The city is called Kochevi, and it can also be called a big city, and there is no one in the city - even in a few hundred years, in the face of something as terrible as a volcanic eruption or a flood, there will be stubborn, overconfident people who are reluctant to leave - of course, such people are inevitably taught harsh lessons, and they are and have been.

When they were sent to Ahmet, these Christians still had some illusions, that they were naïve like children, that they believed the nonsense that the Ottomans would do well to all the infidels, but how could they not wonder how the Ottoman Turkish soldiers, who were not paid any salary, from the three main armies down, could willingly serve the Sultan without any return?

That's why Ahmed allowed them to plunder and slaughter at will, raising these Azaps was like keeping a pack of dogs, and before the great war came, he had to use the flesh and blood of the Christians to inspire their greed and cruelty, so that they would not fear pain and death in battle—as soon as the Grand Vizier heard of such a thing, he immediately raised his guard and immediately ordered the erection of sharp wooden stakes—but not only Christians would use piercing.

This order was of course a pleasure to see in every Ottoman Turk here, and some of the Azap went to cut down trees, and of course spears would do, but a rough branch would have been enough to prolong the suffering of the tortured as much as possible. The Grand Vizier's own soldiers quickly stripped off the clothes of a Christian, he was naked in the sun, trembling desperately, like a milky white piece of fat, he was younger and stronger than the others, which is why Ahmet chose him, as soon as he realized what the Ottomans were going to do to him, he was so frightened that he could not say anything but scream, but another guy who looked like a mercenary wanted to say something, but was immediately stopped by another man, and he immediately retreated, without saying a word。

He had made the right choice, Ahmet did not need this time, this place, to show his mercy in front of a crowd of Ottoman Turkish soldiers, and he waited until the victim had been put on a saddle by the soldiers, and the not-so-sharp pointed stake had been hammered between his legs little by little, and then he began to ask what had happened in the city in a hoarse howl.

The Christian who remained, a fool, a merchant and a member of the city council, who had done business with many Ottoman Turks, who had also been to Istanbul, who had even hidden the flag of the Sultan in his house, who was unwilling to give up his property and goods, refused to leave Koceví as the envoys of the allied commander-in-chief had requested, and he thought that even if the Ottomans came, as long as he swore to convert to their faith, he would still enjoy freedom and power, and might even become the master of the city.

Several of his men, one of his faithful servants, the other were mercenaries, who were not so much to keep him safe as to ensure his manhood, and he had thought of going into the Ottoman tent like a governor.

He probably didn't think that Ahmet didn't even bother to say anything to him, and if it weren't for the former's concern that he could speak Hungarian, French, and some of the dialects of the Holy Roman Empire, and that the information he wanted to know had gone wrong in the process, he wouldn't even be in front of these Christians.

While Azap was erecting the stake with all his hands, and in the process they had caused the prisoner to fall from the stake and had to do it all over again, it is difficult to say whether they did it on purpose or not, and even the most faithful servant did not dare to glance at him, and all the answers Ahmet needed to know were laid out in a matter of minutes.

Is it true that no one had a similar idea with Sebastien Vauban? Of course, but the bad thing about any country, duchy or earl that fought against the Ottoman Empire, was that there was no unified voice, and the king or lord in the highest position was not willing to give up his own interests, so were his courtiers and knights? Not to mention, some regions have not even pledged allegiance to the king or lord, and are only allies with each other, and it is too difficult to concentrate all their forces against the Sultan's army.

Even in this battle, if it were not for the royal expedition of King Louis XIV of France, Juan Patiño, the Spanish admiral who provided the same number of troops as him, agreed to this approach after a long time, and the other reinforcements also expressed their approval to varying degrees.

Extending further, it was not a matter of fortification, but of having to fight the local lords of Slovenia before the Ottoman Turks.

Koceví's lords were inclined to the Habsburgs, and he promised the burghers that if they wished to leave, Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire would give them some compensation in taxes and labour, and the people here left Kochevi with their families, partly out of fear of the Ottomans and partly out of trust in the lord, and when they left, they took almost all the food with them, harvested the wheat in advance, dug out the potatoes, took away the horses, cattle and sheep, and all their savings, whether they were old people, children and women, and they probably went to other cities, where they waited for the war to passOr possibly they hid in the hills and forests – the Ottoman Turks could have pursued their tracks, but this was of no use to Ahmet's army – they could not have wasted time and deviated from the march just to find the Christians who had fooled them.

After making sure that the empty city was not an unintentional flight of the people, but a deliberate attempt by the Catholic coalition to hinder their progress, Ahmet waved his hand and asked his own soldiers to deal with the Christians - he did not forget that there were tens of thousands of "hounds" waiting to be fed, and if there was not enough flesh and blood, it was not impossible for them to be eaten by this group of hungry beasts.

The Crimean Tatars also returned to his tent at this time, and they reported that not only had the city been gnawed like ribs, but even the previous roads had been destroyed, and that instead of being dug with traps and downed trees, the roads were piled with huge stones.

"Stones?" Ahmed wondered, was there a quarry nearby?

