Tea, salted yogurt, lion's milk and coffee –

Wait until Julio. The Medici, a Christian Italian, a Prince of Christ, sat down opposite the Sultan without compromise or embarrassment, and the black eunuchs of the Sultan served them drinks and a variety of exquisite foods.

Ottoman Turkey's drinks and food were as varied and varied as his land and people.

The first thing the black eunuchs served was tea, which was the favorite pastime of the Ottoman Turks, tea was called "rabbit blood", this vermilion liquid did resemble the blood of living beings in the candlelight, they were served in the silver cups of the guests and the gold cups of the sultans, the edges of the teacups were opened, the waist was thinned, like tulips that had not yet bloomed, Giulio tasted it, accompanied by a thin mist, and the rich fragrance poured ferociously into the mouths and noses of humans.

In Istanbul, salty yogurt is a soup that can be enjoyed from civilians to Sudan, either directly or poured over rice and noodles, and here in Sudan, it is served in spoon-shaped cups and next to a plate of durum wheat hard noodles to suit the tastes.

And lion's milk, although it has the same term milk as salted yogurt, and in fact it is a kind of wine, which men are said to drink to strengthen their bodies and be as fearless as lions, and it is difficult to say whether it is a statement made up by people to comfort themselves, after all, their scriptures clearly state that drinking alcohol is a sin, but like any ordinance or law, all prohibitions are directed against the ruled. When the Sultan motioned for the black eunuch to bring them lion's milk, there was no uneasiness in his expression, and the black eunuch did not show any surprise.

Lion's milk is a peculiar alcoholic drink, when it is still pure wine, it is as transparent as spring water, when drinking, with half a cup of real spring water, it immediately turns milky white, just like milk, its rich fragrance is even far more than tea or yogurt, after adding ice cubes and honey, it is as sweet and smooth as a girl's tongue, it is difficult to let go.

But neither Selim Sultan nor Giulio were uncontrollable people, and after a half-drink, the tension in the air gradually dissipated because of the strangeness, and the two of them relaxed on the elastic pillows, facing a plate of "Saudi lands".

The original body of Saudi Arabian is Chatulanga from India, it was transmitted from India to Persia, and from Persia to Ottoman Turkey, is a kind of dice chess with 32 chess pieces, divided into king, prime minister, elephant, horse, rook and pawn, when playing, the chess player has to throw a six-sided dice, each side of the dice corresponds to a kind of chess piece, to throw the corresponding dice to move the corresponding chess piece.

The reason why Chartanz was able to win the favor of the Sultan of Ottoman Turkey was that in addition to the peculiar meaning it contained - each game was like a miniature reality, probably because of its way of winning - in order to win in Chartanlands, one side had to capture all the other team's pieces except the king, and also made sure that the other side could not capture all of its pieces except the king in the next step in order to declare victory.

This decisive and complete victory was undoubtedly the same as that of the Ottoman Turkish Sultans, especially the Sultan Selim, who, although he had not yet fully mastered the vast empire, had already determined that he would not be a moderate monarch like Bayezid II.

And his invitation to Giulio seems to prove it.

"You know," said Selim with a smile, after first placing his king on the right side of the chessboard, "I have heard your name when I was the governor of Trabson, and it is said that in Rome there was a wise and merciful scholar called Picromini, who, when he saw the terrible plague breaking out in the world, prayed to his God, and when his God heard it, he sent messengers down to teach him how to cast out the plague brought by the devil.

At that time I wanted to go and see what a terrible and abominable plague it was, my dear friend, and it was said that it was preventable, though it was said that it was a blessing from your God to the saints......" he said meaningfully, "but we all know that neither your God nor our true God is in our mouths and hearts, or in the darkness beyond our reach, but not among us, although there are always those who claim that they can bless, Or bring disaster, but if you go back to the source, you will find that everything still comes from us, from ant-like humans. ”

"Please atone for your sins," Giulio quietly placed his Black King on the side facing the White King, which was the beginning: "If you say it from the bottom of your heart, Sultan," he watched as the Sultan pinched the dice: "I don't think you're entirely right, maybe no angel came down from heaven and descended to my teacher to confer on him a sacred duty, but who's to say that God's gift can only fall on someone in this way - maybe it's just an occasional flash of inspiration, maybe it's just a wrong idea, Or is it reckless behavior that bears such abundant fruit? No one can say that this is not God's direction, just as he pointed to Moses, to Peter, to Jacob, to John, to Matthew, to all the saints and apostles that we know and do not know, that he told my teacher to do, to think, to speak. ”

Selim rolls the dice, which gurgles and rolls around the board a few times before landing on the horse's side, where he reaches out and moves his left horse.

