Mustafa was never indecisive. He hadn't hesitated when usurping power with the backing of Aliti and Özgür, and he didn't hesitate now when deciding to eliminate Aliti and continue the reforms left unfinished by Selim III.
After all, Aliti, Özgür, and the traditional nobles had proven through their actions that the conservative faction was unreliable and that the union of religion and state was far less effective than the reformist system championed by Selim III.
However, it seemed the true God did not bless Mustafa. Just as he decided to betray Aliti and press on with Selim III's unfinished reforms, Evrim, the young Vizier, arrived at the Topkapi Palace with Alemdar, while a large contingent of Janissaries had been dispatched by Aliti to search for Mahmud. The guard force protecting the Sultan's council chamber was at an unprecedentedly low level.
This was a rather vexing situation.
If Aliti had already found Mahmud, then Alemdar would have no choice but to accept Mustafa as the new Sultan, with the remaining issue being how to satisfy Alemdar's demands.
However, if Aliti had not found Mahmud, it meant Alemdar had another option: to eliminate Mustafa and then enthrone Mahmud, who leaned towards the reformist faction, as the new Sultan and Caliph.
With no other recourse, Mustafa forced himself to remain calm. He first had Selim III's body brought in, and then, feigning sorrow, he addressed Alemdar, "You've arrived at a most opportune moment. Aliti has instigated a rebellion, not only forcing the death of Sultan Selim but also intending to kill the poor young Mahmud."
Alemdar's brow furrowed instantly. He summoned a trusted subordinate and ordered, "Take men and search the entire Topkapi Palace immediately. Find His Highness Mahmud before Aliti does, at all costs."
After his subordinate hastily departed, Alemdar turned back to Mustafa and said, "Regardless of the reasons for Aliti's rebellion, the outcome is the death of Sultan Selim, and you have become the new Sultan. Therefore, even to avoid suspicion, should you not pass the throne to Mahmud?"
Mustafa did not directly respond to Alemdar but instead frowned and said, "Young Mahmud is still too young. Can he truly carry forward the reformist system established by Sultan Selim?"
Seeing that Alemdar remained unmoved, Mustafa decided to be more direct. "Did I not already inform the young Vizier that you could continue experimenting with Selim III's reforms in your own fiefdom? If successful, we can gradually promote it throughout the Ottoman Empire, allowing it to become great once more!"
Upon hearing Mustafa's words, Alemdar saw no need to pretend any longer and retorted, "And what about you? Why did you join Aliti and his cohorts in their rebellion?" xxs1
Being questioned by Alemdar, Mustafa felt utterly speechless and was filled with endless regret.
If Mahir had returned a few days earlier, if he hadn't notified Aliti and Özgür at the time, if he had stopped them, if he hadn't tacitly approved their actions against Alemdar, if only...
But unfortunately, the world had apples, candy, fruits, and berries, but it had no 'ifs'.
Given the current predicament, not only was there no turning back for Mustafa, but neither was there for Alemdar, Aliti, and Özgür.
Either they would acknowledge Mustafa as Sultan, Alemdar would leave Istanbul with numerous advantageous conditions, and a de facto split of the Ottoman Empire would occur.
Or, they would enthrone Mahmud as the new Sultan, plunge the Ottoman Empire into further turmoil, and then fully initiate the reforms that Selim III had failed to complete.
After a long silence, Mustafa finally looked up and said sincerely to Alemdar, "Although Selim III's reforms have not yet yielded results, Aliti and his faction have proven through their actions that they were wrong. Therefore, I have decided to continue implementing Selim III's reforms."
Alemdar looked at Mustafa with surprise.
A person's mouth could speak lies, and a person's body could perform false actions, but a person's eyes did not lie, nor could they be deceptive.
Alemdar could tell that everything Mustafa was saying was the truth.
However, Alemdar was unwilling to give Mustafa the opportunity to continue pushing for reforms.
Or rather, Alemdar was unwilling to let Mustafa off the hook so easily.
As a staunch reformist, Alemdar deeply resented Mustafa and Aliti.
If Aliti had not suddenly rallied Mustafa to usurp power, then after signing armistice agreements with the Ming and the Saracens, Selim III would have had ample time to push for reforms.
If Selim III's reforms had succeeded, the Ottoman Empire, even if not an archenemy of Europe again, would at least have become stronger, not to the point of ceding territory and paying reparations whenever attacked.
However, it was precisely because Aliti had suddenly rallied Mustafa to usurp power that the reforms, which had begun to show results, had utterly failed.
What was even more hateful was that after becoming the new Sultan, Mustafa had not hesitated for a moment, directly abolishing all of Selim III's reformist policies and ruthlessly persecuting reformist nobles.
Under such circumstances, how could Alemdar be willing to begrudgingly acknowledge Mustafa, the usurper Sultan?
Therefore, in response to Mustafa's declaration, Alemdar merely let out a soft chuckle, closed his eyes, and decided to wait for his subordinate to return before speaking further.
Alemdar had already decided: if his subordinate brought back Mahmud, Mustafa would be sent to hell to repent his deeds. If his subordinate only brought back Mahmud's corpse...
The key to the problem once again rested on Mahmud.
And Mahmud, who was being watched by several factions and even held the future of the entire Ottoman Empire in his hands, was currently hiding in a chimney. After all, Aquli, as the commander-in-chief of the Ottoman Janissaries, could easily search the Topkapi Palace for people, especially a prince like Mahmud.
However, what Mahmud, who had already prepared himself for death, did not expect was that Aquli, after finding him, did not immediately kill him as per Mustafa and Aliti's orders. Instead, he hid him in a chimney and instructed him, "You must hide yourself well. Do not reveal yourself unless Aquli returns to look for you, or Alemdar's troops come looking for you, so as not to be discovered by Aliti."
