I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 319 Before the Great War

In Poland, in Ottoman Turkey, in Russia, where the roots of slavery still remain, if a Tatar chief says to those to whom he owes allegiance, that we are all servants of God, as if to some extent equal to him, then People who heard this must be unhappy - it can be seen that this Tartar is not a simple warrior.

Louis was not only interested in the Tatar leader because of his boldness and danger. He had been king for so many years and knew that anything that came before him could not be a coincidence. Where he was stationed The entire Kamnico and even the people of Slovenia, including the Ottoman Turks, know it, not to mention the Tatars under the command of such a great Polish nobleman.

It is even possible that his actions were hinted by the great noble. Although it is said that the vassals of the vassals are not my vassals, if the king's subjects are magnanimous and show goodwill to the king, they may also praise their own vassals. The knight was sent to the king.

   Even so, the words of the Tatar leader left Louis speechless for a while, he raised his hand for the Tatar leader to stand up, and returned to his seat.

The leader of the Tatars stood up and stood there like a black cypress that had been hit by thunder and rain. He accompanied his master, and he had seen many dignitaries and dignitaries, what was on the wall The silk carpets layered on the boards, the silver cups and gold plates on the table, or the clothes and crowns inlaid with gems, he had seen them all, and he had seen the women dressed in colorful furs and brocades around the king. Minister, he has seen guards with halberds lined up on both sides of the road like knives and forks at the dining table, he has seen tents so large that they can cover the entire sky, and he has seen horses, cattle and sheep surge like clouds. To the sky, after they were slaughtered, the blood flowed like a river...

The leader of the Tatars knew that the French king was a powerful sultan, or a khan, long before he came to Kamnic. To be more prosperous and unified - people have a wrong impression of Ottoman Turkey, that is, the sultan can always follow the law, in fact, the Ottomans are similar to the Roman Empire of the past and present, because the territory is too vast and has to be divided into governors With generals and officials to rule, because the sultan was also worried that these once loyal servants would breed undeserved ambitions because of the long time in power, these pashas and viziers even came from Yeniche. It was also promoted from among the slave soldiers of the Sudan.

   Their power, glory, lives, and even their heirs were in the hands of the sultan, who, behind the golden windows of the council hall, could execute at will any minister he felt was not loyal enough.

But those bad parts of human nature can never be eliminated by education, training or threats, just as the envoys of Leopold I once wrongly believed that the governor of Bosnia would sell Bosnia to them if a pasha Or if the Vizier can get rid of servility, and disregard the hostages in the hands of the sultan, and desperate, such a thing is not unheard of...

What made the former masters of the Tatars jealous was that King Louis XIV of France not only had a huge country, but his power was concentrated in his own hands just like the previous emperor Suleiman I, and his ministers and generals also He is so loyal and willing to complete any work he entrusts - even the current King Ludwig I of Poland, Prince Condé, obeys the king who can almost be his own son.

But when such a person drives the strong horse of France to gallop on the battlefield, no matter who it is, he will shy away. When he saw Ludwig I, his heart succumbed under invisible pressure, because he didn't even dare to fight against Ludwig I, how could he dare to plot against the king of France who could make the latter kneel? He asked the Tartars to come to the king as if he were giving him a precious gift, to flatter the king.

He guessed Louis XIV's mind, because France has lost interest in fighting the pagans since the last crusade - instead, it is interested in the enemies of the Roman church. The alliance between France and Ottoman Turkey was the earliest. It can be traced back to the "Sacrilegious Alliance of Lilies and Crescents" signed by François I and Suleiman I in 1536. I will not say how much turmoil and scrutiny this alliance has caused. Just by looking at the name, we know that the church has How angry and uncomfortable.

It was just that this alliance was destroyed under Louis XIII, because the Netherlands, Venice, and the United Kingdom also began to trade with Ottoman Turkey and gradually weakened. The steel and coal that Ottoman Turkey desperately needed could be obtained from these three countries. Not so important anymore. At that time, it coincided with the outbreak of the first and second strife civil strife in France. Louis XIV's later blade was also aimed at the country, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. It was normal to be negligent about Ottoman Turkey.

So to Louis, the Ottoman Turks were unfamiliar. Although Ludwig I provided as much information as he knew, nothing could compare to a man who followed the great Polish nobles and fought against the Ottoman Turks for decades. Tatars are more useful.

  ———

Grand Vizier Koprulu. Ahmed is a young man with a strong body. His father is the founder of the surname Koprulu in Istanbul, but this arrogant Grand Vizier died in 61 years. He was then taken over by his son, Ahmed, who, unlike his father, was humble, gentle and well-mannered - an adjective that, of course, can make some people feel more nuanced, Because at least the queen dowager and the sultan in the palace would never think so - if he was really so gentle, he would have been torn apart by his father's political enemies long ago.

   But what worries the big vizier is that he is similar to his age. That is, Sultan Mohammed IV, who was born in 42, is obviously tired of being a mascot and a display. He told a slave girl that he longed to be like his great grandfather. Just a gesture can make eunuchs. Holding a long bow and hanging the minister who was talking about political affairs outside the golden window - although he drank a lot of wine at that time, Ahmed knew that wine, the liquid brought by the devil, would only make people speak his mind. To be honest, it will not let people go against their will.

