Mehmed Ali applied the fifteen-year limit only to new conscripts

Evidence

After thinking about it, Mehmed Ali saw the logic of his son’s suggestion and wrote back telling him that he had decided to limit the period to fifteen years! Ibrahim said that he was going to announce this good news to the soldiers thinking that this showed how merciful and benevolent the Pasha was. On second thoughts, however, his father said that this way they would lose a lot of men and suggested that this new system be applied only to the new conscripts and that those already in service be treated as if they had spent five years already. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1358

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

• CANDY: Fifteen years de jure, but existing soldiers told they ‘already served five’ — a delightfully evil bureaucratic dodge worth sharing.
• XREF: This recall of the Milgrom work on institutions and reputation — how the Pasha’s promise-keeping to conscripts shaped their resistance.

Related

• Mehmed Ali’s promised 15-year service limit was quietly window-dressed. (similarity 0.94)