Became The Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire [EN]: Chapter 150

Osman Became Sultan – Episode 150 (150/213)

Eastern Trade (2)

The man, who had been tilting his glass to soothe his throbbing head, slammed it down roughly.

He kept pouring, telling himself he just needed to avoid getting drunk, but the number of glasses only increased.

“That pig Osman, that damn brat.”

The Tahirid dynasty, which had once ruled western Yemen, was gone.

The Sultan’s head had been taken by the Ottoman army that conquered the Mamluks, and he, the governor of the port city of Aden, was the only remnant left.

Murjan, the Amir (meaning governor), touched the scar he had received from the young prince.

A long scar marked his side. Some whispered that Allah had protected him by allowing him to survive, but the memory of being defeated by a prince who wasn’t even a teenager stung more than the scar itself.

“Hmph, I shouldn’t have trusted those useless Portuguese bastards. All they did was build up my frustration, and I got nothing out of it.”

It hadn’t even been 10 years since he had struggled to repel the invading Portuguese fleet, and now he had not only joined hands with them but had also been miserably defeated.

Already, the mood within the city was turning ominous.

Feeling a surge of pain and frustration, Murjan drew his sword, his face flushed, as the door burst open.

“What is it!”

“A, Amir?”

Surprised by the sight of the drawn sword, the subordinate quickly lowered his head before Murjan could swing it.

“I apologize for the rudeness, Amir! But the Ottoman army has appeared at the port!”

At the word “Ottoman,” Murjan felt his intoxication vanish, replaced by a cold dread. Only then did he truly register the commotion outside.

He hurried out of the room and to a vantage point where he could see the city at a glance, feeling the strength drain from his hand.

People were fleeing in panic, screaming as they tried to get as far away from the port as possible, abandoning their source of livelihood.

Raising his head a little more, he saw the red flags of the Ottomans dominating the vast sea, blurring his vision.

“Oh, Allah.”

The sight of a massive fleet, too large to easily count, passing through the port was something he desperately wanted to believe was a dream.

Aden, which had been confident against the Ottomans thanks to its experience in repelling 20 Portuguese ships, was now forced to face reality.

The reality presented by 70 Ottoman ships was grim.

Standing on the deck of the Ottoman flagship, Shemsi looked at the receding Aden with his hands clasped behind his back.

“I respect the Prince’s methods, but the approach must be flexible depending on the opponent. Sometimes, you have to instill overwhelming fear. People don’t easily give up even a single grain of wheat in their hands.”

Murat’s method was to inspire warlike people with strong force and to move the weak with mercy and consideration, but it wasn’t always successful.

Because there were plenty of people on the Arabian Peninsula, like those stuck in Aden, who were constantly looking for opportunities to exploit any weakness.

Stretching his stiff shoulders, Murat replied.

“If you’re going to scare them, why not take the opportunity to get their surrender?”

“Of course, it’s not difficult to get their surrender or occupy the city.”

At first glance, it was a well-fortified port, and he could fully understand why the Portuguese had given up and retreated in the past, but that all depended on the opponent.

The fleet could bombard the port relentlessly and turn Aden into ruins, but there was a reason why they weren’t doing that, even though they could.

“We don’t have much time. Thanks to the Prince, we not only captured Vascu but also learned that Portugal and Spain were trying to join hands.”

“He spilled the beans as soon as we caught him.”

What was Vascu going to do if he kept his mouth shut? His subordinates were spilling even their affair stories after a few pats on the back.

In any case, it was important that the two countries were trying to join forces to check the Ottomans’ growing power.

“The Padishah [Ottoman Sultan] has bought time, but as time passes, the enemies may notice something strange.”

This measure was only a temporary fix, and they wouldn’t be fooled forever.

“If Spain had noticed the situation, the admiral in the Mediterranean wouldn’t have been able to come down here like this. Isn’t that right, Admiral?”

“That’s right. It was my job to watch out for them.”

Kemal Reis stroked his white beard and agreed, and Shemsi smiled.

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to have an experienced admiral with us.”

“The Padishah says he still needs this old man’s strength, so I have no choice.”

Kemal, who had intended to resign after the capture of Rhodes, was forcibly held back by Yusuf, who said that he was still a spry 60-year-old and had no business retiring.

