The Return
12.
It was several days later when the Sultan gave his consent.
“Ride with my Janissaries. They will be your escort, and ----
protectorate as they did for your father.” Sultan Murad II looked at Vlad. “I
am beginning to like you and I know one day you will be my biggest regret. Will
you be mine?”
“I won’t be your regret, my Sultan,” Vlad told the Sultan. Inside of
him, he told himself that he will not do to the current Sultan but he can’t
assure the successor will be spared.
“Do you not fear me, young whelp?” Sultan Murad II looked at Vlad.
“No, I am not. Do you not fear me?” Vlad replied with his question. That
line of his had the guards standing by the Sultan drew their swords but Sultan
Murad II stopped them. He looked back at Vlad.
“I do not. My guards do however fear you.” Sultan Murad II laughed.
“Ride onwards, young whelp. Bring me back tributes or your head in place.”
The next day, Vlad rode to the
borders with his assigned column of Janissaries. He bid farewell to his
brother, Radu who was then seen holding the Holy Book in his hands. He was aged
twenty then.
After being away for some years, Vlad took in deep breaths on the ride. It
was a land of Romania
is a country of medieval castles, Gothic churches, and charming towns, all
hidden among some of the beautiful landscapes with the Carpathian Mountains and
the Black Sea, the country's dense forests, and snow-capped peaks; it was the
land of wonder. Trade was one of Wallachia’s advantages; It held vast amounts
of them: salt, cereals, livestock or animal products, skins, wax, honey;
mostly imported were expensive cloth or finer goods, much sought after by the
local rulers and boyars. (extracted from https://www.medievalists.net/2010/03/on-the-medieval-urban-economy-in-wallachia/#:~:text=Raw%20materials%20were%20the%20goods,the%20local%20rulers%20and%20boyars.)
Tradesmen
from local towns were joined by numerous Transylvanians; the likes of Brasov
and Sibiu), but also the Balkans (Ragusa) or Poles (Lviv). The Transylvanian ones
enjoyed some privileges, such as tax exemptions or reduced customs duties. It had
flourished into true intermediaries between the centers of Central Europe,
Transylvania, and South-Danubian land.
“The
bastard rides to claim his rank.” Vladislav II was pacing the flooring of the
hall of his palace. He was with John Hunyadi who was his mentor and person who
supported his rank.
“I
won’t worry about the boy.” John had more concerns then. “The Turks are
marching once more. They are headed to Kosovo. We need to stop them.”
“Another
war, you mean. Was Varna---”
“Varna
was a bitter lesson to us but the war reigns on. This battle will favor us and
give you more influence on the people, And the boyars too.” John Hunyadi argued
for the battle. He wanted to avenge his humiliation then.” You will ride with
me. When we win, the victory will belong to you.”
“If
we lose---: John Hunyadi did not address that with Vladislav II when the other
was to ask. The battle was named Kosovo. In the three-day battle,
the Ottoman army under the command of Sultan Murad
II defeated the Crusader army of John Hunyadi. John needed more than forty
thousand men to defeat the Ottomans, the Hungarian regent sought to join up
with anti-Ottoman Albanian forces. The Ottomans in their base
at Sofia received word of the Crusader army's march route and
subsequently began readying their men.
John
Hunyadi was caught by surprise on 17 October when the Ottoman army appeared in
front of his men at Kosovo Field. He constructed a tabor wagon
fort at Plementina hill from which to fight the Ottomans, who built their
stockade in response. Cavalry skirmishing on the flanks of the stockades during
the first two days and a Crusader night-time attack using
their wagons and guns against the Sultan's central position
on the night of 18/19 October produced much bloodshed but no conclusive
results.
On
19 October Murad II used his sipahi cavalry from Thessaly to
envelop the cavalry on the Crusader left flank, along with a general assault
all along the line to distract Hunyadi from the primary effort. The maneuver
worked and the Wallachian, Moldavian, and Hungarian cavalry were cut
down by the sipahis, who took no prisoners. Much of the Crusader army then
retreated.
On
20 October, with Murad II personally observing the struggle,
the Janissaries attacked and killed everyone left in the stockade.
“For
Giurgiu!”
The
battle ended any hopes of saving Constantinople from the Ottoman
Empire. The Hungarian kingdom no longer had the military and financial
resources to mount an offensive against the Ottomans.
John
Hunyadi returned a defeated man.
