Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 1080

1080. Dog-Butchering (10)

Two days later, the commanders of the Janissaries met with the envoys from Habsburg.

“We will support Korkut. However, you must never forget that we supported you.”

“You will find it a wise choice.”

“Then, should we move to Anatolia immediately?”

“No, stay here and firmly defend Constantinople. Until Korkut arrives, ensure that no one crosses the gates of Constantinople.”

Upon hearing the envoy’s words, the Janissary commanders replied with confident expressions.

“Do not worry about that. Until Korkut from Anatolia arrives, no one will pass through these gates.”

The Janissary commanders were naturally confident. Their mission was to defend Constantinople and protect the Sultan. They were simply doing what they had to do anyway, and they weren’t about to miss an opportunity to gain considerable benefits.

* * *

As Selim and Korkut were being gambled on by the great powers of Europe, England, after much deliberation, also decided on its card. The card they chose was Ahmed.

‘Who is the most likely candidate to be the next Sultan?’

‘If others are already choosing him, how much of a stake can we, England, secure?’

‘Will that stake be worth the investment?’

Amidst much deliberation, some Englishmen had a change of heart.

“Wait? Does it necessarily have to be the Sultan?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Think about it. What we want from the Ottomans is to secure a passage to Persia and Baku, right?”

“That’s right. That’s why we’re trying to make the person we support the Sultan, to ensure the safety of the passage.”

“Look at the map. Constantinople is far from Persia and Baku. If we consider the connection with England, it would be more advantageous to seize Cyprus or Lebanon.”

“That is true.”

“Then let’s change our perspective. It’s not a good choice to spend more than necessary to make the person we support the Sultan. And if others besides England are investing in the same candidate, we’ll have a headache over the stake issue. So, let’s remove the part about necessarily making him the Sultan. Let’s start by aiming for the Sultan, but if achieving that goal is difficult, let’s immediately withdraw from the competition and focus on securing the Persian trade route by making the candidate we support the overlord of that region.”

“Even if you make him an overlord, the new Sultan won’t leave him alone, will he? It’s always been like that.”

“Think about Jem.”

“Jem? The current Sultan’s brother? Hmm…”

The current Sultan’s brother, Jem [also known as Cem Sultan], fled to Europe immediately after losing the Sultan competition. Since then, he had been living under house arrest in various parts of Europe, but it was the life of a ‘prisoner like a king.’ And Bayezid II had to give up aggressive foreign expansion because of Jem. If he overly provoked Europe, Europe would immediately put Jem forward and cause civil unrest in the Ottoman Empire.

“I see what you mean, but there’s a big problem. Jem was able to do that because he fled to Europe, but your plan requires him to stay in Ottoman territory, right? I’ll say it again, will the Sultan just let that happen?”

“There are three competitors now, not two. If it were a 1:1 fight, we’d have to run away, but there are three. If the other one who loses the competition doesn’t want to die, wouldn’t he move in a similar way to what I’m thinking?”

“Wait, wait…”

Those who had been arguing against it stopped talking at this point and fell into thought.

‘That’s definitely true!’

* * *

The first expedition of the new Sultan was to find and kill the other brothers and their children who had lost the competition. If he failed to do this properly, he would end up like the sixth Sultan, Murad II. At that time, Murad II had to fight a civil war with his brother Mustafa and another Mustafa who was ‘probably an uncle.’

The problem here was ‘probably an uncle’ Mustafa. When the previous Sultan, Mehmed [Mehmed the Conqueror], became Sultan, he killed all his brothers, but the whereabouts of the youngest, Mustafa, were unclear. And when Murad II was competing to become Sultan, a man appeared claiming to be ‘that’ Mustafa.

* * *

“So, those who lose the competition have no choice but to actively cooperate in order to save not only themselves but also their children. And if the only goal is defense, there will be less need for excessive spending.”

“I can’t agree with that. The Sultan will never let the defeated competitors live. The civil war will continue. In that case, excessive spending will definitely occur.”

“As I said before, the current situation is not a 1:1 competition. The newly crowned Sultan has two competitors remaining. He can’t put all his strength into just one person. And… who said we’d support them for free? We have to take what we can get.”

“Hmm…”

Eventually, this new plan was presented to Henry VII. After carefully reading the plan, Henry VII asked his vassals.

“How long does the civil war to determine the Ottoman Sultan usually last?”

“The longest period was 10 years.”

“10 years…”

After pondering for a moment, Henry VII took the royal seal and stamped it on the plan.

“I approve the execution of this plan based on this. And if possible…”

Henry VII paused for a moment, stared at the map, and continued.

“I hope the civil war lasts long, very long. I want to see the high noses of those who boast of being the ‘lords of the Middle East’ collapse. If they collapse like that, we, England, might be able to secure a land route to India, Ming [China under the Ming Dynasty], and the Empire [referring to various powerful empires in Asia].”

