Duarte. Brande'o, to be correct, Duarte. Piruzzi, in fact, was not as peaceful as it seemed, he was in Cadiz in 1506, but his soul was brought into Italy in 1480 by a nightmare, yes, it was in that year that the family war between the Medici and Pache had just subsided, the agent of the Piruzzi family in Puglia suddenly died, and for the sake of the family's wheat business, he hurriedly kissed goodbye to his fiancée, with whom he was going to be married in a month, and rushed to the southern region, who knows, in that year, Sultan Bayesid II of the Ottoman Empire suddenly launched a final attack on mainland Italy, failing to capture a single city, but plundering a large amount of assets and slaves.

And he, too, changed from the eldest son and heir of a family with high hopes to a small property, which he first belonged to a Hertz. Reis's pirate was sold by him for ten rings to a Turkish slave trader, who auctioned him up for public auction in the Istanbul market, and as a slave who knew how to write, read, and calculate, he sold it for a whopping hundred gold florins.

Unfortunately, not long after he was bought, the owner who valued his knowledge and skills died, and a boy of only nine years old inherited all his father's property, including him. As a Piruzzi, Duarte was certainly not willing to be a slave forever, and he thought it was an opportunity to offer that if his master was willing to send a letter to the Piruzzi family in Florence for him, his family would exchange 10,000 gold florins for his freedom.

But he was too young to know that even the youngest hyena had sharp fangs and a vicious heart, and that his pleas had not only failed to arouse the pity of his little master, but had made him disgusted with the slave—yes, how could a slave, an asset like a cow or a horse, bargain with his master? He was immediately sent to pull the mill, which was the work of mules and donkeys, and within a few days he became seriously ill, and he would have died if it had not been for the other Christian slaves trying to help him.

As if fate had decided that they were not miserable enough, their master was not a man who was good at trading, and for slaves, he was like a true god, but on the outside, he was just a fragile young beast, and the slaves were quickly broken up and sold one by one, and at that time, Duarte was still thinking that if he could return to Florence, he must try to redeem these people who had helped him.

But he couldn't even save himself. Another of his masters had been an officer of the Janissary Legion.

The soldiers of the Janissary Legion were all from the "blood tribute" - from the 14th century, the Ottoman Sultan of the Turkish Empire began to select bright and healthy boys between the ages of 7 and 10 from the territory of Europa, such as Greece, Serbia and Albania, as the new blood of the Janissary Legion.

Every year, a thousand of these children are sent to Istanbul, where they are converted to the true God and educated systematically and completely—and after more than three rounds of screening, the mediocre are sent to Anatolia to work in agriculture, and when they are grown, they are recruited into the Janissary Legion, the Sultan's Guards, and the gifted ones can go one step further and become Guards officers, officials, and even governors.

Duarte's new master was one such officer, whose brothers and friends had almost all died in battle with the Christians, and who, though he had a Christian Greek parents, was himself a fanatical believer in the true God, and who bought the Christian slaves at a very low price, not for anything other than to amuse themselves by torturing them, especially a slave of illustrious family and learning like Duarte, for the officers of the Janissaries knew very well, People like Duarte will not be willing to accept the mercy of fate.

One by one, the Christian slaves who had been taken into Duarte's pocket died in a miserable and painful way, and Duarte was deliberately left to the end, no matter what he tried or tried, the Janissaries as his master could easily thwart his plans—to make everything he did come to naught.

He could only watch them die, among them were people he knew, people he didn't know, people who helped him, people he helped...... The people he loves, the people who love him......

They all died, there was no priest to listen to their confessions, no one to perform the sacrament of the last days for them, they lived in purgatory, and after they died, they had to suffer in hell.

At times, Duarte felt that it was a miracle that he had not gone mad—he even vividly remembered the words of the officer who had finally found it boring to hand him over to the slave traders......

He said that you are a person full of wisdom and courage, and one might even say, worthy of respect. Your only mistake is that you should not have been born in Italy and believed in your God.

————————

The flames lit, the terrible smell of what had been devoured was heard again, and Duarte seemed to see his wife, though only a pregnant slave girl to their master, chained and burned on the firewood, and in the last moments, she was still trying to curl up in the hope of protecting their child.

