There are still about 30,000 Ottoman troops in Bitlis. Those who can be in the city are naturally the troops of the Koprulu family, which now controls the military and political power of the Ottoman Empire.
From the beginning of the Ming army's raid, the defenders in the city not only did not open the door to rescue, but instead closed the city gate tightly to prevent the defeated soldiers from entering the city. Now that the defeated army outside the city has been determined, it is even more impossible to come out.
On the top of the city, there were many soldiers, all of whom were very nervous and looked at the Ming soldiers with complicated expressions as they escorted many prisoners. It can be said that this has a huge impact on their morale.
The envoys from all walks of life looked at the heads on the city and pointed at them one by one to express their opinions.
"In my opinion, we should take advantage of the situation to attack the city and expel those prisoners to consume the defensive equipment of the defenders in the city. It's so breakable!"
"But didn't the Ming Emperor say that he wanted to use those captives? He also wanted us to pay tribute of food. What if all the captives died in the city?"
"That's not easy. If Bitlis City is captured, won't there be prisoners in the city? Otherwise, how do you think this fortified city can be defeated?"
"Don't forget, the Ming Emperor also said that the Ottoman Empire army will be destroyed today. According to what you said, no matter what you do, it won't be defeated today, right? This only takes half a day!"
"Yes, I'm really curious about how the Ming army will fight?"
"Don't you know? I heard that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty came from the sky and had magic powers. He could summon meteors and fire showers. Otherwise, how do you think Koprulu was defeated in a single battle when he personally came to the 200,000-strong army?"
"It's really possible to say that. Otherwise, why could the Ming Emperor destroy the huge Mughal Empire with 20,000 cavalry? I heard that he would also summon an army of the undead!"
"..."
Just as their words became more and more outrageous, the remaining soldiers and horses of the Ming army, guided by the imperial flag, approached the city of Bitlis.
Seeing this scene, these envoys stopped talking and looked over there, curiously seeing how the Ming army was going to attack the city!
……………………
"Your Majesty, is this really okay?" Lu Xiangsheng, who was under the imperial banner, asked Emperor Chongzhen with doubts.
He had just arrived and was not familiar with the Ottoman Empire. But in his opinion, no matter how good these enemies are, they are still entrusted by the Ottoman Empire to defend the border, and they must be generals trusted by the court. If you follow what the emperor said, it really feels impossible!
Emperor Chongzhen smiled after hearing this and said: "What's not allowed? Just watch and it will be done!"
Seeing his confident look, Lu Xiangsheng was a little helpless, and at the same time a little curious, so let's take a look first!
After Emperor Chongzhen finished speaking, a royal guard in gilded clothes took an interpreter, two people and two horses, and headed towards the city of Bitlis.
Of course, the location of the imperial flag must be in a safe place outside the shelling range of the city. The captain of the Imperial Guard and the translator went there to go to a place where they could shout outside the city. No matter how loud it is, it is impossible to hear the sound clearly where the imperial flag is.
Lu Xiangsheng looked over there and saw the imperial guard shouting and communicating with the Ottoman guard at the top of the city.
Not long after, the imperial guard and translator returned safely and reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, the decree has been conveyed to the city."
Emperor Chongzhen listened and nodded to express his understanding. Then, he turned to look at Lu Xiangsheng beside him and said: "In a quarter of an hour, just look at the flag on the city head!"
This is an agreement made to the defenders on the city. If they agree, they will show the white flag. If you disagree, of course there is no need to raise any flag.
After hearing this, Lu Xiangsheng felt a little unreliable, so he suggested to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, I suggest that the posture of attacking the city must be shown to the defenders. This will help the defenders at the top of the city make choices!"
Emperor Chongzhen listened and nodded in agreement.
However, the orders were passed down one after another, and before they could be implemented, a white flag was displayed on the city of Bitlis!
At this time, Lu Xiangsheng was greatly surprised. They actually listened to His Majesty's words and raised the white flag. Will this be a problem?
With this in mind, he quickly reminded Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, beware of fraud!"
"Haha, what's the trick?" Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but smile after hearing this.
Under the surveillance of the eavesdropping system, there is no way to cheat!
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen explained to Lu Xiangsheng: "The 200,000 Ottoman troops that I destroyed before, logically speaking, the responsibility for the defeat must be borne by its commander, the Ottoman Prime Minister Koprülü. He was already in Mingwei The leader of the fortress must be severely punished by his family. But the Ottoman Emperor is young and his empress dowager is in charge. That Koprülü was personally promoted by the empress dowager. Punishing the Koprülü family severely will affect the authority of the empress dowager..."
Lu Xiangsheng didn't know anything about the situation in the Ottoman Empire, so he listened carefully when Emperor Chongzhen was talking.
