Selim III, looking at Aguliy's shifting expression, finally sighed helplessly and said, "Letting young Mahmud go is also letting yourself go."
With Selim III's words, Aguliy finally nodded almost imperceptibly.
Selim III smiled, picked up the wine cup from the tray, and drank the poisoned wine in one gulp. Then, he smiled at Aguliy and said, "Go."
Aguliy gave Selim III a deep look, and his thousand words finally turned into a long sigh.
During Selim III's time as the Ottoman Sultan, although the Ottoman state had been on the decline, even the traditional conservatives who opposed Selim III and the nobles had to admit that Selim III's achievements during his reign far surpassed those of his predecessors.
If it were a time of peace, Selim III's reforms might have succeeded, and the Ottoman Empire would not have fallen into such a turbulent situation.
Unfortunately, Selim III did not live in a good time—whether it was the war with the Ming Dynasty or the war with Tsarist Russia, the Ottoman Empire was in a passive position, and the constantly turbulent times added countless troubles to Selim III's reforms.
To put it bluntly, the reason why the Ottoman Empire became what it is today was more due to the various problems accumulated over hundreds of years of inheritance, and the responsibility could not be entirely attributed to Selim III.
Thinking of this, Aguliy could not help but sigh again, then turned to the guards behind him and ordered, "Sultan Selim has set off on his journey, and we will now send Mahmud on his way."
The guards following Aguliy silently followed him to Mahmud's palace.
Although the Ottoman Empire did not have the saying of "having more friends means having more paths," these guards were not fools. Seeing that Mustafa, Aliti, and Uzgul were helpless against Alemdar's attack, these guards naturally had to find a way out for themselves.
Choosing Selim III as a way out was impossible. After all, when Mustafa, Aliti, and Uzgul attacked the Topkapi Palace, these guards did not play their proper role and even acted as guides to some extent.
If Selim III were to become Sultan again, who could guarantee that Selim III would not settle accounts for past events?
Therefore, whether it was due to Mustafa's orders or for their own considerations, these guards had to send Selim back to the embrace of the true God.
Instead, choosing young Mahmud as a way out was a wise choice—
If Alemdar successfully broke through Istanbul's defenses and enthroned young Mahmud as the new Sultan, these guards would naturally have contributed to the cause by letting young Mahmud go.
If Alemdar failed to break through Istanbul's defenses and Mustafa, Aliti, and Uzgul successfully counterattacked, these guards would naturally have had enough time to find the "missing" young Mahmud and send him back to the embrace of the true God.
The desire to find a way out was not only among those guards, but also among the young vizier Evrim, who was sent by Mustafa to meet Alemdar.
As everyone knows, except for a certain Eagle Nation, not everything is black and white. The nobles of the Ottoman Empire are also the same. Not everyone stands with the reformists or the traditional conservatives; most are fence-sitters.
The young vizier Evrim was a typical fence-sitter.
When the reformist faction was stronger, Evrim would support Selim III's reforms.
After Selim III was deposed, Evrim became a traditional conservative noble.
It was precisely by relying on this ability to adapt to the wind that Evrim managed to get along with everyone among the Ottoman nobles. Whether the reformist faction was powerful or the traditional conservative faction came to power, he always managed to hold onto his position as the young vizier.
However, today, this ability to adapt to the wind seemed to be losing its effectiveness—after Evrim conveyed Mustafa's conditions to Alemdar, Alemdar did not directly agree or disagree, but instead looked at Evrim with a half-smile.
It was not until Evrim's forehead began to sweat that Alemdar chuckled and looked at Evrim, saying, "Did Mustafa tell you what to do about the Ottoman treaty with the Ming Dynasty?"
When asked by Alemdar, Evrim asked somewhat confusedly, "You are stationed on the Rhine and deal more with the Tsarist Russia. Why do you care about the treaty with the Ming Dynasty?"
Evrim put on a show of genuinely considering Alemdar's well-being and advised, "Mustafa's conditions are already very good. Not only is the fief granted to you closer to Europe, but you are even allowed to continue experimenting with Selim III's reforms. You know, Aliti and the others originally wanted to set your fief in a place closer to the Ming Dynasty."
However, to Evrim's surprise, despite the many tempting conditions, Alemdar merely chuckled and asked again, "My question is, what about the Ottoman treaty with the Ming Dynasty?"
Seeing that Alemdar was determined not to give up until he got an answer, Evrim could only sigh helplessly and say, "The treaty that has already been signed with the Ming Dynasty will naturally continue to be executed."
"We are also very sorry about the matter of Sultan Selim."
"In fact, Sultan Mustafa has broken the wine cup that Sultan Selim used to drink poison countless times, but you also know that Sultan Mustafa cannot always keep an eye on Sultan Selim, and there are many people in the Topkapi Palace who are loyal to Sultan Selim. It is actually very easy for Sultan Selim to get poisoned wine."
"Alemdar, the past is the past. Please stop advancing. Istanbul has already suffered one war, please do not let it suffer a second, greater war."
However, Alemdar just smiled and shook his head, looking at the distant dust kicked up by the horses galloping from outside the tent and said, "Evrim, if you could eat a whole roasted lamb, would you be willing to just have a leg and give all the other meat to others?"
Evrim was stunned and asked, "What do you mean?"
Alemdar chuckled and said, "Now, Istanbul is back in the hands of Sultan Selim. Mustafa, this usurper, will receive his due punishment!"
