Of course, Alphap would not easily believe the words of the letter, after all, this matter was too important, and which prince they should choose to turn to for their brothers was not only related to themselves, but also to the future fate of the entire family and even the tribe.

In the early days of the Ottoman Empire, powerful tribal chieftains were not willing to relinquish power easily, and they could make a sultan king, but they could not tolerate this man taking away the power to rule the tribe from them.

So from the very beginning, the relationship between the Sultan and the tribal nobles was extremely intricate, when the nobles had the advantage, the Sultan often had to marry their daughters to curry favor with those tribal nobles, but once the Sultan took the initiative, he would restrict or even kill the tribal nobles.

The Ottoman Empire spent all these years in this back-and-forth, until Mehmed II conquered Constantinople and the Sultan's prestige reached its all-time high, and the tribal nobles gradually hibernated in the powerful shadow of the Sultan.

But as the young princes came of age, the tribal nobles were faced with new choices.

Elrip knew that his brother Ashulk had been sent to Rome as an emissary because he had disappointed the Sultan, and that it was because of Ashulk's near-obsessive attitude towards European culture that upset the conservative Bayezid II, but there was a deeper reason that led the Sultan to drive him away from the core of imperial power.

It was Ashulk's relationship with Prince Mehmet that made the Sultan a little suspicious.

Ashulk and Mehmet were related, and they were both married to the daughter of a large Anatolian chieftain, which brought them closer than the other princes, and because the Ashulk brothers were appreciated by the Sultan, they and their families became prominent upstarts in the empire.

Mehmed was a very direct man, and he did not hide his desire for the Sultan's throne at all, so he did not shy away from soliciting people around the Sultan.

The intimacy between Ashulk and Mehmet aroused the suspicion of Bayezid II, who feared that it would become an eyeliner for Mehmet to plant around him, and a look at the history of the Ottoman Empire shows that the Sultan's father-son struggle was no less merciful than that of brothers, and more than one Sultan is said to have been murdered by his own son.

It was under these circumstances that Bayezid II sent Ashukel to Europe, but the Sultan did not do so out of distrust of his favored vassal, but rather out of love for his cronies.

The Sultan did not want Ashulk to get too involved, especially before the struggle for the throne was fully clear, and it was obviously unwise to throw chips lightly.

The Sultan still wanted a good ending for Ashulk, so he sent his favored subjects far away to Europe to avoid the right and wrong of Constantinople.

Elip looked at the letter in his hand carefully, although it was only one sentence, but he was repeatedly pondering how much of Alexander's news could be trusted.

From the current point of view, the cooperation between the two sides is quite pleasant, Alexander relied on Ilup's secret strategy to cause great pressure to Ladislas II, and Ilup has obtained enough wealth, although most of these wealth is still only on the paper of the agreement, but both sides know that in the face of the great strength of the Ottoman Empire, the Europeans will be passively beaten for at least a long time, in this case, there should be many opportunities for their cooperation, and the time will be very long, So Alexander will not destroy the trust between them because he is greedy for a small profit.

That being the case, then this news of Alexander is worth considering.

Of course, Elip knew that Prince Selim was also bound to win the Sultan throne, and there was no way to do it, everyone knew very well that no matter who succeeded, it was unlikely that the other brothers would survive, this was the tradition of the Ottoman Sultan, so even if it was to survive, he had to defeat someone else to become the Sultan.

It's just that if Hami Resar Plom and Sissougu were really Selim's supporters, it could be much more serious.

After all, now the Ottoman army is in the Balkans, and Selim has a far more popular advantage here than Mehmed because he is stationed in Greece all the year round.

Of course, Elup didn't know that Bayezid II was forced to abdicate by Selim, who succeeded in killing Mehmet, and that the Sultan's death was precisely related to Resar, his most trusted eunuch, but from now on, Elup had some vague guesses for the worst, so he had to be more cautious at this time.

"How does the Count want me to cooperate with him?" Elope looked at Depade, "First of all, I like money, but if I want to do something that harms the interests of the empire, I won't do it, it's not about loyalty, but purely because the pay and the return can't be compared." ”

Bodped nodded slightly, admitting that the Ottoman was indeed clever enough to know exactly what to keep greed within his bounds, so that he could justify himself even if his actions were discovered in the future.

And the fact is that what Ilup is doing now is really in line with the Sultan's intentions, at least Bayezid II has no arrogant intention to take Hungary in one fell swoop in this expedition from the beginning, and his main target is only the Balkan Peninsula centered outside Bucharest, as for going deep into the heart of Europe, the Sultan has no such intention for the time being.

