Became The Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire [EN]: Chapter 28

#28. Time to Step Up (1)

With Genoa, one of Italy’s two major trading city-states, losing its colonies in the Crimean Peninsula, the Black Sea became completely an Ottoman lake.

Entry into the Black Sea was strictly controlled for any ships not belonging to the Ottomans, and the Black Sea, once bustling with countless Western ships, became desolate.

‘In my day, the coastline was covered with ships,’ most of the people who reminisced were now lying in their coffins, the Black Sea trade a distant glory of the past.

However, that meant there were fewer ships going to and from the port than in the past, not that it had become difficult to see ships. Ships still arrived, just not as frequently.

One could see ships entering the port dozens of times a day, but when three ships entered carrying Ayşe and her company, the Sipahi [Ottoman cavalry] guarded the port with an iron fist.

Because someone that important was on board.

“Finally, I’m back.”

Ayşe looked around Trabzon with longing.

It hadn’t even been a year, but so much had happened in the meantime.

It was good to boldly enter even areas where the plague had spread, but the scenery there was like hell.

With family and acquaintances dying, people’s faces were filled with despair, and their gazes towards outsiders were filled with anger.

Eventually, they were even attacked, but Ayşe stopped the soldiers from killing the attackers.

“It’s natural for them to be angry. Because they are abandoned by their people.”

A blockade is a basic measure to prevent the spread of the plague, but in their position, it was the same as being abandoned.

Without receiving any help, if they ran away to survive, they were shot with arrows by soldiers stationed outside.

It was natural for anger to take root in people who had nothing but to hope that death would pass them by.

Ayşe affirmed.

“We just need to do what we have to do. If we do, everything will change.”

Many opposed showing mercy, but Ayşe was the one leading the group.

According to her will, they quietly settled on the outskirts of the village and began full-scale medical activities.

If she had talked about vaccinations in normal times.

“What nonsense are you talking about? I’d rather plug my nose!”

They would have answered like this.

It was a time when they empirically knew that epidemics spread in dirty and smelly environments, so they thought of the smell as one of the reasons for getting sick.

Vaccination was that unfamiliar to those who used folk medicine to block the smell by using perfumes and spices.

But now was not peacetime, and people came one by one with a desperate heart, forming a crowded scene.

Following the advice of Yusuf, the epidemic quickly subsided as even the sanitation was improved, and this miraculous change quickly became known to the outside world.

“I heard that envoys from the empire are stopping the plague?”

“It’s absurd! The rumor has already spread that it’s a miracle!”

“Even though the tribal chiefs stopped her, Ayşe made the decision to go in? God must have been moved by her actions.”

Those in power who belatedly grasped the situation tried to stop the rumors, but it was too late to stop the rumors in which Ayşe was the main character.

Because Ayşe was already called a saint in Circassia.

Even though she was a precious person, the woman of an Ottoman prince, she directly visited the plague area and showed a miracle, so it was not strange to be called a saint.

Wherever one went in Circassia, one could hear praises of Ayşe.

Sinan, who rode in the carriage with Ayşe, asked carefully.

“Wouldn’t it have been better to stay in Circassia than to return to Trabzon? The prince would have understood enough.”

She was a saint in Circassia, but just a concubine of the prince in Trabzon.

There was no need to think about which was a better life.

However, Ayşe chose the latter as if it were natural.

“If I just properly play the role of a bridge with Circassia, he would have understood.”

“Because the prince values practicality first.”

“Still, I want to be by the prince’s side more than any wealth or glory.”

Even if it seemed like a foolish choice in the eyes of others, this thought did not change.

“And if I had said I would stay in Circassia, there would be many people who wouldn’t live according to my will.”

Sinan burst into laughter at Ayşe’s playful words.

Because he was reminded of those who spent blood-draining time in incitement and fabrication using the title of saint.

It was fortunate that it went well, but there were several times when it was more dangerous than when she was in the plague area.

While sharing light small talk, the carriage arrived at the castle, and Ayşe, who got out of the carriage, widened her eyes.

“Ayşe, you’re finally back. I missed you so much.”

Because Yusuf, who had become more mature, held her hand with sweet words.

Ayşe, her face flushed like a flower, answered softly as if she was shy.

“I missed you too.”

Yusuf, who hugged Ayşe in response, shone his eyes.

‘The basic foundation has been laid.’

Just as Ismail revealed himself to the world, it was time for him to step up in earnest.

***

For princes born with the destiny to kill their brothers, brotherhood as well as friendship were luxurious emotions.

They had trustworthy subordinates, but no friends to laugh with while sharing trivial small talk.

To such Yusuf, Ayşe was a special existence.

Because she was someone who gave him pleasure just by having light conversations.

“A child who said it hurt so much when getting vaccinated brought flowers a few weeks later, I don’t know how cute they were.”

“Was it a boy?”

“Well. What do you think it would have been?”

Yusuf shrugged his shoulders at the green eyes full of playfulness.

“It would have been a girl. If it was a boy, you wouldn’t have bragged in front of me.”

“…Are you going to be boring like that?”

Yusuf roughly ruffled Ayşe’s hair as she sulked.

Considering the era where obedience was forced, each of Ayşe’s actions of playing pranks and complaining was unconventional.

