Ankara.

Located in the northwest of the Anatolian Plateau on the Anatolian Peninsula.

This is where the decisive battle between the Ottoman Empire and the Timurid Empire took place.

It was also the most peak showdown between the two empires in the 13th century in history.

Timur attached great importance to this battle. After all, the current Ottoman Empire had a reputation for professional jihad, and its monarch Bayezid I was even known as "Thunder".

War is all about speed.

The current Ottoman Empire is the ruler of Islam. Anyone who goes against the Ottoman Empire is the enemy of the Islamic world.

This makes it the unrivaled overlord in the current Eurasian continent.

Outside the city of Ankara, a large number of slave armies belonging to Timur were digging the ground enthusiastically under the supervision of Timur's soldiers.

"Grandpa is really amazing. I have never thought of such a method."

Pirmahema said to Shaharu beside him with some sigh.

In view of the importance attached to this battle, almost all the important figures of Timurid family arrived, except Khalil, the son of Miran Shah, who was unable to come because he was fighting with the Sultan of Delhi.

"It's a good thing you got the cement from Daming. In this kind of weather, it only takes two days to solidify and can effectively block the water flow."

"When the Ottoman army arrives, there will be no water to drink."

Shaharu said with a smile.

They are now following Timur's orders and arranging a large army of slaves to cut off the water of the Ubuk River and pour it into another place.

When the Ottoman army came, they would lose their water source.

Many people think that Mongols like Timur should be very rude. In fact, the fact that the Timurid Empire can develop to such a large scale is completely inseparable from Timur's political and war wisdom.

Timur and Zhu Yuanzhang themselves are both the most powerful founding emperors of this century.

It's just that Timur had no cultural heritage to accumulate, and the situation in Central Asia was more complicated than that of the Ming Dynasty. There were many conflicts between ethnic groups, and he himself had no successors, which led to the collapse of the empire after Timur's death.

The heir is the most critical foundation for an empire or dynasty.

"Although Grandpa values ​​the Ottoman Empire, he doesn't think these Turks can have any major impact on us. With our current army, we can retreat immediately even if we can't defeat one place."

"We are already in an unbeatable position. With so many measures in place, what can the Ottoman Empire use to fight us?"

"It's just that I feel that Grandpa seems to have a greater interest in the East."

Pirmahemah said to Shaharu with some distress.

Because of his love for Ming Dynasty, Piermahema did not want to have a direct conflict with Ming Dynasty. He felt that if he attacked Ming Dynasty, there would probably be some bad consequences.

However, from my grandfather’s recent military preparations, it can be clearly seen that preparations are being made against the Ming Dynasty.

Even though a decisive battle with the Ottoman Empire is imminent, Samarkand is still preparing for the war in the East.

This means that Grandpa already believes that the Ottoman Empire can be defeated.

Shaharu shook his head gently: "These are not things we can change. We should do whatever our father arranges. No one can go against his wishes."

As Timur's fourth son, Shah Rukh knew his father's character, or wishes, very well.

Restoring the once vast territory of the Mongol Empire and recreating the glory of Genghis Khan has always been my father's concern.

There will eventually be a day when the Timurid Empire and the Ming Dynasty will come to a showdown.

Listening to his fourth uncle's words, Pierma Heima could only sigh helplessly.

As the second grandson, he had little say. Apart from his noble status, he did not even have many relatives and troops. Naturally, he had no way to change his grandfather Timur's mind.

The Ottoman Empire was different from Timur's nomadic people. Although it had a lot of cavalry, its main force was still infantry.

The long march brought great fatigue to the Ottoman Empire, and it could only advance slowly step by step.

"Your Majesty, according to the intelligence from the front, Timur's troops are almost all cavalry, and the so-called infantry are nothing more than slaves forcibly conscripted from various places."

"They don't care how many slaves they lose. The powerful cavalry has very high mobility, and our infantry can't defend well."

