Became The Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire [EN]: Chapter 199

Became the Sultan of Osman – 199

Dire Things (3)

The Spanish captain cursed, watching the pirate ship sail leisurely away.

“Those goddamn bastards!”

How long had Spain and the Barbary pirates fought in the Mediterranean?

He knew well how vicious they were, so he didn’t delude himself into thinking they would be easy to subdue.

‘This is too much, you devils.’

When he finally arrived in the New World after a difficult journey across the Atlantic, he was greeted by a scorched settlement and scattered skeletons.

The sailors who set foot in the New World felt from this moment that things were going wrong, and this premonition was spot on.

-Kill them! Let’s avenge our families!

As they began to rebuild the settlement, attacks from the natives began.

It wasn’t a big problem that the primitive natives were using guns. They didn’t rush in to die, so there weren’t many casualties.

The real problem was that the constant attacks every night stalled the reconstruction, and the soldiers’ fatigue rapidly accumulated.

Eventually, the captain made a decision.

“This won’t do. We’ll have to wipe out the Indians first. Muster the troops.”

It was a perfectly rational decision, but it underestimated the viciousness of the Barbary pirates.

As soon as the troops moved to suppress the natives, the pirates began to appear in earnest, as if they had been waiting for this moment.

Starting with an attack on the harbor through the thick fog that settled in the dawn, the pirates attacked, exploiting every gap, and only accumulated damage without any gains.

The captain, who was trying to relieve his frustration with curses, was approached by the boatswain.

“Captain, a Portuguese warship has been half-destroyed.”

“The reason?”

“They say they were chasing pirates too recklessly and ran aground on a reef.”

“Those stupid bastards!”

The settlements in the Caribbean were taking heavy damage, and the lack of knowledge of the surrounding currents and terrain was once again holding them back.

The captain paced anxiously.

‘It’s been four months already, and there are no results, only accumulated losses.’

The fleet was dispatched with orders to suppress the pirates immediately, but he couldn’t be sure how long Charles’ patience would last.

If Charles, whose impatience had grown due to continued failures, were to impose severe punishment, he didn’t think he could suppress the pirates in time, no matter how he thought about it.

“We’re going back for now.”

At the captain’s order, his expression hardened, and the fleet returned to the barely rebuilt settlement.

Even when obtaining timber, they had to worry about attacks from the natives, so the settlement was desolate, and it was when the captain got off the ship with a heavy heart.

“Captain, I have urgent news to report.”

The captain frowned at the words of the adjutant who rushed over.

The urgent reports he had received since arriving in the New World were one of two things: either the natives had attacked, or the pirates had appeared.

Preparing himself for what unfortunate news it would be this time, the captain heard unexpected news.

“A large-scale rebellion has broken out in the land occupied by Francisco Pizarro.”

“Why there again?!”

The captain was startled by the news that a rebellion had broken out in the Inca Empire, which was centered in the Andes Mountains.

He wondered if those infidels were involved in this rebellion, but he immediately shook off this delusion.

No matter how vicious the Ottomans were, they couldn’t have reached that far in time.

This prediction was correct, but after hearing the answer, the captain thought it would have been better if it had been the work of the Ottomans.

“While Francisco was away to build a port, his brothers are said to have abused the emperor.”

“…What exactly did they do?”

“Gonzalo, the youngest, forcibly took the emperor’s sister, who was also the empress, and urinated on the emperor…”

There were many other atrocities, such as threatening to burn him at the stake if he didn’t give them more gold, but there was no need to explain in detail.

The preceding explanation was enough to explain why the new emperor, who had been cooperative with Spain, had started a rebellion.

“That ignorant moron finally did something. What is the size of the rebel army?”

“The escaped emperor is in the process of gathering troops, so I can’t be sure, but I think it will be well over 100,000.”

“His Majesty will hear this news soon too.”

Much of the enormous wealth entering Spain comes from Inca, so it will be reported as urgent.

The captain pondered for a moment and asked the adjutant.

