1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 138 Siege
There were a few white clouds floating in the blue sky. After the rain, the sky cleared up and a rainbow hung in the sky.

It was early summer and the last heavy rain of late spring had just stopped. The mud on the road quickly disappeared and the sun pierced through the clouds, emitting dazzling light.

On the dry land where yellow and green meet, a large army is marching westwards, the earth is shaking, and dust is rising all over the sky.

Iron armor flashed, swords and knives formed like a forest, horses' hooves cracked the ground, and flags covered the sky.

Berber tribal riders were scattered around, responsible for reconnaissance and guerrilla warfare.

The red-clad cavalry were stationed on both wings, always on guard, like two sharp knives.

The central army formation was composed of five infantry phalanxes. They were holding different flags and were in a cross shape as a whole. They marched forward in a resounding pace.

The jihadists from Europe were located in the rear of the army. In addition to the militiamen and ordinary hired riders who were armed with simple weapons and dressed in tattered clothes, there was also a small team of well-equipped heavy-armored knights. There were crosses painted on their holy white robes, which looked particularly dazzling under the sunlight.

Not far behind the main army was a larger team. The conscripted tribesmen and combat auxiliary personnel were driving camel caravans, livestock and horse-drawn carriages, carrying food and military supplies, pushing and shoving, and moving slowly forward.

Above the army, all kinds of flags fluttered up and down. According to the emperor's order, in addition to their own military flags, each army would also raise the Cross of Constantine to symbolize the justice of the holy war.

In the center of the army, a golden-red double-headed eagle flag was flying high. More than a thousand armored warriors held halberds and guarded the military flag. The emblem of a crowned lion was painted on their armor.

Under the double-headed eagle flag, the young emperor was wearing armor with a stern face. The armor was engraved with the emblem of the Palaiologos family. A wide purple cloak was tied around his neck, fluttering behind him, and rustling in the wind.

The warhorse he rode was a standard Andalusian horse, agile and upright, strong and noble, with silver horse armor installed on the vital parts, and a purple robe over the armor.

Isaac looked at the military formations around him, listened to the sounds of people marching and horses neighing, and felt the vague admiration and awe of the soldiers around him. An indescribable sense of pride and vanity arose spontaneously, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face, and it seemed as if a warm current was surging in his chest.

The warhorse under his crotch seemed to sense his master's mood as he raised his head higher and took a much lighter step.

"Count Yeergubai!"

"exist!"

Isaac called for his personal guard captain, Yergubai, who had just reached adulthood.

A few years ago, he proved his loyalty with practical actions and gained Isaac's trust. Not only was he given several more manors as fiefdoms, but he was also able to take charge of Isaac's personal guards.

The Royal Guards are not large in number, with 50 cavalrymen and 150 infantrymen, all of whom are young soldiers. Although they are well-equipped and well-trained, they generally do not go to the battlefield easily. They have few opportunities to make achievements, the assessment is very strict, and the salary is not high.

Even so, the tribal shekhs and gentry nobles still took great pains to send their sons to serve in the Guards, because they knew very well that His Majesty the Emperor was very fond of assigning the soldiers of the Guards to various legions as middle and low-level officers as a reward for their loyalty.

Even an ordinary tribal chief or the son of a slave trader, after learning Greek and accepting the Orthodox faith, has the opportunity to be selected by the Guards and become the emperor's direct descendant. In just two years, they can transform themselves, put on officer uniforms, and bring power and glory to their families.

It is said that His Majesty the Emperor is also planning to form a personal guard for the prince, following the example of the Ottoman Empire, and specifically select young men from tribal chiefs, scholars, merchants and nobles from all over the country to join the guard, so that they can grow and study with the prince and cultivate their loyalty in advance.

"follow me."

Isaac said this, grasped the reins, turned his horse's head, and trotted out of the army.

The soldiers of the First Legion of the Guards skillfully made way for them, and Isaac, with dozens of cavalrymen, passed by one military formation after another and headed towards a nearby hill.

The soldiers looked at the emperor with burning eyes, and Isaac waved to them.

After climbing the hill, the entire picture of the army appeared before Isaac's eyes, covering the entire land and stretching as far as the eye could see.

This time, due to the favorable external environment, Isaac was able to withdraw most of the troops at hand and go to the western border to fight against the Hafsid Dynasty, leaving only a small number of troops garrisoned in the Tobruk Military Region in the east.

Not long ago, Isaac went to the Oak Corps' base to exchange views with Corps Commander Liard and other senior officers. He officially incorporated this corps, which was established very early but had always been outside the military system, into the Guards and reorganized it into the Seventh Corps of the Guards, with 700 infantry and 300 cavalry. Liard remained as the corps commander, and the rest of the military positions remained unchanged.