So even if his intention to spare Herva was discovered, it could be explained that it was intended to cause more unrest in Hungary and force Ladislas II to withdraw from Bucharest as soon as possible.

Alexander was well aware of Elup's right calculations, so he would not have made conditions that were unacceptable to the Ottomans.

"The Count wants you to help the King of Bosnia to make his offensive against southern Hungary more violent, and we will also go to the Duke of Helva and hope that he will hold off on Roy at the right time?" of the offense. ”

Listening to Bodpaed's words, Eyrip's hand stroking his beard paused slightly, he wondered about the credibility of Alexander's suggestion, and after a moment he picked up the one-sentence letter again and fell into deep thought.

"Besides, the Count asked me to bring you a word," Bodpade thought it was about the same, and continued, "The Count says that Prince Selim's expedition may not go well, so he will not be able to return so soon. ”

Elip glanced at Bodped in some surprise, knowing what the Greeks were saying about Selim's expedition, or that the expedition was a minor farce.

Bayezid II was conservative and suspicious, fearing that Selim, who had been stationed in Greece, would take advantage of his expedition to expand his influence in the Ottoman army and upset the balance between him and Mehmed, and that the intrigue of his two sons as the ultimate arbiters had always been the secret of the sultan's power.

So in order to prevent Selim from taking advantage of the opportunity to become bigger, the Sultan sent him to Asia to conquer Persia, and at the same time he sent another son, Mehmet, to Egypt to fight against the Mamluks.

As a result, both of his sons were far removed from the Ottoman army, and their supporters in the army became much more honest because of the prince's absence.

But the Sultan could not have imagined that this expedition would have led him to a worse outcome than his father Mehmed II, and now that he was lying unconscious in the royal tent, and his generals were frantically trying to get the prince he supported to return as soon as possible.

Of course, Ilup knew the reason why the Sultan had taken Selim in the first place, but to his surprise, Alexander decided that Selim would not be able to return to Greece smoothly.

After all, as far as he knew, Persia could now be said to be in disintegration and warlordism, and would there be any trouble with Selim's talents?

"It's not that hard to wait a little bit before you choose who to support," Bodpe advised, "and if you make a choice when it matters most, the rewards for you and your family will be unimaginable." ”

Elope was silent, he thought the suggestion was a great temptation, but it was also a dangerous idea.

Because if Selim does become the next sultan, he could be suspicious of future new sultans if he misses the opportunity to pledge his allegiance in the first place.

In particular, his elder brother Ashulk was close to Mehmed, and it would be too dangerous for Selim to think that this was the choice of their family and tribe.

The Ottoman sultans were ruthless, and even Bayezid II, who seemed much more benevolent, was not what he seemed.

"That's what you gave me in return?" Elope asked, he knew that if Alexander's news was true, then the reward would be really rich, but now he was a little difficult to make a decision, "The Count said that Prince Selim's expedition would not be so easy, so can you tell me when he can prove his words?" ”

Bodpade shook his head helplessly: "I can't give you an accurate answer to this, in fact, even I wonder how the Count could be so sure that the prince will not win so easily, but do you think it's not worth trying, as the Count said, how much will the choice at the critical moment bring?" ”

Elope glanced at Bodped, he thought that this Greek was really good at demagoguery, but he also knew that it was his inner self who really bewitched him.

Trying to make one's own weight as important as possible before Selim and Mehmet decide whether to win or lose, and then turn to either side at a critical moment when the two sides are evenly matched, is actually the usual method of tribal nobles throughout the ages to protect their families and tribes, and there is nothing new, but this time Alexander brought him news, the process of this choice seems to be clearer.

"Helping the Bosnians, yes?" Elope did not continue on the topic of princes, but he seemed to have made a decision, "Of course it is my duty, but I would like to know what the Count of Montina really intends, and I am talking about whether he wants to have Helva replace Roy?" Is it? ”

Bodeped secretly sighed in his heart, he felt that this Ottoman governor was really not simple, and he could guess the earl's intentions so quickly.

And this is precisely the second thing that Bodped came to talk about when he came to meet Eyrip this time.

"Your Excellency thinks you can be a truly honorable Governor of the Pasha, not just a temporary governor who may leave here at any moment."

Edrap's heart moved slightly, and he took a sip of the hot coffee from the table, the evocative aroma wafting through his nose after the bitterness, and Elope nodded silently, motioning for Strongpade to continue.

"You can become the governor of Bosnia, and it will be good for you to make any choice in the future," Bodped said seriously, "and if Duke Helva becomes king of Northern Bosnia, it will be the best outcome for you." ”

Elrip's eyes were fixed on the old Greek man in front of him, and he couldn't help but admit that this man was a natural diplomat.

