1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 287 Northern Army
On the banks of the Kura River, Holy Cross Land.

Under the blue sky and white clouds, endless tents were scattered across the plains, herds of horses were foraging on the grasslands, and groups of slaves were walking slowly with their brows lowered, under the whips of the soldiers.

In an open space, merchants of all sizes gathered together to bargain with the soldiers, and from time to time they pulled out a slave to check his teeth and pinch his tendons.

Alexius stopped his horse and looked at the slave traders' den in the distance. He seemed to hear the clinking of gold coins and smell the strong smell of blood, and frowned.

"Alexius, they..."

Beside him, Maria rode on a pony, pulling at Alexios's collar with a worried look in her eyes.

"These are my brother's troops, Cossacks and Circassians, just coming over from Shirvan."

Alexius patted Maria's shoulder and whispered soothing words.

"Don't be afraid. Justinian is very good to his own people. Otherwise, so many people wouldn't be willing to follow him."

Maria nodded and moved closer.

"This is the first time I've seen so many slaves."

Maria took Alexios' arm.

"That's because you haven't been to Bilinchi."

Alexius accepted her intimate gesture silently.

"Bilingi is now the world's largest slave market, with people of all skin colors, ages, and beliefs. There is nothing they can't catch, except what you can't imagine."

"Did your brother do this too?"

Maria crossed herself and her impression of her elder brother became increasingly negative.

"No, this was done by my father."

Alexius sighed.

"You don't have to worry about these things. I don't want to worry about them either. Just do our best."

"No wonder the Saracens were so afraid of him. When he arrived, the Safavids immediately withdrew."

Maria suddenly said.

"If he hadn't come, the Safavids wouldn't have been able to take down our St. Andrew Castle."

Alexius smiled.

"Firearms, cannons, these advanced technologies can no longer be countered by mere bravery and fanaticism."

"Haydar didn't want to quit, but several elders of the cult insisted on it."

"However, the power of the Safavid group is still growing stronger. The more we make trouble here, the stronger their fanaticism will become."

Alexius stopped smiling.

"As long as you are here, our power will become stronger and stronger!"

Maria smiled and waved her white little fist.

"Hatred is difficult to resolve and will only grow deeper. Your Highness, you are very different from the Safavids. I can see that you are trying to resolve the conflict in a gentle way, and so am I."

Behind the two of them, Arslan sighed.

"But the fanatical ideas of the Safavid sect are simply too attractive. Besides them, your brother and father seem to have the same ideas. Either you die or I live. There is absolutely no third way."

"Forget it, this is not our business. Let's go to the emperor's banquet first and see what he has planned."

Alexius shook his head vigorously and quickened his pace.

After a while, a large purple tent came into view, and above the tent, a blood-red double-headed eagle flag was fluttering.

The sounds of laughter and drinking drifted out from the tent. Alexius calmed himself and explained his purpose to the guards.

The guard who had just glanced at him stood up straight and bowed to Alexius.

"Welcome, Your Highness Alexios, the Great Circassian King, King of the Cossacks, Son of Isaac, His Majesty Justinian is waiting for you."

The two Cossack soldiers spoke in heavily accented Greek.

“You speak Greek!”

Maria exclaimed.

"This is the language of the emperor, and the language of the king. Every loyal servant of the Palaiologos family should learn it."

The Cossack said proudly.

Alexius nodded and led the two into the tent.

For a moment, the strong smell of alcohol wafted out, everyone was singing and laughing wildly.

"Your Highness, I'll wait outside. This place is not suitable for me."

Arsalan, who believed in Zaydi, frowned and said to Alexius.

"Well, I wanted to introduce you to my brother, and maybe even to my father."

Alexius looked at Arsalan with some regret.

Alexios looked around and saw his eldest brother on the throne.

At this moment, he was neither drinking nor eating, and there was no woman beside him. He just sat there, quietly staring at his servants, with a faint smile on the corners of his mouth, and a brass crown with twelve stars on his head.

