"Boom!"
A cannonball fired by an Ottoman warship landed in the sea near a Ming warship. The several-meter-high waves stirred up by the explosion not only drenched over three hundred soldiers on the Yizhou, the outermost ship of the Emperor's fleet, but also caused the hull to sway, making several soldiers fall and injuring who knows how many with twisted ankles.
The sudden turn of events startled Chen Mo, the commander of the Yizhou, greatly. As soon as he recovered his senses, Chen Mo angrily shouted, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Engage!"
At Chen Mo's command, the massive hull of the Yizhou slowly began to move, its colossal cannons, under the control of the naval soldiers, aimed at the opposing Ottoman naval fleet.
Along with the Yizhou, the other eleven warships of the Emperor's fleet, named after prefectures, also began to move. The entire Emperor's fleet had already been mobilized when the Ottoman navy fired its first shot. As the Ottoman warships prepared to commence their first salvo against the Emperor's fleet, the escort ships on the outer perimeter of the Emperor's fleet were ready to retaliate!
Lin Yu, the commander-in-chief of the Emperor's fleet, was furious. He instructed the messenger beside him, "Pass down my order: send all those barbarian warships on the other side to the bottom of the sea to feed the turtles, leaving no one alive!"
According to Ming's established practice, the sea area where the Emperor's ship was located was Ming territory. Now, the Ottoman navy had audaciously fired upon the Emperor's fleet, which was tantamount to firing upon the Ming directly at its doorstep.
If these barbarians from the Ottoman Empire were not sent to the bottom of the sea to feed the turtles, he, the commander-in-chief of the Emperor's fleet, would not only become a disgrace to the Ming navy but also to all the armies of the Ming!
After a moment's thought, Lin Yu still felt indignant and added, "No surrender accepted! Prepare the land forces for beach landing operations. I will go and request His Majesty's instructions!"
As for the Emperor's flagship, which was protected by layers upon layers of escorts, it could not be said to have not reacted at all, but rather it remained extraordinarily calm. Even Emperor Zhu aboard the flagship appeared nonchalant, as if the交战 fleet had nothing to do with him.
Emperor Zhu even had the mood to instruct Zhu Jianying in a game of chess: "I've told you long ago that before making a move, you must consider thoroughly. With every step you take, you must think of the possible variables in the next few steps. Only then will you not be led by the nose. Of course, sometimes you cannot deliberate endlessly; when a decision needs to be made, it must be made. How to strike a balance is a profound art."
While humbly accepting Emperor Zhu's teachings, Zhu Jianying secretly grumbled.
*Your venerable self is quite composed, aren't you?*
*Then why are your fingers, holding the chess pieces, turning faintly white?*
Zhu Jianying did not believe that Emperor Zhu would be afraid of the Ottoman naval fleet.
In fact, whether it was Zhu Jianying, the Director-General of the Eastern Depot Zhang Dequan standing behind Emperor Zhu, or Zhu Gang, Emperor Zhu's personal guard, they all knew very well that Emperor Zhu was extremely displeased at this moment.
The sudden first shot fired by the Ottoman navy essentially meant that the Ottomans were not following the script Emperor Zhu had laid out. The development of events had once again exceeded Emperor Zhu's expectations.
After a moment of internal grumbling, Zhu Jianying directly asked, "Now that the Ottoman barbarians have suddenly started a war, should we completely annihilate the Ottomans?"
Emperor Zhu, holding a chess piece between his fingers, pondered for a moment, then placed the piece on the board and said with a smile, "What's the hurry?"
...
When the Ottoman navy fired the first shell at the Emperor's fleet, Mahmud II instinctively felt that something was wrong. However, before Mahmud II could send someone to find out what was going on, Oruç Reis, the Grand Commander of the Janissaries who had already been dismissed from his post, appeared before Mahmud II.
Mahmud II's heart sank. He asked, "Oruç Reis, you are no longer the Grand Commander of the Ottoman Janissaries. Who allowed you to appear before me, the Sultan?"
Oruç Reis let out a scornful laugh and mocked, "Your Excellency, Sultan, if I hadn't appeared now, I fear you would have sold all of the Ottoman Empire to the Ming people, wouldn't you?"
