Chapter 842: Three Strategies

Jiang Xuan was ready very quickly.

Three thousand troops, disguised as several merchant caravans from Longyan. As for other goods and the like, it went without saying; nowadays, the land of India had plenty of them.

Nowadays, wherever the Longyan merchant caravans went, they were the most welcome presence.

Generally speaking, before they even arrived, there were people waiting for them in the trading towns.

Coupled with the protection of the East India Company, Longyan merchants were still very safe traveling through these deserts and Gobi regions today.

Three thousand people.

Broken down into smaller units.

One hundred men per caravan, for a total of thirty teams, setting off separately from thirty directions. This time, they were primarily acting as salt merchants. The entire Ottoman Empire was very short of salt, and they were practically longing for the salt merchants from Longyan.

The letter from Liu Zheng to Hamid arrived late, but it was enough to make Hamid incomparably excited.

Idol!

His idol had written back! When he sent the letter to Liu Zheng, he absolutely never thought that he would actually reply to him! This feeling was simply beyond words.

: rg

A few more days passed.

Istanbul.

Hamid opened this letter with hands that were almost trembling.

Reform.

When he saw the contents of the letter, his whole person was once again stirred with uncontrollable excitement.

The person who delivered the letter was a small child.

He soon disappeared into the crowd.

After the old steward handed the letter to Hamid, he also waited quietly to the side.

When he saw the latter part, Hamid's expression changed slightly.

Mutiny.

Yes.

As expected!

Even his idol was saying that only reform could save the Ottoman Empire! Only reform could restore the glory of the Ottoman Empire.

"Mutiny?"

In this way, the Ottoman Empire would certainly participate in it, with a large army pressing on the border; although they might not directly participate in the war, they would certainly station heavy troops at the border to prevent the East India Company from threatening the Ottoman borders.

Of course, the last great war between the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid Dynasty resulted in a complete victory for the Safavid Dynasty. It was also highly possible that the Ottoman Empire would take advantage of the situation to try to save face and boost morale.

Second, Hamid's brother, Erdogan, was a loyal supporter of the Janissaries. Conversely, Hamid was a staunch backer of the Sipahi Cavalry. Therefore, if Hamid wanted to stage a mutiny, it was not impossible. At the very least, if he were to raise his arms and call for it, many in the cavalry class would certainly be willing to follow him.

His idol, Liu Zheng, actually wanted to support his mutiny!

For this reason, Liu Zheng did not hesitate to state his plan in the letter.

First, the great army of the East India Company was about to attack the Savi Dynasty. The Safavid Dynasty was adjacent to the Ottoman Empire, and this war would certainly alert the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. Because once the rising East India Company took the Safavid Dynasty, it would be in "close contact" with the Ottoman Empire, and the buffer zone between the two powers would cease to exist. Plus, the Ottoman Empire had just suffered a huge loss at the hands of these Longyan troops, so the Ottoman Empire would not fail to consider this immense pressure.

Mutiny?

He had never dared to consider such things before!

But.

Third, trade sanctions; this was a diplomatic strategy. Nowadays, the Ottoman Empire, or rather the entire Central Asia region, and even the Africa region and the Europe region, had a huge demand for Longyan's Refined Salt, and had even become dependent on it. During the war, if the East India Company were to cut off the supply of Refined Salt to support Hamid's rise to power, the entire political situation of the Ottoman Empire would undergo a tremendous change.

"This..."

Hamid was startled by Liu Zheng's suggestion.

It seemed, however, quite easy to achieve.

It was not difficult.

Yes, it was not difficult; he was the son of the Sultan! He had the right of succession to the kingdom! Why should he let the Grand Vizier continue to control the government?

Yet Liu Zheng in the letter spoke so logically and clearly.

Hamid's breathing began to grow rapid.

All of this.

Hamid's breathing went from rapid to calm, and from calm back to rapid.

His fists clenched and unclenched from time to time.

Finally.

"Your Highness."

The old steward stood by, watching Hamid rise in a rage and pace back and forth.

The scene was quiet for a time.

The Ottoman Empire must reform!

At the very end.

In the letter, Liu Zheng added one more sentence.

He gritted his teeth fiercely!

His idol was right!

The Ottoman Empire could no longer withstand such turmoil!

Domineering!

Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun!

Damn it!

Remember, political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.

Look!

Look at what the idol said!

"What?"

Upon hearing this, the old steward's expression changed drastically.

But then, his face filled with joy, and he also began to tremble all over: "Your Highness, you finally, you finally..."

He looked back at the old steward and smiled faintly: "Muhad, are you afraid of death?"

The old steward was stunned, then burst into loud laughter: "Your Highness, what a thing to say! I am an old man with a pile of old bones; what is there left to fear about death?"

A sharp glint flashed in Hamid's eyes: "You say those cavalrymen—are they afraid of death?"

Hamid was instantly filled with immense confidence.

Since so many people were waiting for him, what else did he have to fear?

"Muhad, there are some letters that still need you to deliver them, but..."

Only then did Hamid realize.

So, including the old steward, were they all waiting for him to make this decision?

"Good!"

Hamid laughed heartily, acting as if mad, with tears streaming down his face.

"Father, I am going to let you down."

Hamid knew this matter had to be kept secret, so he looked at the old steward solemnly.

The old steward's face was covered in tears: "For Your Highness, I would die ten thousand deaths without regret!"

"Good!"

At this moment.

After the Ottoman front lines tightened, such things were happening in almost every garrison camp. That is, the Janissaries would not give these Sipahi Cavalry any good looks at all, and had even begun to speak rudely!

Because their view was that the recent great defeats of the Ottoman Empire in Vienna and at Mumbai Port were all caused by the increasingly weak combat effectiveness and increasingly negligible strategic status of these Sipahi Cavalry, who were nevertheless still being heavily relied upon!

"Get out!"

"You bunch of medieval trash!"

"Is this a place where you are allowed to stay?"

"Don't you go too far!"

"We are the dignified Sipahi Cavalry, having risked life and limb for the Empire, and you would have us live in the stables?"

The Sipahi side, meanwhile, was already furious.

They believed that the Sipahi should have long ago exited the stage of history!

So that the Empire could save the expenses spent on their cumbersome and costly Weaponry and Equipment and give them to the Janissaries instead!

"You all"

They are not convinced!

Consequently.

Following the two great defeats, the conflict between the Sipahi and the Janissaries began to intensify completely.

The Sipahi Cavalry, once the pride of the Ottoman Empire, the cavalry that swept across Europe! Now they had fallen to this state; they had just returned from the battlefield, and they weren't even being assigned a camp!

Could it be just because the Janissaries were loyal to the Grand Vizier and the eldest prince, Erdogan?

I refuse to accept this!

For several consecutive days, in many camps, these two branches of the military, or rather these two military factions, engaged in small-scale skirmishes, and even slaughter.

The entire Ottoman Empire fell into chaos.