Became The Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire [EN]: Chapter 100

The life of a spy is a harsh one.

Betrayal is unthinkable because their families back home are held hostage. If caught, they face tortures so cruel that suicide becomes the better option.

Even if they die loyal, no one acknowledges their sacrifice. That is the life of a spy.

For such a spy to face the master of the empire was a great honor, but for Hasan, it was a disaster.

“Hasan, Hasan, you say.”

The atmosphere was so heavy that even breathing felt difficult.

The Janissaries’ [elite Ottoman soldiers] gazes, ready to kill with the slightest movement, made him feel as if his head were on the executioner’s block.

Just hearing his name made his heart, hardened by a long life as a spy, sink.

“You have a good name.”

“…It is an honor, Padishah [Ottoman Sultan].”

While lamenting that he should have changed his name, he tried his best not to show his inner turmoil.

A man sharing the cursed name of Hasan was looking at him with the eyes of a comrade, but he deliberately avoided his gaze.

He almost shouted that his name was cursed because of *him*.

“There is no need to exchange glances with that Hassan. I didn’t call you here just because of your name.”

Hasan, who was about to raise his head in surprise, quickly lowered it.

He was not allowed to look directly at the Sultan’s face.

“Now, tell me what you have seen and experienced in Safavid [a former Iranian dynasty].”

“Understood, Padishah.”

As he calmly recounted his experiences, he didn’t notice the deepening smile on Yusuf’s face.

Had he known, he would have rushed to finish the story, but by the time he was done, Yusuf had thoroughly assessed Hasan’s talents.

“I enjoyed listening to it. Just from your experiences, I can tell how useful you are.”

“It, it is an honor.”

He wasn’t trembling with emotion. His survival instinct, honed by a long life as a spy, was ringing alarm bells.

He wanted to turn around and run away, but there was no way to escape the Padishah’s grasp in this Ottoman land.

Yusuf spoke kindly to Hasan, who was trembling slightly like a pitiful butterfly caught in a spiderweb.

“Hasan, I heard you are from Trabzon [a city in Turkey].”

“That is correct.”

“Then you must understand my anger. Look at the atrocities of Safavid. How terrible it is.”

Restoration work was underway, but the fierce traces of the past remained evident.

As Trabzon was his hometown and he had directly experienced the fierce siege, the horrors of that time were vivid in Hasan’s mind.

“I have no intention of taking this atrocity lightly. You feel the same, don’t you?”

What would happen if he said no here?

He was sure that he would be going to Allah instead of remaining before the Padishah.

“…Indeed.”

“I believed you would say that.”

Yusuf had created a situation where even the Grand Vizier couldn’t deny it, and he shamelessly spoke, but he felt it was time to throw a carrot.

“If this matter is concluded successfully, I will take you in, considering your past merits.”

This meant he would be properly used, not just as a nameless spy, which was a tremendous opportunity in the Ottoman Empire, where the Sultan’s favor was everything.

However, the offer that truly shook Hasan’s heart was something else.

“And I will build a mosque for those who died while working like you.”

“…Is that true?”

“I do not lie. I will allow their names to be remembered and honored.”

Even if their names were recorded, it would be hard to distinguish who was who because they all used similar names, but even that was something.

He thought of the faces of his comrades who laughed and joked like family, as they never knew when they might face danger in a foreign land.

He also remembered how they sacrificed their lives to help him escape.

That was why he had returned to this cursed land, and Hasan roughly wiped his face with his hands.

“I was crazy. I must have been possessed by something back then.”

He didn’t know why he came crawling back here, feeling sorry for those guys who were probably doing well in Allah’s embrace.

There were rumors that the Padishah was a prophet. He didn’t know if he was a prophet, but he seemed to have the ability to bewitch people.

‘Even if there were no reward, I couldn’t refuse anyway.’

In the Ottoman Empire, the lives of all citizens were in the Sultan’s hands.

Refusing an order meant death, and he would have had to come here even without the promised reward.

Hasan lightly dried his face and glared coldly.

It was time to properly carry out the orders he had received.

“What is the current situation?”

“They are preparing for the Empire’s attack. They are conducting a scorched-earth strategy as secretly as possible, but rumors are spreading little by little because it is being done on a large scale.”

The scorched-earth strategy is as difficult to implement as it is effective.

To be truly effective, the supplies must be destroyed when the enemy’s army is somewhat close, which means preparations must be made in advance.

It meant that the people were watching with tears in their eyes as they prepared to burn the land they had worked so hard to cultivate at any moment.

“Some are resisting the soldiers and being beaten to death.”

“That means they are that desperate.”

It was natural for the people to resist to protect their property, but the fact that they couldn’t properly control this discontent meant that there were cracks within Safavid.

The news of the revolts in Georgia was probably contributing to this as well.

Hasan gave instructions to his subordinates.

“We need to spread rumors widely to make the people of Safavid even more anxious.”

“Haha, we’ll have some fun like our friends up north.”

Obtaining intelligence was thrilling, but creating chaos through propaganda and fabrication had its own fun.

Hasan warned those who were already smiling as if they were itching to start.

“It’s good to be motivated, but don’t forget that our real mission is later.”

He twisted his lips as he looked at the vast land he had struggled to escape from.

