1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 17 Corinth

blow--

Under the bright moonlight, a figure walked through the dense forest.

He wore a linen-woven top and trousers, boots made of animal skins, and a tattered leather armor on his upper body.

He had a scimitar on his waist and a homemade bow across his back.

Judging from his facial features, he was a very determined young man with bright eyes and agile body. He ran and jumped like a wild beast in the dense forest, shattering the shadows cast by the moonlight.

Just like the knight-errant in the chivalric novels.

Suddenly, he raised his hands and felt the cold light of the crossbow arrow in the darkness.

"signal?"

A middle-aged man holding a crossbow slowly walked out of the darkness.

"Odysseus."

"follow me."

The middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief.

The two men shuttled back and forth in the woods, avoiding the traps set for defense. After turning countless corners, they suddenly saw a light in front of them.

Pushing aside the obstructing trees, the view suddenly opens up.

This is a camp built in a clearing deep in the forest.

The young man looked around and saw trenches, arrow towers, chevaux de frise, kerosene, and everything else. There were also many horses in the stable next to him.

The commander of this team is a very powerful person.

By late at night, most of the soldiers were resting in their tents, a few guards were on duty patrolling everywhere, and there were lights on the arrow towers in the distance.

The middle-aged man took him into the largest tent.

In the tent, a man in iron armor was sharpening his sword. The sword was dark red in color, and it was obvious that he had drunk blood.

"Centurion Mehmet, this young man answered the code."

Mehmet put down his sword, nodded, and signaled the middle-aged man to retreat.

The middle-aged man bowed and left.

The young man stepped forward, pulled out a letter from his trouser corner, and presented it.

"Centurion Mehmet, this is an order from Corps Commander Ibrahim."

Mehmet took the letter, opened it, read a few sentences, and suddenly laughed.

After laughing, he took out a bottle of wine from under the bed and poured it for himself and the young man.

"My son is about your age."

Looking at the young man who was sipping the liquor, a trace of longing appeared on Mehmet's wrinkled face.

The young man didn't say anything and just drank his wine.

"The last time I received a letter from him, he said he seemed to be in a place called Mystilis. Have you been there?"

The young man thought for a moment before he understood what Mehmet meant.

"It must be Mystras, the capital of the Grand Duke of Moria. I heard it's a nice place."

"That's what my son said, he's studying Greek there, and astronomy."

Mehmet was obviously in high spirits when he mentioned his son.

The young man looked at Mehmet's smiling face in the firelight and suddenly felt confused.

"You look like you're from the Caucasus. How did you become like this?"

Mehmet laughed.

"I was a slave of an Osman Bey when I was little, and when I grew up I married another slave and had a son with him,"

"I was originally helping Master Bey raise horses, but then I somehow offended his brother, and my whole family was sold to the slave traders in Genoa."

"I rowed, served in the army, dug in mines, and spent my life trading from one slave trader to another."

"During this time, my wife died. She was beaten to death by an Ottoman noblewoman because she accidentally fell asleep while cooking."

A flash of sadness passed through Mehmet's eyes.

"My last master was a big landowner. I worked as his guard and my son raised horses for him."

"My little son was riding on a horse, wielding the whip clumsily. If he lost his horse, he would be beaten with a stick."

"I thought sadly at the time that perhaps my beloved son would repeat my fate."

The man held the glass and drank it all.

"I prayed to God, hoping someone could save us."

"Unexpectedly, the next day, the Tyrant's army attacked and killed my master. We were once again sold to the market."

"We spent a long time there until a young man in a purple robe appeared in front of us with a meticulous attendant."

"We were taken to a castle where there were dozens of slaves who had the same experience as me. Here, we had our first full meal, took our first bath, and put on brand new clothes."

"I remember that my son's eyes were filled with joy. It was the first time he smiled since his mother was beaten to death."

"The servant told us that we were to go to a distant place to do something. The benefit is that our families will stay here and enjoy good living conditions."

"Some people are sneering, and some are hesitating."

"I agreed without even thinking about it."

"I'm sure you know the rest."

Mehmet poured out the last drop of wine and stared at the empty bottle in a daze.

"So, I don't know where I am from, and I don't know what god I believe in. No one has ever told me."

After saying this, Mehmet seemed to have thought of something and clumsily made the sign of a cross on his chest.

“Oh, my son is Orthodox now, so I should be too.”

"Then where did you get all this military knowledge and the ability to read letters?"

"Captain Ibrahim taught me a little, and I figured it out myself. I've been fighting for a year, so I can't have learned nothing!"

Mehmet pulled out the letter and threw it in front of the young man.

Before the young man finished reading the letter, Mehmet started talking.

"The Ottoman army has assembled, and the legion commander has ordered us to retreat to the rear, south of the Wall of Corinth."

The young man shrugged.

"Congratulations, you can see your son now."

Mehmet laughed again. "The commander of the army said that when His Highness returns, he will baptize us, and we will be free citizens from now on."

"By the way, young man, what's your name and why did you join the Legion?"

The young man also smiled.