"...In addition, when Koprülü was the prime minister, he used iron and blood to suppress dissidents in the country. His sons and sons-in-law held important positions. Therefore, it is not easy for his family to take responsibility. In the end, it is Koprülü. His son Ahmed took over as prime minister, and the first thing he did was to rebuild the Ottoman army, not only to defend against me, but also to suppress dissidents in their country. Therefore, all the elite military generals in the army were Ahmed's My trusted subordinates..."
After hearing this, Lu Xiangsheng vaguely understood why the white flag was displayed on the city.
Sure enough, I heard Emperor Chongzhen continue: "...Originally the Ottomans thought that gathering heavy troops would scare me away from attacking the Ottomans. However, I decided to fight and sweep the Ottoman army outside the city. Now the defenders in the city have already It has become an isolated city. The Ottoman Empire cannot send reinforcements to rescue it at all. If the isolated city is besieged, there is only one fate. At this time, I give him a hope and allow him to lead troops to leave, and he will definitely agree."
That's right, Emperor Chongzhen sent the imperial guards to deliver an edict to the city's top, allowing the city's defenders to get out. If you don't leave, you will die!
If you don't understand the inside story, you will have a big question mark about the success of Emperor Chongzhen's arrangement. But if you know the inside story, you can understand why the defenders on the city finally showed the white flag.
In fact, the reason why Emperor Chongzhen was so sure was that he heard the secret conversation between the Ottoman envoy Mustafa and the Bitlis guard. If this newly formed army is lost, it will have a very serious blow to the stability of the Ahmed family.
In its original history, the Ottoman Empire attacked Central Europe and was ultimately defeated in Vienna. The prime minister at the time, Mustafa this time, executed more than a dozen generals in order to shirk responsibility. However, at that time, the Ottoman Empire did not pose as big a threat as the Ming army does today, and the Ottoman Emperor had grown up, so later on, Mustafa could not escape the fate of being executed.
In this dimension, the Ottoman Empire was experiencing internal and external troubles. Mustafa handed over his family's secret order to the general of Bitlis, telling him that if he could not defend Bitlis, he must try his best to keep this elite force in his hands. army.
This was the cause and effect of the whole matter. Emperor Chongzhen did not tell Lu Xiangsheng about this last point, because the previous reasons were almost the same.
For Emperor Chongzhen, the reason why he wanted to let go of the Ottoman Empire army was not to show off in front of various envoys. He didn't have the need or bother to do this kind of thing.
But letting go of this Ottoman army would be equivalent to giving the Ottoman powerful minister Ahmed an extra life-saving straw, allowing him to continue to pursue a high-pressure policy internally.
As a result, the Ottoman Empire will become increasingly unpopular, which will create a more favorable environment for the Ming Dynasty to capture and govern the Ottoman Empire.
What Emperor Chongzhen wanted was long-term peace and stability in the Ottoman Empire. As long as the original Ottoman Empire is more desperate, it will be easier to return to the rule of the Ming Dynasty. As for destroying the Ottoman army, as long as he is there, he believes there will be no obstacles.
At this time, Lu Xiangsheng explained clearly and understood why the Bitlis defenders raised the white flag. However, the various envoys watching the battle from a distance did not know the inside story, and were simply shocked when they saw this scene.
"What's going on? Did I read it correctly? The Ottoman army in Bitlis showed a white flag?"
"Really, I read that right, it is indeed a white flag. Look, the defenders on the city have begun to gather. It seems that they are really going to surrender?"
"No way, the generals of the Ottoman Empire will really recognize the Ming Emperor's decree?"
"This is incredible! How powerful and arrogant the Ottoman Empire was in the past! Where is their backbone? Where is their pride as a great country?"
“I really didn’t expect that the Ming Emperor’s prestige was so high!”
"Isn't that nonsense? Otherwise, why would we gather here?"
"..."
At this time, the envoys from all walks of life were really shocked. Even the huge Ottoman Empire was like this when facing the Ming Emperor. So what choices do these small countries and small tribes have?
It was a bit hard to pay tribute to the grain and grass, but at least I hugged the biggest thigh in the world. I would never be bullied by others again, and there would be no danger of destroying the country. This was a great deal!
With this in mind, these envoys made up their minds as to what to do next.
But they don't know that North Korea was also a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty in the past, and many countries in Southeast Asia were vassal states of the Ming Dynasty. Eventually it disappeared into the long river of history.
Whether a country is strong or not ultimately depends on itself.
Later, they discovered that their guess was a bit wrong. The Ottoman army in Bitlis did not surrender but was allowed to leave. However, this did not change their views, because this was the territory of the Ottoman Empire and a town of the Ottoman Empire, but now it was occupied by the Ming army!
