Chapter 20 The Sons of Osman (Part 2)
Over these last few days, I and Suleyman and many others have led scouting parties. We scouted the land looking for enemies and staging small battles or ambushes once located. Now I just received a messenger from the enemy who just arrived at the front of our camp, not even dismounting his horse he screamed "We wish to do battle with you cowards no more ambushes, no more skirmishes! We want to face you man to man on the field we will wait for you, only real men shall willing come to a field of death! if you shall be cowards, we shall let everyone know of your deeds here today!"
After screaming his message, the man turned to leave, at the detriment of my men I stopped them from chasing and killing this man as he came as a diplomat, no matter how obscene he was he still has diplomatic immunity. But I decided to fire the men up... "We aren't cowards! we shall face them on the field... But the field of battle we shall choose, who can call a man a coward when they no longer live!" *Woooh Wooh Wooh*
After dismantling the camp and sending all the helpers with the remaining supplies to Bursa, we left the area toward the field chosen by the enemies... Our infantry was either sent to the ambush zone or Bursa with the supplies. Our army now is just calvary, consisting of my Sipahi, tribesman, and My bodyguard.
Soon we entered the field of battle in a charging formation! Leaving the enemy no respite I did not even give a proper speech and just screamed "CHARGE!" Channeling my inner Sultan Baybars we slammed into the prepared enemies... All that was heard were screams of injured or dying men... Arrows were thrown about in the mess, I saw a man get trapped on the ground with a javelin thrown through his stomach area. This was by far the most grueling battlefield I have led, all my enemies before having simply rolled over like the French in WW2.
After about an hour of fighting many men on both sides had left this world to meet their maker, my bodyguard unit left a giant gap surrounding us so we can now see the rest of the battlefield, seeing as no one wanted to fight such a battle-hardened group of armored menaces! Seeing we had no real chance at this battle like I thought I retreated as planned before we accrued too many casualties. I looked to the side and said "Blow the horn of retreat we now enter phase 2 of the plan... the hardest part!"
Pulling out wasn't as hard as I thought the enemies seemed to be allowing a breaking of arms, I assume they thought it was an intermission. Suleyman rallied the retreating men to his banner while I led my guard units and some sipahis to hold off any would-be attackers... Seeing no one berate us as my army steadily retreated, I confirmed one thing they did think we were leaving... So I immediately signaled the Sapahi to fire our special arrow toward their commanders in the center hoping to kill enough of them to rouse their spirits of revenge as we run away...
Aiming for a quick second then *Thoink think* down the line the arrows flew and landed onto the enemies who we could hear just for a second yell a few expletives our way... Then *BOOOOOOOOOOM* about 2000 small explosions combined into a fury that raged onto the men grouped up guarding the center of their formation... All I could see was smoke and a bit of flame, but I swear I saw a few body parts flying here and there, but I simply cannot say for sure. After slinging 2 volleys of regular arrows into the panic-stricken enemies the army dashed away at our top speed whilst still maintaining a decent formation surprisingly these tribesmen can be rather disciplined at times of life and death.
after an hour of retreating the enemy was not seen in our rear, and I was beginning to worry they would not follow us. But to my surprise and glee, the enemy vanguard finally arrived in sight of our rear unit which I am leading. The rear is my Sapahi and bodyguard allowing me to handle all these attackers with the swiftness of heavily trained soldiers. When they were spotted I had my men form up to charge, soon we were smashing right into their vanguard claiming more lives in the process. Then we would retreat again launching arrow volleys at the chasing horsemen...
This went on for about 3 hours until we finally reached the river crossing where the enemies will have to wait for reinforcements before crossing as this could potentially be a trap... giving my army the gap enough to set up the perfect rouse for these men! But to my surprise just after my rear group finished crossing, I could already see their army arriving on the other side, so I decided to go with my initial plan again.
Lining my men on the river bank, just my rear guard the army under Suleyman has fled toward the ambush zone already... as their vanguard began to cross I surprised them by tossing a bomb into their ranks halfway across... *Splash Splash* hundreds of these small jars were tossed into the enemy's ranks and their contents spilled all over them to their dismay one man screamed out "NAPHTA NAPHTA!" But it was already too late a fire sparked from the wick and a portion of the river along with the men was set ablaze.
This wasn't enough to kill or deter all the enemy army, but it could allow me to get a slight head start and have the entire army chase in a group, disassembling the vanguard. If they continued to chase with the vanguard my ambush would be pointless as they can see the vanguard being butchered and trying to retreat allowing a few men to escape successfully. I want every single man who is in the rebel army to perish today, or... Become my slave Hehe...
