"My dear brother, you have finally arrived!"

Sitting on the throne, Abdul Majid I, upon seeing Jerome Bonaparte, quickly stood up and came in front of Jerome Bonaparte. He first gave Jerome Bonaparte a warm hug, and then held his hand and spoke kindly.

Perhaps deeply influenced by the sketch "Xinjiang Grilled Lamb Skewers" from a previous life, facing the overly enthusiastic Abdul Majid I, Jerome Bonaparte always felt that Abdul Majid I was more like a splendidly dressed grilled lamb skewer vendor than a monarch.

However, this lamb skewer vendor did not have the smell of lamb mutton.

"My brother, I am very grateful to your Ottoman Empire for inviting me to attend this military conference!" Jerome Bonaparte, maintaining his "superficial brother" persona, routinely expressed his gratitude to Abdul Majid I.

"My brother! There’s no need to repeat words of thanks, please take a seat!" Abdul Majid I said to Jerome Bonaparte while leading him to his seat.

After the two monarchs were present, the military conference before the throne officially began.

The person responsible for explaining the military actions to Jerome Bonaparte and Abdul Majid I was the Commander of Constantinople, Muhammad Alma Pasha.

"Your Majesties, Ambassadors, Generals!" Muhammad Alma first bowed to Jerome Bonaparte and Abdul Majid I, and then gently clapped his hands.

A small cart with a map hung on it was pushed in by the black eunuch who had previously escorted Jerome Bonaparte into the palace.

This was a planning map of the administrative regions in the eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire, which also included the future regions of Armenia and Georgia.

Thus, upon seeing the map, Jerome Bonaparte immediately concluded that the Ottoman Empire still had ambitions for these two regions.

After all, these two regions had only been annexed by the Russian Empire for less than a century.

Back then, just the Georgian Batumi region alone gathered nearly 500,000 Muslims.

If not for the occupation by the Russian Empire that forced a large number of Muslims to flee back to the Ottoman Empire, there would be no room for the Eastern Orthodox Church to survive in Georgia today.

Even though the Russian Empire has occupied this place, they are still unable to establish relatively stable control over these two regions. The governors in charge of Armenia and Georgia have to spend resources to clear out the Muslims in these areas.

The real resolution to this problem came after the establishment of the Soviet Union, when the repeated mass migrations orchestrated by the Soviet Union led the Muslims of Georgia to migrate to the Far East, gradually reducing the Muslim proportion in the entire region of Georgia.

Of course, such migrations were not limited to Georgia alone; similar actions took place in the Baltic Sea region, Crimea, and even the Central Asian five countries.

While Jerome Bonaparte was contemplating the Russian Empire’s mass migrations of ethnicities, Muhammad Alma explained the situation in the entire Caucasus region to them in French.

Currently, the Caucasus region stretches along a 150-mile border line from the Black Sea to the Persian Sea. The Caucasus Turkish Army under the Ottoman Empire, consisting of Egyptians, Armenians, and Turks, and the Russian Empire’s forces in the Caucasus region are intensely confronting each other with the Calis Fortress, an important citadel left by the Ancient Armenian Kingdom, as the center of tension.

This fortress is the only barrier for the Russian Empire to reach the Anatolian Peninsula and also the last line of defense for the Turkish Army.

To prevent this barrier from being breached by the Russian Army, Abdi Pasha, appointed as the commander of the Caucasus Corps by Abdul Majid I, gathered a force of 55,000 troops in Calis City, including 40,000 infantry, 8,000 cavalry, 4,000 irregular troops, and 54 cannons.

On the opposite side, due to the influence of the Crimean war, the Russian army, originally nearly 100,000 strong, now has less than 40,000, including 28,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry, 1,600 tribal irregular troops, and 60 cannons.

On paper, the Ottoman Empire’s forces appear much larger than the Russian Empire’s forces. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

However, military strength does not solely depend on size. Organization, equipment, morale, and logistics are all crucial factors affecting a military’s combat effectiveness.

After Muhammad Alma reviewed the troop deployments of both Russia and Turkey, he proceeded to outline their battle plan.

