Became The Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire [EN]: Chapter 208

The justifications for war are often far-fetched.

A recent example is the Moroccan region, which was occupied under the pretext of needing a route to attack Portugal.

It was clear to everyone that it was merely a justification for occupation, so it wasn’t a very sophisticated method.

Unlike the previous example, the attack on the Grand Duchy of Moscow was launched with the perfect justification of helping the Grand Duke to drive out the rebel forces, and as such, resistance was minimal.

“Damn it! Those Osman bastards! You pathetic little shits!”

Shuisky cursed.

The most feared enemies of the Grand Duchy of Moscow and Lithuania are the Ottomans, or more precisely, the Crimean Khanate, an Ottoman vassal state.

Since a huge steel city had to be built in the barren Donbas region, the most lacking thing was population, and the Crimean Khanate’s solution to support Mehmet was simple.

-If there’s a shortage of people, let’s kidnap them.

It was a conclusion worthy of the Crimean Khanate, who were accustomed to plunder, and the most severely targeted were nearby Lithuania and Moscow.

It was common for an entire village to disappear once they appeared, and people in the south near the border were even migrating on a large scale.

With 30,000 troops from the Crimean Khanate, notorious for this, and 30,000 troops from the Circassians and Ottomans armed with firearms, even the will to resist was broken.

The Ottomans sent priests to the cities on the way to Moscow.

“Do not be afraid, brothers of faith. We have come to prevent the future you are worried about.”

To those who were consumed by the fear that the Ottoman army might turn their city into a wasteland at any moment, it was like a lifeline.

They had already heard it through letters, but the weight of a priest coming in person to tell them was different.

As soon as they were given a chance to breathe, the cities chose to surrender without resistance, and the Ottomans kept their promise that there would be no looting.

The justification of being the Grand Duke, the Ottomans’ notoriety, and the priests acting as collaborators combined to make the Ottomans’ advance faster than anyone could have imagined.

So fast that they arrived in front of Moscow before they could even properly mobilize their troops.

“Ha, shouldn’t we surrender?!”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Do you think they’ll let us live if we surrender?!”

Beyond the walls, the red wave symbolizing the Ottomans crashed, carried by the wind.

The forces defending Moscow numbered only ten thousand, but the enemy numbered around fifty thousand, even after leaving troops in the occupied cities.

The morale had long since plummeted, even though the difference in troop strength was already significant.

The biggest reason for this was the flag of the Grand Duchy of Moscow fluttering forlornly among the Ottoman flags.

-The Grand Duke is over there, isn’t that treason?

-Why should we fight? All the other cities have surrendered.

Far from having a justification, even the misdeeds committed by the Grand Duke had become known to the common people.

The public sentiment that knew the truth was extremely agitated, and it was not easy to control the soldiers.

The commanders, the boyars [members of the highest rank of the feudal Russian aristocracy, second only to the ruling princes], were well aware of how unfavorable the situation was, but they couldn’t bring themselves to surrender when they thought of the young Grand Duke who had come to take revenge with the help of the Ottomans.

That was why they stubbornly ignored the voices urging surrender, and when Mehmet saw the messenger who had returned empty-handed, he asked Ivan, who was staring at Moscow.

“Grand Duke, it seems they have no intention of surrendering.”

“I thought they would come out like this. You trash-like bastards.”

Ivan smiled bitterly, having watched closely how disgracefully they acted for their own safety and power.

As silence fell between them, the sound of horses crying echoed across the battlefield.

About twenty horses moved, snorting roughly, and wheel tracks appeared on the ground as the horses moved.

Despite the twenty horses moving with all their might, the heavy cannons, which moved only at walking speed, came to the front of the battlefield.

The enemy’s confusion was visible even from this distance when they saw the overwhelming power of the cannons.

“If you wish, I can wait a little longer.”

Wasting time on the battlefield is a sin, but if Ivan wished, he could postpone the siege for a few days.

Ivan shook his head at Mehmet’s kindness.

“It’s alright.”

“The moment those cannons fire, looting is unavoidable. Three days of looting after the siege. That is the promise the Empire has made to its soldiers, and I have no intention of making Moscow an exception.”

