1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 408: Crisis of Nomadic Peoples

Time passed, and April of 1479 arrived as expected. People were looking forward to a warm and gentle spring, the melting of ice and snow, and the revival of all things.

During the previous winter, darkness and cold weather permeated the central and eastern parts of the Anatolian Peninsula. Scarce supplies and interference from the Eastern Roman Empire led to widespread famine. Nomads fought for the remaining pastures, farmers shivered in hunger and cold, and the refugees saw no hope of survival.

In just a few months, the warm and peaceful home turned into a cruel and ruthless slaughterhouse. Many people died of hunger, many people died of hypothermia, many people fell under the butcher knives of their Muslim "compatriots", and many people died on the way to escape.

Faced with this situation, the Ottoman Sultan and Dulkader Bey did not come up with any disaster relief measures. This nomadic alliance-style regime had weak control over the local areas. The backward productivity and potential threat of war also made them dare not open their granaries to release grain. They could only hide behind the strong city walls and let their people scatter.

Many Muslim refugees also chose to flee south. The Levant and Egypt would not be affected by the cold, and the Eastern Roman Empire had not yet reached there. After the triumphant liberation of the Cilician province, a large number of refugees gathered near Iskenderun, which was still under the rule of the Mamluk Dynasty. Due to the obstruction of mountains, rampant nomadism, and the long and dangerous land routes, they tried to escape by boat and reach the warm south.

Although many Islamic scholars organized rescue efforts and the Mamluk Sultan was willing to accept them in the hope of making up for the population lost in the civil war, the refugees' hopes ultimately came to nothing - since the revival of the Eastern Roman Empire, the double-headed eagle flag has been hovering over their heads like a death-threatening demon.

In December 1478, under the threat of the Eastern Roman Army, the number of refugees near Iskenderun increased. For a small or medium-sized city surrounded by mountains and oceans, this was obviously unbearable.

In January 1479, several Islamic schools in Egypt and the Levant united to try to provide assistance to the refugees gathered in Iskenderun. They funded some merchants and organized a fleet to try to help the refugees cross the sea to the south.

At first, things went very smoothly and several trial voyages were successful. The Eastern Roman Empire did not want too many refugees to stay in the border area and acquiesced to their actions.

However, after these resentful refugees arrived in the Levant and Egypt, they immediately began to spread religious hatred. The Islamic scholars who sailed south on the ship were at the forefront of the opposition to Christianity. The gathering places of Syriac Orthodox Christians, Maronite Christians and Coptic Orthodox Christians were looted and attacked by extreme Muslims.

In February 1479, the Eastern Roman Empire, in the name of persecution of its fellow Christians, produced passages from the Koran and demanded that the Mamluk government and the Islamic Church stop their brutal acts against Christians, respect the inherent rights of the "People of the Book", and put the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad into practice to the end.

On February 2, as the persecution was not effectively alleviated, the Eastern Mediterranean Fleet of the Eastern Roman Navy sailed to the Gulf of Iskenderun. More than a dozen main warships, led by the Sun of Cairo, bombarded Muslim refugee ships. The first attack resulted in the deaths of more than 5 refugees.

Subsequently, the Eastern Mediterranean Fleet's attacks on the Muslim fleet lasted for a full two months, and the calm Iskenderun Bay turned into a hunting ground for the "sea wolves". As long as the Eastern Roman Empire did not want to, no piece of wood could reach the south safely.

However, the actions of the Eastern Roman Empire did not bring better treatment to Christians living in the Levant and Egypt. Instead, religious conflicts continued to intensify. Small local sects such as the Maronites once again hid in the mountains, and the Copts near Egypt were also not very satisfied with the current Mamluk situation.

This situation made the Mamluk Sultan Qaiytbay very upset. He had to transfer part of the mercenary groups that were supposed to be provided to the Aq Qoyunlu dynasty back to his homeland. At the same time, he granted power to local emirs and asked them to quell the chaos and resolve disputes.

The Mamluk dynasty at this time was no longer as strong as before. The opening of new sea routes made it impossible for them to obtain huge amounts of money from the East-West trade as before. The establishment of the Circassian Kingdom and the change of hegemony over the Black Sea made it impossible for their proud Mamluk Legion to obtain fresh blood. Kayit Bey seized power by the most violent means and reorganized the country, but he was still controlled by the Eastern Roman Empire in every way. Mamluk merchants in Cairo and Alexandria even begged the Eastern Roman Empire to buy their goods.