Not only does he have seductive words, but the important thing is that what he says is the truth.

If Herva became king of Northern Bosnia and Croatia, any Ottoman nobleman who wanted to become governor of the Balkans would inevitably have to face this man.

If Eyrip becomes the Governor, it means that he will be able to deal with Herva more easily than anyone else.

It is foreseeable that because of Bayezid II's accident, the Ottoman Empire will be in turmoil for a long time, and it is self-evident how important an important role a high-ranking frontier governor will play in the future struggle for the throne of the Sultan.

Elope took another sip of his coffee, which he thought smelled a little bitter and added a spoonful of slimy black cane sugar to his cup.

"It is not in the Sultan's wish for Helva to become king," Elup said, frowning, "I said I would not do anything against the will of the Sultan, because the cost of doing so would be too great." ”

Bodped was not disappointed by Aryup's refusal, he slowly stood up and walked up to Elop, lowered his voice and said softly: "What if all this is not against the will of the Sultan, or even what the Sultan needs?" ”

Eleup was slightly stunned, and he looked at Bodped with strange eyes, and although he didn't speak, he showed a hint of sarcasm.

"You should know that whoever becomes the sultan of the Ottoman Empire in the future will eventually choose war, because it will not only gain honor and land, but only in this way will the supremacy of the sultan be maintained," Bodeped said cautiously, "In that case, do you think that before the final decision on who owns the throne of the Sultan, whether it is Selim or Mehmet, which of them will allow others to become heroes who conquer other countries?" Bodped paused, he had already noticed a slight change in Eyrip's expression, but he pretended not to see it and continued, "The Ottoman Empire will not be able to expand outward for a long time because of the accident of the Sultan of Bayezid, and neither the sultan nor the princes want an accident on the frontier at this time, because when they finally decide the winner, it is time to start the war again, and in this time, who can stabilize the Ottoman situation in Europe, Who will be appreciated by the new Sultan in the future. ”

Elip listened quietly, admitting that he was indeed moved by the Greek man's words, or that when he made this suggestion, Elop had already made a decision in his mind, but he needed someone to convince him, and he needed to be committed.

"Rowa? "He has great ambitions," Elope finally spoke, "although he declared his attachment to the Sultan, this man did not want to be a vassal forever, so he was not very opposed to the invasion of Hungary, and from now on it seems that he was fighting well with the Bosnians. ”

Bodpade nodded, admitting that Eyrip was right.

Although taking refuge in the Ottomans Jean Roy? He has become a notorious traitor, but as a general who has participated in many wars, Roy? With a series of victories in the invasion of Hungary, he proved to everyone that he was quite a great conductor.

It's just that, as Ellup said, Rois? His betrayal was not so much due to fear of the might of the Ottoman army, but rather to see opportunities and benefits in his betrayal, at least now that he was the king of Northern Bosnia.

"If Herva becomes king, he will form an alliance with Wallachia, which is not in line with the Sultan's wishes, and I said the price would be too high." Elope seemed to hesitate as he stared at Bodped, as if waiting for something.

The Greeks groaned, although Alexander had told him before he came that the Ottomans were supposed to be cunning, but Bodped did not expect this Elip to be so difficult to deal with.

"Wallachia needs to be assured of security," Bodped said in a calm tone, as he also observed Elup, hoping to find something in the Ottomans' demeanor, "Perhaps I have a new suggestion that you may consider, and I believe it will be of great value to you personally and to the Ottoman Empire." ”

Eryup looked curious, and he waited for Bodped to pull out new chips.

Negotiation is just that, a little bit of temptation and a little bit of compromise, and finally a deal is reached within the range that both sides think is acceptable.

Eleup wanted to get the most out of it without causing major trouble, while Alexander wanted to use the Ottomans to achieve his goal of the expedition to the Balkans.

"Princess Sophia can openly promise to renounce her dominion over Southern Bosnia, but she must become the protector of Northern Bosnia," Bodpade said, looking deeply at Elup, and seeing the excitement on the Ottomans' faces, the Greeks couldn't help but smile slightly: "Dear Pasha, I think you must know what this means." ”

Elope nodded abruptly, and then he picked up his coffee again, but this time he didn't even care about tasting what it tasted like with the added sugar.

As Bodped said, he was well aware of what this proposal meant, which would make it possible to make him the real governor of the Pasha in the Balkans, including Sarajevo.

"That's a very uplifting suggestion," Eyrip sighed, then suddenly smiled knowingly at Bodpaed, "so tell me what you're going to do next, knowing Rois?" This guy is not easy to deal with. ”