A voice suddenly popped out from behind Kemal’s words.

“Weren’t you constantly wondering whether to send your resignation to the Padishah until recently, Uncle?”

Kemal’s face twisted terribly, and he frowned at the middle-aged man who had spoken.

“You rascal, Piri. I told you not to go around saying things like that. Go do your job.”

“Yes, sorry, Uncle.”

Watching Piri retreat with a sly smile, Kemal sighed.

He had been keeping him under his command for over 20 years, but there were many times when he didn’t like him, except for his map-making skills.

Shemsi burst into a cheerful laugh at Kemal, who was making an embarrassed face after Piri stepped back.

“You must have had a hard time, so you might want to rest a bit. But it’s better than the people in the capital, who don’t even have enough time to drink hot kahwa [coffee] and have to soak their bread in it, right?”

Kahwa-soaked bread.

It was the most appropriate expression to describe the officials in the capital.

It would be fortunate if they could at least dip bread in coffee, but the officials in the capital were fighting against time to the point where they were making bread out of coffee itself.

Shemsi brought the story, which had briefly gone off track, back on course.

“We need to push them when they haven’t properly grasped the situation, and we don’t have time to waste on such small cities.”

Just as Shemsi finished speaking, the voice of a guard was heard.

-Portuguese scout ship! An enemy scout ship is sighted!

Murat, who had heard the guard’s words, clenched and unclenched his fists with tension and excitement, and Shemsi smiled as he watched Murat.

“You don’t have to worry too much. You won’t have a chance to step in anyway, Prince.”

The order that Kemal and Shemsi had received from Yusuf was simple.

Overwhelming firepower.

To display such an overwhelming force that the East would not be able to stand tall in front of the Empire.

That was the mission they were assigned.

***

Diogo Lopes de Sequeira, the Governor of India, spent anxious days.

A long time had passed since Vascu had left. Even if it wasn’t reinforcements, an answer about the results should have arrived long ago.

They were struggling, but the home country had the ability to deliver news even faster through the Persian Gulf.

He didn’t know if Vascu, who had left for the home country, had arrived safely, or if he had failed to persuade the king.

Or if the negotiations with Charles V, the King of Spain, weren’t going well, which only amplified his anxiety.

‘If I have to face the Ottomans without any help…’

He had nightmares every time he fell asleep thinking about this.

Diogo, who was considering retreating to India and abandoning the Persian Gulf region every day, was approached by an adjutant who ran up panting.

“Go, Governor! The Ottoman Navy is advancing towards here!”

When he heard this news, he felt that the inevitable had finally arrived, and Diogo, jumping up from his seat, asked.

“What is the size of the enemy? How big is the enemy force!”

“…According to the scout ship’s report, it’s twice the size of our fleet.”

“What kind of ships are they?!”

In naval battles, the size of the ships that made up the fleet was more important than the number of ships.

Diogo held onto a sliver of hope, but the answer that came back was despairing.

“Most of them were carracks [large sailing ships].”

The displacement of a carrack varied greatly, but even if the entire enemy fleet consisted of small carracks, their power would be overwhelming.

Diogo immediately ran out of the room, and the commanders who were giving instructions amidst the soldiers busily preparing for war rushed over.

“Governor! What should we do?!”

“Wouldn’t it be better to fight here?!”

“If we fail, we’ll be trapped here and annihilated! No matter how good the defenses are, how long do you think we can last!”

Diogo raised his hand to silence the commanders who were raising their voices at each other.

“Stop! Prepare to set sail!”

Muscat, surrounded by rocky islands and mountain ranges, was a good place to defend, but it could easily become a rat trap.

He must never forget that they were in the middle of enemy territory, far from their home country.

At Diogo’s decision, the commanders scattered to prepare for departure, and Diogo, who had returned to his room to prepare for departure, clenched his fist.

“In the worst-case scenario…”

Diogo’s eyes, hardening with resolve, turned cold.

***

The place where the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea meet.

The two fleets met in the Gulf of Oman, and the Ottoman and Portuguese fleets spread their wings wide, as if birds of prey were competing for dominance.

“Your efforts are commendable.”

Kemal sneered.

No matter how hard they struggled to avoid being surrounded, it was a meaningless struggle the moment the size difference was more than double.