But her belly burst open, and the ungrown child fell from the blood into the red coals, unable to let out a cry.

He closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fists, he knew he was having a terrible nightmare, he was going to wake up, but the smell, the smell he could never forget, always haunted him, could not be dissipated.

“…… The cords of death wrap around me, the pain of the underworld grasps me, and I suffer tribulation and sorrow.

Then I called on the name of the Lord and said, "Save my soul, O Lord!" ”

The LORD is gracious and righteous, and our God is merciful.

The LORD protects fools, and I have fallen to the point of humbleness, and he has saved me.

Be at ease, my soul, for the LORD has been gracious to you......"

Who is it? Who is it, that he no longer trusts in his Lord and prays to him no more, why should he read his name before him any more? He was destined for hell, along with his wife and children in Istanbul.

Duarte awoke, his tears already soaking his collar, and the man who had saved him from his nightmare by chanting the name of the Lord was none other than Julio. Medici.

Seeing that he was awake, Giulio threw a piece of cotton cloth, Duarte picked it up and wiped his face, the cotton cloth still smelled of milk and sunshine, he took it to his eyes and looked at it, only to find that the corner of this square cotton cloth was embroidered with a chubby little pig, "This is little Cosimo's." He said.

"Questions?"

"No, nothing." When he woke up, Duarte noticed that the smell was even stronger, he stood up and walked to the window, "What are they burning?" ”

"Grass and Wood Ash."

"What do you want this for?"

"It can increase the yield of crops." Giulio said, "Does it make you uncomfortable?" ”

“…… No," Duarte said, "it's good. ”

Now he realized that it was not the same smell as he remembered, not the stench of burning grease and flesh, only the smell of cooked grain, one symbolizing death, the other portending abundance, and he could never mistake them again.

By the time Duarte returned to the small table, Giulio had already brought wine, cheese, and fried sweet potato fries - the number of potatoes was too small, and the sweet potatoes were favored by some dignitaries because they tasted sweet, so there was still a certain breadth of cultivation for Giulio to use as a snack to accompany the wine, but little Cosimo also liked it, and it seemed that no matter what time of year a child always had little resistance to crispy, soft, and sweet things.

Duarte didn't look resistant, munching on sweet potato fries, cheese, and drinking wine, and for a moment there was no trace of the pain left over from his three years of slavery in Istanbul.

"How is Istanbul doing now?"

"...... with me "Hardly much has changed since the time of departure," Duarte said, "the noisy streets, the dense crowds, the goods and coins coming in and out like a river, the blue sea, the white rock walls, the rows of large and small domes glittering in the golden sunlight." "But only superficially, my lord, Bayezid II has never left Istanbul since 1503 after his victory over the Venetians and the seizure of the fortresses of the Morea and the Adriatic, and he has entrusted the war against Karaman in Turkey and the Safavid in Persia to his two sons, Ahmet and Selim, and most of the affairs of Istanbul are handled by his other son, Kaulkud, and it is said that his slave governor is looking for a clever potion and a great physician— It seems that the Sultan's physical condition is not good. ”

"But he still has control over the big picture," Giulio thought, "or he wouldn't have allowed his son to take care of his affairs and roam the field—it shows that he could still take back power and army from them at any time." ”

"We can continue to wait," Duarte said, "but Jem. Is it okay in Sudan? He smiled sharply, "In 1484 he was twenty-five years old, and now he is forty-five years old, so he can be said to be an old man." With him in your hands, do you think he could still have the courage and strength to return to Istanbul? ”

"Yes." "I gave him another son," Giulio said. ”

Duarte burst out laughing.

"Oh." He smiled breathlessly, "My Highness, you always do things so unexpectedly and to the point—yes, Jem. The Sultan had been bent on having a son for a long time, and when he was defeated, he failed to take his family with him, and as a result, they all had Bayezid II executed, but he tried in Rome for almost twenty years and did not succeed, how did you do it? ”

"Can you not ask so much about this?" Giulio replied quietly.