"But what about that light, or that thought, or the person who did that act?"

"If you want to ask who said something childish," Giulio frankly admitted, "it was me." Just as the Medici merchants and the Assasin Assassins were tasked with spying and stealing, the Ottoman Sultan had only more people to serve him, whether out of loyalty, faith, or the lure of money—from the time the Sultan of Celem extended his invitation, Giulio knew that the young ruler probably knew more than his brothers, or even the emperors of France and Spain, or the Holy Roman Empire.

However, this may be because Selim Sultan has a relationship with Julio. Similar parts of the Medici...... Giulio holds the dice that roll off the board, and this time it is his turn to move the pieces, and the dice roll to reveal the pawn pattern.

"Yes," said Selim, "I was even more curious when I found out about it, I was a young man then, but you were almost a child then." ”

"It's because I'm a child that I can speak without taboo." Giulio said.

"But no one can deny that your wisdom has saved countless lives." Selim said.

"I hope so." Giulio whispered.

Selim held the dice in his hand, he understood what Giulio meant, his messenger had met Jim's messenger in Rome, and he could guess Jim's intentions, after all, Selim had been worried that the believers of God would use smallpox as a weapon against Ottoman Turkey since he heard that the people of Christendom could prevent smallpox, but at that time, their father, Bayezid II, was already suspicious of him, even if he had won a great victory in the war with the Persians, He was not allowed to return to Istanbul, and even deliberately provoked him to fight with his brother Ahmet, and he tried to write a secret letter to Bayezid II, but it was lost.

But he didn't expect that it was his uncle who first thought of using smallpox, although he didn't want to admit that Jim was the first to use a weapon. Sudan.

Thinking of this, Selim couldn't help but shake his head, he was the first to see Julio when people were bewildered by the brilliance of his teacher, his friend, and his brother. The Medici, though at first out of curiosity, knew more and more he could not give up easily—when Giulio was first exiled from Rome, he even thought of sending someone to take him and take him to the Balkans to be his minister, but unfortunately he had no time to get out of it because of the war with the Persians and the war with Ahmet, and when he finally got some respite, he found that even if he did, he would only get an enemy, not a friend.

The Ottoman Turkish sultans had already learned this from the past—Murad II, Selim's great-grandfather, a great ruler, had such a friend.

The man had a Christian name named George, but he was later converted and given the name Skanderbeg for his bravery in battle. Although he was an Albanian prince, he was not chosen from among the children of the blood tribute, he was fifteen years old when he came to Istanbul as a hostage, unlike those seven or eight-year-old children who were still ignorant, he had already understood the concept of faith and homeland, although because of his bravery and intelligence, he won the favor of the then Sultan Murad II, but the pain in his heart still lingered and could not be shaken off.

At that time, both the ministers and the attendants believed that Skanderbeg was too old to guarantee loyalty to the Ottoman Turks, and persuaded Murad II to either kill him or let him go, but the Sultan resolutely refused, and even after the expiration of the hostage contract (three years) of Skanderbe, he tore up the contract and forcibly left Skanderbeg with him - the Sultan could not be said to be distrustful and uncaring for Skanderbe, and Skanderbeg was initially allowed to serve him (as a personal soldier), and later was given the position of head of the cavalry regiment, He led a thousand Sipahi cavalry to fight against the Mongols, and was praised as the Alexander of Albania for his outstanding military achievements.

As for money, mansions and women, the Sultan even gave him his unfavored slave girl in his harem, and his mansion was less than a thousand feet from the palace, and it is said that after he saved the life of Mehmed II, who was then a prince, the Sultan also intended to appoint him Grand Vizier.

