Chapter 540: Long Live...
Honestly speaking, what the eunuch has just said is exactly what these commanders here wants. They have no interest in eliminating these rebels fast, not only because of the worry on the possible loss of their precious manpower in a sudden and intensified battle, but also because through war these commanders can have a little bit of extra income as compared to peace times. Since the eunuch, on behalf of the Sultana Dowager, wants to drag the war on, they don’t mind at all.
The hundred cavalries are scattered away in pairs to the beaches and shores in the South, watching out for the potential army of Zaganos Pasha. That removed the last obstacle in front of Celalettin’s operations, he received the ’clear to land’ signals from the scouts disguised as fisherman and issued the order for all the boats to charge towards the shores in full speed. It even seemed like that wind and the tide is on their side too as they blew towards the Northwest, accelerating their boats’ speed and finally in no time, they made a forced landing on the shores.
The forty boats gifted by Zaganos Pasha became scattered into pieces after crashing onto the beach, but they would never be used again after today.
Of the forty boats that embarked on this operation, eight boats are blown away and landed on the shores in almost half a mile away, two boats contacted with hidden boulders in these dangerous waters and sunk instantly, only three quarters of the boats managed to arrive here and get gathered up by Celalettin in time. There are even some soldiers who fell in without a single blade or armour by their side, because usually the troopers would not place their equipment with them on the same boat, just in case.
Even the planner of this operation, Celalettin himself has no idea whether this operation shall succeed or not. But since the dice has been cast and he has already landed here, there is already no step back expected to charge forward. He gathered up the only seventy pax equipped with weapons he has around the beaches and set off for the back of the enemies.
Both sides of the war have already started engaging with one another for quite a while ending up in a temporary stalemate. That genius eunuch commander has dispatched his only hundred cavalries out to the coasts to scout for potential enemy activities. Apparently, he is much more afraid of that beast in the East across the seas than the current enemy he is facing.
But in a war, looking down on your opponent can be a terrible mistake, and another mistake that is even bigger than this one, is to be way too confident on your own troop’s morale and capabilities.
Celalettin’s men did not even need to do anything, the moment they appeared above the horizon behind the enemy’s backs yelling and charging, the morale of the troops from Edirne plunged as the long fear of getting encircled by Zaganos’ troops started hovering over in their minds once again; They did not come here to sacrifice their lives for the Sultana Dowager, they came here for the gold and silver that the government has promised them.
But in the time of crisis, the eunuch, who is supposed to be there boosting the morale of his men and making a new defence at the back, did nothing. He just stood there, watching towards the back, with his lips and legs shivering not knowing what to do. The morale of his men around him plunged even further when they saw the reactions of their supreme commander. Those experienced junior officers desperately tried to do something, but without a clear order from the high command they cannot act cohesively with the other friendlies to put up any feasible defence, instead their action just messed up the organisation of the entire army moving it another step forward towards utter chaos.
Facing this kind of situation, many experienced veterans now know that it is the time to save their own lives....
The men at the back has already spotted that there are probably only less than a hundred men charging towards them in a messy way, but not the people at the flanks as they started running away first. This became like a domino’s effect as the entire frontier plunged into disorder as more and more people started to leave their battle positions. Knowing this situation, the troopers guarding the rears also had no interest in continuing the war any longer, and fled their posts.
Under the urge of the commanders, the eunuch finally woke himself up and issued another order – no one is supposed to leave their post, anyone who disobeys shall be persecuted on the spot.
This piece of order, however, created a vastly different effect from what the eunuch has expected. Amidst the chaos, a petty officer jumped onto the chariot, pointed his blade and pointed its tip towards the eunuch and cursed. "It is because we have piss pots like you landing your filthy boots in the court of Edirne, that is why we have again caught ourselves in a civil war! If the nation is going to be run by twits like you, why don’t we jump side and follow the orders of Zaganos Pasha?"
As he is spitting out all the curses, the men of the petty officers pinned the palace guards down onto the ground – no one by the sides wanted to do anything, as everyone knows that a mutiny has finally occurred. From this point onwards, the number of enemies at their back do not matter anymore. When the morales and organisations of the entire army fell to the ground, it would take at least a month for them to pick it up, and before that, even if there is just one section of troops behind them.
The vice commander vaguely knew what is going on behind the enemy’s backs the moment he heard the uproars of the army from Edirne; The commander must have succeeded. His assumption is soon proved to be correct as he saw enemy troopers leaving their positions and started to make a run in a four hundred meters distance away from his positions into the dense woods and bushes along the coastal region. Without further questions he pushed all reserves into action and let out a full out attack with the only two hundred plus people he have against an enemy almost eight times the size of his.
The troopers from Edirne scattered away as Celalettin’s seventy plus men formed a spear head. His advance met little to almost no resistance at all – a result that he could not believe even when it happened before his very own eyes. But still, when he finally reached that iconic chariot, with the Sultan’s flag flying over it, and the supposed eunuch drowning in his own blood with a Kilij blade through his chest, he knows that this battle is now over for him.
Celalettin made a series of wild glee as he stepped forward under the awed eyes of his fellow Ottoman pals, dipped his hand in the eunuch’s pool of blood, licked it with his tongue and then wiped it across his face – making his face entirely red looking like a demon, then made a smear and spit towards the corpse in front of him.
"People always said that the blood of a demon serving a tyrant is bitter! But today! I can tell all of you that, it tastes the same just like any of us! The ordinary ones!"
By this time, the bulk of Celalettin’s troops have gathered beside their respected commander clearing out the remains of the battlefield, while some folks who used to be enemies of Celalettin swiftly changed sides and immediately became a rebel following the death of the eunuch.
"So, the Mighty Allah has sent me here to tell you that, those demons in Edirne are simply just ordinary people! They can be defeated, they can be slain, and the Mighty Allah has sent me, to lead all of you, to march onward to Edirne, and chop off the head of that viper who has been controlling the court like a fiddle! We shall make the Sultanate what it ought to be! Forever powerful! Allah Hu Akbar! Long live the Sultanate! Long live the Ottomans!"
"Allah Hu Akbar! Long live the Sultanate! Long live the Ottomans!"
"Let us march on brothers! Today we march on Edirne!"
...
Just a day later, the scent of war has started disappearing from this tiny strait as the land began the process of recovering to its original form pushed by an irresistible form called mother nature. First, it’s the crows, vultures, sea gulls and flies, as they started to have a feast on the corpses. Then came the smugglers, surrounding villagers and scavengers taking away the weapons, armours, valuables and clothing of the dead, then came the maggots and other pests as they began eating the corpses to its bones.
Soon, there shall be nothing left in this region, except for the everlasting sound of the sea waves splashing against the coast.
