"Three days later the hero died of the plague in front of the freed citadel." "Taking advantage of this opportunity, Mehmed II, the Conqueror of Constantinople, prepared to give Europe a deadly strike." "Weakened by fights for the throne among the successors of Mircea the Old and by the feudal anarchy of the great boyars, Wallachia seemed an easy prey for the Conqueror." "Who are you?" "We are free countrymen from near Targoviste." "We are going to Iancu de Hunedoara." "We want him to take us into his army." "I will lead you to Iancu's Captain." "He should decide." "Iancu de Hunedoara is dead." "And with him died the promise of help." "I don't wait for anything from anyone." "The circumstances are favorable though the king and the sultan don't have time for Wallachia now." "I have been following you faithfully, since you were a child." "Command me." "Go into villages." "Tell them the time has come for them to gather near the border of Wallachia." "Only those should come for whom liberty is more precious than life." "Judging by the riots of last winter," "I could gather the whole of Transylvania." "3000 Romanians are enough." "Death to Draculea!" "Long live Your Highness!" " Who killed him?" " Me, Your Highness." "Did you have an arrangement?" "I did it by myself." "I smoothed your way to the throne." "Bury him with the honors due to a lord." "And he... should perish by the spear he has killed with." "Why, Your Highness?" "If I hadn't done it, you would." "I haven't sworn to be faithful to him." "Untie them." "Have you any news?" "Yes, I have news." "Various factions are fighting for the throne and the country is in chaos." "As a successor of Mircea the Great you should know that." "Give him his sword." "You have carried it with honor." "Let us swear to be faithful to His Highness." "Tell me boyars" "How many lords have sat on this throne since my grandfather Mircea died?" "Six." "Seven, eight." "More, Your Highness." "Ten." "Not even you know how many." "You have urged the ones against the others." "You have impelled them to look abroad for help." "Us, Mircea Voievod lord of the whole Ungro-Wallachia country of the territories over the mountains of the Tartar territories and Prince of Amlas and Fagaras lord of Banat in Severin and on both sides of the Danube up to the big sea" "and sole lord of Dirstor Citadel... what happened to his inheritance?" "Where are the territories?" "Over the mountains?" "Where are Amlas and Fagaras?" "Where is the big sea?" "Not even 50 years have passed since the lords were vassals to the King of Hungary, and tributaries to Mehmed." "Servants of two masters." "This is what this country has become as a consequence of your reckless actions." "Your Highness came to the country to kill the Lord and replace him," "The country is a shadow of what it used to be." "When I crossed the mountains I did not come against a country but against a shadow." "I came not to kill a Lord but the shadow of a shadow." "The Lords were helpless." "You have ruled after Mircea's death." "You have changed the Lords." "They did not know to hew you in time." "Do it Your Highness." "No." "I won't judge you now." "Too many heads would fall." "I am asking you one thing." "You have brought the country to where it is now, you take it to where it should be." "Let us take it, Your Highness." " What is your command?" " Open the prison gates." "Those who were sentenced to death shall regain their lives." "Those who were imprisoned shall regain their freedom." "Everybody's mistakes will be forgiven, whatever they are." "From now on, all robberies, rapes, lies, treachery, will be punished by beheading." "Forgive me, Your Highness, this is good when taking the throne" "But afterwards wouldn't it seem be too harsh?" "Harsh?" "Why harsh?" "All souls should know what I am asking." "And what is waiting for them." "Each man should be his own judge." "To decide for himself if he stays or leaves this world." "And as he decides, so be it." "What could be more right than this?" "He's right." "This is fair." "And what else do you command, Your Highness?" "A new administration," ""Armashia"." "To ensure the fulfillment of the royal orders." "Anything else?" "That's enough for today." "Very good, Your Highness." "Let it be as you wish." "If this is your will..." "Who will have the honor to be the armash?" "You." "What should he oversee?" "The princes and the country's council oversee everything." "It's not they who are in Your Highness's hands, but Your Highness who is in their hands." "Nobody should be watching over them?" "Over the princes?" "The council?" "I don't want to see the country through their eyes, but to know it as it is." "I only have two hands and two eyes, and I would need a thousand." "A thousand good eyes are hard to gather." "Take 300 of the horsemen I came with." "Gather all the reliable men you know." "Spread them over the fairs, villages and roads." "Nothing should happen in the country without me knowing about it." "The boyars won't want them on their estates." "They can raise their flags and stand against me." "Who would I face them with?" "With the princely army." "The princely army is made up of boyar's men." "There is no other princely army." "Haven't you seen it with your own eyes?" "Haven't you had a rope around your neck?" "Do you think I came here to play the prince?" "I gave you a sword." "Handle it." "But be aware, it has 2 blades." "If you are a good man, don't be afraid." "If you're not, your head will fall first." "Too many strange things in one day." "But one has put an end to everything." "We have gone into battle with a prince and returned with another whom nobody wanted." "He had hardly been on the throne when he started to make bad decisions." "He is like a foal harnessed for the first time kicking and neighing." "This will last for a little while... but he will get used to the harness, the carriage and the coachmen." "Highway robbery." "They have stolen a few bales." "What did the guards do?" "Exactly what they are doing right now." "We should have doubled the guards." "Here all the roads are insecure." "Bloody country!" "We have been looking for you for an hour." "You taught me when I was a child to get out at dawn, and see how life and the country awake." "So early?" "Alone and without guards?" "Without telling anyone?" "Knowing full well how dangerous this is?" "What shall I do if this is the lord's