1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 24 The War Has Ended
The battle lasted from midnight till dawn.

The remaining soldiers in the Ottoman siege camp were already kneeling on the ground in dejection, waiting for their fate.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the Janissary Corps under the city wall retreated directly, leaving their comrades who had already climbed the city wall to fight alone.

Even so, the Janissaries, who fought hard, still caused heavy casualties to Constantine's army.

Afterwards, the infantry troops brought by Ibrahim also rushed to the battlefield. With the addition of manpower, the war situation began to shift towards the Eastern Roman Empire.

The few remaining Janissaries began to despair, and one after another dropped their weapons and surrendered to Constantine.

In fact, this battle was mainly to lift the siege of the east city wall, and the casualties were not too great.

Neither the Central Camp Guards nor the Janissary Isaac pursued the fleeing one.

I really don't have that ability.

When the last Janissary squad surrendered to the Eastern Roman Empire, the cavalry brought by Isaac all breathed a sigh of relief, jumped off their horses, and collapsed to the ground.

He started running wildly from noon and charged into the battle formation twice.

Not to mention humans, even horses can't stand it.

Isaac told Conte to take good care of the tired soldiers, went up to the city wall, and found Constantine, who was covered in blood and standing with a sword.

"Father, how are you?"

Isaac asked with concern.

"It's okay, luckily you made it in time."

Constantine forced a smile.

"As expected of my son, he is so brave to charge straight into the Ottoman camp."

"If you hadn't held back Osman's main force, we wouldn't have been able to succeed so easily."

Isaac said.

Constantine waved his hand.

"Forget it, let's go and rest first. Osman might attack again."

Isaac shook his head.

"Father, the Ottomans will not attack again."

"Oh? Why are you so sure?"

If it were now 1451, after Muhammad's second reign, Isaac could be sure that the enemy would never give up.

They lost this time, but next time they will use more troops to break through Corinth's defense.

If Osmanthus attacks with all his strength, he will be completely unable to resist.

The Ottomans had not failed tactically before. Timur, Skanderbeg, Hunyadi, and even Constantine all defeated the Ottoman army in battle.

But their strategic situation is too good, they can lose many times. The more they lose, the stronger they become, and the more they fight, the braver they become.

Fortunately, the current Ottoman leader is the middle-aged Murad II and his peace group, Khalil Grand Vizier.

There is a very magical phenomenon in the Ottoman cabinet.

The pure-blooded traditional Turkic nobles were unwilling to fight, fearing that they would provoke an alliance between Western European countries, leading to a protracted war that would damage their interests.

On the contrary, the original Christians led by Zagan Pasha were very keen on expansion and firmly supported breaking down the defenses of Constantinople and eliminating all pagan forces.

Murad II himself favored Khalil Pasha and promoted him to Grand Vizier.

According to official history, after Murad II invaded the Isthmus of Corinth, he simply plundered it and gave up direct occupation, and returned the territory to Constantine.

With insufficient food and equipment, and having suffered such a defeat, Murad II would most likely send people to negotiate peace.

After all, Murad II was not the only disobedient younger brother of the Eastern Roman Empire who needed to be taught a lesson.

If time goes on for too long, I'm afraid that the small countries in Eastern Europe will start to cause chaos.

As expected, the next day, the messenger delivering the letter from Murad II's camp arrived.

The conditions are actually quite simple.

First, return all occupied territories to the Duke of Athens.

Second, release all captured soldiers.

Third, the Eastern Roman Empire remained a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire and paid tribute every year.

Fourth, pay 5 ducats in compensation.

"The first three are easy to deal with, but we can't even come up with 5 ducats."

Constantine looked a little unhappy.

"Who of you is willing to negotiate with the Ottomans?"

Constantine looked at the generals under his seat, and finally at his good son Isaac.

Why are you looking at me? I won't go there even if I die.

The Ottomans liked to take the heirs of vassal states as hostages in order to interfere in their internal affairs.

Many powerful Eastern European figures, such as Skanderbeg, Grand Duke Stefan, and Vlad III the Impaler, had engaged in this not-so-glorious profession and gained enlightenment in the Sultan's palace.

Isaac lowered his head, refusing to meet Constantine's eyes.

"In this way, we can reach an armistice agreement first, and the specific peace treaty will be negotiated by Constantinople."