Jim. Although the Sultan was only a hostage in Rome to extort ransom and deter enemies, neither Innocent VIII nor Alexander VI was quite tolerant of him, he did not spend the twenty years in a small room without even a window, he could ride horses, hunt, play around, and be in good health, especially fortunately, he did not suffer from French disease, so he only needed a period of recuperation...... Fortunately, men can have children even when they are 60 years old.

"The problem is that his enemy, Bayezid II, already has three adult sons, and even sons of his sons." Duarte said.

"This is Bayezid II's strength, but also his weakness." "We would like to thank Mehmed II for the law of succession," Giulio said. ”

Duarte nodded knowingly, the succession law formulated by Mehmed II doomed his children and grandchildren to fight each other until there was only one, as long as Bayezid II died, then Ottoman Turkey would usher in a continuous civil war. Sudan's rise to prominence does not necessarily mean that there is no chance of a return to Istanbul.

"But to remind the people of Istanbul that they still have a Jem. Sudan. Duarte said: "There is only one Fiorentina, I'm afraid it will be difficult. "The Ottoman Turks, already a vast empire spanning Eurasia and more than three times the size of Italy, were no match for a revival of the almost empty-handed monarchy.

"If there is a Holy See......

"Even if I could," Julio said, shaking his head, "Jem. The Sultan will not agree, even if he accepts the support of the Christians, accepts the support of the Church, does he want to be torn to pieces by the people of Istanbul with his bare hands? ”

"So what do you want to do?" Duarte asked.

Giulio was silent for a moment, Duarte knew that he already had a plan, but he didn't know if he should tell it to him. "If you can't......"

"No, I think I can trust you, Duarte." "As you may already know," said Giulio, "in January, Bayezid II gathered an army of 50,000 men and attacked Rhodes. ”

"Another setback," Duarte said, "and when I arrived in Istanbul, there was still a secret discussion about it, saying that Bayezid II had to withdraw his troops because he was seriously ill on the battlefield." ”

"It doesn't matter anymore." "Whatever it may be," said Giulio, "this victory can only be described as a fluke - the Knights Hospitaller can no longer hold on, and although with our financial support they no longer have any worries, but so far they have only three hundred cavalry, five hundred infantry, the same number of apprentices and sailors, together with servants and craftsmen, but three thousand, and even if Bayezid II loses ten thousand men in Rhodes, he will be able to reassemble fifty thousand, one hundred thousand or more in a year, but what about the Knights Hospitaller, Whether it is a knight or an infantryman, the sailor does not say that he can replenish it, but he can replenish it. ”

"So, are they ready to give up Rhodes?" Duarte took a deep breath, and in this way, the whole of Italy and even Europa would be like an unsheltered maiden in front of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, and could only be ravaged by it.

"It's no longer something they're willing to do." Giulio said, "They must give Rhodes, but not Bayezid II, or his heirs." ”

Duarte stared at him. "Go on, Your Highness, go on."

"Jem. The Sultan will get Rhodes – after several days and nights, long and arduous battles, of course. ”

Duarte's eyes widened!

"Jem. The Sultan was more than a decade younger than his brother Bayezid II, and he was also stronger and more fierce, and it is said that Mehmed II originally preferred this younger son, who was similar to himself, to the more gentle, mediocre eldest son, and Bayezid II was able to ascend the throne because he took advantage of Jem's absence, poisoned his own father, and bribed his father's guards and ministers, so that he could ascend to the throne...... But Cem was not without supporters among the Turkish nobility, and before his final defeat he had two major battles with Bayezid II, which lasted for almost a year......"

"But didn't the people of Turkey choose Bayezid II because they feared that another militaristic monarch like Mehmed II would emerge?"

"Perceptions are going to change, and since the accession to the throne of Bayezid II, the expansion of the Ottoman Empire has clearly reached an impasse, and although he has invaded Hungary, Venice and Italy, he is more willing to negotiate than to fight than his father, especially after his successive unsuccessful attacks on Rhodes, and it is inevitable that the Turkish people will not miss another victorious monarch."