Ten years ago, Isaac had no one available, and recruiting these southern French people was purely out of necessity.

These soldiers, under the leadership of Baron Conti, had also participated in many battles with Isaac in the early years. They had good combat capabilities and loyalty and were a military force that could be relied upon.

After Baron Conti became the Grand Master of the Knights of Saint Simon, Liard became the commander of the legion by virtue of his marriage relationship with the Palaeologus branch. The soldiers settled down and started families in the local area, and after ten years, they had basically completed localization.

At this point, Isaac's standing army officially broke through the 10,000 mark, with seven legions of Guards and three legions of Purple Guards, mainly infantry, supplemented by a small number of cavalry.

Since its establishment, Isaac's military organization has been moving closer to the Ottoman Empire. While organizing an elite central army, it has used a large number of conscripted tribesmen as cannon fodder, which not only saves expenses, but also weakens local strength in disguise and strengthens central authority.

A standing army of 10,000, judging from the number alone, is definitely the most powerful military force in the entire Mediterranean world.

Of course, this is also because most of the regular soldiers in European countries are elite heavy-armored knights, and they cannot afford to maintain too many of them.

The Kingdom of France had only more than 2,000 Knights of the Cross, but their daily expenses and maintenance costs were even higher than Isaac's military expenditures.

The rich have their own way of playing, and the poor have their own way of playing.

In this military operation, except for the Sixth Corps stationed in the Athens region and the Fourth Corps responsible for guarding the Tobruk Military District, the remaining five corps of the Guards and the Third Corps of the Purple Guards were ordered to go into battle as the backbone of the decisive battle.

Together with the three thousand-man teams of the Slavice Legion, nearly ten thousand conscripted tribal cannon fodder, jihadists from Europe and civilian laborers, the total number of people participating in the battle reached 60,000, with about 24,000 combat soldiers.

Of course, these people would not all be crowded together outside the city of Tripoli. Most of the civilians would be stationed at various supply points, responsible for the transportation of military supplies.

"Your Majesty, Marquis Mikhail sent an envoy to report that they have occupied several towns around Tripoli. The vanguard troops have arrived at the city and are sweeping around, preparing to set up a siege camp."

The messenger came hurriedly with Mikhail's report.

After several months of preparation, Isaac officially set out a week ago, appointing Marquis Mikhail as the vanguard officer, leading some cavalry to scout the situation, clear the surroundings, and choose a place to set up camp.

Isaac opened the letter, read it quickly, nodded, and stuffed the letter into the saddle.

As he expected, Nasirlan of Tripoli implemented a strategy of clearing the countryside, abandoning all the outposts on the frontier, moving the population and wealth into the city, and defending the city to wait for reinforcements.

"Go tell Marquis Mikhail to abandon some unimportant strongholds in the south. Troops must be sent to occupy ports along the coast and repair dock facilities."

In order to prevent harassment from the Hafsid cavalry and minimize the loss of supplies, Isaac requisitioned a number of transport ships, and nearly half of the military supplies would be transported by sea.

"Go to the rear and pass the message. The Riorea Legion and the Spartan Heavy Artillery Company can go and be ready for battle at any time."

"Tell the leaders of each legion to speed up. I want to sleep outside the city of Tripoli tonight!"

Isaac waved his hand and gave orders.

"Yes!"

The messenger jumped on his horse and rushed towards the army.

Soon, more messengers received the order and rushed off in all directions.

……

Tesuque Harbor, St. Simon Islands.

Five years ago, this was just a dilapidated fishing port on Djerba Island. Due to the poor geology and scarce water resources, it was not suitable for the growth of food crops. The poor Muslim fishermen made a living by fishing in the sea. Their cash crops were mainly dates and palm trees. The leftover fish were dried into fish jerky and exchanged with the cash crops for basic living supplies.

Apart from the cunning merchants who come to collect dried goods at the end of each month and the tax officials of the Hafsid dynasty who come to collect taxes at the end of each year, there are almost no outsiders here. The fishermen are born in poverty, work in poverty, and die in poverty year after year.

After the Battle of Kerkennah, the Hafsid dynasty completely lost control of Djerba Island and the Kerkennah Islands. The double-headed eagle flag of the Roman emperor, the Cross of Lorraine of the Knights of Saint Simon and various pirate flags replaced the yellow crescent of the Hafsid dynasty and fluttered over this land.

As the people watched in fear, Christians came to this land and renamed it after Saint Simon, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ.

The Christians didn't waste any time and gave the local people two choices: either join or become slaves.

