Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 577: Moral Blackmail

After centuries of effort by many, the Ottoman Empire’s image in European popular opinion became synonymous with evil, holding the top spot on the “hatred list” for hundreds of years without budging.

After the Near East War broke out, the Austrian government further fueled this by bringing out into the open the Ottoman Empire’s past misdeeds, which only enhanced its already terrible reputation. Every now and then, there were citizens staging protests outside Ottoman embassies.

Without needing to fabricate anything, the history of the Ottoman Empire itself was dark enough. Just pulling out any historical records could easily attract a wave of animosity.

With public opinion on their side, Hümmel, Austria’s ambassador at the London Conference, was able to argue confidently. While various governments condemned Russia for invading Poland, no one criticized Austria for invading the Ottoman Empire.

This shows the importance of propaganda. In this era on the European continent, demonizing the Ottoman Empire was already politically correct, and only needed a little nudge to take effect.

In the original timeline during the Russo-Turkish War, the Russian government was equally criticized. This was not only because they failed in propaganda efforts, but also because their own image wasn’t much better than the Ottoman Empire’s.

Of course, the recovery of Jerusalem was also a political plus. After the Near East War broke out, Austria’s army immediately launched a campaign to reclaim the Holy Land, silencing many critics.

Franz already held the title “King of Jerusalem,” which was recognized by European society. Now, reclaiming his own territory was entirely legitimate with no moral burden. This wasn’t even considered an invasion.

However, what really drives political decisions is still interest. Austria had enough reasons to wage war on the Ottoman Empire, and beating them up was fine.

But to completely destroy the Ottoman Empire was a different matter, as European society had a strong aversion to annihilation of nations. For many small European states, such actions would make them feel insecure.

Without a leader to take charge, no matter how dissatisfied these countries were, they could only keep their grievances to themselves.

In the Near East War, it was Austria and Russia ganging up on the Ottoman Empire. The other countries didn’t have the resources to get involved. Now that the British were stepping up, everyone was happy to go along.

At the start of the peace negotiations, Hümmel noticed this shift. Although the representatives of various countries spoke in a very tactful manner, he could clearly sense that they were leaning in favor of the Ottoman Empire.

The general sentiment was trying to persuade: for the sake of world peace, it would be best to resolve conflicts through negotiation and end the Near East War as soon as possible...

One voice may not matter, but a chorus of voices is different. If one doesn’t have a strong will, it’s easy to be swayed by them.

Hümmel waved his hand and said, “Gentlemen, the responsibility for this war does not lie with us. This is a historical issue, and I’m sure everyone knows the story, so there’s no need for me to elaborate.

We are simply driving out the invaders and reclaiming our rightful land. Isn’t that justified?”

It was a tangled mess, with history too complicated to sort out. Hundreds of years had passed, and verifying the facts was impossible.

Moreover, over the years, in their efforts to demonize the Ottoman Empire, people had exaggerated and added much to the historical records.

Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue, but now, if this topic continued, the Austrians would surely use these “artistically enhanced” records as reasons to accuse the Ottomans.

The bigger problem was that many of these records were officially endorsed by their ancestors and had gained widespread acceptance in European society. For the sake of political correctness, they couldn’t just turn around and deny them.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, British Foreign Secretary Marquis Maclean took over the conversation, “Your Excellency, the past is behind us. What should have happened, and what shouldn’t have, has already occurred. There’s no point in dwelling on it now. We should focus on the future.

This Near East War has already resulted in 800,000 deaths, 3 million people left homeless, and dozens of cities reduced to rubble, with incalculable economic losses.

No matter what the Ottoman Empire did in the past, this punishment is already more than enough. If the war continues, it will only lead to more families being torn apart.

Children losing their fathers, wives losing their husbands, and the elderly losing their sons—these tragedies happen every single day.

Perhaps you are unaware, but the Ottoman Empire is now a land of famine, with tens of thousands of people dying every day, and in some places, there are even reports of people resorting to cannibalism.

