In the palace of Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Selim I of the Ottoman Empire was sitting on his throne, his face looking extremely ugly.
Many of the ministers below were silent, not even daring to take a breath, for fear of provoking Selim I and losing their heads.
Just now, an unlucky minister shouted that he wanted to sue for peace with the Ming Empire, but Selim I ordered him to be pulled out and beheaded.
Of course, in fact, everyone knows that Selim I is already thinking about suing for peace, but for this kind of thing, you always have to find a way out and kill a scapegoat, so this suing for peace seems better.
.
"Report!"
"The Ming Empire's East Route Army captured the city of Erzinjan yesterday, and all the 20 elite troops defending the city were annihilated."
"Report, the Persian and Egyptian coalition forces attacked the Mesopotamia, and Baghdad fell again!"
"Report!"
"The Hungarian and Vienna coalition forces captured the city of Varna, and their troops were directed towards the Adriatic coast."
"Report! The Spanish fleet attacks the Greek Peninsula with the intention of seizing it."
The messengers brought bad news one after another, which made Selim I's face even more gloomy as he sat on the throne. He held the saber at his waist tightly, wishing that he could go to the battlefield in person to defeat all enemies.
However, now, he already felt deeply powerless, because the Ming Empire's Western Army was heading towards the capital of the Ottoman Empire.
The speed is very fast, the city is conquered, and it is invincible. The autumn wind sweeps fallen leaves at the same speed. It is estimated that it will take two days to reach the gate of Instanbul.
The Ming Empire's Black Sea Fleet and Mediterranean Fleet are also heading towards Istanbul at a very fast speed. It is estimated that they will be able to reach overseas in just one day.
When the time comes, they will definitely be bombarded by the Ming people.
Instanbul is an extremely solid city, and it is also a city that can be defended by relying on its geographical advantages. In order to attack this city, the ancestors of the Ottoman Empire spent several months and only conquered it with extremely heavy casualties.
.
But the Ming people are not necessarily interested in attacking this city. Perhaps it is more in line with the Ming people's style to just attack it with artillery fire and turn the place into ruins.
"Why are you all mute?"
Selim I looked at the ministers with cold eyes.
"In the past, weren't everyone very eloquent?"
"It is said that the strength of the Ming Dynasty is not strong. There is no need for our Ottoman Empire to pay compensation to the Ming Dynasty."
"Why don't you talk now?"
As soon as Selim I finished speaking, everyone understood that he was looking for a scapegoat, and they suddenly felt silently sad for those few people who advocated war with the Ming Dynasty.
It is estimated that these people will inevitably die.
There is always someone to blame for this failure. The great Sultan cannot make mistakes, and the fault also lies with the ministers below.
"The great Sultan~"
At this time, Grand Vizier Ali Pasha stood up and spoke. He was already very old, a veteran of the Ottoman Empire, and deeply trusted and respected by successive sultans.
He stood up, and everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
This old prime minister was a wise man. He had always been opposed to making enemies with the Ming Empire and provoking the Ming people. He believed that the Ottoman Empire should maintain good relations with the Ming Empire and must not offend the Ming people.
He had been to the Ming Empire and had seen its vastness, wealth and power, and he also clearly understood the huge gap between the Ottoman Empire and the Ming Empire.
This gap is not only reflected in military strength, but also in all aspects.
The Ming Dynasty wanted to completely overwhelm the Ottoman Empire in many aspects, including economy, military, resources, finance, technology, education, etc. The gap between the two sides was so great that it was beyond everyone’s awareness.
One Ming factory produced more cloth than the entire Ottoman Empire produced, and one Ming steel factory smelted more steel than the entire Ottoman Empire produced.
A single Ming shipyard built more warships than the entire Ottoman Empire.
A Ming arsenal produced more muskets and cannons in a month than the Ottoman Empire produced in a year.
The Ming Dynasty's monthly tax revenue reached hundreds of millions of taels of silver, which was two or three times more than the Ottoman Empire's annual tax revenue.
What did the Ottoman Empire use to fight the Ming Dynasty?
Many people blindly encouraged Selim I to go against the Ming Dynasty, encouraged them to delay the payment of war compensation to the Ming Dynasty, and did not abide by the agreement originally signed.
Well now, the people of Ming Dynasty directly sent troops to attack. In just a short time, everything has changed.
