Became The Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire [EN]: Chapter 170

Became the Sultan of Osman – Episode 170

Unexpected Result (1)

The strait that divides the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

In the strait, with Europe to the north and Africa to the south, two fleets faced off.

Twelve Spanish ships and ten Ottoman ships.

Although battles aren’t just about numbers, and there are differences in the performance of the cannons used, it was clear who would have the advantage if a battle broke out in Spain’s front yard.

“Admiral.”

“Wait for the reply.”

In the center of the opposing fleets, two galleys faced each other.

The conversation dragged on as things didn’t seem to be going well, and the sailors watched the situation with tense faces.

A battle could break out the moment things went wrong.

Fortunately, the two galleys returned to their formations as the conversation ended, and the admiral asked the galley captain, who was paying his respects.

“What is the Ottoman’s reply?”

“…I’m sorry, Admiral. They only repeat their demand to either clear the way or have the flagships talk to each other.”

“If they keep blocking us?”

“They say they are waiting, considering the treaty, but they won’t wait forever.”

“Insolent infidels!”

The admiral gritted his teeth.

The peace treaty with the Ottomans prevented the worst-case scenario of Ottoman participation in the war, but as predicted, it resulted in more active pirate activity.

The Spanish navy bore the full burden of this, so their feelings couldn’t be good. The Ottoman fleet, which was practically the pirates’ backer, was acting brazenly, so anger boiled over.

“Fine, let’s see their faces!”

He didn’t know why they were trying to cross the strait yet, but reason remained that maintaining the treaty was more important than blocking the strait.

However, he felt he would feel better if he could see the face of the opposing admiral who was acting recklessly.

At the admiral’s decision, the Spanish flagship advanced, and the Ottoman flagship moved in response.

‘It’s big.’

As they got closer, the height of the opponent’s flagship was higher, enough to look down on it.

The admiral, who knew well how much this height difference would affect a boarding action, felt uneasy but maintained a calm posture as much as possible.

He couldn’t turn tail and run after coming this far.

Thud!

The waves caused by each other could be felt, and the two hulls became so close that the groaning of the wood making up the ships could be heard.

And the Spanish sailors shouted.

“Crazy bastards!”

“Are they trying to ram us?! What do you expect from crazy infidels!”

The sailors hurled insults at the Ottoman flagship, which was so close that it would have collided if it had been any closer.

The height difference was such that only the turbans and shoulders of the Ottoman soldiers could be seen.

Just as his heart was pounding as the gun muzzle sticking out of the railing seemed ready to aim at them at any moment, a black shadow jumped out.

Thump!

With a heavy landing sound, the deck screamed, and the huge man who had boarded the ship illegally stood up.

The man, startled by the sudden appearance of the opponent, glanced at the swords pointed at him and growled.

“If you’re not confident in wielding them, you’d better put those chunks of metal back.”

He didn’t know exactly what he meant, but just looking at the dozens of gun muzzles aimed from the Ottoman flagship the moment he drew his sword, he could indirectly understand the meaning.

The soldiers who had drawn their swords felt embarrassed by the gun muzzles that seemed ready to emit acrid smoke at any moment, and the admiral gave an order.

“Put away your weapons. It seems we have an honored guest.”

At the admiral’s command, the Spanish soldiers put away their swords, and one of the Ottoman sailors came down onto the deck of the Spanish flagship to translate.

The huge man, who stood leisurely even though he knew that not only swords but also Spanish arquebuses [early type of gun] with lit fuses could be aimed at him at any time, asked the admiral.

“Do you know me?”

“A height that is clearly taller than others, and a position to lead the Ottoman fleet even at a young age. Considering these rare conditions, there is only one person. What brings you here? Prince Murat.”

At the admiral’s explanation, Murat raised the corner of his mouth.

“It’s not your place to know the affairs of the Empire. The only thing you have to decide is whether to fight me here or clear the way. One of the two.”

