Became The Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire [EN]: Chapter 212

The opening of the Ottoman Canal led to the decline of traditional trade routes.

A prime example was the trade route from the Persian Gulf, overland to Trabzon, and then into the Black Sea.

Ottoman ships, now permitted to use the canal and enter the Black Sea, had no reason to take the cumbersome, long overland route.

One might think this would mean the loss of former prosperity, but…

“I wanted to try the barley drink here.”

“Oh, it has a taste that instantly reveals the Padishah’s concern for his people.”

Those who wouldn’t normally touch barley drink, something commoners drank instead of expensive coffee, were now deeply moved.

The drink itself was nothing special, but they knew from Yusuf’s biography why it was made.

It was already known that infant mortality rates were lower in regions where barley drink was distributed.

And the visitors weren’t limited to wealthy, leisurely aristocrats.

“Oh, this is a holy site.”

“Our prophet, the Padishah, performed Allah’s miracle here.”

From pilgrims making pilgrimages to Trabzon instead of distant Mecca, to Sufis [mystical Islamic believers] who believed Yusuf was a prophet.

So many different visitors came that even if a European noble or a Mughal prince visited, the people of Trabzon would hardly bat an eye.

But today, they couldn’t hide their excitement.

A massive ship that seemed unshakable in the rough waves flew a crimson flag.

It was a symbol that only two entities in the Ottoman Empire could use, and the harbor’s chains, which had been closed for this day, were released.

With the clattering sound of the chains being released, five ships entered the opened harbor, and a Janissary [elite Ottoman soldier] with a sharp aura disembarked and shouted loudly.

“The Caliph is coming. All, take your positions!”

In the old Ottoman Empire, where death meant abdication, there was no specific term to refer to the former emperor.

There was discussion of calling him Baba Padishah, using Baba, which means father, as Valide Hatun used Valide, meaning mother.

However, it was decided to maintain and use the existing title of Caliph, which means the Pope of Islam [spiritual leader of the Muslim world].

With the Janissary’s command, the people filling the harbor knelt and paid their respects.

In the long silence that filled the harbor, only the creaking sound of wooden planks echoed, and when the footsteps stopped, a powerful and gentle voice was heard.

“It feels like coming home. Welcome, my people.”

It was the moment when the giant tree that had built a vast empire briefly took root in Trabzon.

***

Just as every actor must eventually retire behind the stage.

So it was with people.

Faced with this obvious truth, Yusuf quietly stroked the tightly closed coffin with his hand.

‘Fatima.’

His heart ached at the thought of the woman lying inside.

With the memories of a modern man and Yusuf intertwined, it was hard for him to fully think of Fatima as his mother.

As soon as he became Yusuf, he struggled for survival, taking life-threatening gambles, so he didn’t have the mental余裕 [Japanese: leeway, margin] to accept Fatima as his mother.

‘Maybe she noticed something was strange too.’

A mother is someone who notices even the smallest changes in her child, and the fact that Fatima hadn’t shown any questions until now wasn’t because she was oblivious.

She just knew and didn’t show it.

Her last words, spoken with a gentle smile as she took her last breath, proved it.

“Yusuf, my son.”

It was as if she wanted to be confirmed as his real mother, and Yusuf could only nod.

Like her, who closed her eyes as if satisfied with the small nod, Yusuf also closed his eyes tightly.

‘If she hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have made it to this moment.’

There was no doubt, and perhaps his luckiest break was Fatima. She was that significant.

Yusuf, who couldn’t remember the last time he had felt such emotional turmoil, took his hand off the coffin after brushing it for a long time as if to remove non-existent dust.

“Are you alright?”

Yusuf smiled faintly at Ayşe, who grabbed his hand and asked worriedly.

“It’s enough to hold onto someone who has gone to Allah [God in Islam]. And we can’t occupy this place forever.”

Outside the mosque named after Fatima, a crowd had already gathered for the memorial.

They were there to see off the last journey of the woman who gave birth to the great Padishah [Ottoman ruler].

Yusuf turned his head and filled his eyes with the entire scenery of the mosque. It would be a scene he wouldn’t see for a while.

Ayşe, realizing the meaning of this action, asked.

“Are you leaving now?”

“Yes, I’ve stayed longer than I thought.”

He had slightly delayed his planned schedule to be with Fatima in her final moments.

If he took any more time, the five-year period he had promised to his people would pass, so he had to move diligently.

And it was time to say goodbye to the Hatuns [noble women], including Ayşe, for a while. Traveling around the vast empire was by no means safe.

