1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 274 Bayezid

Bursa, Ottoman Empire.

A small team of heavily armored cavalry walked slowly. Among the cavalry, Bayezid stared at the Bursa Palace right in front of him.

Bayezid, 22 years old, is the eldest son and heir of Mehmed II. He was recently appointed by his father as the governor of the Karaman region, in charge of eastern affairs.

Although Bayezid was young, he already had three sons: Ahmed, Korkud and Selim, who was only two years old.

Since the Ottoman Empire lost the province of Rumelia and moved into Anatolia, only one of Mehmed II's three sons was left. Prince Mustafa died of illness, and the infant Prince Cem was captured by the Eastern Roman Empire. Only Bayezid survived because he was far away from Adrianople.

From then on, for the stability of the country, Mehmed II declared that Mustafa and Cem were both dead, Bayezid was the only heir of Osman, and he would not remarry to avoid a succession crisis.

"Prince, His Majesty the Sultan and the viziers are waiting for you in the palace."

The old eunuch guarding the palace gate saw Bayezid stop and kindly reminded him.

"Yes, I'll be there right away."

Bayezid nodded and dismounted.

The old eunuch looked at the young and handsome Bayezid with some emotion.

Bayezid had three-quarters Greek blood, looked Eastern European, and was inclined towards the Devshirme faction within the empire. He was not very fond of the "re-Turkification" policy implemented by his father, and advocated the appointment of Devshirme officers and civil officials, the development of culture and economy, internal reforms, and the enhancement of overall national strength.

In his view, the traditional nomadic Turks were destined to be eliminated by the times. If the Ottoman Empire wanted to become strong again, it had to completely abandon its nomadic tradition and develop its own culture.

In order to balance the various factions, Mehmed II did not interfere much with Bayezid and allowed him to rebuild the Kapikulu cavalry and the Janissary Guards.

The previous sultans of the Ottoman Empire left a complete Janissary training and development system for future generations. When the Balkans fell, there were still many new recruits left in the Janissary training camps in Anatolia. Bayezid used this as a basis and combined with some Janissary veterans who followed Mehmed II to Anatolia to re-form a 5,000-man Janissary Guards and a 1,000-man Kapikulu Cavalry.

Of course, since the Ottoman Empire's national strength was not as strong as before, the Janissary Guards and Kapikulu Cavalry rebuilt by Bayezid could not be compared with their predecessors in terms of weapons and equipment, fighting will and military quality.

Even so, these soldiers still had an overwhelming advantage over the traditional conscripts of the Turkic tribes of Asia Minor, and the rebels of the Karamanbey and Ramazanbey states were unable to gain much advantage over them.

Bayezid also provided some protection to persecuted Greek and Armenian talents, placing them in major cities or legions to make them shine.

In order to ease domestic conflicts and prevent Greek and Armenian people from gaining power in the army, Bayezid and Mehmed II discussed and decided to agree to the request of the Turkish nobles and began to recruit Turkic Muslims into the Janissary Army instead of turning them away.

Bayezid was well aware that in the long run this policy would do more harm than good, and would greatly weaken the Ottoman Sultan's control over the Janissaries, and would also greatly weaken the centripetal force of the Janissary soldiers towards the Ottoman Sultan.

However, the current Ottoman Empire is no longer able to look to the long term, and until the threats from the East and the West are resolved, everything is focused on survival.

"Your Highness, it's time to go in."

A young Janissary officer beside Bayezid gave a reminder.

"Okay, Ishaq, take them to the military camp to rest."

Bayezid looked at the young officer.

This man was named Ishaq, one of Bayezid's confidants. He was extremely talented and made great contributions in Bayezid's career of suppressing rebellions.

Ishaq hesitated and looked at Bayezid.

"Your Highness, let me take them to pay respects in front of the statue of Mahmoud Pasha. The soldiers all want to go."

"Okay, let's go."

Bayezid said gently.

