Became The Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire [EN]: Chapter 154

The golden hair scattered across her chest stirred slightly, and a sweet voice spoke.

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

Yusuf lowered his head slightly at the ticklish sound of her voice.

The girl who once looked up at him with a rebellious glint in her eyes had matured into a woman in her twenties.

‘Time has indeed passed.’

Hürrem had entered the palace not long after he ascended as Padishah [Ottoman Emperor], meaning that he had conquered the empire and a significant amount of time had elapsed since then.

Yusuf, reminded of Ayşe, who shared the same blonde hair and rebellious spirit when they first met, smoothed her disheveled hair with his hand.

“What am I thinking? I was thinking that while some things change, others do not.”

With Yusuf’s presence altering the original course of history, many things had indeed changed. Even Hürrem, lying beside him, was among those whose fate had been completely rewritten.

However, some currents remained unchanged.

‘Like the Italian Wars.’

War was brewing once again in the Italian Peninsula, a notorious battleground of this era.

A war waged by the alliance of France and Venice against the coalition of Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Papal States.

It was delayed by a few years compared to the original timeline, but the overall flow was faithfully following the established historical pattern, which was perhaps only to be expected.

‘The reason for the war is that François [King Francis I of France], dissatisfied with being defeated by Charles V [Holy Roman Emperor] in the imperial election, initiated the conflict.’

Unless the canal had been opened much earlier and François had possessed ample slush funds to sway the electors, history seemed destined to repeat itself.

Yusuf, patting Hürrem’s head as she looked up, uncomprehending, slowly rose from his seat.

“It’s nothing important, just musings.”

“Understood, my Padishah.”

Hürrem, having learned from her life in the harem that unnecessary curiosity hastened one’s demise, suppressed her questions.

After Hürrem helped him clean himself, Yusuf put on his clothes and went outside the room.

“Ali Pasha.”

“Yes, my Padishah.”

Yusuf gave an order to Ali Pasha, who bowed respectfully.

“The envoys?”

“They have already arrived and are waiting.”

“I see.”

Although he had summoned them early in the morning and left them unattended in the audience chamber for an extended period, Yusuf moved with deliberate leisure.

Such power plays were commonplace in diplomatic relations.

The doors of the audience chamber opened, and those who had been standing for a long time betrayed no sign of discomfort as they offered their respects.

“Enough. There’s no need for elaborate greetings in languages I don’t understand. So, what business does Carlos [King Charles I of Spain, also known as Holy Roman Emperor Charles V] have to send an envoy?”

The envoy frowned slightly at Yusuf’s casual reference to his king by name, and replied.

“It is the king’s message requesting the return of the kingdom’s ships and sailors seized by the empire.”

“Hmm, I don’t know what ship you’re talking about. Hadim Ali Pasha, have we recently received any ships from the Barbary pirates?”

“As far as I am aware, there are none.”

“As you heard, there are none.”

Yusuf spoke nonchalantly, even mentioning the pirates who had long been a thorn in Spain’s side, but the envoy replied calmly.

“I am referring to the ships seized near Malacca.”

“Hmm. I remember now. Are you talking about that pirate ship?”

“It is not a pirate ship, but an exploration vessel of the kingdom, charting new routes. Did you not seize innocent ships that were about to return to their home country after completing their mission?”

Yusuf asked sharply at the envoy’s words.

“An exploration ship that murders people for refusing to convert is innocent? You’re spouting ridiculous nonsense.”

“…Isn’t that unrelated to the empire? It’s something that happened to uncivilized people.”

Setting aside the discriminatory implication of being uncivilized, what happened on that distant island was indeed technically unrelated to the empire.

Whether they killed each other or not was none of his direct concern, but this time there was ample justification to intervene.

“I am the Padishah of the Empire and the Caliph of Islam. How can forced conversion be unrelated to me? That’s absurd.”

Watching the envoy become speechless, Yusuf understood why missionaries were used as tools during the age of imperialism.

Even if he couldn’t directly use missionaries as pawns, the seeds they sowed could be a useful tool, as they were now.

Meeting Yusuf’s cold gaze, the envoy sighed.

“I will convey the Padishah’s will to the king. And this is the king’s personal letter.”