Yusuf gave a refreshing smile to the women filled with regret and worry.

“There’s no need to be sad. If you wait, I will come to you to see you.”

There were many faces he wanted to see as he traveled around the country.

Şemsi, who had been forced to work under the bizarre title of Honorary Grand Vizier [high-ranking official] due to pressure from Mehmed, who had become Padishah, and his son İlhan, and had fled all the way to Kasim in Budapest.

He also wanted to see ministers like Hassan, who had completed the bridge across the Bosphorus and was fighting with Michelangelo over the sculptures to be placed on the bridge.

And Murat, who was being praised as the Great Sultan in Africa these days, and Mustafa, who was suffering in Australia, where a gold rush was taking place after the gold mine he had hidden under his orders was revealed.

‘I’ll have to move diligently to see all these places. Just touring the empire isn’t the last page of my life.’

By the time he finished all the tours, the atmosphere would be ripe enough to harvest the fruits.

“Let’s move, the time has come.”

With this declaration, Yusuf moved to tour the entire empire.

***

In the original history, Suleiman, who was praised as the Great Emperor, had his tomb regarded as a holy site and a place of pilgrimage.

Not to mention Yusuf, who had built an even greater empire and threatened even the position of Muhammad as the last prophet.

The number of people who followed Yusuf’s journey like a pilgrimage increased rapidly, reaching tens of thousands.

If Yusuf hadn’t forcibly disbanded them due to the problems that would arise from the movement of such a large crowd, it would have become a moving city.

It ended as a momentary happening thanks to quick action, but it was enough to show Yusuf’s good health.

It was inevitable, as even Mehmed, who was running the empire stably and was being praised for Yusuf’s choices being right, couldn’t do such a thing.

Anyway, the empire was shaken by Yusuf’s footsteps, and the people of the cities that were off the tour route flocked to see him even from afar.

Of course, these guests weren’t just ordinary people.

“Your Caliph, give me your daughter.”

There were idiots like Ivan IV, who still couldn’t let go of his attachment to Hasna.

“I, I’m pleased to meet you. Thank you for allowing me to meet you. My name is Michel de Nostredame.”

Yusuf looked down at the middle-aged man who was prostrating himself, seemingly surprised that the meeting had actually been granted.

Considering that even Ottoman nobles couldn’t easily get an audience, it was an extraordinary event, but the person in front of him was worth it.

“So, the predicting calendar is quite accurate?”

“It’s just a trivial skill compared to the Padishah. How can something containing such trivial content be called prophecy?”

He was being humble, but he was a famous figure in France for his prediction calendar.

Of course, if it was just that level of fame, there would be no reason to meet him.

“Your Latin name is Nostradamus?”

“That’s right.”

Yusuf looked amused.

Unlike himself, who was deceiving with modern knowledge, the person in front of him was the first person that came to mind when you said prophet, even in modern times.

“You made a prophecy to the King of France that he could never marry Hasna and almost died?”

“…How could that be a prophecy? It was a fact that only the King didn’t know.”

If the nobles hadn’t stopped him, he might have ended up on the guillotine.

In the end, he gave up his attachment and got married late, so it was good for everyone.

“Do you have any intention of making that prophecy to the Grand Duke of Moscow again?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to die yet.”

Well, Ivan is Ivan, even without the madness of the original history. There are no nobles in the Grand Duchy to save him, so his head might be hung on the walls.

As Nostradamus seemed to relax while they were chatting lightly, Yusuf got to the point.

“Then can you prophesy about me? I’ll forgive whatever you say.”

He looked intently at Yusuf at these words, then lowered his head.

“I’m sorry. I don’t think I can right now. May I do it later?”

“I understand. I hope to hear it before I get too old.”

Yusuf, who had been expecting it, let Nostradamus out as if he was slightly deflated.

There were interesting things, like meeting a person who decorated a page of history, and there were also regrettable things, like meeting Şemsi, who was too old to even move properly.

The tour that started in Trabzon passed through the Black Sea and the Mediterranean and continued to Africa, where Murat was.

“Father, you really don’t age.”

“And you seem too old.”

The two fathers, who had met after a long time, exchanged greetings and burst into laughter.

Murat, who was exposed to the hot African sun without sunscreen, looked older than his age.

But judging from the fact that he still maintained a robust physique, it seemed too early to worry.

“I was impressed while coming here. You’re ruling better than I thought.”

Just the scenery here was like that.

Due to the characteristics of the region, it was a city made of yellowish-brown mud houses, but that didn’t mean it was unsightly.

