Became The Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire [EN]: Chapter 105

Playing with Fire (2)

Desolate.

No need for flowery rhetoric; it’s the perfect word to describe the land underfoot.

The mountains were barren, composed of dry earth. Occasionally, harsh sandstorms blew, making me newly appreciate the turban I usually found bothersome.

Chewing on the dust devils that rose during the march made me realize how mentally exhausting this desolate land was. (The constant grit and lack of resources took a toll.)

‘There’s a reason the Caucasus region is called the graveyard of empires.’

The Caucasus, including Circassia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, has been notorious since ancient times. (A region historically difficult to conquer and control.)

There’s even a saying in Persia that a king goes to war in the Caucasus when he’s gone mad. Even the mighty Mongol Empire and the Timurid Empire invaded, only to grow weary and retreat.

It was already a notoriously rugged place, but the scene before me was even more desolate.

“Cleanly destroyed, aren’t they? Not a thing left to salvage.”

The vineyards, likely never harvested properly, were now just blackened firewood, and the mud-brick villages were devoid of people.

We had already seen several emptied villages like this, and Yusuf slightly raised his head.

Gümri, the border city closest to Georgia and once a key point on the Silk Road, was visible in the distance.

The city was clearly abandoned, and the area around the firmly closed fortress was definitely reduced to ashes.

Arda spoke as if declaring a fact in response to Yusuf’s words.

“Those who defy the Padishah [Ottoman Sultan] will suffer accordingly.”

Many who lost their farmland due to the scorched-earth tactics would starve to death, but if one were to lament that, they wouldn’t start a war in the first place.

Yusuf indifferently turned his gaze from Gümri and spoke of what he had felt so far.

“This scorched-earth tactic will be a misstep for them, but if we truly invade this place, it will hinder us next time.”

If the Ottomans invaded, the Safavids would have no choice but to employ scorched-earth tactics. Conversely, to conquer the Safavids, we had to overcome these tactics.

Ultimately, the victory or defeat would depend on how smoothly we could secure supplies.

“The most stable method is to slowly devour their land.”

“That’s not a viable option, as it would prolong the war too much.”

Maintaining a conquest army for several years would strain even the Ottoman Empire, which Bayezid II had financially stabilized.

Moreover, we couldn’t afford to cross a stone bridge without testing it first, as we never knew when another country might interfere. (We couldn’t take unnecessary risks.)

“What worries me most is the Dulkadir Principality near our supply lines.”

“Surely they wouldn’t foolishly obstruct the Padishah’s progress? Besides, they have a deep-seated animosity towards the Safavids from the last invasion.”

Dulkadir’s capital, Elbistan, was completely ruined by Ismail’s invasion, forcing them to move their capital to Maras.

Logically, they would help the Ottomans rather than hinder them, but…

“We’ll have to wait and see. Bozkurt Bey of Dulkadir is an unpredictable man.”

Even with his nephew, who posed a threat to his rule, under Ottoman protection, Bozkurt audaciously betrayed Selim, who had embarked on the Safavid conquest.

He was the one who cut off supply lines and plundered food and weapons, only to be executed by Selim along with his four sons the following year.

‘If history repeats itself, I must avenge him.’ (Ensure Dulkadir doesn’t betray us again.)

Of course, even if history didn’t repeat itself, I had no intention of leaving Dulkadir intact.

If Shemsi were here, we could have had a more in-depth conversation, but he was currently toiling away in Georgia.

It wasn’t an immediate concern, and there would be plenty of talented individuals in the capital to replace Shemsi, so Yusuf focused on the current situation.

“Next destination is Yerevan, I suppose. Let’s go see how much they’re burning.”

Yusuf’s army ignored Gümri, which was trembling and preparing for defense, and continued south.

When the Ottoman army, which had bypassed Gümri, which could have been occupied with a maximum of two or three days of effort, reached the vicinity, Yerevan trembled with fear.

Refugees, forcibly displaced from their homes, flocked to Yerevan, and the voices of those in despair echoed throughout the day.

-Doom, doom!

With the faint sound of drums, the sight of the black mass of the Ottoman army sent chills down the spines of the people of Yerevan.

The enemy seemed to outnumber the population within the fortress, and the infamous Ottoman army felt as if they would shatter the sturdy walls at any moment.

They were terrified, as if they had a death sentence, which made the current situation even more incomprehensible.

“Oh, the Ottoman army is passing by!”

The Ottoman army, as if completely uninterested in Yerevan, passed by and disappeared to the south, leaving a heavy silence in Yerevan.

A profound sense of emptiness enveloped everyone.

If they had barely survived after a fierce resistance, they wouldn’t have felt this way.

At least they could have rationalized the burning of their homes.

At the end of the emptiness, anger arose, and this anger was directed towards the Safavids, who had forced the scorched-earth tactics.

The bizarre march caused division within the Safavids and brought extreme confusion to their movements.

***

News spread that Yusuf’s army, which had simply passed through Yerevan, was heading towards Khoy, near Tabriz.

According to the planned strategy, they should have initiated a scorched-earth operation like in the Armenian regions they had already passed, but they couldn’t readily take action.

“Don’t burn it! How are we supposed to live if you do that!”

The villagers, unable to properly resist the drawn blades, cried out in tears and despair.

The soldier holding the torch cautiously asked the commander.

“Are we really going to burn it? Didn’t you say the Ottoman army was coming down without a fight?”

