Istanbul, Topkapi Palace.
Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire never expected that he would shed tears over the death of a Spanish king... That was the King of Spain!
The Kingdom of Spain is the mortal enemy of the Ottoman Empire!
Since the Battle of Lepanto more than a hundred years ago, this fanatical Catholic upstart country has become the object of every Ottoman Sultan's gnashing of teeth and curses.
Mohammed IV is certainly no exception!
When he was a child Sudan, he asked God more than once to destroy this evil and fanatical Catholic country - now think about it, he was so young and ignorant at that time!
Well now, the Kingdom of Spain, which has been cursed by successive Ottoman sultans for more than a hundred years, has really been cursed... It will soon become the provinces of Spain, New Spain and Italy of the Roman Empire. Province (the Kingdom of Naples and the Duchy of Milan plus some scattered territories).
Now a disaster is imminent!
Some things really can only be known to be good when they are lost... For the current Ottoman Empire, the most beautiful thing in the world is undoubtedly a unified, prosperous and powerful Kingdom of Spain!
Because as long as the Kingdom of Spain exists, there will not be a unified, prosperous, and powerful Roman Empire!
It's a pity that the Kingdom of Spain is gone and will never come back...and the Roman Empire is coming soon, with ten, maybe twenty Roman legions, and maybe the two Rakshasa and Poland The armies of Roman allies rushed towards the Ottoman Empire from the west and north like a tide.
But the Ottoman Empire is now isolated and helpless, the Ming Empire is busy organizing funerals, the Timur Empire in India is approaching civil strife, and Persia...is also in chaos!
Is the Ottoman Empire about to perish in its own generation?
Just when Mohammed IV sighed and felt desperate, the sound of gentle footsteps sounded.
The Sultan looked up and saw that the Koprulu family had arrived.
There is Grand Vizier Mustafa Koprulu, Mustafa Koprulu’s brother-in-law Mustafa Kara, and Mustafa Koprulu’s cousin Hussein. Koprulu's law...
There is no doubt about the ability of the Koprulu family. Whether as generals or officials, they are the best choice for the Sultan.
But this time the Ottoman Empire faced an unprecedentedly powerful opponent—the European Christian civilization that was about to unite.
"Your Majesty the Sultan, Austria is mobilizing for war!" Mustafa Kara, who was in charge of military affairs, saluted the Sultan and immediately reported a piece of news that annoyed the Ottoman Sultan.
The Grand Duchy of Austria is actually mobilizing for war!
"How big is the mobilization?" Sudan tried to suppress his anger.
"Very big!" Mustafa Kara said, "Both Styria and Lower Austria are mobilizing, and nobles and civilians are very enthusiastic about joining the army. It is expected that 100,000 to 150,000 people will join the army!"
"100,000 to 150,000?" Sudan asked in surprise, "How is this possible? How can it be possible to support so many troops?"
"Your Majesty," Grand Vizier Mustafa Koprulu said to the Sultan, "the vast majority of Austrians hate us, so except for the standing army of about 15,000 people, the rest are voluntary soldiers."
"They are just some farmers and citizens, they are vulnerable!" Mustafa Kara sneered, "This Henry must be trying to scare us with his strength in numbers."
He really guessed it right. Henry had no intention of sending troops to invade the Ottoman Empire. Henry just wanted to deter war. He would be satisfied if he could hold Styria and Lower Austria, and he did not dare to have the extravagant hope of opening up new territories.
Moreover, in Henry's view, the situation in Central Europe and the Balkans is too complicated, and every one of them is a hot potato.
Henry has no interest in ruling Hungary, the Czech Republic, Serbia, or Transylvania! Half of Austria already gave him a headache, so why expand it?
Besides, Henry was essentially a banker. He didn't need a vast territory, he just needed a neutral land to open a bank.
So half of Austria is too big for him, and Vienna is enough.
In order to appease the Germans in Austria, he not only racked his brains over the years, but also spent many gold louis and silver marks earned from the banking industry in Vienna. Because the agricultural land tax in the Grand Duchy of Austria is the lowest in Europe, it is also the only country in Europe that provides four-year compulsory education (for a small fee) - in this world, there are only four countries that also provide four-year compulsory education. The United States of New Zealand is a golden country.
There are no endless gold mines in the Grand Duchy of Austria, and half of its territory is mountainous. Apart from Vienna's financial services, it has no other strong points.
Therefore, from a financial analysis, the Grand Duchy of Austria uses its neutral position to conduct financial transactions, and then uses financial income to buy peace.
Lower Austria and Styria are actually a shell wrapped around the "good fruit" of Vienna, providing a little protection - that's all.
So Henry does not need to get Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Croatia. If he is going to do this, the shell surrounding Vienna will be too thick... With such a thick "shell", a small Vienna cannot support so much territory!
"If he just wants to scare us..." Mohammed IV breathed a sigh of relief and thought: Actually, I am very timid, so I was already scared!
"Your Majesty, we should march to Austria immediately!" Mustafa Kara shouted, "The Ottoman Empire cannot show weakness to the West at this time!
Because it is not only the Roman Empire that is ready to move, but Poland and the Rakshasa Empire in the north have long been colluding with the Roman Empire... In particular, the Rakshasa Empire has greatly improved its national power and military power under the rectification of Peter I. A few years ago, they also captured Our fortress in Azov!
If we were frightened by the Austrian mobilization, the Rakshasa state of Peter I would soon pounce.
Therefore, we must put down the rebellion in Austria with the greatest determination to deter the Rakshasa, Poland and the Roman Empire in the West! "
"Can we win?" Mohammed IV asked in a low voice.
"Yes!" Mustafa Kara nodded, "The Principality of Austria is very fragile... because the principality's economy is extremely dependent on Vienna's banking industry. And the city of Vienna is in disrepair (the Ottoman Empire prohibited Austria from building Vienna City), Henry's temporarily raised army will not have much combat effectiveness. If we can quickly dispatch 100,000 Yenicheri warriors and attack Austria like lightning, we will definitely be able to force Henry to surrender."
"But..." Mohammed IV hesitated, "But do we have that much military spending?"
Sending out 100,000 Yenicheri warriors at one time is not cheap! Aurangzeb paid for it last time, who will pay this time?
"No money is needed!" Hussein Koprulu, who manages the finances, said, "Because our goal is Vienna...that is the banking capital of Europe!"
Yes, are you worried about not having enough money to capture Vienna?
Moreover, the Ottoman Empire has already defeated Vienna once. The current Grand Duchy of Austria is no longer the Holy Roman Empire of the past. It only covers half of Austria and has a standing army of tens of thousands. It also has no powerful cavalry and no worthy generals. .
Mustafa Kara seemed very optimistic, "This time we will secretly mobilize the army to Djellburg, and then launch a sudden attack. We will reach Vienna in three or four days... Archduke Henry will either escape or We can only surrender. If his 100,000 troops dare to go out of the city for a decisive battle, then we can annihilate them all on the banks of the Danube!"
Mohammed IV breathed out: "Okay, that's it... We must quietly mobilize the army to Djerburg, and then strike suddenly to catch Henry by surprise!"
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