The Sun and the Lion

"Your Majesty, according to the information from spies, the Venetian fleet commander has been replaced. Antonio Grimani, who was defeated by our army in Zonchio, has been tried. The new one is an unknown one who has not been seen before. What an outstanding record.”

Just a few days after Selim received the intelligence, Bayezid was discussing the current war situation with his advisers in Topkapi Palace.

Currently, several high-ranking viziers are leading troops outside. The Ottomans are currently attacking in two directions. One is Greece. After the Fourth Crusade, three-eighths of the Roman Empire seized a large amount of interests in the Eastern Mediterranean. , which includes territories. Lepanto, which was captured not long ago, is only a stronghold of Venice. The most important stronghold in the Peloponnese Peninsula, or Morea, is Modon.

This place can be called a must-pass point for Venetian merchant ships in terms of shipping. If it can be obtained, it will further threaten Venice's presence in the Eastern Mediterranean. The profits of the merchant ships will also belong to Costantinier. Emotionally speaking, this port was the first colony obtained by Venice when it dismembered Byzantium. The Fourth Crusade was regarded by them as the starting point of Venetian maritime hegemony. It can be said to be one of the most valuable possessions of the Republic.

Conquering the remaining Venetian strongholds is the current goal of the Ottoman army.

The second is Dalmatia, which was the first target of Venetian expansion. The ports in this area were occupied by countless pirates who attacked Venice before being conquered by the "Lords of Dalmatia".

"There is nothing to worry about the Venetian fleet at present. Kemal Reis has already defeated them once. If they come again, then defeat them a second time." Bayezid said flatly. In his opinion, He already has a winning chance.

However, an advisor who took the letter from the messenger said: "Your Majesty, I suggest you take a look at this. This is sent by Prince Selim from Trabzon."

Bayezid frowned: "Did something happen to the East? I have no enemies in the East."

As he opened the secret message and browsed through it, the advisers saw Padishah showing signs of nervousness for the second time since the start of the war. The first time was when he learned that Venice had assembled a fleet and actively sought to fight Kemal Reis.

Is there any news more terrifying than the gathering of fleets in Venice? Could it be that the Venetians convinced the Pope to organize a new crusade? But Trabzon is in the east.

"Your Majesty, is it possible that something happened from the east?" one of the advisers asked cautiously.

"Alas, the Venetians are about to find a reliable ally." Bayezid glanced at the advisers: "Selim said that he heard that a Venetian mission appeared in Tabriz. Considering the current war situation, Venice should be Alliance with the Persians.”

At this time, Kostantiniya did not know that Ibrahim had already mobilized his army to go eastward. Selim did not unreservedly report the information to the high gate in detail, and the high gate was also there at this time. Busy with the war against Venice, he had no time to pay attention to the East.

Padishah and Gaomen realized at this time that the West was easier to conquer than the East.

Bayezid was a little worried. He had already deployed all his troops in the Balkans, and the troops remaining in Anatolia did not have the power to stop Ibrahim, who was attacking with all his strength.

"Your Majesty, I think there is no need to worry too much about the alliance between Venice and Persia. They have only arrived in Tabriz, and the details are not certain." The Greek staff on the side took the initiative to comfort them.

After being reminded by his staff, Bayezid analyzed it calmly - he believed that Venice actually did not have many bargaining chips to use to win over Persia, and that there were better expansion goals around Persia than the Ottomans. He wanted to persuade Ibrahim It's hard to join the war.

"Oh, the Venetians might as well look for Cairo. The relationship between Saladin Castle and Venice is obviously deeper."

"That's the problem. We don't know which countries Venice is seeking foreign aid from. By sending envoys in such a wide net, there will always be one or two results."

Bayezid listened to the advisors' discussion, and after some thought, he made a decision: "In any case, no matter what we just said, it is just a guess. It is better to send an envoy to Taburi." The scholar personally inquired about the attitude of the Shah of Persia. At the same time, I also want to know how much strength Uzun Hassan’s grandson has now. Find Shuyuan www.zhaｏｓhuyuan.com ”

"Dear Padishah, who do you plan to send to take on this important task?"

Bayezid thought for a while: "Persians are also fellow Muslims after all. I plan to send a pious Qadi or Ulema to Tabriz."

He happened to be very passionate about religion and once accused his father, Fatih Sultan, of not being pious enough. He was also a mystic who funded some religious orders and was openly called a "Sufi". This gave him strong ties to the Ottoman religious community, and it was not difficult to find a priest to whom he could entrust the task.

Although the Safavids had bad behaviors of killing and expelling Sunnis, after all, they were still the envoys of the Ottoman Padishah. Beating a dog depends on the owner, so you can't really kill the envoy.

Bayezid considered himself to be friends with Ibrahim, and both sent envoys to express goodwill to each other. At least the relationship between Osman and Safavid was stronger than that with Mamluks.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Seeing that Padisha had made a decision, the advisers could not come up with a better plan, but they still felt that relying on diplomacy alone was not very good.

Just when they were still about to make further remarks, Padishah started to make new arrangements: "If the Venetians can send envoys to Tabriz, it must be easy for Cairo. Contact the spies planted in Egypt quickly to explore Egypt's secrets." What has Malik been up to recently and sent spies to the east, not just to Iran, but also to the rivers. Also, having Anatolian officials keep an eye on the Turkmen tribes, while ordering Kemal Reis , asking him to tightly block the Strait of Otranto so that no more Venetian ships can enter or leave!"

The clerk recorded all the orders dictated by Bayezid, and after reviewing them for confirmation, he wrote them into official documents and issued them one by one. The advisors were also dismissed by Padishah.