General Charles-Marie-Napoleon de Beaufort d’Hautpoul sat in his bedroom, drinking again. He led his forces abroad, succeeding at defending the nation that his idol believed in. But, when again asked to defend what he believed in, he was recalled by his ruler, at the demand of the Devlet. Worse, they would later declare war on his liege using said expedition as a casus belli. The General fought bravely against the Libyans, and seized Cyprus after the total defeat of the Ottoman Navy. But the war was lost at home, with the army led by Ibrahim al-’Alawi falling to the sheer numbers the Austrians bared on them in the Levant and Syria. He poured himself another drink, as he remembered the Pasha's declaration of loyalty to the Sultan, and the cession of the lands in the Levant. He downed the shot as he remembered the screams of Sa’d al-Din ibn Mustafa, crucified for blasphemy after a Drumhead Court mandated by the Sultan. Another shot he would down, as he remembered his prior intention to return to France, and join his idol once again. But he could not bear dishonoring the dynasty that allowed him to serve his ideals once more. As he downed the bottle, he would forget the rest of the night...
When he awoke, head aching as usual, he heard a knock on the door outside. As a servant gave him the usual morning coffee, he would hurry to meet them. Meeting him was Professor Murat Bey, now a prominent investor in silk. "General," he began to speak before he looked worried. "Are you alright?" General D'Hautpoul would shake his head, a bit dizzy: "Of course... just another long night... come, let us have some coffee together." He would beckon his head servant, a fellow Frenchman, to lead him in to the dining room. As they sat, coffees were presented to both. The Professor, now comfortable in his seat, would take out a drawing. "Before I say anything, what do you think of this?" The General would look long and hard at the drawing. It appeared to be a cannon of some sort, but the design was strange; it had a piece that screwed in at the end, seemingly defeating its integrity. It had drawings for an extension of some sort, labeled 'recoil' on the drawing. The General looked up at the Professor, confused: "It looks like some sort of cannon, but nothing I have ever seen before." The Professor nodded and smiled: "Indeed, this is a new type of howitzer. A merging of a field cannon and a howitzer." He would take out a pencil, and point at parts of the drawing: "By miniaturizing the gun itself, and adding a support brace, we can make the whole unit smaller and more mobile." He would move his pencil to the section labeled 'recoil': "Instead of the Gun being built to withstand the entire force of the projectile, we now have a dedicated spring assembly to absorb most of the force. This allows a much more powerful projectile, while still maintaining the low weight. And, to assist in loading, we have introduced a breech-loader, similar to that already used in the Navy, but in a steel gun that is easily portable." The General would nod in surprise at all of this: "And you believe this is all practical?" The Professor smiled: "My dear General, it is already in field trials. I hear the British are adopting them as we speak. You haven't even seen the new ammo this thing is capable of firing! Trust me, this will change -everything- you know about warfare!"
Egypt