"We are about to approach Ankara. Your Majesty, would you consider building fortifications first? If we are attacked by Timur's cavalry, we can retreat to the mountains."

"The weather will soon get hot, and the scorching temperature will slow down Timur's cavalry, giving us more opportunities."

At the Ottoman military council, a general expressed his thoughts.

But just as he finished speaking, the commander who once besieged Constantinople laughed at him: "Kole, are you frightened by the barbaric Mongols, or have you forgotten the glory of the empire?"

"Our strength is recognized by the whole world. Even in the whole of Europe, which country can resist the powerful Ottoman Empire?"

"Why would we need to go through so much trouble? The powerful Ottoman Empire's soldiers only need to swing their swords to cut off all obstacles and kill the enemies standing before them."

"You will only cause our soldiers to lose confidence."

The commander-in-chief's words caused the entire military council to roar.

The past invincibility made everyone very proud and they believed that no enemy could stop the powerful Ottoman Empire.

Even Bayezid I, who was sitting at the top, agreed with the commander-in-chief's idea.

Cole was just an ordinary general among the cavalry commanders. Seeing such a scene, he could only lower his head in silence.

Bayezid I looked proudly at all the military commanders present, and finally decided to attack Ankara directly.

He wanted to defeat Timur as quickly as possible and make the whole world live up to his title of "Thunder".

Ideals are full, but reality is too skinny.

The slap in the face came so quickly that Bayezid I didn't have time to react.

The battle soon began with the attack of Timurid cavalry.

The Ottoman army never found any trace of Timur's main cavalry. Timur took advantage of the high mobility of the cavalry and the Mongols' way of sleeping on horseback, and secretly made a large circle to the southwest and set up camp where the Ottoman army had been stationed.

They cut off the Ottoman logistics, seized their tents, and occupied the precious water sources in the surrounding area.

Bayezid divided his army into three parts. The central army was a powerful force composed mainly of his Janissary Guards and Sipahi cavalry, and the two wings were mainly composed of Serbian cavalry and Asia Minor and Tatar mercenaries.

The Serbian cavalry was commanded by his ally Stefan, while the weaker mercenaries were commanded by Prince Suleiman. Timur, who had the advantage in numbers, arranged his troops in a relative formation and placed his powerful elephant soldiers in a position facing Bayezid's center.

But overall, the Ottomans were already at a disadvantage before the battle due to the loss of water, lack of rest and numbers.

The Serbian cavalry and Wallachian troops on the left wing successfully repelled Timur's attack and broke the enemy's formation three times. The heavy black armor of the Serbian cavalry made them effective against Timur's bows and arrows.

However, after the water supply was cut off, the war situation deteriorated as the Tatar mercenaries on the right wing suddenly rebelled. Together with Timur's Tatar cavalry, they counterattacked the Ottomans, causing a major collapse of the battle line.

It turned out that Timur had already paid a huge price to instigate the Tatar mercenaries of Bayezid I to rebel.

These mercenaries from the grassland have no loyalty or trust at all. They will follow whoever offers a high enough price.

In comparison, even if Timur was defeated, he might not be able to get much of the wealth.

But if they rebelled against the Ottomans, the rewards would be more than ten times what they have now.

The Ottoman Empire, which defeated the European coalition forces and besieged Constantinople, had huge wealth, but this wealth had little to do with the Tatar mercenaries.

Of course, it matters a lot now.

Even at this time, the proud Bayezid I refused to admit his failure. His strong ego made him unable to bear this blow.

Especially when he thought of the verbal battle with Timur in diplomatic rhetoric, Bayezid I felt even more ashamed.

So he rejected Stefan's several requests for retreat, and in desperation he agreed to let Prince Suleiman evacuate first, while allowing the Serbs to continue to join the central army and fight while retreating.

The legendary Serbian cavalry finally miraculously fought their way out, but Bayezid's center army, which was mainly composed of infantry, was forced into the mountains and was besieged by the Timurids.

