When the siege of Acre was prolonged and the city did not fall immediately as expected, Mehmed Ali wrote to Ibrahim suggesting that he should offer the besieged some money so as not to waste time and proceed to fight the Ottomans before they amassed their troops against him. Ibrahim answered by saying that he had yet to learn that cities were taken by money and that he intended to reduce it to a heap of rubble until it surrendered. The problem he was facing, he insisted, was not lack of money or soldiers, but of trained officers. This was the reason he gave for the prolonged siege of the city. Finally when the city did fall Ibrahim could not but admire the courage and fortitude of the soldiers attacking the city and said that he had yet to see other soldiers who could match them. He had no such complimentary words for his officers.

Builds on: "Mehmed Ali staffed his army's top posts with kin and slaves."

Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed…, loc. 926