At the same time that the Peter delegation carried out an unprecedented investigation and study in the Celestial Empire, in Europe, the war of the Roman Empire against the Ottoman Turkish Empire was also at the last moment, with the end of the Battle of Sivas, the Turkish counteroffensive was repulsed, and the Turks, who were unable to counterattack in the short term, had hoped that in the winter, when the Caucasus Mountains were covered with ice and snow and the logistics of the Roman legions had problems, the Turks who took the opportunity to counterattack miscalculated. Under the pressure of the Ming Dynasty, Persia agreed to allow the Roman legions to use Persia to support logistics, and although the mountains of northern Persia also faced the threat of wind and snow in winter, the environment was better than that of the Caucasus, and it was thanks to this that the Roman legions had to launch an attack on Istanbul before the Turks finished preparing for war, which was their most important battle for the recovery of Rome and Constantinople.

Almost as soon as the Roman legions once again arrived outside Constantinople after more than 200 years of absence, the Ming Mediterranean fleet in Alexandria sailed into the Bosphorus under the pretext of protecting the diaspora, and sailed into the strait, which was only a little more than a mile away at its narrowest point, at a time when the Turks had no sea power to stop the mighty Mediterranean Fleet—a naval battle fought in Sinop Bay on November 30 between the Roman Imperial Navy fleet and the Turkish fleet with only fifteen warships in Sinop Bay. Not only did they destroy Sinop's batteries, but they also inflicted heavy losses on the more powerful Turkish fleets there. Daming's bombardment once again played an unexpected role. Under heavy artillery fire, the Turkish fleet suffered a devastating blow and scattered in all directions. The Roman fleet pursued with all its might, and in the end only one Turkish cruiser escaped.

It was from that time that the Roman fleet began to attack the Turkish fleet in all directions of the Black Sea, and on January 17, 1695, when the Imperial legions arrived outside Constantinople, the main force of the Turkish navy ceased to exist.

Although the Ming and Roman fleets did not meet due to the threat of Turkish batteries in the strait, in fact, the two armies had already met on land, and Egypt committed a reinforcement of 45,000 men.

Just as in 1453, the Ottoman Turkish Sultan Mehmed II led 170,000 cavalry and 320 ships to besiege Constantinople from both land and sea in an attempt to completely destroy the Roman Empire, the Ottomans at this time also faced sieges from both land and sea, and the siege of the city was not limited to the Roman Empire.

From the beginning of January to March, in less than three months, in addition to the reinforcements sent by the Ming Mediterranean Fleet and Egypt, another liver army from Europe also arrived on the battlefield, and the Spaniards sent a legion of 20,000 men, in return they got Jerusalem, and correspondingly, according to the agreement reached between the two countries, Spain also needed to withdraw from the Philippines and exchange the Philippines for Jerusalem, which in any case seemed to them to be a very good deal.

Unlike the Roman Empire, where there was only a corner of Constantinople, the thousand-year-old capital of the Roman Empire, the Turks still had a wide range of land, but their armies could not withdraw to Istanbul at all - large-scale uprisings in the Balkans, Greece and other places, as well as the Austrian counter-offensive, held back a large number of their troops, and the Turkish legions along the Don River could only survive in the fortresses after losing their navy on the Black Sea.

The shelling, from January 17 to May, continued on Istanbul, and although the Turkish legions stubbornly resisted the allied attack, everyone knew that the fall of the city was only a matter of time.

In the opulent Topkapi Palace, on Cape Saraquirio, the headland that separates the Golden Horn from the Sea of Marmara, Ahmet II was at the end of his life. During his four years of reign, one disaster after another struck him, leaving him in a state of worry and exhaustion almost every day, and now that he was so sick that it was even more difficult for him to breathe.

"Venerable Sultan, it is no longer possible for our army in the Balkans to withdraw, and the Austrian army led by Ludwig Wilhelm, Count of Baden, has reached Belgrade......"

At the sound of the Grand Vizier Koprulu's words, Ahmet II, lying on the hospital bed, gasped and stretched out his finger to say something, but in the end the finger was weakly put down.

"Sudan ......"

Amid the weepings of the concubines, Koprulu silently glanced at the body of Ahmet II, and he looked at Ali, the chief eunuch on the side, and the two only exchanged glances with each other, and then walked out.

"Mr. Ali, what now? Is it to elect a new Sultan in Kafes? ”

The place where the "Kafes" in Koprulu's mouth holds the princes is in the fourth courtyard of the harem, although they are not kept in cages. But they were strictly isolated in the harem, strictly monitored by the sultan and the eunuchs, and they were not allowed to leave the harem, marry and have children. If they were able to leave or get married and have children, it must be because they inherited the throne of sultan and became sultan. If you don't have the opportunity to inherit the throne of the Sultan, you will be locked up and killed for the rest of your life.

This was because the Ottoman inheritance law of the past was so cruel that it was replaced by this system of captivity. All the royal men were imprisoned in one of the palaces of the royal palace, and only after the death of the old sultan, the eldest of the surviving adult men in the cage was taken out to serve as the sultan.

"What do you think? You are the real ruler of the Empire, and I am only a small eunuch. ”

From the time when Mehmed IV handed over executive power to the Grand Vizier, the power of the Sultan was symbolic. It was also from that time that the Koprulu family had a monopoly on the position of the Grand Vizier, and the Grand Vichyl, who came from the Koprulu family, was talented, ambitious and cruel.

But even so, Koplulu was not excited by Ali's words, he just said calmly.

