Vlad the Impaler Chapter 19

 The Ottoman’s reprisal

19.

“Lord Vlad III, as I was saying ---” The emissary having finally met the Lord then was sent by the Sultan, Yunus bey; formerly a Greek with the birth name of Thomas Katabolinos was presenting at the hall of Lord Vlad III when he was cut off. He was presenting the demands of the Sultan agreed on in their truce after a lengthy stay there. He was given excuses of the delay to meet the Lord and was to return to the Sultan but was swayed with many more empty promises until the final moment when Lord Vlad agreed to him. The meet was called and the situation was tense.

“Implying, my dear guest.” Vlad cut in. He then looked at the emissary standing there dressed in the regalia of the Ottoman. “You are ----my apologies, were of Greek, are you not?”

“Yes, Lord Vlad III. I was to ---”

“Recruited perhaps? I remember you well. You were carrying the scrolls for the Mehmed then. What was it? Astrologer maps. Boring subject too.”

“Lord Vlad III, I am here to ---” The emissary was upset at being belittled then by the other. He was with his group of followers and respect was earned.

“Hush, Greek turned Turk. You are in my court now. I will speak and you will listen. I heard of your ---what was it----demands. As you did then to tell me and my brother the alignment of the moon and sun, and the stars ---” Vlad had his hands over his crown. “How can it be above my crown? Such painful thoughts.”

“Lord Vlad, the burden ---no, the study of the lessons was never a burden but an offer of insight into the offerings of the world.” The Greek scholar turned emissary explained the benefits of the learning. “If there was pain ---"

“Do you have such pain, Emissary?” Vlad looked at the emissary. “What is in your head? More stars perhaps.”

“I --- I am a learned man of the stars and planets. I hold them in my head. I read the stars daily and ----” The emissary saw the Lord was fidgeting on the seat and decided to move the subject to one of importance.  “As I was ---”

“Your head must be bigger than mine. Show me your head. Take off the turban.” Vlad told the other but he refused. The headpiece of the emissary was the standard that displayed his rank to the Sultan. It was an insult to remove it unless he was asked by the Sultan to return it upon dismissal.

“You insult me, emissary. I am unhappy.” Vlad sighed seated on his seat. “I shall tell ---”

“I will leave you now, Lord Vlad. Sultan Mehmed will await my report.”

“Hold that for now. Your head is in the stars, and that is a --- what was your words then --- a huge world. I think I need to make sure you remember what we spoke of here.” Lord Vlad looked to his guards. “Seize him.”

“Lord Vlad III, if you harm me, the reprisal will be greater.” The emissary looked to the Lord.

“Emissary, I am not harming you. I am ensuring that your lessons remain inside you.” Lord Vlad III then told Janus to nail the envoy’s taqiyahs (skullcaps) to their heads. The act was taken with the emissary screaming in pain when the iron nails were implanted to the head. The wounds bled and the emissary had fainted.

“Look at the blood. It’s the same as our foes. It flows well when cut.” Lord Vlad looked to the others. “I did say they bled like us. They are not be feared.”

The act on the emissary reached the court of Sultan Mehmed. He was furious at the actions taken by Vlad.

“Emissaries are an extension of my arm. During the days of the Mongols, the death of an emissary was repaid with the death of all in the city that defied them. I shall not tolerate such insolence.” Mehmed look to the one who was Vlad’s brother, Radu the Handsome.

“You may do as you please, my Sultan, I have sown my allegiance to you and no more to the Wallachian.” Radu the Handsome was indeed a different person than when he was with Vlad. He was also the vizier to the Sultan and companion on the hunts. The young ex-Wallachian had converted to the same faith as the Sultan but retained his name. He had expanded his training of skills to that of martial and weapons. He was not adept at it but he read a lot on strategy. Above all, he detested Vlad for not having him ransomed back and left him there alone.

“Do tell me, Vizier Radu. How should we handle the Wallachian if he does revolt?”

“There is no if, my Sultan but when. I know ---Vlad well. He held in him the anger of his ---stay here. He will fight and it could be soon.” Radu looked at the Sultan. “He valued the rank of Volvode long and deep. He fought Vladislav II for it. He will fight the King of Hungary if need be.”

“You are truly my brother, not of blood but love.” Sultan Mehmed looked to Radu. “Our years of companionship have my trust in you.”

“And mine in you.” Radu returned the trust. “Now let us look at the previous wars with John Hunyadi. Where do we lose and why do we win? It’s not about the army but how it was battled.”

It was then the Sultan received more news on Vlad.

“During your excursion to Trebizon, the Wallachian Lord have signed a pact of alliance with the Hungarian.” The secretary of the Sultan reported in.

The city of Trebizond was the capital of the theme of Chaldia was regarded as being largely a Lazian port. The Ottoman Sultan Murad II first attempted to take the capital by the sea in 1442, but high surf made the landings difficult and the attempt was repulsed. While Murad's son and successor, Mehmed II, was away laying siege to Belgrade in 1456, the Ottoman governor of Amasya attacked Trebizond, and although defeated, he took many prisoners and extracted a heavy tribute.

Mehmed's response came in the summer of 1461. He collected a sizable army at Bursa, and in a surprise move marched on Sinope, whose emir quickly surrendered. Then the Sultan moved south across eastern Anatolia to neutralize Uzun Hasan. Having isolated Trebizond, Mehmed quickly swept down upon it before the inhabitants knew he was coming and placed it under siege. The city held out for a month before David surrendered on August 15, 1461. With the fall of Trebizond, the last independent remnant of the Byzantine Empire, as well as the Roman Empire from which the Byzantine Empire sprang, 

“It ended the Byzantine Empire.” Sultan Mehmed defended his move then.

“Yes, it did and on the other side, the Wallachian’s Lord sowed disputes.” Tursun Beg, the secretary in the sultan's court told the Sultan. “Once a whelp here now a lion in his cage.”

The secretary looked towards Radu.

“I am Radu of the Janissaries. I will serve my Sultan even it may end my life.” Radu defended his loyalty. The secretary bowed towards Radu and offered his apologies. He then looked towards the Sultan.

“I will heed your command, my Sultan.” The secretary awaits the order.

“The lion should be removed. I heard Yunus's expedition had failed. Vlad action on my emissary will be repaid with blood.” The Sultan looked to his other emissary. “Hamza bey of Nicoplolis, hear his. Lure the Lord to your city and hold him. Your city is across the Danube, and on our land.”

“Meanwhile we will plan the war with the Wallachian.”