@Talismaster I remember machiavelli said something similar to that. "If you want to remove your opponent, do it in one swoop so that people see you in the good views , while fails to do so or you did it twice, people will see you as a dictator and a mass murderer" or something similar to line...
Atleast mehmed II 's humanity should be atleast 2 or 3 tbh, he is actually a benevolent ruler in his era. He forbids his army to loot and pillage constantinople but I do think that he has another reasons for it. But there is another fact that orthodox christians were able to live peacefully side...