The mountains stretch and the mountains are majestic, slow like undulating waves, and the steep ones are like fierce beasts that will pounce on them at any moment.

Standing on a piece of wood between the two horses, Elop struggled to look out at the deep valley between the two mountain beams in the distance.

At this time, the two thick eyebrows of the Ottomans were furrowed very tightly, and the tips of the eyebrows were almost touching.

In fact, Eyup himself knew that the place where he was standing was high enough, and even if he added the height of the horse's back, he might not be able to see anything, but perhaps because of his own comfort, he seemed to see a lot more clearly when he stood on the horse's back.

"How long does it take to build a bridge here?" Eryup remained motionless and just looked into the distance, until he heard the men below just muttering without answering, and then he looked down at the men standing next to the horse's buttocks.

"Dear Lord Buraya, you know that it is very troublesome to build a bridge in such a place, you see this matter......"

An elderly officer cautiously tested, although the title of the respectful Bulaya was not very suitable for the status of the old man, but as far as they knew, the supposedly very favored sultan's close minister had only just been assigned a serious errand, and although he had a great brother before that, Aryup himself was an idle gentleman.

"As soon as possible, the bridge must be repaired within four days," Elope interrupted the officer without question, "or I promise to give you a taste of the whip before I get the Sultan's whip." ”

As soon as Elder gave this stern order, he looked back at the two mountain beams in the distance, and his brow furrowed even more.

After the successful capture of Zagreb and the siege of Balgrade with little respectable resistance, the Ottoman expeditionary force can be said to have entered a complete state of extraordinary euphoria.

Both the Sultan himself and the most ordinary soldiers, the Ottoman army had an unprecedented confidence in defeating the enemy.

They were convinced that Belgrade would soon fall, and that even Bucharest, which had brought the conqueror Mehmed II to death, would not be able to stop the dreaded Crescent Empire.

Driven by this sharpness from top to bottom, the Ottomans advanced towards Bucharest at an astonishing speed, especially after entering Transylvania, and in the face of Bucharest, which was almost close at hand, the Sudanese army did not even make repairs as usual, but continued to march eastward in one fell swoop after forcibly crossing the Muresh River under the shelling of Montina's army.

The Ottomans are ready to take Bucharest in one fell swoop!

Everything seemed to be going well, and the only thing that annoyed the Sultan and his generals was the 'cowardly Helva' who had fled into the jungle.

'Helva the Cowardly' is not a disparaging term for Helva by the Ottomans, but a nickname given to the new Duke of Zagreb by many Balkans themselves.

The move to abandon Zagreb without any resistance has led many to put Herva and Rwa?? In comparison, and even in the eyes of some, the timid and fearful Herva is even more than the desperate Rhowa?? Even more contemptible.

The name soon spread in many places, and it was only a short time for people to go from curiosity to disappointment to disgust to the new duke.

Bayezid II had no particular idea of Helva's abandonment of Zagreb, a man he thought of as an insignificant figure in his path of conquest, and perhaps many years later when he visited the vast territory he had conquered, he would have remembered that there had been such a man, but now he had no time to think about an adversary who fled in panic because of timidity.

So Bayezid II with his army did not hesitate to leave Zagreb behind, and now he had only Bucharest in his eyes, and Ladislas II, who was arrogantly trying to organize a coalition against the Ottoman Empire again.

However, Bayezid II had already sworn in his heart that Ladislas II would give Władysław III a taste of his defeat at the Battle of Varna in 1444.

Because of this ambition, Bayezid II desperately needed his army to fight as head-on as possible against the combined forces of the Europeans.

The Sultan urged his generals, and the generals urged the soldiers, and the Ottoman soldiers, eager for the promised booty, to arrive in Bucharest as soon as possible.

It was at such a moment that the almost forgotten 'cowardly Helva' suddenly jumped out of his hiding place like a fox that had been hidden in a cave for a long time, and bit the Ottoman on the back fiercely!

Hurva, with his army, launched a war of destruction in the rear of the Sultan.

Burning bridges, attacking convoys, intercepting messengers sent by the Sultan with important orders, and attacking towns and cities occupied by the Ottomans when the time comes.

Suddenly, it became apparent that the timid Helva seemed to have suddenly become brave, perhaps he was still timid, for his army never dared to engage the Ottomans head-on, even if sometimes he had more men than the enemy, and he would not take the risk easily, but if he was given the opportunity, the Duke of Zagreb would put down his position and harass and attack the Ottomans again and again in the manner of a mountain bandit rather than a nobleman.