"It's also up to you to make up your mind, after all, I'm just the Grand Vizier."

Eunuchs may have been eunuchs, but in Turkey these black eunuchs have deposed the Sultan more than once, and over the years the Koplulu family has been characterized by maintaining good relations with the eunuchs, especially with the successive eunuchs.

"Your Excellency, I don't think Mustapha will be able to change the overall situation even if he inherits the throne of the Sultan, what do you think?"

Ali's voice was not loud and his tone was calm, and he said that Mustafa was the son of Muhammad IV. According to the law of succession, after the death of Ahmet II, he should be the sultan,

"Indeed, it is impossible to change anything in the current situation, no matter how hard we try!"

As a Grand Vizier from a well-known family of Turkish officials, Koprulu has always considered not only the interests of the empire, but also the interests of the family, and it is no exception now.

"Great Vizier, perhaps, we should plan for ourselves."

In the midst of the end of the dynasty, everyone was planning for themselves, and when the Turks in the city were called to live and die with the city, in the middle of the night on May 22, a guest came to the tent of the Roman Emperor Zhu He.

"Rome does not want war now and in the past, but you have occupied the land of Rome, the capital, and forced the Romans to change their faith, and forced all the people of the land you conquered to change their faith, which is why I am here, not just to regain the land here, but to let the land where freedom comes again, and let the people who have been enslaved by you in this land enjoy freedom again!"

In the face of the visit, Mustafa Koplulu, Zhu Heyi's tone was direct and serious.

"Almost everyone wants revenge, they want to kill everyone in the city, just like you did, but that's not what I want to see, and even now, I'm ready to accept your surrender!"

Then Zhu Hewei made his views clear.

From the calm and friendliness of the Roman emperor's speech, Koprulu believed that he was willing to negotiate.

"Your Majesty, there is no point in arguing about the past, we should look to the future." As the son of the Grand Vizine, Mustafa Koprulu was likely to be the next Grand Vizine, but now that it has all come to pass, he must now fight for the future of the family.

"It is well known that, although it is impossible for us to receive any more aid now, every Turk here is willing to live and die with the city, and every one of them believes that a pagan invasion will destroy everything, and it is not up to your mercy, Your Majesty, as we know very well about it, just as the Spaniards never allowed the Moors to preserve their faith."

As the next Grand Vizier, Mustafa Koprulu has always undergone rigorous training and study, and he has long been familiar with officialdom and is very good at negotiating. That's exactly why his father would send him here.

"Maybe ......"

interjected, Zhu He frowned tightly, and shook his head gently,

"Who knows? It's all up to the future to decide. ”

"We believe in the mercy of Your Majesty, but we do not want to believe in the trials of the future, because in the future, all will ask us to change their faith, just as we have done with the places we have conquered, we at first allow them to preserve their faith, but soon they will break our promise, not that the Sultan is willing to do so, but all the officials of the empire will ask for it."

Looking at the emperor of the Roman Empire from the Ming Kingdom in front of him, Mustafa Koprulu knew that the premise for the success of the negotiation was that the emperor in front of him was a Ming person, and they didn't believe in any faith at all.

"Your Majesty, therefore, each and every one of us is willing to die here, not for the sake of Turkey, but for our faith."

Suddenly, Mustafa Koprulu's words changed and he said seriously.

"But, Your Majesty, if you can give us our hope, we are willing to hand over this city to you! As long as you can give us a promise! ”

On May 29, 1695, a double-headed eagle banner symbolizing the Roman Empire, after a full 242 years of absence, was raised again in Istanbul and, nay, at the Hagia Sophia, as in the city, he once again returned to the hands of his master.

Built by Constantine the Great, this church is of extraordinary symbolic importance to the Roman Empire, once upon a time it was a monastery for the Turks, and its identity is indicated by four white minarets around the dome. But now, inside the churches, where the most beautiful tiles and writing in the Turkish language can be found everywhere, pagan worship objects are thrown out of the churches, and the chaplains who accompany the army rebuild the churches here, and the pious warriors, kneeling and praying.

"We are warriors of the Lord, and today all glory be to ......"

In this place of great significance, even the ungodly warriors became religious, and it seemed that at this moment, these warriors from the mountains of the Caucasus really became the warriors of the Lord, only raising the sword in their hands for the Lord......

At the same time, the Turks, who had been their masters, had to leave with mixed feelings, each of them was allowed to carry only their belongings, and they were going to leave the city and go to the province of Baghdad, which had not yet fallen, where they would begin their lives. As part of the agreement, the Roman Empire would provide them with food and fresh water on the way.

Almost all Turks knew that this was an agreement between the Grand Vicky and the Roman Emperor to protect the citizens of the city, and they were naturally grateful, and perhaps, for them, it was the best option.

Although many of them did not know where Baghdad was and how far it was from here, at least there they were able to preserve their faith.

When the Turks in the city left, the double-headed eagle flag was raised in many parts of the city, and the Armenians, Greeks, and other Orthodox Christians, who had been suppressed as pagans, cheered with joy.

They took the initiative to go to the monasteries of the Turks, where the cross was placed, which would be converted into a cathedral, and all the monasteries in the city would be turned into churches, and what Mehmed II the Conqueror had done to Constantinople would be repeated again.

It's just that under Zhu Heyi's restraint, all this is not so bloody, and even a little too gentle, but he knows very well that for the Roman Empire that returned to Constantinople, the most important thing is not how to take revenge on the infidels, but to make them his own......