order?" "Am I not supposed to obey?" "Where are the councillors?" "They come at noon, Your Highness." "This is the custom." "The custom?" "Take the palace guards and go get them." "Three German merchants from Brasov want to see Your Highness." "They are waiting in the Chancellery." " Are you a merchant or a captain?" " The roads are insecure, Your Highness, haunted by all kinds of dawdlers." "They beg during the day and steal at night." "Last night they killed a servant and stole some Turkish fabric and expensive cloths." "Four packs, Your Highness." "Ransack Targoviste and its surroundings." "Get the robbers." "You will get back all that has been taken from you." "Take the merchants of Brasov a letter to strengthen their privileges, so that you can pass through Wallachia without problems, towards the villages along the Danube." "The same for our merchants towards Brasov or other places." "This country has to grow very fast in order to be like other countries." "And you come at noon?" "First your head and then the rest?" "It is not your country, boyars." "You belong to this country." "And me as well, I belong to this country." "One says Ladislau of Hungary, not Hungary of Ladislau," "Kazimir of Poland, not Poland of Kazimir." "If it weren't this way, the countries would perish with their lords, and with their boyars." "What happened, Your Highness?" "Nothing happened." "This is a normal working day." "I want us to discuss the country's business, see what is to be done and do it." "The Turks rob near Giurgiu." "There was no agreement about the borders of Turkish counties." "In this way began all robberies in past years, from Giurgiu." "After that, they spread across the Danube, to Braila." "We must stop them." "Gather two thousand horsemen between Buzau and Braila." "We don't need war." "Let there be peace." "When you pay tribute to the sultan, tell him about this." "That's how Ottoman and Hungarian law was decided back in 1453, when the peace treaty was signed." "Silence boyars!" "Who is in command here?" "Me or you?" "Let the Hungarians make war with the Turks if this is their wish, but not at our loss." "Who were the boyars from the country's council of 1453?" "We, and others..." "Those of you who made the treaty should pay for this, not me, not the whole country." "Don't ask me to bring you tribute." "I'm King of Walachia, not some weak messenger." "If peace is broken because of Your Highness, both king and sultan will come for us." "The country hasn't enough power to stay against them." "How can a country be powerful, if it is divided into hundreds pieces?" "Each of you considers himself a king on his own estate." "Each of you does what he wants." "In a country like this, you blow as a flame on a candle." "Free the army which you came with." "The horsemen are wandering about and disturbing the people." "No." "The horsemen will remain on Throne's Citadel, always ready." "They will be an army of mercenaries." "Why do we need an army like this?" "The boyars army aren't enough?" "Not anymore." "The Turkish soldiers are mercenaries." "That's why Turkey is so strong." "The Hungarians have this kind of army, too." "In our times, the mercenaries form the iron-strong core of the army." "They decide a war's fate." "The country is poor." "But you are wealthy!" "Give the army all the men needed." "By free will." "Otherwise I'll send the army to your estates, to take for itself." "The country is poor?" "Under Mircea the country wasn't like this." "How has it become poor since then?" "I don't want there to be poor people in my country anymore." "Let's begin..." "to promote artisanry and commerce, because this is a country's source of wealth." "Both our craftsmen and commerce are weakened." "No strength at all." "Why?" "How?" "You don't know?" "From today on, the merchants and craftsmen will obey only the king." "Those from the boyar's estates will respond in front of boyars." "Don't the boyar lands belong to Wallachia?" "There is the law of the land, Your Highness." "Land is the same for everybody." "It feeds us... is patient with us, and protects us." "It's the only law known by the land." "Your Highness, what you're doing isn't good." "Boyars are the country's base." "If the foundation is weakened, the country is too." "All that I have decided today, is for the well-being of country." "If the country's well-being isn't yours too... tell me now." "I know what I have to do." "Enough for today." "You should be there again early tomorrow." "Don't play with fire you boyars!" "Please, I beg you, with all my soul." "Don't do it." "He's a wild horse, not a foal as you said." "If we let him, he will ruin the harness and destroy the carriage." "When you arrive in Transylvania, go to him and do what I have told you." "In secret." "Yes, Your Highness." "The robberies have escalated in Targoviste and the neighboring villages." "We have caught some robbers and we cut off their heads." "Others were hanged." "But many remain free, Your Highness." "After today's punishment, they will lose their appetite." "They are frightened." "No trace of fear." "Since this morning all beggars, all dawdlers are merry." "They toast to you and..." "sing obscene songs." "The carrying out of justice looks like a carnival." " Let's choose only a few punishments." " Which ones, and how?" "They all have the same flaw." "They awaken the cruelty in people, not the honesty." "Fina a punishment that does not personalize the victory of the good which nobody finds out about, and from which they don't learn." "What there is to learn - is in vain." "What do you command, Your Highness?" "Get me all the robbers in the country." "I don't think this is possible, Your Highness." "Many of them withdraw to the boyar's estates when they are cornered." "We have no power there, yet." "Hm..." "The boyars again." "It would have been better to cut them off, Your Highness." "We are going through Bran Pass." "Back up the convoy." "How is it?" "All four are untouched." "I didn't believe we'd ever see them again." "We are starting!" "Start!" "Come on!" "Don't do anything else but what I told you." "Let there be everything in abundance!" "Nothing should be missing from this princely feast." "And..." "Invite them all." "Come in, gentlemen!" "Come in!" "." "." "." "." "Let's drink to His Highness!" "Long live Draculea." "Long live the ringleader of the beggars!" "Hey!" "Let's get out of here." "Come, quickly!" "You