Seeing Mahmud II looking around, Oruç Reis simply chuckled, "No need to look left and right. All the guards on the ship loyal to you have already been sent to hell in advance, and you will soon join them—did you really think your conspiracy with Mustafa Pasha was unknown? Of course, rest assured, Mustafa Pasha will soon join you in hell."
Upon hearing Oruç Reis mention Mustafa Pasha, Mahmud II's last shred of hope vanished. When he and Mustafa Pasha discussed how to eliminate the Janissaries, besides Mustafa Pasha, the only other person present was the Chief Eunuch from Kunlun. Now that Oruç Reis could appear before him, the only possibility was that the Chief Eunuch from Kunlun had completely sided with the Janissaries.
Thinking of this, Mahmud II frowned and asked, "Was it the Chief Eunuch from Kunlun who leaked the information?"
Oruç Reis said nonchalantly, "So what if it was? I must say, the Chief Eunuch from Kunlun is much smarter than you. At least he knows how to cherish his life and knows who to cooperate with is the wise choice."
Listening to the constant cannon fire, Mahmud II snorted coldly, "Wise? Your so-called wisdom is to sneak attack the Ming Emperor's fleet?"
Just as Oruç Reis was about to say something, a deafening barrage of cannon fire suddenly came from afar, causing even the ship where Mahmud II and Oruç Reis were located to shake violently.
Mahmud II grabbed a handrail with one hand and pointed towards the Emperor's fleet with the other, roaring, "Do you know how powerful the Ming warships are? You are dragging the entire Ottoman Empire to hell with you!"
Oruç Reis's expression was uncertain. After a long while, he coldly snorted and said with forced bravado, "Even if the Ming warships are powerful, what of it? If I can't defeat them, I can at least escape from them. If all else fails, I can surrender."
Mahmud II was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, "Hahaha, surrender? The Janissaries, whom my ancestors, the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, regarded as a serious threat, are now thinking of surrendering?"
Oruç Reis was unfazed and simply sneered, "Your Excellency, Sultan, you initiated all of this. If I kill you and offer your head to the Ming to negotiate peace, can't this war be settled?"
Mahmud II shook his head slightly, "Settled? From the moment you ordered your cannons to fire on the Ming fleet, this war was destined to be irreconcilable—do you know that the Ming Emperor is aboard the Ming fleet opposite us?"
"If the Ming Emperor were not aboard the Ming fleet opposite us, they might accept your surrender, because they still need Ottoman oil."
"But the Ming Emperor is aboard the fleet opposite us! Or rather, the entire fleet opposite us serves the Ming Emperor. Your act of firing on the fleet where the Ming Emperor is located will be seen as disrespect to the Ming Emperor by all Ming people!"
Mahmud II took a deep breath and roared, "From the moment you gave the order to fire, hundreds of millions of Ming people on this small planet will wish to kill you. The Ming fleet opposite us will be even less likely to accept your surrender; they will only blow you to bits with their cannons! The Ming army will launch indiscriminate attacks and massacres on the Ottoman Empire. Anyone with Ottoman blood or nationality will be treated as an enemy by them. They will not stop killing until the last Ottoman is eradicated!"
Being told this by Mahmud II, Oruç Reis became both shocked and enraged, exclaiming, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Even if the Ming Emperor is on their fleet, what of it? How do you know I can't defeat them? How do you know they won't accept my surrender?"
Mahmud II sneered, "If you don't believe me, you can have someone hoist a white flag and try."
Oruç Reis was taken aback, then burst into laughter, "Sultan, Sultan, even now you haven't given up! Do you think I will obediently have someone hoist a white flag and surrender, letting those Ming people slaughter..."
Before he could finish speaking, the warship where Oruç Reis and Mahmud II were located suddenly shook violently. A Janissary soldier stumbled into the cabin and shouted, "Grand Commander! We can't hold on!"
Oruç Reis was greatly alarmed. He grabbed the Janissary soldier who was reporting by the collar and demanded, "What do you mean we can't hold on! Speak!"
The reporting Janissary soldier said with a mournful face, "The Ming people's cannons are too powerful! Our warships' cannons can't even reach them, but their cannons can hit our ships. Our brothers have suffered heavy casualties!"
