against him. Therefore, Mustafa had already sent people to contact the nobles in Istanbul who controlled the Janissaries.
If he did not walk out of the Topkapi Palace safely, those nobles controlling the Janissaries would launch an attack on the Topkapi Palace.
If he were killed in the Topkapi Palace, those nobles controlling the Janissaries would also kill Selim III, and furthermore, they would send his entire family to join him.
The time...
It was almost up.