After his mount was hit by an arrow, Bayezid I was unfortunately captured by Timur.

The confrontation between the two empires ended so hastily in less than three months.

When the news reached Europe, the whole of Europe fell silent.

The Turks, who were so arrogant in the European continent, and the famous military god Bayezid I known as "Thunder", were actually captured by Timur.

This is as absurd as a fairy tale.

But the facts do not allow for any doubt.

Without the rule of Bayezid I, conflicts within the Ottoman Empire suddenly broke out.

Because there was no designated heir, many Turkish nobles with inheritance rights began to fight among themselves.

Faced with the huge price offered by the Ottoman Empire, Timur scoffed.

He would certainly not be foolish enough to allow Bayezid I to return to his country, but he also had no intention of killing him. Instead, he wanted to keep him imprisoned in a cell in Samarkand to let the world understand the power of the Timurid Empire.

"Why did Grandpa reject my proposal? Now is the best opportunity. The Ottoman Empire is leaderless, and a large amount of land can be taken as long as our army goes there."

"But why, why did Grandpa turn his attention to the East?"

Pierma Heima complained in great distress.

Because after winning the victory, Timur did not send his army to occupy a large amount of Ottoman Empire territory.

In addition to direct rule over some border areas, he began to prepare for an advance eastward.

This made Pierma Heima very confused.

Although Shahru is Pirmahem's uncle, he is about the same age as him, so the two have always had a good relationship.

"Although the Ottoman Empire is in chaos now, their local forces are still there. If father wants to occupy the Ottoman Empire, it will take a lot of effort."

"The most important thing is that this way, there is no way to worry about the East. In contrast, it is obvious that my father wants to go to the East more."

Shahru points out the key.

The territory of the Ottoman Empire is larger than that of Timur. If one wants to completely annex the Ottoman Empire, it will certainly not be something that can be accomplished in a short period of time.

The Ottoman Empire was mainly composed of Turks, so they would definitely rise up in resistance when faced with Timur's invasion.

Strong external pressure will also force the Ottoman Empire to unite again.

Such a push cannot be accomplished in one or two years, it will take at least ten years.

It is now the 30th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, 1397 in the Western calendar.

Timur, who was born in 1336, is already 61 years old this year.

This age is considered very long considering that the average life expectancy in Central Asia is less than 50.

Timur now has two choices.

Should he continue to march towards the Ottoman Empire and continuously expand the territory of his own empire, or fulfill his dream and achieve the reputation of the second Genghis Khan.

In fact, there was nothing for Timur to consider.

Because he felt that his descendants could also defeat the Ottoman Empire, but the situation in the East was different.

But if he doesn't conquer the East now, he will regret it even if he is buried in the ground.

Under Timur's order, a large number of soldiers began to gather towards the eastern border.

Because of the news from the Delhi Sultan, Khalil did not achieve the expected victory, but instead suffered considerable losses due to the addition of Mongolian mercenaries.

The army is currently trapped in the Indus River area and cannot advance.

This made Timur very angry and he decided to personally lead an expedition against the Delhi Sultan.

Moreover, at this time, the Ming Dynasty's ocean-going fleet had already arrived in the Gulf of Siam, indicating that it would soon cross the Strait of Malacca.

Once crossing the Strait of Malacca, the Ming Dynasty's ocean-going fleet will be able to influence the Indian region.

Timur was well aware of how powerful the Ming Dynasty was.

If the countries in the South Indian region united under the call of the Ming Dynasty, it would pose a great threat to the Timurid Empire, which already controlled the North Indian region.

Although the Timurid Empire was very powerful, it did not have many troops at sea, and all its strength was concentrated on land.

Moreover, if the Ming Dynasty's ocean-going fleet crossed the Andaman Sea, it could directly reach the coast of the Timurid Empire.

This situation is not good news for the Timurid Empire, which is now fighting on all sides.

The most important thing for Timur at the moment was to quickly mobilize the army to capture Delhi Sultanate.