Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

In the strait connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea, there is a bay surrounded by the sea on three sides, called the Golden Horn, and the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople, is located here.

At the end of last year, an earthquake suddenly destroyed part of the wall of Constantinople.

This impregnable castle had a gap, which became a major concern for the Ottoman Empire.

The entire castle strengthened its vigilance against the gap that could not be repaired in time, but thinking of the strength of their Ottoman Empire, they did not take this small castle gap to heart.

But no one expected that the fifth prince Selim would suddenly lead an army here today, which immediately caused panic in the entire castle.

In fact, there was turmoil in the Ottoman Empire. Since the sixty-year-old King Bayezid was half buried, his two sons Selim and Ahmed started a fight for the throne.

This fight for the throne started two years ago. Ahmed was Selim's brother. He led the Eastern Expedition Army to defeat Karaman's Turks and the Safavid Dynasty, their ally in Anatolia.

Ahmed returned as a victor and naturally became the person closest to the throne. Even the king at that time, Bayezid, felt threatened by his son Ahmed.

The fifth prince Selim was afraid that his safety would be threatened, so he wanted to start an uprising in Thrace, but was suppressed by Bayezid and expelled to Crimea.

Two years later, with the support of the Janissaries, Selim returned from Crimea and defeated his brother Ahmed who was stationed outside.

Now without receiving the summons from the king of the Ottoman Empire, he suddenly led the army to Constantinople. His ambition is naturally self-evident.

"Pass on my order, the whole city is on alert, and Selim is not allowed to enter Constantinople!" Bayezid immediately issued an order after learning that the five princes had arrived outside the castle.

He knew that the fifth prince Selim had greater ambitions and more cruel methods than Bayezid. This time he might kill him and seize the throne, so he directly declared a state of alert and banned Selim from entering Constantinople.

The sky was gloomy, and the walls of Constantinople looked particularly old and heavy.

Due to his age, Bayezid had the habit of taking a nap. He was lying in his bedroom snoring like thunder, his fat body rising and falling, and he knew nothing about the coming storm.

"Your Highness, please!" The commander of the Royal Guard personally opened a side door of the palace and welcomed the fifth prince Selim in.

Selim was a middle-aged man with an eagle nose. His face was full of perseverance and determination, and his eyes were shining with desire for power. He led his loyal subordinates into the palace.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the palace was tense and depressing. The servants had been bought by Selim's money and promises, and were kneeling silently to welcome Selim's arrival.

Selim walked into the bedroom, and his footsteps echoed in the empty room.

His heartbeat was beating against his chest like a war drum, but his face remained calm and composed, knowing that the next moment would determine the fate of his life.

Power forced him to take risks, even if it meant killing his father and brother himself.

Selim finally came to Bayezid's bed, looking at his sleeping father with a satisfied smile on his face, and a trace of disdain flashed in his eyes.

Ah...

Bayezid suddenly woke up from his sleep, and when he saw Selim standing in front of the bed, he couldn't help but scream, and then pointed at him in disbelief and said, "You...how did you get in?"

"Father, I have something important to report!" Selim's mouth corners slightly raised, and his voice was low and firm.

Bayezid had already determined that the person in front of him was Selim, and at this moment he was extremely scared: "Selim, you come out immediately! Come on, come on!"

At this moment, except for the two most loyal guards brought in by Selim, there was no one else, or everyone else was blind and deaf.

"Father, the Ottoman Empire is already in a precarious situation, and I think it's time to make a change." Selim saw Bayezid's panic, and his tone was full of mystery at this moment.

Bayezid saw that no one outside obeyed his orders, and finally knew that everyone in the palace had betrayed him: "Change? Selim, how do you want to change?"

"Father, you are old and in poor health. It's time to pass the throne to someone more capable." Selim's eyes were full of ambition, and he seemed to be reckless.

Bayezid's face froze, and he immediately glared at Selim and ordered: "Get out, get out!"