Looking at the letter handed over by the eunuch, Yusuf’s eyes gleamed.

“This is the real reason for his visit.”

Spain must have realized that they wouldn’t be able to get the ships back no matter how much they pleaded.

They weren’t on good terms, and judging by their constant skirmishes in North Africa, they were practically at war with each other.

Battles between the Barbarossa brothers [Ottoman Admirals], who controlled Algiers, and Spain, which was constantly trying to reclaim it, were commonplace.

‘The exploration ship is just a pretext, and if this letter is the real reason…’

It meant that it contained content that should not be easily revealed to outsiders.

Yusuf tore open the letter sealed with sealing wax and the corners of his lips tilted upwards as he scanned the letter translated into Arabic.

“Is this really Carlos’s intention?”

“So I have been told, my Padishah.”

Looking at the carefully worded answer, it was clear that the envoy was unaware of the letter’s contents.

‘The translator who translated the letter must have been silenced.’

It contained information that should not be disclosed carelessly, and Yusuf was intensely curious about Charles’s motivations.

‘A marriage alliance, marriage.’

The letter proposed forming an alliance through a marriage with Hasna.

After considering it for a moment, he could easily understand Charles’s reasoning, and Yusuf handed the letter to Ali Pasha.

“What do you think? Isn’t it an interesting proposition?”

“Indeed, my Padishah.”

They hadn’t obtained Magellan’s voyage records, and with the canal now open, discovering new sea routes had become less crucial.

In this situation, forming an alliance with the Ottomans would grant them access to the canal and potentially drive a wedge between France and Venice, who were already on shaky terms.

The criticism of marrying a heretic could be mitigated by Hasna’s conversion.

‘If this marriage is successful, an alliance between Charles, who controls vast territories in Europe, and the Ottomans will be forged.’

This would send shockwaves throughout the world.

Yusuf, laughing as if amused, handed the letter back to Ali Pasha and said.

“Give it to Hasna.”

“To the princess?”

Yusuf nodded at Ali Pasha’s surprised question, confirming his seriousness.

“I heard she’s been raising a foal lately, tell her to use it as feed. What a ridiculous letter to receive.”

The envoy, who understood the translation of giving the king’s personal letter as horse feed, flared up.

“What is this rudeness! How dare you treat the king’s personal letter in such a way! What kind of insult is this?!”

“It’s better to give it as horse feed than to waste paper on such nonsense.”

What utter nonsense.

An alliance with Charles? Well, it’s not entirely without merit. Charles ruled the largest European landmass for 1000 years, between Charles the Great and Napoleon.

The collusion of the two empires would have a significant ripple effect.

‘But what is he trusting to form an alliance?’

The Spanish lands directly ruled by Charles were a region where the Reconquista [the historical period of the Iberian Peninsula in which the Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the peninsula from Islamic control], expelling the heretics, had continued for nearly 800 years.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Hasna were attacked for being a heretic, and if Charles, having enriched his coffers with the canal, betrayed them, the empire would bear the brunt of the consequences.

For Yusuf, considering the risks and benefits, there was no compelling reason to accept, and he clicked his tongue at the envoy, who was red with anger.

“If you’re done talking, go back. Carlos won’t express any dissatisfaction with the fact that I used it as horse feed.”

Publicly revealing the letter and pressuring Charles instead of using it as horse feed would be a foolish act.

Revealing such a secret letter is a worse offense than killing the envoy, and since it is a translated letter from the translator’s hand, they could easily claim it was the work of rogue Ottomans.

It was clear that Charles had taken at least minimal precautions.

Anyway, considering the pros and cons, it was better to cover up this matter.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you leaving?”

The envoy, biting his lip at Yusuf’s annoyed words, paid his respects and retreated.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen the blood of an envoy.”

Ali Pasha said firmly to Yusuf, who glanced at Silahdar [Ottoman Palace Official].

“Cutting off his head or cutting off his fingers is not allowed.”

“I know.”

“Kidnapping him through pirates is also not allowed.”

“Hmm, I guess it wouldn’t be wise to use a method we’ve used once before.”

They had used that tactic during the siege of the Knights of Rhodes, so it would be difficult to deny this time.