Playing my role perfectly I continued to charge and retreat launching projectiles into the enemy's ranks whilst slowly giving ground to them inching ever closer to the promised land. After playing this game for a little while longer we reached the ambush zone with just enough time to slaughter this army before dark...
I leading the rear fled into the mouth of a valley as the way forward here is blocked by a giant mountainous cliff... The enemies seeing me flee into this valley knew it was a dead end for us, the river guards the west, they guard the north, and the south is blocked by a mountainous region to them I had no choice but to flee here. Well, they are right I had no choice but to slaughter them here as I can't have my examples running away and telling the story of how they fought in a rebel army against me and lived freely after right?
No! I will never let such men live good lives, it is their fault for following such idiotic lieges. Heading into the valley I disappeared amongst the tree line and ended up on a cliff eventually waiting for my little rabbits to enter the trap. Overlooking the valley below I see the men enter slowly looking around, but they do not see the reapers who are hiding amongst the shrubbery and bushes in this tiny, forested valley.
After they entered their commander I think it is one of my brothers who shouted: "Break formation find the rat, he must be hiding somewhere in this area he couldn't get far I have hunted here before, and getting a horse onto the cliff is near impossible!"
He is right if my army hadn't built me a path up onto the cliff I believe it would've been impossible to get up here, this is a natural barrier for men and horses alike. Seeing them eventually break ranks and head toward the tree line, I shot the first firework... *Pop pop* From my view I couldn't see the arrows, but I could hear the lives they claimed, the men screaming from being shot by an arrow from God knows where. Seeing the arrows hit his men and the firework I believe anyone could put two and two together their commander shouted "AMBUSH! FALL IN RANKS AND BACK OUT OF THE VALLEY"
Before they could even form up, the next firework went up *POP* leading to a few thousand men coming out of nowhere and guarding the entrance to the valley. These heavily armored men held pikes outward stopping anyone from thinking that is the best way to leave... Another commander screamed this time I believe it was Murad "Men we must fight our way out today or we will be killed here in this valley we know the entrance is blocked but we outnumber them let's strike now! Charg"
Before he could finish his sentence, a huge thunderclap was heard in the valley, and it wasn't just one but to anyone on the ground already panicking would be hundreds. *BOOM BOOM BOOM* *SWOOSH SWOOSH* My cannons and mortars launched their first bombardment of the day and some of the cannons were their first ones in a war, these heavy cannon balls flew at unimaginable speeds into the enemy ranks doing untold damage. And the mortars were way worst these mortars fired exploding cannonballs that explode mid-air or sometimes within the enemy ranks. The enemy after being subjected to such a traumatic experience, seeing men just disappear into a bloody mess, could no longer be called panic but soulless.
Some of the men on the ground just broke having empty listless eyes sitting on the ground holding their knees, some men ran toward the pikes only to be poked away or cut down by the melee infantry holding axes and swords behind the pikemen, the commanders if they still lived couldn't calm down such an army it would be near impossible. I signaled for fire at will, all my men were throwing javelins and arrows into the enemy army, and a few minutes later the cannons rang again this time signaling the end of cannon fire and the enemies will fight, *BOOOM BOOOM*.
After 50% of their army was brutally blown apart and shot by various projectiles, I sent in the heavy calvary which as of now has reached 3,440 men heavily armored and armed as well as the horses, running through the thinnest part of the forest and into the enemy ranks *Boom*. Men who lost the will to fight were thrown about and trampled by the incoming human/horse tank, ramming and stabbing their way through the enemy "army" if you can call it that. Looking at this defenseless force being mauled by my men I called the dogs off and had them capture the remaining men...
After rounding up the surviving men, all who haven't injured any man who could not stand were killed on the spot, I want working slaves, not broken ones that need work. I and Suleyman did not speak after this battle yet until it was time to find our brothers whether they be dead or alive we must know... So, the grueling task of searching began all the alive men were checked first as that is easiest... having all the new slaves clean their faces at the river we began to check them, and what would you know hiding amongst the new slaves were 3 of the 5 brothers that rebelled, Murad, Sultan, and the last one hmm I think it was Ibraheim...
I wanted to kill them on the spot whilst my elder brother Suleyman said we should bring them to the sultan as we Muslims cannot kill a surrendered unarmed man. I agreed as I hope to be the Sultan this week at the least... I do not plan to leave Bursa this time without a crown!