Became The Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire [EN]: Chapter 190

Became the Sultan of Osman – Episode 190

An Excellent Negotiator (1)

The scars left by the Siege of Rome, which lasted over a month, were immense.

The cracks threatening to collapse the walls unless immediately repaired, and the buildings destroyed by shells that breached the walls, weren’t the biggest problems.

These could be resolved with time and money.

‘The real problem with post-war management is dealing with the corpses.’

Yusuf frowned as he surveyed the area around the walls.

The casualties on both sides amounted to 60,000, and including those who could die at any moment, nearly 40,000 bodies had to be cleared.

Forty thousand bodies was equivalent to wiping out a city, considering Rome’s population was only about 55,000 before the looting.

The bigger problem was that the disposal of bodies couldn’t be delayed.

“Mehmet, have you identified the soldiers suspected of having infectious diseases?”

“Those showing suspicious symptoms have been identified and isolated, but it’s difficult to distinguish them from injured prisoners who haven’t received proper treatment.”

“It can’t be helped.”

There was no reason to care for prisoners when there weren’t enough personnel to treat friendly wounded soldiers.

“If there are any who wish to die, help them commit suicide.”

That was all the consideration Yusuf could offer.

In an era without effective painkillers, many would rather die than suffer untreated pain.

‘Even common tetanus is terribly painful.’

Tetanus might seem trivial, but in close combat, as many people die from tetanus as from weapon wounds.

Tetanus often causes cramps all over the body, causing the body to curl up, and the senses remain alive, leading to death in terrible pain.

Even without tetanus, many die from shock due to pain, so this was the most humane measure.

Yusuf watched from afar as the corpses were thrown into the huge pit dug by the prisoners.

Since it was impossible to cremate so many bodies, burying them collectively was the best option, but it was hard to guess how deep the pit needed to be.

Still, there was no need to worry too much since there were more than 20,000 prisoners to provide labor.

“What about the spoils of war?”

“There is quite a bit of material, perhaps because it was recently resupplied, but it would be better to melt down the cannons.”

“Do as you see fit.”

Compared to the cannons used by the Ottomans, the cast cannons were just scrap metal.

Still, the food supplies piled up to feed the large number of troops were not bad spoils.

Yusuf lightly comforted the soldiers who were busy organizing the battlefield with the prisoners and returned to summon the commanders.

“Hasan, what about the escaped enemies?”

“About ten thousand stragglers are fleeing to Naples, and the enemy fleet that occupied Ostia has disappeared.”

It wouldn’t be bad to pursue the stragglers and inflict severe damage, but there was no need to burden the Sipahi [Ottoman cavalry] who had already marched a long distance and fought.

There was no need to worry much since only that many remained out of the nearly 80,000 troops, including reinforcements.

As they fled, they would be halved due to stragglers, and the deserters were likely to become bandits in the Kingdom of Naples.

“If the enemy fleet has disappeared, it means they roughly know our movements. A meaningless realization, though.”

Yusuf smiled and nodded, and Hasan spread the map on the table.

“By now, our fleet that occupied Tunis will have occupied Malaga and Gibraltar.”

If Karl had tried to defend Tunis instead of attacking Rome, he would have focused on completely taking over North Africa by occupying Malta, Tunis, and Morocco, as initially planned.

But now that he had recklessly joined the gambling game, he couldn’t be satisfied with just that.

“Mehmet, how many troops can we mobilize?”

“We need to station at least ten thousand in Rome, so we can mobilize about thirty thousand.”

Since there were no enemies left to oppose the Ottomans, ten thousand troops were enough to control the prisoners and maintain the city’s security.

“Do you think we should attack Naples, which has lost a significant number of troops?”

Naples, close to Rome and ruled by Karl, had contributed the most troops.

Thirty thousand troops could inflict significant damage on Naples, but Mehmet reacted negatively.

“If you just want to inflict damage, it’s fine, but it’s hard to occupy the land of Naples with only 30,000 troops.”

“That’s true.”

Although they had lost many troops this time, it was not enough to collapse the Kingdom of Naples.

Considering that the population of Naples, the capital of the Kingdom of Naples, is about 200,000, they would have the capacity to prevent occupation.

Yusuf raised the corner of his mouth.

“Then, in your opinion, where should we aim?”

“We should send troops to Africa and completely take over the north.”

Mehmet’s finger pointed to Morocco.

It was an area where the Wattasid dynasty and the Saadi dynasty were constantly fighting, and it was a land that must be occupied to exert proper influence over the Strait of Gibraltar.

“Yes, it is a land that we must occupy to avenge Portugal, the goal of this expedition. What can we do if they don’t willingly give way?”

“Are you still using that justification?”

“It’s better to give them a justification.”

Yusuf gave a mischievous smile.

He could already see the two dynasties, who barely survived while Spain and the Ottomans fought, jumping up and down.

Anyway, Portugal was just a justification for the occupation of Morocco. To be honest, they were not in a position to attack Portugal.

“The fleet that left Rome will try to retake Gibraltar and Malaga, but they will be able to hold out.”

By the time the fleet from Rome arrived at the two ports, they would have already fortified the ports to some extent, and with the Ottoman fleet, they would not be easily occupied.

‘The problem is that we can’t expand further either.’

There were not enough troops to go beyond the two ports and aim for southern Iberia. If they recklessly overreached, they could suffer severe damage beyond just giving up the ports.

In the end, they would occupy the two ports and enter a state of maintaining the status quo.

“Venice will come to Rome to transport troops when they occupy the Duchy of Ferrara. It won’t take long.”

The commanders nodded at Yusuf’s words that arrangements had already been made.

If Venice helped, there would be little need to worry about troop transport.

