1453: Revival of Byzantium

Chapter 331: Its Time To Go, Grand Vizier

Slowly time passed and the confrontation continued, the dusk has arrived as a promise of the day with the light of the stars slowly over taking the light of the sun. Bit by bit the sparks of pearls of the night began decorating the pure dark colored velvet making it as cushioned as a piece of silk from Damascus. Every one knows that when the last traces of the sun kisses the mother land, and when the water of the Mediterranean sea blends in to the darkness of the night, it is the time to call it for the day and go home, have a meal and considering that there are not much recreational activities in this era, it is also the time to ummm produce a future generation of labour force for the country and human civilisation passing the knowledge and culture down the line. 

Things is the same for Antonius, as he casually ended his day of work even before the sun has set strolling down the street of Thessaloniki greeting the passing by crowd with a cheerful glee, purchasing some summer seasoned food and fruits for the mistress in home, leaving Anjelo, Abdullah, Alexios and others continuing to burn their energy in the government house working over time for the future of his state. 

Strangely speaking to the citizens of Thessaloniki this now governor does not like to live in the government house like the past governors. According to Antonius himself when he is asked the question it is to serve the purpose of 'squeezing some time every single day from his busy work life to communicate with his fellow citizens'. But actually, it is just because he feels that the food inside the government house is utter trash after the past chefs who used to serve the Ottomans ran away following the fall of the city, replaced with sailor chefs from Antonius' fleet who spent most of their times preparing navy biscuits and salted beef. The street food of Thessaloniki is way so much better that Antonius can literally eat a different cuisine every single day rotating the menu around every single year, three hundred and sixty five days. 

And another reason is that his mistress once said that she wants to live by the ocean like her old home back in the city of Constantinople. 

While approximately one hundred and eighty Roman Miles away, in the capital city of the Ottoman Sultanate, the situation has indeed escalated towards the worse with the Grand Vizier facing a totally different situation than his old rival. The crowd before him has enlarged with more poor people joining the commotion, and within them people sent by the Grand Vizier's political rivals trying to spill oil on to the raging fire and make the situation go towards what they wish for so that they can remove Candarli Halil Pasha for good and take the office for themsel To serve the young Sultan Beyezid II better.

Reinforcements have arrived forming up in to a shield formation segregating the Grand Vizier and the crowd. Though despite much advices and pleading the Grand Vizier insisted that he should stay here in the front line to try to soothe the situation, but he did not realise that in fact he being here is the main reason why the situation still is unable to cool down. 

In the middle of the chaos, the desperate mother, looking at the child who became so worn out of energy that she did not even have the strength to eat, and together with the painful memories for the past five years filling up her head, she is soon filled with nothing but rage. Without much thinking she took a glance around and there she found under a tree trunk a rock quietly lying there covered with moss. She picked up that mossy rock, and with an unbelievable strength for a lass of her size starved for days she flung it at the Grand Vizier still standing there on the stairs trying to pursue the crowd to disperse and wait for their rations. 

The mossy rock flew a perfect curve through the air and there it goes, landing right on to the Grand Vizier slicing a scar on Candarli Halil Pasha's face, and then dropped hard on the ground making the sound pass to every one's ears loud and clear instantly covering up the bursting noise of their protests. The crowd, together with the Grand Vizier's guards gaped as they watch a line of blood began flowing down the cheeks of the mighty Grand Vizier. Even Candarli Halil Pasha himself was halted by this sudden event totally not expecting a thing like this would happen. 

A second later the junior Janissary guard commander began to react first as he bellowed out to the surrounding. "Assassin! There is the Assassin! Surround the rogues! Arrest all of them! And persecute any one who is found guilty for this!" 

Candarli Halil Pasha did not stop the order, and most people in the crowd did not make any resistance too all shocked that the god like figure of the Sultanate, the man who is covered by propaganda for so long, can be hurt by a simple rock thrown by them the peasants? If he can be hurt by them, may be that also means. He can be killed too?

Every one dared not to think further, and followed the arresting orders of the Janissaries obediently, including that woman who threw that rock just now, it seems like that rock has used up all of her energy as now she is slumped there against the wall with no emotions from her eyes. 

"Grand Vizier!" The Janissary commander urged once more. "Please! Leave this place! Grand Vizier!" 

Candarli Halil Pasha hesitated for a while biting his teeth and again, pushed the faithful Janissary officer back. "No! I am not leaving! I grant you the permission to mobalise the troops and contain the crowd making them seat down orderly And then mobalise the chefs from your Janissary camps, order them to bring cooking materials. As a Grand Vizier I must keep my words and promises to my people, if I promised them that I will grant them a meal to soothe their appetite, I will, understand?" 

Hearing this the Janissary Officer protested no more and passed the order again taking full command of this place. An hour later the chefs arrived, and a cooking station is being set up fast. In no time the delicious smell of porridge began passing around the premise, making the still edgy hearts and minds of the people beginning to cool down as they sat there orderly waiting for their food. 

The Grand Vizier continued to survey the site after placing a simple remedy on his cheeks to curb the bleeding. The faithful Janissary commander followed closely behind, who could no longer control his temptation and curiosity asking. "Honourable Grand Vizier, why did you treat these rogues like this? They had the intention to kill you. If it is those of your old political rivals and enemies in the court we would have dragged them out and persecuted right away." 

"Kid" The Grand Vizier interrupted and asked. "What is your name, kid?" 

"Gedik Ahmed, my honourable Grand Vizier." 

"Remember kid, what ever dirty stuff in the government and court remains there." The Grand Vizier sighed antagonising at the crowded beneath him. "And it can never be passed down to the people, if not disastrous things would happen if the people began to realise that 'oh! So, our government is like this filled with corruption, lawlessness and intrigues'. You get it? And further more, I got nothing to hate these people, you can arrest a hundred, a thousand or even ten thousand of them. But will that help?" 

The junior Janissary commander ponded for a while and firmly nodded his head. "Yes, my Grand Vizier, if we arrest all the rogues it would give our Sultanate a fresh start." 

"No, it wont work kid." The Grand Vizier shook his head. "You can put thousands of them in to prison, but there shall immediately be another thousand of them going on to revolt against us as long as their living condition does not change for the better And this is what I have as the best to offer them so far, until we defeat our sworn enemy in the South, North and East, and then I will start improving their living conditions" 

The jUnior Janissary commander said no more as the Grand Vizier is sunk deep in to his own thinking. The Janissary commander rose his head up and gazed up at the stars along the milky way beginning to think over the Grand Vizier's words and also questioned himself; Is his thinking really on the right track?"

Apparently he is still way too young to think about this kind of question as a hot blooded young adult with a impulsive mind set. 

Now it is the time for Candarli Halil Pasha to go.