On the second floor of Dabagia Palace, Surt stared irritably at the room facing his temporary office, wishing that one of the dozen people inside would suddenly jump out and say, "I know an earth-shattering secret about the Sultan."
But after more than ten days, these brothers and nephews of the Moroccan Sultan, aside from begging for mercy, had provided nothing of value.
He had no choice but to begin arranging the defenses of Marrakesh City, in preparation for Suleiman's army's counterattack.
Yet, he only had 3,500 Portuguese and Spanish soldiers, along with 4,000 Algiers troops, and lacked ammunition supplies, making it impossible to hold this place for long.
Just then, his staff officer rushed in excitedly, waving a letter: "Commander, it's been approved! They agreed!"
Surt quickly stood up: "The General Staff has agreed to our retreat? No, the message shouldn't have returned to Paris so quickly."
