The Sun and the Lion

"Bang, bang, bang" was first the sound of musket shooting. Smoke was ejected from the barrel together with lead bullets. The smoke from hundreds of musketeers floated in the center of the battlefield, obstructing the view of both warring parties.

Although the enemy cavalry was still approaching, the musketeers took their time and estimated the distance. Then they used gunpowder angles to measure the required gunpowder, filled the barrels and medicine pools, then stuffed lead bullets and fired with The article is solid and the gun is aimed.

The Turkmens who were constantly charging forward were in scattered formations and were poorly equipped. Because they did not have enough training, these riders yelled to maintain their morale during the charge.

Before the musketeers could fire, there was a loud noise from behind the battle line, and several iron balls hit the battlefield. However, because the Turkmen formations were scattered, the actual damage caused was not great, but this round of shelling gave the riders a Huge psychological pressure.

"The enemy has artillery!" a timid rider shouted in panic. During the bombardment, the unlucky guy who was hit by the cannonball was right in front of him. He could clearly see the whole process of the rider turning into minced meat. Clearly. Just as he was about to escape, the musketeers in front started a new round of shooting. His horse was hit by a lead bullet, and he was thrown to the ground by an irresistible force. He suffered multiple fractures all over his body. It was very difficult to survive on his own. It's hard to stand up.

Seeing that only a few rounds of musket fire and one round of shelling had defeated the rebels in front of him, Selim quickly ordered: "The cavalry attack, don't let them go!" Accompanied by the sound of drums and bugles, the Sipaxi deployed on the flanks They immediately galloped their horses and chased the defeated troops as fast as possible. The cavalry chased them several miles away before stopping.

Looking at the corpses of these Turkmen, Selim did not feel the joy of victory. Beginning last year, the Ottoman Empire's eastern frontier became unstable. Most of the local Turkmen tribes were dissatisfied with Kostantiniya's rule, but large-scale rebellions and defections had not occurred so frequently before, so the governors of Asia Minor had to allocate a considerable amount of energy to deal with these matters, and Selim, the governor of Trabzon, was also among them.

In order to solve his own doubts, Selim continued to collect information about the surrounding areas through businessmen and spies, hoping to get some clues. Soon, the rapidly rising Safavid order attracted his attention. He looked at this newly rising power with vigilance, but he did not have the authorization of Padishah Bayezid II and could not launch a foreign war.

After returning to the city of Trabzon, Selim sent the battle report to Kostantiniya along with the intelligence he collected and the suggestions he gave, hoping that these information could change the Sudan's policy on the eastern border.

Kostantinye, Topkapi Palace

"My Grand Vizier, what do you think of this news?" Bayezid II handed the document in his hand to the Grand Vizier "The Great" Davud Pasha, while the Governor of Rumelia "Eunuch" "Ali Pasha, with the Sultan's permission, picked up Selim's battle report on the table, and the two of them studied it together.

"King of kings? A little Uzun Hasan?" Davoud Pasha was a little disdainful. Back then, he and Bayezid II, who was still a prince, participated in the Otluk Bey that happened in Erzincan. In the Battle of Liberia, under the offensive of Muhammad II, 70,000 Turkmen cavalry were shot to pieces by Ottoman gunpowder guns. As the loser, Uzun Hassan's main title was also the King of Kings of Iran.

"Eunuch" Ali Pasha did not care much about the war in Asia Minor. Because of Jam Sultan, he had to prepare for war at all times to deal with the French-Venetian fleet and possible Crusaders who were constantly sweeping the Ottoman coastal territories. After capturing Naples, King Charles VIII of France successfully forced the Pope to hand over Jam Sultan and threatened to organize a crusade. Venice also began to organize an alliance in Italy in the name of dealing with the Ottomans, but the intention of the two parties was to attack Only the two sides know whether the Ottomans or the Italian war will continue.

At the same time, "Eunuch" Ali Pasha also had to deal with the Polish offensive. The peace treaty signed with the Poles had expired. It was said that King John I Albert of Poland had assembled an army of 30,000 to 40,000 people and had 200 guns. The army of artillery prepared to invade south. In the face of a formidable enemy, "Eunuch" Ali Pasha naturally hopes that his workload will be smaller.

After hearing the news of Cem's death, "Eunuch" Ali Pasha persuaded Bayezid II to end preparations for the Crusades, including ending martial law in Kostantiniya. Although Bayezid II held a funeral with great fanfare after hearing the news of Cem's death and sent envoys to Italy to negotiate and try to redeem the body, "I will not allow you to relax before seeing his body. I I have to see his body with my own eyes. Before that, I will only regard this as false news sent by the Crusaders."

"Your Majesty, how do you plan to reply? Prince Selim is very much looking forward to attacking any possible threats." Davoud Pasha asked Bayezid II.

"All my energy has been tied up by the Europeans and Katebey on the sickbed. Before the threat from either direction is eliminated, I have no intention of establishing a new strong enemy on the unstable eastern border to provoke a man who can fight in one place." Little Uzun Hassan who conquered Transcaucasus and Tabriz within the year." Bayezid showed his attitude to the pashas unhurriedly, and the "eunuch" Ali Pasha, who was good at observing words and expressions, noticed that I was a little surprised when I saw the deeper thoughts of Bayezid II, but I was intimidated by Padishah's authority and did not dare to say more.

"My Grand Vizier, I want to organize a delegation to go to Tabriz to show our attitude to this new King of Kings. Find Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com. We can coexist peacefully with him. As for this Envoy, in order to show our importance, let the envoy take my handwritten letter." If just maintaining peace is acceptable, then this move shocked the pashas, ​​and Davout Depasha even stuttered a little, trying to ask: "Your Majesty..."

Bayezid II ignored Davoud and turned to "Eunuch" Ali and said: "In addition to preparing for war, you also have to keep an eye on all the dervishes, Turkmen immigrants and other Shia believers in Rumelia. If you encounter anyone who resists my rule, I will ask Yenicheri to cooperate with you to severely suppress them. I would rather kill them all than let them shake my authority."

Then he ordered Davud Pasha: "Go and give orders to the governors of Asia Minor to keep an eye on all restless elements in their jurisdictions. If you encounter any rebellion, whether it is crossing the border without permission or resisting taxes, I will give you the right to do so." The right to mobilize troops to suppress, so that all the flames of rebellion can be extinguished before they take shape, but our army should not cross the border into the territory of Little Uzun Hassan. I will do Selim's work personally, so go ahead.

Bayezid stroked his beard, and after the two of them walked out of the room to execute the order, he took out another document, which was a list full of names and numbers. Bayezid II was a mystic who was keen on Sufism. His father Muhammad II did not like the religious orders and expelled them from the country. Bayezid II invited these religious orders back. , and funded many monks to allow them to operate in places such as Kostantinye.

Bayezid moved his fingers on the list, pointing out the monks who belonged to the Safavid order, and then marked them with a pen. After completing the marking work, he put the list back in an inconspicuous corner. Then continue to deal with official business.