Herva looked at the letter in his hand repeatedly by the dim lanolin lamp, and he did not understand something at first, but when he finally understood the contents of the letter, he felt that it was a trap that was not very clever.

The letter did not specify what he was asked to do, and did not even mention the names of any of them for secrecy, but from the description of the seemingly unimportant few small things, Herva knew that it must have been written to him by Alexander.

It mentions their past in the Croatian jungle camps, and how Alexander in Zagreb advised him to leave the city that he had been unable to abandon in order to gain more space for himself and to be nimble enough to contend with the Ottomans, although these topics were in a very obscure way, but it was impossible to know them if they were not the people involved.

But even so, Herva still couldn't believe the contents of his letter, and he even wondered if Alexander had been captured in the battle of Bucharest, and had told their previous relationship under the execution of the Ottomans, and then he had such a letter, otherwise how could there be such a thing in the letter.

The duke's face was cloudy and he looked at the letter repeatedly, hoping to find a flaw in it, and then he began to question the merchant who stood in front of him from the beginning.

Hurva asked very carefully, and if he had the slightest doubt, he would repeat it, hoping to find a conspiracy in this man's words, but although it really made him feel strange to hear it, he didn't know where to find fault for a while.

"You mean you've met the Ottoman governor?"

"Yes, Your Highness, in fact I have received a lot of convenience from him, otherwise I would not have been able to return to Bucharest, you probably can't imagine the size of the Ottoman army, and now I would be terrified if I think about it a little."

"Then how do you explain this, why the Ottoman is willing to do what the letter says," Herva pointed to the letter in his hand, because the letter repeatedly reminded him to keep it secret, and Herva had to follow Alexander's reminder and only let a few trusted people participate in this secret meeting, "The Ottoman was willing to give us the direction of the Bosnian march, and if I understood correctly, he also suggested that we help him hold back the Bosnian army, and tell me what the Ottoman wanted to do, Is he going to betray his sultan? ”

Herva babbled and asked, he thought the suggestions were so absurd, even to the point of madness, that he was very skeptical of the truth of the matter, but even so, deep down he kept telling himself, "If these are true, wouldn't this be able to get us out of the current situation?" ”

Herva did not want to leave Croatia, let alone the Balkans.

Rowa? Now the king of Bosnia, although his territory actually ends on the north bank of the Nausava River, according to the tradition of the Bosnian kingdom, Croatian territory is clearly included in Rhova? under the rule of the people.

Hurva was worried that he would become a real landless duke if he left. Not only could he take the opportunity to take the title of Duke of Zagreb, but he could even be crowned the crown of Croatia directly, if he would never have a chance to return to this land.

So Helva didn't want to leave his homeland and go into exile unless he had to.

If it really does what is written in the letter, the situation will definitely change a lot, at least with the secret help of the Ottomans, they can not only successfully drag the Bosnians back, but also give Rhova? They could even contact the Hungarians if necessary to inflict heavy losses on the invading Bosnian army.

It's just that the advice is so tempting that Herva doesn't feel so real.

Moreover, the vaguely mentioned Ottoman governor named Eryup also made him distrustful, and he still had a good impression of that person, at least he felt that he was a "difficult enemy" to deal with.

"I'm a businessman," Prato explained to himself, "I'm only here to deliver letters between you, I don't know the rest, but I know that some people want me to pass on some news to you, so I'll do that, but rest assured that the man I know is fine right now, and if you don't trust me, you can send someone to inquire about him." ”

Seeing Helva's scruples and concerns, Prato decided to be an honest hostage, and Helva thought his suggestion was good, so Prato naturally became a member of the resistance in the Ottoman occupation zone, but not only was his goods confiscated, but he himself was also monitored.

Hurva gave the Kulash brothers the task of inquiring about the news, and he did not say why he wanted to inquire about the count, but he still asked the Kulash brothers to find out what was going on with the Count of Montina.

"It is important for me to know where the Count is now, whether he is safe, and how his army is now." Hurva worriedly instructed the brothers, "It's too confusing to get mixed up right now, so don't miss even the slightest ambiguity, I have to know everything we can get about this man." ”

Helva's concern aroused the caution of the Kulash brothers, who realized the importance of the matter to the duke, and at the same time took a great interest in the exotic merchant who suddenly appeared.

Omo even offered to quietly meet the fellow who was always alone with the Duke's cronies, and ask him about the purpose of his visit to the Duke, but this suggestion was blocked by Kurush.