The magnificent yellowish-brown city covering a plain so wide that it couldn’t be seen at a glance, and the people busily moving between them, were a sight to behold.

Watching the sunset over the city together, Murat gave credit to Yusuf.

“It’s thanks to the plants that Father brought from the New World.”

The corn and potatoes that we eat in modern times have been bred for a long time.

The staple crops of this era were truly foods to eat in order to survive, with no taste at all.

‘But in places where food itself is scarce, like Africa or high-altitude areas, taste isn’t important.’

Because it’s better than starving to death.

It was now being cultivated mainly in Africa, but Mehmed was working hard, so it would soon spread nationwide.

Of course, considering the hard work that Europeans went through to introduce just one potato in the original history, there would be quite a few trials and errors, but time would solve the problem.

“More than that, Father, I heard news from the New World. Isn’t it almost time?”

At Murat’s question, who already knew the plan, Yusuf raised the corners of his mouth.

“Yes, the situation is ripe, so we have to start. Carlos needs to receive a gift before he dies.”

Yusuf stared at the distant sea with cold eyes.

Soon after, news spread that the Ottoman fleet carrying Yusuf was heading to the island where Mustafa had taken root.

***

The northern part of Luzon Island, where Manila, the center of trade, was located, was the center of a terrible chaos.

Spain, attacked by the Ming Dynasty fleet, tried to solve the problem by sending more merchant ships, and the armed conflict between the two became more intense.

The strange naval battle between Spain, which would make a profit even if only some of its fleet returned to its home country, and the Ming Dynasty, which was recovering from the damage with captured ships, became a battle of pride.

On top of that, pirates who had heard rumors that Spanish merchant ships were profitable joined in, making the area between Luzon Island and Taiwan Island resemble a battlefield.

“Damn bastards, let’s see how long you can last.”

The Spanish captain, who had already succeeded in sailing three times, gritted his teeth thinking of the Ming Dynasty.

Rumors were spreading that the canal they had been waiting for would be opened soon.

It was the result of the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of forcibly mobilized natives, and if the canal was opened, more ships could be sent from the home country.

‘That way, I won’t have to bow down to those Ottoman bastards anymore.’

The captain couldn’t hide his anticipation for the canal, recalling all the hardships he had suffered to maintain his trade permit.

Bang, bang!

-C, Captain! It’s a disaster! Enemy fleet!

At the voice of the sailor who was pounding on the captain’s cabin door hard enough to break it, the captain hurriedly came up on deck.

The captain, wondering why the sailors, who should be moving urgently with the alarm if an enemy had appeared, were standing blankly with dazed faces, froze like a stone when he looked in the direction the sailors were looking.

The black waves covering the sea had a clear red flag drawn on them, and a crimson flag fluttered on the huge flagship in the center.

Yusuf, looking at the Spanish ship that couldn’t even dare to resist, looked down at the letter in his hand.

“Stupid Carlos. I don’t know when you’ll learn that you have to cherish your people.”

It was a letter containing the desperate requests for help from the natives who had died because of the canal construction, and it was the justification.

Yusuf twisted his lips.

“It’s too late to learn now, though.”

With the news that Yusuf had attacked Nueva España [New Spain, a Spanish colony] with a large fleet, native revolts began throughout the New World.

It was the last step of the great ruler.

Epilogue

It was a life that was the best, even if it wasn’t perfect.

To be uncharacteristically humble, no matter who you brought under the same conditions, they wouldn’t be able to produce better results, and even if I went back to the past, I couldn’t be sure that I could produce better results.

This was humility, and what I was seeing in the face of death could be said to be the result.

-You have built a great empire spanning six continents.

-Reward selection.

[Would you like to return?]

[Yes] [No]

A system window with no kindness, just like when I suddenly became Yusuf.

The results of the choices weren’t shown, but didn’t people have a sense of what it meant?

‘It probably means going back to being a modern person before I became Yusuf.’

Everything I’ve done so far will be undone, but I can continue living.

Even an old man who says he’s lived enough wants to live at the end of his life, no matter the cost, so it would be a good choice.

‘I’ve already decided to live and die as Yusuf. It’s a meaningless choice.’

The senses of my body had already disappeared, and even in a situation where I doubted whether I was seeing this choice with my eyes, this decision didn’t change.

Without hesitation, I chose no, and the choices scattered like dust, and it was when I was about to let go of the spirit I was desperately holding onto.

-Choose one.

[Yusuf II]

[Yusuf III]

[Yusuf IV]

In the fading spirit, Yusuf made his last choice, and the world turned black.

***