Became The Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire [EN]: Chapter 65

Became the Sultan of Osman – Episode 65 (65/213)

Rebellion and Opportunity (3)

The journey from Trabzon to Ankara was smooth.

It was obvious, as hindering an army of ten thousand would be tantamount to asking to be killed.

It was more challenging to deal with those who came bearing gifts, eager for a glimpse.

Interestingly, the village chiefs and tribal leaders came more out of curiosity than expectation.

‘They must feel secure since their autonomy is recognized.’

It seemed they believed their power would never be shaken, regardless of who became the next Sultan, as had been the case in the past.

ইউсуф [Yusuf] had no intention of letting the current situation continue.

‘Once I become Sultan, I need to reform the administrative districts and tax system.’

He had no intention of leaving the loose administrative system and weak control over the regions as they were.

Considering the backlash, it would be a mid- to long-term goal.

After a smooth journey, except for the numerous guests, ইউсуф arrived near Ankara and found the central army had already arrived and established a base.

“The elite are indeed elite, aren’t they?”

“It seems so.”

Arda agreed with ইউсуф, who approached leisurely on horseback.

You can tell how well-trained a unit is without seeing them fight.

Even after being identified as allies, they remained vigilant, with an air of readiness to start fighting at any moment if ordered.

They looked every bit the Janissaries [elite infantry units of the Ottoman army], who had to undergo at least six years of training, and the Kapikulu Sipahi [Ottoman heavy cavalry], who had to be even better than the Janissaries.

‘I have to fight to the death with the princes, but in a way, I’m fortunate to be in this era.’

If I had been born a prince a hundred and fifty years later, I would have had to fight with the Janissaries, who were involved in mafia activities and even assassinated Sultans.

Confined to a palace called a cage, waiting for the next Sultan to be chosen.

This era is a hundred times better.

As he approached with these thoughts, an old man, heavily guarded, walked out and bowed lightly.

“Greetings, Prince ইউсуф.”

You can sense a lot from the other person’s attitude.

In terms of status, the prince is higher, but the Grand Vizier [chief minister of the Ottoman Empire] is the second-in-command in administration.

There’s no reason to show such excessive respect.

‘Unless he thinks I’m the heir apparent to become the next Sultan.’

ইউсуф smiled.

“It’s been a while since my last visit to the capital, Grand Vizier. It seems we have much to discuss.”

“Please, come inside.”

As they entered the camp, they passed many soldiers, and ইউсуф could clearly feel their favor.

It was the result of choosing Trabzon to gain merit.

ইউсуф and the Grand Vizier entered a command tent larger than the others, and Arda naturally stood guard at the entrance.

Once they were alone, ইউсуф asked directly.

“How far is my father considering?”

“…As Your Highness has noticed, the Padishah [Ottoman Sultan] is now considering stepping down.”

Letting go of what you hold is not an easy decision, and ইউсуф asked with a沉沉 [solemn] look.

“Then he must have made a firm decision about my brothers as well.”

“Regarding that, the Padishah has left a message.”

“Speak.”

The Grand Vizier took a breath and conveyed the Padishah’s message.

“If the two princes do not interfere in any way, he wishes for their lives to be spared.”

Currently, there are three brothers alive besides ইউсуф, but Ṣehinşah, who started the rebellion, cannot be spared.

Those two must refer to Selim and Ahmet, and it was a request that would normally be unacceptable.

‘There’s a reason why the fratricide law exists.’

There’s no need to leave factors that could destabilize the regime.

“My father has always shown leniency towards his sons.”

Bayezid II, who was even suspected of assassinating his father, Mehmed II, often showed a fatherly side.

There’s no need to delve into the original history. Even I have received a lot of help from the Sultan.

Not to mention financial support.

“He even turned a blind eye to the gunpowder issue, so it wouldn’t be bad to do my filial duty to my father once.”

“…Did you know?”

“How could I not know when all the people who sold me the gunpowder were executed?”

Smuggling gunpowder is a serious matter, but since he turned a blind eye, it wouldn’t be bad to grant the Sultan’s request once.

Of course, there’s another reason why I readily accepted this offer.

ইউсуф chuckled and asked.

“Does the Grand Vizier really think the two brothers will stay still?”

Of course not.

The life goal of an Ottoman prince is to become the Sultan, so they would obviously struggle.

The Grand Vizier knew very well how meaningless the promise was, and he sighed deeply.

“Wouldn’t it be possible if Allah watches over us?”

“Then if the two brothers move, I can assume Allah has abandoned them. Then there’s no need to hesitate.”

“…Then do as Your Highness wishes.”

Having obtained the desired answer, ইউсуф changed the subject.

“Then let’s move on to a practical conversation.”

Dismissing the previous conversation as futile, ইউсуф asked the Grand Vizier with a soft smile.

“So, did you bring a lot of gunpowder?”

Good things are meant to be shared.

***

Upon receiving the report that ইউсуф’s army and the central army, gathered in Ankara, had begun to move south, Ahmet smiled coldly.

“Move south. You’ve made a foolish choice, my brother.”

The worst-case scenario for Ahmet was ইউсуф joining the central army, persuading the Grand Vizier, and heading to the capital.

Just in case, he had gathered troops in Bolu, where his eldest brother Murad was, but they wouldn’t be able to buy much time.

Of course, persuading the Grand Vizier, who unconditionally obeyed the Padishah’s orders, would be difficult, but he would have headed to the capital alone.