have something against me?" "Why are you throwing me out?" "I don't want to go." "Leave me there to dance." "Come, let's go outside." "." "Don't hit me, leave me alone!" "Help!" "Help!" "I want to remain." "." " Are there any courageous men left inside?" " None." "As you ordered, Your Highness." "Then finish the work." "Understood, Your Highness." "All 2000 horsemen are between Buzau and Braila and waiting for your orders." "Long life to you." "God help Your Highness!" "We pray for Your health." "Are the roads to Targoviste properly guarded?" "Yes, as you commanded." "But Targoviste was left undefended." "Maybe you shouldn't go to Braila and leave Targoviste in the boyars' hands." " Don't you trust boyars?" " No." "God help us." "Or the Devil..." "Stay in peace." "It is boiling..." "What are you making here?" "Meat soup, Your Highness." "Throw out the foam, otherwise the food will lose its taste." "There are times when even a nation's garbage wants to rise." "If it isn't thrown out, it weakens the nation's strength and deforms it." "For these kinds of things a spoon is not enough." "I'll allow it to rise." "I'll even help it." "But I'll not let it go where it wants, but where it deserves, instead." "He's on the way." "Stephen?" "I'm glad you called me." "With whom do we fight?" "With Petru Aron." "But only you." "You should be at Suceva before he knows." "On the Moldavian throne." "Take the army." "I gathered it just for you." " The Lower Country wants me as lord." " I know." "First try to make peace and order in the country." "to secure peace at the borders." "Something has changed since Constantinople's fall." "We are trapped between the sultan and Hungary's king." "When they want to conquer, to oppress, to take what is not theirs, there is no difference between Christians and Pagans." "Soon each of them will try to subdue us, smiling and telling us... they want to protect us the other one." "There will be a bitter struggle." "Maybe it will last hundreds of years." "There's no wall that can protect us." "The walls of our resistance should be inner ones." "In each of us." " With this I've finished." " I have not!" "You spoke to me as to a lord, I'll answer you as a lord." "Mountains protect me from the king of Hungary." "I have a chain of citadels." "The Hotin, The Orhei," "Tighina, Soroca, Alba Citadel all protect me from Tatar invasions." "Moldavia is safe, like in armor, but one piece is still missing." "Chilia." "Now it's yours." "I want it back." "Without Chilia the heart of country is exposed to Mohamed." "The citadel is mine just theoretically." "After Iancu's death the King of Hungary replaced his soldiers with a garrison." "If I give it back to you, it will give the king a motive to start a war, and I'm not prepared for this." "I will take it by sword." "You are not ready too." "Let's wait... a while, make it seem like a fight between us." "In this way nobody will be upset." "On the other hand," "there are the boyars." "They want to crown their own king." "They promise the sultan double tribute if he supports their choice." "I asked for those horsemen to weaken their army, not for starting a war with the Turks." "Now do you understand why?" "I wanted nobody to perish." "God is my witness." "It's their choice." "I'm going to scour my land." " What is going on here?" " What you see." "Govora is a princely monastery." "Who dared to touch it?" "Me!" "And with me the entire country's great princes." "I took out the sword to defend the boyar's privileges." "We want Albu as our prince." "You'll pay with your head." "Draculea can't get here sooner than three days." "In three days we'll be ten times as many." "There are also the 2000 horsemen who are on his side." "When they see what is going on, they will raise their swords against him and will be ready to fight." "Do you understand now why I gave them to him?" "To be the one who kills him." "Draculea!" "Draculea is coming!" "Get out of my way!" "." "Protect us, Your Holiness!" "We are inside the holy church, Your Highness." "They should have come to the holy church before, not after!" "You shall not murder!" "Love thy neighbor as you love yourself, lead his soul towards righteousness." "I have to lead the country towards righteousness." "Your Holiness should take care of the souls." "They are the business of every shepherd." "Each shepherd with his pipe." "From Your Highness's pipe comes a pagan sound." "Thou shalt not steal." "Thou shalt not murder." "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house or anything that belongs to him." "For all to go well with you." "Do the holy commandments sound like this or not?" "You have learned them, Your Highness, but you didn't understand them." "Have I ever done otherwise than being said?" "Have I ever punished for a different flaw?" "From your holiness's pipe comes pagan sounds, when you want to protect the lawless." "God does not wish for the sinner's death." "But for his righteousness, I know." "But if they are commandments, let them be commandments." "In order to convert ten sinners into righteous men, one man should die." "In order to convert 100, ten must perish." "Serving as an example." "In vain you ask the thief not to steal, the killer not to kill." "Asking does not accomplish anything." "It is not the love of God brings people to the church, but fear of the hell's throes." "And Your Highness wants to embody them?" "If you heed my orders five of you will kill 100" "A hundred will banish 10,000 and enemies will die by the sword in front of you." "If you don't heed my orders..." "I will come with rage and punish you seven times for your sins." "You will perish, the land of your enemies will swallow you" "Do you want me to wait cross-handed for this punishment which means the country's death?" "Mehmed is close." "The country should confront him like an invincible steel sword." "Swords are hardened through fire, not words, your holiness." "But not in hell's fire." "I haven't another handy." "Impale them!" "For the whole country to see and learn!" "From now on, this will be the only punishment." "The stake is for the lowest scum." "There are also boyars here, Your Highness." "Are there?" "Then mark my words:" "don't put the prince near the craftsman, the robber near the monk, and the boyar near the common people." "Give each the stake appropriate to his class." "I want to be seen from afar that my justice