I Became the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire

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The Words of Fools (3)

The Ottoman Empire has conquered Ardahan. There’s no reason to be surprised if that news was all that reached us.

Artvin, Shabshat, Ardahan.

These three cities didn’t even manage to buy themselves some time before crumbling, but nobody expected them to hold against the Ottoman advance.

The capitals of the three kingdoms and five principalities that make up Georgia aren’t exactly in a position to wager on their resilience against the Ottomans either.

These cities, mostly comprised of conscripts just filling numbers, had no chance of holding out. Everyone anticipated a fall.

However, no one expected it to happen like this.

“A rebellion, you say? They were taken down by a rebellion?”

Alexander, the king of the Kakheti Kingdom, located to the east of Georgia, wore a grave expression.

Having ruled the kingdom for 50 years, counting the period he served as co-regent, this seasoned ruler was showing signs of wear, as the wrinkles around his eyes twisted in disbelief.

“The new rulers of the Empire are radical. Terribly radical. Is their youth the reason for it?”

“Father, do you believe the rebellion is also part of the Empire’s machinations?”

To his second son Demetre’s question, Alexander replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Of course. We should have sensed this from the moment strange rumors began to circulate.”

Alexander squinted his dim eyes shut.

It was possible he had anticipated it in his mind but simply chose to turn a blind eye to reality.

In Georgia, rumors had long disseminated that “the Ottomans invaded because of the nobility’s poor choices” and “if only the nobles were to die, we might live.”

These ominous rumors spread with an uncontrollable speed and became common knowledge among the anxious populace.

“The ruthless plundering must have been to incite fear among the people as well.”

An invasion that turns a city into ruins would be an inefficient act for an occupying army.

Losing even one more piece of land governed would be detrimental in the long run, and slowing the pace of advance could be seen as a loss as well.

Though they thought that the current situation wasn’t severe enough to incite a rebellion, the fact that it happened—regardless of the reasons—was significant.

Now, the nations within Georgia had to worry about both the Ottoman army and the rebellion.

As a heavy sigh slipped between his white beard, an enraged voice rang through the hall.

“I told you! Associating with those Kartli fools would bring us no good!”

“George, stop talking nonsense.”

Alexander chided his first son, George, who was shouting about the Kartli Kingdom, one of Georgia’s three kingdoms.

However, George, who was known for his constant complaints, snapped back at his father’s words.

“Wasn’t the peace you always spoke of making the kingdom more hazardous?!”

“Watch your words.”

Alexander had been striving to maintain peace, which included the rival Kartli Kingdom as targets.

Unlike his peace-loving father, George was always eager for war with Kartli and bluntly pressed his father further.

“We should have stood against the Ottomans instead of meekly aligning with those other kingdoms and principalities.”

“Don’t forget, we share a border not with the Ottomans but with the Safavid.”

That was the reason they couldn’t recklessly provoke the Safavid.

If they had sided with the Ottomans and quelled any Safavid maneuvers, retaliation from the latter would have been certain.

Given the local conditions where receiving support from the Ottomans wasn’t easy, it was a decision that couldn’t be helped.

“What’s that esteemed Safavid doing now? Isn’t he just tucked away, hiding like a dog?!”

“That’s merely hindsight talking.”

“Which means, father, you’ve made a grave mistake.”

George, harshly pressing his father, turned and stormed out of the main hall.

Beneath his furious expression, George smirked coldly.

“Father has grown too old.”

At 19 years age difference, George was already approaching fifty, and his father’s lingering gaze towards his younger brother Demetre was not normal.

George, forever ambitious, had no intention of letting the throne fall into his brother’s hands willingly.

“If you won’t vacate, I’ll have to drag you down myself. An Ottoman invasion and a rebellion? Well, this might work out just fine.”

It would provide him with the justification to oust his father.

In the history written, next year, he would kill his father and blind his brother.

The infamous George, known as the devil, was on the move.

*

At the beginning of the rebellion, when the nobles were captured, a sense of unease hovered over Ardahan.

Just like a criminal who had committed a spontaneous crime, once the act was done, doubts crept in whether this was really acceptable.

They were afraid that the Ottomans might plunder even after their surrender.

However, contrary to their fears, Ardahan found peace.

The Ottoman army that entered Ardahan disarmed the surrendered soldiers and addressed the refugees cluttering the fortress.

“Those who have fled, return to your villages!”

“Are you serious?”

Hearing the Ottoman soldiers’ shout, the people asked with delighted faces.

They had fled seeking to survive, but the life of a refugee, unable to even quench their thirst for water, was incredibly difficult.

“You will not suffer any harm upon your return to the villages!”

“Take nourishment with you when you leave. It is the Padishah’s mercy.”

Those who had been worried about where their next meal would come from were visibly moved by the soldiers’ words.

Until now, no one had ever taken care of them like this.

Gathering some provisions and leaving, the departing individuals praised the sultan’s grace, while Yusuf gazed down at Ardahan, where most of the refugees had already left.

“Just yesterday, neighbors came to beg for food and praised me. Isn’t that amusing?”

“What’s vital to them is just having food for tomorrow, isn’t it?”