Ahmet scoffed at ইউсуф’s stupidity, and said to his assembled subordinates.

“A foolish brother, complacent because he was chosen by our father, has given me an opportunity. Isn’t this thanks to Allah’s grace?”

“It is!”

By the time ইউсуф heard the news that Ahmet had raised an army and was heading to the capital, it would be when he was close to the rebels at the earliest.

Even if he felt a sense of crisis and tried to withdraw, it would be too late, and even if he forced his army to turn back, it would be difficult to catch up.

Ahmet smiled deeply, thinking that his plan was proceeding smoothly.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen my father.”

Ahmet, who had already finished preparing for the expedition, felt no reason to waste any more time.

Selim, who was watching for an opportunity in the Crimean Khanate, might hear the news and come down at any time.

Ahmet rose from his seat and ordered.

“Depart!”

Watching his subordinates disperse, Ahmet closed his eyes tightly.

He opened his eyes, feeling a surge of resentment towards his father for choosing ইউсуф instead of himself.

“Father, you will surely regret it.”

His words were filled with a terrible murderous intent.

***

Although ten thousand soldiers had left, Trabzon was crowded with soldiers from Cherkess and Georgia.

Currently, there were not enough troops in Trabzon to control them, and even the country’s own soldiers were in a dangerous situation, let alone foreign soldiers.

If they turned into enemies, it wouldn’t be strange for Trabzon to burn down.

However, even after ইউсуф led his army away, control was not difficult, and the biggest contributor was Ayşe.

“I’m sorry for only receiving help during this important time.”

“No, Pasha. I’m glad I can help like this.”

Time had passed since Ayşe’s activities in Cherkess, but she was not so forgotten that she was even called a saint.

Rather, as ইউсуф became more prominent in the Ottoman Empire, rumors about Ayşe spread again, and her reputation soared.

The Cherkess army would pretend to die if Ayşe told them to, so even Georgia couldn’t dare to act insubordinately.

They wouldn’t want to be disliked by ইউсуф, who was nominated as the next Sultan.

“It seems you won’t have to suffer anymore. It’s time to move.”

The distance between Trabzon and Amasya is 380km, but temporary relay stations had been set up in between for today, so they were able to receive letters in two days.

Şemsi, who received the news that Ahmet had departed from Amasya, felt tension for the first time in a long time.

He was only following Ahmet with an army, but he felt such a burden.

“There’s nothing more I can do to help.”

He wanted to follow along, but it was impossible with his pregnant body.

“You don’t have to worry about what happens next. It’s what the Prince has planned.”

“Then it will be alright.”

They trusted ইউсуф so much that they could sincerely share these words.

The forces raised by Ahmet numbered thirteen thousand, and could increase to fifteen thousand if forces joined along the way.

Considering that ইউсуф moved with ten thousand soldiers, excluding those supported by Georgia and Cherkess, it was not a number to be ignored.

‘Especially since it’s mainly composed of Sipahi [Ottoman cavalry soldiers], we’ll suffer great damage if we fight.’

Not that he was ignoring Georgia and Cherkess, but the quality of the troops was definitely lower compared to the Sipahi.

Even just looking at the state of armament, it was embarrassing to compare.

But since he had no intention of fighting and only intended to follow the tail, there was no problem at all.

“Then I’ll go to the capital first.”

The forces that had been holding their breath in Trabzon began to move in earnest.

***

I know it’s difficult to understand someone you’ve never met.

Even considering that, ইউсуф found Ṣehinşah’s rebellion difficult to understand.

If Ṣehinşah really wanted the Sultan’s seat, he should have led his army to the capital instead of spouting nonsense about being the Sultan of Anatolia.

At least he should have moved to kill the other princes.

Ṣehinşah’s actions were difficult to understand from a common-sense perspective, and they still were.

“A battle on the plains. I can’t understand what he’s thinking.”

Ṣehinşah would have had a better chance of winning if he had waged a siege war as much as possible, but he came out to the plains with all his forces.

Arda replied to ইউсуф’s words.

“Isn’t it because he trusted the forces of the Şahkulu who joined him?”

The opposing forces numbered 20,000.

There were many Turkmen in southern Anatolia who had a strong antipathy towards Bayezid, and it wasn’t strange that they had grown to this size in the meantime.

“I understand Şahkulu’s actions. He needs more fame.”

Şahkulu is a man whose goal is to establish a dynasty himself, just like Ismail, who started a rebellion and established a dynasty.

Originally, Şahkulu should have killed the Karagöz Beylerbeyi [governor of Karagöz] and gained greater fame, but Ṣehinşah had taken that away from him.

It was natural that he wanted to gain great fame in this battle. But Ṣehinşah didn’t need to follow Şahkulu’s wishes.

When you think about it, the two have different dreams.

“Well, I’ll just ask him directly.”

Victory is certain, so there’s no need to think hard.

As ইউсуф thought so, a soldier came to him with an urgent face and handed him a note, and ইউсуф said to the Grand Vizier after reading the note.

“In the end, my brother has raised an army.”

“…Would you like to turn the army around now? I will try to resolve this situation as much as possible.”

ইউсуф shook his head at the Grand Vizier’s suggestion.

“There’s no need to worry so much. Brother Ahmet is making a big mistake right now.”

“What mistake are you talking about?”

ইউсуф smiled deeply and said to the Grand Vizier’s question.

“The illusion that he will be able to cross the Bosphorus Strait to get to the capital. My brother will never be able to cross that strait.”