The commander of the Caucasus region, Abdi Pasha, hopes that half of the 40,000 Turkish troops stationed on the Crimea Peninsula can be dispatched to land in the Sukhumi region. This maneuver would coordinate with the defensive forces in the Calis region to envelop the Russian Empire’s forces, aiming to annihilate the Russian soldiers stationed in the Caucasus region in one fell swoop.

To make his strategy more convincing, Muhammad Alma Pasha informed Jerome Bonaparte and Abdul Majid I that the Caucasus Command had secretly contacted a large group of tribal insurgents, and as soon as the Russian Empire showed any sign of weakness, these insurgents would rise in rebellion, engulfing the Russian Empire in a sea of Muslims.

After presenting his strategic intentions, Muhammad Alma Pasha once again bowed to Jerome Bonaparte and Abdul Majid I, seeking their "Holy Judgment."

"Jerome, what do you think?" Abdulmejid I asked Jerome Bonaparte.

After a moment of silence, Jerome Bonaparte turned his head to ask Abdulmejid I, "May I ask him a few questions?"

"Of course!" Abdulmejid I responded cheerfully.

"Alright then!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded and then turned his gaze towards Muhammad Alma Pasha, "General Alma, I have a few questions I wish to ask you, could you answer them for me?"

"Your Majesty, please go ahead!" Muhammad Alma responded to Jerome Bonaparte with utmost attention.

"The first question, was this plan proposed by you, Abdi, or did you both come up with it together?" Jerome Bonaparte asked with a serious expression.

After hesitating for a moment, Muhammad Alma answered Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, the plan was proposed by Abdi Pasha, and I was asked to pass it on!"

"Since it’s a plan proposed by the Caucasus Commander Abdi, he should be well aware of it!" Jerome Bonaparte slightly smiled.

"Of course!" Muhammad Alma replied immediately.

"Are you familiar with Abdi’s army?" Jerome Bonaparte asked once more.

"Fairly familiar!" Muhammad Alma hesitated for a few seconds, then replied.

"Then tell me, how many soldiers in the Caucasus Command are equipped with rifles? What model rifles are used? Do your cavalry use Arabian scimitars or flintlock pistols... When were your 54 cannons produced, and what are their range and power?" Jerome Bonaparte barraged Muhammad Alma with questions.

"This... this..." Muhammad Alma stammered, unable to say a word.

Jerome Bonaparte’s questions would be no problem for a professional staff officer, but for some court military commanders who relied on favoritism, it was a nightmare.

After all, not everyone is like Omar Pasha.

Moreover, Omar Pasha himself received the most formal military education of the Habsburg Dynasty, and even though Habsburg’s military education was becoming the lowest in Europe, it was still in a different league compared to the Ottoman Empire inviting "foreign instructors" for lessons.

[PS: Because Habsburg nobles could enter the military as commanders without exams, very few were willing to actually attend classes in military schools, and the teachers there began to slack off.

Of course, ambitious generals who truly wished to advance would not slack off in military schools.]

Currently, the Austrian Empire still maintains a complete military education system from military elementary school to military university, whereas the Ottoman Empire hasn’t established a complete system, with many Pashas like Muhammad Alma starting halfway without formal training.

"Do you have any knowledge about the Russian Army opposite you? What equipment do they use, and what advantages or disadvantages does it have compared to yours? What equipment do their cavalry and artillery use..." Seeing Muhammad Alma unable to answer, Jerome Bonaparte continued to question.

"This..." Muhammad Alma continued to be at a loss for words, truly not knowing how to respond to Jerome Bonaparte.

And next to Jerome Bonaparte, Abdulmejid I’s expression gradually became somber, as he never expected Muhammad Alma to be unable to answer a single question.

"You just mentioned the Sumil landing! Do you understand the terrain of Sumil? If not, how can you ensure that the troops dispatched from the Crimea Peninsula will successfully meet with you..." Jerome Bonaparte delivered the final blow to Muhammad Alma.

"Your Majesty, I..." Muhammad Alma, sweating profusely from tension, tried to defend himself, but found he didn’t know how to.

Should he admit to speaking recklessly without understanding anything?

"Enough!" Abdulmejid I shouted, then glared at Muhammad Alma with eyes filled with murderous intent, "Isn’t it shameful enough? Get out!"

"Yes! Yes!" Rebuked by Abdulmejid I, Muhammad Alma bowed and left the hall.

"I apologize for the embarrassment!"