The wheel of history must have turned a big turn in Europe at the beginning of 1673... The direct cause of such a big turn was Louis XIV's "cheating" of 5 million gold Louis from the Pope of Rome. .
Of course, the gold of the old Pope in Rome was not taken away in vain. Louis XIV was a French king who believed deeply in Catholicism. How could he bear to defraud so much gold from an 83-year-old pope who had devoted his life to the cause of Catholicism and did not even have a legitimate child? If he only collects money and does nothing, he will most likely go to hell after death... If he really defrauds the old pope of his money, maybe the butterfly wings will not be so effective!
And Louis XIV’s intervention in the Polish-Turkish War must have had an effect—how could it not have had an effect? That's when Louis, the Sun King of France, intervened!
Ahmed Koprulu, the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire who personally commanded the battle on the front line in Western Ukraine, is not crazy yet! The Holy Roman Empire and Poland joined forces to resist the Ottoman Empire's attack. If the Kingdom of France, the United Provinces of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Portugal, and the Rakshasa Empire are added to the group fight, the Ottoman Empire will definitely not be able to take advantage of it!
Not to mention that Catholic countries around the Mediterranean such as Spain, Venice, and the Papal States will definitely join the war.
If the Ottoman Empire had to fight against so many countries at the same time, it would have to be defeated and destroyed.
Moreover, Ahmed Koprulu already knew that France and its allies were preparing to go to war with the Ming Empire in the East (including all the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty) and the Timurid Empire in India - they were preparing to start a war, but they were not really ready to go to war. Start fighting.
In this case, if the Ottoman Empire went to have a one-on-one fight with Louis XIV, wouldn't it mean that it was taking the thunder for the Ming Dynasty and Timur of India? Even if he wanted to bring the Ottoman Empire into this war, he couldn't start the war by himself in early 1673!
Ahmed Koprulu is smart! He has to wait for the opportunity, wait until the French, Chinese, Rakshasas, and Indians are in a fight, and then bring the Ottoman Empire to join... By then the Ottoman Empire will be valuable, At least he could blackmail Aurangzeb, a wealthy man, for a large amount of money.
In addition, Ahmed Koprulu has even greater ambitions!
Through several battles that took place in 1672, the old Grand Vizier discovered that the Ottoman army, which was equipped with nail-head exploding bullets, wooden support projectiles, and wooden-handled grenades, and learned the parallel trench siege method, had a far superior victory. The ability to tackle difficult problems in the past.
However, the field capabilities of the Ottoman army, especially the performance of the Sipahi cavalry, were very unsatisfactory. In the confrontation with the Polish knights, they were obviously at a disadvantage. If it were not for the small number of Polish knights, the Ottoman army would probably have suffered a disastrous defeat.
Therefore, the open and flat plains of Eastern Europe are actually not suitable for the current Ottoman Empire army to exert its power. Central Europe, which has many mountainous areas and fortified cities, is where the Ottoman Empire's army exerted its power!
After weighing the gains and losses, Ahmed Koprulu decided to give up the land he had acquired and seek a new land after receiving the news that Louis XIV would intervene. A ten-year peace treaty that can protect the security interests of the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire!
"What? Grand Vizier, are we really going to let the Poles go like this?"
In the Kamenets-Podolski Fortress near Moldova in Western Ukraine, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet IV, who was leading the expedition in person, listened to the report of the Grand Vizier Ahmed Koprulu on the peace negotiations. He frowned and asked.
"Your Majesty the Sultan," the 70-year-old Grand Vizier just smiled and replied, "The current retreat is for a better attack in the future. Moreover, our attack on Poland has achieved its purpose, not only shocking the Republic of Poland, but A group of nobles scattered like sand also defended our vassal Kerim Khan. The most important thing is that through this war, we also tested the results of military reforms... So now it is time to give up as soon as possible It’s time.”
"But we didn't get anything!" Sudan looked a little dissatisfied.
In order to defeat the Poles known as the "Shield of God", he spent many months on the front lines of Moldova and Western Ukraine... far away from the palace of Istanbul and the female slaves in the harem, only to return empty-handed.
"No," the Grand Vizier shook his head, "Your Majesty, what should you think... We have lost nothing! And I also saw a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, an opportunity to win the city of Vienna. !”
"Vienna?" Sultan was stunned, "Are you kidding me? That's Vienna!"
The Grand Vizier smiled: "Your Majesty, it seems that the true God still wants me, an old man, to win for you the jewel on the crown of the Habsburg family - Vienna Castle in my lifetime!
Really... really a chance! I'm pretty sure! "
"What are you going to do?" Sudan asked quickly.
"I will agree to the mediation of Louis XIV... The French king is preparing to go to war with the Chinese in the Americas and the Indian Ocean! There is no need for us to fight a war with him at this time, and it is impossible to fight."
The Grand Vizier is still very self-aware.
The current strength of the French army is at its peak, and it also has three "dwarf" leaders such as Louis XIV, Prince Condé and the Duke of Luxembourg... Looking around the world, only the Great Ming Dynasty can compete with it, the Ottoman Empire The army is no match at all!
The Grand Vizier continued: "But I will ask Louis XIV to guarantee peace between the Ottoman Empire and Poland."
"What's the use of such a guarantee?" Although the Sultan was stupid, he was not stupid enough to believe Louis XIV's guarantee.
The Grand Vizier smiled: "Of course it will work...Louis XIV will use this treaty to prevent Jan Sobieski from sending troops to rescue Vienna when we attack it. Although he can't stop it for long, But it can still buy us some time, enough for us to capture Vienna."
Ahmet Koprulu was very aware of Jan Sobieski's military talent. The commander-in-chief of the Polish army was very good at using cavalry and showed his prominence in the war against the Swedish invasion. Later, he fought against the Tatars and Tatars in Ukraine for a long time. The Cossacks won a decisive victory over the Crimean Khanate at the Battle of Podkhayce in 1667.
In the second Polish-Ottoman War in 1672, he also performed well, but due to too few troops, he was unable to reverse the decline.
"Do you think Louis XIV will watch us occupy Vienna?" The Sudan was a little doubtful.
The Grand Vizier's expression also became serious, "Your Majesty, I think he will do this...because he is only the king of France now, and once we destroy Vienna, he may become the Western Roman Empire." king!
And only when he becomes a Roman king will he become the real opponent of the great empire in the east! Maybe he doesn't have such an idea now, but in two or three years, he will not be able to resist the temptation to become the king of Rome.
So we'll have Vienna...and maybe we can turn Austria into Austriastan. But at the same time, we will also face a unified Western Rome! "
"Western Rome?" Sultan frowned, "Sounds very dangerous..."
"Don't worry," the Grand Vizier said, "Aurangzeb and Zhu Cihong will help us... We are Eastern Rome! They will not let the Roman Empire be completely unified.
Moreover, our empire must move forward, keep moving forward... Once it stops its progress, its decline will not be far away! So we need not fear any danger, not even a unified Western Europe. "
Listening to the words of the Grand Vizier, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire felt a little worried... What the hell, taking Vienna will turn France into Western Rome? Then why go to Vienna? It is already so difficult to get a French King Louis XIV. If he were to be replaced by Augustus Louis of the Roman Empire, would the Ottoman Empire still be able to survive? You are very old and you will not be buried in a grand ceremony. What will this Sultan do? No, we can’t capture Vienna, we must not capture Vienna!