He was still worried whether the fleet of the Atlantic Governor's Office would come for revenge, but the first one to come was his son, and he wanted to seize his throne.

Faced with the other party's unreasonable request, he naturally could not agree, and would never give his throne to this beast.

"Father, if you don't think about yourself, shouldn't you think about my two sisters and your most beloved woman!" Selim did not leave, but said word by word.

Bayezid's face suddenly changed, and his hair stood up. He was about to curse this beast, but he swallowed it back when the words came to his lips.

He knew that he was old and his physical condition was indeed getting worse. His men had already supported the younger beast in front of him. He couldn't imagine what kind of bloody storm would be triggered if he refused to abdicate.

If there is anything he cannot let go of, it is definitely his two young daughters and his sweet wife who understands him and knows him well.

"Father, for the future of our Ottoman Empire, please seriously consider this suggestion of your son!" Selim saw Bayezid's hesitation and helplessness, so he struck while the iron was hot.

Bayezid was silent for a long time, and finally nodded gently.

"Father is wise, and your son will live up to your trust and will plant the flag of the Ottoman Empire all over the world!" Selim's heart was filled with indescribable excitement and joy, and he immediately knelt in front of Bayezid to express his position.

Bayezid was extremely tired, and at this moment he hoped that it was just a dream: "I was born on Demotica Island, and now there is not much time left. After the abdication ceremony, please arrange for my family to return to Demotica Island!"

"Your son obeys!" Selim suppressed his ecstasy and hurriedly expressed his position.

Bayezid seemed to be a few years older and sent Selim away.

The moment Selim walked out of the bedroom, his heart was full of longing and expectation for the future.

He knew that he was about to embark on a road full of challenges and opportunities, but he firmly believed that with his wisdom and courage, he would be able to lead the Ottoman Empire to a more glorious future, and even replace the most powerful Ming Empire in the world today.

In the next half month, Bayezid completed the abdication ceremony, and Selim became the ninth Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, called Selim I.

After abdicating, Bayezid II took his family to Demotica Island, where he was born, and planned to spend the rest of his life there.

But there are unexpected events, and when he was about to arrive at Demotica Island, he suddenly died.

Selim learned of the death of his father, and his heart finally fell.

If there was anything that made him uneasy, it was the brother Ahmed who ran away. He didn't expect that he would not go anywhere, but ran to the Atlantic Governor's Mansion to seek help.

Selim knew that his succession to the throne was legal. Now that the old thing had been sent away by himself with a bowl of soup, Ahmed was actually no longer a concern, so he had begun to work on the eastward expedition.

Since he learned that the East was full of gold and spices, especially after seeing porcelain, tea, silk, sugar, fishing line and clocks from the Ming Dynasty, he was more determined to expand eastward.

After all, the West belonged to the Catholic territory. Even if the Ottoman Empire annexed the territory of Western Europe, it was actually difficult to preach. Moreover, smallpox was rampant in Europe, and his interest in this place cursed by the devil was getting lower and lower.

On the other hand, Europe's resources were relatively scarce, far less attractive than the East with gold everywhere.

While the Ottoman Empire was planning how to conquer the East, he knew nothing about the coming storm.

The sea breeze was howling, and the flags of the Ming fleet fluttered on the mast.

This huge fleet composed of dozens of warships, like a giant dragon, was shuttling through the waves of the Mediterranean, slowly showing its fangs.

Atlantic Governor Wang Zhi stood on the deck of the flagship. The years did not leave too many traces on his fair face. He looked at the sea in the distance with a torch-like gaze.

After more than a month, he finally received the telegram from the Ming court, and his face was full of determination and resolve.

Ming could disdain the fight for territory, even the most prosperous Italian peninsula in Europe could be ignored, but the four seas were all Ming territory, and those who violated Ming's maritime rights would die.

Today, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea will be flying the flag of the Ming Empire, and the Ottoman Empire, which offended the Ming, will pay the price of blood for its stupid behavior.

