Chapter 1477: Oh No, Vienna Is About to Take the Hit!

The wheel of history certainly took a sharp turn here in Europe at the beginning of 1673. The direct cause of this sharp turn was Louis XIV "swindling" five million gold louis out of the Pope in Rome.

Of course, the old Pope in Rome did not hand over his gold for nothing. Louis XIV was a French king who devoutly believed in Catholicism — how could he bear to swindle so much gold from an 83-year-old Pope who had devoted his entire life to the Catholic cause and did not even have a single legitimate child? If he took the money without doing the job, he would very likely go to hell after death. If he really had swindled the old Pope's money, then perhaps the butterfly's wings would not have had such a great effect!

And Louis XIV's intervention in the Polish–Ottoman War certainly had an effect — how could it not have? That was Louis, the Sun King of France, stepping in to intervene!

The Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, Ahmed Köprülü, who was personally commanding operations on the western Ukrainian front, was not yet mad! The Holy Roman Empire and Poland joining forces was already enough to hold off the Ottoman Empire's offensive. If the Kingdom of France, the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, the Kingdom of Portugal, and the Russian Empire all piled on together, the Ottoman Empire would absolutely be in for it!

Not to mention that Spain, Venice, the Papal States, and the other Catholic states around the Mediterranean would certainly join the war as well.

For the Ottoman Empire to face so many countries at once, it would be beaten to the point of national ruin and annihilation.

Moreover, Ahmed Köprülü already knew that France and its allies were preparing to go to war with the Great Ming Empire in the East (including all of Ming's tributary states) and the Timurid Empire of India — they were preparing to fight, but had not actually started fighting.

Under these circumstances, if the Ottoman Empire went and picked a one-on-one fight with Louis XIV, wouldn't that be taking the hit for Great Ming and Timurid India? Even if he wanted to bring the Ottoman Empire into this war, he could not start fighting on his own at the beginning of 1673!

Ahmed Köprülü was shrewd! He had to wait for the right moment — wait until the French, the Chinese, the Russians, and the Indians were all tangled up in an inextricable brawl, and then bring the Ottoman Empire in. By then the Ottoman Empire would be valuable, and he could at least extort a huge sum from that rich man Aurangzeb.

Besides, Ahmed Köprülü had even greater ambitions!

Through the several battles fought in 1672, this aged Grand Vizier had discovered that the Ottoman army, equipped with studded-head explosive shells, wooden-base explosive shells, wooden-handled grenades, and trained in the parallel-trench siege method, now possessed an assault capability far superior to what it had in the past.

However, the Ottoman army's field combat capability, especially the performance of the Sipahi cavalry, was quite unsatisfactory. In clashes with the Polish knights they were clearly at a disadvantage. If the Polish knights had not been so few in number, the Ottoman army would very likely have suffered a crushing defeat.

Therefore, the broad and flat plains of the Eastern European steppe were actually not suited for the current Ottoman army to display its power. The mountainous regions and the many strong fortresses of Central Europe were where the Ottoman Empire's great army could bring its strength to bear!

After weighing the gains and losses, Ahmed Köprülü, upon receiving word that Louis XIV was going to intervene, decided to quit while he was ahead — to give up the land already taken and instead seek a ten-year peace treaty that could safeguard the security interests of the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire!

"What? Grand Vizier, are we really going to let the Poles off just like that?"

Inside the fortress of Kamianets-Podilskyi in western Ukraine, near Moldavia, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV, who had personally led the campaign, frowned and asked this question after hearing Grand Vizier Ahmed Köprülü's report on the peace negotiations.

"Your Majesty the Sultan," the Grand Vizier, already past seventy, merely smiled and replied, "The present retreat is for the sake of a better offensive in the future. Moreover, our offensive against Poland has already achieved its purpose. We have not only overawed those sand-scattered nobles of the Polish Republic, but also defended our vassal, the Crimean Khan. Most importantly, through this war we have also tested the results of our military reforms. So now is the time to quit while we are ahead."

