Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks

Chapter 747 52: Aftermath of Battle

Under the southern segment of the city wall, Orhan, who was arranging military preparations, suddenly noticed the Emperor in the Purple Robe appearing at the entrance.

Orhan, now over forty, quickly stepped out to greet him, humbly bowing his head: "Your Majesty, I am deeply ashamed to have let you and Miss Viviana fight alone."

"You have done all you could, do not blame yourself for this."

Losa consoled him.

Previously, Constantine XI had lacked trust in Orhan, but now it was different. The dragon blood kin were destined not to betray him. If necessary, he was even willing to appoint Orhan as his co-ruler emperor.

"How is Miss Viviana?"

"She is fine, she just overexerted her power and fell unconscious. I sent her back to the bedchamber."

Without much small talk, Losa straightforwardly asked:

"Mahmud II is dead, his heirs are too young to stand up and turn the tide at such a critical moment. So, as the head of the Constantinople branch of the Osmanoglu Family, do you think it's possible for you to ascend to the Ottoman throne?"

The Ottoman royal bloodline has not been cut off. Not only does Mahmud II have heirs, but Orhan also does. However, originally in history, his heirs, including himself, all perished when Constantinople was breached.

"I'm afraid not, Your Majesty."

Orhan's expression was bitter: "Although the family has some connections with the Bektashi Order, the Brotherhood, and the Empire Center, these connections are not strong. Under Murad II's purges, we haven't had contact for a long time."

"Then try to contact them. They may have been unwilling to contact you before, but now that might not be the case."

"I understand, Your Majesty."

Orhan is the son of Suleiman Celebi, who was the second son of Lightning Bayezid (the eldest son was already deceased at the time) and was killed by Muhammad I, the fourth son riding the Great Red Dragon, the Red Lightning.

So, in terms of seniority, he is counted as an uncle to Muhammad.

But this also means he has been away from the center of power for many years. Suleiman was a hero of the Great Interregnum, which was half a century ago. The influence he left Orhan is now very limited. Losa does not expect Orhan to stand up and win the support of the Ottomans immediately.

Losa emphasized: "Your father once claimed kingship in Rumelia. The vassals loyal to your father were not entirely purged but were marginalized. These people are the ones you should aim to win over right now."

The goal of the simulated war, by this point, has actually been fully achieved.

He simply aimed to lay a foundation, a base that could enable Rome to survive and eventually revive even after he "entrusted" it to the simulation.

That evening, secret envoys arrived at the edge of the city wall to meet via a pulley system.

The visitors were envoys from the Ottoman Army, from Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece.

The former, under Ottoman rule, had a relatively better status, at least maintaining the status of a vassal state. The latter, conquered by the Ottomans, saw many Fire Worshipers flood in, squeezing the living space of Bulgarians, and the original Bulgarian nobility's autonomous status was gradually abolished.

The Serbians and Bulgarians both had glorious pasts, with Serbians once claiming emperorship and Bulgarians calling themselves Tsars, establishing hegemony in the Balkan Peninsula.

These two Slavic groups are latecomers to the Roman Region (namely Rumelia, the Balkan Peninsula). According to the original historical trajectory, the Bulgarian rebellion in the medieval world would succeed, only to be destroyed by the Ottomans.

Present-day Serbia, leveraging the gold mine output on its land, nurtures a very powerful mercenary army, which includes a Knight Legion composed entirely of Holy Roman Empire nobility.

But this "strong" power seems insufficient in front of the Ottomans. The territory has been greatly reduced, and their submission was the price for a temporary survival, a fact which the King of the Blancovich Family of Serbia is surely aware of, their "end is near".

In actual history, Serbia was annexed by the Ottomans six years after the fall of Constantinople.

They requested Losa to send the Dragon Knights to lead the army and defeat the Ottomans. They would launch an internal and external assault against the Ottomans when the battle started, trying to gain the Emperor's mercy and forgiveness, and ensure they would not face retribution after defeating the Ottomans.

Naturally, Losa firmly and straightforwardly... refused.

He requested them to hold their forces temporarily and wait for the right moment.

The Ottomans are destined to fall into internal strife. If external invasions hit them during this period, there is a chance, albeit a small one, that they might unite. However, once they spill each other's blood, the internal conflict will definitively tear apart what was supposed to be an emerging dynasty on an upward trend.

Perhaps, if Viviana rides a dragon into battle, it could force the Ottomans to submit to Orhan, and gather the Eastern Orthodox subjects on the Balkan Peninsula once again under the Roman Double-headed Eagle Banner.

He could be the Hidden Monarch behind Orhan, leveraging Orhan's loyalty to continuously derive benefits from the Ottomans and reclaim the lands.

But this process is too lengthy, with too many pieces of deadwood that should have been cleared away surviving. The Eastern Roman Empire, an aging entity, if unable to remove these vestiges, would only experience a temporary flare, a fleeting moment.

Reclaiming lost territories is not the immediate priority of present-day Rome. Using the residual prestige of victory to properly organize internally is the right course.

The Venetians in Constantinople have already submitted under the Eagle Banner. The abandonment they faced from the Republic of Venice led them to no longer be loyal to Venice. Moreover, fighting side by side during the war managed to dull the previously sharp hatred between Greeks and Latins.

Ultimately, during the most critical time of battle, the rescuers were not the Eastern Orthodox Russians, not Wallachia, Moldavia, nor Serbia, those Eastern brethren, but those Latin heretics whom they hated intensely.

The first step is to begin integrating the Genoese of Galata.

…

"You are awake."

"Everyone is celebrating the victory. Without you, the celebration would lose much of its splendor."

Reclaiming lost territories is not the immediate priority of present-day Rome. Using the residual prestige of victory to properly organize internally is the right course.

The Venetians in Constantinople have already submitted under the Eagle Banner. The abandonment they faced from the Republic of Venice led them to no longer be loyal to Venice. Moreover, fighting side by side during the war managed to dull the previously sharp hatred between Greeks and Latins.

Ultimately, during the most critical time of battle, the rescuers were not the Eastern Orthodox Russians, not Wallachia, Moldavia, nor Serbia, those Eastern brethren, but those Latin heretics whom they hated intensely.

The first step is to begin integrating the Genoese of Galata.