Almost as soon as the news of the arrival of the Sultan's army in Sarajevo reached the dense forests of the Croatian mountains, the news also reached Bucharest through countless people.

For a while, Bucharest, which was already very lively, was like a drop of ice water dripping into a hot oil basin, and the whole city seemed to be boiling like an explosion.

The European aristocracy, led by King Vladislas II of Hungary, who was residing in Bucharest, was instantly stimulated by the news, and many began to take to the streets shouting slogans such as "punish the infidels" and "form a new crusade", and many more began to silently prepare weapons and armor shields, convinced that a war with the Ottomans was inevitable.

Standing on a slightly higher tower, the Grand Duke of Wallachia, Tsepese watched the crowd come and go below, and the air was filled with the smell of hammering and exercising iron, and the smell of leather mixed with horse dung, the peculiar smell of war that now pervades the city.

Many local blacksmiths have been gathered to make weapons, and some other craftsmen have been temporarily converted, such as some jewelry and leather tailors who have been ordered to make all kinds of equipment for at least half of the day for the war, and some local farmers have been told to levy a 1,500-year annual tax in advance, which includes a certain amount of wheat, a number of oats, a number of pork, and a number of chickens with a corresponding number of eggs and more dried grapes, Some of the peasants were required to hand over to their lords a portion of their own wine and a strong local ginger wine, which was constantly being shipped to Bucharest, and for a time the city seemed to be the most notable place in Europe.

Like many nobles, Cepes came to Bucharest with his own army, but his army was small and even a little shabby compared to some of the more powerful nobles.

This is so because Wallachia in Cepes is now facing a threat from the Bulgarian side.

Today's Grand Duke Borus IV of the Principality of Bulgaria is a very cunning person, he maintains close relations with European countries while coming and going with the Ottomans, although the Principality of Bulgaria is inevitably eroded by the Ottomans, and its entire southeast has been completely reduced to the Ottoman spoils, but because of the tactfulness of Borus IV, the Ottomans have not been able to completely conquer the whole of Bulgaria for a while.

For a time, Bulgaria became a buffer between Europe and the Ottomans in the northeast of southern Europe, but what many people did not expect was that Borus IV, who should have been more cautious at this time, took advantage of this gap to attack Wallachia.

In addition to guarding against a possible invasion by the Ottomans in the south, Borus moved more than half of his army to the border with Wallachia, and then Borus IV stared at the neighbor, ready for an opportunity to bite the Duchy of Wallachia.

Tzepes had to place a large number of troops on the eastern border of the principality, ready to deal with the Bulgarian threat, and because he suspected that Borus IV was actually instigated by the Ottomans, he spared no expense to strengthen the defense of castles and fortresses on the Bulgarian border, so that he could bring out far fewer troops.

That is why Tempes, more than anyone else, hoped that if there was to be a war in Bucharest, the Sultan's army would be inflicted a heavy blow on the city, because only in this way would the Bulgarians be intimidated.

In the distance, there was some confusion in the street, and the sound of quarrels came from a distance, and then two groups of people were seen to start fighting.

Cepes's dark eyebrows were tightly knit together, this kind of street fighting has happened a lot in the city lately, mainly because as more and more people enter Bucharest, the whole city seems to be suddenly filled with dangerous gunpowder, which will rub into sparks at the slightest movement.

Those who fought were obviously the subordinates of two different nobles, although I don't know if they had a long-standing feud or simply looked at each other unpleasantly, but the dignity of the so-called knight's honor and nobility made them unable to admit it in front of the people who watched the excitement around, and since no one took the initiative to back down, then only one side could be put down.

Although this kind of brawl is not yet to the point of death, it is still very dangerous, and as far as Chippes knows, there have been several such fights in Bucharest in recent days, the most serious of which has resulted in several lives.

Although Vladislas II and the Patriarch of Bucharest issued a ban on such brawls at the same time, it was clear that this had no effect, and the streets were still filled with the smell of gunpowder, and before the Ottomans arrived, the people who had gathered in the city at once became restless because they could not give vent to their exuberant energy for a while.

Cepes noticed this early on, and as the Grand Duke of Wallachia, he inherited the famous name of the Piercing Duke, and also had a wealth of experience in ruling.

He had advised Vladislas II that he should take note of this unpleasant tendency in the city, but the Hungarian king was apparently only interested in how to use the Greek princess's fame to increase his prestige, and Chipes even thought that perhaps Vladislas II thought that this atmosphere in Bucharest would be more convenient for him to establish his prestige, and that was why the king preferred to see him severely punish the troublemakers as the presiding officer of the alliance after the incident. Instead of finding a way to effectively prevent this kind of incident from happening as soon as possible.