Just as Oruç Reis was pondering what to do, the reporting Janissary soldier continued to shout, "Grand Commander, you should quickly find a solution. If this continues, we won't have many warships left!"
Oruç Reis suddenly turned his gaze to Mahmud II and grinned menacingly, "Your Excellency, Sultan, it is time for you to pay for the Ottoman Empire!"
Mahmud II let out a cold laugh, drew the scimitar from his waist, and held it to his neck, staring intently at Oruç Reis and saying, "I will wait for you in hell, along with your parents, your wives, your lovers, your children and illegitimate children, and all of you!"
Oruç Reis paid no attention to Mahmud II's curse. After Mahmud II committed suicide, he personally severed Mahmud II's head and instructed the reporting Janissary soldier, "Pass down my order: have all warships retreat, hoist the white flag, and send someone to tell the Ming people that it was Mahmud II who ordered the bombardment of the Ming fleet, and that I have now killed him, hoping that both sides can cease hostilities."
At Oruç Reis's command, the Ottoman fleet quickly began to retreat. Oruç Reis's warship directly hoisted the white flag and lowered a small sampan, sending someone with Mahmud II's head to surrender and negotiate peace with the Ming fleet.
However, what Oruç Reis did not expect was that the Ming fleet opposite did not heed his hoisted white flag. Instead, twelve warships separated and pursued the Ottoman fleet. The overwhelming artillery fire showed no signs of stopping. Another twelve warships detached from the battlefield, seemingly intending to outflank the Ottoman fleet.
Upon rushing to the deck and seeing this scene, and remembering what Mahmud II had just said, Oruç Reis's expression turned grim, and his heart sank to the bottom.
Mahmud II was right!
The Ming people had no intention of accepting his surrender and negotiation!
With no time to think further, Oruç Reis repeatedly commanded, "Pass the order! Retract the white flag! All warships immediately retreat and shake off the Ming warships to return to port!"
...
Emperor Zhu, feigning calmness, gestured back and forth on the map, but his mind was racing with countless thoughts—What the hell is going on! These brats always come up with new tricks!
After a long while, Emperor Zhu slowly said to Lin Yu, the commander-in-chief of the Emperor's fleet, "Since the huskies also want to bite, then there is no need for the Ottoman Empire to exist."
As Lin Yu bowed in assent, Zhu Jianying frowned and asked, "In this case, will the plan to sow discord between the Ottoman Empire and the alliance of countries like the Russian Empire also need to change? And the Suez Canal..."
Emperor Zhu smiled and nodded, saying, "What else can we do but change it? The Ottoman Empire is actively seeking its own demise; can we stop it? As for the Suez Canal..."
The smile on Emperor Zhu's face disappeared. He tapped the table with his fingers and said with无奈, "Without Butcher Zhang, we can't eat pork with hair, can we? Let the imperial court and the military government send people over. It is not suitable to establish a Provincial Administration Commission in the Ottoman region; it will be designated as a Military Commandery first. Then, let the Ministry of Works conduct an exploration to see how to excavate the Suez Canal."
This was unavoidable.
The situation in the Ottoman Empire was completely different from that in Lanfang, Old Port, Cochinchina, and Burma. Regions like Lanfang were either directly bordering the Ming or completely surrounded by the sea and were very close to the Ming, so Provincial Administration Commissions could be established. However, the Ottoman Empire bordered the Russian Empire to the north, the West Kunlun Mountains to the south, and Europe to the west. Establishing a Military Commandery focused on military affairs was more suitable than establishing a Provincial Administration Commission.
As for the Suez Canal... Emperor Zhu originally planned to trick the Ottoman Empire and England into jointly excavating the Suez Canal. However, the Ottoman Empire suddenly went mad and courted death, so the matter of the Suez Canal naturally fell through.
Without the Ottoman Empire to bear the brunt, the Ming would have to undertake the construction themselves.
Fortunately, Mahmud II had already obtained a large amount of money from his "allies" such as England and the Russian Empire, as well as nobles and officials from Europe and the Ottoman Empire, which could be used to excavate the Suez Canal.
The only remaining troublesome issue was that with the Ottoman Empire gone, the subsequent "pitiful" plan would also have to be modified.
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