“It will be more fun then. Our comrades in Allah’s embrace will be pleased too.”

The spies sharpened their blades, waiting for that day to come.

***

The request to accept a Circassian woman into the harem was a bit unexpected, but it wasn’t an incomprehensible demand.

The opportunity given this time was not easy to come by and had to be used for the future.

Typically, one might request land, but there was a major problem with requesting land in Georgia.

‘There is a mountain range between Circassia and Georgia.’

It wasn’t just any mountain range, but the Caucasus Mountains, including Mount Elbrus, which is more than twice the height of Mount Baekdu [a mountain on the China-North Korea border].

As a result, it was not easy to travel between the two regions, and even if they received the land, there was the problem of which tribe would lead the management of it.

‘Compared to receiving land, there is no immediate benefit, but sending a woman to the harem has the advantage of naturally infiltrating the Ottoman Empire.’

That was why he said it was a smart choice.

“Very well. I will accept the women sent from Circassia.”

“Thank you!”

Ivan immediately bowed.

He thought his presumptuous proposal might be coldly rejected.

However, it was a little too early to celebrate.

“Ivan.”

When he called his name in a low voice, Ivan felt a sudden chill and involuntarily raised his head, meeting the green eyes looking down at him.

Seeing the cruel eyes devoid of any warmth, Ivan quickly lowered his head.

“It doesn’t matter which woman you choose. Whether she is beautiful, intelligent, or even the daughter of a chieftain, remember one thing: I am always watching.”

There was no greater warning than this, and Ivan quickly knelt and bowed.

“I, I will always keep that in mind.”

“Very well, you may leave now. Shouldn’t you share this joyful news?”

Only a small sweat stain, apparently from where Ivan’s forehead touched the ground, remained where he had been.

“You are too harsh. It seems they won’t be able to receive the gift with a joyful heart.”

“They need to know how dangerous the gift they received is. Ivan is intelligent, so he will act accordingly.”

In fact, this warning was more for the other Circassian power holders than for Ivan.

Those who haven’t actually met Yusuf might have other ideas without fear.

He wasn’t sure if it would work properly since they heard it indirectly.

‘I can just use the whip then.’

He didn’t need to be afraid of wielding the whip, as he was the Sultan.

“Still, it was not a bad proposal for me either. Now that I have given a warning, they will send women who are good enough to give as gifts.”

The best way to receive the loyalty of the officials below was to arrange political marriages with princesses, but there was a limit to the number of daughters he could marry off.

The women of the harem filled that empty space, and the harem was both a home for prospective concubines and a school for raising women who would boost the loyalty of his subordinates.

‘The life of a harem woman is still better than that of a Joseon Dynasty [Korean kingdom] court lady.’

Joseon Dynasty court ladies were forbidden from marrying even after leaving the palace, but women who left the harem were allowed to marry.

Shemsi agreed with Yusuf’s words.

“Many people prefer Circassian women. This trend has become even more pronounced recently.”

It was understandable, as the most esteemed woman in the empire, Valide Hatun [the Sultan’s mother], and the next, the first concubine, were Circassian women.

It was also largely because Circassians were no longer captured as slaves as Circassia had completely entered the Empire’s fold.

‘The fantasy they had before about Circassians has grown even bigger.’

Because there were various ethnic groups around, each country’s harem preferred certain ethnic groups.

In the case of the Ottoman Empire, they preferred fair-haired beauties from Circassia or Europe, while Persian dynasties such as the Safavids preferred Armenians.

They belonged to the Caucasian race but had features similar to Indians, and they had a great influence around them since ancient times.

They produced 11 Eastern Roman emperors, so there was nothing more to say.

“Armenians, you say.”

“Why are you suddenly talking about them?”

“They are useful people, aren’t they?”

There were several Armenians in the Ottoman Empire who had continued since the Eastern Roman Empire, and they played a pivotal role in the Empire.

In modern times, Jews are often cited as an outstanding ethnic group, but the time when Jews grew explosively was when the British Empire was growing.

They were now being chased out of various parts of Europe and fleeing to Arab regions such as the Ottoman Empire or Egypt.

‘If you apply the image of modern Jews to Armenians, it fits perfectly.’

They had the power to expel Jews and held the trade routes from Mughal [Indian empire] to Ottoman during their heyday, but they were weak now, but they still had potential.

Their base was in the northwestern Safavid land that would soon be under his control, so it was worth remembering.

Because it would be a useful card in the future.

-Padishah, a messenger has arrived from Akhaltsikhe [a city in Georgia].

“Let him in.”

The Janissary who entered at the command knelt, and Yusuf spoke with a languid face.

“It can’t be important that a mere messenger has come. What is it?”

Even before the war broke out, the heads of the messengers who came were all hung on the gates, so there was no need to mention it now that the victory was certain.

It wasn’t a question of whether or not to hang their heads on the gates, but there must be a separate reason for reporting that they had come.

“Khvarqvare [a Georgian name] has committed suicide.”

He committed suicide without even thinking of making a last-ditch effort. Yusuf couldn’t help but sneer.

Yusuf got up from his seat and gave an order.

“Inform the entire army, we are going to Akhaltsikhe.”

It was time to settle the affairs of Georgia.