“Even so, the fact remains that if we don’t burn it, it will fall into enemy hands.”

In an era when pillaging was a basic virtue for expeditionary forces, it was obvious that they would be looted if left untouched.

When the soldier hesitated slightly despite the cold order, the commander said firmly.

“Everything is the Shah’s [Safavid King’s] will.”

No further explanation was needed in the Safavid Empire, and the hesitant soldiers set the village on fire.

Feeling the intense heat, the commander frowned slightly.

Even though it was an order, it didn’t sit well with him, and he kept thinking that he was creating meaningless damage, as the soldiers had said.

He almost wavered for a moment, but the commander steeled his heart.

“It’s what the Shah has ordered. It must be the right thing to do.”

It wasn’t because he had deep faith in Ismail.

Rather, it was a subconscious utterance to shift responsibility to Ismail.

These reactions occurred in various places where the operation was taking place, and it didn’t take long for them to reach Ismail’s ears.

Ismail coldly said to the one who reported this.

“Even if there is great discontent, is there any other way?”

As Ismail’s cold gaze pierced them, the subordinates lowered their heads.

They had won battles that were close to impossible, but they had never felt as powerless as they did now.

“The scorched-earth tactics are unavoidable. No matter how recklessly Yusuf’s army pushes down.”

He spoke boldly, but Ismail had not anticipated that Yusuf would go this far.

Usually, in war, there is a reason to advance by occupying cities and fortresses, even if it is difficult.

Supply lines can be cut off, and one can become isolated in enemy territory.

The current movements of the Ottoman army defied common sense.

“Muhammad.”

At the call, Muhammad Khan Ustajlu stepped forward, and Ismail asked.

“How much food do you estimate the enemy has?”

Not occupying cities meant not establishing supply lines, and if they couldn’t plunder due to the scorched-earth tactics, they had to survive only on the food they had.

“Judging by the number of camels they lead, they seem to be able to last about a month.”

“A month…”

Based on a typical war, a month’s worth of supplies would be woefully inadequate, but it didn’t matter to the Ottoman army right now.

Because they were just passing by without fighting.

“That’s enough to trample on my kingdom, isn’t it? Anyway, once that period passes, it will be winter, so they will have no choice but to return.”

“I am sorry, but that is correct.”

Ismail gnashed his teeth.

The ill-fated relationship with Yusuf was too long, and he couldn’t shake the feeling of being played in his hands every time.

Forcibly erasing the terrible sense of powerlessness, Ismail roughly rose from his seat.

“Summon the Qizilbash [Safavid elite forces]. I will take action myself.”

“Shah, please calm down. We must not fight yet.”

If they hadn’t seen the power of the cannons in Trabzon, they wouldn’t have opposed it.

Despite being outnumbered, they had always overcome numerical disadvantages and won, so they would have thought they could do it this time as well.

However, the image of the Samtskhe fleet sinking helplessly with a massive explosion remained vivid in the minds of the Qizilbash.

It was impossible to wage a full-scale war without possessing the same weapons as them.

“I have no intention of fighting recklessly either. But shouldn’t we try to drive them out?”

The gates of Tabriz opened, and 20,000 Qizilbash set out.

***

Using the scorched-earth tactics in reverse to lead the enemy to ruin was possible because several situations aligned.

Usually, when mobilizing troops, it shouldn’t just end with inflicting damage on the enemy, but also with gaining clear benefits.

If troops were mobilized to threaten the Safavids and force damage on them, as they were now, complaints could erupt from various places.

‘But not this time. Because we gained the benefit of Georgia.’

Yusuf and the soldiers were already well-off, and it wouldn’t be a problem to take a detour on the way back, which they had to do anyway.

Moreover, no matter how much Yusuf bluffed and trampled on Safavid land, there was nothing Ismail could do.

Ismail, who had already directly experienced the firepower of the Ottoman army, wouldn’t dare to fight.

That’s why there was no reason to be surprised even though Ismail had led his army right up to our doorstep.

“Padishah [Ottoman Emperor], a letter from the enemy.”

“Bring it to me.”

Yusuf unfolded the letter tied to an arrow and examined its contents.

Just as Latin was the language of the educated in Europe, Persian served as the language of the educated in the Middle East, and as a prince who had been educated, he had no difficulty reading it.

Yusuf raised the corners of his mouth after reading the letter.

“What does it say?”

“The content is unnecessarily long, but the gist is just to go back.”

As expected of Ismail, who had made a name for himself in literature, the content was quite flowery, but the conclusion was that they should live peacefully without unnecessarily suffering each other.

Yusuf scoffed at the content.

“I don’t know who dared to start it first, but they’re talking nonsense like this.”

If Ismail hadn’t attacked Trabzon, he wouldn’t have set foot on Safavid land several years earlier than planned.

Yusuf led his horse forward, and the soldiers quickly stepped aside to the left and right and knelt.

Yusuf, who had stepped forward, parting the soldiers, looked at Ismail’s army, which was confronting them.

‘Ismail, is it?’

His face wasn’t clearly visible, but a man who appeared to be Ismail was standing ahead of the soldiers.

Yusuf, who strongly felt that it was Ismail even though he had never actually met him, gave an order to Arda.

“Bring the cannons.”

“Yes!”

At Yusuf’s command, the cannons mounted on carts came to the front, and Ismail’s army scattered in panic and retreated.

It was a scene that clearly showed how threatening they viewed the cannons, and Yusuf smirked.