Chapter 49: Round Tables
In the open space outside Antioch, a simple tent has been erected, and after the three parties have checked it, all the relevant personnel have come here.
The participants were all in the hall, Muhammad II and Uzun Hassan, who initiated the meeting, sat on the main seat facing the main gate, Mahmudbey stood behind Mehmed II, Alfonso, Constantine and others on the left, Katona and Ibrahim on the right, and before the meeting began, Catona and Constantine glanced at each other vaguely.
This extremely important meeting was not held in secret, just at the door, the soldiers of the three parties crowded together, listening to the results of the tripartite talks,
Mehmed II clapped his hands and drew everyone's attention,
"Ladies and gentlemen, the purpose of this meeting is obvious, for the sake of peace and stability in the Near East, whatever issues there are, they can be raised at the meeting."
However, instead of being as warm as the soldiers outside the door had imagined, the atmosphere in the conference room fell into an eerie silence.
Mehmed II looked around and saw that several people had been reluctant to speak, and he was also a little unhappy in his heart.
"Since I don't want to say it, then I'll say it first."
Mehmed II, with his rebelliousness, put forward his own conditions,
"Antioch must be under Arab rule, and that is a precondition for negotiations."
"As you say,"
With a sneer on the corner of Laszlo's mouth, he was amused by the words of Mehmed II,
"And what else do you want us to talk about? Can't just hit it? β
LaszlΓ³ was directly unhappy with Mehmed II's conditions, not only because he insisted on fighting to solve the problem, but also because of the attitude of Mehmed II.
"If you don't agree, then you can leave and get ready for war."
Mehmed II's determination was strong, Antioch or war.
"Laszlo!!"
Constantine glared at him fiercely and motioned for him to shut up,
And after Laszlo shut up stupidly, Alfonso slowly spoke,
"There is no need to intimidate us, the warriors of the crusaders will not be afraid of war."
First he replied to Mehmed II, and then Alfonso put forward his own conditions,
"The blood of the Crusaders cannot be shed in vain, and we must be compensated."
"Yes, what do you want?"
Mehmed II agreed very happily this time, but Katona on the side couldn't sit still, obviously, the crusaders and the Ottoman-Aries coalition had left the Mamluks behind, and the two sides were blatantly preparing to divide the benefits in front of Katona, which made Katona a little ashamed,
"Antioch is a Mamluk territory, and the people of Antioch are Mamluks, and I will never allow the country to be divided."
Mehmed II and Uzon looked at Katona with expressionless faces, while Alfonso and the others looked at the excitement and did not worry that the situation would be unfavorable to them.
After all, Antioch is in their hands, and as long as they do not agree to withdraw from Antioch, then they can only achieve their goals through war.
"You don't agree? Do you want war? β
Wu Zong spoke, his muscular body making his words full of intimidation,
"I urge you to accept our mediation, which is good for you and for us,"
As he spoke, he showed his teeth,
"Otherwise, I don't know what we're going to do, we're ready for war for the sake of peace."
"You... You... You threaten me? β
Katona pointed at Uzon in horror and fear, and stammered,
"It's not a threat, it's just a reminder that sometimes, giving in doesn't necessarily lead to humiliation."
Mehmed II was also on the sidelines to persuade him, but combined with the banter on his face, it was more like a mockery.
Seeing that Katona became speechless, Iprahim was also helpless, he was thinking, maybe it was a mistake to let Katona live at that time, could such a person still be expected to lead the Mamluks to victory?
"Since His Excellency Catona has no objection, let's talk about the attribution of Antioch."
Seeing that Katona was subservient, Mehmed II looked satisfied, turned his head and prepared to continue negotiations with Alfonso.
Constantine and Alfonso whispered a few words, and Mehmed II saw Alfonso nodding frequently, and his heart became a little vigilant,
After listening to Constantine's full words, Alfonso also put forward his opinion directly,
"There is no problem with the return of Antioch, but it can only be returned to the Mamluks, and as long as you agree, we can now sign a treaty and a truce between our respective forces."
"This can't be..."
Mahmudbeyi couldn't help but speak, but soon, he realized that he had said the wrong thing.
It was impossible to return the Mamluks, which meant that Mehmed II and Uzonbai made a trip.
"Looks like we can't talk about it today?"
Alfonso stood up with his arm on the table, not going to talk any further, this is normal, such a serious and important negotiation cannot be completed in a day or two, you have to give these people time to react.
On the way back, Katona, who was listless in the conference field, was very active,
"Did you hear that? The crusaders supported us, they supported us in obtaining Antioch. β
"It's a return, not a get."
Ibrahim corrected Katona's statement,
"But I also warn you that the Crusaders must have a plan, and I don't believe they would do such a good thing for nothing."
"I know, but the crusaders looked down on villains like Mehmed II and Uzon."
Katona was very reluctant to take advantage of the two to rob him, he had already regarded the Mamluks as his own, and naturally did not allow others to interfere.
"After all, the Crusaders are still outsiders..."
Ibrahim couldn't complain, if it weren't for the new trends in the country, the one in front of him was likely to become a sultan, so he didn't bother to accompany Katona to play here.
After several days of negotiations, an agreement was finally reached, and the treaty was recorded in written form by the historians of various countries, and became one of the most important events affecting the Near East in the fifteenth century.
The treaties include, but are not limited to: Cyprus ceased to exist as a subject state of the Mamluks, and its suzerainty would be transferred to the Kingdom of Aragon, and Aragon would become the suzerainty of Cyprus; Antioch became an international condominium and the merchants of Aragon, Naples, Constantinople, Ottomans, Aries, and Venice enjoyed immunity and freedom of trade in Antioch, but Antioch remained nominally owned by the Mamluks...
This was already the greatest concession that could be made by all sides, and after the treaty was signed, Catona was satisfied, the Ottomans and Aries were satisfied, Constantine was satisfied, and the Aragonese were satisfied, but the Venetians were still indignant, and in their opinion, Cyprus should have been handed over to them, but they did not expect to be taken away by the Aragonese sword, and the trade benefits obtained in Antioch seemed to be nothing compared to Cyprus.