Of course, Sultan Kayitbay could be regarded as the best of the late Mamluks. Due to financial pressure and military intimidation, he did not dare to openly break off relations with the Eastern Roman Empire, but he still dared to provide support to the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty to the best of his ability, while sheltering refugees as much as possible, hoping to take advantage of the vacuum period when the Eastern Roman Empire was conquering the Anatolian Peninsula to strengthen his own strength.

The Nile Delta is so rich that as long as there is a sufficient population, the farmland destroyed in the civil war can be restored quickly, often without taking too long.

As for the Ayun Avy King, Jacob won the civil war, eliminated the forces of Khalil, initially reorganized the territory, and temporarily gained the recognition and allegiance of all parties. The Ayun Avy King was still the most powerful Muslim regime in the Middle East, and it was still a local power from the Anatolian Peninsula to the Persian Plateau.

After the end of the Aq Qoyunlu Civil War, all the major nomadic alliances, including the Ottoman Sultan, Karaman Bey, and Dulkadir Bey, asked for help from the Aq Qoyunlu King Jacob, hoping that he could step forward to take charge of the situation, end the infighting, calm the conflicts, redivide the pastures, re-establish the rules, and lead the Muslims to survive, just as his father had done.

However, there was no consensus in Tabriz on whether and when to fight a decisive battle. The war faction shouted the glory of Boyan Dulhan, the legacy of Uzung Hasan and Allahhu Akbar, while the peace faction kept a close eye on the empty treasury, the scarce food and the repeatedly weakened army. As the attitude of the Eastern Roman Empire became increasingly arrogant, the Muslims in Asia Minor were facing a catastrophe, and the fanatical voices of the war faction became louder and louder, and were gradually gaining the upper hand.

In the northeast of the Anatolian Peninsula, a city is located in a valley beside a river. The frozen river is covered with white snow. A large number of crude tents are stationed around the city. Skinny refugees sit in the camp in a daze. Fully armed soldiers are guarding the city gates tightly to prohibit anyone from entering illegally.

The crescent flag of the Ottoman Sultan was flying above the city, and under the dim sky, the flag seemed to be covered with a shadow.

This is the city of Sivas on the Kyzyl River, the last capital of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II and the last relatively good city he could control.

Of course, this is only relative. Since the Ottoman Empire originated in the northwest of Asia Minor, it emphasized the West and despised the East in its ruling philosophy. It adopted a laissez-faire attitude towards the vast eastern territories for a long time and did not establish a firm control like it did over the territories along the Aegean Sea coast. Naturally, there was no development in people's livelihood and the economy.

Before the Ottoman Sultanate completely lost its core territory on the eastern coast of the Aegean Sea, the urban populations of Ankara and Sivas did not exceed 5,000. The eastward flight of Muslim refugees allowed these two cities to develop, but they were still not big cities. If they were placed in the Eastern Roman Empire, they would be on the same level as Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia.

During the reign of Murad II, Konya was the only big city in the inland Anatolian Plateau. However, this ancient city was severely destroyed by the attack of Mehmed II and has not recovered until now.

Now, if refugees are included, Sivas and its affiliated villages and towns are crowded with nearly 20,000 people, most of whom are living in hunger and cold. People die every day, and new refugees arrive from the West every day.

Of course, what caused the greatest harm to Muslim farmers was not hunger and cold, but the nomadic tribes that migrated here with Bayezid II. With the tacit consent of the Sultan, they did not have to go south to compete for winter pastures, but directly moved into various villages and towns, driving the settlers out of their homes.

In the temporary palace of the Ottoman Sultan in Sivas, Bayezid II stood at the window, silently looking at the depressed city with an expressionless face.

Behind him, a young woman in palace dress stood awkwardly. She was less than thirty years old, but deep wrinkles had already appeared between her brows, making her look old and haggard.

This was Bayezid II's legal wife, Aisha Khatun, who came from the kingdom of Dulkader Bey. She had lived with Bayezid for ten years and was Prince Selim's biological mother.

"Bubak still hasn't replied."

Bayezid asked calmly, while Aisha stammered and dared not speak.

"Forget it, it's not your fault."

Bayezid II sighed and waved his hand.

Boubak is the current Dulkader Bey. He is Aisha's brother and Bayezid II's cousin. Due to food shortages, Bayezid II has been writing to Boubak, trying to buy their food at a low price.