Yusuf nodded at Şemsi’s reply.

“Exactly. They have no greed.”

It was a time plagued by absolute poverty where basic needs of food and shelter were not met, rather than a relative poverty stemming from a desire to live better than others.

As long as they had no worries about survival, most would be satisfied, and it showed in their departing figures.

“Problems arise because of the greed of power-hungry individuals like me.”

Yusuf was human too and wasn’t devoid of humanity to the extent of relishing in the massacre that had occurred in Artvin.

He only viewed the unpleasant as necessary, but had no intention to shy away from that responsibility.

If the cruel wheels of fate were to turn, he would rather ride upon them than be crushed beneath.

Once he decided to be greedy, looking back was not an option.

“Rumors must have spread quickly?”

“Georgia is small compared to the empire. Soon, all of Georgia will know of the Padishah’s mercy.”

Those in power would have heard of the Artvin rebellion already, but it would take time for the word to reach the common folk.

Although the powers that be would do everything to suppress the news, spies infiltrating Georgia during the assembling of the cavalry would swiftly spread the word.

“Once the wheel starts rolling, it rolls easily. The first hurdle is always the hardest. Isn’t that so?”

“Well, overcoming this difficult initial phase brings about new worries. Today’s experiences could lead to great dangers in the future.”

Yusuf smiled at Şemsi’s response.

It was quite astonishing to think many rulers of this era were not concerned about the countless common folks beneath them.

“It’s not wrong. While they wouldn’t dare to harbor empty delusions in my time, someday an incompetent successor might arise after me and instigate a rebellion. You’re worried about that?”

“Indeed. The blood of the great Padishah will fade eventually.”

Both Mehmet and Murad, Yusuf’s children, were excellent individuals, but it was unsure how long the trait of excellent lineage would continue.

Like all the kingdoms before them, someday an inept ruler could rise to the sultan’s throne.

At Şemsi’s worry, Yusuf smirked.

“If they’re so incompetent as to be struck down by their own subjects, they deserve to die that way.”

“Your Majesty?!”

Şemsi looked shocked at his words, and Yusuf playfully tapped his shoulder, as though to ease his astonishment.

“What are you so surprised about? If a dynasty has fallen so far that they must elevate such a fool to the empire’s head, then there’s no need to prolong their pitiful existence.”

It wasn’t merely empty words.

If he was ever going to worry about the dynasties of the future, he wouldn’t even consider expanding public education through the education of orphans.

The more foolish the commoners, the easier it became for their rulers to maintain their power.

“Based on this experience, perhaps decades later, a citizen revolution could erupt. My descendants might end up like Louis XVI, facing the guillotine.”

If his descendants were to die that way, Yusuf saw no reason to acknowledge such fools as his own kin.

Even Louis XVI lived for several years after the revolution broke out and had ample opportunity to preserve his life and maintain his power.

The last emperor of the Russian Empire, Nicholas II, certainly had chances to prevent the massacre of his family.

If the next generation was unable to grasp even those chances and met their demise, then there was no need to worry about them.

At Yusuf’s resolute words, Şemsi experienced a sense of disorientation.

“…Your Majesty.”

“It’s fine. We don’t live forever, so there’s no need to worry about the future generations while living in the now.”

Perhaps due to the Ottoman-style succession that deemed incompetent offspring as expendable, Yusuf sincerely thought that way.

Seeming to suggest they should move on from this boring talk, Yusuf waved his hand and addressed Şemsi.

“Anyway, what matters is that a rebellion has occurred, and Georgia is fractured.”

Even if another rebellion doesn’t break out, the nobility will no longer be able to trust the common people and soldiers recklessly.

Even if they band together in resistance, with the adversary looming closer, they need not ponder the consequences.

“Georgia has essentially already fallen.”

“I think so too. It will truly be a matter of time from here on out.”

Yusuf, who had erased the trust in Georgia and instilled mutual distrust, smiled mischievously.

“How pitiful it is to see them straining at the cliff’s edge. To prevent any more pointless suffering, I’ll have to step on their hands, Şemsi Pasha.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Inform the cavalry. It’s time to charge!”

He had no desire to drag things out any longer in dealing with Georgia.

The time had come to loosen the reins on the thousands of cavalry gathered.

With Yusuf’s orders, Şemsi asked something he needed to confirm.

“Your Majesty, what shall we do about the surrendering nobles?”

With the speed at which Georgia was being conquered, there would undoubtedly be those who would surrender.

“Moreover, there will definitely be those trying to seize power amid the confusing circumstances.”

The current power holders had committed monumental blunders, and the situation was terribly chaotic.

It was a perfect circumstance for a coup d’état, and new powers would surely emerge.

In response to Şemsi’s question, Yusuf twisted his mouth slightly.

“Do we need to raise wild dogs?”

They might be licking their paws and wagging their tails for now, but Georgia’s nobility could turn their loyalties at any moment, just like this.

History had shown this, and this was the original history.

“What would you like to do?”

“The plan doesn’t change. Erase all nobles from Georgia.”

“I will comply.”

With Yusuf’s decree, the shackles were released.

The cavalry, divided into ten thousand each, began to engulf Georgia.