But Yusuf liked this side of her.

‘Because it feels like I’m completely me, not a prince.’

He understood the old-fashioned cliché of ‘You’re the first to give me this feeling.’

It had already been several hours since they started talking, but there was no boredom.

“How about you tell me about the prince?”

“Hmm…. I don’t have any interesting stories to tell.”

Because farming, cement, or soldier stories were not interesting topics.

Yusuf pondered for a moment and something came to mind.

“Do you remember me telling my mother to introduce me to a smart child before?”

It was something he asked Fatima because he didn’t have the ability to identify talent.

“Of course. Nene [grandmother] taught the children on one side of the free meal center.”

“I found someone who can be called a genius among them.”

Honestly, it was something he didn’t expect much.

He had to believe it to get anything out of it, and unless the child was extraordinarily smart, it would be better to bring in scholars who had already learned rather than raising them from the beginning.

He had even forgotten about asking Fatima, but unexpectedly, he caught a big fish.

“How old are they?”

“They’re the same age as Selim’s son, Suleiman. Seven years old.”

“That’s young?”

That was a shame.

No matter how much of a genius they were, they were too young to use right away.

“Still, when I taught them this and that, they learned quickly. If they eat about ten more years, they’ll be worth looking forward to. But, the real problem isn’t age.”

There was a big obstacle to using that child.

Just as he was about to tell the curious Ayşe the answer, the voice of the escort was heard in Yusuf’s ear.

-Prince, Ömer Efendi, the Kadi [judge] of Trabzon, requests an audience.

Yusuf made a sullen face at the appearance of Ömer, who would not come unless there was something special.

There was only one reason for him to come at this time.

“In the end, I got caught.”

Yusuf let out a light sigh and told him to come in, and Ömer with a picky face came in as the door opened.

Holding the hand of a small child.

Ömer, who looked at Yusuf with sparkling eyes, paid his respects.

“I greet the Sanjakbey [governor of a district].”

“Yes, what’s going on?”

Yusuf asked as if he didn’t know anything, and Ömer pushed the child holding hands forward.

“Yaya, is that the person?”

Yusuf wanted to give him a hint if he could, but even that was not possible because of Ömer’s fierce gaze.

The child called Yaya hesitated for a moment and nodded.

“…That’s right.”

“Sanjakbey, do you know my son?”

He knows him well.

He would know more about Yaya Efendi than his father, Ömer Efendi.

First of all, Yaya was Suleiman’s milk brother.

When Suleiman’s mother’s milk stopped, she asked Afife, Yaya’s mother, to feed him milk, and the two became milk brothers.

‘There’s nothing special about this.’

The familiar word wet nurse itself meant a woman who fed and raised another’s baby.

It was that common, and if that was all, there was no reason for Yaya to be remembered in history.

Yaya was a famous scholar in science, medicine, and geometry, and was highly respected in Islam, so he could be remembered in history.

‘Among the sailors, he was revered as one of the saints of Istanbul.’

Anyway, it means a lottery ticket that is sure to win.

If only he could persuade that picky Kadi.

“Of course, you know him. Because you directly taught my son.”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with my education.”

At least it would be much better than the education received in this era.

Ömer nodded at Yusuf’s confident words.

The Kadi was one of the leading intellectuals of this era, and there was a lot of knowledge that even such Ömer did not know.

But, there was a problem.

“Why are you teaching him how to make gunpowder? And what are those strange gunpowder weapons? Are you planning to raise my son as an engineer, not a scholar?”

Yusuf clicked his tongue inwardly at Ömer’s gaze as if he would devour him.

It was this hard to raise one engineer.

***

The naval battle between the Ottomans and Venice progressed with the Ottoman victory led by the outstanding admiral Kemal Reis.

Venice, which was defeated in the first naval battle in 1499, even lost Modon and Koron, which were called the two eyes of the republic, in 1500.

Victory reports continued to ring, but Kostantiniyye [Constantinople], which supported them from behind, was just as busy.

They had to send artisans to repair military supplies and broken ships that could not be filled by local looting, and they also had to monitor whether the Vatican and other Western countries were involved.

Even in such a busy situation, they could not neglect their main job of basic administrative processing.

Even the Ottoman Empire, where administration was so well organized that the country could run well even without the Sultan in place, was in a situation where it was screaming.

To make matters worse, there were ominous signs in the east, so there was no choice but to make a fuss.

“They won 27,000 with 7,000?! What idiot led the army!”

“Ismail? Who is that again! Does anyone know?!”

For the Ottomans, who were focusing all their efforts on the west, the news of the monster that appeared in the east was a bolt from the blue.

They urgently gathered information, and it was not difficult to find out the identity of this group.

“Kizilbash [Shia militants]? Aren’t these guys Shia?”

It was a Shia group that wore turbans wrapped in 12 red stripes symbolizing blood in memory of the martyrdom of the 12 Imams and Imam Hussein.

They felt goosebumps all over their bodies when they talked about the Shia.

Because there was someone who warned about the Shia just last year.

“Was Ṣehzade [prince] Yusuf right?”

“No, what is it with just one war.”

They tried to deny it, but they couldn’t shake the feeling that things were going as Yusuf said.