As far as Bayezid knew, although a severe famine had broken out in the country of Dulkader Bey and countless civilians had been killed and injured, Bubak himself had begun hoarding food and fodder very early on and stored it in heavily defended cities and castles. He had not provided any disaster relief, so there should still be a lot of stock.

However, several letters fell on deaf ears, and Bubak did not seem to want to lend a helping hand to Bayezid, his relative and cousin.

"Sit down, Aisha."

Seeing that his wife was in a daze, Bayezid patted the seat next to him and took out a bottle of wine from under the desk.

On the glass bottle, the emblem of the Eastern Roman Empire's Royal Brewery is very conspicuous. This was seized from a Cossack cavalry after Bayezid defeated them at the end of last year.

"It's the last bottle, let's drink some together."

Aisha sat down obediently and poured a glass for Bayezid.

On the road to escape, Bayezid lost all his marijuana production areas. After running out of marijuana, he picked up his childhood "bad habits" again and started drinking.

For an entire winter, he relied on alcohol to numb his mind and escape the bloody reality.

Bayezid drank a glass of wine, savoring the fragrance and sweetness that no longer belonged to him, with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.

"Thracian wine is still the best. After all these years, I still prefer the taste of my childhood."

"Aisha, do you still remember Thrace? The waves of the Aegean Sea beat against the coast, the sea breeze blew gently, and the large grape leaves swayed in the wind..."

"Unlike here, it's all gray."

Bayezid drank slowly with a misty look in his eyes, while Aisha poured the wine quietly without saying a word.

"Hometown..."

Bayezid bit his lip and closed his eyes.

Bayezid was a European with three-quarters Greek blood. He was born in Thrace in 1448 and spent his wonderful childhood on the Thracian Plain between the mountains and the sea.

When Bayezid was a child, the Ottoman Empire was still a prosperous country. He grew up listening to the legendary stories of his ancestors and hoped to achieve great achievements, expand territory and worship Allah like them.

However, Bayezid was also the last generation of the Ottoman heyday. He witnessed the entire process of the Ottoman decline and watched his country fall again and again under the attacks of the Eastern Roman Empire. He tried to change it, but it was always in vain.

After Mehmed II's full retreat to Anatolia, Bayezid continued his education in Amasya, where he married Aisha from Dulkadir and soon fell in love with the city, treating it as his second home.

He liked the city on the Yesil River, the minaret mosque, the red apples of Amasya, and the not-so-cold winter there. It seemed that the gods in heaven were reluctant to let beautiful Amasya suffer the invasion of the cold winter, and specially opened a small opening in the Pontus Mountains to allow the warm current from the Black Sea to flow into that small valley.

After the fall of Bursa, Bayezid restored a small sultanate in Ankara. He sheltered many scholars, settled many refugees, and wanted to rebuild the country's strength. Not to mention returning to his hometown, at least he wanted to keep the flag passed down by Osman I flying.

However, the cold reality dealt him a heavy blow: the fighting tribes, the criticizing ministers, the dissatisfied merchants... Bayezid had no way to completely control them in his own hands. He could only obey their wishes as much as possible in exchange for the Sultan's crown.

During his several years of rule, Bayezid was not happy living in Ankara. He had to face bad news one after another every day. He did not have enough money to rebuild the standing army, nor enough prestige to require the nomadic tribes to settle down. He did not have enough administrative efficiency to improve the laws and improve people's livelihood. He spent several years in a daze, anesthetized by alcohol and marijuana, until the peace treaty expired and the Eastern Roman Empire attacked again.

Of course, he was not without achievements. In the early days of the establishment of the Ankara regime, he sent his eldest son Ahmed to the east. He not only drove away a number of Eastern Roman armed reclamation groups and recovered several villages and towns near the city of Amasya, but also successfully suppressed the separatist tendencies in the eastern territories, preserving a glimmer of hope for his continued survival today.

Among his sons, Bayezid II liked his eldest son Ahmed the most, because this son was very similar to Bayezid in his early years in terms of appearance, personality and political views. He was gentle and capable, keen on construction rather than looting, a devout Muslim but willing to be tolerant of Christians and Hebrews, and advocated farming and settlement rather than nomadic migration.

Whenever he saw his ambitious eldest son, Bayezid would always think of his younger self. At that time, he was also an ambitious young man. The erosion of time and the helplessness of reality pushed him into the abyss, but the fire of ideals in his heart was still not extinguished.