Since Mahmud Pasha died in Varna, Mehmed II was heartbroken and repeatedly requested the Eastern Roman Empire to transport Mahmud's body back to Bursa, but was rejected on the grounds that Mahmud was a descendant of the Eastern Roman royal family, his mother and brother were still alive, and they should be buried in the Angelos family mausoleum.

Mehmed II had no choice but to collect Mahmud Pasha's relics in Anatolia, bury them underground, and erect a sculpture above them for future generations to admire.

From then on, Ottoman soldiers liked to worship in front of the statue of Mahmud in Bursa before going to war or after a victory, believing that this would bring them good luck.

The Ottoman soldiers never thought that Mahmud Pasha's defeat was his own fault, but attributed it entirely to the betrayal of Grand Prince Vlad III of Wallachia. In their minds, Mahmud was still the invincible war marshal.

Bayezid walked up the steps and, led by the eunuchs, entered the royal palace in Bursa.

This palace was originally a residence during the Eastern Roman Empire. After Orhan I conquered Bursa, he made it the capital, but he did not build a luxurious palace. He just used it as a resting place on the road to conquest.

Later, Mehmed II retreated to Anatolia and the palace was reopened. Due to lack of funds, he did not spend lavishly and just lived in the somewhat old palace to show that he would never live in complacency.

Bayezid entered the meeting room and Mehmed II, who was sitting on the throne, knelt down and bowed to him.

"Father, I'm back. Most of the rebellions in Karaman and Ramazan have been pacified. Some small groups of bandits are hiding in the mountains. It will take some time."

"Get up, I saved a seat for you, go eat something."

Mehmed II poked his head out from the shadows and looked at his eldest son.

At this time, Mehmed II was already 37 years old. Years of worry and fatigue made him look unusually old. He was fat, his joints were red and swollen, his skin was purple, and his forehead was covered with wrinkles.

Since alcohol is forbidden in the Islamic world, they have developed other "entertainment" to the extreme, such as overeating, drugs, pedophilia, and young girls...

Mehmed II gave up drinking many years ago and began to overeat to relieve stress, with a particular fondness for seafood.

In addition, he is a bisexual who likes to gather boys and girls for orgy when he is under great pressure.

As for his eldest son Bayezid, he also gave up drinking and switched to opium and marijuana.

Of course, compared to his time in Edirne, Mehmed II had become much more restrained. He still ate gluttonously as before, but singing, dancing, feasting and group debauchery were rarely carried out.

In order to protect his last piece of territory, he had to invest a large amount of money in military construction and local stability maintenance, and he no longer had much money to squander.

As for the other senior officials, they were also addicted to drugs and lust, and did not think that Muhammad II's gluttonous habits were an unforgivable sin.

A big sultan, even if it tastes good, how much can one eat?

As a result, Mehmed II has been suffering from gout since he was thirty years old, and it has not improved to this day and has been getting worse.

Mehmed II looked around and saw that all the ministers were busy eating, so he smiled softly.

"Everyone, I have called you all here today because I have a few things to announce."

Several senior officials raised their heads and looked at Mehmed II.

"First, our Aegean Sea Wall has been officially completed. From the southern Black Sea to the western Mediterranean Sea, the entire eastern coast of the Aegean Sea is protected by the fortress group."

Mehmed II spoke, looking at Chandar Ibrahim, who was appointed Grand Vizier.

"Ibrahim, please introduce yourself."

The Grand Vizier stood up and faced the crowd.

"Under the instructions of His Majesty the Sultan, the Aegean Wall took six years to complete. We built a series of fortresses at strategic locations on the eastern coast of the Aegean Sea to prevent the Greeks from landing."

"A large part of these fortresses was built with the help of Venetian craftsmen, whose skills were excellent and not inferior to those of the Greeks."

"Although Anatolia has a long coastline, there are not many places suitable for landing. If the Greeks want to attack our core territory, they will inevitably land in the Aegean Sea."