But such a golden shackle may be able to bind a horse, but it can never imprison a tiger.

Skanderbeg rebelled at the age of thirty-eight, and with the prestige bestowed on him by the Sultan, he returned to his homeland with three thousand Albanians, deceived the governor sent there by the Sultan with a forged warrant, and declared the independence of Albania – after which he fought against his former master for twenty-five years until his death and Mehmed II finally recaptured Albania.

It was then that the sultans were no longer naïve enough to think that they could buy anyone with money and power.

Selim had learned the lesson of Murad II deeply, but when the man did come to him, he couldn't help but want to give it a try.

"Yes," the Sultan comforted, "and countless people will be saved because of you." He threw the dice again, as if inadvertently, and said, "If you are willing, there will be countless thanks from them, and from me." ”

"I don't think so," said Giulio, gazing at the chessboard, where obsidian-polished and ivory-polished pieces confronted each other on a golden chessboard, like the Europa and the Ottoman Turks, "I will reap as much hatred as I reap gratitude, if not more than the latter." He raised his eyes and looked directly at the Sultan: "Even you, not all you get is loyalty and gratitude. ”

"I can't deny that." Selim said that faith held two people at once, that Giulio was, and that so did he, and that it was difficult for him to communicate with those ...... It would be too sensitive for a man to explain why he wanted his people to receive a blessing from another pagan deity, and he certainly couldn't have indulged it, especially now that he had two brothers on the lookout.

"But I think you've figured out how to deal with it." Giulio said, moving one of his pawns and eating one of the Sultan's soldiers.

"If it's a blessing, of course not," Selim said, "but if it's knowledge, it's different, and we're willing to accept the teachings of any wise man, no matter where he comes from or what he believes." ”

"Well," Giulio said, looking at one of his eaten cars, "it's a way to do it." ”

"But for you," said Selim, "there is hardly any good, people will not know about you, of such a brave and merciful man who came to Istanbul for the sake of his life – for a prince of Christ, it is no different from a hell full of devils." ”

"If I had been here for money, for power, for honor, I wouldn't be here."

"No one will see your face and know your name," said the Sultan, "just as the Christians do, who praise their God, and praise their saints, who are your teachers, but they know nothing about you, and they never give you any gratitude or anything in return—but with me I cannot bear the fact that the blessed cannot repay the favor he receives, nor can I allow the meritorious to be ignored and humiliated, Julio. Medici, my friend, I want you to be admired for your virtue. ”

Julio ate one of the Sultan's elephants before he replied, "And what do you want me to get in return?" ”

"If you want to stay in Istanbul." Selim said bluntly, "I want you to be my Grand Vizier," and he said, "You will be my agent, and no one in the whole of Ottoman Turkey will be nobler than you except me, and when people see you, they will kneel." You will have countless servants, from strong soldiers to beautiful slave girls, your enemies will tremble every night or at the hearing of your name, and the person you want to look after will be able to get whatever he wants—your family can also benefit, if they want to, they can come to Istanbul, or anywhere in the empire, their merchants will be exempt from all duties and taxes, and there will be no business that they can do as long as they want...... Wealth will accumulate like a tidal wave—of course, it may not mean much to you, because you will be managing more territory than any of the kings and emperors of Europa.

You may also be my relative, and although I have only one adult son, Suleiman, I have three daughters, and a dozen sisters, whose faces are like roses, and whose voices are like nightingales, and who see them are not disjoyed.

As long as you are willing to be my friend, in just one day, everything I say can become a reality, a reality within reach. ”

Sultan Selim spoke without pause in a tone that was more enthusiastic than sincere, and then stopped to look at Julio. Medici's reaction, but he only saw a pair of golden eyes that became very cute after staring.

"All I can say," said Giulio dryly, "is a great honor, but I really don't understand that if it's just for smallpox vaccination, Sultan, you can almost accomplish your goal by sending a few servants and a box of gold, and if it's for anything else, what do I have to do with your care?" ”

"Huh," said Sultan Selim, "then why did you come to Istanbul, when a few monks could do your job?" ”

"That's because I want to meet you," said Giulio, "to negotiate a deal with the Ottoman Turkish Sultan, I don't think you would deign to speak to a servant who can't make any decisions-" He paused: "Of course, before that, I made some preparations, but ......"