is the same for all!" "Beg him to cut off my head." "He is my brother." "Do you want him by your side?" "It is possible in one way:" "with you by his side." "I didn't want it," "I don't want." "But it is needed." "How else to separate the wheat from the chaff?" "I made everybody his own judge." "I've put the scales of justice in their hands." "But for some of them, the scale has just one pan." "To swing impaled, if they want." "The sooner, the better." "A rotten apple will spoil all the others." "I must not hesitate." "I must not blink." "If I don't do this, everything will be lost." "My God..." "Why me?" "Your duty is to watch my sleep, not disturb it." "It is a miracle we escaped." "You said you wanted to trap him and we all fell into his trap." "Look what has become of us:" "no fortunes and no estates." "All we have left are our clothes." "I lost more than you did." " It is good that my head is on my shoulders." " What use can you make of it?" "Yes, one of Mircea the Old's men is here in Transylvania, watching the throne." "We'll go to him, gather an army, and return to Targoviste led by him." "Everything we lost will be ours again and even more." "On your horses!" "We need to appoint new prince." "According to the custom I should name them." "I could also let you choose them." "I won't do either." "Each of you should ponder on a choice and take the office he feels worthy for." "Think about it very well, thou." "Those who choose themselves improperly, I will get nearer to heaven." "And they will be the ones to blame." "Judge." "Treasurer." "Council Head." "Come on!" "Let's get out of this hole." "Who are you?" "But you?" "Szilagi's soldiers." "You?" "Merchants from Wallachia." "What you have in the carriages?" "Steel." "What a shame." "I think you are men of the King." "What do you have against the King?" "Ladislau must leave the throne!" "The Kingdom of Hungary's crown is for Iancu of Hunedoara." "Iancu gave us fame." "Now all Christendom respects us much more." "His successors should be our Kings, not an incompetent." "Szilagyi has sworn not to put the sword into the sheath until he replaces the king with Iancu's son." "And it will be as Szilagyi wants." "Aside from the powerful counts, we all are on his side." "Should be mister, I said otherwise?" " Are you passing through Brasov?" " Yes, through Brasov." "Take care, they are are loyal to the King." "The Brasovenians have stopped the carriages and imprisoned the merchants." "Why?" "Szilagy's revolt has extended in whole downside of Transylvania." "Because of this we cannot give back the carriages to His Highness." "Neither Valahia nor our Lord has anything to do with Szilagy's revolt." "You didn't make any effort to stop it." "As King's vassal His Highness should intervene." "If he doesn't, this means he's on the side of the rebels." "The goods of the rebels or their supporters are being seized by the King." "His Highness never agreed to any covenant of vassalage with Hungary's King." "This is one more evidence that His Highness is against the King." "We do not say this." "But the high royal princes say this." "So... as a proof of our benevolence we'll free the merchants." "But we can't free the carriages no matter how much we want." "The King will take us as rebels." "Regarding those fugitive boyars that His Highness demands, we can't touch them for the same reasons." "As long as they are in Transylvania they are under the King's protection." "His Highness must ask for them from the King." "Mhm, so this is the gratitude of merchants from Brasov?" "They want to force us to buy tools and armament from them, for which we pay ten times more." "That's why they attacked us and our iron and steel crafting." "Let's take away their privileges." "No." "When you are pushed to get back what you gave with one hand, you ought to take back with the other one." "The carriages are worth 100 times less than our merchandise." "Take their chariots and give us the merchandise." "From now on you won't pass the customs at Wallachia with merchandise that can be found in our country as well." "You won't pass however much, but as much as merchant from my country will go to Brasov or through there towards other places." "Oxen, horses, wax, fabrics, copper, silver, iron - are all found in Wallachia." "What else will we sell to the Turks?" "Silver and gold lace?" "You shouldn't have stopped the carts." "Dracula was kind with us." "To a hand which reaches out to you, you don't answer with a fist." "We had to stop them." "This road links the West and the East." "What passes through our hands, must stay in our hands." "If we share it, we share the earnings, the wealth and the power." "There is no road." "Dracula cut it." "He cut it wrong." "The Turks sell veils to us, gems, carpets, silk, lemon, rice, spices, oil." "Can we find any of this merchandise in Wallachia?" "Buy all Turkish merchandise from the Danube." "Fill up the warehouses." "If we do not give merchandise in exchange, we lose profit." "We'll raise the prices in the West and blame Dracula for that." "Wherever you go, tell everyone that he is a tyrant, a devil thirsting for blood and his only pleasure is to impale innocent people." "Tell them that he is feasting in front of the stakes, and finds great pleasure in seeing them suffering." "Tell them he burnt the poor, instead of being charitable." "Tell them he slaughtered 300 merchants from Brasov together with their wives and children." "The merchants don't walk on the roads with women and children, like the gypsies." "Everybody knows that." "Tell them once, twice or a hundred times and they will end up believing you." "Picture him as a demon, an evil spirit." "Turn the whole of Christendom against him." "You slander a man." "You want to cover one evil with another." "There is plenty of room for all merchants from Brasov or Wallachia." "Send the carts with steel to Targoviste." "A delegation should go apologize and everything should be as it used to." "There is a war here, without swords and spears." "In any war there is no room for both us and them." "The law of war is one: either us or them." "How do we get to the Danube?" "He won't allow all our merchants to pass." "Only a few." "It is enough that one of ours should pass." "He will buy for all." "Dad, why do they call him Draculea?" "How else?" "Draculea - the son of Dracul (the devil), as they used to call his father" " Vlad