Chapter 57 Occupying Sofia
Sure enough, Bayezid, who had not yet gotten over the first letter, started to lose his temper again.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you."
Bayezid was completely angry. He first humiliated him by giving him a piece of women's clothes, and then said that he would twist off his head and play it as a ball. He had had enough of this humiliation.
He wanted to completely destroy Wallachia and make those who despised him and insulted him pay the price.
"Listen, attack Varna at full speed and be sure to defeat me."
Although the Sultan was angry, the soldiers were thinking about another situation: Would they be like this too?
They had never seen such a punishment, and this puncture from bottom to top amplified their fear. Some weak-willed soldiers even planned to escape, but they were afraid of the Sultan's wrath falling on their heads.
"Sudan!"
At this time, an Ottoman cavalry ran over rolling and crawling, and even fell several times.
"Who are you…"
"Sultan, please go back quickly, Sofia is surrounded by enemy troops."
"What?"
Bayezid did not expect that the western front had deteriorated to such an extent that even Sofia was surrounded.
"What's going on? What is Lazarevich doing?"
Bayezid scolded his brother-in-law. He wanted to go to Krusevac in person to ask him what he was doing and why he didn't send troops.
"You can't count on them, Sultan. We received some Serbs in Sofia, and they say the Wallachian army routed them before that. Even their king is dead."
This was undoubtedly another critical blow to Bayezid, as his brother-in-law was gone. Also missing were Serbian reinforcements.
Now, of the three armies, only the 30,000 troops led by Bayezid remain. But after the previous Burgas battle and the impact just now, morale has dropped a lot.
It became a difficult choice whether to continue forward or fall back to Edirne.
Bayezid needed time to think, and he ordered to camp not far from these people.
For the Ottoman soldiers, the night was not scary, but those who died on the spikes were scary at night. Not to mention the wind and the crows.
Bayezid didn't sleep all night. He tossed and turned and thought of many ways. In the end, he actually had difficulty choosing.
? ? ?
What a magical scene this is, a ruler with excellent tactics actually has difficulty choosing.
Bayezid was not an indecisive person, and his rapid penetration tactics were unrivaled in Anatolia. But it was less than 40 kilometers away from Varna that he hesitated for the first time.
But now it's time to make the final decision, and Bayezid finally decides. Continue north and capture Varna.
In this way, Sofia's enemy troops will also be mobilized, and they can be wiped out in one fell swoop.
The Ottoman army began to advance at full speed.
----Dividing line----
Mircea has been besieging Sofia for half a month. Every day, many Bulgarians join him and bring information and food.
Along the way, Archduke Mircea's troops were considered by many to be divine soldiers descending from heaven. Sent by God to save them.
Orthodox Christians and Muslims in Sofia began to fight, and the Sofia defenders had to detach some people to maintain order. The well-known Millet system was the masterpiece of Muhammad II. At this time, the conflict between the two sides was very intense.
After the siege, Mircea decided to make a quick victory. At this time, there were less than 3,000 garrison troops stationed in Sofia, and some of them were poorly trained militiamen. Seeing this, Mircea was no longer polite.
Long-range firepower consisted of artillery and trebuchets, which hurled stones, corpses, and flaming objects at Sophia.
Even so, the destruction of the walls was very slow. To do this, Mircea went straight to the common method: digging a tunnel.
Digging tunnels under the city wall and burning the supports to cause the wall to collapse is also a method. But it is very slow, taking weeks or months, and there are certain risks, because the defenders will also counter-reconnaissance.
Fortunately, the siege tower and battering ram are also ready. Thanks to the large forests near Sofia, there is no need to worry about raw materials. Of course, the city guard tower is not a sports car and can move up to 40 meters a day.
Boulders and cannonballs fell on the city wall and city area, and the pressure on the defenders was also very high. But more are the Orthodox citizens of the towns.
The offensive and defensive battle between the two sides has entered a situation where Wallachia has the advantage, in order to prevent this beautiful city from being destroyed. On the 18th day of the siege, the Orthodox Christians in Sophia launched an uprising, killed the defenders near the east gate, and opened the gate to welcome Mircea's army.
Just as the Ottoman offensive was overwhelming, so was Mircea's offensive. Sofia, once the most important city in the Bulgarian Empire, fell to Mircea.
Mircea made all the remaining Ottoman soldiers into slaves, and at the call of Bishop Sofia, many people joined Mircea's army.
News of the fall of Sofia directly encouraged the local anti-Ottoman movement. All the surrounding guerrillas defected to Mircea and tried to reach Edirne.
But Mircea was thinking about his son, and he had to lead the army back quickly. Peter's military strength could not stop Bayezid's army.
But some generals proposed that if Plovdiv was stormed, Bayezid could be forced to return. By then the crisis in Wallachia would be resolved.
But Mircea disagreed. He could see it, couldn't Bayezid see it? In the Balkans and Anatolia, he dominated with lightning tactics. It may only take a moment for the offense and defense of both sides to switch.
Of course, the way back is not the way he came. He walked directly close to the mountains, trying to reach Burgas as quickly as possible. Bayezid would then have nowhere to escape.
The news that Wallachia had captured Sofia also reached the ears of Sigismund in Hungary, and he was very unconvinced. How come Mircea can capture Sofia, but he can't. Didn't he just take the position earlier than me? (Note: Mircea succeeded to the throne in 1386 and Sigismund in 1387.)
Although he was earlier than himself, the Hungary he ruled was larger than Wallachia. Even if they annexed Moldova, they would not be a match for Hungary.
When he heard that the Serbian monarch was dead, he felt incredible. At the same time, he also felt that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and planned to lead his army south to seize Serbia.
However, the big nobles in the country tried every means to prevent him from sending troops, because most of the expenses for sending troops must be paid by them, so Sigismund could only send a small army to expand. After the quarrel with the nobles is over, he will lead the army south.