Became The Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire [EN]: Chapter 188

Became the Sultan of the Ottomans – Episode 188

The Gambling Den (2)

The news that enemies were approaching from all directions arrived.

Upon receiving information that Rome would once again become a battlefield even before the scars of the Sack of Rome (Saco di Roma) had completely healed, the Ottoman army opened the gates of Rome first.

“Those who wish to flee, leave before the enemy arrives!”

Refugees had returned as Rome was rebuilt, and the current population of Rome was around 40,000.

This number could somewhat offset the numerical disadvantage of being outnumbered three to one, but conversely, it also presented an element of instability that could lead to betrayal.

After allowing those who wanted to flee to leave, about 20,000 people remained in Rome.

It could be said that only those who had elderly or weak family members, making it difficult to evacuate, or those who wished to die in Rome even if it meant death, remained.

Of course, among those who should have stayed, there were those who left.

“I cannot understand how cardinals can abandon the place they should be protecting and flee. Mehmed, if this were Constantinople, what should be done if a high-ranking official tried to escape from the enemy?”

“We would have torn them apart to set an example, even for the sake of our army’s morale. They are no different from traitors.”

“Pope, you are staying to defend Rome, yet they flee. You must be suffering greatly to have to be with such people.”

The Pope could not say anything to the words of the father and son, who were as similar in thought as they were in appearance.

His insides were boiling as well.

It’s not that he didn’t understand the hearts of those who fled.

The Sack of Rome, which he vividly remembered, was a moment when the lives of everyone, including the Pope and cardinals, were in danger. When he thought of that time, the Pope also wanted to flee.

However, if he entrusted Rome, where the Vatican was located, to the Ottoman army and the Pope himself fled, it would be a farce that would further diminish his already diminished authority, so he couldn’t act on it.

“This is an internal matter of the Papal States, but I said it out of concern as a fellow ruler. You don’t have to take it to heart too much.”

Although it was clear that he had already taken it to heart, Yusuf casually brushed it off.

Conflict between the Pope and the cardinals would be beneficial, but in a situation before the war, it was merely a source of amusement.

The real thing is war.

The 25,000 Ottoman troops and the 20,000 citizens who remained in Rome did their best to defend the city, and soon that day came.

Thump! Thump!

The first to arrive were 30,000 troops marching north from the Kingdom of Naples, which was closest to Rome, followed by the Spanish army, which had occupied Ostia, the port, and arrived in Rome.

As if they had no intention of attacking first and suffering great damage, the two armies set up camp in front of Rome and waited. After about a week, the Italian city-states that had marched south joined them.

The flags of the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Genoa, and the Duchy of Ferrara fluttered in the wind, and when all 70,000 troops were gathered, Rome was poised to be stained with blood.

***

A siege is a terribly exhausting war.

The attacking side struggles to climb over the walls, piling up hills with corpses, and the defending side becomes more and more devastated as the siege continues due to the lack of replenished manpower and supplies.

The siege that had been going on in Rome for over two weeks was typical of this.

“How many shots have you fired already? Can’t you shoot straight?! I’m telling you to hit the scrap metal that’s throwing stones!”

“Don’t pay attention to the mayflies that are jumping to their deaths! Prevent even one shell from falling on the walls!”

The commanders controlling the artillerymen shouted at the top of their lungs, and the soldiers, whose fingers were raw from the continuous shelling, gritted their teeth and hurried to reload.

They scraped off the residue piled up in the muzzle by pushing a rod into it, loaded the heavy iron ball into the muzzle, and at the same time as the firing, a hot wind and a deafening roar swept through.

Everything was arduous labor, but on the battlefield, they had to be grateful just for being alive.

“Ugh, aaaaaack!”

The Ottoman soldiers mercilessly stabbed their bayonets into the enemy who had struggled to climb up the wall on a ladder.

The enemy soldier, who spat out blood, fell below the wall, and the soldiers poured boiling oil on the ladder.

It is not something that can be done by one or two soldiers to firmly hold the ladder from below and push away the ladder full of enemies.

When the enemies who were hanging on the ladder could not bear the pain from the boiling oil and fell one by one, only then did the commander shout.

“Push! Push it away!”

At the commander’s cry, large soldiers rushed in desperately and pushed the ladder away.

The ladder fell, and the screams of those who were still hanging on it were heard, but the soldiers knew from past experience that it was only a matter of buying time.

