Vol 5 Chapter 55: Gatekeeper (Part 1)

Prato's "prophecy" soon came true, and Ladislas II summoned Moore.
What only disappointed Moore was that he did not see the Greek princess who made him feel good this time, nor did he get a satisfactory answer from the king.
Whether he was about to become the Duke of Zagreb or his proposal to resist the Ottomans together, Ladislas II showed a lack of interest.
As for the Earl of Montina, who is said to be from the Vatican, Moorco did not want to mention that person at all, and Ladislas II thought that the general trend was gone and was not interested.
Now Ladislas II has only anger.
He summoned everyone who could think of it to meet in order to come up with a solution to the current crisis.
The sudden betrayal of Roy? Shocked too many people, and at the same time exposed the drawbacks of this rally called in the name of Ladislas II.
Because there was never a real name, the party that was originally a confederation became drinking, dancing, and endless round-up hunting. As for why it became like this, no one could make it clear.
For Ladislas II, Sophia is an ace in his hand, but for various reasons, he does not want to play this ace so quickly, he needs to wait, needs the opportunity, needs to spot one The best opportunity for this trump card to bring him the greatest benefit.
It ’s just now that Roy? Suddenly surrendering to the Ottomans not only completely disrupted his plan, but North Bosnia may give up the danger of resistance, but also made Ladislas II have to hurry to face the original thought that it will not be long Facing the enemy.
The king had to find a way to deal with today's crisis, and for the first time he began to really think about how to command the troops that are now gathered in Bucharest.
There were hundreds of nobles who came to Bucharest at the call of the Greek princess. The vast majority of them were either scumbags, old and left, or large and small lords threatened by the Ottomans. Lead them against the Ottomans.
When the news of Sophia spread throughout the Balkans, these people immediately responded to the princess's call, and now they came to Bucharest, but this does not mean that they knew what to do.
Zepes walked slowly in a low but wide corridor. Bucharest Castle is a typical Eastern Roman style. The dome of the corridor is not high and inconvenient, but it is very wide. There is always a vaulted ceiling that seems to be overhead. The illusion of falling down at any time.
The King's meeting has been open for 2 days, but no resolution has been produced. At the meeting, all the nobles who can speak have expressed or shouted their opinions. The chaotic appearance of the entire venue and the castle The vegetable market is not far away.
Among all opinions of all people, Zeppes is a representative advocating initiative.
He hoped that Ladislas II could issue an open call in the name of the Greek princess, instead of spreading the news in a rumors-like manner as now, and he thought that if all noble armies were organized, it would be possible The Ottomans launched a head-on confrontation.
It ’s just that Ladislas II clearly had other ideas. He kept silent on all opinions, and seemed to be considering all the possibilities. It seemed that he had already made his own decision. Because of his attitude, the meeting became endless. Procrastination again.
Zepes could guess that Ladislas II was prepared to make the most of Sophia ’s value, but he did n’t know exactly what the king wanted to achieve with this girl.
A roar came from the yard, and Zeppes looked out through the colonnade. He saw Sophia holding a longbow to practice archery, and her raised chest looked so tall and tall from the side. It looks nothing like a 14-year-old girl.
Cepes looked at Sophia with his eyes narrowed. He thought he was a little funny. He would be fascinated by such a little girl, but he knew how important the girl was now, or that her existence had become a symbol. .
Cepes walked into the yard and saw Sophia turn her back and smiled at him. He signaled to Sophia that he wanted to cross the longbow. He bent his bow and aimed at the target in the distance.
Ladislas II finally made up his mind. He summoned all the influential nobles and announced his decision.
Send a messenger to negotiate with the Ottomans.
When this decision was announced, people were stunned, and then booed.
What surprised many people was that Zeppes, who should have expressed his indignation because of the King ’s decision, did not show anger. He did not even show an unexpected look.
When the meeting ended and Ladislas II privately met Zeppes, Ladislas II showed helplessness and frustration that no one else could see.
"How could it be possible to win over the Ottomans, although that person is not Muhammad, but he is still the sultan of Ottomans, and we can't beat them at all, their cannons can break through any wall, Constantinople can't stop them, Bucharest They could n’t even stop them.
The king looked at Zeppes and said helplessly.
I used to think that I could get help from Western countries, but now it seems that I am too optimistic. The interest of the French is to conquer Rome, and the emperor wants to conquer. It ’s us, I do n’t doubt at all that if I fail this time, Maximian would divide my country without hesitation, at least now he is already doing it, just when I am going to fight Ottoman ’s life and death , The emperor was behind the idea of ​​a copper mine in Hungary. "
Ladislas II kept complaining until Zeppes nodded slightly, not knowing whether it was perfunctory or agree.
"Duke, I need your support. I know you have a deep hatred with the Ottomans. I also know what this city means to you. Your father is here to give precious life to God, but now we What we have to do is to block the footsteps of the Ottomans and prevent them from completely conquering this place. We should use all means for this, right? "
"Then what you said includes negotiating with the Ottomans?" Zeppes did not want to collide with the king, but he really could not think of any less irritating ways to express his dissatisfaction. "Our army is not Less, if we ... "
"If Roy? Didn't surrender, if we had an army that could compete with them, if we could rush them from here to the other side of the Mediterranean," Ladislas II interrupted Zepes. "This Everything is just if, but the fact is that when we are not ready for a little bit, Roy? Selling all of us, the Ottomans can now point at Bucharest without any effort, and we do n’t have any ready."
"We have about 50,000 people."
