middle East.

In less than two months, almost half of the Ottoman Empire was completely lost.

The once mighty Ottoman Empire was now ravaged by Timur.

You must know that the current Ottoman Empire, even if its monarch Bayezid was captured, actually does not have much impact on its overall national strength.

Bayezid was captured because he was too careless and thought he was invincible, so he was directly ridiculed by Timur.

The Ottoman Empire itself was in a period of rise. It could be said that it was at its peak in its own historical process, but it was forcibly interrupted by Timur.

The sons of Bayezid I fought for the throne, and civil war broke out, and Osman fell into civil strife.

The eldest son Suleiman Celebi ruled Macedonia, Bulgaria and Thrace.

The second son, Issa Celebi, ruled the western part of Asia Minor.

The third son, Muhammad Celebi, ruled the eastern part of Asia Minor.

As for the youngest son Musa Celebi, he was captured by Timur together with Bayezid I.

Eastern Asia Minor Peninsula.

Muhammad's face was gloomy: "Can't you guys come up with some ideas for me, how to save my brother, who is the brother I love the most?"

Musa and Muhammad are brothers, they share the same mother, and the two brothers have been very close to each other since childhood.

This time Timur suddenly attacked the Ottoman Empire, and Muhammad had already received the news before.

Not only did he not carry out rescue, but he deliberately gave Timur a hand so that Timur's army could smoothly enter the central Ottoman Empire.

All this was just because of his negotiation with Timur, using his younger brother as a bargaining chip.

In fact, Muhammad also wanted to save his father. He believed that if his father had not been careless, he would never have been captured alive by Timur.

The continuous victories made my father too proud, but he did not expect Timur's army to be so powerful.

Now the Ottoman Empire has been divided into pieces, and many of its vassal states have become independent and refuse to obey orders or pay tribute.

And if his father can come back, then with his father's prestige, he can quickly integrate the Ottoman Empire and become strong again.

In fact, the core strength of the Ottoman Empire is still there, and hundreds of thousands of troops are not a big deal for the powerful Ottoman Empire.

But Muhammad also understood that Timur would definitely not release his father, so he wanted to exchange for his younger brother at the cost of almost half of the Ottoman Empire.

Of course, many of these so-called half of the country were actually former vassal states and were not the core areas of the Ottoman Empire.

"Your Highness, the Mongols are greedy and they always want more."

"According to our agreement, the Mongols should send His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince back now, but the Mongols have not made any noise at all."

"Perhaps they think that the great Ottoman Empire has fallen into despair, and their cavalry can easily trample us. Those barbaric Mongols will never abide by their so-called oaths."

"So, Your Highness, we should let them see our combat power instead of blindly giving in. Only by letting them know that the Ottoman Empire is not that easy to deal with will they keep their promise."

"The strong never unite with the weak. We must let them know that we are not sheep, but also wolves."

Soon a minister came out and said generously.

This is a staunch war party. They believe that although their king was captured, it was just a mistake.

In terms of real strength, the Ottoman Empire was not much different from the Timurid Empire.

Soon, another minister stood up.

"Your Highness, the power of the Mongols can be seen by everyone. The failure of His Majesty the Sultan was also due to the direct involvement of their Sultan."

"If His Majesty the Sultan is still here and we are still the Ottoman Empire, then I definitely think we should have a fight with the Mongols to let them know how powerful our Ottoman Empire is."

"But things are different now. The insidious and cunning Sultan Tamerlane divided the huge Ottoman Empire into several parts and divided them equally among several His Highnesses. Without His Majesty the Sultan, it would be absolutely impossible for the eldest prince and the second prince to unite with His Highness.

"

"The vassals that were once loyal to us have now broken their oaths and become our enemies."

"It is very unwise to confront Tamerlane at this time."

"Of course, the most important thing is that the eldest prince and the second prince will be happy to see this scene. Even if we win the final victory, it is impossible to defeat the eldest prince and the second prince."

This is the biggest headache for the leader of a force.

The two ministers, representing the conservative and war-minded ministers respectively, have their own truths in what they say.

Muhammad frowned, he didn't know what was the right choice.

