Sultan Hamid I, seated on his spacious square chair, saw Yusuf stride through the door and tried to lean on the cushion to sit up straighter, but the weakness in his muscles made him abandon the attempt.
His 43 years of confinement had left him in very poor health, and now at the age of 64, he already showed signs that his life was burning out.
He raised his hand to the Grand Vizier, who was bowing before him, and asked in a clearly breathless voice, "Is there news from the Maghreb?"
"Maghreb" means "land of the setting sun" in Arabic, a term used by the Arabs who first reached North Africa to refer to the central and western regions of North Africa.
The Grand Vizier Yusuf nodded with a worried look, "Your Majesty, the Algiers Guard did indeed march on Said's instigation... he even used your name."
Hamid I sighed, "Where is the man?"
"His servant returned to Constantinople last night, saying he had jumped into the Mediterranean half a month ago."
"He preserved the dignity of an imperial envoy."
Yusuf bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, regarding the incorporation of Tunisia into France, what do you think of... "
Hamid I stared at the patterns on the carpet, waving his hand again, "Send someone to France to express the Empire's position. But let's not be too harsh in our words. We need to focus our efforts on the Russians."
Just a few days ago, the Russian Army's commander Potemkin launched an attack on the fortress of Ochakov with six divisions, and within a few hours, occupied this key position at the northwest of the Black Sea.
In that battle, Potemkin wiped out and captured more than 13,000 Ottoman troops, with his forces pointing directly at the Danube River.
"Speaking of Russia," Hamid I glanced at Yusuf, "how do you plan to respond?"
Although the Grand Vizier was not directly responsible for military affairs, as the "Chancellor" of the Ottoman Empire, he was very clear about the deployment of forces.
"The situation is not very optimistic..." Yusuf hesitated for a moment before adding, "Austria and Russia are both reinforcing their troops. The generals believe that we must stop a Russian-Austrian rendezvous at all costs.
"The preliminary plan is to gather 150,000 troops to reach the Danube River area by next summer, successively capture Binjela and Arzhu, sever the Russian-Austrian connection, and then retake Ochakov."
"150,000 men," Hamid I nodded, "how confident are you that we can defeat the Russians?"
"Well, we have the advantage in terms of military strength, so we should be able to win."
The Sultan gestured to Yusuf to come closer and leaned forward, whispering, "If we still can't win this time, try to make peace with Russia. Give up the north shore of the Black Sea for peace..."
Joseph could not have imagined that his actions in North Africa would accelerate the disintegration of Ottoman morale. The Ottoman Empire, which was originally determined to fight to the last soldier and was only set to give up the north shore of the Black Sea after three years due to exhaustion, had already lost its will to fight to the death against Russia.
The young Prime Minister of England, William Pitt Junior, pushed the resignation letter back across the table and looked up at the Duke of Leeds, "You needn't do this. North Africa was never within our sphere of influence, and this time luck happened to be on the French's side. Your strategy was actually not flawed. I'm confident I can preserve your position in Congress."
"Hollis acted on my instructions, and now he's dead," the Duke of Leeds shook his head calmly, "Someone must be held accountable for this, and that person cannot be you."
William Pitt Junior fell silent.
Hollis was a Whig, the opposition party to his own. Now, to quell the diplomatic disaster of "instigating Tunisia to attack the French people," he had "committed suicide."
At the same time, the Duke of Leeds had spent nearly 700,000 British Pounds, a huge sum, and yet failed to prevent France from obtaining Tunisia, marking a significant defeat.
The Whig Party would definitely seize on this series of events to cause trouble in Congress. His position as Prime Minister was already unstable, and if this scandal escalated, it could lead to impeachment by Congress.
He slowly lifted his fingers off the resignation letter, sighed, and asked, "So, who do you think should take over as Foreign Minister?"
"The Marquess of Wellesley." The Duke of Leeds was clearly prepared, "He is as young and gifted as you, full of strategy and decisiveness. Although his political experience is shallow, I will use my influence to fully support him."
William Pitt Junior nodded silently. The Marquess of Wellesley was a trusted ally, indeed competent, and he had always been keen on promoting him.
He paused, then looked again at the Duke of Leeds, "Then, what do you think our next steps should be to counter the advantage the French have gained in North Africa?"
But the Duke of Leeds immediately shook his head, "Prime Minister, France is too close to Tunisia, and now they have already established a stronghold. If we continue to clash with them there, we will suffer greatly."
"You mean to say we should just accept defeat?"
"No! Quite the opposite, we must do all we can to bring France to its knees and press them firmly into the mud. That is the only path to the prosperity of England!"
The Duke of Leeds showed a sly fox-like smile, "North Africa is just a piece of fat, not worth too much fuss. The Low Countries are the real throat to aim for! By putting our efforts there, we can strike a painful blow to France."
The so-called Low Countries are the northwest coastal nations of Europe, namely the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
The Duke of Leeds then detailed his strategy for the Low Countries to the Prime Minister, and added, "Moreover, the ambitions of Russia and Prussia are excellent weapons too, and you must find ways to utilize their power."