“What if we join the suppression of the rebellion instead?”

“Didn’t His Majesty order the suppression of the pirates?”

“The rebellion must be suppressed quickly so that cargo can be sent to the home country. What good is it for us to work hard to suppress the pirates if there are no ships to move them?”

It wasn’t nonsense. Suppressing the rebellion had become the most important topic in the New World.

“With the ships we have now, it’s difficult to suppress the pirates. It’s better to gain merit by suppressing the rebellion instead. Don’t you think so?”

“That’s right.”

“And His Majesty has always been uncomfortable with the pioneers who act like kings in the New World. He won’t object to this opportunity to expand his influence in the New World.”

The New World was too far away to have control over, so the pioneers didn’t care about the home country, and it was a well-known fact that Charles was displeased with this.

The adjutant nodded at the fully understandable explanation.

“Then I will summon all the commanders.”

At the end of the hastily held meeting, the expeditionary force fled the Caribbean under the pretext of suppressing the rebellion.

***

Yusuf held a small metal plate that jingled in his hand.

“If we make dog tags like this, will we be able to distribute them properly to all the soldiers?”

“If there are no problems with the production of metal plates, it seems that we can finish it within three years.”

Yusuf looked at the dog tag, which in modern times is called a military number tag or a dog collar [identification tag for soldiers].

His name and the number 1 were written on it, which meant that he was the first person to have this dog tag.

“Grand Vizier, do you think this is a waste of money?”

“The finances involved are not insignificant, but I don’t think it’s a waste.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

Yusuf recalled the past wars they had fought.

From stopping Ismail’s invasion in Trabzon to the most recent siege of Rome.

Just because there were no defeats didn’t mean there were no casualties, and most of the dead soldiers didn’t even have their remains recovered, let alone their belongings.

If a family member who left as a soldier did not return after several years, they would simply think he was dead and give up.

“The military is also favorable. In particular, commanders who need to identify the dead and senior soldiers who have had the experience of leaving dead comrades behind are praising Padishah [Ottoman Sultan].”

“I’ve been negligent all along. In fact, I should have introduced it a long time ago.”

Perhaps because he was too familiar with his life as Yusuf, he inwardly thought of the troops as mere tools.

He thought he had done enough just by digging huge pits and burying them so they wouldn’t become food for beasts.

So he realized the dog tag, which he could have easily thought of if he were in the military, only belatedly.

“Don’t blame yourself. After all, we wouldn’t have been able to introduce it if it weren’t for this time. Wasn’t the iron needed to make weapons already tight?”

“Still, if I had prepared in advance, it would have progressed a little faster. That’s it. I’m starting to prepare now anyway.”

Yusuf took good care of the dog tag and picked up the quill he had put down again.

“I’m writing a letter to Mustafa, do you have anything you want to say?”

“What else would I have to say? May I ask what Padishah is writing?”

“I’m not writing anything special either. I’m just writing not to bring external animals like rabbits or foxes to the island.”

He said it lightly, but it’s important.

Australia, which has few natural enemies of rabbits, has waged war using bombs, poisons, and even viruses to kill the explosively increasing rabbits.

‘I can’t guarantee how effective this letter will be.’

The fact that Yusuf has felt many times while living as Yusuf is that what will happen will happen anyway.

Even if Mustafa is there, this warning will fade over time, so history may repeat itself.

The news that Shemsi brought also proved this again.

“A large-scale rebellion in the New World. This is what happens when you entrust work to trash wearing human skin. Don’t you think so?”

“That’s right.”

I don’t particularly want to defend Inca.

It’s overshadowed by the Aztec, who are notorious for human sacrifice and cannibalism, but Inca also made drums out of humans or massacred tens of thousands of hostile tribes.

‘Whatever the atrocities of Inca, it’s a stupid act to endanger the conquered land again.’

Things happened a little earlier than in the original history, but he was lucky.

“A pirate who returned to Algiers to supply weapons reported that the Spanish fleet had moved to suppress the rebellion. The Portuguese fleet, which could not be suppressed alone, has returned.”