The Ottoman Empire suffered heavy losses, all its elite troops were lost, and only 200,000 men were left stationed in Instanbul. The navy was almost wiped out, with only a few dozen warships left guarding the waters off the imperial capital.
Their vitality was severely damaged, and Persia, Egypt, and European countries also began to fight back. The fertile Mesopotamia once again fell into the hands of the Persians and Egyptians. Europe was also constantly losing cities and land, and Spain was
Seizing the opportunity to add insult to injury, he was ready to take a big bite.
This is the result of provoking the Ming people.
What's more important is how to make the Ming people stop fighting now. If we really wait for several armies of the Ming Empire to fight under the city of Instanbul, the last elite army of the Ottoman Empire may be buried here, and then the Ottoman Empire will really be finished.
If not, it may be completely destroyed.
"Great Sultan, I am willing to go again to seek peace."
Ali Pasha did not say any nonsense and directly took up the task of suing for peace.
"Will the Ming people negotiate peace with us?"
Selim I thought for a while, thought about it and said.
"They will, because the Ming Dynasty needs the existence of our Ottoman Empire, needs us to contain the Persians and Egyptians, and also needs our Ottoman Empire to go to Europe to continuously plunder slaves for them and contain the development of Europeans."
Ali Pasha said very confidently: "It's nothing more than asking us to pay more compensation and cede territory. We just agree to them. In any case, we must get over the current hurdle first."
"The people of Ming Dynasty are greedy. They have always fought for money and land. As long as we meet their demands, they will cease the war."
After listening to Ali Pasha's words, Selim I remained silent.
It still owed the Ming Empire war reparations to be paid. The war reparations of 8 million taels a year was a heavy burden, which kept the Ottoman Empire's finances in a difficult situation.
If it were not for the slave trade to fill the gap, the Ottoman Empire would not know how to pay its annual war reparations.
If another treaty is signed to cede territory and pay compensation, I don’t know how the Ming Dynasty will react. Maybe the war compensation for one year will be as high as tens of millions of taels of silver.
Moreover, land must be ceded. The land that the Ming Dynasty people are interested in is rich and fertile land. It is not known how much land will be ceded to the Ming Dynasty people.
Thinking of this, Selim I felt like crying.
Originally I just wanted to test the reaction of the Ming Dynasty people, but who knew that I directly provoked the Ming Dynasty army and was beaten so hard that my teeth almost fell out. Even if there was a peace negotiation, how would I face enemies from all directions in the future?
But if we don't negotiate with the Ming Dynasty, the Ottoman Empire will be destroyed.
Why didn't he dare to send out the 200,000 elite troops in Instanbul? Because he was afraid that they would be wiped out by the Ming Dynasty. Once these 200,000 elite troops were gone, Selim I would not be able to control the overall situation of the Ottoman Empire at all.
, let alone deal with powerful enemies from all directions.
"Hey~"
Selim I sighed, thought for a moment and said, "I'd like you to go there. No matter what, I want the Ming people to stop attacking and withdraw their troops."
"Even if the conditions are more stringent, I will agree to it. I will get over the immediate difficulties first."
After Selim I said these words, it seemed as if all his energy and spirit had been drained out of him.
He himself was an ambitious monarch who was keen on external expansion. Now that he was beaten so hard by the Ming Empire, all his confidence and ambition were destroyed.
Even if the current difficulties are overcome, it is estimated that after a long period of time, the country will be able to pay off the Ming Dynasty's indemnity and restore the national strength to a certain level.
The level is pretty good.
I will definitely not be able to escape my infamy in history.
Originally, he was thinking of finding an opportunity to avenge his father, but who knew that he would also be humiliated and be accused of signing a treasonous treaty.
This is not what I want. What I want is to leave a name in history and be an emperor who gains the title of conqueror.
Originally everything was fine, but someone encouraged me to provoke the Ming Dynasty, which resulted in everything happening now.
"Come here~"
"Arrest all Suk, Basturk, Char and others, and turn the whole family into slaves!"
Thinking of this, a cold light flashed in Selim I's eyes, and he also arrested several ministers who had always advocated causing trouble for the Ming Dynasty, and prepared to send them to the Ming Dynasty to deal with them, so as to gain a chance for peace talks.