Terra and Gloria [Latin for ‘land’ and ‘glory,’ referring to colonial ambitions] were being developed steadily, but the places where the most wealth gathered were still India, Ming, and the Empire. Therefore, among some ambitious individuals, there was talk of ‘restoring the Silk Road.’ Even worse, some radical individuals among them began to mention ‘Alexander the Great’s Eastern Expedition.’

* * *

In this way, England joined the last train in the competition to determine the successor to the Ottoman Empire. Ahmed immediately accepted England’s proposal. It was an offer he couldn’t refuse, as Ahmed was isolated and alone, unlike the other competitors. With external forces intervening, the Ottoman succession battle became larger than expected.

As the full-scale race began, carts loaded with weapons made by European powers openly moved along the land routes and ports connected to the successor camps. It wasn’t just carts. Under the pretext of ‘protecting the cargo,’ the armies of the great powers moved, holding high the flags of the successors they supported.

In this situation, it was common for processions supporting different competitors to encounter each other. The commanders of the European powers, who restrained the Ottomans accompanying them from immediately rushing out, exchanged elegant greetings with the commanders standing opposite them. After exchanging elegant greetings, the two groups went their separate ways.

“Why are you just letting them go!”

The Ottoman warriors who accompanied them were angry, but the European commanders replied with calm faces.

“It’s not time yet. Once all the preparations are complete and the order is given, this will not happen.”

“Are you perhaps afraid? Is that why you don’t want to fight?”

The eyes of the European commanders flashed with murderous intent at the Ottoman warriors’ remarks.

“Do you not know the grudge between us and those vile and cowardly people, that you speak such words?”

“…My mistake.”

As preparations progressed to become the winner of the ‘succession battle that will go down in history,’ European mercenaries also began to get busy. The mercenaries, who had been experiencing a recession with their businesses temporarily closed, began to show signs of life as they were sought after in many places.

As the demand for mercenaries increased significantly, naive youngsters dreaming of instant riches began to flock to the mercenary corps. It wasn’t just naive youngsters who didn’t know the ways of the world. Urban workers and tenant farmers suffering from low wages, and runaway slaves seeking freedom, also flocked to the mercenary corps. As the size of the mercenary corps grew again, and gold and silver coins began to jingle in the mercenaries’ pockets, industries targeting mercenaries also began to thrive.

“Departure!”

The mercenary corps, having properly filled their ranks and completed some training, left their bases. Their destination was the Ottoman Empire. Behind such mercenary corps, carriages carrying prostitutes, pimps, and liquor merchants formed another group and followed. Interestingly, despite the arrival of the ‘mercenary boom,’ Switzerland, the ‘home of mercenaries,’ remained quiet.

This was largely due to the treaty they had with the Empire.

-Switzerland only supports the allied Empire with troops.

According to the treaty, Switzerland was in a constrained situation, but surprisingly, the Swiss did not express dissatisfaction. The Empire was steadily employing a considerable number of soldiers and paying them reliably.

That wasn’t all. Skilled artisans could immigrate to the Empire’s new territories. The Empire’s new territories were literally ‘lands of opportunity.’ However, the Empire wasn’t just taking from Switzerland. It established educational facilities throughout Switzerland to train artisans and built workshops to produce goods for sale in Europe—most notably, precision watches.

Thanks to this, Switzerland had shed its image as a ‘country that would starve to death if it didn’t engage in mercenary work’ and became the most pro-Empire country among all European nations.

* * *

The short ‘calm before the storm’ ended, and the three main competitors began to move.

“Let’s go, to Constantinople!”

“Waaah!”

With shouts, the troops, with flags bearing the names of the candidates and verses from the Quran, left the castle where they had been staying, heading for Constantinople. The soldiers strode forward with confident postures amidst the cheers of the women who had climbed onto the city streets and walls of the castle, sending their support with unique cries. The competitors, located in the center of their main camps, checked the changes in the situation with their confidants and European commanders.

“The scouts have sent reports!”

“Information from the spies has arrived.”

Based on the information sent from all directions, the competitors and their staff pondered their choices.

“Should we go straight to Constantinople? Or should we strike the others first? If we strike the others, who should we strike first?”

Among the competitors agonizing over the best move, Selim and Korkut made up their minds.

“Strike Ahmed first!”

Ahmed was located closest to Constantinople. Moreover, coincidentally, the place where Ahmed was located was on the route that had to be passed to get to Constantinople. Thanks to this, Selim and Korkut unintentionally launched a joint attack, and Ahmed was about to be attacked.

“The situation is bad, but it’s not hopeless. It’s just that we’ll have to suffer a lot.”

Ahmed had an ambiguous expression at the words of the staff member sent from England.

‘Is that good or bad?’