"Yeah, 50,000 Ugly people, you have also seen those nobles, their ability to drink and make trouble is much more powerful than fighting, do you think they can resist the son of Mohammed II?"
Zepes sighed secretly. He knew that Ladislas II was right. Although there were many nobles gathered in Bucharest, and the number of troops they brought was quite impressive, it was indeed a group of people together, there was no unified Command, there is no unified plan, and even many people still have this and other contradictions, such a so-called coalition army can not be compared with the Sudanese army.
What's more, even those who clamored for the most fierce battle with pagans could not conceal the fear in their hearts.
The Ottomans are so terrible, they seem to be really invincible, even if the city did successfully block Muhammad II under its walls at the beginning, but people still moved when they mentioned the terrible army. .
It is indeed the most appropriate method to propose negotiations at this time.
"What about the princess?" Zepes asked the question he was most concerned about. "You know that everyone came to Bucharest because of the legend about the Greek princess. If peace talks with Sudan, does that mean we have to hand over princess?"
"Dagong, you now look like a sentimental artist," Ladislas II said disapprovingly. "It's Luwa who put us all into this bad situation today. He completely broke our plan, if possible. I want to punish the bad guy as much as you do, but now we ca n’t do anything. All we can do is keep ourselves. As for the princess, I do n’t think that giving her to the Ottomans will make things better. "
Zepes looked at the king, and he suddenly realized that he had made a mistake.
Obviously Ladislas II had other plans. Perhaps he had been ready to negotiate with the Ottomans from the beginning. Even if Roy? Marquis did not betray, he might do the same.
Borrowing the legend of the Greek princess to summon the Balkan aristocracy to form an alliance against the Ottomans, and then use the alliance to bargain with the Sudan, it is clear that the purpose of Ladislas II should be to save Hungary, whether those nobles or Sophia It ’s just the tools he uses,
And as Ladislas II himself said, handing Sophia to the Ottomans will not make things better, and as long as there is such a Greek princess, it is not a big deal for the Ottomans. It's no small trouble. He can use this to contain Sudan, so that he can't handle Hungary smoothly.
It was only the sudden betrayal of the Marquis de Roy that completely disrupted the king ’s plan. The door from northern Bosnia to Bucharest was opened, and the 80,000 troops of the Ottomans were about to drive straight into the city.
Cepes suddenly felt a little want to laugh.
He will not forget that his father Fras III died under the city ’s walls. His head was cut off and hung over the gates of Constantinople to show off his martial arts as Muhammad II. A small footnote.
The cause of death of Fras III is always an unsolved mystery.
Some people say that he died in battle against the pagans, but there are more signs that he is actually intrigued by others.
This made Zepes suddenly feel that his current situation is very similar to that of his father. The only difference is that his father has offended too many people because of his fierce reputation and brutal rule, which makes him unable to distinguish who is the enemy and who is. friend.
Zeppes believed that if he did not support Ladislas II, then he would become the enemy of the king and a large group of nobles.
"Do you think those Greek nobles will agree with your decision?" Zepes reminded the king "They have waited too long, and they hope that the princess can lead them back to their country."
"Even if Rome can return to the country, he must obey my orders!" Ladislas II suddenly interrupted him fiercely, and under Zepez's stunned gaze, the king breathed out impatiently, "Listen, we are now There is no other way, Roy? Let us get into a difficult position, I originally planned to slowly unite all the noble army, but now there is no such opportunity, do you think your Wallachia can block the Ottomans, If not, why should n’t we think more about ourselves. "
Zepes was silent. He knew that what the king said was indeed true. Sophia ’s role was to become the spiritual leader of all Balkan nobles, but now this spiritual leader has become their burden. Sultans may bring to his rule to eliminate this. The hidden danger of the threat does not hesitate to lead the army to lead the battle, and now the situation is not waiting for them to gather enough bargaining chips on the battlefield, the Ottomans are already coming to the door.
"I won't give that girl to Sudan," Ladislas II said in a low voice. "You should understand that as long as she is there, Sudan cannot but have no scruples. Sudan will have to sleep because of her. All opened one eye, and that was enough for me. "
Cepes nodded silently. He knew that the king was right. Sophia was indeed an intolerable existence for Bayesert II. Just think about the East Roman royal family that could be lifted at any time on the land he ruled. Descendants, just this may be enough to give Sudan a headache.
"The only regret is that we did not allow the Sultan to see our power in the end," Ladislas II said with a bit of frustration. "As you said, if, if Roy? Has not betrayed, we totally have The opportunity to organize a decent coalition before Bayesett arrived, but now we can only be forced to negotiate with him as soon as possible, otherwise when the Ottoman army arrives under Bucharest, we will have no extra chips in our hands. "
Looking at the king's annoyed look ~ EbookFREE.me ~ Cepez shook his head secretly, he knew that Ladislas II was right, they really lost a great opportunity.
There was a sound of footsteps from far and near. Listening to the rapid pace of rhythm, you can feel that the arrival is obviously very excited.
Ladislas II raised his head, his eyebrows were already tight, which made Zepes think that any news at this time might make the king violently.
"Your Majesty!" A servant came hurriedly with a messenger.
Far away, the messenger had shouted to Ladislas II: "Your Majesty, the Ottomans are besieging Belgrade!"
Hearing this, Ladislas II's face changed suddenly.
Almost as soon as Ladislas II got the news, far away in Transylvania, Alexander was standing on the high of the right bank of the Mures River.
As the drums roared, the gunshots shook the sky!
A war started on the Mamlesh River.