Coming down from the tower with someone, Cepes was supposed to go to the castle today to meet Sophia, but when he heard that Vladislas II was coming, he changed his mind on the spur of the moment.

Cepes knew that Vladislas II and his wife were not very happy to see him and Sofia get too close, and the couple apparently regarded themselves as Sophia's guardians, and they wanted Sophia to always be at their mercy, no matter what their intentions were.

There were so many people in the street that Chipes had to let the guards clear the way in front of him before squeezing into the crowd in a circle.

This was originally a street market, and the streets were wide and narrow with the uneven terrain of the houses on the side of the road, and this place happened to be a small open space, because the middle of the street has been occupied by some vendors, so the originally spacious roadside is much narrower than the rest of the place.

Listening to the quarrel between the two sides, Chipes soon knew that the reason for the tension seemed to be only because of the collision, but as soon as there were people around him shouting and shouting, this little thing immediately turned into a struggle for face and dignity.

Tzepes was a little annoyed, and when he was trying to figure out how to organize a coalition of troops against the Ottoman army in Bugatst as soon as possible, these people were only going to do it because they had collided with each other in the street a few times, which made Tsepes think that if the Ottomans did not come again, perhaps these people themselves would have to kill each other first.

Just as Chipes wondered if it was time to stop the stupid brawl, the two sides of the confrontation had already fought, but to the surprise of the onlookers, including Chipes, it was not the two groups of people who caused the trouble, but a young man who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The young man had just stood by and watched the excitement like the others, but when he heard the reason for the quarrel between the two sides, he also frowned like Chipes, and it was obvious that the two sides were arguing and arguing just for this little thing caused him to be dissatisfied, and when he saw that the leaders of the two sides were about to make a move, the young man suddenly turned over and jumped on a tall war horse beside him and rushed towards the two men, and then stabbed them with a hard rattan that was used as a whip.

Although the rattan whip was not sharp, the stiff whip stabbed the weak place on the body, causing the two people to scream in pain, and the young man didn't wait for the two people to react, the rattan whip in his hand was already headless and brainless towards the two people.

"What's going on?"

"Is this guy crazy?"

The companions on both sides, who had not understood what was going on because of the accident, quickly reacted, and they all drew their weapons and rushed towards the stocky-looking young man, their faces full of anger, and no one doubted that they would easily let this reckless fellow go.

"You idiots!" The young man seemed angry, he was not at all afraid of those who came up around him, and he ignored the hideous look on the faces of the two men who had been whipped by him: "The Ottomans are coming, they will kill us all or take us as slaves, but you are still here to kill each other for this little thing, have you forgotten why you came to Bucharest?" ”

"I haven't forgotten, but I'm going to hang you before I do." One of them said fiercely.

"Or cut off the head, and then I'll kill the Ottomans." The other said and looked to the side, but in exchange for the other party's white eyes.

"Yes, you cut off my head, then the other person's head, everyone here does it, and then the Ottomans can take the city with just a few old men and a child." The young man stared at the two people facing him with a flushed face, "Have you seen the Ottomans, have you fought with them, do you know how the Ottomans treat the people of those conquered places, tell you that I am from Bosnia, we fought with the Ottomans, attacked their convoys, killed their guards who were escorting tax goods, we were fighting the infidels, but what are you doing, I really blush for you, you will only use knives and guns in the streets for a trivial matter, Do you think this proves that you are brave? ”

The young man roared angrily, his words made the faces of those who were about to pounce turn red and then ugly, looking at the eyes of the people around them who were looking at them, the eyes of those people were sometimes ashamed and sometimes full of hatred.

"I don't see that you're quite quibble, but I don't mind washing my knife with your blood first, so it will be easier for me to kill the Ottomans." One of them stepped forward, apparently so annoyed by the young man's reprimand that he drew his knife and prepared to pounce on him, regardless of the other's reaction.

"I won't allow you to do that," he said, "the young man was right, we should be ashamed of our actions and not continue to make mistakes." ”

"Oh, you're going to stand with him?" The face of the previous person instantly darkened, he felt as if he had been tricked, this guy who had just clashed with him because of an unintentional collision actually stood on the side of the person who humiliated them, and what was even more hateful was that he also said so righteously and awe-inspiringly, for a while he felt that the eyes of the people around him seemed to have become strange.

Obviously, in the eyes of people, the young man spoke the hearts of many people, and the repentance and confession of the other person seemed so noble and brave, so the only one who set off the stubbornness of right and wrong was only him.

