Became The Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire [EN]: Chapter 95

Wearing the Mask of Fury (4)

It wasn’t a declaration of war in the 20th-century sense; after such a betrayal, one couldn’t expect such formalities.

The Georgian states almost longed for Genghis Khan’s threatening ultimatum: ‘I will give you time to surrender. If you do not, we will fight until one of us is dead.’

At least then, they would be consumed by worry, not just fear.

However, Osman didn’t even allow them time to worry.

“Should we at least offer terms of surrender?”

There was no declaration of war, and all envoys were killed, completely shutting down any channels for dialogue.

Even so, they must have known that Artvin would be the first target.

Yusuf could see a gloomy aura enveloping Artvin, like that of prisoners facing their doom.

The fear, felt through emotional perception, overwhelmed him, causing a headache, but Yusuf spoke resolutely.

“Enough. If they were going to surrender, they should have done so already. Besides, nothing makes a better example than a large prize.”

Yusuf looked at Artvin with cold, composed eyes.

The fortress was sturdy, and all the troops from western Samtskhe had gathered there, packing nearly ten thousand soldiers into the narrow castle.

At first glance, it seemed difficult to conquer.

‘It’s flimsy. No, weak.’

He couldn’t sense any will from the soldiers standing like scarecrows.

They were filled with fear of death and discontent over why they had to fight against Osman, who had been on their side until recently.

It didn’t seem difficult to overcome a fortress guarded by such men.

“Inform the entire army. It is time to show how intense our fury is.”

“Yes, my Padishah!” [Ottoman Turkish title for sovereign, equivalent to emperor or king]

With Yusuf’s words, a majestic drumbeat echoed.

Perhaps they hadn’t expected a siege without even the customary surrender envoys, as there was a flurry of panicked movement on the castle walls.

The artillery was the first to move among the advancing forces.

“Prepare to fire! Prepare!”

The artillerymen, attached to the small cannons taken from the fleet and additionally airlifted from the capital, rammed gunpowder and cannonballs into the muzzles.

As befitting artillerymen skilled through numerous wars, the commander gave the order once all preparations were complete.

“Fire!”

-콰과광! 광! [Sound of cannons firing]

As the flag signaling the firing was waved, heavy cannonballs were fired with a deafening roar, and white smoke blurred the vision.

The cannonballs struck the fortress walls, shaking the solid stone, and those unfortunate enough to be hit were smashed and thrown backward.

The soldiers were filled with fear as their comrades were turned into bloody messes by cannonballs flying from a distance that arrows and catapults couldn’t even reach.

It didn’t matter that only some had died. What mattered was that they could be the next victims at any moment.

Behind the rapidly firing small cannons, medium cannons took their place, creating a deafening roar.

후두둑 후둑! [Sound of impacts]

“Stay alert! There’s no need to be afraid!”

Unlike the small cannons, the impact that shook the fortress walls was felt more strongly, and the voice of the commander shouting for the soldiers trembled.

His ears ached from the explosions, as if he wouldn’t be heard by the soldiers unless he screamed, and he could smell a pungent odor piercing through the stench of blood, as the white smoke had already arrived.

The birds in the mountains had long flown away from the deafening explosions, and no more birds flew away despite the continuous explosions.

‘It’s okay. I can endure it.’

Liparit, an Aznauri [a member of the lower nobility] of Georgia, clenched his trembling fist.

Unlike ordinary soldiers, he, as a noble, had some knowledge of artillery.

Cracks were forming in the fortress walls, and the soldiers were in the worst situation, unable to wield their weapons properly and gripped by fear, but the shelling couldn’t last forever.

This was not just a matter of wasting gunpowder, but also because the cannons, expanding due to the heat generated by the shelling, needed to be cooled.

This was evident from the sight of some of the small cannons that had initially spewed fire moving backward.

“The enemy’s weapons are retreating! Don’t be afraid! The end is near!”

As Liparit shouted, a sound that didn’t quite fit with war faintly reached his ears.

-무오오! [Sound of a cow mooing]

The struggling sound of a cow’s cry pierced his ears, and Liparit’s eyes shook violently as he turned his head.

Because on the thirty four-wheeled carts led by sixty cows, a huge cannon was moving.

The soldiers, who had been suffering from cannons much smaller than that, couldn’t help but fall into extreme fear as they saw the giant cannon.

“I, it will collapse! The fortress walls will collapse!”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

As a soldier holding his head in fear shouted, a nearby commander swung his scabbard to silence him.

He acted hastily to prevent them from falling into vain fear, but the soldiers’ eyes had already turned like those of rotten fish.

The soldiers could only watch as the giant Urban cannon, which was 8 meters long and had a range of over 1.6 km, finished preparing to fire.

“F, fire!”

An immense amount of gunpowder, embarrassingly large compared to the amount put into the cannons so far, went into the cannon, and a dozen men struggled to load a single cannonball.

Even the commander shouting to fire had a trembling voice, and it was just when the fire was about to touch Urban.

우지끈! [Sound of wood breaking]

The thick wood laid on the ground to secure the direction slightly broke, and the Urban cannon moved with a jolt, and before they could stop it, the cannon caught fire.

Soon, a deafening roar that shook the heavens and the earth echoed.

삐이이이- [Sound of ringing in the ears]

The sky was covered by rising dust and smoke, and his ears were beyond aching, ringing.

Even Yusuf, who was relatively far away, was momentarily worried about his eardrums, and it was his first experience of his vision darkening from the noise alone.

