Chapter 336: Increased Heat

"You met an Ottoman task force of around fifty plus people?" Helio asked frowning as he almost had his entire face on the map sticking one more pawn on to the paper indicating the movement of the enemy. 

"Aye captain." The patrol team leader nodded seating there with a cup of mead before him. "And they retreated right away after the encounter." 

"Strange, indeed strange." The captain who now has entered his middle age with some untidied moustache growing around his chins, frowned and commented. "There has been several occasions and witnesses recently about this kind of situation where by the Ottomans will pull back  after a brief stand off avoiding all potential fights…"

"I think it is time to reconsider my proposal, captain…" After some hesitation the patrol team leader gave his advice. "Why not we build a brief wall and several connected outposts? You see captain, I think that we are going to build the wall and the Ottomans shall pay for it, it is going to be a big, beautiful wall… and I bet the admiral will not mind having a big beautiful door in that wall…" 

"I have read your proposal." Helio walked to a shelf and took out a well wrapped classified document. "And we tried to do that, and you know what, the moment we start building it the Ottomans will come over demolishing it right away killing our construction team and guards. So your proposal will not be feasible until we get a stable border, with a concrete local foundation and a relatively peaceful regional environment." 

"I see…" The patrol team leader seems to be demoralised.

"Don't worry mate." Helio gave his subordinate a gentle pat on the back. "You folks did great yesterday… I don't have much to offer you, but you can take this jar of fresh mead with you and have it with your pals."

The patrol team leader, a veteran, left in to the darkness as Helio watched his back through the dim light. The duty of the patrol team leader is over, but not his. He still have totally no idea of what is going on at the Ottoman's side. Why are they avoiding all potential combat? Why are they dispatching large groups of infiltrators out of a sudden? But apart from these, why have their usual scouting activities ceased? He never knows.

How he wishes that there is some magical instrument that instantly allows him to conversate with the admiral in Thessaloniki instantly. 

But he need not to wait any longer, as by dawn the next day a messenger arrived in to the guards camp sending a clear and straight forward message from Thessaloniki: Captain Julian and Khalid is leading an army towards here, and is due to arrive in roughly five day's time from the messenger's arrival. 

Before Helio could open his mouth and make further requirements the messenger uttered another mind blowing piece of news: The Grand Vizier of the Ottomans, Candarli Halil Pasha, is dead due to unknown causes, most probably because of an assassination. 

Being a strategic thinker and a well planner of both the battle and political situation Helio immediately realised what might happen next: The Ottomans are now preparing for war, with their blades either pointing towards the outside or pointing towards the inside. If they decide to point towards the outside there are probably already tens of thousands of Ottoman troops again gathering behind those walls, with the recent increased infiltrations as a pre battle response to do recon work like drawing geographical terrain maps, analysing hidden paths through the mountains, calculating Roman guard strength at various encampments. 

While if their blade is pointing towards the inside then things are a lot easier to expect. Helio might receive news that there is an increase of executions in Edirne, be it in public or hidden in private, in a scale of a great purge in the name of searching for the assassin which might lead to another civil war among the Ottomans and probably another split. These kind of news is almost impossible to hide and Helio is sure it will pass to his ears. 

Now he just have to wait as he started issuing orders with out any more delays making his forces dig trenches, shallow traps, improve wall conditions and enlarging a patrol team from five men to ten men. Then, he settled down and waited for Julian's troops to arrive. 

But it seems like the Ottomans does not want him to continue waiting.

The next day, in mid night. A group of cavalries around the size of a hundred men stormed to the front of the Roman encampment with their superb agility and speed, each tossing two fire torches in to the walls before they flee for their lives, leaving ten corpses behind lying on the ground from the arrows and bolts of Roman night watchers. 

Thanks to the anti fire trenches being dug earlier and the fire preventive protocols set by Helio these fire did not turn in to a big problem, though it still made the entire camp be on high alert for one whole night fearing that the foes might lay another attack after this one just like what their admiral used to do last time. In the next morning every one woke up with some level of drowsiness and sleep depriving symptoms. Helio too, sensed it and even a new brainer knows what the Ottomans are trying to do copying the old tricks of Antonius. 

Thus at the next day when the Ottomans came again Helio put five hundred soldiers on stand by, while the others are told to sleep soundly and not to wake up no matter what happens even if they feel like the Ottomans are right inside the camp outside their tents, they still need to continue sleeping. Thanks to the efficient team leaders, captains and commanders Helio is able to manage to execute his plan of rotating the five hundred men on stand by every single day making sure that the majority of the people in the camp is able to get some sleep, though their quality of sleep is still decreased, but still it is better than staying awake for the entire night. 

It is in this kind of situation that the army of Julian and Khalid arrived in to the several camps stationed on the front line, greatly improving the little bit worn out morales of the defending army, and also deterred any plans of the Ottoman army from launching their offensive. They too is able to sense that there is a large group of enemy reinforcements arriving just by looking at the amount of dust they created while marching on the roads. 

At night the Ottomans tried to use their same old trick again, only to be deterred by the newly arrived Mamluk styled cavalries of Khalid who was already there waiting for him, sending a straight message to the Ottoman higher ups that any chances of a surprise attack is now completely sealed becoming impossible. 

The battle field went back to its silent mode, with only occasional stand off and exchange of arrows taking place each day as the patrol teams increase their patrol areas and the cavalries ride through the predicted battle field trying to grip more battle field width. Both sides are anxiously waiting for the further instructions from their higher ups. It is clear that the situation here has escalated to be like a torch beside a fire powder barrel ready to detonate at any moment, and so should they take the initiative and strike first? 

While Antonius is already making pre war preparations, the various political factions are still trying to make a struggle for the top in the city of Edirne. One is the Janissaries led under Gedik Ahmed Bey who controlled three quarters of the capital city, one is the young Sultan who managed to get some support from defected Janissaries, city guards with the help of his mother and the viziers in his court as they now officially recognises the power of the Sultan. The last is the general of the eastern army Mahumad Pasha Angelovic who is now stationed just outside the city applying an unseen pressure to the other two sides waiting for some one to invite him in to the capital city. 

In this kind of situation no one bothers to even care about the poor Hamza Bey who is alone facing off the Rumelians on the front line with literally not a single support from the capital given to him. In fact, all three factions are trying to appease him every single day trying to get the support of his near thirty thousand strong army in order to increase their stake for the political power contest later on. 

The Sultan summons upon him to come to state his loyalty and support for his de jure liege, the Janissaries promised him to split the country, Suleyman bey hinted to him that he can be the next Grand Vizier, but for Hamza Bey he don't want any of the above, as he has a clear mind of what is happening here in the front line.