They were working hard to cultivate a positive image in the West, and there was no reason to tarnish it again with the life of a minor envoy.

“Still, giving him a scare would be acceptable. Keep our ships shadowing him until he crosses into Spanish territory. We have supplies and letters to send to Algiers anyway.”

The journey from the capital to southern Italy is quite long, and being stalked during that time would be unnerving.

Ali Pasha sighed at Yusuf’s mischievous order.

“Instead, I will order that there be no shelling or seizure.”

“Who said anything about that?”

Yusuf, who answered that way, snapped his fingers.

He had rejected the alliance, and considering that war would soon break out in Italy, it was obvious that relations would worsen.

“We need to give a reply to France.”

The reason France sought the Barbary pirates was to keep Spain and the Papal States in check, particularly in the Italian Peninsula.

‘If we take one step forward, we can form an alliance with France, but there’s no need to go that far.’

He didn’t feel the need to directly intervene in the Italian War just yet.

Eastern trade had begun in earnest, and there was no need to get involved in someone else’s fight.

While encouraging them to fight harder from the sidelines, the empire could reap the benefits from behind.

“I will provide additional weapons to the Barbary pirates. Let them pay a reasonable price or trade with a portion of their loot.”

The quality of iron produced by Mehmed was not exceptional, but it was adequate for manufacturing cannons and cannonballs.

In any case, iron cannons, which are less stable than bronze cannons, are used because they are cheaper.

“Ask France and Venice for their opinions as well. See if they are interested in importing cannons.”

“Will Venice buy them, even if France does?”

Venetian cannons are renowned for their performance.

“Still, aren’t they inferior to the empire’s cannons? They will buy them if they think they need them. Tell them that they can pay on credit.”

It was a kind of installment plan, but there was no need to worry about not getting paid.

As long as they controlled the canal, they would never be able to default.

‘The possibility that the weapons we are selling now will be turned against us is also slim.’

Venice, which clings like a bat, couldn’t betray them because of the canal, and France was surrounded by enemies.

So much so that they formed an alliance with the Muslim Ottomans even in the original history.

“The empire’s Eastern trade is still in its infancy. It will take more time to increase the scale.”

Pepper from India is still profitable enough, but as time passes, they will have to sail further for profit.

Eventually, a trade route to the Ming Dynasty [The ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644] had to be established.

‘It won’t be easy to open the doors of the Ming Dynasty because of the maritime ban, but if we have time, it’s enough.’

The Ming Dynasty, which imposed a maritime ban due to pirates and focused on domestic demand, was a country that did not easily open its doors.

Moreover, if they approached with their heads bowed, the Ming Dynasty, full of pride, was likely to continue to look down on the Ottomans.

‘I can’t tolerate that.’

Even if they didn’t go to war, they needed to demonstrate their strength to at least achieve an equal standing.

To address the inevitable power vacuum, they had to make it difficult for the West to focus their attention on the Ottomans.

“Then we have to move in many ways, Ali Pasha.”

“Give your orders.”

“I guess I’ll have to throw in some kindling.”

Yusuf smiled mischievously.

***

It had not been two years since Leo X died and a new pope was inaugurated, but the atmosphere in the city of Rome was tense.

“A pope who can’t even speak Italian is ridiculous.”

“They brought a barbarian as pope! The world is going crazy! Isn’t it?!”

To the Roman citizens, who considered even noble Italian families from the north as country bumpkins, a pope from Northern Europe was a barbarian himself.

Unlike the previous pope, Hadrian VI’s reforms, which were frugal and aimed to purify the secularized church, were repeatedly failing due to the hostility of the Roman citizens and the opposition of the Italian cardinals.

In a situation where the pope was becoming increasingly isolated in the face of the winds of the Reformation, a personal letter arrived in the Papal States.

-…Amidst the winds of the Reformation, it is truly encouraging to see you break away from your excessively secularized predecessors and return to the pure form of religion. If the opportunity arises, I would welcome a close conversation for the future of a sound religion. I look forward to the bright future of the Papal States.

The pope’s hand trembled as he read the letter.

The letter, originating from Constantinople, was a letter that should never have been received.

Rome was thrown into turmoil by the news that the pope had received praise from the heretical emperor.