Mustafa wanted to ascend to the Sultanate, but he couldn't bring himself to directly eliminate Selim III. Besides their uncle-nephew affection, the more significant reason was that Mustafa needed Selim III to stay alive.
A living, deposed Sultan was a far more useful tool for maintaining Mustafa's image as a benevolent and friendly ruler than a dead one.
Selim III, on the other hand, didn't overthink things. After all, having been raised by women in the imperial harem since childhood, his skills in governance and political maneuvering might not have surpassed those of Guangxu.
Truth be told, Burying the Great Qing and the Ottoman Empire were indeed unfortunate kindred spirits. Not only had both been beaten into questioning their existence by Europe, but their late monarchs also bore striking resemblances. For instance, Selim III was very similar to the Guangxu Emperor of Burying the Great Qing.
Guangxu wished to revitalize Burying the Great Qing, and Selim III also aspired to rejuvenate the Ottoman Empire. Guangxu's throne was not passed down from his biological father, while Selim III inherited the Sultanate from his uncle. Guangxu possessed ideas but lacked substantial ability, constantly being suppressed by the Empress Dowager. Selim III, while having grand plans in various aspects, was unable to implement them, being constantly obstructed by the traditional nobles of the Ottoman Empire.
However, Selim III was still slightly superior to Guangxu. The traditionalist nobles of the Ottoman Empire merely wished to protect their own interests; none genuinely desired their Sultan to be a complete fool. In contrast, Guangxu had been groomed as a tool from childhood, treated as an imbecile.
This could be seen in the reform plans Selim III devised for the Ottoman Empire.
Yet, precisely because Selim III did not overthink things, he did not intend to let Mustafa leave so easily.
Selim III clasped Mustafa's hand and said, "Mihail is back, why the rush to leave? In fact, I wanted to hear your opinion—regardless, we are both striving for the strength of the Ottoman Empire, that is beyond question."
Seeing the time drawing near, Mustafa simply frowned and said, "Since you already have your own plans, why bother asking for my opinion? In an empire, there should not be two differing voices."
Selim III, however, shook his head and said, "A single arrow is easily broken, but ten arrows are difficult to break—the future of the Ottoman Empire is not solely my concern."
Before Mustafa could say anything, Selim III continued, "As the special envoy of the Ottoman Empire, Mihail has agreed to the terms proposed by the Ming people. I would like to know your thoughts on these terms."
Mustafa involuntarily glanced at the sky outside the palace, thinking, *What can I think? I can see it with my own eyes! Time is running out, my lord! What if those traditionalist nobles launch their attack ahead of schedule, and then the two of us end up on the road together soon?*
Furthermore, although these terms were disgusting, the Ottoman Empire had been on a decline for years and had signed numerous treaties with those infidel European countries, many of which were even more abhorrent.
In comparison, while the terms proposed by the Ming people included the establishment of a concession in Istanbul, the rest were within the acceptable range for the Ottoman Empire.
After considering this, Mustafa, growing increasingly anxious, simply snorted and said, "Since Mihail agreed to the terms proposed by the Ming people on behalf of the Ottoman Empire, and the Habsburg family has also agreed, what other opinion can I have?"
"However..." Mustafa's tone suddenly shifted, and he said with deliberation, "Although I do not advocate learning from the infidel nations like the Ming, England, or France in all aspects, I must admit that they do possess some admirable qualities. Therefore, I agree to dispatch students to the Ming, England, or France to learn from their strengths."
Selim III's face immediately broke into a smile. "See, my brother, we have come to the same conclusion! The True God said, 'Even if knowledge is in China, one must seek it.' Even the True God encourages us to actively learn from the Ming people, so we should all the more learn from the Ming or other countries, to absorb their strengths, make their advantages our own, discard our weaknesses, and become stronger."
Mustafa was rendered speechless.
The saying "Even if knowledge is in China, one must seek it" was indeed spoken by the True God and clearly recorded in the scriptures. With Selim III using the words of the True God to promote sending students to the Ming, there was truly no valid reason for anyone within the Ottoman Empire to object.
Selim III continued, "I hope that after you return, you will properly appease those traditional, conservative, and nearly decayed nobles. Tell them that although the contract signed with the Ming people this time has many disadvantages for the Ottoman Empire, we cannot only see the disadvantages and overlook the benefits."
Mustafa's face was grim, and he said, "What benefits could there possibly be?"
However, after speaking, Mustafa suddenly realized: if he couldn't see any benefits, didn't that make him one of those traditional, conservative, and nearly decayed nobles Selim III spoke of?
Selim III, unaware of Mustafa's increasingly troubled expression, smiled instead. "There are too many benefits to count."
Releasing Mustafa's hand, Selim III paced back and forth, speaking with great excitement. "The first benefit, naturally, is that our Ottoman Empire can also send students to the Ming.
"As the True God said, 'Even if knowledge is in China, one must seek it.'
"It was one thing to have no opportunity before, but now that we do—compared to the most powerful Ming of today, both England and France fall short by a bit. Since we are to send students to learn from the strengths of other countries, we should naturally learn from the most powerful Ming.
"The second benefit is, of course, the establishment of formal trade with the Ming.
"You know, Mustafa, in order for the Ottoman Empire to become strong, money is absolutely essential.
"Conveniently, the Ming are very wealthy. The entire world is doing business with the Ming people, and a large amount of silver is flowing into the Ming. We, the Ottomans, possess the most oil reserves on the planet. We can use oil to exchange for everything we need from the Ming.