“We’ve bought time.”

“Yes, it’s not bad to have some time to spare for a while.”

At Yusuf’s answer, Shemsi cautiously expressed his doubts.

“Padishah, if the rebellion is suppressed quickly with the addition of forces, it will be difficult for the empire to reach out to the New World. Is Padishah not interested in the New World?”

“Interest? How could I not be?”

There is no one in this world who knows the potential of the New World as well as he does.

Yusuf leisurely finished the letter to Mustafa.

“Rebellion? It would be good if it lasted a long time, but it’s okay if it regains stability. Rather, it would be good if we had enough time to be greedy for other places. Let’s stop talking about this and have you heard the news about Murat?”

“I heard it.”

“Isn’t it really ignorant?”

At these words, Shemsi asked with a subtle expression.

“If Padishah were in the same situation as Prince Murat, what would you have done?”

“Me?”

Yusuf gave a mischievous smile.

“Of course I would have done the same as Murat.”

***

The Portuguese merchant who arrived in Cabinda, located in the lower reaches of the Congo River, the second longest river in Africa, felt that the scenery of the city was strange.

“Why is it so quiet?”

It is a city where thousands of slaves dragged from all over West Africa are taken to the New World every year.

The voices of merchants bargaining over goods who couldn’t even wear clothes properly should be echoing loudly in the city, but it was filled with an unpleasant silence.

The merchant who got off the ship went to the slave trader he usually dealt with.

The building, which was full of slaves, had only a few worthless little slaves.

The slave trader was drinking with others with a serious face.

“Duarte! Why don’t I see any slaves?!”

“Slaves?! Why aren’t there any slaves! Buy that라도 [even that]!”

“What would I use that for? He’s going to die soon.”

If you go to the New World, even a healthy slave can’t last ten years and dies, but sick children will only become fish food while on the boat.

The merchant, who had repeatedly scanned the empty slave trader, asked irritably.

“Why aren’t there any slaves?!”

“Why aren’t there any slaves! Because there aren’t any! Some crazy bastard bought all the slaves! The nobles and tribal chiefs who used to trade with us don’t have any slaves to sell!”

“What crazy bastard buys all the slaves?”

What kind of guys are the nobles and tribal chiefs they trade with?

If they don’t have slaves to sell, they’re the ones who make them and sell them, but the merchant was dumbfounded that there was a big hand who bought slaves to the point where the seeds were drying up.

“There was such a crazy bastard in the world. That damn infidel prince bought them all.”

“Infidel? Ottoman?”

The slave trader, who had drunk a strong rum, spat out thick saliva.

“Yes, Prince Murat. That son of a bitch did that.”

***

“Prince Murat.”

Murat, who was playing with the slave children hanging on his arm, turned his head.

“Why?”

“Those who went to buy slaves have returned. They say there are no more slaves to buy.”

“Really? That’s good.”

When Murat answered lightly, Yagiz Pasha, who had been helping him since he was appointed Sanjakbey [governor of a district], sighed.

“You can build a huge city with the slaves you bought. Isn’t Padishah angry? No matter how cheap African slaves are, the number is too excessive.”

“If he was going to get angry, he would have already gotten angry. There’s no way he wouldn’t know if we didn’t report it.”

He brought a lot of money and weapons to barter, so there’s no way he wouldn’t know how he’s using it.

Murat, who had returned the children he was playing with, erased his smile.

“There’s no need to worry about my father. More than that, the weapons must have been distributed enough, right?”

“You don’t know how greedily Africans wanted guns. You don’t have to worry.”

Africans usually bartered slaves for guns, and the guns obtained in this way were used for the expansion and maintenance of the tribe.

“People are so impatient that they can’t stay still if they gain power, so a bloody storm will blow soon. And those except for a small number of powerful people will want salvation.”

Murat raised his head and looked into the distance.

He saw those who were being trained to avenge those who sold themselves and their families into slavery.

“The empire will be salvation for them.”

Murat predicted a change in Africa.