Dracul." " Was he a devil?" " He was a man." "A good man." "If he was a good man, why did they call him Dracul?" "Because he had a dragon around his neck." "What dragon?" "Why are you fooling the boy?" "That was "dracon"." "Dragon." "That's how call it His Highness." "He had received it from the Germans and it was a sign of great honor." "Dad!" "What do you want?" "Was it a dragon or not?" "It was as your grandad says, because he had been in the princely guards and knows better." "Silk, fabric." "Buy cheap raisins!" "What is their price?" "The same as ours." "The road is closed with 7 locks." "Only a sword could reopen it." "Let's open it by sword." "Us?" "No." "To his majesty, the King of Hungary." "Who gave us the Duchy of Amlas and Fagaras." "Cheers!" "Cheers!" "Gentlemen!" "Thank your king for his support in conquering the throne of Wallachia, which as a grandson of Mircea I have the right to possess." "I will wait patiently the right time." "You have now all the high ranks, Your Highness." "You have also chosen your administration." "It is a real princely court." "Just one thing is missing: the country." "But it will come..." "Until then, address your needs to the brave German merchants, who will help you." "What do you decide, Your Highness?" "How can you make the most of what was given to us?" "We must gather an army and this means great expense." "Didn't you hear?" "The German merchants will administer Amlas and Fagaras." "It is the king's will." "Let them be bothered." "To us they will assure our basic needs and soldiers." "When the time comes." " What are we supposed to do, Your Highness?" " We'll go hunting." "Look how far they pushed their bravery." "If Mircea the Old could knew that foreign kings give Romanian land as reward to those with royal blood in exchange for their loyalty he would turn 7 times in his grave." "Let's send a messenger to the King." "To ask him to drive these pretenders to the throne out of our borders." "Why do you push the king in this matter?" "You looked at the documents from the office?" "Is there a treaty between us and king to let him have Amlash or the Fagarash?" "None." "Surround the castle!" "Your Highness's cousin is running pretty fast." "Quick, to Targosviste." "Let His Highness know!" "Manzila, take half of the country's army, join them with those from Targosviste and smash the Turks." "A messenger from Szilagyi." "Szilagyi is sending word to Your Highness that the king has asked for an armistice." "Your cause with the merchants from Brasov will be judged as well." "Their delegation will go to Sighisoara." "Let yours come as well." "Johanes Reuden - messenger of the bourg of Brasov." "The messengers of Wallachia." "Mihai Szilagyi- captain of Belgrade citadel." "His excellency Albert, royal vice-chancellor, Prepositor of the Archishop of Agria." "I have largely exposed the injustice done to the brave merchants of Brasov, the persecutions they have been subjected to." "The cruelty of Dracula has shaken the Christian world." "If he would meet the Savior himself, he would crucify Him a second time." "Why don't you say something about what the merchants did against Wallachia?" "They had to respond to the persecutions that overwhelmed them." "First he showed them understanding and goodwill." "What they got is what they have asked for." "We know the cause." "You don't need to say it once again." "You know it from the people of Brasov." "Nobody listened to us." "My people spoke for you." "You will give the people of Brasov their former privileges back." "You will give them back all the merchandise you have taken from them." "Also, we oblige them to give you back the carts with steel." "Let's make peace." "Amen." "We will respect this armistice if His Majesty the King won't dispose otherwise." "We are not signing." "First he should send away the pretenders at the borders." "So that our merchants in Brasov have the same rights as the ones in Wallachia." "Our brother Vlad is right." "The things he asks will assure peace at the borders of Transylvania." "His will is my own." "Either we do as he wants or we don't sign the armistice." "What did you say?" "The armistice is for 3 months." "For how long have you given them back their privileges?" "For three months." "Where is it so written?" "Where?" "They will think it is forever." "I sent you to sign an armistice, and you signed a peace treaty?" "That is why I came here to see you?" "For that I was sleepless?" "What happened to you?" "You gave me my sword, Your Highness, but not the wisdom required for a royal job." "Dismiss me from this rank and name someone who is more competent." "What do you think that serving the country is?" "An inn where you go in and out as you please?" "There is no turning back here, for anybody." "There is only one way forward or up." "You know where..." " Shall prepare it, Your Highness?" " Not yet." "Sir Benedict of Boytor, messenger of Hungary's King." "Ladislau.... is dead." "Matthias Corvinus is now King of Hungary." "We wish Matthias to give greatness and glory to the people who have chosen him." "Like Iancu of Hunedoara did in his time." "His glorious father." "We shall do all in our power to make a durable peace." "A righteous one." "His Majesty, protector of Christianity, wants from Your Majesty to make at Budapest the covenant of vassalage." "Vassalage?" "What it this?" "This is too much." "His Majesty has just ascended the throne." "He doesn't protect anybody yet." "I'm the king of a country which is free and I want it to stay as it is." "I'm an ally and brother in arms against the dangers that threaten us both." "But not vassal." "I'll never be a vassal to anybody." "Never!" "The day riding, the night riding." "No home." "I am sick of this job." "It happens to all princes." "We all are tired." "You can't say that His Highness spares us or is very grateful." "We will both end up impaled." "I know." "Are you okay with this?" "I have no choice." "You can always choose." "We only live once." " What do you mean?" " Nothing." "Both of us will die just before we make a move." "This can be done without danger." "The others will kill us, afterwards." "The boyars who don't want a war against the Turks are on our side." " How many?" " Enough." "Those in Amlas and Fagaras will be with us as soon as we let them know." "They know how to be grateful." "Why don't they do that?" "They can't do it." "The guards are with him all