The Crescent of the Sultan

To be honest, from the beginning, Selim did not include the powerful powers in Syria and Baghdad in his plan to reduce the vassal state.

The latter is because the strength is really not good. This can be seen from the original Ali Rebellion, when Kara Osman dared to send troops directly to the city of Baghdad.

It's such a waste, it's not worth going to war over.

The development of Mesopotamia was not in the first echelon of Selim's plan.

But Selim didn't move on the former because of the other party's special characteristics.

Different from the landowning aristocracy in the Balkans and the private warlord groups in Anatolia, the powerful families in Syria are more special.

Unlike the Chapan family and the Kara Osman family, they have an unshakable dominance in their core areas.

They do not have such strength, so their method is to marry and tie their family together with other families engaged in major industries in the region.

Take Damascus as an example. It is headed by two major families, namely the Azeem family and the Muladi family.

The Azeem family was responsible for local governance, while the Al-Muradi family sponsored Islamic learning.

As two unique families in the city, they combined their cultural, economic and political capital on different occasions.

This created quite a problem for Selim in dealing with them.

The first is that the two families are indeed very peaceful, or the Sultan has nothing to do with each other.

The second reason is that there are many ulama standing behind the Muladi family.

Although the Ottoman government was indeed the provider of most of the ulema, this does not mean that others did not have this idea.

The Guards that had been wiped out had a group of Ulama supporting them, namely the Bektash Order.

But after Selim eliminated the Guards, he could only impose a slight punishment by executing the leader and several senior leaders of the sect.

The reason is that the Sultan has not yet obtained the power to interfere within the ulema.

But Selim still came up with a plan.

Selim also held a stereotype about Islam at the beginning - that is, it was too conservative, pedantic and stubborn, and did not know how to adapt.

But this is not the case, and jurists can actually be said to be more open-minded.

Since the promulgation of the "Imperial Edict", many religious groups have publicly announced their support for Selim's reforms.

As the first batch of surrenders, the Naqshbandi Order and the Moravi Order (except for the Moravi Order in Konya, which is the spiritual center of the order and the hometown of its founder Rumi) , with the idea of ​​​​buying horse bones for a thousand dollars, Selim has arranged the other party into the Ottoman Empire bureaucracy that he reorganized.

This is the Sultan's plan. It doesn't matter if he can't kill you. Under the current circumstances, the cake that the Ulema can enjoy is only so big.

Arrange for a few more sects to come out and directly compete with you for the cake and eat it, using their status as caliphs to create frantic arguments.

Selim did not believe that the Bektash Order could last forever.

But this trick can be used to deal with the Baktash Order in the center, but it cannot deal with the Muladi family.

The local military and political governors and religious leaders cooperated with each other. Therefore, even in the last rebellion, the Kezan family only chose to control the other party instead of killing them without mercy.

But after Selim saw the appearance of the Sipaxi cavalry, he suddenly had a new idea.

After the "Imperial Edict" was promulgated in January, many local families have handed over control of their land in exchange for the right to recommend quotas.

Although Selim adopted a system of official migration and was prohibited from holding office in the place where officials were originally from.

However, he adopted a merit-based examination system for official promotion.

This compensation is actually a huge temptation for countless grassroots families in the Ottoman Empire. After all, the land they hold seems to be lucrative, but in fact it is still dead.

After all, big families can negotiate with the government to obtain large tax-free areas, but small families can only negotiate with big families and eat the leftovers of others.

Their voice is often restricted to one or a few communities, and they have little hope of climbing further up the ladder.

So when the Sultan made this move, the big family was actually powerless to oppose it.

The problem lies here. For families who have been convinced or frightened by the Sultan, they really do not dare to defy the implementation of this new system.

As for the families in Damascus and Baghdad, they do not need to fight, because Selim's first-phase reform plan did not plan for their future.

After all, as long as the first phase of the reform plan is completed, Selim's strength will form an overwhelming advantage over other regions of the empire.

Things like Bulgaria and Serbia lost their last chance when Ali's rebellion failed.

But the actions of the Sipaxi cavalry gave Selim a new idea. He really didn't care whether he could kill these families in Syria at this time.

It's good to play casual chess at will. Many families have disbanded many private soldiers after handing over their land. These people wandered in the empire's territory, causing extreme chaos to the local people.

When new troops were still needed to defend the imperial capital and were unable to send new troops to suppress the bandits, it was most appropriate for the Sipaxi cavalry to complete the first round of sweeping missions.

After the banditry in Anatolia is basically eliminated, the Sipaxi cavalry can march into Syria, using the excuse that local banditry is serious, and stay here for a long time, so as to compete for power with the local wealthy families.

In this way, it is much better to cut the flesh with a dull knife than to use direct force to clean up. It can quickly restore local order and organize production.

As for the candidates?

Selim happened to have a character in mind.

The Sultan stood in front of the imperial government, looking at the innocent and pitiful faces of the Sipaxi cavalry.

he said with a sad look on his face.

“Dear Sipahi riders, please forgive me, your Sultan, Caliph of Islam, Protector of the Two Holy Mosques.

Although I am known as the reflection of God, how can I compare to the gods in this mortal body?

Allah treats His children equally.

But our Sultan, I, made such a serious mistake.

It is not my wish that you, the heroes of the empire, the brave men on the battlefield, should be reduced to this situation, but it is my fault. "

Selim paused for a moment. He knew that there were many smart people in the Xipaxi cavalry, and someone would naturally come out to answer the question.

"The Great Sultan, Caliph of the Islamic World, Protector of the Two Holy Mosques.

Please don't underestimate yourself, even prophets make mistakes sometimes.

What's more, for you who are involved in state affairs, this is not your fault at all, but the evil deeds of a group of incompetent and corrupt officials. "

In the crowd, a man who looked like a Sipaxi cavalry officer hurriedly replied, and the surrounding Sipaxi cavalry also echoed.

Selim looked at each other with satisfaction. Apart from anything else, these people were very sensible.

Please give me some time to read. I’m busy reading books by other great writers today, so I’m a little late.