It was a tremendous sound, like the story of a woman 20 km away miscarrying from the sound alone.

‘I can’t use it often.’

It took three hours to reload after firing once, so it couldn’t fire more than a few shots a day, and it consumed a tremendous amount of gunpowder.

Frankly speaking, it was a weapon with disappointing performance compared to the investment, and Yusuf lightly clicked his tongue when.

-The gate has fallen! The enemy’s gate has fallen!

The enemy’s gate, which had been struck by a powerful cannonball that could shatter even thick fortress walls, was beyond tattered, to the point where no trace could be found.

Not only the enemy, who had not expected the gate to be blown away at once, but also the allies, who had not expected the misaimed cannon to hit the enemy’s gate, were momentarily taken aback.

-Advance! Advance!

-The enemy’s gate is open! Advance!

The Sipahi [Ottoman cavalry soldiers] on horseback rushed madly towards the helplessly opened gate.

The cavalry charged in without any chance to defend properly, and the Urban, which had turned red-hot, collapsed to the ground due to the broken wood.

쿵! [Sound of something heavy falling]

-Ah, Allah! [Arabic word for God]

The artillerymen, as if it had done its job, stamped their feet and looked towards the Urban cannon that had been pierced and stuck in the ground, giving thanks to Allah.

Yusuf chuckled lightly at the scene that felt like a comedy.

‘Is this also due to luck?’

Luck often comes without any context, so it was often unknown what events luck had influenced.

There were also sayings like 전화위복 (turning misfortune into blessing) or 새옹지마 (Saeong’s horse) [Korean proverbs about how fortune and misfortune are intertwined], where what was thought to be misfortune turned out to be luck.

However, Yusuf, reminded of the lord being hit by a catapult when Erzurum was captured in the past, attributed this to luck in this case.

Anyway, figuring out whether what was happening right in front of him was luck or not was not important.

“Shemsi Pasha.”

“I understand. I will spread the word widely.”

It was the moment when the rumor that ‘When the Padishah commanded, the heavens and earth roared with a single cannon shot, and the gate collapsed’ was added.

***

Luck can be misfortune to someone.

Yusuf’s luck acted as misfortune for Artvin.

“I, I surrender…!”

A trembling soldier hurriedly threw down his weapon, but what came back was a cold blade.

A resentful gaze reached him, asking why the surrender was not accepted, and the Sipahi who swung the sword said indifferently.

“There is only death for those who betrayed the Padishah.”

They were inferior in both individual strength and troop numbers, and all they could trust was a single fortress wall.

Since they had lost even that in vain, all that was left for them was death.

Whether they fled or fought, the Ottoman army swung their swords as if they had no intention of taking prisoners, and the trembling soldiers threw away their weapons and armor.

They were thinking of hiding like ordinary commoners, but even this was not the answer.

“P, please save me! What do we know!”

“Then you should have run away instead of being here.”

That was the answer to the man who was dragged out of his house, and the man wore a very aggrieved expression.

Georgia’s feudal system had been largely destroyed by the Mongol invasions, but many of its remnants still remained.

It was a time when it was natural for farmers not to leave their land arbitrarily, and putting the idea of running away into practice was by no means easy for them.

However, there was no reason for the conquerors to take care of their circumstances one by one.

“Kill them. It is the Padishah’s order.”

“Yes, my Padishah!”

At the single word of command, the soldiers swung their swords without mercy.

There was no hesitation in the hands of the harsh invading Ottoman army, and the punishment given to adult men was death.

-꺄아악! 꺅! [Screams]

“My Padishah.”

The women who could serve as women became the target of plunder, and all the children were rounded up.

They were destined to be sold as slaves, but it was considered fortunate to at least save their lives, and Artvin was filled with the base desires of humans.

In some ways, there was nothing special about it. This was usually the fate of those who were defeated in this era.

Yusuf turned his head and raised one corner of his mouth.

“Did you dare think you could escape from my hands?”

“P, Padishah!”

It was the nobles, including the lord of Artvin, and the lord who had been caught while running away lowered his body.

“I will give everything I have and swear allegiance!”

“I don’t need the allegiance of a man who is about to die.”

At the cold answer, the lord crawled and said.

“Then at least my son! Please don’t take my son’s life! He will be of help to the Padishah!”

The lord, who shouted that, grabbed his daughter’s arm and said.

“I will offer my daughter to the Padishah. She has beautiful looks, so it will be enough for you to enjoy!”

Yusuf, who was silently looking down at the scene of begging for his son’s life while offering his daughter like a bribe, grabbed the lord’s head.

Yusuf, who grabbed his hair as if to tear it out, made him look up and glared at him.

“The moment I conquered this place, everything here is mine. Don’t you dare try to trade with my things.”

In normal cases, the deal offered by the lord might not be bad.

Anyway, the lord’s son would have received some education, and since he had legitimacy, he would be able to smoothly govern this place.

However, Yusuf, who had already made a decision, roughly put down the grabbed hair and ordered.

“Kill all the men and hang their heads, and make those who once served them spit and insult them. Change all the women’s names and take them as slaves.”

“Yes, my Padishah.”

The nobles were in a daze at Yusuf’s decision to erase even the traces of being nobles.

“When all the procedures are finished, burn Artvin and let the whole of Georgia know. Our fury.”

The flames that evoked the harsh Mongol invasions of the past rose from the west.

Along with the sweet temptation that they could survive as much as themselves if they offered the nobles’ heads.