The Ottoman army's supply lines were in serious trouble, and the Sultan's generals had to spend a lot of time and energy arranging more elite troops to escort supplies, and the engineering units formed by Elup were exhausted running between the wreckage of the roads and bridges destroyed by Helva to tinker.

This situation finally came to the attention of Bayezid II a few days later, and the Sultan was keenly aware that he was in serious trouble.

It was clear that Helva, Duke of Zagreb, was fighting him in the most annoying way possible, and that this was the most undesirable and helpless means for any intruder.

The Sultan decisively gave the order to halt the march, even though Bucharest was really close at hand, but he still ordered to slow down the march.

"This is for Eyrip to do," pondered the Sultan as he sat on his chariot, his right hand, which was not wearing any jewelry, rhythmically patted on the soft and warm black bearskin armrest, and when he remembered something, he gave orders to the eunuch beside him, "to tell him that Herva is cunning, and that we have suffered his loss, so I would like to see Elop bring that Helva to me on a rope, and I will have that man pull the cart for me instead of my royal horse." ”

The Sultan's order was quickly delivered to Elup, but it was sent by one of four messengers with the same message, two of the other three who had disappeared into the mountains of the Balkans after leaving the Sultan's army, and the fourth had not been heard from until much later.

Receiving the order, Ilup instantly changed from the commander of the sapper to the commander of the security forces, and immediately began to lead his army along the supply lines of the Ottoman army in a game of hunt and capture with Herva.

The sudden slowness of the Ottomans did not hide the eyes of those who were unusually attentive to them.

When the news came that the Sudanese army had slowed down and then completely halted its march after entering the Upper Tatar region of Jackish, the people of Bucharest were surprised at first, and then relieved like a stone falling to the ground in an instant.

"It's a signal, yes, it must be a signal," Ladislas II declared his judgment to the nobles he had summoned to the castle again, "Look where he is, Upper Tatar Desz, from there to Bucharest if it is a light cavalry maybe only three days, or even two days, but the Ottomans stopped, and it is clear that the Sultan is ready to negotiate." ”

Ladislas II's words caused a commotion and whispers, and it was clear that the king's wishful thinking was unreliable to many, but if it did, the illusion that he would be able to avoid a formidable adversary made people hope that it was true.

"Your Majesty, maybe the Ottomans have other plans, such as luring us into attacking them on our own initiative?" Tsepes hesitated to ask, although he knew that this speculation was a bit absurd, but he couldn't think of any reason to stop the Sultan, did Bayezet really want to negotiate a solution?

Chipes did not believe that the Sultan would have such considerations, and it had nothing to do with mercy, but rather for the Ottomans, who clearly had a huge military advantage, negotiations did not really give them more benefits than war.

"You should know, Grand Duke, that the Ottomans are now at war with the Persians in the East, and I think that Bayezid II did not want to be enemies of two powerful opponents at the same time, which is a good thing for us, and we have not heard of it before, that Count Montina not only taught Roy a hard lesson?? That traitor, and even shelled the Ottomans who crossed the river, I think the Sultan must have known that the enemy in front of him was not so easy to deal with, at least we were not the 'cowardly Helva', and if a decent negotiation would make him feel that he had maintained his honor, what reason should he have to use war to solve the problem. ”

"So Your Majesty, we ......," a nobleman asked, standing up tentatively.

"Of course we have to respond," said Ladislas II quickly, "that we have gathered in Bucharest to protect the interests of all of us, and although it will require us to show courage and force, it is not a good idea if we can negotiate a solution." ”

"Negotiate with the Ottomans?" The Patriarch of Bucharest, with an ugly look on his old face, looked at Ladislas II, and when he saw the king's gaze at him, the Patriarch continued, though hesitantly, "I beg your pardon for thinking that this is the worst idea I have ever heard, we know that they will not keep their promises, that they are infidels, and that they will not take their faith and honor to heart." ”

"Actually, we're the same with ourselves."

Ladislas II muttered to himself, and the king's gaze quickly swept over the rest of the room, he needed to know how many people would support him.

To Ladislas II's relief, the Ottomans had apparently frightened many people, and now that there might be an opportunity to save them from the ravages of the Ottoman cavalry, many suddenly became less concerned about making peace with the infidels.

Chipes walked worriedly in the courtyard, saying that his relationship with the Ottomans was more complicated than the others.