"But before you can convince me, I'm willing to treat you like a friend." Selim continued, and he dropped the dice, the crisp sound of crashing echoing through the room: "That's because, of course...... Golden-eyed wise man, I've been watching you. The Sultan said lightly, but to Giulio's rare creep: "I've been watching you, before anyone else, if you were in Istanbul, Giulio. Medici, you have long been my most powerful helper, instead of wasting precious energy and time in vain in the mire of politics and intrigue. ”

He moved the chess piece, roughly picked up one of Giulio's pawns, and threw it into the box next to him: "And what about you, Giulio, why did you choose me?" If I'm not mistaken, that Jim is your arm, and you took him from the French, Alexander VI, Caesar. It was at this time that Borgia and later Julius II saved his life, and your way of seizing the moment was really as subtle as magic (Julio lowered his eyes), he did make the empire even more chaotic, I don't think he could take Rhodes, it should be a deal, you traded Rhodes for the Peloponnese, it was a good deal - but why don't you continue to work with him, if you really do what he asked, release smallpox here, Then not only Istanbul, but the entire empire will be shaken by it, and then Christians who do not need to fear the plague will be able to restart...... Well, the tenth so-called Crusades, isn't that what your church has been expecting? Expel the infidels and retake Jerusalem, and as a prince of the Church, or even an emperor, you may be able to be as glorious as your teacher, a glorious lord in life and a holy apostle in your death, why not? I don't understand at all. ”

"People say that kings are monsters," said Giulio, and the chief of the black eunuchs, who had always stood aside, bowed his head respectfully, like an ebony statue, suddenly changed his face, but the Sultan's raised hand made him hang his head again: "But you may have heard of such a theory," said Giulio, "all things are interacting, Sultan, violence can only evoke violence, sin can only create evil, and chaos can only create chaos - I admit that I am not perfect, but there is a bottom line that cannot be crossed in any way, For this is the difference between man and beast—we stand here with different faces, different ages, different thoughts, and different beliefs, but there is one thing that we are all the same, and I have confirmed this from your messenger, which is why I have come here and stand before you. Instead of...... Your uncle, Jim, and even many others but me, would have made the opposite choice. ”

Selim stared into those golden eyes, "what a peculiar thought," he said, "I am glad that I am not mistaken, yes, there are many things that cannot be done, and you say that they are the work of wild beasts, and no, if anyone instructs the plague devil to run rampant in the world, and causes a hundred cities to be destroyed, and thousands of miles of earth are lost, then he cannot even be called a creature with a heart, for even the most greedy hyena does not dance with joy because of the death of an innocent." ”

As he spoke, he suddenly smiled: "So, now you still wonder why I promised you the position of the Grand Vizier?" You've convinced me, so have I convinced you? ”

"Nope." Giulio said categorically, causing the Sultan to laugh, urging Giulio to throw the dice, and after Julio's rook threatened one of his important pieces, he affectionately said to him, "In that case, let's change the drink," and he taught Giulio how to drink lion's milk in a different way, probably only of the Ottoman Turks—first swallow a sip of pure wine, not swallow it, and then take a sip of spring water, let the spring water mix with pure wine in his mouth—the strong smell of fennel suddenly rushed to the heavens, and now, Even the drunkenness brought by the lion's milk before was suddenly taken away.

"Let's get some coffee." Selim Sultan said: "Let's be more sober. ”

Giulio looked slightly surprised: "You already have coffee here?" ”

"Yes, it was given to me by one of my ministers." Selim said: "I think that this drink, as he said, can lift the spirits and clear the mind, and the problem is, and it is for this reason that some ...... Man, who thinks it's like wine, thinks that I should forbid my subjects to drink it. ”

"But you obviously have other ideas." Mr. Giulio said, sipping on a steaming cup of coffee — infused with cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and honey — unfiltered to make it extra thick and rich.