"If they tried to bypass the Aegean Wall and land on the north or south coast, they would immediately be trapped in the vast mountains, hills and arid plateaus, and would be constantly plundered by nomadic cavalry, and would not be able to touch any large city."

"We can then leisurely prepare our troops and wait for the enemy to attack."

Ibrahim smiled.

"It can be said that we have basically acquired the ability to fight a protracted war with the Greeks. During the landing operation, their army could not deploy and could not break through our defense line in a short time."

"Build this barrier, and the strait will be impenetrable!"

"What about Cilicia? The plains there are suitable for landing, and it is very close to the Greek island of Cyprus. I can often see Greek pirates."

Bayezid asked. "Cilicia is indeed one of the few plains on the peninsula, but the plain faces the sea on one side and is surrounded by mountains on three sides. The road to the east is blocked by high mountains, with only a small mountain gate as a connection."

Ibrahim said.

"We can station an army at the mountain gate to block the road to the hinterland. If the Greeks try to land in Cilicia, we can give this place to them."

Bayezid frowned and nodded.

The Cilicia region has a large number of Armenians, mainly in the plains. After the Ottoman Empire conquered the State of Ramazan Bey, it did not rule it deeply, but instead supported a puppet Bey.

If the Eastern Roman Empire landed here, the Cilician Plain would certainly not be able to be defended, but this place is extremely far away from the Ottoman core area and still does not pose a threat to the rule of Mehmed II.

Seeing that no one spoke, Mehmed II spoke again.

"The second thing is about the changes in Persia."

Mehmed II raised his head and opened his empty eyes.

"As you all probably know, Busayin is dead, Hassan Ali is dead, Timur is finished, and the Black Sheep is finished."

"A power vacuum had emerged in much of Persia, allowing Uzung Hassan to advance eastward unhindered."

"From what I know, the Greek Emperor and the Aries King have been in frequent contact in recent days. They are likely to sign an alliance and jointly attack us in a few years."

After these words were spoken, the ministers fell silent.

"Isn't Uzon Hassan afraid of being blamed by Allah for forming an alliance with the infidels?"

A voice asked, but received no answer.

In the Islamic world, it is common to form an alliance with Christians. The current Ottoman Empire has also signed a 20-year alliance with the Republic of Venice, from which it has gained a lot of support.

Mehmed II sighed.

"Uzon Hassan is a proud and daring man. Many years ago, when he was still weak, he dared to invade our borders. If he grows up, it is inevitable that he will march into Anatolia."

"So what are you going to do?"

Bayezid asked.

Mehmed II was silent for a moment and then spoke slowly.

"I plan to send envoys to Tabriz, Cairo, and Damascus to see if I can persuade the Muslim monarchs to unite and jointly resist the Greek invasion."

"The Greeks don't have a strong grip on Egypt. The two sides maintain a delicate balance. Recently, the Egyptian Sultan, that fool Mansur, died. The new Sultan is not very satisfied with the two major mercenary groups stationed in Egypt. He just has to use them due to military pressure."

"Recently, the Greeks have been attacking from all sides and have even extended their hands to the Caucasus Mountains. Aries King Uzon Hassan will not fail to see this."

"Will it succeed?"

Bayezid asked expressionlessly.

"What benefit will they get from your doing this?"

"Egypt is not to be mentioned. They are still fighting a civil war. If the Sultan of Cairo dares to turn against the Greeks, the Greeks will dare to cut off his trade routes and let the two major mercenary groups provide assistance to other claimants."

"As for the Caucasus, you don't think that Uzon Hassan would leave Anatolia, which is so empty, alone and go to the mountains to fight with castles and fortresses, do you?"

"So what do you think we should do?"

Mehmed II was a little angry.

"We can only try our best to stabilize the Aries Dynasty and wait for the situation to change."

"As for what you said before, taking advantage of Uzung Hassan's eastward march into Persia to harass his lair, there is absolutely no possibility of that happening!"