"Exactly, the great Pasha," said the Tatars of the Crimea, "neatly like the masonry of castles and palaces, each of which could hold a giant bear, lined up on the road, heavy enough for only the venerable gods to move it away." ”

Ahmet only thought that the Tatars were exaggerating, but when he went there and saw it himself, he knew that the Tatars were not lying, but he could also recognize that the "stones" were not "stones". "It's cement. He said that cement was also one of the important materials purchased by the Ottoman Turkish Empire from France, and that he could certainly recognize it as a Grand Vizier with real power, and ...... He reached out and touched the cement block lying across the road, which may be the fast-setting cement that has been banned for export, and their scholars have been researching it, but have never developed a similar product.

It was easy to make cement a roadblock, the powder was not as heavy as it was before it had been condensed, and the water was everywhere, and how big it was to be made depends on the size of the mould made of wooden planks, which were stretched across the road and could be dragged away by horses and azap, but which would undoubtedly greatly slow down their march.

Ahmed looked over and saw that there were at least a hundred cement bricks here, even if it was quick-setting cement, it was not something that could be done in a day or two, and the Christians also said that those people might have been working for several nights, so the question was - how did the Catholic coalition know their marching route?

The cavalry, which had been thrown out like nails, also ensured that no fine work could get close to them. Of course, the general direction cannot be concealed, but this kind of defense and obstruction that is accurate to the city is doubly puzzling.

Ahmed thought for a moment, then turned back to Koceví, who was empty, but the building was still there, and went straight to the cathedral, which was the only church in the city, and Ahmet saw a group of priests' servants dismantling the stained glass of the cathedral, which was blasphemous to the Ottomans who believed in the true God, but which could still be sold to other Catholics. Others are moving seats, crosses, icons, and so on from the inside...... The relics that were not taken away by the Catholic priests were now trophies of the Ottomans.

When Ahmet entered the nave, it was empty except for the pillars, walls, floor, and dome, and the sun shone in through the slender window, which had been stripped of glass, illuminating the black robes of the clergy, who, at the sight of the Grand Vizier, saluted him with their hands on their breasts, and Ahmet returned the same gesture.

After the priests had retreated to their sides, Ahmet met the Imam, the religious commander of the army, who bowed respectfully to the Imam, "I have come to ask for your help," Ahmad said bluntly, "Imam, I suspect that the Christians are in collusion with the devil. ”

"Yes. "The Imam said that he was an old man who could easily be impressive, for most people become gentle when they age, but he was the opposite, his white hair and white beard were like sharp iron thorns, his eyes were sunken deep into his sockets, and his nose was like a sharp hook that could barely hook his chin that bent upwards.

These priests were the power of the Ottoman Turks - the power of the Ottoman Turks, although their ancestors were also wizards, but their history of discoupling from wizards even predates the Roman Church, and more thoroughly, they already thought that their power came from the true God when King Arthur was still appointing Merlin as his prime minister, and they were far more hostile to witches than the Roman Church - in Istanbul, werewolves and vampires had a little respite, except for wizards, who did not have a little tolerance with the priests.

Even though he had guessed, Ahmed's face was full of disgust, as if he had seen a swamp that smelled of decay.

"There is nothing surprising in this," said the imagin, "that we are here, fighting for the true God, to purge these depraved infidels, and their devilish masters. ”

He nodded to Ahmet, and waved to summon the priest beside him, Ahmet, though he was the Grand Vizier, as soon as he saw this, he immediately retreated until he reached the side hall, leaning against the pillar.

In the empty nave, a dozen priests once again made gestures with their hands on their chests, their heads bowed deeply, humbly, almost touching their chests, and the imaam stood in the middle of them, raising his hands like stamens in a flower, and after a few seconds of pause, the old man looked at the shining sunlight and began to recite the sacred scriptures aloud and make complex gestures.

After he had finished this prayer, the priest took off his black robe with him, revealing the white tunic inside, the long skirt, the black band around the waist, and the yellow hat on his head—in their teachings, taking off the black robe meant getting rid of the troubles of the mundane, leaving behind a black band indicating that they could not get rid of the mundane body for the time being, the white tunic and long skirt signified their sacred deity, and the yellow, towering hat represented the tomb.

At this time, the drums sounded, and then the flutes sounded, and the priests walked around the venue for three weeks and saluted each other.

Then, in the monotonous and steady music, they turn one hand to the sky and ask for the blessing of God, and the other hand is downward, which means that the gift is distributed to the believers, and they rotate with their left foot as the center to symbolize the endless life of the world, and the cycle repeats itself - they will continue to rotate for a long time, tens of minutes or even hours, to approach the true God and ask for mercy.

Even the Grand Vizier, Ahmed could only watch them silently and reverently, while he recited the scriptures in his heart, and where he could not see, flocks of ravens, doves, and falcons fell like hailstones.

——————

Varro Vesalius heard a scream, and immediately ran to the next room, where he saw Hood lying on the ground, his crystal ball shattered into countless small shiny pieces, and he pressed his face, blood pouring from his fingers.