He could adjust the level of looting, but looting was looting.

It was obvious that it would be a brutal three days for those living in Moscow, but Ivan’s will was firm.

“They may not have known my pain all this time because they were ignorant. But those who follow the boyars even after knowing everything are not my subjects.”

Mehmet, who indirectly felt how terrible the memories of his experience in Moscow remained, stared at Moscow with cold eyes and placed his hand on Ivan’s head.

“If that is your choice, I understand. I will do as you wish.”

Mehmet, who had indifferently removed his hand, gave the order.

“Begin the bombardment.”

As the order fell, roars and screams filled Moscow.

***

Yusuf slowly walked along the wall.

The people moving busily in the capital looked like dust, and the ships passing through the Bosphorus Strait looked like grains of wheat.

“Doesn’t it seem like the existence of subjects is nothing special when you look at it like this?”

They looked as if they would scatter if the wind blew, and Shemsi, who had been forcibly dragged out to get some fresh air, nodded.

“Being in a high position is like being on this wall. You forget that they are the same people unless you go down yourself.”

“How can Padishah [Ottoman Emperor] say such a thing when he thinks so much of his subjects?”

“I mean that even I sometimes feel that way. Sometimes I think back to my days as a prince.”

It was a dangerous time when he had to worry about his life, but it was also the time when he spent the most time with his subjects.

Because it was impossible to overcome the crisis with his own strength alone.

“Murat has even occupied the Kingdom of Congo.”

Murat performed his mission better than expected.

Of course, the capital invested in the slave purchase process and the supplies put into stabilizing the occupied territories are not insignificant, but he has almost occupied the west coast of Africa, blocking Portugal’s slave trade.

If things go well and he can weave together Africa, where many races and cultures are mixed, it will be completely different from the Africa of the original history.

“Mustafa has brought most of the natives of the island he discovered under the Empire.”

They don’t even know where the Empire is or what kind of country it is, but that’s a problem that time will solve.

“According to the news that came in recently, Mehmet has occupied Moscow.”

Ivan, who occupied Moscow with the help of the Ottomans, carried out a large-scale purge of the boyars.

The public sentiment, which had become fierce due to looting, desperately wanted the purge of the boyars, who were the main culprits, and Ivan, who had been abused, also had a great animosity towards the boyars.

Naturally, a brutal purge took place, and the Ottomans encroached on the resulting vacuum.

It can be seen as having fallen into a vassal state.

‘I don’t know what will happen to Moscow in the future.’

With the Grand Duchy of Moscow coming under the Ottoman flag, there were many futures that would change.

There would be no looting by the Crimean Khanate, which burned down the entire Moscow except for the Kremlin Fortress and took or massacred more than 100,000 people.

The possibility of Ivan IV being poisoned by syphilis and mercury is also small.

There is no way to know how this will affect the future now, but even taking the huge Moscow as a vassal state is a great achievement.

“The princes have made achievements worthy of proving their value. It will be enough justification to appease the opposition to the abdication to some extent.”

“Still, there will be quite a bit of backlash. The subjects also feel that the time for abdication is approaching.”

Yusuf smiled mischievously at Shemsi’s concern.

“I’ve been doing this for a while, so I’ll be sad if there’s no backlash. The guy who will take this position to erase my shadow has to suffer a little bit.”

“I won’t be there then, so it doesn’t matter. The next Grand Vizier [the prime minister of the Ottoman Empire] will suffer.”

No matter how smoothly the abdication proceeds, confusion cannot be avoided.

In order to calm the chaos of the empire with a huge territory and return it to its normal orbit, he will have to suffer a lot.

‘I should reduce my activities as much as possible during that time.’

No matter how much the princes are flying and crawling now, it is nothing compared to the achievements he has made, and if you add the fame including the prophets, you cannot even compare.

If he stirs up the empire, it will be difficult to fix the chaos.

“I think it will take about 2-3 years to sort out the situation. I’m thinking of staying in Trabzon during that time.”

“Is that why you brought up the story of your days as a prince?”

“Yes.”