"They don't want us to know, so don't ask, sometimes knowing too much is not necessarily a good thing," Kulash didn't care about Helva's refusal to confide in him, he was now more concerned about how to get his brother to get Miss Alosia's heart, "You should work harder, I can see that Miss is blushing like an apple when she talks to you, believe my eyes, brother, at least she has a good impression of you." ”

"Why me, don't Miss Alosa come to you every time, you are a legendary knight," Omo said excitedly, "think of the benefits that your marriage to this lady will bring to our family, at least you can enter the Senate without any problems." ”

Kulash led the donkey in front of him, and when he heard his brother's words, he shook his head: "I'm a poor soldier, I don't feel comfortable wearing the red robe of the Senate, not to mention that although I look at the scenery like that, it's just a false name, it's better to be a real big man in the court, Omo believes in me, you will definitely be a promising person in the future, our family is counting on you to have a long face, don't miss the opportunity to pounce on her and conquer her, I can see that the young lady likes you, this is a great thing." ”

While the Kulash brothers were humbling each other over who deserved Aloxia's heart, Helva was already in a state of unbearable torment.

Rather than relax his siege of Herva because of the secret communication with the Duke of Zagreb, the Governor of the occupied territories launched one encirclement and suppression attack after another against the Resistance in an even more brutal manner.

Elip ordered a stern order to all the villages, and anyone suspected of supporting Herva was severely punished, their houses were torn down, their fields confiscated, adult men in their families were hanged or beheaded, and minor children were forcibly placed in various Muselim training camps set up in the occupied territories for brutal training.

This series of terror did frighten many people, and the locals could not help but admit that the terrible Ottoman governor had terrified them.

Many people began to hide from Helva's resistance, and although there was still a lot of joining and supporting, Herva was already feeling the pressure that was almost suffocating him more than ever.

In Zagreb, Elepp, who had given so many terrible orders at once, did not think that he had done anything wrong.

"If that Darius doesn't know each other, I'll make him suffer even more." Feeling a rare sense of leisure, Eleup wrote to his brother with the smug description of "I will force him to do what I want, either give in or get out of the land." ”

Elip was not worried that such a letter would fall into the hands of others, believing that even if the Sultan saw it, he would not detect anything wrong in it, so he told Ashulk in a plain tone that he hoped to get some benefit from his brother's mission, at least so that he would not be so ashamed of himself in front of the rich Sultan.

"I am so poor that I am afraid of myself in the pursuit of wealth, so help me and I will repay you, as it is said in the Most Holy Hadith: 'Race for abundance?' has made you negligent?,?? Until you go to the graveyard', although every time I think of this wise exhortation, I am ashamed of my shallowness, but it is always difficult for a stubborn person to grasp the true meaning of the hadith as soon as possible, so please help me in order to whip my soul, dear brother. ”

After writing such an emotional letter, Ellup revealed another "news that he might be interested in", intentionally or unintentionally, to Ashulk.

"A friend you know in Rome, the Count of Combrai of Montina, who is now in Bucharest, but I am sure he will not stay there much time, for if I purge that Darius, our cannons will be transported to the front without a hitch, and then the walls of Bucharest will no longer be able to protect them," Elup wrote triumphantly, "but the Count himself does not seem to have realized this. For I actually saw in Zagreb some of the merchants he supported doing business here, and of course I did not embarrass them for your sake, and even gave them some necessary conveniences, but it would have been better if you could write a letter to the Count and advise him to get out of the city which might fall at any time. ”

After skillfully writing everything that needed to be said in the letter, Elup sent someone to deliver it.

"What is that Darius doing now?"

Looking at the starlight above her head, Elop fell into deep thought.

In fact, Elop's heart was not as relaxed as he seemed on the outside, and he was even faintly anxious in the dark.

He knew that even if Prato was able to meet Helva, it would not be easy to gain trust, after all, their plan was ridiculous.

If Bayezid II had now reached the end of his rope, perhaps the Duke of Zaghrab might have believed that someone might find another way, but no matter how you look at it, the Sultan is now in high spirits across Europe and Asia, and no one will believe that someone will betray him at such a moment.

But Elup knew that wasn't the case.

Elop was a generous man, he liked luxury, and he was unusually generous to his friends, so that even some of the Sultan's cronies were able to receive rich gifts from him, and he could get some information that no one else could know.

This lets him know that the Sultan has been a little short-tempered lately, and that even his favorite favorite concubine has been punished for a small mistake.

But the reason for the displeasure of the Sultan was not the attack on Bucharest.

Elup's slightly swarthy but powerful fingers tapped lightly on his slightly bulging belly, and he knew very well why the Sultan was doing this.

However, it was precisely because he knew the reason that Elop became even more urgent.

The Sultan's sons are not only adults, but they also have enough weight in their hands, among which the two of the Sultan's favorite sons, Ahmet and Selim, are the strongest contenders for the future Sultan's throne.

Elip always thought of himself as well-behaved, something he had known many years ago when he was a teenager.

But even so he was always careful, and did not dare to slack off even if he had the Sultan's favor, for he knew very well what a very kind monarch in the eyes of many was like, and that it would surely make even the most daring people tremble.

