The Askeri was the upper class of Ottoman society, consisting of Ottoman nobles, the court, and the military. Why Sheffield held an Ottoman title could be attributed to his family's contributions to the Ottoman Empire. Without the Sheffield family and the Pashas across the Ottoman territories trafficking in various rebellious groups like the Slavs and Armenians, there wouldn't be today's Texas where Slavic is a second language.
The reduction in these populations made it easier for the Sheffield family, who were involved in labor trade, to control the influx of new arrivals, seizing dominance over Texas from Austin and Houston. For the Ottomans, the Sheffield family had made outstanding contributions to the stability of the Ottoman Empire, though this stability was only marginally better than nothing.
This led to the establishment of good relations with the Ottoman nobility. Against this backdrop, the Sheffield family was bestowed the title of Pasha, recognized by the Ottoman ruling class, the Askeri, for their extraordinary contributions as foreigners.
"Ottoman? Aren't you American?" Annie mumbled in her sleep, looking very much like a sickly beauty.
"What's strange about that? When the Ottomans laid siege to Vienna and wanted to devour Europe, European countries united to resist. Only one country was a quasi-ally of the Ottomans. Can you guess which country it was?" Sheffield ignored Annie's shaking head, shoved the medicine into her mouth, handed her warm water with the other hand, and coldly said, "Stabbing the Holy Roman Empire in the back at a critical moment—that was France, wasn't it? This was the longest-lasting alliance in French history. Did you care about European feelings?"
The Franco-Ottoman Alliance was an alliance formed in the 16th century between King Francis I of France and Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire. This alliance was called "the first non-ideological diplomatic alliance between a Christian nation and a non-Christian empire."
This unprecedented alliance caused great shockwaves in Europe, being considered an "impious alliance" or a "sacrilegious alliance of the fleur-de-lis and the crescent." However, because this alliance represented the objective interests of both parties, all criticisms were endured. Strategically or sometimes tactically, the Franco-Ottoman alliance was one of the most important diplomatic alliances in French history, lasting nearly three hundred years, making it the longest-lasting alliance in French history.
The Ottomans promised that French merchants on their land would not be bound by Ottoman law and provided Western merchants with more trade privileges, such as free navigation and trade, low tariffs. In France, the Ottomans long received tolerance and understanding that other European countries did not offer, leading to the emergence of related paintings and novels.
Sheffield now thought that this little girl from the usurious imperialist country was being hypocritical. Her country danced with the Ottoman Empire that once sought to devour Europe, while his family merely engaged in some labor trade, yet they faced such cold opposition.
At this point, do you recall the solidarity among imperialist countries? The various French monarchs of the past didn't seem to be like this.
"Madam Anna sent a telegram asking about Master William's itinerary. She also mentioned that she has discussed the new patent bill with Democratic senators. Currently, citizens are paying attention to the final resolution of the Venezuelan crisis. Also, due to the rise in grain and meat prices, profitability is not an issue. Master can do whatever he wants."
John Connor brought the telegram to Sheffield's room; it was forwarded from the Frankfurt branch.
"The matters in France have been completed. Compiling patent authorizations cannot be done in a short time. Just say that I've arrived in Germany and will return home after following the diplomats to London." Although Sheffield jokingly referred to himself as William Pasha, he did not plan to visit the Ottoman Empire.
Visits during this era were quite leisurely, especially considering the geographical environment of America—traveling by ship to Europe took a month. Solving problems in two or three days and returning home was impossible. In fact, major diplomatic issues of this era all required months of discussion, so it was normal for overseas visits to last a long time without returning.
However, Sheffield did not necessarily need to stay synchronized with the Secretary of State's group. He mainly came to resolve private matters. As for how the United States fared, what did it matter to him? After all, the Sheffield family still primarily focused on agriculture and animal husbandry. Even if the United States were beaten, war would still present an opportunity for rising grain prices. Balancing agriculture and animal husbandry would certainly make them more resilient than the Yankees in the North.
"As for Italy, let the Venice branch handle it themselves. Apart from Britain, France, and Germany, I won't visit each one individually. Find the inventor of the radio and secure the patent authorization for the radio." Sheffield paced back and forth, hands behind his back, saying, "This inventor seems to be in Britain. The Venice branch should look for other valuable patents and send a report."
"As for family matters, naturally, the old… grandmother has the final say. Upon returning, I will integrate the various industries to form standardization. But here in Germany? If we don't settle things with the Junkers, it can only be considered half success." Sheffield opened his mouth with some distress, "Tomorrow we'll go to Essen and visit the Krupp Company."
If these Junkers in Germany weren't settled, certain changes would occur. Both the German Conservative Party in the Reichstag and the Farmers' League outside the Reichstag represented Junker interests. Many officers in the army also came from Junker backgrounds, thus imprinting the entire German Empire with the mark of the Junkers.
The Junker class was the true ruler of the German Empire. As for this class? Sheffield felt that outside the military domain, their actual level was just about that.
The Junker class possessed traits common to any upper class, such as greed. For the benefit of their class, harming the nation was not out of the question. Of course, Sheffield couldn't criticize them on this point because his view of the U.S. federal government was similar—he wished America could return to the era when each state issued its own currency.
How hard the Sheffield family worked to make money—how could it compare to the ease of simply turning on the printing press?
But how could Germany's external environment be compared to that of the United States unless someone thought that Canada to the north, with its vast, sparsely populated land, and Mexico to the south, a weakling, could be compared to Tsarist Russia and France to the east and west of Germany?
Apart from ancient West Asian empires having such a geographic position surrounded by enemies on all sides, the harsh environment of modern Germany was unique. In this situation, rural Junkers, to protect their grains from being impacted by Russian grain exports, increased tariffs on imported grains, causing Tsarist Russia and the German Empire to drift further apart.
(End of Chapter)