“…This is our kingdom’s territory.”

“I only see it as the sea. Next time, you should put up a flag so I can recognize it. If you can put it in the sea, that is.”

The admiral clenched his fist at the mocking answer.

Ignoring the admiral’s reaction, Murat took out the scabbard he was wearing on his waist and slammed it on the deck.

With the sound of the hard deck slightly breaking, a loud noise rang out, and the Spanish sailors flinched.

“Make a decision. Will you block it? Will you fight?”

“…Since there is a peace treaty, I will allow passage for now.”

“I don’t like the word ‘allow,’ but I’m not that rude, so I’ll just let it go.”
The Spaniards, who didn’t know where the courtesy had been in his attitude so far, looked dumbfounded, but Murat calmly accepted their gazes.

Murat, who was about to put his foot on the railing and jump over, glanced back.

“Ah, I almost forgot. There will be many ships coming and going in the future, so don’t block them unnecessarily from now on.”

Without waiting for an answer, Murat returned with a light movement that belied his huge body.

The admiral, watching the Ottoman flagship returning to its fleet, clenched his fist and said.

“Inform the home country. Prince Murat of the Ottomans has moved.”

***

It was serious that the Ottoman fleet had passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, but Spain was turned upside down by the news that the Ottoman prince was on board.

There were various speculations, such as the Ottomans were plotting a new scheme or were coveting the New World they had discovered.

When only various speculations were rampant, the place where the Ottoman fleet arrived was too unexpected.

“Why that barren land?”

Places like Morocco and Algeria in the northern Atlas Mountains had a Mediterranean temperate climate, so it was okay, but the south had an arid climate.

When it was the territory of the ancient Roman Empire, it became a relatively fertile land by preventing desertification thanks to the aqueducts that were spread, but now it is mostly desolate land.

The land, which even the locals didn’t have much of, seemed like a land that a country like the Ottomans had no reason to covet, and there was a sharp conflict of opinion in Spain over the true intention.

“Didn’t Portugal have a fortress in that area? Isn’t it trying to completely block the way to India?”

“Nonsense! Do you think Portugal has the capacity to fight the Ottomans again? They can’t even look at that route.”

“These days, Portugal is giving up the newly developed route and studying the route that the former Governor of India returned on. The Ottoman side will know this fact, so there is no reason to overdo it.”

In the first place, if they were thinking of blocking the route, they could just occupy the southern part of Africa.

If they blocked the Cape of Good Hope, they wouldn’t even dare to sail.

As Spain’s head became complicated by the Ottomans’ strange behavior and only wasted time, some people were slowly starting to express this opinion.

“It seems they are provoking us. So that the peace treaty is broken.”

Others groaned at the opinion of a nobleman.

If the Ottomans, who had occupied Hungary, were showing new ambitions while France and the Habsburgs were fighting in Italy, the current situation made sense.

“Still, would they have provoked us with the prince as bait?”

“You never know. It seems like we’re forgetting because we’re living peacefully, but the essence of the infidel emperor is cruelty. Even if they gave the princes a 15-year deadline, there may already be someone they have decided on internally.”

“Hmm, you’re saying that the 15-year deadline may be a deadline to eliminate princes who are a threat to the succession.”

It was entirely possible to sort things out in advance so that there would be no succession disputes.

All sorts of tricks are mixed in even in the succession of noble families, let alone a huge empire.

In the end, there was only one conclusion.

“We must send an envoy to the Ottomans to find out the truth.”

Charles V’s order was issued, and the Spanish envoy headed to the Ottomans.

***

Yusuf stroked his beard and smiled.

“That’s a Murat-like move.”

It may seem like a reckless act to others, but there were several safety devices laid out.

The peace treaty was made because the Habsburgs wanted it, so they couldn’t attack the Ottoman fleet recklessly, but the prince is on the opponent’s ship?

‘They can’t attack at all.’

It would be better to kill the Ottoman envoy than to attack the ship with the prince on board.

