Chapter 47 Bayezid’s Preparations
Mircea kept the news of Wallachia's annexation of Vidin tightly under wraps, even though he knew that doing so would lead to leaks.
All the remaining armies of Vidin were gathered together, no matter whose, by Mircea.
For these nobles, Mircea also focused on appeasing them. Distribute the land of the great nobles to them, and at the same time revoke their power to organize the army, leaving all military power in the hands of the Grand Duke.
As for the money given to the Grand Duke every year, it is converted into taxes, they can get certain deductions and give them economic privileges.
The small nobles did not have the ability to maintain the army. With the attack of foreign enemies, they could only watch their property be damaged. But now that the Grand Duke provided for the army, their burden was reduced a lot, and they only had to pay money.
Wallachian troops began to enter Vidin, and what followed was a special dilemma. Vidin was bounded by the Ottoman vassal Serbia to the west, Bulgaria to the east, and the Ottoman mainland to the south. Wallachia's own army was not enough to launch a three-sided attack.
After consideration, Mircea decided to proceed as planned. He released the news that Vidin had suffered a very serious fire. Vidin needs to rebuild.
This information has deceived most people, because fire is the greatest hazard. Besides, it was common for fires to destroy a city, so I didn't take it to heart.
On the other side, the Dobroga army commanded by Peter had set off for Varna.
They had an unobstructed journey because most of their army came from Varna, so they became like fellow villagers meeting fellow villagers.
The defender took a look and saw that this was not someone from that family. How did they get here?
The other side also started a tender offensive, directly saying how wonderful Wallachia was, and also said that as long as they were allowed to rule here, everyone would be exempt from taxes for three years.
Tax exemption has always been attractive, especially to farmers. If you tell them that it’s for the country, they don’t feel it, but if you tell them that tax exemption will definitely support you.
In this way, relying on tax exemptions and rewards, the Dobroga pioneers quickly reached Varna. Ivan, the lord of Varna, ran away and didn't know where he was. Seeing so many people below, the defenders surrendered immediately.
(I know this is outrageous, but reality is what it is, no logic required)
Constantine took possession of Varna, and Peter followed with the remaining troops. First, tax exemptions were used to appease the people, and then they began to prepare for war.
In just half a month, the sky in Bulgaria has completely changed. Sultan Bayezid in Edirne also learned about Wallachia.
"How dare these people? This was originally given to the empire by Allah, but they actually..."
Bayezid was really angry, and his ministers said nothing. Grand Vizier Ali Pasha looked at Suleiman Pasha with some gloating at this time.
You are going against me, okay now, Wallachia is starting to expand, I am afraid that the next step will be Tervono, then Sofia, Plovdiv, and finally Edirne. Why, give these to him too?
"Grand Vizier, tell me first." Bayezid named Ali Pasha.
"Sultan" Ali Pasha saluted, "Now that Wallachia has entered Vidin, I am afraid that the next target will be Tervono. We can attack while they are exhausted, and then we will reap the benefits."
"But what if Wallachia and Bulgaria unite to fight us?"
Ali Pasha turned around and saw that it was Vizier Ibrahim Pasha. He came from Bursa (Prusa), the former capital of the Ottoman Empire, and relied on family connections to reach the position of vizier. He was also a political enemy of Ali Pasha.
"Now that they have entered Vidin, it will take some time to repair, and Bulgaria will not sit still and wait. Within three months, the two sides will definitely fight."
What Ali Pasha said is reasonable. Vidin, Tervono, and Varna were originally one, but they ended up being so broken. Wallachia naturally took advantage of it, and Tervono will definitely send troops to recapture it, so they can just watch.
"What the Grand Vizier said is good, but have you ever thought about what if Bulgaria surrenders quickly, what if they form an alliance, what if they ask for help from the West, I wonder if you have thought about these possibilities."
"I can answer you about these questions. First, the Bulgarian fortresses of Tervono and Nicopolis are extremely strong and cannot be defeated within a few months, so they will definitely hold on here; second, since If Wallachia occupies Vidin, then there is no possibility of an alliance between the two countries. Third, as far as I know, the West itself has a lot of things to do and has no energy to care about it. So it is okay to send troops at this time. "
"Okay!" Bayezid stopped the Grand Vizier.
"Wallachia goes south, which is a provocation to the great empire. They despise God and the empire's force. If we don't show them color, then they will be unscrupulous. The legacy left by our ancestors will also be lost. Eastward flow.”
"So I decided to send troops to Wallachia and make them surrender."
It was normal for the Sudan to prepare to send troops, but the Sudan actually wanted to send troops at this time, which frightened many people.
There is no other reason. It is still winter at this time, and the march will cause very heavy losses; at the same time, Sipaxi's service period will start in March, and forced recruitment at this time may cause their dissatisfaction.
"Wallachia occupied Vidin while we were not sending troops in the winter. They thought they would have to wait two months before we could send troops, but they were wrong. We would send troops now and defeat them."
Ali Pasha tried his best to prevent the Sultan from giving up his idea, but he still tried to send troops early next month, because it would take time to raise the army.
This time Bayezid planned to bring his entire army, including 10,000 sipashi, 25,000 infantry, and 3,000 newly formed troops named Yeniceri.
At the same time, someone was sent to send an order to the Serbian King Lazarevich, asking him to lead the army. Together with the entourage, there would eventually be an army of nearly 60,000 assembled. This was the largest army the Ottomans had at their disposal in the Balkans.
Bayezid formulated a three-pronged plan. One was led by Lazarevich's Serbian army to attack Vidin; the other was led by Suleiman Pasha to attack Varna; he led the main force to Tervono and captured Varna. The Lakian and Bulgarian armies were wiped out in one fell swoop. In this way, Bayezid will be unrivaled in the Balkans, and the Ottomans will become a nightmare for those Christian countries.