In early April, Kars.
At this time, Uzon Hassan's army gathered more than 10,000 people, including 6,000 cavalry and 4,000 standing infantry.
The formation of infantry refers to Greece Field Legion. Half of them are Matchlock soldiers and half are close combat infantry. They have good melee and anti-cavalry capabilities and will never repeat the tragedy of Battle of Konya.
"Unfortunately, the insufficient number of muskets limited the expansion of the infantry."
Surrounded by guards, Sultan reviewed the conscripted cavalry that arrived yesterday, as well as the newly formed Artillery troops.
Recruited cavalry are assembled in tribes. Each tribe has a unique flag. They are accustomed to obeying the orders of the tribe leader. Their discipline is loose and their combat effectiveness is very low.
Sultan was not surprised by this. He talked patiently with the leaders, rewarded them with some property, and then began to inspect the troops directly under him, thus deterring the recruitment of cavalry.
Under the doubtful eyes of the nomadic leader, four thousand infantrymen left the camp and formed four thousand-man phalanxes in the open space, moving forward slowly. Some horses dragged small cannons and followed the infantry.
After a while, they followed Sultan's instructions and changed their formations. Matchlock pointed their hands forward and launched a salvo. The loud noise made some cavalrymen turn pale and vaguely recalled the scene when they faced the Greece army.
At this time, twenty small artillery pieces were moved to the front of the formation. The gunners hurriedly untied the ropes, pointed the muzzles at the grass in front, and put in powder bags and iron bullets made of Flax cloth.
"Fire!"
After receiving the instruction from Sultan, the gunner on the far right quickly fired, bang! With a loud noise, a hole opened in the gun body, and hot red breath burst out from the hole, scaring the gunners to their knees. The surrounding horses panicked, and they screamed loudly, trying to break free from the restraints of the reins and escape from this dangerous area.
"Protect Your Majesty!" Almost at the moment of explosion, the guard threw Sultan to the ground.
Realizing that there was no danger around him, Sultan pushed aside the numerous guards and stepped forward to observe the exploded bronze cannon. The name of the cannon-casting craftsman and the date of production were marked on the back of the cannon.
"Bring the cannon makers and blacksmiths here, I will publicly execute this scum for cutting corners!"
Later, Sultan asked the gunners to test-fire the remaining nineteen artillery pieces. Seeing the tragic situation just now, the gunners passed the blame and selected some of the most unlucky ones to be responsible for igniting the guns.
Bang! Bang!
In the eyes of some leaders who were gloating about their misfortune, the artillery fire was fired one after another. Counting the first artillery piece, a total of six artillery pieces had their chambers exploded, nine artillery pieces had cracks after being fired, and only five pieces were truly intact.
After the test firing, the whole place fell into silence. The guards drove 200 craftsmen or apprentices to the northern suburbs. Sultan pulled out the machete, but could not do it anyway.
If only one cannon exploded, he would take action without hesitation. But if three-quarters of the cannons had problems, what else could he do? He would not kill all the craftsmen involved.
At this time, a minister noticed Sultan's hesitation and hurriedly intervened to dissuade him. "The war is coming. Let's record this sin for the time being and order the craftsmen to work harder to atone for their actions."
The remaining cronies also followed suit. Faced with their pleas, Sultan spared the lives of these cannon-casting craftsmen and only punished them with whippings.
... On April 3, the Ottoman army began to advance towards Lake Van. The number of levies obtained by Bayezid II was very small. Instead of wasting time waiting for these low-quality troops, it is better to set off as early as possible to seize a good combat location.
At the end of winter, lush green grass grows on both sides of the road, and the snow in the surrounding mountains begins to melt. The snow water gathers into a trickle, flowing towards Lake Van from all directions, providing water for the orchards and farmland along the way.
In the afternoon five days later, a vast expanse of blue water spread out in front of us. The lake had thawed. Many fishermen were operating fishing boats to catch fish on the lake, and then salted it in the dock area to make salted fish and sell it to surrounding towns.
"Send the order, collect food quickly before the Black Sheep army arrives!"
The army's food can only be supplied for twenty days. Bayezid II's first task is to obtain three months' worth of stored food and feed those fattened war horses with grain to restore their combat effectiveness.
According to the businessman's news, Jahan Shah is still gathering troops at Tabriz, and it is expected to take 5 to 7 days to reach the Lake Van border, leaving little time for the Ottoman army.
The total number of the Ottoman army is 28,000, including 15,000 Musketeers, 5,000 miscellaneous infantry, 2,000 heavy cavalry, and 6,000 levy cavalry.
Sultan sent all the cavalry and miscellaneous infantry to collect food. He led Firearms Corps to advance along the north bank of Lake Van, capturing towns along the way. He also wrote to White Sheep, begging Uzun Hassan to support his side.
"If White Sheep Army helps us, we have an 80% chance of winning this battle. Assuming they wait and see the whole time, we also have a 60% chance of winning."
Sultan believes that the effect of Firearms Corps is not only killing, but also has a significant morale impact. The violent sound can deter the enemy, and the damage caused by the artillery bombardment of the enemy formation can scare the recruits, causing a small-scale panic or even escape.
Considering Firearms Corps's lack of protection, Çandarlı suggested that Sultan imitate Greece's Wagon Fort. If encountering an enemy charge, Matchlock's hands can be retracted inside Wagon Fort to kill the enemy with continuous firepower.
... On April 10, Uzon Hassan received the news that Ottoman had occupied most of the strongholds on the north bank of Lake Van and was seizing the time to collect food.
In the afternoon, the Black Sheep messenger arrived at Kars with a threatening tone:
"Sultan has gathered an army of 100,000 and is advancing towards Lake Van. He hopes that you will arrive on the battlefield as soon as possible and show your loyalty with practical actions. If you choose the Ottoman camp, or wait and see the entire process for Kars, you will incur the wrath of Sultan afterwards!"
Uzon Hassan pretended to be frightened, left his seat and walked back and forth in the hall, then asked the attendant to offer him a plate of gold and asked the messenger to say a few good words for him.
After the messenger left, Uzon Hassan convened a discussion with his confidants and leaders and decided to go to the Lake Van battlefield tomorrow.
At the meeting, he did not express his position clearly to prevent some loudmouths from leaking the news.
After the conversation with the messenger just now, his impression of Black Sheep Sultan was even worse.
Even if Uzon Hassan chooses the Black Sheep camp, he speculates that he will still be jealous of Jahan Shah and may be detained by the other party or executed on the spot.
Before he arrives on the battlefield, as long as the Ottoman army maintains the situation and does not collapse at the first touch, Uzon Hassan will join the Ottoman camp and fight against the Black Sheep Dynasty together.
"Black Sheep will never have an army of 100,000. The real size is 50,000 to 70,000. As long as I fight together with Ottoman, there is no way we will lose this battle."