If Murat landed in Africa after passing through the strait, Spain might lose its mind and block the strait, or Portugal, which is not bound by the peace treaty, might attack.

At that time, he could return to Algiers by land.

Of course, it would be difficult, but if it was Murat, who seemed like he could come back alive even if he was dropped in the middle of the desert, he wouldn’t have to worry about his life at least.

If the fleet was isolated, he could go around Africa. After the defeat in India, Portugal’s influence in Africa was almost wiped out.

‘If it was Mehmet, he wouldn’t have acted like that even if there were several safe conditions.’

Even if the possibility of being safe is high, Murat is the only one among the princes who can gamble with his life if things go wrong.

That’s why there is no one as suitable as Murat in Africa, where all kinds of variables are rolling around.

-Padishah [Ottoman Ruler], the Spanish envoy has arrived.”

“Let him in.”

Yusuf asked indifferently to the Spanish envoy who greeted him with courtesy.

“Why did Carlos send an envoy to me?”

“His Majesty was greatly concerned about the movement of the Ottoman fleet and sent me. Wouldn’t it be a loss for both countries if the peace that was hard to obtain through the peace treaty was broken?”

Yusuf smiled at the envoy’s words.

“The peace treaty is good. There is no need to shed unnecessary blood. However, that does not mean that it is okay to interfere with the Empire’s actions.”

“It’s not interference, but the passage of the strait…”

“If you wanted to block the strait so much, you should have occupied Pas as well. Holding only half of the strait and claiming rights. Are you mocking me?”

The envoy felt his back getting wet at Yusuf’s cold voice.

The Morocco region is very close to Spain, so it was directly affected by the Reconquista [The historical period of the Iberian Peninsula in which the Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking (and repopulating) the peninsula from Islamic control], which expelled Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula.

It is not only the region that received the most Muslims and Jews who fled because of the Reconquista, but it has also been constantly invaded by Christian countries, but somehow it has endured the attacks.

Yusuf, who pointed out that Spain, which had not occupied the land of Morocco, was claiming the rights of the strait, got up from his seat and walked towards the envoy.

The envoy’s heart fluttered with fear as he faced Yusuf’s fiercely shining eyes from three steps away, and Yusuf said coldly.

“It is not that the Empire made a peace treaty, but that it gave one. If the price for signing a peace treaty with no benefit is this, the responsibility will have to be repaid with blood and flesh.”

He had the luxury of sending a large fleet to the Ming Dynasty while signing the peace treaty, and he easily occupied Hungary, but he had already seen all the benefits.

The defense of the Mediterranean Sea has reached a level where it can be done to some extent with newly built ships, and the newly incorporated territories are also being stabilized.

The Ottomans have no reason to cling to the treaty, and the envoy bowed his head in a situation where he could feel this.

“I apologize for the misunderstanding, Padishah. I hope you will understand that I was worried that an uncomfortable situation might arise between the two countries while crossing the strait.”

Yusuf grabbed the envoy’s shoulder at the envoy’s words.

The envoy’s face was distorted by the strong grip, and Yusuf let go of his hand.

“People make mistakes. However, there is no second time.”

The envoy sweated as he looked at the silahhtars [ceremonial guards] with their hands on the hilts of their swords.

Yusuf, who had returned to his seat, smiled softly as if he had never created a fierce atmosphere.

“I didn’t offer a cup of coffee to a guest who came from a long way. Have a cup and go.”

The envoy, who drank the black coffee that was poured in front of him like poison, returned to his home country and reported with a serious face.

“It seems that the Ottomans are provoking us because they want to break the peace treaty.”

Charles V pondered over the envoy’s report and gave an order.

“Even if the damage is great, try to finish the war in Milan as soon as possible.”

An order was issued to end the war with France, which was dragging on, and the war in Lombardy in northern Italy intensified.

Soon after, an urgent report arrived in the Ottoman Empire.