“A
defeat is only needed to wipe out all the previous victories. No one respects a
defeated leader.” John Hunyadi told his men then on the retreat.
Meanwhile
back at Wallachia, Vlad rode in at the head of the Janissaries column. The
locals were silent on seeing the young man astride the mount with the Turks.
Vlad
saw the reluctance in the locals, and he then asked the column to return to the
border there to await him.
“Young
one, we are to ---”
“It’s
okay, Kolgasi. I am back home. I will ride on as my father once did. I will
send the words to you two days from now. If I don’t, you may assume I am dead.’
Vlad told the officer. “And then you may invade the land.”
Vlad
rode on alone and passed the villagers there. Some approached him with their
arms stretched but their voices were silent. Vlad saw the discomfort and dismounted
there. He walked to the locals.
“I
am Vlad, the son of Dracul, Lord Vlad II, and brother to Mircea II. I have
returned to avenge their death---- no, it was murder. My kins were murdered.”
Vlad raised his voice. He saw some of the locals were swaying to his words.
“You can see behind me, the Turks who returned to the border. They are not here
to battle you but to protect me. From whom, you may ask? The boyars who pillage
your harvest and make a slave of you. I am not afraid now for I have you to
protect me as I would protect you when I am the Volvode.”
“Are
you to bring us war, Volvode?” A peasant called out.
“No,
not against the Turks but the ones who took my land. Your harvest, and sons to
fight their silly war. I come to give you back ---- your pride.”
Vlad
drew on the peasants’ anger on the boyars. There were uprisings before then,
and it won the hearts then. They soon warmed up to Vlad and the hugs and kisses
followed by the bows were aplenty.
Vlad
then voiced his claim as the Volvode again.
“Another
pretender sits there. One that took our men to war.” That last word from Vlad stirred
up anger and the locals there took to arms against Vladislav II. The guards at
the palace were overwhelmed by the local crowds and soon Vlad was to take his
rightful seat there. The first thing he did was to meet his mother.
“Mother,
I am back.” Vlad went on his knees to greet his mother. His mother had grown
frail over the years, with the death of her eldest, Mircea. She had lost all
hopes since then, and thinking that Vlad and Radu were long dead. She had moved
to the previous house where she was imprisoned before, and have with her the
old adviser of her Lord. The adviser himself had aged and without his son,
Janus next to him, he was also lonely.
“I
am ---” The lady who had expected not to see her son was over-excited. “Vlad,
are you ---- for real?”
“Yes,
I am. I am back.” Vlad declared to his mother. “I have returned.”
“One
son is better than none.” It was a momentous meet for the two but not of one
other who was captured in the war.
Janus
was wounded in the battle at Varna and taken prisoner by the Turks. His mentor
and companion, Jan was missing in the battle and presumed dead.
Janus
was treated and then imprisoned in the Ottoman camps as a slave. Life then was
tough with the Turks resenting the mercenaries of the Black Army.
“Mercenaries,
do you not have any decency?” Janus was mocked while working then; carrying the
pails of water and stoking the fire to heat the huge baths in what was called
the Hammam.
The
significance of the hammam was both religious and civic: it provided for the
needs of ritual ablutions but also provided
general hygiene and served other social functions in the community. There
will be an undressing room, a cold room, a warm room, and
a hot room. The heat was produced by furnaces which provided hot
water and steam, while smoke and hot air were channeled
through conduits under the floor. Visitors undress, while retaining
a loincloth, and proceed gradually into progressively hotter rooms,
inducing perspiration. They are then usually washed by male or female
staff (matching the gender of the visitor) with the use of soap and
vigorous rubbing, before finishing off by washing themselves in warm
water. Bathers are usually washed with running water rather than by
immersing themselves in standing water.
“Felpofozzalak?”
(Hungarian insult: Do you want me to slap you?” The Turk standing there in the
bath called out to Janus. “I have waited too long for the water.”
Janus proceeded to do the task. He
was used to the name callings and profanities by the Turks there. It was the
treatment expected for a defeated foe. He then proceeded to the rear and
retrieve more water. He saw then the other servant named Keran being punished
for some errors. He ignored the cries of help by the servant and walked on. He
was met later at the well by another servant.
“The escape is on tonight when it's
near dawn.” Janus was told by the other. They had planned to escape from the
bath house. It was all planned some nights ago.
“Is Keran joining us then?” Janus
whispered back.
“If he can run.” The reply was
given.
“We will all run ---together,” Janus
said.
