"General Lucaon, it seems that you have been waiting for a long time."

"Long story short, Mehmed II is ready to attack his two brothers."

In the inner city of Edir, such a house is absolutely conspicuous.

It was subordinate to one of the commanders of the current Ottoman Empire's Sipahi Cavalry Corps - Lycaon. One of the most prestigious generals in the cavalry corps, Lycaon won the trust of his predecessor, Sultan Murad II. Although Lycaon was an Orthodox Greek commander, he was still in charge of the main Ottoman army.

The Sipahi cavalry, like the knights of the Western world. He was an aristocratic person, well-equipped, and relied on the maintenance of his estate for his income. It can be said that the Sipahi cavalry was one of the most elite of all the Ottoman cavalry regiments.

It was such a unique identity as Lycaon that gave the empire the possibility of approaching.

"Don't worry, General Lucaon, you have long enough time to show your loyalty to the Empire."

Sitting opposite Lycaon was Pedro, Sofia's henchman. The status of a great merchant allows him to move through any force with ease, which is one of the reasons why countries are especially wary of caravans.

Pedro personally poured two glasses of mellow rosé wine. His family has been in the wine business for hundreds of years and has made a name for itself in the Apennine Peninsula. Even in the inner city of Edir, the wine can be found in the underground black market and in the foreign trading port.

"Mr. Pedro, I have to say that Her Royal Highness the Princess's prophecy is very accurate." Lycaon took a sip of the wine, and it was forbidden in the army, but it did not prevent him from keeping some treasures privately, and he rarely tasted such a delicious wine, "After Murad's death, there was a great turmoil in the city of Edirne. Muhammad had been hiding in the mosque for the past few days, and even when he entered and exited, he was heavily guarded. For the army, he could not control it completely for the time being, and at this time, it was definitely a period of weakness for the Ottomans. ”

"The princess and the crown prince have also guessed this, General Lucaon." Pedro laughed, "It is not unusual among the Ottomans that the Sultan killed his comrades after he succeeded to the throne. Although the Ottomans looked weak, the empire was in desperate need of peace because of the offensive at this time. ”

"So...... Is there no way we can take advantage of this opportunity? Lykaon put down his glass with some pity, now that he had completely fallen to the Empire, Lykaon's thinking had changed somewhat, "Now that the Ottomans have lost a lot of territory in the Balkans and let the Empire regain a large territory, it is likely that next year, after the civil strife has been quelled, a large number of Armenian soldiers will be sent to support the Balkans." This is a great threat to the Empire, and we should be prepared. ”

"Well...... I will inform Your Highness about this. Pedro poured Lycaon the wine again, "This information, for now, is secondary. Her Royal Highness the princess meant to insert our eyes deeper into the Ottomans. Constantinople was still under the watchful eye of the Ottomans, and counterintelligence efforts were carried out very slowly, and obtaining reciprocal intelligence was now the most important task. ”

"It's not that simple."

Lucaon stood up from the table and closed the door to the room herself.

"There are many people in the Ottoman army who can be wooed, but most of them are not worth developing. They don't have the means to get the real core intelligence for us. ”

"It's normal. Constantinople wasn't built in a day, and so was Edirne's spy network. Pedro waved his hand and motioned for Lycaon to sit down, "There's no need to be so nervous. At least for now, you are Your Highness's most important henchman in the inner city of Edir. If any help is needed, we will do our best to accommodate it. And...... General Lucaon, there are some things that cannot be considered from the point of view of war alone. For example, this time, Muhammad faced a crisis of civil strife. ”

After a brief moment of thought, Lykaon replied: "The vast majority of military power is still in the hands of Muhammad. His two brothers have little chance of winning. ”

"Of course, we don't expect a civil strife to completely destroy the Ottoman state, but this civil war is your chance to become a close confidant of Muhammad." Pedro took out a thumb-sized note from the compartment of his collar and stuffed it into Lycaon's hand, "You can, become a three-sided, or even four-sided spy." ”

"What do you mean?"

Lucaon opened the note, and the tiny characters on it were engraved with a unique cipher. This method of recording classified texts has a long history and is usually only circulated within spy networks. Once upon a time, the recipe for the Empire's secret weapon, Greek Fire, was recorded in a unique written record that was circulated only among rulers.

"Gain Muhammad's true trust by becoming a spy that Muhammad planted at his brother's side. In this way, the Empire's spy network among the Ottomans will be very quickly expanded, and it will be easier for you to obtain information for the Empire......" Pedro laughed, "Remember everything on this note, tonight, and burn it to ashes." ”

"I understand...... However, it seems that it is not easy to become a spy of Muhammad. He was very wary at this time, he was not his cronies, and he couldn't get close to him at this time. ”

No matter how vigilant he was, he was just a teenager. Quite simply, in a few days, you go and tell him that there is information about his brother, which should be Muhammad's greatest concern at the moment. By virtue of your position in the army, Muhammad would not fail to summon you. ”

"Intelligence? What intelligence? ”

“…… As you see fit. Pedro shook his head helplessly, "It doesn't matter what it is, you can tell Muhammad how many troops his brother has and what his plans are." It doesn't have to be true, as long as it's not excessive, and Muhammad certainly has reason to believe in your loyalty. When the time comes, look for an opportunity to get close to his brother by knocking on the side. ”

……

The fighting between the Ottomans and the Crusaders on the Western Front also gradually ceased shortly after the signing of the peace treaty of the Roman Empire.

The contradictions between Władysław and the white knight Hunyaldi are still accumulating. Even if the Crusaders were successful, most of the knights in the army were still worried about next year.

At the same time, the armistice signed privately by the empire caused dissatisfaction in many Catholic countries.

Of course, the vast majority of these countries are just jokingly condemning, and everyone knows the real situation of the empire. Slandering each other is a traditional subject in the Eastern and Western churches.

There are exceptions, though.

Genoa, for example.

The integration of Trabzon and the granting of Venetian commercial privileges dealt a huge blow to Genoese trade in the Aegean and Black Seas. In its latest diplomatic rhetoric, Genoa even denounced the Empire for forgetting the historical disgrace that Venice had brought with it......

"Hmm...... I've seen it. ”

John glanced at the letter Sophia had handed over.

"The Doge of Venice will hang again in the future, and now the profits from the silk trade with Venice, my father will probably die of laughter, right?"