Chapter 68: Weight of Crown

"The one who wants to wear the crown, must bear its weight"

- The Inheritors, Kim Tan

Mehmed has to conquer Constantinople in the shortest time possible. From now onwards, Constantinople is no longer just a symbol or a trophy for him to showcase to his deceased father and his subjects to boost his prestige and military achievement. The situation now is quite clear, if he fails under the walls, all the other foes hiding in the shadows might jump out together and form a coalition against him. That is something he definitely cannot accept.

Thirteen February 1453 A.D. Three days into the siege of Constantinople.

Three riders rode through the cleared plains between Constantinople and Ottoman encampment, halting their horse before the city gates yelling out the purpose of their visit. Their Mehmed has sent a final offer of peace to emperor Constantine, according to the rules of war , jurisprudence and old traditions of Islam set in the Sharia and Fiqh by Ulama that every follower of the Great Prophet ought to follow, which greatly boosted the speed of early Arab conquests in the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphate.

One of them include that if the besieged infidel city willingly opens her gate, hand over her keys to the conquerors, the conquerors shall treat the citizens of the conquered city as one of them, allow them to keep all their properties and possessions leaving them undisturbed, and most importantly they can keep whatever faith they are following.

If the city converts to the follower of the Great Prophet, that is even better. They no longer need to pay the Jizya, which is a form of financial charge on permanent non-Muslim subjects, and they can join the services of the Caliph's forces, earn a hefty bounty and title in the subsequent conquests. However, if the city decides not to turn herself in, things might look very bad for them, most likely a potential bloodletting ahead…

In the Palace of Blachnarea, before the Roman Emperor Constantine XI, the three emissaries from the Sultan explained the purpose of their arrival and the letter from the Sultan.

"Our lord! Sovereign of Rumelia and Anatolia! Han Hazretleri! Sultan es Selatin, Khakhan, Commander of the faithful and Successor of the Prophet of the lord of the Universe! The utmost merciful Sultan Mehmed the Second, has descended his heart of kindness upon you."

"The Sultan will spare the citizens of this city, leave the faith and the properties of the citizens untouched, harming the lives of no one in the city. If you voluntarily surrender the city, hand over the keys to the gates, lower your flags and raise the flag of the Sultan."

"In the end of the day, our Sultan Mehmed the second shall be the sole ruler of Constantinople and Rumelia. And the merciful Sultan shall grant you, Constantine Palaiologos, his old friend"

The messenger's words plunged the nobles and courtiers in the grand hall into chaos as they began vigorously discussing and arguing the meaning of this letter sent by Mehmed. Some argue that perhaps they can try to negotiate with Mehmed for a peace deal, to hand over the city and retreat back to Achaia, some suggest that they should negotiate to drag on time and wait for other reinforcement from the pope to arrive. While those pessimistic or have interests on the Ottoman side nobles say that why not just surrender and surrender, then they can still live on happily as nobles and landlords.

What is funny is that these people who suggested Constantine to negotiate and surrender the city are mostly the ones who advised Constantine couple of months ago that they should give Mehmed a taste of Roman slap and teach him a lesson.

One can just say that time has changed, people's mind has changed with it too.

Giovanni stood behind the Mega Doux Loukas Notaras with a smirk on his face and arms crossed before his chest, enjoying this Greek drama performance by the Roman nobles. While Constantine sighed, massaged his forehead with his right hand and frowned.

"Ahem!"

The leader of the Ottoman messenger coughed ceasing all arguments and debates in the grand hall immediately. "A cough by a Ottoman messenger is more powerful than my orders for them to remain quiet." Constantine jeered to himself.

"So, Romans…" The messenger cleared his throat and asked. "May I know your response to the merciful Sultan's request?"

…

The three messengers left the city of Constantinople riding towards the Ottoman encampments leaving a trail of dust and horseshoe patterns on the soft snow.

Mehmed stood awaiting with his Grand Vizier Candarli Halil Pasha, his Chief of Army Zaganos Pasha and Sekban-bashi, leader of Janissaries Sinan standing behind him.

Mehmed murmured to himself. "Let's see if Constantine has the wits and love for his city that he is willing to sacrifice defending it."

The three riders rode to Mehmed's side, climbed down their horses, kneeled down and reported. "My sultan, the Romans have rejected our proposals!"

The Sultan Mehmed nodded, signalled them to go to rest, then looked up at the walls of Constantinople. Majestic as it always have been in the long run of history for a thousand plus years, high into the clouds, beautifully decorated, a despairing sight for any men who plan to lay siege on it, true master piece of art among all other medieval fortifications, no wonder it is called the queen of all cities, and, it shall be definitely most a pity… If someone is going to tear down the dress of this queen… And destroy her.

Mehmed slowly rose his hand palm above his head and commanded. "Prepare the siege machines!"

A series of horns began blowing on the Ottoman sides as they started to get busy. While on the walls, Giovanni Giusitani watched the Ottomans standing behind an arrow slot. Behind him flies the banners of Saint Michael and Saint George, with the bells of Hagia Sophia still ringing for the citizens to seek shelter. Around him stands his Genoese mercenaries and Roman soldiers. Giovanni held his breathe for a moment and shouted.

"Get Ready! Lads!"

All Roman soldiers and Genoese mercenaries drawn out their swords following the order and started cheering in war cries and bellows.

"Aye!!!"

The wheels of Ottoman war machine start rolling forward.

The date today is Thirteen of February 1453 AD.