Vlad Tepes

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The army of the Ottoman Empire was defeated

by Iancu of Hunedoara in Belgrade.

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 Hundoara 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.

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.

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