Because no matter how many enemies die when the ladder falls, they can just set up the ladder again.

-Tang! Tang!

Kwaduk!

Taking advantage of the gap to prevent the enemy from crawling up the wall, the shooters who had finished reloading lowered their guns and fired.

There was no need to aim and fire in a situation where enemies were everywhere.

Because they would be hit anyway, and they could go to hell if they were hit by a counterattack that tore off a handful of the edge of the wall.

A fishy smell of blood, a pungent smell of gunpowder, and even a terrible smell from rotten corpses filled the air.

The nose had long since stopped doing its job, and the state of the ears was such that even shouts shouted nearby were not heard well due to the roaring of artillery and gunfire that seemed to burst the eardrums.

On the wall where a fierce battle was taking place, Yusuf took in the scene of the war.

“Pope, are you afraid? Well, you could die if a shell happens to fall.”

It is not safe just because it is on top of a tower that rises in the middle of the wall.

You can tell just by the slight shaking impact when a shell hits the wall.

Without paying attention to the Pope’s appearance, who seemed frightened, Yusuf focused more on the war situation.

Soldiers desperately blocking the enemy’s invasion and citizens moving the wounded and corpses to the inside of the city.

Black smoke burning corpses to prevent epidemics in the city and people fleeing in a hurry from the shells falling into the city of Rome over the walls.

It is not enough to say it is miserable.

“Do you know why I take you around like this?”

“To, to be honest, I don’t know.”

The Ottoman army’s morale rose just by visiting the battlefield once in a while, so Yusuf took the risk and went up to the walls every day to encourage the soldiers.

And it wasn’t just the Ottoman army that was here.

“I can’t even soothe the hearts of the Roman citizens who live here. If you show your face like this, they will be a little more encouraged.”

He is just a Pope in name, but he is no different from a secular ruler. For Roman citizens who are feeling fear because they don’t know when they will die, the Pope would be a source of comfort.

At least, if the city is captured, it would be better than the Pope, who should protect the citizens, being safely holed up in Castel Sant’Angelo, while the citizens are being ravaged by the Habsburg army like during the last sack.

“Pope, we rulers must know for sure: war is caused by our greed, and most people are innocently caught up in it.”

“…What do you want to say?”

The Pope looked slightly uncomfortable.

The Papal States has been deeply involved in the wars that have repeatedly occurred in Italy for the past few decades, even if not in this war, and he is also responsible for this.

“I can wage war. I can make them die with the good excuse of dying for the country, like the soldiers who are dying now. At least I thought their sacrifice was necessary, so I made things happen.”

He created the current situation because he thought that it would result in fewer sacrifices in the long run.

Those who are dying for the future would not have wanted to be sacrificed like this.

“So I have to keep their sacrifices in my eyes even more, so that I don’t forget that their deaths are all my fault. At least I am in this position with that determination.”

The Pope was slightly intimidated when he met Yusuf’s fiercely shining eyes.

It is common for thousands or tens of thousands of people to die in a war. It is unimaginable for him to engrave that not as a simple number but as a sin.

Kwaang!

A large vibration was felt as if the tower had been hit, and Yusuf turned his body.

“It seems like it would be enough to have been here around this time.”

Yusuf got into the carriage with the Pope, and the carriage carrying the two of them drove to the center of Rome.

As a result of examining the Pope in detail for two weeks, there was no indication that he was communicating with the enemy outside.

‘It seems like there are some among the cardinals.’

They were ready to take their lives at any time if they showed any futile movements.

“So far, about 4,000 of our troops have been killed, and more than 20,000 of the enemy have been killed.”

No matter how much of a siege it is, this level of exchange ratio can be said to be an excellent result, but the war situation is not so good that it can be judged hastily.

“The problem is that we don’t know how long the walls will last.”

“How much longer do you think they can last?”

“Even if the enemies delay their offensive a little, thinking about the damage, they won’t last a month.”

The Aurelian Walls, which are the walls of Rome, are decent walls, but they already collapsed once during the Sack of Rome.

No matter how much they are reinforced from time to time, there is a limit to how long they can withstand, and the problem is that the number of consumable supplies such as shells and gunpowder is increasing, as well as the number of cannons damaged during battle.

“If the war situation seems to be flowing in their favor, those who have only been watching the situation may join them.”

