1921, December 4th, Sunday.
The first Sunday of December found Sultan Murad VII carrying a dual burden: the immense hope and anxiety for Behram Rıza Bey's perilous mission to Konya, now one full day underway, and the ever-present, grinding realities of governing a besieged capital and a fractured Empire. While one part of his mind traveled with his envoy on the dangerous roads to Anatolia, the rest was intensely focused on the myriad threats and opportunities within Constantinople itself. The whispers of sedition from new internal enemies were growing louder, demanding a firm and strategic response.
Kolağası Esad Bey's morning intelligence briefing brought the threat posed by Kara Davud's reactionary faction into sharper focus. "Your Imperial Majesty," Esad reported, his voice devoid of emotion as he laid out his findings before Murad, Tevfik Pasha, and Sheikh-ul-Islam Nuri Efendi, "our initial assessment of Kara Davud's network was, I fear, an underestimation. He is not merely a disgruntled relic of Abdülhamid II's era. He is a cunning and charismatic organizer, with a deep understanding of the city's undercurrents. His propaganda is far more insidious than Mahmud Bey's clumsy efforts." Esad detailed how Kara Davud's agents were targeting not just former soldiers and conservative madrasa students, but also certain guilds of artisans and small merchants who felt economically squeezed and were susceptible to narratives blaming the government for their woes rather than Allied policies or wartime devastation. "His message is a potent, dangerous brew, Your Majesty," Esad explained. "He accuses your government of being secretly 'anti-Islamic' and 'Westernizing,' using Sheikh-ul-Islam Nuri Efendi's calls for reasoned interpretation of faith as 'proof' of heresy. He twists the Port Authority agreement as a 'sell-out' that didn't go far enough, while simultaneously claiming your firmness with the Allies will bring ruin upon the city. He even whispers that your outreach to Ankara – which he somehow seems to have an inkling of, though hopefully not the specifics of Behram Rıza's mission – is a plot to abolish the Caliphate itself." "Preposterous lies, designed to incite hatred and division," Nuri Efendi interjected, his gentle face stern with disapproval. "Kara Davud preys on ignorance and fear, twisting the very tenets of our faith for his seditious ends." "Who are his key lieutenants, Esad Bey?" Murad asked, his expression grim. "And what of his suspected foreign backers?" "His inner circle is small and extremely difficult to penetrate thus far, Your Majesty," Esad admitted. "They are old hands at clandestine work. As for foreign backing, we have no direct proof yet, but his access to funds for printing leaflets and supporting his agitators seems to exceed what his known associates could provide. Some of his rhetoric also echoes certain hardline British press articles that seek to portray any Ottoman assertiveness as dangerous extremism. It is a line of investigation we are pursuing with utmost urgency."
Murad listened intently. This was a threat that struck at the very moral legitimacy he was trying to build. "This poison must be countered, swiftly and effectively," he declared. "Nuri Efendi, I want you to coordinate with your most respected and articulate Ulema. They must take to the minbars, the lecture halls, the study circles, and refute these lies with the clear light of true Islamic teaching. Emphasize unity, justice, the government's commitment to the Sharia and the welfare of all Muslims, and the dangers of fitna (sedition) in these critical times." "It will be done, Your Majesty," Nuri Efendi affirmed. "We will not allow these charlatans to hijack our faith." "Esad Bey," Murad continued, "intensify your efforts to infiltrate Kara Davud's organization. I want to know his exact plans, his sources of funding, and any links to foreign powers. Furthermore, I want you to begin a discreet counter-propaganda effort. Use your own trusted agents to spread truth, to expose the hypocrisy and self-interest behind Kara Davud's rhetoric in the very coffee houses and marketplaces he seeks to influence." "A delicate operation, Your Majesty, but essential," Esad acknowledged. "We will fight his whispers with whispers of our own, backed by facts." Tevfik Pasha added, "And the city prefect must be instructed to monitor any unauthorized public gatherings or attempts to incite disorder with increased vigilance, though any overt crackdown must be carefully managed to avoid creating martyrs for Kara Davud's cause."