the time." "It is easier for us to find him alone." "The best thing would be when he is saying his prayers." "Does he pray?" "For hours, at night." "How do we do it?" "Good morning, boyars." "Welcome." "Throw away your swords." "Did you take care of what is necessary?" "As you ordered, Your Highness." "Don't let them wait." "They must be tired after such work." "You have chosen wrong, magistrate." " And the Turks?" " From 10,000 I don't know how many are left." "For what rank do you feel yourself worthy, Manzila?" "Let me guard you, Your Highness." "As I have done my whole life." "Now I have a princely guard." "The guard is defending the prince, but who'll defend Your Highness?" "The country pays tribute in vain for peace at the Danube that it still doesn't have." "Let's stop paying!" "They will come and take it." "We will welcome them as we should." "In the country things are right now." "Why put everything in danger in a war with an uncertain outcome?" "Their power has no limits." "Maybe...it would be better..." "to buy our freedom." "Its price is low." "Freedom cannot be bought." "You say the price is low." "Don't fool yourselves." "It will always increase until one day... when the price of freedom will be freedom itself." "God forbid that day!" "Then it will be too late." "PART TWO" "THREE YEARS LATER" "Exalted Mehmed, emperor of emperors, king of kings great emir and sultan orders you to give to the gate your tribute for 3 years." "Add 500 children per year for the army of janissaries." "The padishah also orders you to take the tribute to Adrianople." "Why don't you take off your turbans?" "Allah has commanded us not to uncover our heads, especially in front of the unfaithful." "What if a wind starts now and takes your turbans away and your heads will be uncovered, would that be a sin or not?" "It would be, but not so big." "This would happen against our will." "You let the wind determine whether you sin or not?" "*" "Allah should not be upset, willingly or unwillingly." "Armash!" "How do you dare bring me such news?" "Cut off their heads!" "Yunus Bey." "Do you remember Vlad, my father's former hostage?" "I stayed around him, Master of Masters." "You will stay again." " Where are the merchants?" " It is lunchtime." "And the merchandise, all these valuables left here, without guard?" "Who could steal them?" "Nobody would take them." "God bless His Highness for the good he brought to the country." "When did the stealing cease?" "About 2 years ago." "Nobody has raised stakes in the fiefs." "Terrible punishment." "The glorious padishah, King of kings grand emir and grand sultan wishes Vlad the Prince a peaceful and long reign" "The glorious padishah is glad because you exempt from fatigue to punish him on those worthless messengers who were known to behave as they should." "I've came to say this to you and to take your response to their message back but first, I have a secret message for Your Highness." "Katavarinos, in the past, in Anatolia, you used to be a Christian." "Then Your Highness too was a hostage." "Should I be judged because I have converted to the right faith?" "Perhaps a more righteous faith than those of your forefathers?" "My forefathers were pagans." "They believed in the gods of Olympus." "What is Allah but a lonely Zeus?" "You haven't changed." "You always fall on your feet, like a cat." "Only if I don't fall on one of Your Highness's stakes." "So help you Allah!" "What does Mehmed want?" "The padishah wouldn't have wanted the tribute" "All was decided by Murat." "He inherited this situation and he can't back out now." "Nothing could justify that step." "What should I do to make this right?" "Your good will would suffice." "How shall I show good will?" "Let our army pass through to Hungary." "That's all." "No money, no soldiers, no toil." "Your Highness will thus become a friend of the padishah." "Friends do not pay tribute." "Come on, tell me." "Tell me..." "Everything must be a secret." "Fast as a thunderbolt" "After the fall of Buda and when Hungary becomes a pashalic there won't be any pretenders to the throne across the mountains." "The country will have the peace it wants." "With the promise of such advantages, the answer must be only - "yes"." "Well..." "No!" "Your Highness wants to defend Hungary?" "No.I want to defend my own country." "The padishah will keep his word." "I know." "He will keep it." "I will conquer Buda, transform Hungary into a pashalic" "What will Wallachia become then?" "An island in an Ottoman sea." "He won't touch it, but those who follow?" "He who wants to be the master of the world can't leave anything unmastered." "Mehmed knows that." "He gives with the one hand, but takes with the other." "Christendom is crumbling, stirred by hostile passions like a sea of sand in the wind." "Against it there is a big rock rolling down." "The future belongs to that rock." "Sooner or later the shadow of the glorious Crescent will spread over all the earth." "The swords will decide that." "It's no good to be in the way of a rolling rock." "Mind you, Katavorinos, you are not here to give me advice." "The country must pay tribute." "Twice as much." "Mehmed has inherited a tribute for which he did not intend to ask." "It is a tribute I don't intend to pay." "Then let's agree over the borders of Giurgiu, Your Highness." "Let's go here and decide." "If not, cut my head off now, and spare me the trip back to Constantinople." "Allah hu akbar!" "If you don't surrender I will cut your head off, stuff it with straw and send it to Istanbul.." "Do you think you will be rewarded for that?" "Mehmed can't lift you higher than I could." "Master, they are the soldiers of Yunus Bey, running from infidels." "Open the gates!" "Your Highness!" "If you want a loyal dog, I am one." "Take me into your chancellery." "Are you skilled?" "I've worked at Venice and Milan chancelleries." " Why did you not stay there?" " I can't stay long in one place." "Nobody leave my chancellery when he wants." "Go on your way, man." "Untie him!" "On your knees." "Only death can stop their appetite for conquering." "Lead the army beyond the water!" "We will pass to them through fire and sword on the entire length of the Danube." "Don't push the sultan more than should be, otherwise the fire will come over us." "We have no choice." "It will be war anyway." "I gave the country a new face, made with sweat and blood." "But the clay is still