For the sake of God, and for the sake of these innocent people, let’s end this war as quickly as possible!”

As he spoke, Marquis Maclean, fully immersed in the role, seemed less like a British foreign secretary and more like a compassionate priest.

Everyone present understood that the British were resorting to moral blackmail. It was typical of John Bull’s approach. With the current international situation making military intervention impossible, and Britain determined to save the Ottoman Empire, they had no choice but to find another way.

Hümmel was disgusted. Anyone could talk about “compassion,” but the British were the last ones qualified to speak on it.

As the world’s leading colonial empire, ruling over 400 to 500 million people, the number of people exploited to death each year exceeds even this figure.

Despite his displeasure, Hümmel controlled his emotions and responded, “Your Excellency, you should say that to the Ottomans.

A large number of people are homeless, freezing, and starving but that is due to the incompetence of the Ottoman government. You may pity them, but take a look at these photographs.

These show an Armenian village, completely massacred by those very people you pity. The Ottoman soldiers were also involved.

And these other photos show them killing a priest and destroying a church…”

These photographs were obtained by the intelligence organization at great cost. Despite the outbreak of the Near East War, many British and French nationals remained in the Ottoman Empire.

No matter how chaotic it became, it didn’t affect these ‘important figures’ in their elevated positions. Under the tight protection of the Ottoman government, as long as they weren’t hit by bombs from the sky, they were safe.

It was a peculiar aspect of the era, where even a petty thug from the streets of London would be considered an ‘untouchable’ big shot in the Ottoman Empire.

Where there’s a high reward, there are always brave souls. The intelligence organization was willing to pay, so naturally, someone would provide the photos. After all, they were part of the privileged class in the Ottoman Empire, and even if they were caught, the Ottoman government wouldn’t dare touch them.

If any professionals were present, they would notice that many of these photographs were not newly taken but were actually old, stored away for several years.

But none of that really matters. As long as the photos prove these atrocities happened, that’s enough.

Marquis Maclean was having a headache. He could already imagine the uproar when these photos appeared in tomorrow’s London newspapers.

“Your Excellency, regarding the events shown in these photos, I believe the Ottoman Empire will provide an explanation, and these perpetrators will face divine punishment.

The real cause of these tragedies is the breakdown of social order due to the war, with the government losing control over the country.

I propose that, after the war ends, we form a joint delegation to station in the Ottoman Empire specifically to arrest the criminals shown in these images.”

To protect the Ottoman Empire, Marquis Maclean was going all out. This left Ottoman Foreign Minister Albiach feeling extremely awkward—decisions were being made without consulting him.

But upon seeing the content of the photos, all of Albiach’s frustrations disappeared. In normal times, such incidents wouldn’t have been a big deal, but now that they were brought to light, the situation was completely different.

He immediately declared, “Rest assured, the perpetrators shown here will be held accountable. The Ottoman Empire is a country that respects religious freedom, and there is absolutely no religious persecution. We will not let these criminals escape justice.”

After a brief pause, Albiach steered the conversation back to the main issue, “I am deeply ashamed that such tragedies occurred.

Due to the war, the government focused all its efforts on the battlefield and neglected local administration, which led to these unfortunate events.

To make amends and prevent similar incidents from happening again, I hope we can end this war as soon as possible. For the sake of world peace, the Ottoman Empire is willing to do its part.”

Inwardly, Albiach was cursing. He couldn’t believe there were fools stupid enough to let this happen.

Cameras in this era were big and noisy, making it nearly impossible to photograph something without being noticed. This meant that during the photography, the people involved made no effort to stop it.

Ignorance is bliss. Cameras were still a novelty, and over 80% of Ottomans had never seen one, let alone understood what it was for, which is what led to this disaster.

After reflecting on the situation, Albiach decided that upon returning, he would advise the Sultan to tighten control over cameras. There were too many dark secrets in the Ottoman Empire that couldn’t risk being exposed. They couldn’t afford to be careless.