"I am the Sultan," Selim said softly, "I will not and cannot obey anyone's assignments - especially these stubborn and old-fashioned fellows, who only read the scriptures and only follow the scriptures, but the scriptures do not change, people and this world will change, and we must not change with them, otherwise we will only become scum under the wheels." ”

"But the power of religion is always extraordinarily great." Giulio said.

"Yes, so you rejected me in order to become the emperor of your church?" Selim said half-jokingly, half-seriously, "I'm really worried about the Tenth Crusade now, I know you have your own army, your own weapons workshop, and countless merchants to supply and equip you." ”

"That's one of the reasons I think it's important to meet you," Giulio said slowly but firmly, "...... If I become pope, my sword will never point to the east during my tenure. ”

Selim's eyes narrowed, he stared at Giulio as if he was looking for a suspicious clue in the other person's face or eyes, he believed that Julio. The Medici would not still be plagued by the plague that took the lives of countless innocent people, but he had to think that Giulio. The seizure of the Peloponnese by the Medici-backed Knights Hospitaller was the harbinger and clarion call for another crusade – what Christian would not want to retake their holy land, Jerusalem?

"Then will you withdraw from the Peloponnese?"

"No, it won't." Giulio said, "The Peloponnese must be in our hands." ”

Selim Sultan almost laughed angrily: "Although it once belonged to my brother, it was still part of the empire, how do you think I will allow you to have the Peloponnese?" ”

"But it will be very difficult for you to retake it now," said Giulio sincerely, "you still have two brothers, and an uncle - although you do not want to admit it, but you still have years to go before you become a true Sultan, Your Majesty, and you have to face ...... when you truly become the only Sultan"

"In the face of Greece," Selim said, "how Albania was recaptured, so will the Peloponnese." He said ferociously, as Giulio had seen in the church dossier, that although Mehmed II had promised that he would never slaughter the city as long as the Albanians surrendered, in fact, after the death of Skanderbe, two-thirds of the adult Albanian males had died at the hands of the Ottoman Turks, and their wives and children had become slaves to the soldiers.

"Facing Persia and Egypt." Giulio spoke almost at the same time as him, then calmly closed his mouth and met Sultan Selim—a pair of cold, ruthless eyes that truly belonged to a king, full of ferocious murderous intent, as if the warmth of the previous one had never existed.

"Do you want to appoint a sultan?" Selim scoffed, as if mocking the other's innocence.

Giulio was unmoved: "I thought I was just saying what you really thought. ”

It took a moment for the Sultan's eyes to become soft again: "You are such an arrogant fellow," he reproached, "even the most important ministers, the most trusted attendants, and the most caring eunuchs would not say this—they could not guess, and I knew that I would not allow them to guess, and if they did, they would be put to death by me." ”

"But I am neither your minister nor your attendant."

"I do." The Sultan said: "If you still want to continue to believe in your God, what do you think of the title of Patriarch of Constantinople?" ”

Julio was a bit of a surprise this time. For a Sultan of Ottoman Turkey, this was already the biggest concession.

Selim had been carefully observing Julio as he said this. Medici's expression, but he could not find what he was looking for, he was bewildered at first, and then suddenly realized, albeit with horror: "The true God is above," he cried out in a low voice, "please tell me what I see is not true, my friend, are you ...... You don't believe your ......"

"Aren't you the same?" Giulio interrupted the Sultan rudely.

"The Prince of a Church......"

"As you say, a true king should not be swayed by external things, whatever it is, even if it is faith." Julio said, his voice barely audible to the two of them.

"I'm wrong," said Selim, "and you're not a bold man, you're a madman." ”

"I'm sober, I know what I'm doing and what I want." Giulio said.

"What do you want?"

"Italy."

"That's why you want the Peloponnese," said Selim, "because you want to create a deep trench between Italy and Ottoman Turkey." "Lest there be unexpected obstacles in the unification of Italy.

"That's all there is to it." Giulio said.

"It's already a lot, what can you give me?"

"Weapons, caravans, and my friendship."

"You are a cunning businessman," said Sultan Selim, "but I need to think about it." And," he said, "I have an important matter...... Without it, we can't negotiate a deal......"

