1453: Revival of Byzantium

Chapter 74: 1444

Sixteenth of February, 1453 AD, six days into the siege of Constantinople, at about three AM.

Mehmed had a dream in his deep sleep, again.

He dreamt the times when he first became the sultan at the age of twelve in the year of 1444. When his father Murad II decided to abdicate after defeating John Hunyadi of Hungary. Mehmed was dragged onto the throne still as a boy while his father Murad II left Edirne for a vacation in Cilicia.

He wanted to be a great Sultan that surpass the achievement of his father. However, a crusade by the Catholics against him in the Balkans soon crushed his confidence and made him realise how powerless he is. With no advisor he can trust and no army he can control, everyone pretends they are listening to his orders but every order he make is written into letter by Candarli Halil Pasha and delivered secretly to Murad his father and waits for his approval. With the approaching crusaders, Mehmed had to invite his father back to command the army.

"If you are the sultan, come and lead your armies. If I am the sultan, I hereby order you to come and lead my armies."

Then his father came back and crushed the crusaders in Varna while Mehmed just sits there and watch. Mehmed remembered this feeling of powerless for life.

After this, he began trying to grasp power, forcefully implementing policies of his own, trying to tighten his control on the army and the Janissary, making plans of risky military expeditions, doing things without notifying the Grand Vizer Canderli Halil Pasha and most vitally, his father. Within two years the young sultan created a huge gap filled with mistrust and misunderstanding.

After the young Sultan notified his pashas about his plan to lay siege on Constantinople and publicly discriminating the Janissaries, all hell went loose. The Janissary 'invited' Murad back onto the throne which did give Mehmed quite a disturbance when he saw his father seating at his place in the palace. Then he got deposed and thrown back to Amasya to continue learning how to rule.

Mehmed broke into a cold sweat and climbed up from his sleep, that sense of powerless got hold of him again as he came down his bed in the royal tent. Unable to fall asleep again, Mehmed worn his leather armour and strolled out of his tent with his hands folded behind his back.

Another irritating news lies on the table, saying that the Voivode of Wallachia, Vladislav II Dracula, refused to pay tribute to Ottomans and soldiers to aid the siege of Constantinople. Mehmed has already become numb with this kind of news flying in everyday that he is already starting to ignore some of these reports.

The Janissaries guarding his tent saluted their Sultan, Mehmed nodded towards them, patted them on the shoulder and tidied their armour in appreciation of their effort guarding his safety, an action which deeply touched the two Janissaries and they vowed deep in their heart that they will be absolutely loyal to their Sultan.

The Ottoman camp, despite being midnight, is still bustling with activities of peasants assembling new siege towers, ladders and trebuchets. Thousands of guards on night duty walking around with torch lights making the entire camp as bright as daylight.

Mehmed nodded with satisfaction after seeing no one around is neglecting his duties. Looking up the night sky he sees the moon and stars while looking at a distance he sees the walls of Constantinople, still standing there after bombarding it with rocks for two days. It just seems like he got to need a titan or dragon to bring it down.

But where can he find a dragon or a titan to be at his service?

The fire torches floating up and down the Theodosian walls means that there are also men guarding every single section of the walls for twenty seven hours all day long, thus it means a sneak attack climbing onto the walls is near impossible. So what other way can he break through the walls into the city?

The nigh breeze and cool Mediterranean climate in February greatly boosted his ability to think. Just as Mehmed is scrutinizing the structures of the Theodosian walls, he suddenly remembered his teacher's teachings back when he was studying the various siege techniques as the governor of Amasya.

One of them involves a technique called 'the tunneling.' Which involves digging and mining a tunnel all the way under the foundation of the Theodosian walls, place some straws, oil compound and wooden scraps beneath, then set it alight. With multiple of these tunnels it should be able to make the walls coming down fast.

'Why have I not thought of this last time!' This idea is like a path of enlightenment that shined Mehmed's way to Jannah. He immediately ordered Zaganos Pasha, the Grand Vizier and a bunch other Pashas to be waked up quickly and assemble in his tent.

The Pashas, most already in their fifties or even sixties, are forced to wake up in the middle of the night at 3 AM, and dragged into the Sultan's tent where the Sultan enquired them about this plan with a face of anticipation.

The battle experienced Pashas discussed together with each other before the Sultan and carefully examined through the map of Constantinople, then studied the terrain and geography of the land and soil, then agreed with the Sultan thinking it is applicable.

With that, the Ottoman camp became a massive mining shaft with nine tunnels being drugged simultaneously towards the walls of Constantinople under the cover of camp walls, tents and trebuchets making sure the Romans never see what they are doing. Mehmed ordered more peasants from nearby towns and villages to be taken into the camp as miners and workers, he do not want the mining to reduce the speed of assembling new siege engines.