"But we have gained nothing at all!" The Sultan appeared somewhat displeased.

In order to defeat the Poles, who were called the "Shield of God," he had spent several months on the Moldavian and western Ukrainian front, far away from the palace in Istanbul and the female slaves in the harem — and now he was to return empty-handed.

"No," the Grand Vizier shook his head. "Your Majesty, you should think of it this way — we have lost nothing! And I have also seen a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity, an opportunity to win the city of Vienna!"

"Vienna?" The Sultan was stunned. "You are not joking with me, are you? That is Vienna, after all!"

The Grand Vizier smiled: "Your Majesty, it seems the True God still wishes this old man, in his remaining years, to win for you the pearl on the crown of the House of Habsburg — the fortress of Vienna!

There really, truly is a chance! I am absolutely certain!"

"What do you plan to do?" the Sultan asked at once.

"I will agree to Louis XIV's mediation. This King of France is preparing to go to war with the Chinese in the Americas and on the Indian Ocean! We have no need to fight him at this time — and we could not win anyway."

The Grand Vizier was still quite self-aware.

The French army's strength was now at its zenith, and it also possessed three "dwarf" leaders — Louis XIV, the Prince de Condé, and the Duke of Luxembourg. Looking across the entire globe, only the Great Ming Celestial Dynasty could contend with it; the Ottoman Empire's army was simply no match at all!

The Grand Vizier continued: "But I will demand that Louis XIV guarantee the peace between the Ottoman Empire and Poland."

"What use is such a guarantee?" The Sultan, though dull-witted, was not so stupid as to believe Louis XIV's guarantee.

The Grand Vizier laughed: "Of course it is useful. Louis XIV will use this treaty to prevent Jan Sobieski from sending troops to the rescue when Vienna comes under our attack. Although he cannot hold him back for long, he can still buy us some time — enough for us to capture Vienna."

Ahmed Köprülü was very well aware of Jan Sobieski's military talent. This Regional Commander of the Polish army was extremely skilled in the use of cavalry. He had first distinguished himself in the war against the Swedish invasion, and had later spent a long time fighting the Tartars and Cossacks in Ukraine. In 1667, at the Battle of Podhajce, he had won a decisive victory over the Crimean Khanate.

And in the Second Polish–Ottoman War of 1672, he had likewise performed outstandingly; it was only because his forces were too few that he was unable to reverse the decline.

"You believe Louis XIV will just stand by and watch us occupy Vienna?" The Sultan was somewhat doubtful.

The Grand Vizier's expression turned serious. "Your Majesty, I believe he will do exactly that. Because right now he is only the King of France — but once we destroy Vienna, he may well become the King of the Western Romans!

And only by becoming a Roman king will he become a true rival of that great empire in the East! Perhaps he does not yet have such thoughts, but in another two or three years, he will be unable to resist the temptation of becoming a Roman king.

So we will have Vienna. Perhaps we can even turn Austria into Austriastan. But at the same time, we will also face a unified Western Rome!"

"Western Rome?" The Sultan frowned. "That sounds very dangerous."

"Do not worry," the Grand Vizier said. "Aurangzeb and Zhu Cilang will aid us. We are the Eastern Rome! They will not allow the Roman Empire to become completely unified.

Moreover, our empire must advance, advance without ceasing. Once it stops advancing, its decline will not be far off! So we need not fear any danger, not even a unified Western Europe."

Listening to the Grand Vizier's words, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire could only feel a growing sense of dread. What was all this? Taking Vienna would turn France into Western Rome? Then why attack Vienna at all? Louis XIV, King of France, was already troublesome enough — if he were replaced by Augustus Louis of the Roman Empire, could the Ottoman Empire even survive? You, old man, are already advanced in years; at worst you get a grand funeral. But what about this Sultan? No, this won't do. We must not take Vienna — we absolutely must not take Vienna!

(End of Chapter)