Although he didn't understand why Aquli hadn't followed Mustafa and Aliti's orders to kill him, Mahmud knew that this was a critical moment for his life. If he survived this, everything would be fine, and he might even ascend to the Sultan's throne. If he didn't, then all would be lost.
Fortunately, Aliti did not find Mahmud's hiding place. Just as Aliti was about to reach the chimney where Mahmud was hidden, Aquli claimed that Mahmud had likely received advance warning and gone into hiding elsewhere, not in his residence.
It wasn't until Alemdar's personal guards found Mahmud's residence and engaged in a confrontation with Aliti, ultimately eliminating Aliti, that Mahmud emerged as instructed by Aquli and was brought to the Sultan's council chamber by Alemdar's men.
Mahmud's appearance essentially meant that Mustafa's life was entering its final countdown.
Alemdar directly addressed Mustafa, "His Highness Mahmud has appeared. I believe you should yield the throne of Sultan and Caliph to His Highness Mahmud, which is also what Sultan Selim wished."
Mustafa ignored Alemdar and instead sized up Mahmud from head to toe. After a while, he sighed, "You've grown up, young Mahmud. You're no longer the little kid following me around."
However, Mahmud was not moved by Mustafa's familial overture. Instead, he looked at Mustafa with hatred and said, "Because I've grown up, you intend to kill me to prevent me from threatening your Sultanate?"
Mustafa shook his head and said, "Whether you believe it or not, I never intended to kill you, nor did I intend to kill Selim. All of this was done by Aliti. In fact, I, as Sultan, was more like a figurehead; all power was controlled by Aliti."
Mustafa's words made Mahmud hesitate.
It must be said that since the abolition of the fratricide law, the relationships within the Ottoman royal family had been quite good. Especially since Selim III had always taken good care of Mustafa and Mahmud, which led Mahmud to believe that Mustafa was also a good elder brother, just like Selim III.
However, as Mahmud hesitated and Mustafa secretly rejoiced, Aquli, the commander-in-chief of the Janissaries who had been the first to defect and protect Mahmud, suddenly spoke up, "When you ordered me to kill Sultan Selim and His Highness Mahmud, you didn't say it like this."
Suddenly stabbed in the back by Aquli, Mustafa's face turned ashen. He glared at Aquli and shouted, "You traitor! You will go to hell!"
Aquli shook his head and said, "In fact, it was Sultan Selim who ordered me to protect His Highness Mahmud, while he himself drank the fatal poisoned wine. And before drinking the poisoned wine, Sultan Selim asked me a question: 'To whom do I owe my loyalty, the Sultan or the Ottoman Empire?'"
"That question reminded me."
"My loyalty is to the Ottoman Empire, not to you, a Sultan who usurped and murdered his brother!"
"Furthermore, I can tell you clearly that Sultan Selim also said that he intended to pass the Sultanate to Mahmud."
Mustafa's expression grew even more grim. Alemdar shook his head and looked at Selim, saying, "I believe the Sultan's throne should belong to Sultan Mahmud."
After speaking, Alemdar no longer paid attention to the ashen-faced Mustafa. Instead, he bowed slightly to Mahmud, placing his hand over his chest in greeting, and asked, "Sultan, how do you think the usurper Mustafa should be dealt with?"
Mahmud first glanced at Selim III's corpse, then glared hatefully at Mustafa, gritting his teeth and saying, "He murdered Sultan Selim, and he also usurped the throne of Sultan and Caliph. He is a sinner of the Ottoman Empire!"
After speaking, Mahmud turned his gaze to Aquli and asked, "How did he murder Sultan Selim?"
Aquli replied, "He prepared poisoned wine and a dagger, giving Sultan Selim a choice. Sultan Selim ultimately chose the poisoned wine."
Mahmud again looked hatefully at Mustafa, saying each word deliberately, "Prepare poisoned wine and a dagger for him, and let him choose for himself. This farce should finally end!"
After Aquli bowed in agreement, Mahmud turned his gaze to the Grand Vizier Özgür, "And you, Grand Vizier, you shall accompany Mustafa on his way as well, just as Sultan Selim's Grand Vizier accompanied him."
With a thud, Grand Vizier Özgür collapsed to the ground, crying out in despair, "It had nothing to do with me! This was all orchestrated by Aliti. Sultan Mustafa and I were coerced by Aliti. I am wronged!"
Just as Mahmud was about to speak, Özgür suddenly cried out frantically, "I have shed blood for the Ottoman Empire, I have been wounded for the Ottoman Empire. You cannot treat me like this!"
Alemdar chuckled and retorted, "When we were fighting the Saracens on the front lines, where were you? You shed blood for the Ottoman Empire? You were wounded for the Ottoman Empire? Then I'd like to ask you, where were you wounded? Where did you shed blood?"
Özgür was instantly stumped, as he had never been to the front lines. During the recent wars with the Saracens and the Great Ming, Özgür, who was not yet the Grand Vizier, had once said, "When other nobles go to the front lines, it's as good as me going."
Özgür had also said, "The reformist nobles should go to the front lines first. We mustn't bully the traditional conservative nobles!"
"The Saracen and Ming armies are not at all frightening. At most, they are only slightly stronger than European armies, nothing to worry about."
"As long as we completely return to the traditional conservative path, the Ottoman Empire will soon become great again. Punching the Saracens and kicking the Ming Dynasty will be a reality!"
"The decline of the Ottoman Empire is about to see a new turning point!"