1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 21 Military Reform
On March 1446, 3, Isaac arrived at the port of Patras with ships and property captured in naval battles.

When the Latin merchants in the city saw such a huge fleet, they thought it was an Ottoman landing force and they were all on high alert.

After discovering that it was the Byzantine fleet, they began to flatter Isaac and praised his majestic military presence.

"I heard you also did your part in resisting the Ottomans?"

Isaac asked casually.

"Yes! We donated money and materials to form a 300-man city guard and vowed to fight the Ottomans to the end..."

Isaac sneered in his heart.

If the Ottomans really came, 300 people would probably be just enough to serve as a guard of honor at the surrender ceremony.

"Now that the Ottoman crisis has been resolved, this city guard will come with me to defend the Corinthian Wall."

"Your Highness, this..."

The merchant representative said with embarrassment.

"Knight Conti, I heard there are still many Ottoman spies in the city. I will allow you to do what you want."

Isaac turned his head and ordered.

"Yes!"

Conte stroked his sword with a grim smile on his face.

"Your Highness! Your Highness! We can find the spy ourselves! Your Highness doesn't need to worry!"

The businessman suddenly panicked.

If the army were allowed to enter the city to search, their property, whether legal or illegal, would probably not end well.

"That……"

"It's all up to your Highness!"

The merchants looked bitter.

"I heard that Osman has a granary in the city?"

A businessman was about to retort when he was slapped away by someone nearby.

"Yes, we have confiscated it and will send it to your highness's army immediately!"

"So good."

Isaac waved his hand, and the merchants left with a sense of relief.

After a short rest, Isaac met with the surrendered Ottoman ship's first mate.

This burly man named Demir was the first mate of the Ottoman galley Icel. After seeing that things were hopeless, with the support of the sailors, he decisively killed the Ottoman captain who was unwilling to give up, then raised the white flag and surrendered to Isaac.

"Why surrender instead of serving the Sultan?"

"Your Highness, we are not Ottomans. The Ichel was originally Karaman's warship. We lost it to the Ottomans in the peace treaty. The Sultan retained us and sent an Ottoman Bey as captain to supervise us."

Isaac nodded, relieved.

"Since you surrendered in the face of battle and changed sides politely, I will not pursue the past."

"I'll give you 100 ducats. Take them and give them to the sailors as a gift."

Isaac threw a purse at him.

"From now on you are the captain of the Ichel, and I will have the priest baptize you."

"All sailors who refuse to convert to the Orthodox faith will be sold into slavery, and I will appoint the vacant sailors."

"Yes."

Captain Demir felt a little regretful. Now that he had converted to Orthodoxy, it would not be so easy for him to surrender to the Islamic forces.

Forget it, this prince doesn’t seem to be a stingy person, so just follow him!
Isaac didn't care about what the Karaman sailor was thinking, and called in Captain Fidel and Captain Henry.

"Fidel, Henry, this is Captain Demir. He will be the captain of the Ichel galley in the future and will be under your command."

The three of them got to know each other.

"Fidel, what about the two captured galleys?"

Fidel took out the inspection report issued by the Patras boatman.

"According to investigation, the Ottoman flagship Bayezid was a three-story large galley, similar to the previous St. Nicholas, with 12 guns and excellent performance."

"As for the Bursa, it is much worse. It is an old-fashioned Gallic ship equipped with a crossbow and two broadside guns. Its only advantage is that it has a large bottom cabin space, can carry more slave rowers, and has a high speed."

"Both warships have not been badly damaged. They can be added to the fleet directly after replenishing their sailors."

After listening to Fidel's report, Isaac nodded.

Now the fleet is getting bigger and bigger, but we still don’t have a base to repair, build and develop ships. If a large-scale naval battle breaks out in the future, we will easily be strangled.

If Venice or Genoa prohibits the shipyard from selling warships to Isaac, or directly prohibits Isaac's fleet from entering the port for repairs, what should he do?

Although Constantinople had supporting facilities, it was always under the surveillance of the Ottomans and Latins. Once the news leaked, it could easily be caught by the assembled Ottoman navy.

As for the Peloponnese, the important ports were almost all Latin colonies, and there were no secrets at all.

It is imperative to find a naval port and supply station for the fleet to stay for a long time as soon as possible.

"Fidel, select the officers for the Bayezid and Bursa galleys as soon as possible. Sailors with meritorious service and a basic knowledge of Greek will be given priority."