While this new internal battle was being joined, the attritional warfare within the Port Authority's Joint Commission of Inquiry continued. Cavit Bey reported to Murad later that day, his face etched with weariness but also a stubborn persistence. "Colonel Hughes and his British colleague, Mr. Davies, are masters of bureaucratic obstruction, Your Majesty," Cavit said. "Today, they claimed that the specific disbursement ledgers for the 'Special Projects Fund' we demanded yesterday are currently 'undergoing archival reconciliation' and will not be available for 'several days, perhaps a week.' They then presented us with a mountain of invoices for routine coal and water supplies to Allied warships, clearly hoping to bury us in irrelevant paperwork." "And Monsieur Lacroix and Signor Valenti?" Murad inquired. "They made a show of urging 'full cooperation' from their British colleagues," Cavit said with a wry smile, "but did little to actually compel it regarding the Special Projects Fund, which seems to be a primarily British-administered sinkhole of corruption. However, on the Harbor Maintenance Contracts, where French and Italian firms also had… interests, Lacroix and Valenti were more 'helpful.' Under pressure, and with our presentation of more specific evidence from the 'Ledger of Lies' detailing overpayments to a French salvage company, Monsieur Lacroix 'discovered' a misplaced file that indeed confirmed a substantial 'accounting error' in their favor, which he has now promised to 'rectify.' Signor Valenti similarly facilitated access to some Italian contract variations that also reveal… irregularities. We are making progress, Your Majesty, like chipping away at a mountain with a small chisel, but we are making progress." "Continue your work with that chisel, Cavit Bey," Murad encouraged him. "Every piece of evidence you unearth, every Lira you force them to account for, is a victory."
On the broader domestic front, the first tangible signs of reconstruction were beginning to appear, however small. Tevfik Pasha, in his capacity as head of the new Imperial Reconstruction Council, reported that Minister of Public Works Behçet Efendi had dispatched the first teams of engineers and laborers to begin emergency repairs on the most critical sections of the Constantinople-Izmit railway line. "They have minimal equipment, Your Majesty, and are often working with salvaged materials," Tevfik said, "but their spirit is high. The local villagers are even volunteering to help clear debris. The news that their government is finally investing in rebuilding, rather than just managing decay, has spread." Cavit Bey confirmed that the funds allocated from the Port Authority advance for this project, and for the bread subsidies, were being disbursed under strict new audit controls to prevent leakage. "The people are seeing a direct benefit, Your Majesty. The price of bread has stabilized in most districts, and in some, has even fallen slightly."
Ferik Fevzi Pasha also brought encouraging news from Davutpaşa Barracks. "The initial engineering assessments are complete, Your Majesty. While the overall refurbishment will take many months, we can make one of the main barracks blocks and the primary training field fully operational for two Hassa Ordusu battalions within six weeks, given sustained funding. The men are working alongside the engineers with great enthusiasm, eager to establish their new home. The transformation of that derelict site into a symbol of our renewed military strength has begun."
Reşid Akif Pasha, the Foreign Minister, reported a relatively quiet diplomatic front. "The Allied High Commissions, Your Majesty, seem to be in a phase of… grudging implementation of the Port Authority agreement. They are clearly unhappy, General Harington most of all, but the pressure from their home governments to avoid further scandal is, for now, keeping them in check. They are, however, probing for other areas of weakness, making inquiries about our financial reforms, our military dispositions. They are like wary wolves, circling but not yet daring to attack directly again."
As Sunday evening drew in, Murad found himself alone in his study, the reports of the day spread before him. Behram Rıza Bey and his small, disguised escort would now be deep into their second night of perilous travel, moving through the Anatolian countryside. The silence from that front was a heavy, constant presence in Murad's thoughts. He pictured his envoy, a man of books and quiet faith, undertaking this mission of immense danger for the sake of a fragile hope. The whispers of sedition from Kara Davud's faction were a reminder that his enemies were not just the foreign occupiers, but those within who thrived on division and hatred. Yet, the first furrows of reconstruction were being plowed, the Hassa Ordusu was growing in strength and spirit, and even the slow, grinding work of the Port audit was yielding results. He was fighting on multiple fronts, seen and unseen. Each small victory was precious, each new challenge a test of his resolve and the loyalty of the men around him. The path was long, the outcome uncertain, but Murad felt a deep conviction that they were, at last, moving forward, however slowly, however painfully, from the ashes of defeat towards a future they might yet shape themselves. He prayed for Behram Rıza's safety, and for the wisdom to navigate the treacherous days ahead.