"The White Sheep Dynasty is a nomadic alliance. It doesn't have any so-called home base. The current capital of Uzungol Hassan is not Diyarbakir, but Tabriz!"

"Besides, without tens of thousands of troops, don't even think about gaining an advantage on the battlefield. We don't have the ability to do so!"

Mehmed II waved his hands irritably.

"If that day really comes, we must protect the core area along the Aegean coast at all costs. As for Eastern Anatolia, we must try to hold on to it."

Bayezid shook his head and smiled bitterly.

The Ottoman Empire is now in a very embarrassing situation. The Eastern Roman Empire refuses to engage in peace talks and refuses to withdraw the navy and pirates that harass Anatolia. Tens of thousands of troops and the East Mediterranean Fleet are always guarding across the strait, ready to fight at any time, waiting for the Ottomans to reveal a flaw.

In order to defend their homeland, the Ottoman Empire had to place most of its resources and manpower on the eastern coast of the Aegean Sea. Despite this, they could only barely hold on.

The most despairing thing is that as time goes on, the Eastern Roman Empire shows no signs of weakness. Its national strength continues to grow rapidly, its economy is good, its politics is stable, and its military strength is skyrocketing.

If the two sides continue to confront each other, the gap will become wider and wider, and the Eastern Roman Empire will only need to wait for an opportunity to march into Anatolia.

The current Ottoman Empire cannot withstand any setbacks. If it suffers another major defeat, it will completely collapse.

If the Ottoman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire were adjacent to each other by land, Mehmed II might have mobilized his entire army and made a desperate attempt before the Eastern Roman Empire had completed its development, and perhaps he would have been able to fight back.

However, the barrier of the strait and the lack of navy made the Ottoman Empire lose the initiative, and whether to go to war or not depended entirely on the decision of the Eastern Roman Emperor.

The feeling of waiting to die is uncomfortable, and the feeling of being powerless is even more uncomfortable. The entire Ottoman Empire, from the Sultan to the prince, from the vizier to the soldiers, did not think that they could defeat the Eastern Roman Emperor on the front battlefield. They just wanted to drag it out as long as possible, hoping for changes in the international situation.

Mehmed II always believed that the hardships he suffered today were brought to him by the Greek emperor. The once powerful Eastern Roman Empire was also supported by him alone. If he died, the huge empire would surely fall apart, and his successors would definitely not have the ability to dominate a generation.

During these ten years, Mehmed II had sent more than a dozen waves of assassins to the Eastern Roman Empire, but all returned in vain.

Unlike other emperors, Emperor Isaac did not like staying in the palace and was homeless all day. The assassins had no idea of his movements. After finally finding Carthage, they could only watch the ships sail westward and sigh in despair.

Mehmed II remembered that on several occasions, the hated Emperor Isaac released the captured assassins and brought a lot of letters, full of nagging, advising him to eat less seafood and indulge in less male paramours to avoid damaging his health.

Thinking of this, Muhammad II became very annoyed and shook his head vigorously.

"That's it, you guys eat, I'm going back to the palace to rest."

Under the silent gaze of the ministers, several maids supported Mehmed II, who was suffering from gout, and disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

After Mehmed II left, the ministers continued to toast and chat, using cheers and laughter to cover up their inner fear and anxiety.

Bayezid sighed, pushed the food in front of him away, and walked out of the palace.

The sky was dark, thick black clouds pressed towards the ground, and a heavy rain was brewing.

Bayezid looked at the dark clouds, thought of his father's gout, and frowned again.

"Your Highness, you are out."

Ishaq was waiting by the side, leading the horse.

"What about the rest?"

Bayezid climbed onto his horse.

"You gave them a holiday. Did you forget?"

Bayezid nodded and gently squeezed the horse's belly.

"Let's go to the smoking room. I feel uncomfortable."

The two men mounted their horses and galloped towards the opium den in Bursa.