soft." "Only weather or fire can strengthen it." "Fire hardens clay into a pitcher." "A big fire creates something hard like a rock." "Our country will emerge from war like a rock." "Where's the infidel?" "He's advancing along the Danube." "Everyone's fleeing from him." "You've dreamed, dirty servant!" "Speak up." "The shore of the Bosphorus is full of refugees, King of Kings." "They are as many as the sand." "They want to pass to Asia." "I will whip them back to the place from which they fled." "Lift the siege of Corinth immediately." "All armies back to Istanbul." "Your Highness, Dan is passing the mountains through Bran, with an army of mercenaries." "Our soldiers can't hold them for long." "Go and tell them to withdraw slowly and harass him relentlessly." "In two days I will be there." "If you find the opportunity, hit him, don't wait for me." "I want Dan alive." "His boyars, as well." "Give him a spade." "Dig!" "The hand of a prince must hold only the sceptre and the sword." "How would have you defeated a country in front of humiliation?" "Let him dig his grave up to the end." "Bring some priests to have a sermon." "He should be buried with honor." "He did not know to die as a prince, at least his burial should be for one." "He is the flesh and blood of Mircea the Great." "They should be lifted up around the grave, according to their titles." "Each lord to sleep into his own foundation." "The infidel has retired with his army across the Danube." "Only the shame which he brought remains behind him." "I'll give Christianity a deadly blow." "100,000 warriors will gather here." "Abudhan Pasha with 150 ships and 60,000 warriors here" "I will hit the Romanian country and turn it into a pashalic." "After that..." "Moldavia too." "Why so much power for two little countries?" "Only our best knights can trample them underfoot." "From Moldavia and Wallachia, my soldiers will pass on Transylvania." "Crushed from both sides, the king's army will crumble." "I will turn Transylvania into a pashalic, too." "After this it will be winter." "I won't release the army." "I'll spend the winter in arms, in Transylvania." "When the snows begin to melt a new army will be heading for Belgrade." "We'll send a word to the Tatars to attack Poland in the same time." "So I will not be attacked in Italy, nor in Poland." "Now, Buda is lost..." "After Buda..." "Vienna." "I will come with armies to Belgrade and then will begin in full force." "To Rome..." "I'll turn the Vatican into a big mosque." "Pope with all his cardinals will walk behind me dressed like ordinary dervishes." "Do you want to upset the thinking on the battlefield as you did with the siege on Constantinople , Luceafar between Luceferi?" "(hipcamp***Like the moon's eclipse during the siege on Constantinople," "Show the green flag of the Holy War!" "In all the mosques to make prayers to Allah glory be his name, to give me power... and victory." "And tell to Pope Pius the 2nd that we don't want, to run away from their wilderness, but we want to fight them." "We are poor and few compared to their wealth." "And if we'll reach a bad end, and this small country will perish, all Christianity will suffer." "Your brother Vlad, has raised his arm against my empire." "That arm will fall...., hit by my sword." "You are a hostage here." "I did not betray you." "It is not fair for me to be killed and the one who confronted you to be alive." "Take 4,000 soldiers, go to Danube and try to attract the boyars." "Tell them you will take his place on the throne." "The Turks are crossing the Danube!" "The cannons there..." "Be careful, don't make noise." "You jackal!" "Do you want our bones to remain here?" "Pass through the mill." "The one from "Valea Seaca"." "They'll met there." "Go near His Highness." "Guard him well!" "See you soon, father!" "I ordered the whole country to gather." "Why isn't the whole army here?" "Some of the boyars did not obey your order." "They did not come with their flags." "The boyars again?" "The country has gathered." "Children, old men, all who can hold a sword have started to go to your camp." "King Matei also has left Buda with his army." "Yes, he left 6 weeks ago." "And he is only halfway." "Don't fool yourself." "We'll never get help from nobody." "Then why did you send them?" "Then why have you sent messengers?" "So that nobody could ever say that they were not aware of our needs and dangers and for the country to understand they can't wait for anything from anyone." "This isn't the first time we must face the danger alone." "All troops pass till evening." "At dawn we move towards Targoviste." "The march order - as usual." "Akincis should go after prey..." "***Akincis (raiders, light cavalry) should attack their prey" "With no price not go further than." " What do you want to tell me, Yafar?" " Let me join the soldiers." "I am a warrior." "Very well, go." "Take care not to be killed." "Rashid, go and see what's there." "Not a single drop of water." "All fountains are poisoned." "What do you command?" "In 2 days we have lost more than 5000 soldiers." "The supplies are scarce." "The soldiers are hungry and thirsty." "Nobody should go far from the army." "Bring water from the Danube." "He is weaker than I thought... if he thinks that he can stop me like that." "Time has come." "Don't let them rest." "We must harass them." "Let's shake the faith in their own strength." "Yunuss Bey and his soldiers." "They have been hanging here for an year." "Let's give to the dead what is appropriate for them." ""Yunus Bey, do you remember Vlad?" "My father's former hostage."" ""I stayed around him, Master."" "The trenches around their camp get smaller and smaller." "So we can easily pass over them." "They are used to our harasses at night." "They hardly wake up, they are less frightened." "We will attack them tomorrow night." "The opening of their camp is facing the Danube." "The peak is facing Targoviste." "The regular army is here." "More than a half is there." "This is the most exhausted and hungry army." "They will run away after the first attack." "We don't have enough strength." "I know." "Mehmed also knows, that is why he has this army of sorts." "We can't win." "Just do as I told you and we will win." "Stay." "What needs to be done I must do it by myself." "It's not a princely work, but I have no choice." "Back off!" "Back off!" "Here we go!" "Hey, you!" "Get into the