The eldest grandson of Emperor Ming Dynasty!

Ankara.

Located in the northwest of the Anatolian Plateau on the Asia Minor peninsula.

This is where the Ottoman and Timurid empires fought.

It was also the peak duel between the two empires in the thirteenth century.

Timur attached great importance to this duel. After all, the current Ottoman Empire has a reputation for professional jihad, and its monarch, Bayezid I, even has the reputation of "Thunder".

Fighting is all about speed.

The current Ottoman Empire is the ruler of Islam. Whoever opposes the Ottoman Empire is the enemy of the Islamic world.

For the current Eurasian continent, this is the number one overlord.

Outside Ankara, a large army of slaves belonging to Timur was digging in full swing under the supervision of Timur's soldiers.

"Grandpa is really amazing. I have never thought of such a method."

Pierma Heima sighed and said to Shaharu next to him.

Regarding the emphasis on this battle, apart from Khalil, the son of Milansha, who failed to come because of the relationship with the Sultan of Delhi, other important figures of the Timur family basically arrived.

"It's thanks to the fact that you got the cement from Daming. In this weather, it only takes two days to get it firm, and it can cut off the water well."

"When the Ottoman army arrives, there will be no water to drink."

Shaharu said with a smile.

They are now adhering to Timur's order, arranging an army of slaves to cut off the water of the Ubuk River and pour it into another place.

When the Ottoman army came, the water source would be lost.

Many people think that Mongols like Timur should be very rude. In fact, the current Timur Empire can develop to such a large extent that it is completely inseparable from Timur's political and war wisdom.

Both Timur and Zhu Yuanzhang themselves are the most powerful founding emperors in this century.

It’s just that Timur didn’t have a cultural inheritance to settle down, and the situation in Central Asia was more complicated than that of Ming Dynasty. There were many conflicts among ethnic groups, and there were no successors themselves. Only then did the empire disintegrate after Timur’s death. .

For an empire or dynasty, the heir is the most critical foundation.

"Although Grandpa attaches great importance to the Ottoman Empire, he doesn't think that these Turks can have any great influence on us. With our current army, even if we can't fight one place, we can retreat immediately."

"It is already in an invincible position, and with so many measures, what will the Ottoman Empire use to fight us?"

"It's just that I feel that grandpa seems to have a greater interest in the East."

Pierma Heima said to Shaharu in some distress.

Because of his liking for Daming, Pierma Heima didn't want to have a direct conflict with Daming. He felt that if he went to fight Daming, there might be some bad results.

However, in the recent military preparations of Grandpa, it can be clearly seen that the preparations for Ming Dynasty are being prepared.

Even though this is about to lead to a decisive battle with the Ottoman Empire, Samarkand is still preparing for the Eastern War.

This means that Grandpa already thinks that Osman can be defeated.

Shaharu shook his head lightly: "These are not things we can change. Let's do whatever Father arranges. No one can go against his wishes."

As Timur's fourth son, Shah Ruh was very aware of his father's character, or desire.

Restoring the once huge territory of the Mongolian Empire and reappearing the glory of Genghis Khan has always been on my father's mind.

There will be a day when the Timurid Empire and the Ming Dynasty will confront each other.

Hearing fourth uncle's words, Pierma Heima could only sigh helplessly.

As the second grandson, he has very little right to speak. Apart from his distinguished status, he doesn't even have many relatives in the army. Naturally, he has no way to change Grandpa Timur's thoughts.

The Ottoman Empire is different from the nomads of Timur. Although there are many cavalry, the main force is still infantry.

The long-distance march brought a lot of fatigue to the Ottoman Empire, and it could only advance slowly step by step.

"Your Majesty, according to the information from the front, Timur's troops are almost all cavalry, and the so-called infantry are just slaves forcibly recruited from various places."

"For them, no matter how many slaves they lose, they don't care. The powerful cavalry has very high mobility, and our infantry cannot defend well."