Just as the Sultan was about to continue, there was a sudden noise outside the door, and the chief of the black eunuchs immediately straightened up, showing a fierce look, but he also knew that at this time, if it was not an extremely important matter, no one would dare to risk his life to disturb the Sultan, he moved quickly, walked out with light steps, and after a few seconds he walked in through the door, with worry and uneasiness on his face.

"What's the matter?" Selim asked.

The chief of the black eunuchs knelt humbly to his master: "It's Mrs. Havelin. ”

The Sultan of Selim, of course, remembered Mrs. Haflin, one of his favorite ladies lately: "What happened to her? In the same way, he also knew that if it was not an important matter, the chief eunuch would not choose this time to report to him.

"Madame, she's pregnant." The chief of the black eunuchs did not wait for the Sultan's reply, and immediately went on to say: "But her eunuch was found to have been in contact with a rough eunuch, who was caught by the guards—because he was trying to throw a corpse into the Sea of Marmara, and the corpse—was recognized, and he was one of the attendants of His Royal Highness Prince Suleiman, but for some reason, he stayed here instead of following him to Yedikule." ”

The Sultan's face changed suddenly.

The medical officer immediately checked, the attendant already had a red spot on his arm, and he had ...... Smallpox was infected. ”

"The body and the eunuch have been arrested, and everyone who has been in contact with them, but the problem is, the child in Mrs. Havelyn's womb ......"

If Hafrin had no children, the chief of the black eunuchs would have burned them all together, but Lady Havrin had children, and while Prince Suleiman had already contracted smallpox, and the Sultan had no other sons for the time being—the matter became complicated, and Sultan Selim immediately turned his head and asked Julio: "If the mother has smallpox, will she be able to give birth to a healthy child?" ”

Julio hesitated for a moment, smallpox is a pox disease that often causes various complications, such as sepsis, encephalitis, osteomyelitis, etc., and even in another era, it is difficult to guarantee the absolute health of the fetus, not to mention, smallpox can also cause miscarriage in pregnant women.

His hesitation had already given the answer, Selim made a gesture, and the chief of the black eunuchs immediately leaned down and made arrangements.

——————————

The leader of the black eunuchs hesitated, but decided to do it himself.

He and a few of the medical officers, and a dozen or so strong eunuchs, were dressed in heavy robes and veils—they looked like a group of burly harem women, and Lady Havelin's maids and eunuchs had been hanged, and their bodies were piled up on an open cliff, with wooden squares and charcoal fires piled up below, and Mrs. Havrin was sent out by two eunuchs with their arms twisted, and she screamed all the way, but no one dared to look at her through the crack in the door or the window, let alone do anything.

At the sight of the chief eunuch, whom she identified from his robes, Mrs. Havrin cried out more and more frantically: "I have the son of the Sultan," she cried, "I am the heir of the empire in my belly!" ”

"I haven't been born yet." The chief of the black eunuchs sarcastically said, "And I don't know if it's possible to give birth." ”

"Let me go to Yedikule!" Mrs. Haverin was indeed not an ordinary woman, even though she had seen the wood and the corpse, she still tried her best to make the last struggle: "I can get out of here, go far, and you will find that I am not infected with smallpox, and I am healthy!" I will give birth to my son! ”

The black eunuch leader just shook his head, and the eunuchs wrapped their bowstrings around her neck.

"I'm not convinced!" She finally cried out, "Why can Ai Sheh go to Yedikule with her son!" I can't, I don't accept it, I'm also the Sultan's wife, and the mother of his son......"

The bowstring cut off her words.

At the last moment of her life, the chief eunuch of the black eunuch scratched her chin and gave her an answer: "Probably because Madame Eiche never uses a weapon that she has no control over." ”

——————————

"That's what I'm talking about, the most important thing......" Selim Sultan leaned forward and held Julio's arm tightly: "My son, Prince Suleiman, has contracted smallpox, and I only have such an adult son now, so I want you, to make sure that he is alive, healthy, and alive, if not," said Selim Sultan, "then any of our transactions will be null and void until I have a healthy heir." ”

Giulio was not surprised, he knew what a healthy heir meant to a king.

"Yes." Giulio said, "I'll go to Yedikule." ”

。 m.