In truth, Empress Dowager Shevkyevza was worrying a little too much. After all, it was already the nineteenth century; the chances of wholesale slaughter of a royal family were no longer very great.
Of course, that was only within Europe. By convention, Russia did not count as Europe.
As the mother of Sultan Murad V, Empress Dowager Shevkyevza could never support a plan to move the capital.
If even she wavered, things below would only descend into greater chaos. So she had to make her position clear:
"The Ottoman Empire has not fallen yet!
I will never tolerate acts of cowardice!"
After this impassioned declaration, Empress Dowager Shevkyevza announced that the court conference was over, then kept all her confidants behind.
"I need a detailed plan for relocating the capital.
Not a word of this is to leak!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Within the Ottoman Empire, there were two possible destinations for the capital. One was Ankara in the northwest, then the Ottoman Empire's second-largest city.
Ankara's greatest advantage was that it was surrounded by mountains on all sides, easy to defend and hard to attack, effectively resisting foreign invasions. In the previous war, it had knocked the Russians' front teeth clean out.
However, Ankara's shortcomings were equally obvious. Transportation was inconvenient, making it difficult to effectively coordinate the overall situation, and once surrounded, it would be almost impossible to break out.
The other option was Bursa. This had once been the birthplace of the Ottoman Empire, and as the empire's earliest capital, it enjoyed a solid foundation among the populace.
Surrounded by mountains on three sides, it was likewise easy to defend and hard to attack. Yet it was close to the sea without directly facing it, reducing the risk of seaborne attack while improving transportation access.
Thus, Bursa was