"We're approaching Ankara soon. Will Your Majesty consider building fortifications first? If you are attacked by Timur cavalry, you can retreat to the mountains."

"The weather will be hot soon, and the scorching heat will slow Timur's cavalry and give us more opportunities."

At the Ottoman military council, a general speaks his mind.

Just as he finished speaking, he was ridiculed by the commander who once besieged Constantinople: "Cole, have you been frightened by the barbaric Mongols, or have you forgotten the glory of the empire?"

"Our strength is recognized by the whole world. Even in the whole of Europe, there is no country that can resist the mighty Ottoman Empire."

"Where is the need for such trouble, the soldiers of the mighty Ottoman Empire can cut through all obstacles and kill the enemies standing in front of them just by waving their swords."

"You will only lose the confidence of our soldiers."

The commander's words caused the entire military council to roar.

The invincibility of the past made everyone very proud, thinking that no enemy could stop the mighty Ottoman Empire.

Even Bayezid I, who sat at the top, very much recognized the idea of ​​the Grand Commander.

Cole was just an ordinary general in the cavalry command. Seeing such a scene, he could only bow his head in silence.

The pride of Bayezid I looked at all the military commanders present, and finally made the decision to attack Ankara directly.

He wants to defeat Timur with the fastest speed, and make the whole world worthy of his title of 'Thunder'.

The ideal is full, but the reality is too skinny.

The face slap came so fast that Bayezid I didn't even react.

The battle soon started with the attack of Timurid cavalry.

The Ottoman army has never found the trace of Timur's main cavalry. Timur took advantage of the high mobility of the cavalry and the way the Mongols slept on horseback. They secretly made a big circle to the southwest, where the Ottoman army was once stationed. place to camp.

Cut off Ottoman's logistics, recovered their tents, and seized the precious surrounding water sources.

Bayezid divided the army into three parts. The central army was dominated by his own Janissary Guards and Sipasi cavalry. The two wings were composed of Serbian cavalry, Asia Minor and Tatar mercenaries. .

Among them, the Serbian cavalry is commanded by the ally Stefan, and the weaker mercenary side is commanded by Prince Suleiman.Timur, who had a superior number, arranged the formation relatively, and placed the powerful elephant soldiers in a tit-for-tat position facing Bayezid's middle army.

On the whole, the Ottomans, who lost their water sources, lacked rest and numbers, were already at a disadvantage before the battle.

The Serbian cavalry and Wallachian troops on the left successfully repelled Timur's attack and broke the enemy's position three times.The heavy black plate armor of the Serbian cavalry made them effective against Timur's bows.

However, after the water source was cut off, the right-wing Tatar mercenaries suddenly rebelled. Together with Timur's Tatar cavalry, they counterattacked the Ottomans, causing a major collapse of the front.

It turned out that Timur had already paid a huge price and instigated Bayezid I's Tatar mercenaries.

These mercenaries from the prairie didn't have any faith at all. As long as the price was high enough, they would follow.

In contrast, even if you defeat Timur, you may not be able to get much wealth.

But if you rebel against Ottoman, the reward is more than ten times what they are now.

The Ottoman Empire, which defeated the European coalition forces and besieged Constantinople, had huge wealth, but these wealth had little to do with Tatar mercenaries.

Now, of course, it has a lot to do with it.

Even at this time, the proud Bayezid I still refused to admit his failure, and his strong ego made him unable to bear this blow.

Especially thinking of the diplomatic rhetoric with Timur, it made the current Bayezid I feel ashamed.

So he rejected Stefan's several retreat requests. In desperation, he agreed to let Prince Suleiman evacuate first, and at the same time let the Serbs continue to join the Chinese army, retreating and fighting.

The legendary Serbian cavalry finally miraculously killed the blood and evacuated, but the infantry-based Bayezid Central Army was forced to the mountains and was besieged by the Timurids.