Justinian also saw him. Among a group of bohemian nomadic nobles, Alexius, dressed in a knight's tunic, was particularly conspicuous.

Justinian stood up and the noise stopped immediately. In full view of everyone, Justinian walked up to Alexius and hugged him.

"Long time no see, my brother, Alexios."

Justinian smiled and pulled Alexios to face the crowd.

"This is my father's second son, my brother, the Prince of Sparta, the Grand Master of the Knights of Saint Andrew, and the Iceman Alexius."

"Your Majesty's brother is indeed extraordinary, and he is worthy of having the same sacred and noble blood flowing in his veins!"

A nobleman spoke with a thick tongue and chuckled.

After a round of compliments, Justinian pulled Alexios and pressed him to his side, and Maria naturally followed closely.

"You guys continue, my brother and I have something to talk about!"

Justinian waved his hand and the noise in the tent started again.

"Brother, this is my fiancée, Maria Bagration."

Alexius looked at Justinian.

"Yeah, I've heard of it. Congratulations."

Justinian reached into the wooden box beside him, pulled out a gem, and handed it to Maria.

"This is my wedding gift. When you get married, there will be something better."

"Thank you, my royal brother. Such a beautiful gem. Where did it come from?"

Maria smiled sweetly and bowed slightly.

"It was mined from the home of a Sylvan merchant. It's not worth much. Take it."

Justinian poured Alexios a glass of wine.

"This is also good stuff. This is the Kiev wine I looted from the grasslands. I gave most of it away. I haven't drunk much of it myself."

Alexius took the glass and took a sip.

"Brother, when did you come here?"

"We arrived at this plain last month, intending to seize the city of Ardabil when the opportunity arose. However, they defended it tightly, and we didn't see the opportunity, so we came here."

Justinian stared at the wine in the glass in a trance.

"There are many merchants in Georgia. I plan to go to Tbilisi from here to sell all my spoils." "I'm sure you must have gained a lot."

Alexius forced a smile.

"Not much. Most of them were taken back to Circassia by Timur Tash and Stimma. Some of the less valuable ones were thrown directly into the river. In order to travel light, I only took a small part."

Justinian smiled.

"I have to say that Sylvania's national strength is quite strong. I wanted to go to the Caspian Sea, but I don't have the chance anymore."

"Have you fought with them?"

Alexius asked.

"It's not necessary. We are all light cavalry. Our greatest advantage is speed. Along the way, I haven't attacked a single big city or fought a single major battle. It's not worth it."

Justinian chuckled.

"We are raiders, and the Sylvans are on the defensive. As long as I'm fast enough, their army won't be able to catch us."

"So what if they are caught? Can they beat us?"

Gonzalo on the side was waving his hands drunkenly.

"I've heard that King Shirvan's daughter is extremely beautiful. If I wasn't in a hurry, I would have to give the Shirvans a good beating and catch King Shirvan on the spot, and let his daughter come to plead for mercy in person!"

Gonzalo's words immediately caused cheers from the nomadic nobles, and the tent was filled with a happy atmosphere.

Gonzalo thought for a moment, then took out a box of Roma cigarettes and handed it to Alexios.

"Your Highness, do you smoke?"

"Come on, Gonzalo, stop leading my brother astray."

Justinian cursed and laughed, snatching Gonzalo's cigarette case.

"Royal brother, how are the Xilvan people doing now?"

Alexius was silent for a moment, then asked.

"How? This winter, a large number of them will die. I have demolished the bridges, destroyed the water conservancy projects, burned the granaries, and spread salt on the farmlands. There are also fewer strong laborers."

Justinian said grimly.

"They have been plundering for so many years, it's time for them to have a taste of revenge from the Orthodox Christians."

"I didn't give them a chance to fight. I harassed them everywhere, relying on the mobility of one man and three horses to repeatedly detour between towns. When they arrived, they could only see a pile of ruins and a raging fire."

"In the next two years, the Safavids will definitely come to attack your territory again, but the Shirvans probably won't. Even if they seek revenge, it will be against my Circassia."