line!" "Water!" "Water!" "The water will be shared at the tent of Adin Pasha." "Don't let them go near!" "Water!" "Share it here!" "Tomorrow at dawn we attack Targoviste on 3 lines:" "Durakan Bey to the right," "Aly Bey in the center, with 20,000 soldiers the rest of the army under your command, to the left." "Enlighten my mind Allah, how can I guess his plan?" "Help me to put the crescent on all the churches in this country." "If we'll win," "I'm gonna build for you a great mosque." "Just then, the dream of Islam will be accomplished." "And praised be your name..." "Hey you!" "What is this?" "An talisman." "Do you want to buy it?" "It's not expensive." "And what is good for?" "It protects you from the hits of the enemy." "No shit...." "I have an talisman for sale." "The giaours have taken Turkish clothes and killed the sultan!" " What is going on?" " The sultan's tent is on fire." "The giaours have taken Turkish clothes and killed the sultan!" "Run to the Danube!" "Run to the Danube!" "Follow me!" "Follow me!" "Hit them, my brave men!" "The giaours!" "The giaours!" "Forward with all your strenght!" "Follow me!" "Stay!" "Giaours...." "Defend the sultan!" "I faced death in Constantinople, Belgrade and on all the battlefields of the Islam." "My heart was never afraid." "Last night I almost died like a dog, during my sleep." "Stop them!" "Mehmed is dead, I killed him myself." "They won't dare." "They won't ever dare." "Tear them apart!" "Half of my army died here, *the other half is running to the Danube." "The ones who have left are wounded." "They're thirsty, hungry..." "We are three hours away from Targoviste." "How can you take the country of a man who did so many special things?" "And who knows how to use the power and his subjects." "Bury the dead." "We'll return to Istanbul." "We atacked Snagov." "The families of Wallachian noblemen are in my hands." " Where did you take them?" " In Braila, as you ordered." " What about my gold?" " Wait!" "Padishah, if you give me the army from Braila, I will take the throne." "How can you win where I couldn't?" "The boyars will be on my side, I guarantee it with my head." "Try it." "Mehmed is alive!" "I have seen him with my eyes." "Three thirds of Mehmed's army is dead. where nobody could have." "We won an impossible fight." "Great victory, Your Highness." "Wallachians, Mehmed King of Kings, the light of the world, speaks to you:" ""I don't want to spread my territories over your lands." "I want you to exile Vlad and devote yourselves to Radu, his brother." "If you listen to me, my army will withdraw beyond the Danube and no hair will move on your heads." "So help me Allah the Almighty!"" "Otherwise..." "I will kill your women and children and there will never be peace between us." "What are you waiting for, Your Highness?" "Surrender." "Take your women and kids." "I will pretend to flee over the mountains." "Take Radu to Targoviste." "When you get there I will return unexpectedly" "And I will raise him on a stake as never seen in Wallachia." "Stop the execution!" "I have received a letter from Radu The Beautiful." "What does he want?" "He wants to give us back our old privileges if we help him take the throne and arrange for King Matyas to recognize him." "Against Vlad?" "Now that his victory over Mehmed brought him prestige?" "This is crazy." "King Matthias won't want to hear about it." "Do you have a faithful servant, capable of everything and able to keep quiet?" "What do I have to do?" "Can you counterfeit the handwriting, the seal and the signature?" "Yes." "But I can't like this." "Give me the letter to copy." "You don't have to copy." " Imitate the handwriting." " It's the same." "What do I have to write?" "Emperor of emperors and master of masters, great emir and great sultan" "I, the Wallachian prince Vlad, your slave" "I, Vlad, beg you to forgive my sinful deeds against your power and empire." "I know well Transylvania and Hungary." "If your majesty would like" "I could pay for my mistake by giving you back Transylvania." "When it is in your hands you would be able to easily subjugate Hungary." "My messengers will tell you more." "Copy the signature." "And the seal." "This is not an ordinary job." "I paid my debt doing it." "I think I deserve a reward." "Otto!" " Where do we go, Your Highness?" " To Matthias Corvinus." "He has arrived with his soldiers beyond the mountains." "We must go and thank him and beg him to return to Buda." "If Radu finds out that he has an army at the borders he'll be frightened and won't get near Targoviste." "Six years..." "They passed as one day." "If I have had at least two... ( days )" "I haven't built monasteries or citadels, my image won't be in the churches." "But I built in the soul of the country." "This is the most precious work for a voievod." "I leave the country really clean." "Everything that was bad in it I took onto myself and will carry with me." "Go to Stefan, tell him what happened and what's my plan." "He should be in peace in Suceava." "Otherwise Radu won't get near Targoviste and it's a shame that his spike is still empty." "Send somebody else, Your Highness." "No." "If he wanted to give to Mehmed Transylvania and Hungary why didn't he do it from the very beginning?" "The price would have been smaller." "This is crazy." "All his actions show he is insane." "His cruelty, his thirst for blood has never distinguished between friends and enemies." "The whole of Christendom knows his acts and is shaken." "Only a sick mind can think of such a crazy plan." "Our Vice tell the truth." "If we hadn't caught the messengers, your life would have been endangered." " Where are the messengers?" " They died fighting for their lives." "My man can testify that." "A war against Mehmed is undesirable." "You know that." "We have enough trouble in the west." "This letter is the stake Dracula wanted to stick into the heart of Christianity." "If it had reached the hands of the sultan, Hungary would have been lost." "We wouldn't have had the time to take our swords out." "Give to the merchants your endorsement." "So we can react with no delay, and no mercy." "Don't hesitate Sir." "Otherwise we have to welcome him as a hero." "What are Your Majesty's orders?" "He was sent to prison in Visegrad for 12 years." "In November 1476 he succeeds to take back the throne of Wallachia with Stephen The Great's help." "But he reigned only for two months, being killed one night."