While Muhammad was thinking, the ministers from the two factions below were already quarreling, which made Muhammad's headache even more headache.

"Quiet, quiet!"

At the signal from Muhammad's eyes, the guards made noise with their weapons to stop the ministers from continuing to argue.

At this moment, a minister who had been silent stood up.

"Your Highness, maybe we can have a third option."

Muhammad immediately said: "Say."

The minister continued: "If we fight the Mongols, no matter what the outcome is, it will be considered a loss for us."

"And the Mongols are not that simple. With our military strength, we are more likely to lose, so it is impossible to fight."

"But if we don't fight, the Mongols will only make further progress."

"I heard some news from an ocean-going businessman, which may be of great use to us."

"The Mongols are indeed very powerful, but they are not without opponents. Farther east, there is a super powerful empire. They are called the Ming Dynasty."

"The Ming Dynasty was also ruled by the Mongols, but now they have driven away the Mongols from their territory and established a powerful empire."

"The driven Mongols were on the grasslands where they originated. Ming Dynasty sent a lot of troops to attack them, and Timur also sent a lot of troops to help the Mongols on the grasslands."

"But Ming Dynasty finally defeated many opponents and achieved the final victory."

"Sultan Timur originally wanted to fight the Ming Empire in the east, but he suffered a disastrous defeat, so he turned his head and continued to attack us."

"He has angered the powerful Ming Empire. Now the Ming Empire is sending a large army to attack Sultan Timur. I heard that their army has arrived in India."

"The enemy of our enemy is our friend. We can definitely unite with the Ming Empire. This is something Sultan Timur never wants to see."

"And His Highness can also use this matter to request the release of His Highness the Fourth Prince from Sultan Timur. There is no need for war."

Muhammad's eyes lit up.

He felt that this plan had great feasibility and could really see the possibility of success.

"Very good, Awulikhan, I am very satisfied with your suggestion. I have heard about the powerful Ming Empire. It is said that there is a person from the Ming Empire in Byzantium now."

"He seems to have a considerable status in the Ming Empire, and is now being treated as a guest by those Western nobles."

"Awuli Khan, maybe you can help me and go to the west first to meet the noble from the Ming Empire."

"With his help, I think things will go more smoothly."

Awli Khan immediately bowed and said: "It is my honor to serve your Highness."

——

Byzantium, Constantinople.

Zhao Yuanhong is thriving here, and his once gloomy face has now become much brighter.

In the past year or two, with the help of the Ming Dynasty's Eastern Empire, he borrowed a lot of money, which allowed Constantinople to gradually regain its popularity. At least the guards no longer ran away, and someone would pay them salaries.

.

And just when many European nobles were wondering whether Zhao Yuanhong was a liar, a letter came from the distant Ming Empire.

The grandson who was said to be the heir to the ancient Eastern Empire expressed support for Zhao Yuanhong.

The letter in golden cloth demonstrates the majesty and heritage of the ancient Eastern empire.

Zhao Yuanhong placed him in the palace of Constantinople and worshiped him respectfully.

And every European nobleman who comes here can watch this decree.

Zhao Yuanhong had no choice. Although such an approach seemed somewhat blasphemous to His Majesty the Grand Sun, only in this way could his identity be confirmed.

It is not that no one in Europe knows the writings of the Ming Dynasty. There are some scholars who can understand the writings of the Ming Dynasty.

Many European nobles took scholars to Constantinople to translate this letter. The translated content was basically the same as what Zhao Yuanhong told.

At this time, Zhao Yuanhong became a popular figure among the European nobles.

The reason why this happens is that Daming products are really popular in Europe.

Tea, porcelain, and silk are almost entirely symbols of luxury goods.

And Zhao Yuanhong's identity has been proven, which means that he has the qualifications and power to purchase goods directly from Ming Dynasty.

Many big nobles are discussing to organize a huge fleet to go to the distant Eastern Empire and buy a large amount of luxury goods back.

Then you can definitely make a lot of money.

Therefore, although Zhao Yuanhong still carries the title of Imperial Minister and Finance Minister, he is actually in control of this castle.
To be continued...