Justinian patted Alexios on the shoulder.

"Come on, the crown of Georgia will belong to our family sooner or later."

"I didn't think too much about it. I just wanted to do my part for the cause of Jesus Christ."

Alexius smiled.

"What are you going to do next?"

"My father has ordered that I will lead my troops to Anatolia to participate in the Great Turkish War."

Justinian's eyes became sharp.

"My father said that my cavalry can go from Georgia to the Black Sea coast, pass through Trebizond, and directly penetrate the soft heartland of the Ottomans."

"What about the Aries King? Will they agree?"

Alexius frowned.

"Uzon Hassan's main target is the rich Karaman and Ramazan, the Cilician plains to the south."

Justinian shrugged.

"According to intelligence, he is currently in Adana City, and his army is also on the plains. They are probably preparing to spend the winter there."

"We all rely on our own abilities. Father said that the Black Sea is our sea, and the coast of the Black Sea must be brought under the control of the empire."

"As for Trebizond, I will send envoys to explore the matter. They will probably agree. Even if they don't agree, they won't be able to stop my army."

Justinian thought for a moment.

"I plan to let Gonzalo lead the fastest cavalry as the vanguard to open up the situation first. I also have to go to Sochi to recruit more Cossack infantry and Circassian infantry."

"How many soldiers do you have now?"

Alexius asked.

"More than 3,000 cavalrymen, not many."

Justinian spoke truthfully.

"In order to ensure speed, I divided the army into two before entering the Shirvan Lowlands. The infantry had already returned to Circassia with the slaves."

"Don't worry. All the Ottoman troops in the east are gathered in Ankara. Bayezid himself has no military ability. His domestic affairs ability is not bad, but there is no room for him to play."

"Before the cold winter comes, I must occupy a piece of land on the southern coast of the Black Sea. Next year, my father and I will attack from both the east and the west to completely liberate the southern coast of the Black Sea."

Justinian looked at Alexios firmly.

"My soldiers are all from the north. They are definitely much better at withstanding the cold than the Turks. Plus, with the advantage of the navy, we can attack when we advance and defend when we retreat."

"How does your father plan to deal with the numerous Turks on the Anatolian Peninsula?"

Alexius raised his eyes.

"That's all for the future. Let's kill them first until they dare not resist."

Justinian looked away.

"See those Berbers and Bedouins in North Africa? We must subdue them completely and use powerful force to make them fearful!"

"Two hundred years ago, the Yuan prince Hulagu conquered Baghdad. After they left, a city said to have nearly a million people was left with less than a hundred thousand."

"I don't have the ability, and I don't want to kill people in vain. We need a lot of slaves to open up the New World, and the Turks are a good source of slaves."

Justinian looked at Alexios.

"Your Holy Cross Land is quite good. Do you need slaves or other goods? If you are short of money, I can give you some."

"No need, my brother. You know me. I have never liked using slaves since I was a child."

Alexius said firmly.

"But the merchants in Holy Cross love it. As soon as I come here, they smell the aroma and come here."

"The Safavids are very powerful. Their strength is far more than what we have seen now. They will definitely attack your territory again. Don't hold on."

Seeing that Alexios was still looking at him seriously, Justinian sighed.

"Well, I'll be leaving in a few days. I don't know when we'll see each other next time."

"Then I wish you success, my dear brother."

Alexius looked at his elder brother's mature face and suddenly felt a little emotional.

"Once the situation here stabilizes, I will definitely take Maria to Constantinople and visit little Constantine and little Carlos."

"Okay, we have a deal. I wish you the realization of your dream, my dear brother."

Justinian nodded and raised his glass.

……

On October 1470, 10, Justinian, co-emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, ended his conquest in the East, formed the Northern Legion, and led the army westward along Georgia all the way to the Black Sea coast.

On October 10, Gonzalo de Cordoba led 30 vanguard cavalry and continued to march southwest along the coast, preparing to pass through Trebizond and attack the northeast region where the Ottoman defense was weakest.

(End of this chapter)