With the support of Bayezid II, Ahmed carried out some reforms in the city of Amasya, far away from Ankara, including establishing a government, developing the economy, resettling refugees, encouraging farming, and forming a militia... Ahmed treated Amasya in the same way the Ottoman Empire had treated its core territories along the Aegean coast, trying to build on the foundation of his predecessors and further transform it into a real Ottoman city rather than a Turkic town.

The city of Amasya was originally one of the most important eastern cities in the Ottoman Empire. Many Ottoman princes came here to receive education. The local people were relatively loyal to the Ottoman family. Ahmed's efforts achieved a lot of results.

Bayezid was very happy to see his "second hometown" getting better step by step and his eldest son, who he had high hopes for, becoming more and more mature. He also agreed to all his son's reasonable requests.

Later, Ahmed also summoned the local chiefs of Amasya and asked them to contribute money and manpower to try to build a dam on the tributaries of the Yesil River to solve the frequent flooding problem.

It turned out that Ahmed's personal charisma and organizational skills were first-rate. Landlords and rich peasants were very interested in this infrastructure that could effectively improve the quality of the land. They provided him with a sum of money that was neither too much nor too little, and also promised to provide labor.

So, Ahmed asked Bayezid for a number of Muslim scholars who were proficient in engineering, and started the project on the site of an ancient dam. Although the dam was destroyed, the frame was still there, and it could be completed by simply filling it with new stones.

After more than a year of repairs, this dam, which was built during the reign of Constantine the Great, regained its vitality. In the following two years, the flood problem in the city of Amasya was significantly improved, large tracts of fertile fields were opened up, and refugees from the west found a new home.

Thinking of this, Bayezid II took a sip of wine. A flash of relief appeared in his eyes, and soon turned into sadness.

Just as he had always worried, the city of Amasya had a fatal geographical problem - it was too close to the Eastern Roman Empire and too far from heaven.

The mountains to the north of Amasya are gentle and flat, which allows it to maintain a good temperature even in winter, but also greatly facilitates the advance from the coast to the inland. If a cavalry is stationed in the Kyzyl River delta around Sinop and Samsun, they can rush to the city of Amasya through the river valley at any time.

In 1478, the Second Great Turkish War began. Justinian, the co-ruling emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, summoned the steppe tribes to form the Caucasus Army, which began to roam along the Black Sea coast, crossing the mountains from time to time to attack Muslim towns.

Since the Eastern Roman Empire inherited everything from the Absolute Principality of Trebizond intact, it subsequently continued to build a large number of castles and fortresses in the Pontic Mountains. This looting was often one-way, as important settlements of the Eastern Roman Empire had mountain fortresses as barriers, but the Muslims could not spare the funds necessary to build and maintain castles.

In that autumn, due to the civil strife in the Aq Qoyunlu dynasty, the Ottoman Sultanate had to maintain a defense line in Ankara in the west. The inland areas including Amasya, Tokat and Sivas almost became a hunting ground for the Cossacks. Justinian led the cavalry to burn, kill and loot. Later, the price of slaves was so low that they didn't even want slaves. Once a Muslim was caught, he would be executed immediately without leaving a single one alive.

As a large city on the front line, Amasya suffered the most attacks. Justinian went directly behind the city and blew up the dam on a night of heavy rain, allowing the flood to flow back into the city of Amasya, turning it into a water town.

The Cossack cavalry then destroyed three towns and dozens of villages around the city. Greek Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox Christians were relocated north, and the remaining Muslims were scattered in the coming winter.

Bayezid and Ahmed couldn't understand why the Eastern Roman Empire would implement this kind of war strategy, completely disregarding governance and the value of united front work. Didn't they worry about the treasury being depleted and returning empty-handed?
After the destruction of Amasya, Ahmed fled to the city of Sivas. The heavy rain along the way made him seriously ill, and there is no sign of improvement until now.

Later, under the threat of nomadic tribes, Bayezid destroyed Ankara and led his people to migrate eastward. The city of Sivas finally stabilized. Bayezid even captured a Cossack detachment that had no time to evacuate and beheaded nearly two thousand people, achieving the first victory since the war began.

After the battle, Bayezid found that the famous Cossack cavalry was far inferior to the Eastern Roman army in terms of combat effectiveness, and was only slightly stronger than ordinary nomadic cavalry. He summoned his troops and prepared to continue to deal with the Cossacks and choose a decisive battle to solve the northern border problem in one fell swoop. However, after the battle, the Cossack cavalry began to withdraw from Anatolia and return to the southern Russian steppes. Bayezid's troops only saw the black muzzles of the mountain fortresses, and did not even see the shadow of a Cossack.

