Chapter 534: The Pillar
"Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back,"
- Book of Revelation, 12:7, USCCB
"I see."
"You shall see the Sultan, Pasha."
"And he will throw you with the same kind of answer."
"I can even ask him to write an official letter for you, right on the spot."
"Because you know what, Pasha."
"I am the Sultan."
Hamza Pasha gave the woman a cold stare. "Donโt even bother to put up a show for the entire Sultanate now am I right?"
"I had no other choice." The Sultana Dowager stepped a few steps back and leaned on her couch.
"It is my duty." Hamza Pasha stood up firmly. "To protect the throne of the son of Mehmed, and the right of ownership of the Sultan on this country."
"I am afraid that you shall no longer has such a chance to do so." The Sultana Dowager clapped her hands twice, and immediately a dozen guards stormed out of the curtains โ they have been hiding there probably since the start of the meeting. Hamza Pasha reacted fast and tried to make the final assault of his military career by bolting up and jumping forward, knowing that the only way for him to get out of this situation is to forcefully take the Sultana Dowager as hostage. But the guards are even faster than him, a guard halted the pashaโs action pinning him down with a bolt fired his crossbow, while the other guards quickly went forward to tie the pasha up.
"You c***! You piece of s***! Your crime on the people of the Ottomans shall not be forgotten and forgiven! I shall curse you forever! I shall accuse you of your crimes when I met the Great Prophet! Trust me you little..."
A guard stuffed a piece of cloth into Hamza Pashaโs mouth.
A series of curses and clashes came from the outside and is quickly replaced with nothing but silence. Hamza Pasha closed his eyes and shook his head in pain, knowing that his two faithful guards have been dealt with.
"Believe me or not, honourable Pasha." The Sultana Dowager bent down and gazed at the old man rolling on the ground like a worm. "Many of you believe that the reason why I am making all those unpopular policies is to make myself a puppet to the Rumelians so I can continue keeping my power, but that is not true."
Hamza Pasha stopped moving and made a resentful sneer.
"I want, and I must keep the internal stability of my deceased husband, honourable Pasha. I must make sure that his bloodlines can be passed from generation to generation in the coming centuries, I must make sure that my son stays alive in these turmoil and struggles, both of us knows that looking at the state of the Sultanate it is already impossible for us to achieve any military success against the Rumelians. Remember, pasha, I am the queen consort of all Ottomans, and on top of that, I am a mother too, I need to make sure that my son, and my people stays safe. With that I am more than willing to exchange safety, peace, co-prosperity for the stateโs independence, autonomy and prestige."
"We need time, honourable Pasha, we need time to re-establish a military alliance with the Venetians, the Genoese, Zaganos Pasha in the East, and Abbas Pasha in the North, we need to settle our internal problems, lick our wounds, rebuild our army, and wait for the Rumelians to plunge themselves into another round of civil war, just like what they always used to do in the past, and that shall be the time for us to attack. But before that, we need to wait."
Hamza Pasha widened his eyes and stared at the Sultana Dowager. He has finally realised what his problem was, for so long he has viewed and expected the Sultana Dowager to be like a normal regent and ruler in history. Maybe she can be unreasonable or illogical sometimes but that is completely fine, almost all monarchs are like that. But it is only today and now that did he realise, what he has speculated about this woman is all wrong, she has already surrendered herself to the Rumelians long time ago, which automatically explains why she made the Sultanate a tributary."
"Take the cloth off." The Sultana Dowager ordered.
"Now, honourable Pasha." The Sultana Dowager leaned down and reached her hand out. "Are you willing to help me?"
Hamza Pasha gave the Sultana Dowager a spit, and then his mouth got clogged up by the cloth again.
"I see." Sultana Dowager rubbed her hands clean and looked back at the Pasha with no emotions on her face. "What a pity that you could not sympathises with me, if that is the case... I guess that I can only wave goodbye to you, it has been an honour working with you for so long, see you in Jannah then, if Allah is merciful enough to allow you there."
A guard behind Hamza Pasha drew out his dagger, kneeled down and slit the throat of the once prestigious Pasha, with his other hand covering the action to avoid the blood from gushing out and splattered onto the carpet. The Sultana Dowager covered her eyes and walked away, for she is a merciful and kind lady who do not wish to see any living things die before her eyes.
Hamza Pasha died with his eyes still wide open, but the light within his pupils is already fading away as he is being dragged across the hall into a secret room at the back. His mouth is still gulped open, maybe trying to grasp for air in the shock, no one knows how he feels at the end of his life, in Ottoman politics, a dead manโs opinion can hardly be noticed by anyone.
The pillar supporting the defence of Edirne has collapsed.