The man's face was indescribably ugly, and he even felt that even his companion seemed to hesitate, which made him feel hot on his face, and he didn't even know what to do for a while.

"To be brave is to do the right thing, not just for the sake of so-called narrow self-esteem."

Just when the two sides were at a stalemate and didn't know how to end it, a voice came from the crowd.

Even if it wasn't an acquaintance, when Chipes walked out of the crowd, people still subconsciously made way for him, looking at this man dressed in ordinary clothes but full of majesty, the onlookers couldn't help but whisper a lot.

Protected by the guards, Cepes walked up to the stalemate between them, first at the young man who was still excited, and then at the two people who had been arguing before.

"If you have come to Bucharest for the sake of self-esteem, I advise you to go home at once, for we have not gathered here for this purpose, and if you have come to defend the will of God against the invasion of the infidels, then I advise you to put away your swords, for your weapons were not made for this."

Chipes's words immediately aroused the approval of the people around him, many of them drew crosses on their chests, and the two sides who were originally facing each other couldn't help but hesitate slightly, and the people on both sides began to slowly retreat and some simply put away their weapons.

"I beg your pardon, but can I ask your name?" The man who had stopped the other person before spoke first, and he was keenly aware that the person in front of him should not be a simple person, for a small nobleman like him who had just arrived from the distant countryside, Bucharest was too big and there were too many nobles, which made him regret the stupidity of starting to cause trouble on the street just to save face.

As for the other person, it was obvious that he had not completely woken up from his annoyance, he just stared at the man who suddenly appeared with an angry face, but he had already begun to regret the impulse just now, at this time he only hoped that the other party was not a big person, otherwise it would not do him any good.

"I'm Nikolai Chipes," Chipes looked at the man he was talking to, and when he heard someone around him whispering, he looked back at the young man who had boldly stepped forward and provoked the young men on both sides at the same time, "Grand Duke of Wallachia." ”

Exclamations rang out in the streets, and the people who had not thought of Chipes's identity bowed their heads after the exclamation, and the two people had already bowed their heads deeply.

"My lord, please forgive us for offending you." The man who asked him was a little excited and said how he didn't expect to meet the Grand Duke of Wallachia on the first day he arrived in Bucharest, which made him feel excited and secretly lucky.

The Grand Duke of Wallachia, Nikolai Cepes of Transylvania, was the third son of the famous Piercing Duke Vlad, as the third son of the family, Nikolai Cepes, who had no chance to inherit the title, was finally honored to become the Grand Duke of Wallachia, and he was able to finally sit on the throne of the Grand Duke only because of the accidental death of his two elder brothers.

This has caused a lot of speculation, not to mention that his father is the famous piercing man Vlad, which makes this person more mysterious and terrifying.

Now that he heard that the Grand Duke was standing in front of him, the two people who had been tense because of the temporary conflict couldn't help but look nervous, and began to secretly worry about themselves.

"You have not offended me, it is your duty and obligation to offend," Cepes looked at the two of them, "you should be ashamed of yourselves, because it is a shame that you forgot what your sword should be unsheathed for a little personal honor." ”

"I beg your pardon." The man who was still full of anger showed shame on his face, he slowly put the knife into the scabbard, and then respectfully bent down and picked up the sleeve of Chipes and kissed it, "I don't know what to say except to know how to fight, but you have taught me a lesson, and I am ashamed of my stupidity." ”

"And me, I should be punished for doing such a stupid thing at such a time just for such a small thing." The other bowed his head with the same remorse on his face.

"The punishment is only to bring you to your senses, to let you know that the sword in your hand is against the infidels and not against your brothers," said Cepes, waving his hand to the guards behind him, "You will be whipped, but as a nobleman you have the right to offer to use the money of indulgence to avoid the shame of being punished in public." ”

"My lord, I'd rather accept such a punishment, which will always remind me of what mistakes I have made before." This time, the man who began to draw his sword was ahead of him, and he looked up at Chipes stubbornly, as if he didn't give him a whip.

"If the pain makes my guilt less, I'm willing to accept the punishment." Another person also spoke to show his attitude.

Cepes nodded silently, he was very satisfied with this result, watching the two people being led by the guards to the torture rack a little further away from the street, and then their hands were tied to the torture rack and their shirts were stripped off to expose their backs, Chipes turned back to the young man who was watching this scene in a bit of a daze and asked, "Tell me what your name is, young man?" ”

"My lord, my lord, I am the messenger of Lord Viscount Herva of Zagreb." The youth shouted.