Constantine kicked the ball to his good brother.

In the next few days, Isaac still instructed all troops to be on guard to prevent Ottomans from breaking the agreement.

On April 1446, 4, news came from Constantinople that a peace treaty had been reached.

The emperor accepted Osman's first two suggestions in full, and finally agreed to an annual tribute of 1 ducats from Osman.

In addition, twenty thousand war reparations must be paid now.

I guess the emperor will have to borrow money from Latin merchants again.

On May 1446, 5, after receiving 10 ducats, the Ottomans led their troops northwest to the Albanian border.

They plundered Athens and almost reduced this historic city to ruins.

Fortunately, Isaac had the foresight to transfer most of the population and wealth to the south of the Great Wall.

Isaac finally breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the news of the Ottoman withdrawal.

This was the first major historical event he changed since he came into this world.

The printing press and the West African expedition were things that were going to happen anyway, but Isaac got there first.

Only in this Battle of the Wall of Corinth, Isaac had no confidence of victory and did not know the direction of history.

Fortunately, after my own hard work, I finally achieved a better outcome.

In the Battle of Corinth, the Ottomans lost 8000 troops and a squadron.

The Eastern Roman Empire lost more than 5000 people, most of whom were conscripted peasants and militia from nearby villages.

Both Ioannis VIII and Constantine sent commendations to Isaac, praising his actions and allowing him to have his own prince's guard.

But there is nothing else.

At this moment, the emperor was worried about the debts owed by Latin merchants, and Constantine had also exhausted the treasury for the previous war.

Isaac was also very clear that the Eastern Roman Empire was now unable to take care of itself and could hardly provide him with any substantial help.

The pensions for the seriously injured and dead soldiers in each legion of the Guard, the distribution of military pay and rewards, the replenishment of each legion, and promotions and punishments were all a mess.

Isaac’s military command system is now relatively complete, but his finance, diplomacy, politics, and military supplies are almost blank.

Changes must be made.

On May 1446, 5, Isaac, escorted by the Grand Duke Morea, headed for Constantinople, which he had not seen for a long time.

Isaac did not bring his army with him, but stationed them in Morea, giving the soldiers leave while he waited for reinforcements. He began to prepare to form the Second Legion of the Guards, recruiting all soldiers from Morea, Corinth and other places.

Isaac was a little dazed when he returned to the imperial capital after more than a year away.

The atmosphere in the city was worse than when I left.

The emperor publicized the victory at the Wall of Corinth, but received little response.

All they knew was that the emperor had again borrowed money from Latin merchants to pay war reparations.

At the same time, the annual pension paid to Ottoman Empire increased.

The emperor had no money and could only collect taxes from them. The Greek districts were even poorer, while the Venetian colony and the Genoese colony of Galata were more prosperous.

Latin merchants were like leeches, sucking the blood of the empire and feeding themselves.

Isaac ignored the deserted port and market and headed straight for the Grand Palace.

The statue of Justinian still stands there, next to the palace, overlooking the entire city.

Isaac once again entered the council chamber of his uncle Ioannis VIII.

He walked forward solemnly and knelt in greeting.

"Your Majesty, I'm back."

"Just come back."

Isaac raised his head and looked at his uncle.

In just one year, Ioannis VIII seemed to have aged ten years.

Her originally prominent cheekbones became more obvious, and her cloudy eyes seemed to show a hint of joy when she saw Isaac return.

But long-term fatigue and despair seemed to have deprived him of the ability to smile, and finally, this old face was twisted and full of wrinkles.

His graying hair and beard had obviously been hastily trimmed, with some stubble sticking out from his cracked skin.

Isaac felt a chill in his heart.

Basilius, who worked diligently but achieved nothing, was approaching the end of his life.

Isaac looked around and saw only his uncle and nephew in the empty hall.

"My child, I have heard about your efforts for the Empire in the West. To be honest, if it were me, I would not be so decisive and wise."

"His Majesty……"

Ioannis waved.

"You have done the Empire a great service at the Wall of Corinth, but the Empire has nothing to give you."

"How about this. From now on, you can take away all the books of the royal family and let your printing house keep them."

"In addition, I allow you to recruit any number of guards, but the Empire is not responsible for their food and wages."