"Haha... they are really a bunch of cowards, they actually fled at the sight of the wind!" Wang Wuqing laughed loudly when he saw the Ottoman Navy fleeing directly.

The Ottoman Navy is actually an inland sea navy, and their activity area is only the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, so their warships are not actually strong. The reason why they can dominate the Black Sea and the eastern Mediterranean is precisely because of their huge number.

It is worth mentioning that as the overlord of Eastern Europe, if it were not for the great influence of the smallpox vaccine, the population controlled by the Ottoman Empire would probably exceed 10 million.

Now facing the sudden appearance of the Ming fleet, they seemed to know that their warships were no match for it, so they decisively chose to flee towards the Black Sea.

Each warship of the Ming fleet was equipped with advanced artillery, with the muzzle aimed at the fleeing Ottoman navy, and they could fire as long as they got closer.

However, the Ottoman warships were more maneuverable, and at this moment they were like a whale swimming, but the fish in front were also swimming forward desperately.

"Haha... these Eastern idiots don't even understand that we are luring the enemy deep into our territory!" The commander of the Ottoman navy, Janiceri, saw that the Ming navy had been fooled, and he laughed wildly.

As the Ming fleet entered this narrow strait, the Ottoman warships surrounded them from all directions.

Although they could not control the most advanced artillery technology, each warship was equipped with traditional cannons, and as long as they attacked together, they could sink the Ming warships.

Yes, they had already discovered the fatal weakness of the Ming ships.

As long as they punched a hole below the draft line of the Ming warship, they could sink the entire ship by using the principle of seawater backflow. This trick was a powerful weapon against large merchant ships.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The surrounding warships fired stone bullets one after another, aiming at the waterline of the huge Ming warship. A large number of stone bullets smashed the leading warship crazily.

In fact, judging from the hull, the leading warship of the Ming fleet was more accurately a battleship.

Faced with the densely packed stones, the warship had no way to avoid it. Sparks flew all over the warship, and the stones hit the warship and sparked.

"What's going on?" The smile on the face of the Yeniceri suddenly froze, and suddenly overturned his cognition.

Although a large number of stone bullets hit the Ming warship and sparked, the entire hull of the warship remained intact after the sparks, as if they were just tickling the other party.

At this moment, the tactics he arranged became a huge joke.

Wang Wuqing's mouth corners slightly raised, and he immediately issued an order: "Go, let these country bumpkins take a good look at the power of our Mingyuan ironclad ship!"

In the world of maritime military, the Ming Dynasty has actually gone very far.

Especially after the Ming Dynasty set the goal of dominating the four oceans for 200 years, it is natural to think further and do more, so as to ensure the long-term maritime hegemony of the Ming Dynasty.

Since wooden warships were unable to resist the bombardment of increasingly powerful shells and were particularly vulnerable to fire attacks, ironclad ships came into being.

The Mingyuan Ironclad was no longer a traditional sailing warship, but a new type of steam-powered energy-driven warship with hard steel armor on the hull.

Not to mention the stone bombs of the Ottoman Navy, even the most advanced gunpowder shells were ineffective against the Mingyuan Ironclad.

Boom!

As the Mingyuan Ironclad took action, one cannon after another was aimed at the enemy ship. As a large number of gunpowder shells poured down, this sea area soon became a sea of ​​fire.

Bang!

The Mingyuan Ironclad not only fired gunpowder shells, but also used its huge hull and hard steel armor to directly sink the surrounding wooden warships.

The warships in the greenhouse were ready to withstand the wind and waves. One after another, the warships cut off their retreat in this strait, so they were sunk one after another, and countless wreckage and corpses floated on the sea.

The Ottoman Empire's navy, which once dominated the Black Sea and the eastern Mediterranean, was completely powerless in front of the invincible fleet of the Ming Dynasty.

After an hour of annihilation, the Ming Dynasty's fleet completely defeated the Ottoman Empire's navy and arrived at the Golden Horn Bay where Constantinople was located. (End of this chapter)