Ch.189Compromise (5)

The old sultan gazed at the burned capital of Konya with a vacant expression.

“So everything has burned down.”

The elderly sultan muttered these words with self-deprecation.

He was 74 years old. He was old enough to be called Imam, an honorific title in Islam meaning someone who serves as an example to others.

While this title of Imam is being misused in today’s chaotic Middle East, Kilij Arslan II was the only one called by this title in its original meaning of respect.

Of course, there might be others elsewhere, but in the Sultanate of Rum, he was the only one addressed as Imam by everyone.

In any case, the reason for his vacant expression wasn’t just because the capital Konya had burned down.

Even when he was defeated by the Byzantine Empire in his youth and had his territory stolen, he remained calm.

This was because the Byzantine Empire was now in chaos, allowing him to reclaim the territories he had lost back then.

Therefore, momentary hardships were not a major concern for him.

For this reason, under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have been too concerned about the capital burning down.

“We have surrounded Aksaray, Sultan.”

“…Good work.”

Kilij nodded at the words of his youngest son, Ghiyath al-Din.

Aksaray was the city where his eldest son Qutb al-Din had fled after disobeying his orders, fighting against the Crusaders, and suffering major defeats at Philomelion and Iconium.

His power-hungry eldest son had gathered the defeated soldiers from the two previous battles and seized Konya, which had been reduced to ruins by the Crusaders’ looting and massacres.

Because of this, Kilij, his biological father, had no choice but to flee to Kayseri to escape his eldest son.

Kayseri was land he had given to his third son, Nur al-Din.

There, he was almost put in danger by his power-hungry son Nur al-Din, but his filial youngest son appeared at the right time to save his father and eliminate his brother.

Thanks to his youngest son, Kilij escaped the crisis and was able to gather troops to reclaim the capital that had been taken by his eldest son.

The defeated eldest son fled to Aksaray, and Kilij, having reclaimed the capital, felt the futility of life rather than joy in victory.

“I shouldn’t have divided the territory while I was still alive.”

He was so old that he had divided his territory among his eleven sons.

He didn’t realize that this would only fuel his children’s lust for power.

He thought that if he divided everything fairly, they would all be satisfied.

But this was Kilij’s misjudgment. His children were not satisfied. Instead, they complained about why their share wasn’t larger. This led them to kill their brothers without hesitation to seize their lands.

As the situation worsened, they even tried to kill their biological father, Kilij.

“Don’t worry too much, Sultan. Everything will be resolved well. Aren’t we already reclaiming the territories lost to the Byzantine Empire?”

“That’s not action taken for me or this country, but merely stems from my children’s greed.”

At these words, Ghiyath al-Din held his tongue.

Indeed, when Qutb al-Din drove out his father and took Konya, his children did not come to rescue their father.

Instead, they either stood by or focused on attacking the chaotic Byzantine Empire to gain territory.

As a result, he was at the peak of feeling betrayed by his children.

“Of course, I’m not criticizing you, Ghiyath. You will be my only successor. And the moment this chaos ends, you will become the rightful sultan with everyone’s blessing.”

Disillusioned with his children, the sultan was thinking of passing everything to Ghiyath al-Din, who had saved him.

In truth, the youngest son had also acted with this calculation in mind when he saved his father.

The sultan knew this fact.

However, unlike his other sons, he had actually come to save him, so the sultan wanted to make him the sultan to lead this country.

Anyway, just as they recaptured Konya and were about to attack Aksaray, an officer urgently approached.

After bowing, he began to report to Ghiyath.

“An envoy has come from the Crusaders.”

“From the Crusaders?”

Ghiyath frowned at this.

It was true that his brother Qutb had attacked the Crusaders against his father’s orders, but their retaliation had been too severe.

The burning of Konya was their doing, so he couldn’t help but have a seizure at the mere mention of the Crusaders.

However, given the poor state of the nation, they couldn’t mistreat the envoy.

“I’ll meet them first. But before that, I need to know which Crusaders they’re from.”

“They looked different from the Crusaders who came from across the sea.”

“Different appearance? Could it be…”

Suddenly, something flashed through Ghiyath’s mind.

He had heard rumors about the Eastern Crusaders who had rapidly conquered Iran and then Baghdad.

These rumors included accounts of them moving through the Mashriq region and judging those who resisted with fire.

“Are they from the East?”

“Yes. They call themselves Ulus and are advising us to surrender.”

Ghiyath frowned at the word “surrender.”

The sultan, who had been listening quietly, answered the soldier.

“I will meet them.”

“Sultan!”