“Moreover, by now, the troops that left Cairo will be going to Algiers, so there will be no shortage of troops.”

“There shouldn’t be any problems unless there are special variables.”

There would be no disruption to the plan unless a sudden epidemic broke out or they suffered significant damage while sailing to Algiers due to rough seas.

‘It’s fortunate that I rolled for luck so that such variables don’t happen.’

Just the fact that they didn’t have to worry about unexpected situations like natural disasters was enough of a role for luck.

“Venice has occupied Ferrara this time, but I don’t know if France will move properly.”

“Hasna was confident, so it will probably be fine. Isn’t that why you allowed her to go to France?”

There’s a reason why the seduction scheme is one of the thirty-six strategies.

If François II was completely infatuated with Hasna, he would have definitely moved the army. Of course, it didn’t matter much even if he didn’t move.

“The gathered allied forces have been crushed, our Ottomans have set foot on the Iberian Peninsula, and if the French army is heading to Milan, it will be the worst for Carlos [Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor].”

“He will probably try to negotiate.”

“Negotiation. It’s necessary.”

The Ottomans would have to negotiate anyway if they didn’t intend to go all the way with the Habsburgs.

It would be quite annoying if the Holy Roman Empire also participated and the game expanded.

‘The time to move to the stage of stabilizing the empire is also approaching.’

Nearly five years had already passed out of the promised 15 years, and there was much to do in the remaining ten years.

That included inflicting significant damage on Moscow, which would be a major concern for the Ottomans.

Just removing Ivan IV, known as the Thunderer, would greatly reduce the possibility of a Russia threatening the Ottomans being born, as in the original history.

Anyway, it was necessary to end the war at a reasonable level, and Yusuf twisted his lips.

“Then the important thing is who has the upper hand in the negotiations?”

In negotiations, the desperate person loses, but looking at the current situation, it was a bit ambiguous.

If France occupied Milan, Carlos would have nothing more to lose right away.

Venice and France would be satisfied with their respective gains, and if the Ottomans, who occupied the two ports, wanted to occupy southern Spain or attack Portugal, they would have to remove the Spanish fleet first.

The problem was that the fleet consisting of Spanish, Genoese mercenary fleets, and Portugal was a force that the Ottomans could not easily remove.

‘He might come out boldly because he has already lost everything.’

Originally, a gambler who has become penniless in a gambling den has nothing to fear.

Then there was only one way.

“We have no choice but to make his feet catch fire.”

The plan was already in progress.

***

Murat toured the city of Malaga, which he had occupied.

The population of occupied Malaga was only about 6,000, and they had no capacity to stop the suddenly appearing Ottoman army.

Murat, who easily took Malaga, indifferently looked at the frightened Malaga residents.

“There are no Muslims here.”

“After Malaga was occupied, all the Muslims who were here were sold into slavery, and this place was filled with people from the surrounding area. It happened about fifty years ago.”

“Is that so.”

In southern Iberia, there was the Emirate of Granada, an Islamic dynasty that used the Alhambra Palace in Granada as its royal palace.

It achieved considerable prosperity through the Mediterranean and Saharan trade routes, but it was the last victim of the Reconquista [the Christian reconquest of Spain], which drove out Islam, and was destroyed by the union of Castile and Aragon, the predecessors of Spain.

In the process, all 11,000 Muslims living in Malaga were sold into slavery, and the current residents were those who settled here afterward.

Of course, the Ottomans were no longer in a situation to be called an Islamic state, and it didn’t matter to Murat that those who were not citizens of the empire were sold into slavery.

The reason he was interested was that it was somewhat related to his future work.

Murat, who was not interested in those who were not citizens of the empire, simply passed by the frightened people, and a soldier came to Murat, who was inspecting the city’s defenses.

“Prince, the ones you were looking for have arrived.”

“Really?”

At the soldier’s report, Murat rode his horse up to the castle built on Mount Gibralfaro, which overlooks Malaga.

As he entered the castle, those who had gathered in small groups bowed with faces full of emotion.

“Has the Ottoman Empire really come this far? Thank you, Allah!”

Murat nodded as he looked at those who were wearing hijabs [headscarves] and seeking Allah.

They were the Muslims hiding in the Iberian Peninsula that he was looking for.

Even when the Reconquista was in progress, Muslim farmers were called Mudejars [Muslims living under Christian rule], meaning tamed ones, and were able to maintain their Islamic faith, but this tolerance ended when the Reconquista was completed.

Many Muslims who were forced to live as second-class citizens as Moriscos [Muslim converts to Christianity], who had converted to Catholicism, rebelled against this measure and hid in the mountainous areas, and these were them.

“There is one thing we must address. We have not come to liberate you. We don’t have the capacity to do so.”

“But!”

“I feel sorry for your situation, but it is difficult to send troops here to reclaim the territory of the Emirate of Granada.”

The gathered people distorted their faces at Murat’s words, which began by drawing a line.

“Then why did you call us here?!”

They had expected that he would solve the situation of living in the mountains, barely surviving, but they vented their resentment when this expectation was betrayed.

When the soldiers, with angry faces at the rude reaction, tried to draw their weapons, Murat raised his hand to stop them.

“However, that doesn’t mean we can’t help you. Do you want to gain freedom? Then you must seize it yourselves. We will help.”

At Murat’s nod, the soldiers brought huge boxes.

What was visible when the heavy boxes were opened were arquebuses [early firearms].

“We will provide you with enough weapons to arm yourselves.”

***

“There are already bandits and pirates, so there must be mountain bandits too.”

Yusuf, who had released poison in southern Spain, twisted his lips.

A great negotiator must know how to create a favorable situation.