"You wrote before saying that you lack management talent. I will let Sfrangis help you recruit them."

"I will make you a despot and rule all your expanded territories."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Isaac gave thanks.

Then, Ioannis VIII took Isaac to visit the Queen Mother, the Queen, and the elders of the Palaiologos family and its affiliated families.

After finishing all this, Isaac walked out of the Grand Palace and went to find George Sfrangis.

Sphrences can be said to be the last capable minister of the Eastern Roman Empire, the right-hand man of John VIII, and the mentor and friend of Constantine.

Since the emperor fell ill, Sphraenius has been struggling to maintain the overall situation in Constantinople.

Isaac met this pillar of the empire in Sfrangis' study.

He has a healthy complexion, simple clothes and a strong body.

With a kind smile and a pair of cold eyes, he was able to get along well with Latin merchants and conservative Eastern Roman aristocrats. At the same time, he could calmly analyze the essence of things and strive to maintain the stability of the capital.

"Isaac, long time no see, you have grown up again!"

When Sfrangis saw Isaac come in, he put down his pen and said happily.

"We have all been through a lot this year, my dear George."

"Merchants, priests, citizens, you have worked so hard this year."

Isaac clapped his hands and the servant handed over the gift.

"Here are some ivory sculptures and pearls from the coast of West Africa. I hope you like them."

George took it and played with it for a long time.

"The Empire belongs to all Roman citizens and we all have a duty to protect it."

After chatting for a while, Isaac got down to business.

"George, I am currently expanding overseas and I am in urgent need of talent. Is there anyone among the younger generation of the empire who is trustworthy?"

Sfrangis smiled.

"Of course, there are many people who want to apply for jobs through me. Apart from some idlers who just want to eat and wait for death, there are still some people who are willing to be loyal to the empire. I can't guarantee how capable they are, but at least they are absolutely loyal."

"I have told them the news about you, and they will visit you at your residence tonight."

Isaac thanked him and bid farewell to Francis.

There is still a lot to do on this trip to the capital.

Isaac first went to the blacksmith district and found the largest blacksmith shop in the area.

Isaac took out a blueprint and handed it to the blacksmith.

This was a Genoese man, and he didn't even give Isaac a second glance because of his identity.

"The scimitar itself is not difficult to make, but are you sure you want to use such fine materials and carve so many words?"

The old blacksmith was very confused.

There would also be some noble children who made some decorative swords for status, but the weapons on this drawing were obviously designed for war.

"How many? Are there really only fifty?"

"Yes."

The old master shook his head, thinking Isaac was some kind of spendthrift playboy.

"Come back in ten days to pick it up. Make sure you have enough money ready."

Isaac then visited the Venetian alcalde, Miloto, to thank him for his support and gave him specialties from West Africa.

Isaac then sent people to move part of the royal library's collection to the Archbishop of Moriah.

Busy till late.

In the evening, Isaac met with aspiring young people who came to apply for the job.

Leading the group was George Sfrangis' cousin, Isurte, who was also from the Sfrangis family.

There are seventeen people in total, with talents from all walks of life.

Isultus, who studied law at the University of Constantinople, Riedel, who studied business at the University of Florence, and Andronicus, who came from the Palaeologus branch and practiced martial arts since childhood...

There is also Lancelot, who studies engineering, and Albert, who is fluent in eight languages.

It basically covers all important positions, including people from all families and all classes.

It seems that this Sfranchis has put in some effort and has basically completed the investigation.

After reviewing it, I am basically satisfied.

Keep all.

There is no way. There is a severe shortage of basic management talents. Currently, the whole thing depends on the staff of General Manager Andre.

Since they are willing to leave the comfortable capital and go to the barren frontier, there must be some idealistic factors involved.

If it doesn't work, you can replace it.

Isaac invited them to dinner.

At the dinner table, Isaac briefly explained his situation to them.

Everyone was excited when they heard this.

Everyone started talking at once.

The initially reserved attitude gradually improved.

Isaac did not participate in their discussion and drank quietly.

Once these people join your team, you can share some of the mundane tasks and squeeze out more time to do more important things.

The victory at the Battle of Corinth brought an end to his previous plan.

Through one and a half years of hard work, we built up a considerable force from scratch.

Where to go next?
(End of this chapter)