Evrim was shocked and stood up with a gasp. He first looked in the direction of Istanbul, then angrily shouted at Alemdar, "We are negotiating, how can you attack at this time! You have violated the principles of warfare, you have betrayed the teachings of the true God!"
Alemdar's face darkened, and he snorted at Evrim, "What, you still want to call me a kafir and send me to hell?"
Evrim immediately fell silent.
As the saying goes, one must bow one's head under a roof, and one is the knife and the other is the fish. He was currently in Alemdar's command tent, surrounded by Alemdar's trusted subordinates. As long as Alemdar gave an order, these people would swarm forward and chop him into minced meat.
With a sigh, Evrim simply resumed his fence-sitting demeanor, bowed to Alemdar, and said, "Then, I will take you to the Topkapi Palace. Perhaps we can even send Sultan Selim on his final journey."
...
Mustafa was going mad with anger and deeply understood why Selim III had tried so hard to push for reforms in the Ottoman Empire, especially regarding the Ottoman army—
If the guards on the city walls were more reliable, let alone repelling Alemdar's attack, but with the city walls of Istanbul, Alemdar would not be able to breach Istanbul for some time.
The problem was that the guards on the walls were truly unreliable, and they surrendered just like that!
Even more unreliable were the guards of the Topkapi Palace—these scoundrels led Aliti last time, and this time they are leading Alemdar again!
So, the duty of the palace guards is to lead whoever comes, no matter who it is?
Mustafa, sitting on the Sultan's throne, was somewhat enraged and looked at Aliti and Uzgul with hatred, "What good ideas do you have now? If not, then go and welcome Alemdar!"
Aliti and Uzgul glanced at the empty council hall, exchanged glances, and then lowered their heads, choosing the silence is golden approach.
Mustafa became even more enraged.
Damn it, it was you two who insisted on rushing into the Topkapi Palace to stir up trouble, and now that it has failed, you're playing dead?
The problem is, it would be fine if you two were truly not afraid of being scalded, but you can't drag this Sultan to die with you, you bastard!
Also, you said that Selim III's reforms were wrong, and those nobles who followed Selim III in reform were kafirs who betrayed the true God, and it was because of them that the Ottoman Empire lost battles again and again. As long as believers who truly believe in the true God manage the Ottoman Empire, it will surely turn the tide of previous defeats. But where are the believers you speak of?
As soon as the news of the fall of Istanbul's city walls came, the believers you spoke of had vanished!
Who exactly is the kafir who betrayed the true God?
As he grew more angry, Mustafa stopped saying anything and instead closed his eyes, no longer looking at Aliti and Uzgul.
Aliti and Uzgul also found it difficult to speak—in fact, Aliti and Uzgul did not expect the city walls of Istanbul to fall so quickly.
The two of them had not thought about running away quickly, but as the commander-in-chief of the Kapukulu cavalry corps and the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, their families were well-off with many people, so it was not as easy to run away as they imagined.
Rather than abandoning their homes and fleeing, they might as well stay and wait for Alemdar's arrival.
If they could persuade Alemdar with the teachings of the true God, that would be even better. If not, they would use their lives to appease Alemdar, exchange for a glimmer of hope for their families.
Although this chance was slim.
After a while, Mustafa suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Aliti, "Where is Aguliy, the commander of the guards?"
Mustafa's question made Aliti realize something.
Where is Aguliy?
If Aguliy had already killed Selim III and Mahmud, then Alemdar would have lost his candidate to enthrone and would probably have had to grudgingly accept Mustafa as Sultan and Caliph.
But...
The thought that Aguliy might have betrayed them and not killed Selim III made Aliti and Uzgul's hearts sink.
After thinking for a moment, Aliti called out, "I will take my men to find Aguliy. If he has not completed the task assigned to him by the Sultan, then I will complete it for him!"
Mustafa glanced at Aliti and gave a flat "en" and said, "Go."
After Aliti hurriedly left the palace, Mustafa turned his gaze back to the Grand Vizier Uzgul, "Go and welcome Alemdar—I know that it was Aliti who threatened you, which is why you followed him in attacking the palace. Now, take advantage of Aliti's opportunity to kill Sultan Selim and quickly go to Alemdar."
Uzgul was overjoyed and bowed to Mustafa, saying, "You are as wise as ever, Sultan!"
He never expected that Uzgul, who thought he was doomed, would be saved by Mustafa's few words—it was Aliti who coerced him into the usurpation, and Aliti who killed Selim and Mahmud. He and Mustafa were both victims of coercion!
It was settled. Even if Alemdar led his troops into the Topkapi Palace, with Selim III and young Mahmud dead, he could only recognize Mustafa as the Ottoman Sultan. And Mustafa's words implied that he wanted to save his own life, so now it was stable!
After thinking for a moment, Uzgul bowed to Mustafa and said, "Respected Sultan, I will serve you with all my heart, and hope to shine for the Ottoman Empire under your wise and brilliant leadership, and make the Ottoman Empire great again!"
Mustafa also smiled.
From the beginning, Mustafa had guessed that Alemdar would not retreat easily. After all, he had already reached the outskirts of Istanbul. The benefits of retreating were nothing compared to the benefits of directly capturing Istanbul.
Therefore, Mustafa had long planned how to get rid of Aliti with Alemdar's help.
Then, continue to promote Selim III's reforms and make the Ottoman Empire great again!
ps: Today I offer "New Forces of the Three Kingdoms: I am the King of Liaodong" as a sacrifice to heaven!