As the lined-up Ottoman fleet, spread out like wings, began to encircle them, the Portuguese fleet hurriedly turned their bodies to the side.

The Portuguese fleet, revealing their cannon-lined flanks, opened their gunports and fired their cannons.

-Bang! Kwaang!

“Admiral! The lower deck is ready to fire!”

“Not yet. Wait a little longer.”

The enemy’s stray cannonballs created splashes of water, but Kemal didn’t even blink an eye.

Soon, the order to hold the cannons on the lower deck was given, and the enemy hastened their bombardment towards the approaching Ottoman army.

-Kwajik!

As an enemy cannonball that had flown a long distance smashed through the railing, the helmsman, who had received Kemal’s signal, waved the flag greatly.

With a creaking sound, the ship tilted and changed direction, and the densely packed gunports on the side revealed themselves to the enemy.

-Fire!

Along with the faintly heard voice, the cannons were fired, and gray smoke billowed thickly.

The cannonballs fired by nearly 70 ships, along with the acrid smoke, were a disaster.

Excluding duds, well over a thousand cannonballs rained down on the Portuguese fleet.

“Kkyaaaaak!”

As the ship shook violently from the impact of being hit by a cannonball, one of the soldiers floundered and fell into the sea, but there was no time to pay attention to that.

-Kwaang!

-Fi, fire! There’s a fire!

The cannon, which had not only made holes in the deck but was also about to fire, was hit by a cannonball and exploded.

The ship, engulfed in black smoke, tilted and slowly sank, and the soldiers who didn’t want to share their fate with the ship threw themselves into the sea.

Even while trembling with their hands as they looked at their comrades who had become lumps of flesh after being hit by cannonballs, the Portuguese soldiers did their part.

-Kwajik!

It was a slugfest.

The mainmast, hit by a Portuguese cannonball, ruptured and plunged into the sea, and the sea was full of wooden debris, corpses, and drifting soldiers.

They disregarded each other’s lives and engaged in a cannon battle, but the victory quickly tilted towards the Ottomans.

Kwaang!

The cannon, which had been pushed back with a jerk at the same time as the firing, stopped with a thud as it got caught on the rope, and the soldiers moved quickly.

“Reload quickly! Reload!”

The debris stuck in the muzzle was quickly cleaned with a rammer, and gunpowder and cannonballs were shoved into the muzzle.

It was a huge difference that only one more rope had been added, but it was possible to limit the cannon’s recoil to 40-50cm, instead of the 3-4m it would have been pushed back otherwise.

Reloading was done at least half as fast, and the Portuguese fleet, which was already outnumbered, quickly collapsed as they were also outpaced in reloading speed.

Kuguguggeung!

-Euaaaaaak!

As another ship with a hole in its lower part was sucked into the sea, Diogo slammed his fist on the railing.

“Damn it! What kind of magic did you use!”

An adjutant shouted at Diogo, who was growling as he watched the enemy’s too-fast reloading speed.

“Governor! We’ll all die if we stay like this! We have to retreat!”

Six of the fleet, which had numbered 30 ships, had already sunk, and more than nine ships had been half-destroyed.

In contrast, only one Ottoman ship had sunk.

Diogo, glaring at the enemy with bloodshot eyes, gave an order.

“Wave the yellow flag and the blue flag together.”

“Governor! Are you really going to abandon our allies?!”

It was a retreat order only given to the five ships in the rear, including the flagship, and Diogo grabbed the adjutant who was protesting by the collar.

“Someone has to sacrifice to shake off the enemy! Are you going to do it?!”

At Diogo’s growling words, the adjutant lowered his head powerlessly, and soon two flags fluttered.

It was a ruthless betrayal of abandoning allies as bait.

***

“They keep resorting to dirty tricks until the end.”

Murat looked at the sea with annoyance.

It was clear that the remaining ships were floundering as some of the enemies, including the flagship, retreated.

At least it wasn’t a promised move.

“What can you do with just five ships? Even if they run away, they’ll only prolong their lives a little longer.”

Since the Empire had blocked the west anyway, they wouldn’t be able to return to their home country.

“The future is more important than that.”

Amidst the gradually diminishing explosions, Shemsi unfolded a map.