Chapter 127: 122: The Stage Is Set For the Grand Vizier

"Allahım, Dirilerimizi, ölülerimizi, mevcut olanlarımızı, kayıp olanlarımızı,erkeğimizi-kadınımızı, çocuklarımızı ve büyüklerimizi bağışla…."

"Allahım!...."

"Bizden yaşattıklarını İslam üzere yaşat, bizden öldürdüklerini de iman üzere öldür…..."

(Salat al-Janazah)

(Translations: O Allah, please forgive the ones present, the decisd, the living, the lost ones, our men, our women, our children, our elders….

O Allah!....

Keep whoever you wish to be alive in Islam, and whoever you wish to die, let him die in faith….)

The Imams of Edirne stands on the left and right of the Sultan's deceased body singing traditional prayers of Islam, while washing the Sultan's body behind curtains and wrapping the body with their sacred hands and wrapping the body in burial shrouds. Below them kneels all the beys, viziers, lalas and other court members as they closely follow the Imam's teaching and prayers reciting after them, each with a serious face, there is no crying, no shouting, nothing except the sounds of prayers. Everyone has an utterly serious look on their faces, unlike the Christian and Eastern funerals.

After the Imams left, the ex-Sultan's viziers and Pashas gathered together in front of Mehmed's coffin to discuss their following actions afterwards. Candarli Halil Pasha, being the one with the most prestige and highest in ranks, doubtlessly leads the conference.

Soon the still peaceful conference turned into an ugly rowdy turmoil as without the Sultan acting as a powerful character to maintain order and peace among them. Some Pashas, although still have the heart of a true National Servant willing to devote themselves towards the important matters of the state which is in her utmost urgent times now. While others, has a not so pure mindset when they think about what to do next.

Such as the Grand Vizier Candarli Halil Pasha.

He joined the siege unwillingly initially after being applied pressure directly by the Sultan, squandered a huge sum of personal wealth preparing the necessary things before commencing the siege, raised half of the total levy in his demesne joining force with the Sultan's army, which the end result of this is that one quarter of them are thrown onto those damned walls returning as corpses. This happened because someone arranged his levies as the pioneers when climbing those walls. Who is the 'someone' ? Obviously it is the person who wants to see the Grand Vizier's strength dwindle by the most so he can replace the Grand Vizier.

Furthermore, he has to end this quickly, because deep inside his encampment, there is an unexpected 'guest' still hiding in his tent having a luxurious feast while enjoying watching belly dance by his stewardesses he brought from his demesne. If anyone managed to find out who that guest is and where is he staying, the Grand Vizier might have his head chopped off to replenish his crime, literally chopped off.

Yes, that guest is non other than our Mega Doux Loukas Notaras, the supposed most prestigious noble of the Romans.

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Perfectly solving the questions of Constantine.

Thus, with all of these in mind, he halted the debate between the different Pashas and echoed. "I propose that we should immediately withdraw our troops from the front line, stop this meaningless conflict, take back the relentless rage of the All-Mighty Allah, descend mercy and pardon upon the head of the Rumelian!"

A vizier stepped out and questioned. "What kind of mercy? What kind of pardon?"

"We shall ask order the Sultan of the Rumelian, to compensate us a yearly war reparation of ten thousand ducats, which shall be divided equally among all the honourable Pashas and Viziers… If he pays, we will retreat, if he doesn't, we continue the siege."

"I do not agree." Argued Abbas Pasha, a junior pasha who got recently rosed in rank by Mehmed in charge of logistics and supplies for the entire campaign. Absolutely loyal to the Sultan and the well beings of the state, he retorted. "I mean no disrespect, my honourable Grand Vizier, but it is illogical to make the Rumelian ruling inside the walls to pay us ten thousand ducats per year, everyone knows that even a pasha here, has more gold than that so called 'emperor'!"

Some lords from the border regions of the empire in the tent burst into laughter after hearing it, but quickly remembered that this is a state funeral for their Ex-Sultan, and quickly kept their mouth shut under the angry glamours by others.

"I get your point, dear Abbas Pasha." Candarli Halil Pasha nodded in agreement. "The ruler of the Rumelian, indeed, is too poor to afford such a sum every year. But instead, we can ask him to let his Kapudan admiral, that Antonius guy, to spit out all the money he has robbed our fleet over the past year. With this, we can create the first crack between the trusty relationships of Constantine and those Genoese pirates…"

"I understand now, thank you Grand Vizier for enlightening my doubts." Abbas Pasha bowed and sat back down on the carpet.

"Secondly, we shall order the Rumelian to hand over the culprits for the death of so many true followers of the true God, which is basically the two Genoese… If they agree, there will be peace, if they decline, there will be war."

"Wait a minute, my honourable Grand Vizier." This time it is another junior pasha, Mahmud Pasha Angelović. He stood up, bowed towards Candarli Halil Pasha and said his doubts. "I do not think that the Rumelian will hand over these two fellows to us, my honourable Grand Vizier. Our forefathers have always thought us one thing. 'For those things that we cannot acquire on battlefield with our blades and horses, we will not be able to get it on the table through our mouth lips'. It is those two Genoese that deterred our attacks and protected those Rumelian in the walls, why would they ever turn them in to us?"

"I know that this is not practical, my friend." Candarli Halil Pasha smiled and patted Mahmud Pasha Angelović on the shoulder. "However, I know these Rumelian, trust me young pasha. No one knows the Rumelian better than me, I know their thinking, I know their habits, because nobody knows their minds better than I do… It would surprise me if there is one day, they are not planning plots and stabbing their protectors in the back…"

"…And, I am sure, that our faithful 'friends' in the city, will sell the two men to us for a very good price. Even if they don't, we can ask them to do some actions for a sum of money they cannot reject, and that will again, threaten that weak and untrusted relationship between Constantine and the Genoese."

Mahmud Pasha Angelović said nothing, bowed and sat back down on the carpet.

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