"Wasn't that boatswain Owen the first to board the Ottoman flagship? Let him captain the Bursa."

"Captain Kerman was promoted to captain of the Bayezid for his meritorious service in escorting Ibrahim's corps."

"You guys can handle the rest."

The three of them saluted and left.

After sending away the navy, Isaac recruited the army.

"Your Highness."

Chevalier Conti and Commander Maruna came in and saluted.

"Tell me, what are you going to do with the surrendered Ottoman soldiers and the three hundred men provided by the merchants of Patras?"

The two looked at each other, and finally Knight Conte spoke first.

"Your Highness, I just looked at the 300 city guards provided by Patras. They have good physical fitness and basic military skills, but they have not received systematic training and seem green and inexperienced. You can hand them over to me."

"Your Highness, the quality of Osman's private soldiers is average. You can convert them to Islam and then join the mercenary group."

"As for the Janissaries... Your Highness, please make your own decision."

Isaac thought about it and was not satisfied with any of them.

"How about this, we should get enough rest tonight, and at dawn tomorrow we will take a boat to the western section of the Corinthian Wall, where we will join Ibrahim's Legion and Mikhail's Legion and make a decision."

After the two men left, Isaac had a headache.

The troops came from too many different sources, resulting in them being under different jurisdictions and commands.

It is not obvious during a city defense battle, but its true nature will be revealed in a field battle.

This is a common problem in all countries today. Some monarchs like to play power games and allow various factions in the military to check and balance each other without any regulation.

The advantage is that the monarch's position is stable, and each faction needs the monarch's support.

The downside is that a lot of resources are wasted on infighting, and conflicts gradually accumulate until they finally explode. Isaac's small group can already see the signs of factions, which is not a bad thing, but it should not be encouraged.

The gun must be firmly held in our own hands.

The main purpose of this trip to the Corinth Wall for reorganization was to strengthen control over the army.

The next day, escorted by a transport fleet, Isaac and his army landed in the western part of Corinth.

Ibrahim and Mikhail's corps stationed here had received the news early and were waiting here.

At this time, the Ottomans lacked supplies and were unable to capture the city after a long siege, so they paused their attack and the two sides continued to confront each other along the Corinthian Wall.

The old guards in Mikhail's Legion saw their highness again after a year, and they excitedly knocked the ground with their spears.

Most people just looked at each other in bewilderment.

Many people only recognize the commander, and they will attack whoever the commander says to attack, and they don’t know who they are fighting for.

Some soldiers met their lord for the first time and looked perfunctory.

But when Isaac had several bags of gold coins dragged down from the ship and announced the reward for the soldiers' merits, everyone cheered.

When Isaac made his routine inspection that night, the soldiers were much more enthusiastic.

Everyone gathered around the fire, and Isaac sat directly on the ground.

Isaac paid special attention to inspecting Mikhail's Legion, which had been absent for more than a year. This legion was expanded from Isaac's old guard, and all of its members were Greek Orthodox Christians with the highest loyalty.

Take a look at the food in the kitchen, listen to the soldiers' voices, and ask whether there is any occurrence of drinking soldiers' blood.

Although Mikhail always emphasized military discipline, Isaac still found out several chefs who embezzled food expenses and a squad leader who drank the blood of soldiers.

The cook was demoted to a slave, and the squad leader was beheaded in front of the entire legion.

The bloody head was hung on the flagpole for public display, and suddenly the soldiers of the entire legion looked at Isaac with more fear in their eyes.

I didn't expect that His Highness, who is usually kind and generous, would enforce the law so strictly.

As for Ibrahim's army, Isaac just comforted them as usual and did not go deeper.

Until you gain their basic trust, actions at the grassroots level will be counterproductive.

Isaac then announced that all soldiers who had previously converted to Islam would be baptized.

Isaac attached great importance to this baptism, and for this purpose he specially asked the Patriarch to send a highly respected priest from Constantinople to preside over the ceremony.

Those baptized were mainly soldiers of the Ibrahim Legion and Ottoman surrendered soldiers captured in the Battle of Corinthia.

Isaac only gave them two choices: convert to Jesus or be sold into slavery.

In this way, under the sword, most soldiers chose to convert.

Eight devout Muslims chose to be sold into slavery rather than abandon Allah.

Just let them be.

Over the next week, Isaac took advantage of the Ottoman army's pause in the attack and discussed with the four commanders about restructuring the army.