Under the absolute oppression of force, more than a thousand people converted to Christianity, pledged allegiance to the emperor, became the first batch of imperial subjects in the St. Simon Islands, and witnessed the earth-shaking changes here.

"That's right. My father was the first person in their village to convert. He followed the priest, and I don't know if it was God's blessing, but he learned Greek and Latin very quickly. He was spotted by a knight named Saint Simon and became his servant. Gradually, he started to save money."

"Later, my father followed the knight to Constantinople to participate in the war. My father's leg was broken by a stray arrow, and the knight fell on the Theodosian Wall and never came back."

The middle-aged man sighed softly and made the sign of the cross on his chest.

"The knight had no children, and his two squires also died. My father used the pension from the emperor to bury the three of them, and used the remaining money to buy this tavern."

"A year ago, my father ascended to heaven, and this tavern was passed down to me."

In a tavern in Tesuque Port, drinkers gathered in a circle and listened to the tavern owner tell stories.

Travelers coming and going from all over the country know that the owner of this tavern is kind and pious. Homeless beggars can ask for a bowl of rice here, and pirates who are temporarily in financial difficulties can buy a few glasses of light wine on credit to relieve their sorrows.

Under the boss's gentle gaze, the domineering mercenaries would restrain themselves a little, and the brutal pirates would lower their voices.

"These people are just like that, they just sit on the fence."

In the corner of the tavern, Alan snorted.

"I guess if the Saracens come again one day, they will immediately abandon Jesus Christ."

"Don't say that, Alan."

Beside him, Adjutant Bock picked his teeth and put down his knife and fork.

"For the lower class people, there's nothing wrong with this."

“They will help whoever wins.”

Alan wanted to say something else, but Bock slapped him on the shoulder, forcing him to swallow back the words.

"I feel uncomfortable now knowing that you left your tavern."

"Don't you see that the drinkers here all respect this boss?"

"If you cause public outrage, I won't be able to protect you when the boss is not around."

Bock lowered his voice.

"Where did he go?"

"Meetings, Knights, Pirates, Mercenaries, Crusaders... Oh, it gives me a headache to talk too much..."

In addition to Misrata, the Saint Simon Islands are also a gathering place for the Crusaders. A few months ago, under the order of the emperor, Baron Abel and Grand Master Conti went to Europe to recruit holy warriors and stationed them here to keep a threat to the flank of the Hafsid dynasty at all times.

"Your Majesty, do you want to use us as a surprise force? Or do you just want to tie down the forces of the Hafsid Dynasty?"

Alan asked.

"It's probably a combination of both... How could it be so clear before the war?"

"By the way, how much military supplies have you prepared?"

Bock changed the subject.

"I'm ready. I'll go back and give you the registration book later."

"As expected of the person chosen by the boss, even though he is a bit foul-mouthed, his professional ability is still pretty good..."

The two men stood up, squeezed through the crowd, and, still slightly tipsy, began their journey back to the military camp.

……

On May 1455, 5, the army arrived at the city of Tripoli and began to set up siege camp.

The Muslim soldiers defending the city spent three days in anxiety. Three days later, in the early morning, the siege camp began to move.

Amid the roar of the mountains and the sea, Isaac led his personal soldiers, rode forward, and slowly stood in front of the farthest distance of the arrows.

On the top of the white city wall, Emir Nasirlan of Tripoli, dressed in military uniform, looked at Isaac.

"Withdraw from Tripoli, or perish with it."

Isaac said softly, and the loud-voiced personal guard translated the emperor's words into the local language and shouted at the city.

"Withdraw or perish together."

On the city wall, Nasirlan spoke loudly with deep emotion and solemnity.

"This city belongs to Rome and the Roman people, and I must take it."

"Those who are willing to pledge allegiance to me will become citizens of Rome."

"Those who are unwilling to pledge allegiance to me are free to leave."

"This is your last chance."

"In half an hour, I will start bombarding the city."

Isaac said nothing more, turned his horse's head, and drove away.

"Push up the Spartan artillery."

Five huge Spartan heavy artillery and various types of artillery were pulled into the designated positions by livestock, and the artillerymen were busy doing the final checks.

The artillery is in normal condition, ammunition is well prepared, weather conditions are good, and the artillerymen are well trained.

Half an hour passed quickly, and Isaac's half-closed eyes suddenly opened and looked at the artillery captain.

"fire!"

The captain nodded and gave orders.

Boom——Boom——

Five Spartan heavy artillery fired in succession. The explosion of gunpowder generated powerful energy, creating deafening sound waves, which pushed the heavy lead bullets out of the barrel and crashed into the distance.

The siege began.

I saw someone asking for a map. I plan to make one after the current plot ends. Don't worry.

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(End of this chapter)