"My name is Hakan, I'm a thief. I stole things I shouldn't have stolen and had nowhere to go. Army Commander Ibrahim saw my skills and decided to follow me."

Mehmet nodded.

……

The next day, Centurion Mehmet assembled his troops and joined Ibrahim's army.

The entire legion was divided into six centuries, Ibrahim led three of them, and the rest were led by three centurions.

Of course, the staffing is not full.

After counting the number of people, Ibrahim's army, totaling 513 people, broke camp and headed for the seaside.

Some of them are concerned about their families, some are hopeful, and some just go with the flow.

They will be sent in batches to the port in the Corinth area by the Northumbria that has been waiting long ago at the seaside. Local officials have verified the certificate left by Isaac when he left and will replenish them with weapons and food.

Ibrahim stood shoulder to shoulder with several centurions, watching the sailors load supplies and horses onto the ship.

There isn't much space on the boat, and with so much supplies, it looks like we'll have to move them several times.

I heard that the city of Athens is also moving its people southward. I wonder if your wife and daughter have arrived in Mystras?
When we go back this time, His Highness Isaac will probably baptize us, right?

Ibrahim couldn't help laughing as he looked at the busy crowd.

……

At the same time, on the vast Atlantic Ocean.

Captain Henry was writing in his log book again.

At this moment, he no longer had the scholarly temperament he once had. His beard was untidy, and his captain's uniform was tattered. The charcoal pencil in his hand was much shorter, and it slid across the parchment with a rustling sound.

"We repaired the boat and set out to find a way home."

"I asked the navigator to record the nautical chart near this magical archipelago. Perhaps future generations will name one of them after me..."

"Our luck was really bad. We encountered stormy weather again. Fortunately, nothing serious happened this time. We don't know where we are drifting now."

"The food is still there, but we are running out of fresh water. We have done everything we can. All we can do now is pray to God."

"Oh God! Omniscient and omnipotent God, please save your believers and the people of Rome!"

As I was writing, there was a commotion on the deck.

Henry frowned and stood up.

Peng——

The door of the captain's room was suddenly kicked open.

Several ragged sailors appeared before Henry.

Henry saw that tears actually flowed from the eyes of these rough guys who usually laughed and cursed after being stabbed.

"Captain, look!"

Captain Henry rushed out of the cabin and climbed up to the lookout.

On a small island in the distance, a purple double-headed eagle is flying in the wind.

……

When Governor Lothar on the island of La Palma received the notification, he doubted his ears for a moment.

"Hold on, tell me again, what happened?"

"Governor, a French fisherman found a sailboat with a double-headed eagle flag on the beach. The sailors claimed to be the crew of the St. Nicholas!"

Without bothering to ask in detail, Lothar hurried to the beach.

When he and his men arrived, there was already a large crowd of people on the beach.

Lothar could hardly understand what the refugees from France were saying.

He pushed through the crowd and found the local pastor.

"Father, is the St. Nicholas back?"

The priest nodded and pointed to the center of the crowd.

Lothar looked over and saw a group of ragged sailors sitting on the ground, crying loudly.

The leader struggled to stand up, looked at Lothar and saluted with a naval salute.

He recognized the emblem of Lothair's governor.

"The battleship St. Nicholas has successfully completed its expedition mission. Captain Henry Pedder reports to you!"

Lothar quickly supported the staggering Henry, took off his governor's uniform and covered him with it.

"Hurry up and bring water and food to our heroes, and free up all the accommodation!"

Lothar shouted at his attendants.

It was evening, and Captain Henry was walking forward surrounded by the crowd, drinking water handed to him by the waiter and taking bread from time to time.

The wind began to blow on the island, and the oncoming sea breeze blew through the crowd, gently caressing Henry's withered cheeks.

Somehow, he thought of his distant hometown, the beautiful Crete.

He still remembers that when he was a child, he always liked to lie on the beach, feel the sea breeze, and listen to the stories told by the elders in the family.

"Before being colonized by the Latins, our Crete was the most dazzling pearl of the empire!"

"As soon as the emperor issues a call, our brave young men from Crete will board the ships, take up their bows and crossbows, punish distant enemies under the purple double-headed eagle flag, and spread our reputation far and wide!"

"Our fire ships have defeated countless powerful enemies. The Turks were defeated by us, the Goths bowed to us, and even the powerful Venice is now just a governor of the emperor!"

Whenever this happened, Henry would childishly swing the stick in his hand, imagining it as a scimitar to chop at the enemy.

Being young and ignorant, he could not understand why the old man's voice would always choke and tears would often well up in his eyes when he talked about this.

Young people don’t know what ideals are. When they grow up, ideals become an unattainable and fading dream.

And now——

Now, Captain Henry finally relaxed his long-tensed nerves, and suddenly softened and fell into Lothar's arms, as if all his strength had been exhausted.

Before he fell into coma, he once again saw the eagle flag flying above the Governor's Palace. The two eyes of the double-headed eagle were looking at him, and its expression changed in the evening breeze.

As if laughing.

(End of this chapter)