The Prince's Guard and the Patras Port City Guard were merged and renamed the First Guards Legion, which was directly commanded by Isaac and headed by Mikhail. It had a strength of 1000 and currently has 800 members.

The Guards Corps was equivalent to the regular army, and all armies formed by Greek Orthodox Christians were henceforth named after it.

All the Ottoman surrendered soldiers joined Ibrahim's Legion and were renamed the Purple Guards. Ibrahim was appointed as the corps commander and Mehmet as the deputy corps commander. The corps had a strength of 1000 and currently had 850 people.

The Purple Guards are all converted Muslims, mostly Turks, and all Ottoman surrendered soldiers will join this legion in the future.

Conti's South French Cavalry Regiment and Infantry Regiment were renamed the Oak Corps, with Chevalier de Conti as the commander of the corps, with a strength of 1000 and a current strength of 500.

The Orc Legion will continue to recruit strong refugees and landless knights from southern France to serve as soldiers and officers in the future. Of course, the refugees who join must convert.

Maruna's mercenary group signed a long-term contract with Isaac and was renamed the Black Legion. Maruna served as the head of the corps, with a staff of 1000 and a current strength of 500.

In the future, the Black Legion will continue to recruit low-priced mercenaries from all over the country, regardless of religion, to serve as cannon fodder on the battlefield.

The total number of troops is 2650.

As for the dozens of surrendered Janissaries, they had other uses.

This was the result of Isaac's careful consideration and weighing of the pros and cons.

At the beginning, Isaac did think about breaking up the various corps and mixing them up, but after trying it, he found that this was simply a fantasy.

The result of the mixing was that the Turkish soldiers could not understand the commands of the Greek officers, and the French officers could not command the Latin mercenaries.

The lack of unified language in the military is a big taboo on the battlefield.

In later generations, a country called the Austro-Hungarian Empire suffered a great loss in this regard.

For the sake of the impending war, Isaac had to sacrifice some political considerations.

In addition, Isaac also made three plans for the future army.

First, he began to form the Second Guard Legion and attracted strong people from Greece and the Hellenistic world to join;

Second, he ordered the fleet to plunder the coast, and the captured Ottoman surrendered soldiers were incorporated into the Purple Guards after they converted;

Third, recruit refugees and landless knights from southern France.

There is no way. France is currently the most populous region in continental Europe, and its people have strong physical fitness and are the best source of soldiers.

This military reform basically did not affect the vital interests of individual soldiers and officers, so it did not cause much waves.

Everyone has his or her own desires. If you can satisfy a person's desires, then he or she will support you unconditionally.

Mikhail was a die-hard fan of Isaac, his family was well and there was no need for him to worry, his only desire was to see his students getting better and better.

Ibrahim wanted to escape from the life of a slave and live in the sun with his wife and daughter, and Isaac satisfied his wish.

Maruna was a money man, and Isaac gave him a long-term meal ticket.

As for Conte, perhaps his desire is to realize his ideal ambition of leading troops in battle.

In the next few days, the Ottomans still maintained a confrontational posture. Occasionally, a small group of soldiers would sneak up to the city wall for reconnaissance, and when they found that Isaac's army was in good order, they would leave immediately.

Isaac took this opportunity to begin designing uniforms and standard armor for each unit.

Customizing standard military uniforms and tattooing badges on armor is a costly project, but it can greatly inspire the soldiers' sense of pride, greatly enhance the cohesion of the army, and greatly encourage the enthusiasm of the people to join the army.

This is one of the reasons why Osman Janissaries are so respected.

Isaac invited all the nearby tailors and designers to design military uniforms that he was more satisfied with.

The uniforms of the Guards were all grey, and the coat of arms of the First Legion was left to them to design themselves.

The uniforms of the Purple Guards were all blue-purple, and their emblem used the family crest of Palaiologos, symbolizing the favor of Isaac.

The uniforms of the Orcs are all dark blue, and their emblem is a Constantine Cross.

There are no requirements for the black army, just wear black as a whole.

Military uniforms are mainly made of linen, with an additional layer of wool in winter.

Once this ridiculous war is over, we will start replacing our equipment, which is expected to cost 2000 ducats.

On March 1446, 3, the Ottomans had accumulated enough food, fodder and weapons to support a large-scale operation and began a massive attack on the Wall of Corinth.

There were only a few guerrilla troops in the flat eastern and western parts, but the rugged middle section of the Great Wall came under massive attack.

Emergency in the middle!
(End of this chapter)