At first, Bayezid was very happy about this, and it seemed that he had really defeated the crown prince of the Eastern Roman Empire and drove him out of the peninsula.

Later, Bayezid learned that Justinian's retreat had little to do with his local victory, but rather that something had gone wrong in the Cossacks' lair - the Tatar cavalry of the Golden Horde had begun looting, and the Cossacks had to defend the most important coal city, Carlossberg.

Later, Bayezid began to know that the Golden Horde was looting everywhere like crazy, and not only the Cossack Kingdom was harmed, but also the Circassian Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Moscow. The entire East European steppe was in chaos.

Bayezid was of course very happy about this situation. The Eastern Roman Empire relied on the output of the colonies and the patriotic enthusiasm of its citizens to rapidly build supply lines in the wilderness. He did not have enough troops to deal with enemies from both the west and the north.

However, he soon found out the reason why the Tatar nomads went crazy, and why they left their homes and went to the battlefield even though they knew their strength was limited.

The pasture is gone.

At the end of the 15th century, on the vast northern grasslands of the Eurasian continent, a cold wave swept down from the north, large tracts of grassland degraded, and a large number of herders fled. From Eastern Europe to East Asia, nomadic peoples fell into a survival crisis. They faced two choices: either starve to death or grab enough necessities of life before they starved to death.

In faraway East Asia, even though the Ming Dynasty suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Tumu, it still possessed strong military strength in the second half of the 15th century. Several border incursions by Mongolia and Jurchen were thwarted, and many tribes were unable to recover.

On the great plains of East Europe, the era of the Golden Family is coming to an end. Jochi Ulus has entered a critical period of life and death. The last Great Khan, Ahmad, in a narrow sense, is actively contacting Poland and Lithuania, trying to curb the rise of Moscow and rely on external plunder to get out of the predicament. A conflict that will determine the fate of the Russians and Tatars is brewing.

Although the Tatar raiders focused on the more densely populated and agriculturally developed Russian states, the Cossack Kingdom and the Circassian Kingdom were still affected, and Justinian had to lead his troops back to defend the lifeline of the Eastern Roman Empire's coal industry.

Before Bayezid II could be happy for long, the cold wind of the cold wave blew onto his land. The areas most affected by the Little Ice Age were high latitudes and high altitudes. The latitude of the Ottoman Sultanate was not high, but Bayezid's current territory was almost entirely plateaus and mountains.

Roughly speaking, the temperature drops by 6°C for every 11-meter increase in altitude. Even the city of Sivas, which is built on the river, has an altitude of more than 4 meters. The climate change is vividly displayed on this land. From November to April, the entire Sivas is covered in snow.

Whenever he saw the frozen corpses, nomadic tribes robbing farmers and the increasingly depressed markets, Bayezid always missed his distant hometown of Thrace and the era when the Ottoman Empire controlled the Aegean Sea.

During the reign of Murad II, although natural disasters still occurred, they were far less difficult to deal with than they are today. A country with a vast territory and a complete administrative system would never be defeated by natural disasters. The central and eastern plateau mountainous areas with poor climatic conditions were not the core control areas of the Ottoman Empire.

However, Bayezid no longer knew how to save his country and could only pin his hopes on the intervention of the White Ayun Empire and the Mamluks.

Not long ago, due to long-term war and depression, the Ah brothers, who had always supported the Ottoman family, had internal conflicts. This group of merchants hated war and longed for a stable Anatolia. Some of them persuaded Bayezid's weak second son Korkud to surrender to the Eastern Roman Empire with hundreds of his followers, declared conversion to Orthodoxy, and became Roman citizens.

Korkud's betrayal did not make Bayezid very angry. The child had always lived under the shadow of his brother Ahmed. He was already dissatisfied with his father's lack of attention. There were not many people following him, so he could not cause any unrest.

Sometimes, when Bayezid finished smoking marijuana and had wild thoughts, he would think that this might be a good thing. The most favored Ahmed stood firmly on his father's side, the unfavored second son Korkud entered the Eastern Roman Empire, and the third son Selim took refuge under the banner of the White Ayun Dynasty. The Ottoman family also flourished and survived.

Prince Orhan, who fled to the Eastern Roman Empire long ago, was also a descendant of the Ottomans. Wasn't he living a prosperous life and even marrying a noble lady from the Dukas-Komnenos family for his eldest son?
Bayezid was lost in thought, but his glass was empty.

