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must be now, and it must be immense. I need the Hungarians and all of the west. Tell him he must provide this. Tell him I have given him everything; he must give me everything in return.”

CHAPTER THREE
    THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1452
    Weeks passed as winter set in. The early winter of 1452-53, as the Greeks measured the passing of time. Mehmet rode east on a solitary, wind-swept road, accompanied only by Zaganos and a few guards trailing from behind.
    The group was traveling ostensibly on a routine inspection of some of Zaganos’s troops, but the trip also allowed Mehmet to speak freely with his favored general, without the normal palace spies and courtiers about, and without Halil’s prying ears.
    As they rode to the coast of the Black Sea, the conversation had been primarily on the logistics of the military. Zaganos reported to Mehmet on the number of forces under his command, the condition of the troops, and the number of irregulars that could be readily called up from the various provinces in the event of the need for military action.
    “At the present time we have no active military campaigns,” reported Zaganos.
    “However, there are threats from both the north and the south. In the southeast, we have the Persian Empire to contend with. Their numbers are vast and as you are aware, they follow a heretical form of Islam, a constant threat to our people and our empire. In the south we face the empire of the Mamelukes. They are Muslim like us, but a rival for your power, particularly with their possession of the holy cities of Jerusalem, Mecca and Medina. Probably the greatest immediate threat of attack from Asia is the White Sheep. He has gathered a fairly large force in eastern Anatolia and is apparently communicating with the Greeks as well. We will have to deal with him at some point.
    To the north and west we face potential threats from the Latin states, including from the Pope who is perhaps your greatest theological enemy as the head of the Christian peoples, but who wields very little power in this world. The Latin are divided and fight each other, and the Venetians and Genoese are more concerned with their right to trade with us than with coming to the aid of the Pope against us.
    Our greatest threat lies to the direct north. The Serbians and Bulgarians are divided or conquered, and they are disillusioned by their years of losses at our hands. The Hungarians are our true threat. They are capable of placing large forces in the field. They are brave, organized, and John Hunyadi is a capable leader who could threaten our lands.”
    “This I know,” responded Mehmet. “I am not worried about Hunyadi. He will not attack. Not yet. We beat him too badly last time.” Mehmet referred to the Battle of Varna in 1444, where a large Hungarian force was defeated by a smaller Ottoman force, largely because of the stupidity of the Hungarian King who took over the battle from Hunyadi and was promptly crushed. Hunyadi had barely escaped with his life. Mehmet feared Hunyadi above all others. A Hungarian army led by him not only could threaten to disrupt a siege of Constantinople, it could potentially threaten to drive the Ottomans from Europe. He changed the subject.
    “What of the Greeks?”
    “The Greeks are no real threat. They are divided and weak. To our east there is Trebizond. As you know, Trebizond is a break-away state from the Greeks. Their empire is little more than the city of Trebizond and a little land around it. It is ripe fruit for us to pluck when we will.
    The southern portion of the old Greek mainland, what was once known as the Peloponnesus, and now known as the Moria is divided among the Greek Emperor’s brothers Demetrius and Thomas. They are jealous of each other, constantly squabbling, and unable to unite together even in the face of our forces. I could march through the entire land in a few days with sufficient forces. We are already pressuring them. They will not come to Constantine’s aid.
    That