Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen

I know he had a dream.But I couldn't wake him up.I could only stare at him blankly, still looking like an eleven or twelve-year-old boy, secretly hiding behind the layers of curtains in the Turkish court, looking at the two people in the tent. Although they were two young men in their early twenties, to Vlad, who was only eleven years old, they were two adults.The man on the left has a sullen face, and his serious expression makes him look more mature than his actual age. He is tall, with sword eyebrows and eagle eyes, and a white Turkish "Tuben" turban is wrapped around his head. Trimmed auburn beard.The younger one on the right is a fair-skinned Eastern European. He is slender, with fine eyebrows, and a clean-shaven face. His long, wavy brown hair adorns the side of his face like a delicate picture frame.This is an absolutely handsome man. If you look closely, you can vaguely see a little bit of Vlad's shadow from his facial contours.

I suddenly realized that they were the Turkish Sultan Muhammad and Vlad's younger brother Radu.But in Vlad's dream, they were all adults, but he himself was still the child imprisoned in Adrianople. With little Vlad's eyes, I saw that the people inside the tent were pulling back the thick carpet to reveal a white pentagram painted on the stone floor.They lit candles and knelt down to the pentagram.No, that's not a crescent and star symbol in Islam, because the pentagram is upside down. Muhammad and Radu, they are summoning demons. My eyes widened in disbelief, deeply aware of little Vlad's fear at this moment.I tried to hug him from behind and kiss his forehead, hoping he would stop shaking in my arms, but he couldn't feel me at all.

The flames in the tent rose suddenly, and a dark shadow rose from it. The shape could not be seen clearly, but a voice came from there slowly. "What is your wish?" Black Shadow asked. "Thanks to God's blessing, I am young and rich." Muhammad said, "I intend to surpass Caesar, Alexander and Hannibal. I hope to extend the Ottoman territory to the horizon and control the entire Eurasia in my lifetime." Little Vlad exclaimed, and he immediately covered his mouth tightly.But the people in the tent had already heard the movement.Muhammad and Radu turned their heads, but they could see nothing.Because the black shadow that rose from the flames suddenly expanded hundreds of times, filled the entire tent, and then rushed over condescendingly.

I opened my eyes at little Vlad's screams. There was no shadow in front of him, no Turkish tents, and no Muhammad and Radu.He was lying on his bed in the palace of Wallachia.Alone. D sits up.He took a deep breath, stood up and walked to the window, silently watching the dying darkness outside the window.Dawn appeared on the horizon, and the golden fingers of dawn had slowly torn apart a corner of the night, with half of the black clouds billowing overhead, and the other half full of morning glow. He stood there for a long time, frowning slightly, thoughtful, until the round sun made a final struggle and jumped out of the horizon, spreading the golden-red light all over the land of Wallachia.The color of blood flickered among the waves of the Danube, flickering in his eyes.He finally made up his mind.

He put on his cloak and walked quickly to the chamber.Even in his own palace, he never forgot his sword for a moment. "Map!" he yelled to the guards waiting on the side, "give me the map!" There are many people standing in the chamber.His "Powells," the ruling class of Wallachia, his parliamentary officials, several of his high-ranking generals who fought alongside him, and the local bishop.They were all anxiously awaiting the Grand Duke's decision. Grand Duke Vlad spread out the map and laid it flat at his feet so that everyone could see it.He drew out his long sword and pointed at the map with the tip of the sword, as if speaking to them or talking to himself.

"Pope Pius II launched a jihad against Muhammad, but there are very few responders." He pointed his sword at the island in the northwest corner of the map, "The red and white roses of England are fighting fiercely, and there is no time for him to take care of him." The tip of the sword moved down, crossed Moved across the English Channel to the European continent, "French King Charles VII and his heir Louis XI are obviously more concerned about the succession of the Kingdom of Naples than holy war." , his son Ferdinand's center of gravity is completely on the side of the French. As for the Venetians who have no faith at all, they always only care about the immediate interests and ask the Pope a lot of money." He shook his head and moved the tip of the sword to the middle of the map. On a piece of land, "The Holy Roman Empire rejected it with the excuse of civil war." The tip of the sword moved two inches to the east, "Poland, a Catholic country, is too far away from the battlefield of Turkey, and is busy fighting against the invasion of the Teutonic Knights .”

His eyes finally fell on a small peninsula in the southeast of the map: the Balkans. "Serbia and Bulgaria have been occupied by Turkey." He sighed and drew a circle on the map with his sword, "so we are the only ones left." In that circle are: Wallachia, Moldavia and Hungary. He looked up hopefully at his followers: "Any news from Stephen and Magash?" Of these two people, one is his cousin and the other is the son of his adoptive father Hunyadi.Grand Duke of Moldavia and King of Hungary.They have always been his allies. But people shook their heads one after another, and Vlad's eyes dimmed.But his expression didn't change.Because he has made up his mind.

What he has decided never changes. "Send messengers to Rome at once," he announced to his followers, "and tell the pope that we will fight." His voice was soft, but firm. Panic appeared in the eyes of some people, while others cheered.Some people whistled, some people geared up. "Are we really going to war against Turkey?" An elderly Powell said tremblingly. Vlad didn't look at him, just nodded. "But the envoys sent by the Sultan are still here," the old man emphasized, "to collect our unpaid taxes and the boys who made offerings."

Vlad raised his eyes.This was the price for his father Deku to sit on the throne back then.Wallachia was forced to sign an expensive treaty with Turkey.According to the treaty, Wallachians need to pay a "non-Muslim tax" of 10,000 gold coins per year to continue their Christian beliefs. In addition, they must select 500 strong and strong boys every year to be incorporated into the Turkish Guards . But none of this Vlad did.For if he had done so, he would have publicly acknowledged that Wallachia was still part of the Ottoman Empire. "Kill them! Drive nails into their ugly turbans!" cried a young knight.

"It is a reckless decision to go to war immediately." Vlad waved his hand to stop this young man with a high blood. "We are not ready yet, and we need to wait for the support of all allies." He paused, and then said clearly , "So my approach is to treat them well, send them back to Turkey, and then continue to delay. As long as we can, until we are all ready."