There was a commotion outside the palace. It sounded like it came from the city gate. It must be soldiers fighting, or refugees from nowhere clamoring to enter the city.

Bayezid stared at the empty wine glass in a trance, sighed, handed the glass to Aisha, stood up, prepared his horse and rode away.

The city of Sivas is not big. The hungry citizens on the street stared at Bayezid who was surrounded by the guards with lost eyes. They no longer had the respect they once had.

Bayezid was accustomed to this, so he quickened his pace and arrived at the city gate.

"What happened?"

Bayezid looked at the noisy guards and frowned.

"Your Majesty, an army is coming."

The guard responded and pointed to the hillside outside the city. On the hillside, a dispirited and ragged army was slowly walking towards the city.

Bayezid narrowed his eyes, looked at the flags above the army, and muttered to himself.

"The Karamans...why are they here?"

After a while, the Karaman army stopped, and a column of fairly neatly dressed cavalry trotted towards Bayezid.

"Your Majesty the Sultan, long time no see."

Karaman Bey Ucan walked out of the cavalry and saluted Bayezid with a wry smile.

"We've all been down and out these years."

"Wu Can...why are you here?"

Bayezid looked at Wucan in confusion.

"Aren't you fighting the Greeks in the south?"

"Karaman was captured, and my troops rushed back to provide support, but we lost."

Wu Can said briefly, and forced a smile with the corners of his slightly cracked mouth.

"The Greeks used a new weapon, an iron barrel thrown by a catapult. I don't know what's inside, but it's very powerful..."

Wu Can said.

"The remaining soldiers reported that the city walls, which were full of defenders, suddenly turned into a burning hell. They believed that it was the fire from heaven summoned by the deceased Isaac."

Wu Can pursed his lips.

"After the new weapons arrived, Karaman City didn't last even a week."

"How...how could this happen?"

Bayezid was a little surprised.

"Karaman City is a real fortress, built on a mountain, with strong defenses. This--"

Bayezid was halfway through his words when he saw Wu Can's resentful look and shut his mouth.

More than a decade ago, Karaman was indeed a very strong fortress city. Unfortunately, when Bayezid's father, Mehmed II, conquered the Karaman Bey State, in order to prevent this area from rebelling again, he demolished a large number of city walls and carried out large-scale population exchanges, which fundamentally destroyed the foundation of this Bey State.

"Okay, now what do you want to do?"

Bayezid sighed.

"Jacob did not send troops. We all know this."

"Karaman's people were scattered everywhere. I gathered some of the remnants and sheltered some refugees. I came to you."

Wu Can stated his purpose.

"I still have a tribe of more than 10,000 people, and can mobilize 2,000 riders. If you need me, I will fight for you."

"Is there still a need for war?"

Bayezid looked into the distance dejectedly.

"You said before that we had to win a few battles, create some trouble for the Greeks, and then negotiate and exchange nominal allegiance for actual autonomy."

"And now? The Greeks don't want to talk at all."

"Yes, I did underestimate their determination."

Wu Can nodded.

"The Greeks don't care about money or governance. They want to exterminate our race."

Wu Can said, lowering his voice.

"But, Your Majesty, do not give up hope. Although King Jacob does not want to fight, he must fight. Including the Mamluk Sultan, they have no choice."

"The Safavid sect is trying hard to persuade Jacob to join the war, the Mushasha sect is gathering food and fodder, Dulkadir Bey is negotiating with the nomadic tribes, and the Mamluk Sultan has provided a lot of mercenaries."

"Your Majesty, this time it is not for glory, not even for Allah."

"We are backed into a corner and we have to fight for survival."

"Fighting for survival..."

Bayezid savored the despair and determination revealed in these words, feeling mixed emotions.

Once upon a time, the Ottoman Empire also had a glorious past that spanned Europe and Asia. At that time, it was Christians, not Muslims, who united for survival.

"The Yesil Valley in the north was destroyed by the Greeks. If you wish, you can camp there."

Bayezid looked at Wucan.

"The snow has stopped, but the snow hasn't melted yet. I don't know how much pasture you can find to use."

"Okay, thank you."

Wu Can quickly agreed and bowed deeply to Bayezid with the attitude of a subject to his monarch.

"May Allah bless us to hold out until the snow melts. Jacob will not sit idly by. When he calls us to join the battle, I will accompany you."

Bayezid nodded, and Wucan took his leave, organized his troops, and headed north.

"What a cold winter it is."

Bayezid muttered to himself, turned his horse and rode away.

(End of this chapter)