Chapter 602: When Man Cry
Which is a surprise to Master Orban, for he has miscalculated the Ottoman’s progress on gunnery development for building artilleries and gunpowder needs a lot of funding, and so it seems that the Ottomans had been trying another way out, researching for guns in smaller sizes hoping that they can use quantity to win over quality and achieving the same effect as those gigantic artilleries built by the Hungarian craftsmen in Thessaloniki. According to the report written by Master Orban, the entire gunnery that is supposed named as ’Arquebus’ was supposedly treated as a form of miracle weapon aiming to be used against the Roman cavalries, providing a short ranged field support that is easier to reload than crossbows and does not require a lengthy training like archers.
However, the Ottomans messed up the formulas for gunpowder, they mistakenly used much more saltpetre (Potassium nitrate KNO3) than the golden formula summarised by Master Orban who went through hundreds of experiments and testing, a direct impact of this is that with more saltpetre, more oxygen is made available during the combustion when the powder is ignited which increased the power of the explosion, but the researchers in the Ottoman court obviously did not consider the material used to produce their gun barrels, which is not able to handle the impact of the instable gunpowder, creating numerous cases of safety accidents since the day of its creation, so far until the newly recruited Ottoman gunners call it "kendiliğinden ateşleyen silah", a gun that shoots itself.
And that is why no one wanted to use it at the start, for the Ottoman gunners would rather use knives than this useless piece of junk. But this model brought a great interest to Master Orban when it is brought back to Thessaloniki together with the victory on the front line, together with the interesting ammunition that it uses, and naturally it brings the question: who made it?
And so, after making a slight improvement on the interior design, a few of these newly designed weapons are sent to the frontline. Not many commanders knew about the possible impact this new kind of weapon is going to create in the future battles, inclusive of Antonius, instead many felt that it comes in unhandy and awkward, for it takes up to two valuable manpower to operate. Thus, Antonius decided to...
Dump it.
He simply issued them to the various contingents and told them to ’try and test out’ these weapons according to the instructions by Master Orban, but it is not mandatory to use them in the next battle. While the field commanders, obviously not sure what to do with it, dumped it to the other junior commanders as well.
Nevertheless, most soldiers just treated this weird weapon as a laughing stock, another fancy creation from Orban, and marched off to their target.
...
The situation in Edirne is not going that well after just a week of encirclement.
Edirne was never prepared for getting sieged like this, in fact the last time a battle ever broke out in Edirne was more than fifty years ago during the times of the Ottoman Interregnum, and the situation then is totally different from now as well. The population has exploded when peace is restored, city has expanded with many buildings getting squeezed out of the city walls, and many water sources that could be used for drinking water has been polluted since people are dumping their goods everywhere in these water bodies.
Normally speaking these things should not be a big deal at all, food can be imported easily from the other regions of the vast Ottoman Sultanate, the expanding city is a sign of prosperity that the city is growing in commerce, while water was never a problem in the past, until now.
There are not enough food for everyone stored in the city because of the population, there is a highly possible safety and fire hazard because of all these newly erected wooden buildings outside the walls, there is a high chance of a plague for people have been forced to drink this unclean water that they polluted themselves.
People have been fleeing from the city from day three onwards, it was only a family at first, and later on more joined the run, and after a whole week of encirclement from two sides, even conscripted soldiers have joined in with the run, and naturally Antonius ordered his intelligence system inside the city to start organising such activities through attempting to bribe city guards, or see if there are any secret passages in and out of the city.
Meanwhile Julian is still working on his water projects in secrecy.
While Abdullah and Anna De’Ricci finally arrived to the army camp a few miles away from Edirne. Abdullah brought with him a whole cart of paper works of the reports on all the various counties, provinces and military districts regarding development and taxation for Antonius to go through. While Anna brought a cart of smoked meat, alcohol, new clothing and seasonal fruit.
Antonius made a brief welcoming session for the incomers with Julian and Helios, then after a few rounds of drinks, the other three backed off, leaving only Abdullah here with Antonius, because everyone could see that the chancellor obviously has a lot of things to say with the sovereign. While Anna can have her time at night.