"The third benefit..."
Before Selim III could finish, Mustafa impatiently interrupted him, "The country with the most oil reserves on this planet right now is the Ming, not us Ottomans."
"Don't forget, in the contracts that Mihail signed with the Ming, several oil-producing regions occupied by the Ming have been leased to them—what's the difference between that and outright cession? Perhaps only a more pleasing nominal designation?"
Selim III argued, "We still possess more oil-producing regions, and these are regions where extraction is more convenient.
"As for those oil-producing regions that have been leased or, shall we say, ceded to the Ming people... do you think the Ming can send many people to extract oil? And can the extracted oil satisfy the needs of the Ming people?"
Mihail appropriately interjected, "As wise as the Sultan is, the oil produced in just those areas cannot satisfy the needs of the Ming people. In fact, the Ming people are currently buying oil all over the world, and we Ottomans possess the largest oil reserves in the world. Besides us, no one can satisfy the demands of the Ming people."
Mustafa scoffed coldly and retorted, "Then what about the Ming themselves? Do their own country not have oil?"
Mihail did not know how to answer Mustafa's question.
Having spent so much time in the Great Ming, Mihail was no longer as ignorant of the Great Ming as he was before.
Mihail was well aware that the Great Ming did possess oil within its own territory. However, the Ming rarely extracted, or perhaps didn't extract at all, their domestic oil, preferring to spend money to purchase it from other countries on this planet.
Based on the newspapers he saw in the Ming and information gathered from people from other countries, Mihail eventually reached a startling conclusion: oil might be a non-renewable resource, and the Ming did not need that much oil at present; they were merely gathering all the oil as reserves.
If this deduction was correct, then the hidden truth behind it was astonishing. Assuming oil is non-renewable, it means every barrel extracted reduces the total supply. Once the oil reserves of other countries are depleted, the power over oil would naturally fall into the hands of the Ming people, who possessed the largest reserves!
However, Mihail dared not directly voice his deduction. After all, he was the one who signed the contract with the Ming people. If his prediction came true, he would become the greatest sinner in Ottoman history!
Thinking of this, Mihail felt a bitterness in his heart, as if he had eaten three jin of bitter herbs.
By signing the treaty with the Ming people, he might become the greatest sinner in Ottoman history.
By not signing the treaty with the Ming people, he would become the sinner responsible for the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
Perhaps, this was his fate? Was it specially arranged by the True God?
After careful consideration, Mihail finally said, "The Ming people's demand for oil is indeed exceptionally high. Even though many countries on this planet are selling oil, it still cannot satisfy the Ming people's needs."
After a moment's thought, Mihail added, "According to the information I have gathered, it seems that it is because of oil that the Ming people launched a war against us Ottomans."
Selim III did not find Mihail's statement surprising at all, but Mustafa was almost driven to fury.
This was too preposterous!
If your Ming country needs oil, why didn't you just buy it directly? We Ottomans never said we wouldn't sell. Why resort to war to solve the problem?
Fine, if your Ming country insisted on war, that's one thing, and we Ottomans would comply. But you even gathered allies like the "Sand Goose" and the "Silly Eagle" to gang up on us, fighting unfairly!
Becoming increasingly agitated by this ridiculous piece of news, and anxious that the traditionalist nobles outside the Topkapi Palace might launch an attack on the palace prematurely, Mustafa, with a darkened expression, declared, "The Ming people are truly going too far! I don't want to know what benefits there are in signing treaties with them. I only care about when the Ottoman Empire can become strong enough for the Ming to beg us for treaties!"
Mustafa's words caused Selim III and Mihail to freeze.
*Daydreaming!*
Let alone the fact that the Ming were currently the most powerful nation on this planet, even their lackeys like England and France were not something the declining Ottoman Empire could contend with!
Seeing the atmosphere growing increasingly strained, Selim III lost interest in continuing the discussion with Mustafa.
Selim III waved his hand and said, "Alright, you may leave now. However, I still hope you can persuade those traditional and conservative nobles—the reforms in the Ottoman Empire will not cause them too much loss of interest, and they will gain more benefits in the future. I, as the Sultan, can give them my guarantee."
Mustafa clearly had no interest in listening to Selim III's nonsensical talk.
As far as Mustafa was concerned, as long as he had not ascended to the Sultanate, his interests were identical to those of the traditionalist and conservative nobles of the Ottoman Empire.
Don't talk about losing too much; even the loss of a single akçe would be heartbreaking!
And don't talk about gaining more benefits in the future—any discerning person could see that the Ottoman Empire was on a decline. Who could guarantee that Selim III's reforms would be successful?
What if they failed? Would the Ottoman situation become even worse than it is now? Would everyone's losses be even more severe?
After some thought, Mustafa finally bowed slightly, placing his hand over his chest to salute Selim III. "Please rest assured, I will persuade them."
Selim III smiled with gratification and said, "That's good. If our reforms succeed, it will surely make the Ottoman Empire strong again. One day in the future, perhaps we might even campaign eastward? At that time, I will surely bestow upon you the title of Governor-General of China!"
However, after Mustafa departed, Selim III's expression turned grim.
Mihail was somewhat bewildered by Selim III's sudden change in demeanor, but he wisely remained silent and steered the conversation towards the contract with the Great Ming. "Your Highness, the Ming people have allowed us to send no more than five hundred students abroad this time, but we must bear all the expenses for the students. This is the same as with France, England, and other countries."