“Then it’s a big problem.”

It means that reducing the number of enemy troops through the siege has become meaningless.

In a situation where there has already been a precedent for the Sack of Rome, the horrors of the past could be repeated if it is captured, and the Pope fidgeted uneasily.

Unlike the person who directly uttered the unfavorable situation, Yusuf spoke with a relaxed attitude.

“Conversely, if they judge that it is impossible to occupy this place, they will collapse in an instant.”

“Are you finally telling me the plan?”

He wouldn’t have created this situation without any thought, but he hadn’t shared any related plans at all, and he had a lot of dissatisfaction inside.

To his question, Yusuf readily nodded.

“That’s right. It’s time to listen to this plan now, and it doesn’t matter if you tell the enemy about the plan.”

He openly said that he didn’t trust him, but the Pope couldn’t complain.

It’s not like the Pope and the Ottoman Padishah [Ottoman Sultan] are in a position to say that they are disappointed that they don’t trust him.

“There are several differences between the Western countries and our Empire. First of all, we have many standing armies. Unlike you who hire mercenaries, we can mobilize troops quickly.”

Instead of having many standing armies in general, other than the Papal States or the Italian city-states, they mostly used the form of hiring mercenaries when needed.

“And the entire Empire is connected by roads, and there are food warehouses prepared everywhere so that there is no need to bring supplies separately within the territory. It means the marching speed is fast.”

Considering that the Sipahi [Ottoman Cavalry] who make up the standing army are cavalry, it is even more so.

“On top of that, we have been doing things that other countries would consider crazy without batting an eye.”

The Pope was embarrassed when he rattled off the advantages and then spat out strange words.

“It doesn’t seem like an advantage? It’s an advantage. You can’t easily betray a crazy person in the first place.”

Yusuf smiled deeply.

***

In order to catch Yusuf, Charles V had to bring in Venice, and he offered the most generous conditions.

Charles promised a huge stake in the canal, and if successful, Venice would benefit greatly even if they were not required to pay the canal tolls.

The Doge [Chief Magistrate of Venice] showed a positive response to this proposal.

For the safety of merchant ships heading to India, they would not join the occupation of Rome, but they would do their best to help when the Ottomans retaliated afterward.

As evidence of this, Venice banned new commercial voyages and gathered its fleet off the coast.

Squeak-

“Have you come?”

The Doge welcomed the person who opened the door and entered, but the smell of blood wafted from the body of the man who approached with a blank expression.

“Now that we have to start working, isn’t there no need to keep unnecessary guys alive?”

“That’s right.”

The Doge nodded with a sullen face towards the agent belonging to the Ottoman Intelligence Agency.

The conditions presented by Charles were sweet, to the point where he seriously considered betraying the Ottomans.

However, he had no choice but to give up immediately after hearing the words of the person in front of him who had come to him.

‘We will fill the canal as soon as we hear the news that Rome has been occupied. Why do you think we can’t?’

Considering the huge benefits of the canal, he wanted to say it was a bluff, but the other party was the Ottomans.

They were the ones who would do that, and considering the Ottomans who would retaliate persistently along with the destruction of the canal, Charles’ proposal was not worth listening to.

“By now, soldiers from the west of the Empire will be waiting at the scheduled port. Please move slowly.”

“I understand.”

If it is a sea route to Rome, it is difficult to escape the surveillance of the Kingdom of Naples, but if it is not an Ottoman ship but a Venetian ship in the Adriatic Sea, the eastern sea of Italy, the story is different.

As the Doge’s order fell, the Venetian fleet, which was in port under the pretext of helping when dealing with the Ottomans, moved.

Transporting troops from the Balkans to eastern Italy.

Crossing the Adriatic Sea, which is the front yard, was too easy.

***

Puru reung!

The horse that set foot in eastern Italy made an angry neigh.

Necessary supplies were supplied through Venetian merchant ships, so there was no problem going to Rome.

The Rumeli Sipahi [Ottoman Cavalry from Rumelia], who were armed like European knights, pressed down on their helmets.

“The Padishah [Ottoman Sultan] is waiting! Death to the enemies of the Empire! Glory to the Padishah [Ottoman Sultan]!”

-Glory!

With the roaring cry of the commander, the 25,000 Sipahi [Ottoman Cavalry] who disembarked in eastern Italy simultaneously increased their speed.