It's just that even the kings of the world will inevitably face the final moment of their lives, when their bodies will gradually age, and one day they will give up all the great power they have in the world and die.

Aryup was a favorite of Bayezid II, which meant that he had no one to rely on in order to gain the trust of the Sultan, who was in his sixties.

Alup knew that Ahmet and Selim would not consider him a confidant, and that the two princes were now desperately trying to expand their power in order to compete for the throne of the future.

"I hope that Darius is as smart as the legend says, otherwise maybe everyone's life will not be so easy."

Eleup thought to himself that he was willing to take such a big risk because of the clues he had detected in his brother Ashulk's letter, and once it was confirmed, Elop did not hesitate to throw his net worth and life into it.

And Eryup is confident that there will be nothing wrong with his choice.

It was not difficult to get news about Bucharest, so it took little effort on the part of the Kulash brothers to inquire about some of the good news and sorrows in the nearby towns.

The Sultan's army began an assault on Bucharest on 25 April, and for nearly a week, Ottoman artillery bombarded Bucharest's walls.

In this siege battle, which was first opened by artillery, a lot of surprising things happened.

One of the most popular is the legendary confrontation between the Greek princess and the Ottoman sultan.

According to some rumors, Sultan Bayezid II came to the battlefield with his guards on the 26th, and as if by some inexplicable sense, Princess Sofia Alessandra Valleolo also climbed the walls.

The mighty Ottoman Sultan and the last descendants of the Eastern Roman Empire met each other in this confrontation between the armies, and even more so is the legend that the Sultan seemed to have sent someone to advise Princess Valleolo in the confrontation between the two armies that the marriage contract between the two parties should be made a condition to avoid misery.

When he heard this, the young Omo immediately refuted it, and he felt that this rumor was completely nonsense, because it was impossible for either side to accept such an outcome.

LaKush, on the other hand, seemed to mumble with some regret, "It would be nice if we could do that, at least we wouldn't have to die on the battlefield." ”

However, as Omo said, the unbridled rumours did not hide the bloodshed of reality, and for the whole week that followed, the Ottomans launched one fierce attack after another on the city of Bucharest.

It was in the midst of all these rumors, true and false, that the Lacouch brothers finally heard the news of the Count of Montina.

But what they didn't expect was that what they heard was not the count's feat of fighting the invasion of the pagan army, but something that sounded a little strange.

On May 2, 1499, the crisp breeze of the early summer morning could not hide the smell of blood wafting through the city of Bucharest, which had been besieging the city for a week, and it was rare that the morning of this day seemed so calm and serene.

The Ottoman camp in the distance was quiet, and the Ottoman army did not begin to attack as usual.

Bursts of prayer were faintly heard, and an indescribable tranquility permeated the Ottoman camp.

In a few days, the Ottoman camp will be held with a solemn fasting ceremony, and in a few days there will be major preparations for the month leading up to the most important month of Ramadan, which is also the first time since Bayezid II ascended the throne that he has not been in Constantinople to welcome a grand Ramadan ceremony.

For this reason, the Ottoman army began to prepare intensively for the upcoming Ramadan month in May, while closely monitoring the direction of Bucharest and guarding against possible enemy attacks.

Despite being on the battlefield, the Ottomans were as prepared as possible for this momentous moment.

All the Ottoman troops stopped their attacks, the generals ordered the soldiers to make the pagans in the city feel the majesty of the holy ones with prayers instead of arrows and cannonballs, and the Sultan himself walked barefoot in the barracks, dressed in white robes and spiced cloths.

The soldiers who saw the Sultan's figure all knelt down, and a deep prayer made the entire barracks solemn.

At this moment, there is no more killing, no more worldliness, only piety.

However, it was at this time that something happened that surprised both the Ottomans and the Balkans in Bucharest.

The fortress of Bukur, which has always bravely resisted the Ottoman army, is undoubtedly a symbol of Bucharest's pride, as this prominent fortress has repelled Ottoman attacks again and again.

And the master of that army, Alexandre Giuliante Cambrai, Count of Montina, became a well-known hero.

Many Bucharest people even believe that as long as the triangular coat of arms flag on the fortress of Bucharest is flying, Bucharest will not be in danger.

But it was such a hero, who had high hopes from the Bucharestans, who suddenly walked out of the fortress of Buchur on May 2 with only one retinue.

Then, when the soldiers on both sides heard the news and sent scouts to find out the count's intentions, Alexandre Juliant Gombray, Count of Montina, came to the front of the Ottoman barracks, and then publicly announced that he would challenge Sultan Bayezid II!

And the reason he gave made everyone stunned.

"The Sultan insulted my wife, Sofia Alessandra Valleo. So I'm going to challenge him~" Alexander said.