When his father Vlad III was a hostage, he was still a retinue of Prince Bayezette, because of this experience, even though Vlad III was at the forefront of the resistance to the Ottomans, the nobles still did not regard him as their own.

Eventually, Vlad III's head was cut off and hung under the soldiers of Constantinople, and even so, the nobles kept him away.

Cepes was convinced that he knew the Ottomans better than the others, stemming from his father's description of the Ottomans, who believed that the Ottomans would not have negotiated before they had already demonstrated their military might.

This convinced Chipes that either the Ottomans were hatching some conspiracy. Either that, or they're in some trouble.

The former may have worried Cepes, while the latter had struck him as absurd.

What trouble will the Ottoman army, with nearly 80,000 troops, have?

Although he knew that this idea was unlikely, Cepes wanted to know the real movements of the Ottomans as soon as possible.

There were not many people supporting him at the meeting, which is not to say that everyone else wanted to negotiate with the Ottomans, but that people were hostile and alienated from him personally.

Chipes thought helplessly, he knew that it would be difficult to get more support, but the king's decision to try to negotiate might shake Bucharest's belief in desperate resistance, but it made Chipes think about how to get through the current difficulties.

For Ladislas II, it didn't matter if Bucharest fell, because his original purpose was to provoke a revolt in the Ottoman backyard, so as to contain the Sultan's northward invasion of Hungary.

But for Cepes, if Bucharest falls, it means that his Transylvania will also fall completely under the Crescent flag.

This is absolutely unacceptable to Cepes.

A bowstring sounded from the courtyard, and Cepes looked over to see that the bow in Sophia's hand was still trembling slightly.

An arrow tail in the center of the target in the distance was also shaking differently, and Sophia was smiling with satisfaction on her face.

The face of a 14-year-old girl has gradually lost baby fat, and the refreshing and obvious liveliness that belongs to young girls is like a galloping pony, stirring Sophia's body and mind.

Looking at Sophia like this, Cepes groaned slightly, and then he walked over.

Sophia, who met Cepes, was clearly delighted.

The queen was very kind to her, because of Nashan's connection, Sophia was even a special person in the Prague court.

She could go to the queen's chambers at any time without having to be informed by the maids, and her status by the queen's side was very special.

She obviously could not be a court maid because she could not speak, but she was allowed to accompany the queen by her side on an exceptional basis, and even sometimes when the king and the queen attended some important gatherings together, Sophia could wear the gorgeous clothes that the queen had prepared for her, and then stay quietly in a corner not far from the queen.

Even so, Sophia felt lonely, especially after Nathan was ordered to go to Naples, which made it even more unbearable for her.

It wasn't until Chipes appeared and stayed by her side that Sophia gradually got rid of the unbearable loneliness.

"I think I may need your help," Cepes mused, though he didn't want to involve Sophia, but now he felt that it seemed like the only way to go, "the Ottomans are coming, and now everyone is panicking, and many people are frightened, I think you are the only one who can help them." ”

What can I do? Sophia asked, confused, she didn't care about her current status, maybe those gorgeous clothes and titles were not as interesting as hunting.

But she had to play that role now, and for the reason, as Nashan had told her in private, perhaps only then would she have a chance to return to Alexander's side.

"Go and encourage those people, so that everyone thinks that it is a great honor to fight for you, in fact, the king also intends to do so, but the Ottomans are too terrible, and now even he is starting to waver, so now only you can encourage everyone to continue fighting."

Cepes patiently explained to Sophia that he knew that the girl in front of him was very brave, and somehow, Cepes had a feeling that although the identity of the Greek princess announced by Ladislas II seemed confusing, but for some reason, Sophia herself seemed to be equally eager for this identity to be recognized.

"Believe me, you can encourage everyone, they all came to Bucharest because of you, they want to gather under your banner to fight for you, especially those Greeks whose ancestors fought for the Palaiologos and now they are going to fight for you."

Cepes encouraged Sophia, who had a chance to stop the king from doing something stupid only if he had more support, and Sophia was undoubtedly his only hope.

"Let everyone feel that we are no worse than the Ottomans, and make them proud of their courage, knowing that the Greeks are brave and proud, they once despised the Franks, and now there is a Frank whom they look down on to stand up to fight the Ottomans first, and they have won," Chipes stared into Sophia's eyes, "You have to make them understand that as long as you lead them, they will be equally victorious, and we are no worse than those Franks, At least not worse than the Count of Montina from Rome. ”

Chipes said excitedly, not noticing Sophia's momentary dull eyes when she heard the name.

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