"So, if Jem. The Sultan's capture of Rhodes proved that, at least on the battlefield, he was superior to his brother. Duarte said, "But if so, what about the Knights Hospitaller, are they willing to give up their reputation and their domain?" ”

"Although," said Giulio, "for the Ottoman Turks, the Knights Hospitaller was defeated by Jem. The Sultan ceded Rhodes, but for the Italians, and indeed the entire Christian world, they did not give up Rhodes, but regained the more important and vast territory of Greece from the Ottoman Turkish Empire. ”

"Will the Greek Orthodox Church be willing?" Duarte asked: "They are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Roman Church. ”

"Once upon a time," said Giulio, "but in 1438, when the Ottoman Turks invaded Byzantium, the Eastern Church appealed to the Holy See for help, and Pope Eugene IV took the opportunity to convene the Council of Florence in the hope of subjugating the Eastern Church and establishing the Pope as head of Christianity." Joseph II, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, led 700 representatives of the Church to attend the entire council and made concessions, signing an agreement in June 1439, which sealed the unity of the Eastern and Western Churches and confirmed the Pope as the "representative of Christ on earth" with full power.

Unfortunately, the opposition of the Eastern Church strongly opposed it, forcing the patriarch and his representatives to declare that the signature was invalid, and the agreement became a piece of waste paper.

In 1453, after the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the Sultan adopted a very tolerant attitude towards the Eastern Church, recognizing the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople as the Orthodox Patriarch, but because of this, some countries, regions and nations successively established autonomous churches, and the Patriarchate of Constantinople was only regarded as the honorary chief.

So, although the Greek Orthodox Church is still under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate, this relationship is almost nominally extinct - in any case, because of the strict military control and heavy taxes of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the revolt of the Greek people has never subsided, they are either Christians or secret Christians, I mean, even if they outwardly believe in the true God of the Ottoman Turks, secretly they still hold on to their faith, to the so-called Orthodox Governor, who is almost at the mercy of the Sultan, How could these people be willing to bow down to orders? ”

"But ......," Duarte said in bewilderment, "even if they want to return to the Church, they should first meet the Pope of Rome." ”

"How do you know they haven't been?" Giulio said: "They went to Rome, but ...... They didn't even get to see Julius II. ”

"This is not quite right," said Duarte, "how could Julius II easily let go of this opportunity to glorify himself?" ”

"Because he did not want to be an enemy of the Ottoman Empire for the time being," said Giulio, "the war between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice has only ended, and as long as the Ottoman Turks are on their side, the Venetians cannot turn all their forces to Italy, and the Sultan of the Ottoman Turkey has not shown any intention to continue to penetrate into Italy for several years. And how could Lovere be willing to offend the Sultan for the sake of Greece, which was not in his hands? You know, when he went to war with Venice, he also didn't have the heart to deal with Ottoman Turkey. ”

"And he didn't reject the Greeks completely." Giulio smiled: "He just 'disappeared' the Greeks, because once he saw them, he had to give an answer, but if he was just gone, he could say whatever he wanted after destroying the Republic of Venice." ”

"But these Greeks are clearly not willing to wait any longer."

"Since Duke Conrad of Poland was able to invite the Teutonic Knights to expel the Prussian heretics for him, the Greeks could certainly invite the Knights Hospitaller to expel the Ottoman Turks for them—and they were willing to make a commitment to allow the Knights Hospitaller to take possession of some of the territories they had conquered—for the Knights Hospitaller, the vast and rich Greece was certainly more worthy of their battle than the isolated island of Rhodes, after all, after the Ottoman Turks had successively conquered Modun, Cologne, and Morea, The meaning of Rhodes' existence is not so great anymore, the Knights Hospitaller is a knight order after all, not a pirate group, what is it to always rob merchant ships. ”

"The problem is, the current strength of the Knights Hospitaller alone ......"

"Ahmet was the son of Bayesset II, and the Greek governor of Ottoman Turkey was his confidant, and if there was a change in Istanbul, he had to rush to Istanbul with his master, and he could not take care of Greece, and it was a good time for the Knights Hospitaller to gain a foothold in Greece."

"But that means we have to approve when something will happen," Duarte said, "but it's too hard to do that, and I don't know anyone in the world who can sneak into Topkapi Palace and stab the Sultan to death." ”