   This also cannot be blamed on Mohammed IV. He is the sultan, but he has no power. Of course he feels repressed and betrayed.

As for the Queen Mother, of course, like any woman in the sultan's harem, she was a pirate or a slave girl plundered by the army. A slave is so lacking in gratitude, when her sultan was deposed and executed, she did not make a sound, so even if she was the one who promoted Kopuru, Koppel would still warn Muhammad at the last moment. Fourth, don't listen to women.

   Never listen to women, this is to avoid the Venetian queen dowager using the power of Ottoman Turkey for the benefit of Christians.

   Never let ministers have money, that is because once ministers have money, firstly, they will not go to war for money, and secondly, they will have ambitions because of wealth.

   Always keep the treasury full, that is to deal with war, nothing costs more money than war.

Never let the army sit idle, of course, the sultans of Ottoman Turkey needed countless armies in order to rule this vast land, and these armies were like swords on the wall and dogs in cages, not from time to time Seeing the blood, they will attack their masters because of starvation.

Thinking of this, Ahmed couldn't help sighing deeply. His tent was stationed at the center and highest point of the entire camp like a sultan. Of course, it was impossible for a full 250,000 people to act together, even if Roads and supplies would be overwhelmed if they wanted to, so Ahmed's camp consisted mainly of the Yeniceri Legion, the Sipatch Legion, and the Servant's vassal army, the Mutferika cavalry regiment - the latter Unlike the Yenicheri Legion and the Sipatchi Legion, almost all of them came from the noble territories conquered by Ottoman Turkey. They were hostages and warriors, with generous salaries and uniforms like the Janissaries. uniform.

  The roles of these two legions are similar to those of Louis XIV's Dragoons and Guards, with horses, squires and the latest weaponry - such as muskets and artillery. They never appear on the battlefield early in the official war, and these tasks are left to the lower infantry and cavalry.

These low-status cavalrymen mainly came from Wallachia, Moldavia and the familiar Transylvania-Wallachia were also quite familiar in this era, thanks to the former Wallachia Archduke Vlad III, who ruled what is now Romania from 1456 to 1462 - as a devout believer, he was very fond of impaling pagan enemies. At most, 20,000 prisoners were impaled by him. On the spears, dying in agony, their corpses traveled from the battlefield down the road to the gates of his castle, and it is said that some of the enemies who saw the scene turned and ran away in fright.

However, since the death of the archduke, Wallachia has returned to the hands of the Ottoman Turkey. Now it and the other two regions are the most important vassal states of the empire. According to the laws of the sultan, in addition to the usual blood tax, the lord's obligations, Once there is a war, the men in the local herdsmen's families are also required to do military service. Of course, they can't compare with the Yeniceri Regiment and the Muteferika Cavalry Regiment. Their horses and weapons are equipped by themselves. The clothes are even more chaotic.

They are like a circle of multi-colored webbing around the perimeter of the camp, and outside are the gray and black Azapu, the most humble infantry, most of them are farmers or craftsmen, but for conscription, they and those The Tatars of Rimia are not so disgusted, because they want to take this opportunity to plunder, and as long as they can go home, their plunder can often make a family prosperous and prosperous for several years.

Tatars seem to be the same everywhere, Polish Tatars and Crimean Tatars, and only a few Tatar chiefs have horses, tents, and precious metal utensils and jewels, as well as muskets, most of them. The Tartars could not even afford horses, but they were the most valiant vanguards on the field—they were as good at drawing bows and arrows as their ancestors, and their arrows were no gentler than the bullets of muskets.

These Tatars were scattered around the camp like tassels dangling from the edge of a woman's skirt. Similar to these Tatars but at a distance were the Cossacks, these "free men" who had no faith, no family, no surnames, but they know how to fight with a large formation of wagons - so they are in charge of some small artillery, ordnance and supplies, and know how to fight in rivers and lakes, although this particular campaign may not be used. skills.

There are also some Kurds on the plateau, Mamluks in Egypt, and even Venetians, Hungarians, Italians, and Austrians, because from Suleiman I onwards, as long as they are willing to fight for the Sultan, the knights can keep it There are quite a few Catholics and Protestants who are willing to serve the pagans because of their own beliefs, but once they die, their families can only get a small reward, so they have to fight bravely to avoid their children. And the wife ended up with nothing.

In addition to soldiers, vassals and servants also provide the Empire with supplies—timber, muskets, horses, mineral metals, asphalt, sulphur, nitrates, etc., as well as the demand for food that will inevitably pour like a tide after the army is launched. But even if these countries were willing to give everything, they could not afford the weight of 200,000 troops, so Ahmed not only recruited merchants to provide supplies for the army, but also intended to loot food and money from the villages and cities that he passed through. , to ensure that the soldiers will not only not mutiny, but will also be full of longing for the upcoming war.

They did the same. After coming out of the Ottoman Turks, the pagan army started a **** orgy. Wherever it went, it was a mess, and in the cries, hungry wolves swarmed. In fact, there is not even a complete bone left after leaving, only the bloodstains show what kind of tragedy has happened here.

  So what does the great Vizier Ahmed of Sudan think of this good and kind man considered by the people of Istanbul? Of course he was very satisfied.

   This situation continued until the third city.

  It was an empty city.

   (end of this chapter)