It is also a place where memories of his days as a prince are piled up, and it is also a place where he vowed to live for his subjects.

At first, it was an area he chose to take away the opportunity from his brother Selim, but at some point, it became like a hometown to him.

Shemsi also smiled as he recalled the memories of Trabzon.

“It’s already considered a sacred place, so it will be noisy if Padishah stays there.”

“That kind of atmosphere isn’t bad either.”

Yusuf smiled deeply as the wind brushed his face.

Trabzon is not a place to stop. It is a place to renew your mind to take the next step.

“You can come to Trabzon too. Isn’t it a good place to spend your old age?”

“No, thank you. The years I spent with Padishah are more than half of my life. I think it’s time to be apart now. More than that, wasn’t Prince Kasim missing from what you said earlier?”

“Kasim, you say.”

It’s not that I forgot to leave it out.

“Kasim’s work is not over yet.”

***

Ferdinand looked at the Danube River, where the bridge connecting Buda and Pest was under construction, with a crumpled face.

“Prince! When will the bridge be completed?! If you received so much money, it should be completed by now!”

“Calm down. It’s not easy to build such a long bridge.”

Ferdinand was so anxious that he crossed over to Ottoman territory himself, as the Archduke of Austria.

He had sponsored Kasim with Karl’s support, but the results were not coming out properly.

“Leaving the bridge completion aside, why are you asking for more money?!”

“To build such a bridge, a lot of iron is needed for safety. But there have been constant wars. The price of iron has risen a lot because of the weapons being supplied to Africa. The construction cost has no choice but to increase.”

Ferdinand gritted his teeth.

“You can just put in less iron! It doesn’t matter if it’s a bridge that will only last a few years!”

“I want to do that too, but do you know who is ordering the construction of the bridge now? They are experienced people in the construction of the capital bridge. And they are connected to Hassan Pasha.”

Hassan is a very common name, but there is only one famous Hassan related to bridges.

He was famous for being greatly loved by Yusuf to the point where he was allowed to put his deceased wife’s name on the bridge he built.

“If I do poor construction, I will be out of my father’s sight. He is more concerned about bridge safety than anyone else.”

“Aren’t you anxious?! Prince Mehmet has made Moscow a vassal state!”

Kasim frowned at Ferdinand’s remark.

“I’m anxious too! Who knew my brother would come out like that?! If there weren’t such idiots who abused the young Grand Duke, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Ha….”

Ferdinand sighed deeply at Kasim’s words.

He didn’t know that the attack on Moscow was planned, so it seemed to him that the abuse of the Grand Duke was the cause.

“So, can I become the next emperor only if the bridge is completed?”

“…To be honest, it’s difficult. It would be different if there were a lot of troop damage, but didn’t we lose too futilely.”

Before Moscow, it was an unbloody entry, and in Moscow, a siege took place, but it was crushed with overwhelming firepower.

The damage was nothing compared to the profits gained.

Ferdinand felt dizzy at Kasim’s bleak words.

“If my brother becomes Padishah, I have to worry about my life, but the Grand Duke will be in danger too. Carlos won’t let it go.”

If a plan with huge funds fails, the angry Carlos will hold Ferdinand, who introduced this plan, responsible.

Kasim continued to fuel Ferdinand’s anxiety, who felt like he was on the edge of a cliff.

“I heard that they have started digging a canal in the New World. He will feel the lack of money due to the canal, so his anger will be even greater.”

“What do you want to say?”

Kasim spoke carefully in a prickly tone.

“If you think you’re going to be defeated, why don’t you move first? To be honest, don’t the nobles of the Holy Roman Empire follow you, the agent, more than Carlos?”

“I have no intention of betraying my brother.”

“Carlos didn’t blame you for the defeat in the Battle of Rome. I don’t know why you are so loyal. It’s already rumored that you are incompetent.”

As hesitation arose on Ferdinand’s face, Kasim drove in the wedge.

“Your loyalty will not be properly rewarded. As Carlos’s son grows up, he may even aim for your life to take your place. The decision is up to you.”

Life.

Kasim threw the justification for betrayal.