The Grand Vizier is graciously having his breakfast while testing his twenty plus years old son, Candarli Ibrahim, reading out and memorizing a chapter of the Quran when the eunuch broke the atmosphere hurrying in panting up and down, totally unlike the usual standard set for a servant of the imperial house.
The Grand Vizier Candarli Halil Pasha gave this little eunuch a disgruntled look as he wiped his mouth frowning with a piece of dampened perfumed hanker chief, leaned back on the cushion and ordered. "After this go take ten…no, fifteen slashes of whips from your discipline master, now, what is the rush?"
The little Eunuch gulped and passed this box containing the letter to the Grand Vizier's Janissary guard and replied with a trembling voice. "E…Emergency military message, from Rumelia, honourable Grand Vizier."
"Read." The Grand Vizier ordered the Kâtib scribe.
The scribe took the box from the guard, removed the yellow ribbon, spread the paper and loudly red the first sentence on the paper.
"The city of Selanik has been lost to the Rumelian."
This sentence itself is like a bolt of thunder striking on to the head of the Grand Vizier making him drop the hanker chief off his hands without realizing as he stare at the scribe getting shocked out of his life for a few seconds, then leapt up from his chair having an agility totally unlike what an old man of his age can have, he snatched the letter from the scribe giving him a threatening glare that reads like 'if you give me the false information, I shall kill you with out any mercy'.
The Grand Vizier Candarli Halil Pasha spread the letter on his hand palm and read it for himself, and what the letter says further traumatised this old man making his hands shake as if he is suffering from a seizure. The letter reads.
"…. On the Fifteenth of July, there is a massive rebellion inside the city of Selanik when I (The pasha of Rumelia) am out of the city. The wicked rebels spread all over the city fast and occupied the walls, and with the help of the evil Shayṭān spirit of the Rumelian admiral Antonius the rebels fully occupied the city and handed it over to the Rumelian…."
"…My soldiers fought courageously with the rebels and offenders, to a point that they have slain a total of twenty thousand ignorant rebels and four thousand plus Rumelian invaders…."
The Grand Vizier torn the letter in to multiple scrap pieces. "What are our people in Selanik doing? What is my cousin and my nephew doing? What is that general who is in charge of all of these doing? Huh?"
The people in the room looked at each other transmitting information in their eyes creating a complete silent atmosphere in the dining room that the only sound can be heard is the panting sound of the people.
"My Honourable Grand Vizier…"
The Grand Vizier's son bites his lips and came out of the line. "The general of Zaganos Pasha…"
Another courtier continued. "Your nephew and cousin have lost all contact with us, and that general refused to launch any attack or aid towards the city."
The Grand Vizier took off the spectacle lenses with his hands shaking and gently placed it on the table while staring at the map. "This following three people shall stay in the room, Candarli Ibrahim, Abbas, Süleyman".
The other servants, eunuchs and guards left the room bringing the door with them and waited for further orders outside the dining room.
"That was an order!" The Grand Vizier rose his voice and stood up behind the table. "That was an order for him to reinforce any city or fortress under attack! Who he think he is! To dare to defy my order? Why have things evolved in to this state? No, you people and the army has conjured together telling me a lie making me a fool!" Even the Janissaries! All of you, the what so ever beys generals and commanders, are no more than a bunch of despicable cowards!"
"Honourable Grand Vizier." Abbas Bey, a senior commander in the Sultans army, argued in a rapid tone against the words of the Grand Vizier. "You cannot day such nasty words toward your fellow warriors who shed blood and sweat for the Sultanate and…"
The Grand Vizier roared back like a mad lion interrupting the Bey. "They are nothing but cowards! Traitors! Failures!"
Abbas Bey continued arguing lowering his head with a face painted red by rage. "My honourable Pasha, what you are saying is absurd!"
The furious Grand Vizier grabbed the quil on this table smashing it down and continued ranting. "You people are the true useless scum bags of the proud people of the Sultante! With out a single since of pride and honor! Disgraceful! You people are made as generals and lords taking up prestigious positions, only because you are born in noble families having a golden spoon in your mouth, but what you people learnt through the years of experience is only how to embezzle more national funds and gulp down more stewed mutton!"
The Grand Vizier felt another strong dizziness coming to him as he leaned on the table using it as a support trying to recover his stamina, while maintaining a snake like gaze at the three of his most trusted men before him. While for the three high officials standing before the Grand Vizier lowering their head making themselves look as if they are apologizing for their supposed 'mistakes', actually all have a different face hidden under neath. Either with a cold grin not giving a damn about their lord's words, or a flushing red face upset with the Grand Vizier discriminating his soldiers, or a emotionless face as if all of this has nothing to do with him.
These loud continuous ranting sent waves after waves of shock to the crowd gathering outside the room all quiet not daring to make a noise that would shift the focus he is raging on to them, then they will end up like that pitiful little eunuch just now who went away to receive his fifteen slashes.
The Grand Vizier massaged his fore head and continued not just stopping there. "For all the while you people, with that damn Zaganos and the army only knows how to obstruct my plans, my blue print constructed for the future of the Sultanate, with all the possible means and methods you have! I ought to have learnt the example set by Tjrmuird, and hang all of the what ever beys and aghas!"
It seems like the Grand Vizier has gotten tired of the continuous ranting. He trudged towards his seat and sat down facing the walls looking at his hand. "I came from a much more humble back ground as compared to you people… Did not have a martial education back ground. Neither do I have years of service in the army, but yet I managed to stabilize the situation after the glorious sublime Sultan Mehmed II May He be blessed by The All Mighty Allah, putting down one after rebellion making the Sultanate in a whole piece United again!"
More and more people started gathering outside, while inside the room the atmosphere is being pressed straight down making people sweat like they are caught in a humid summer heaven.
"Traitors…"The Grand Vizier sat down there with a pale face as if all has been lost. "This is a tremendous treason to both me and the Sultanate… but I can assure you that, for every of those traitors who dared to betray my orders, shall pay back their crimes, with their flood! They shall be drowning in their own blood, till the end of time!"
"…"
"Speak, why are all of you so silent?"
"My honorable Grand Vizier…I don't think there is a need for you to be so concerned about the loss of one single city…"
"You don't understand, my son, you don't understand what that city means to us…. That city is the foundation of our income, and that is why I tried so hard to grip that city from Zaganos. But now, all is lost."
The grand vizier trudged to the sword hanging by the walls and looked at it ordering. "But I won't just stop there, if you people are thinking that I shall give up the city and offer it to the Rumelian, you are deeply wrong… My son, send the orders! Assemble all the armies of the state, I am going on an expedition myself to expel these barbaric bastards! Bring along the Sultan, we will make him the official commanding figure head of the army, and then, we march for Thessaloniki."
The words of determination from the Grand Vizier sent a message straight forward enough to the three pashas in the room and the other lords outside that another round of war is coming. Different from other times where most people rejoice knowing that they will gain loot and prestige, this time some people showed traces of worriedness, some with a cold snigger, but not many put up a happy face.
At the end of the day this battle is going to happen on their core territory, and what can they get from smashing the largest city of their Sultanate?
Nothing.