“I am still the sultan. Therefore, I want you to follow my opinion on this matter.”

“But surrender is…”

“Surrender is humiliating, but survival is important.”

At his father’s solemn words, Ghiyath could only nod.

After all, Kilij was a man who had lived an eventful life.

He had suffered the humiliation of going to Constantinople to show his submission in exchange for peace after being defeated by Manuel I, who was called the holy ruler of the Byzantine Empire.

Despite this humiliation, Kilij never truly submitted to them.

Even after his submission, he attacked the defenseless Danishmends after their leader’s death and occupied several regions.

He continued to build his strength, refused the Byzantine Empire’s unreasonable territorial demands, and then won the Battle of Myriokephalon, forcing the Byzantine Empire to agree to a peace treaty with the condition of dismantling the Dorylaion fortress.

He later completely conquered the Danishmends, becoming the hegemon of eastern Anatolia.

As soon as Manuel I died, the Sultanate of Rum, which had become the hegemon of the east, extended its influence to southern Anatolia through a southern coastal expedition.

With Kilij making such statements based on these experiences, it was difficult for Ghiyath to completely reject his father’s words.

“…I will follow the sultan’s will.”

Kilij nodded at this.

Then, with a gesture to his attendant, he ordered preparations to meet the Ulus envoy.

* * *

Upon meeting the Ulus envoy, Kilij immediately sensed that they were no ordinary people.

“The great Gurkhan has mercifully granted Rum an opportunity to surrender.”

“We share the same roots as you. Why do you persecute us like this?”

“It is because we share the same roots that such mercy is being granted.”

After saying this, the envoy swallowed.

Then, with a solemn expression, he spoke as if warning.

“Has the Sultan heard the story of Hamadan?”

“Hamadan. I have heard about that place. I heard that Ulus burned it all down.”

“That’s right. Those who resisted Ulus all met a terrible end. Their children were sold as slaves, and the soldiers who followed them all had honey smeared on their bodies and died slowly from the pain of being stung by bees.”

“Are you saying that if we don’t surrender, we will suffer such pain?”

The envoy did not answer.

He just looked at the old sultan.

The sultan was angry inside, but the current state of the nation was very poor.

While the territory was still expanding, his children were fighting among themselves for power due to his misjudgment.

His eldest son had even attacked him, so it was impossible to fend off Ulus in this state.

Even if they managed to fend off Ulus, there would be problems.

Whether the Crusaders succeeded or failed, they would return, and they would certainly pass through here, whether by land or sea.

Then the likelihood of them passing by quietly was very low.

If they succeeded in their crusade, they would loot the Sultanate of Rum out of joy.

If they failed in their crusade, they would loot the Sultanate of Rum to vent their frustration.

Either way, they would be looted.

Of course, they could fend them off, but he wasn’t sure if that would be possible after Ulus’s invasion.

“If we surrender, can Ulus protect us?”

“Those who surrender to the Gurkhan will all receive Ulus’s protection. Of course, only if they fulfill their duties and responsibilities.”

“What are these duties and responsibilities?”

The envoy took something out and showed it to the sultan.

After reading it, the sultan’s face turned pale.

“I can understand drafting soldiers and participating in expeditions. But… this… how… did you know?”

“The Gurkhan receives God’s protection. There is nothing he doesn’t know.”

At the envoy’s words, Kilij swallowed dryly.

He couldn’t help but be startled by the fact that the king of barbarians, far away, knew something that even his successor Ghiyath didn’t know.

“…Even if he receives God’s protection, I cannot hand over someone who has come to me as a guest.”

The envoy nodded at this.

Then, as if he had anticipated such an answer, he continued.

“The Gurkhan predicted the sultan’s answer.”

The sultan could only look at the envoy with a surprised expression.

“I will help that red-haired one to set the Byzantine Empire right. So this is a just cause, and your debt to Manuel I will also be erased.”

“…How…”

In fact, this was exactly what the person claiming to be Alexios II had said.

He had mentioned the favor Manuel I had shown to Kilij and spoke as if asking how he could not help the son of someone who had shown him favor.

As mentioned earlier, Manuel and Kilij were practically enemies.

However, it was true that Manuel had accepted the surrender of the Sultanate of Rum when it was on the brink of collapse, so it was difficult to completely deny that he had shown favor.

Therefore, the sultan was planning to support Alexios II with soldiers to cause chaos in the Byzantine Empire.

This fact was known only to the sultan and Alexios II.

Yet the barbarian king knew this fact.

So he couldn’t help but be shocked.

He had no choice but to believe that he was indeed someone who received God’s protection.