After his mount was shot by a bow and arrow, Bayezid I was unfortunately captured by Timur.

The confrontation between the two empires ended so hastily in less than three months.

When the news reached Europe, the whole of Europe fell silent.

The mighty Turks on the European continent, Bayezid I, the famous military god known as "Thunder", were directly captured by Timur.

This is as absurd as the Arabian Nights.

But the facts cannot be questioned.

Without the rule of Bayezid I, the contradictions within the Ottoman Empire broke out at once.

Because there was no designated heir, many Turkish nobles who had the right to inherit began to fight among themselves.

Faced with the huge price paid by the Ottoman Empire, Timur sneered.

Naturally, he would not be so stupid as to allow Bayezid I to return home, but he did not intend to kill him, but instead wanted to remain confined in a cell in Samarkand to let the world understand the strength of the Timurid Empire.

"Why did Grandpa refuse my proposal? Now is the best opportunity. The Ottoman Empire has no leader, and a large amount of land can be accepted as long as our army passes by."

"But why, why did Grandpa turn his attention to the east."

Pierma Heima complained very distressed.

Because after the victory, Timur did not let the army occupy a large amount of Ottoman territory.

In addition to the direct rule of some border areas, instead they began to prepare their troops to march to the east.

This made Pierma Heima very incomprehensible.

Although Shaharu is Pierma Heima's uncle, he is about the same age as him, so the relationship between the two has always been good.

"Although the Ottoman Empire is in chaos now, their local forces are still there. If my father wants to occupy the Ottoman Empire, it will take a lot of effort."

"The most important thing is that in this way, there is no way to worry about the East. In contrast, it is obvious that my father wants to go to the East."

Shah Ru pointed out the key.

The territory of the Ottoman Empire is larger than that of Timur. If you want to completely annex the Ottoman Empire, it must not be something that can be done in a short time.

The Ottoman Empire is mainly dominated by Turks, so in the face of Timur's aggression, they will definitely rise up to resist.

Strong external pressure will also force the Ottoman Empire to unite again.

This kind of pulling is not something that can be completed in one or two years, at least it starts with ten years.

Today is the 30th year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty, which is 1397 in the Western calendar.

Timur, who was born in 1336, is 61 years old this year.

Such an age is considered a very long life, considering that the average life expectancy in Central Asia is less than fifty.

Now there are two choices before Timur.

Whether to continue to march towards the Ottoman Empire and continuously expand the territory of its own empire, or to fulfill its own dream and achieve the reputation of the second Genghis Khan.

In fact, for Timur, there is absolutely nothing to consider.

Because he felt that his descendants could also defeat Ottoman, but the East was different.

But if he doesn't attack the east now, he will regret it even if he is buried in the soil.

Under Timur's order, a large number of soldiers began to gather towards the eastern border.

Because of the news from the Sultan of Delhi, Khalil did not win the expected victory. Instead, the addition of Mongolian mercenaries caused a lot of losses.

At present, the army has been trapped in the Indus River area and cannot advance.

This made Timur very angry and decided to conquer Delhi Sultan himself.

Moreover, at this time, the Ming Ocean Fleet had already arrived in the Gulf of Siam, which indicated that it would cross the Strait of Malacca in the near future.

Once it crosses the Strait of Malacca, Ming's ocean-going fleet will be able to affect the Indian region.

Timur was very clear about how powerful Ming was.

If under Ming's call, the countries in the South India region unite, it will pose a great threat to the Timurid Empire, which already controls the North India region.

Although the Timurid Empire was very powerful, there were not many troops on the sea, and all the forces were concentrated on land.

Moreover, if Ming's ocean-going fleet crosses the Andaman Sea, it can directly reach the coast of the Timurid Empire.

Such a situation is not good news for the Timur Empire, which is now fighting on all sides.

Quickly mobilizing troops to occupy Delhi Sultan is the most urgent thing for Timur at present.