"Your Majesty." Abdullah raised his mug of unfermented grape juice with a bright smile on his cheeks. "The population under our government has been on a steady increase after a decade of peace, our grains output have been on a steady increase, allowing us to cut our reliance on the import of grains from Cherson, Egypt and Anatolia by an entire thirty percent. I have established three new metal forges in Thessaloniki, Serres and Durres, aiming to double our iron output in five years’ time, matching the amount of iron produced by the duchy of Milan. If we can accomplish our goals in five years’ time, then we shall build ourselves into a self-sustaining economy enough to feed a standing army of thirty thousand men. But all of these achievements are built on the foundation of a steadily rising population..."
"Certainly, certainly." Antonius responded, nervously twiddling his fingers. "All credit goes to you, Abdullah. I would never have dared to amass an army of such scale, nor venture to initiate conflicts across all corners of the map, were it not for your efforts and contributions."
"Thank you, my brother." The smile on Abdullah’s face became even brighter. "And another major factor of our growing success, is thanks to all the fresh graduates from the University of Thessaloniki, who are deployed to various parts of the state refining the irrigation channels and rivers, especially after the reconquest of Epirus, we have managed to control all the water sources, big and small, of the entire Greek Peninsula, you see, your Majesty, water can be a killer on some occasions, but it is still a nutriture of lives gifted by God."
"Indeed, yes, unquestionably, we must also acknowledge the tremendous effort you’ve expended in reestablishing the entire region’s governance structure..." As Antonius verbalized these thoughts, he bowed his head, his hands clasped together, knotted in a display of unease.
"..."
"Your Majesty!" Abdullah suddenly raised his voice by a bit, calling Antonius awake. "Julian is still proceeding on with the plan of flooding Edirne, am I right?"
A bitter smile emerged on Antonius’ face as he shook his head but replied. "Yes, indeed, so, you have found out about it."
"Indeed, I have," Abdullah replied, his tone deep and resonant. "Do you recall? I was raised in Edirne, and I am intimately familiar with everything that thrives here — from the towering mountain ranges to the fertile plantations, from the echoing mosques to the winding roads, and even the meandering rivers. My youth was spent absorbing the minutest details of this land. Monthly, I used to fish in the rivers just outside Edirne, and their ebbs and flows are etched into my heart. When I noticed the drastic fall in the water level of the river, I understood. I realised that you had decided to carry out the plan, regardless."
"I see." Antonius squeezed his hands.
"I have strived, devoted myself completely to mitigating the ravages of war, to guiding everyone back to a semblance of normality amidst the chaos, to seamlessly blending them into the fabric of your state," Abdullah began, his voice trembling slightly with the weight of his words. "I harboured a dream, that all Ottomans could harmoniously be part of your expansive Roman Idea, unmarred by the scars of war... Yet, I must confess, your Majesty. Despite my many years serving at the Roman court, I — born and reared an Ottoman — still feel an undeniable kinship with my Ottoman brethren. This is why I strived to weave our two races together, and why I penned the letter vehemently opposing this plan. Because I knew! I understood all too well! That implementing this plan, sacrificing tens of thousands of Ottomans through flood to preserve the thousands of lives of our soldiers, would rend a chasm between our two people, one that may endure for centuries! A potential cause for a dissolved society, and a very likely civil war in the future! So, my brother! Your Majesty! Caesar of this land! Must we inundate Edirne? Is there no other recourse to safeguard our soldiers’ lives, as well as those of my Ottomans?"
His words hung heavy in the air, his plea echoing through the silence. By the end of his impassioned appeal, Abdullah was in tears, they flowed unchecked down his cheeks, droplets cascading onto the table like fallen pearls. They mixed with the grape juice, creating rivulets of diluted sorrow — a stark contrast to the composed chancellor they were accustomed to. The raw, unrestrained emotion painted a heartbreaking tableau that left Antonius dumbfounded, his gaze transfixed on his sobbing companion.
He is starting to feel the level of stress in Abdullah’s head now.
