1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 359: War in the Mud
The Sicily Islands are a volcanic archipelago, most of which are located in the Mediterranean-Himalayan volcanic earthquake belt. There are more than a dozen volcanoes of various sizes distributed on the archipelago. These volcanoes are opportunities as well as hidden worries.

A huge volcano covering an extremely large area is located in the northeast of Sicily. From the foot of the mountain to the top, the green gradually decreases and the white gradually increases. The crater in the center towers into the clouds. From a distance, it looks like an extremely huge cone standing between the blue sky and the earth.

This is Mount Etna, the largest and highest volcano on Sicily. Its highest point is over 3,000 meters above sea level. It has been one of Sicily’s landmarks since ancient times.

Mount Etna can be regarded as the most active volcano in the Mediterranean world. It is not as lifeless as most volcanoes. Instead, it is like a demon in charge of magma and fire, and it has to vent its anger on the world from time to time.

Objectively speaking, although Mount Etna has brought some life threats to the surrounding residents, it has also made an indelible contribution to the economy and people's livelihood of the entire Sicily. The places where volcanic ash falls will become excellent fertile land, and the sulfur carried out by the magma has become Sicily's most strategically valuable export commodity.

In the eastern part of Sicily, an ancient city sits on the coastal road between Syracuse and Messina. It faces the gentle and bright Ionian Sea to the east and is backed by the hot and wild Mount Etna to the west. There are vast plains in the south to provide food and grass, and a coastal path in the north connecting to Messina. The strategic location is very dangerous.

This city is called Catania, and it is also one of the largest cities in Sicily. Due to the influence of Mount Etna, the land around the city is extremely fertile. The dense rivers and developed ports also bring excellent development opportunities to the city. The Amnano River that runs through the city provides it with water supply and natural defense line. After the decline of Syracuse, Catania took its place and became the largest port on the east coast of Sicily.

Between Catania and Syracuse is the largest plain in Sicily, the Catania Plain. The rivers that wash down from the northwest gather into a network, bringing rich fresh water resources to the plain, and the agricultural potential is very good.

However, like many places on the Apennine Peninsula, the Catania Plain is also a high-incidence area of ​​malaria due to its many swamps and wetlands, and no decent large cities have been born in the plain or at the river estuary.

Inside a castle in Catania, a middle-aged man gazed at the bustling construction site in the distant port. Workers piled up stones one by one, and lines of defense gradually took shape.

The middle-aged man was dressed very luxuriously, his short black hair stood up like steel needles, the stubble on his lips was equally short and hard, his grey eyes were piercing, his black eyebrows were across his forehead, and he looked as majestic as a lion.

He is the Marquis of Gatis and a trusted general of Prince Fernando of the Kingdom of Aragon. He brought his troops here before the war in Sicily and coordinated all military affairs in Sicily on behalf of the Trastamara family.

The Marquis of Gatis is a very traditional Spanish nobleman. His ancestors made their fortune through the Crusades, and several generations of his ancestors died on the battlefields of the holy wars. The family has a very strong martial spirit.

Compared to the absurd Castile, the aristocratic atmosphere of the Kingdom of Aragon is relatively good. The nobles have not completely forgotten the bravery and fearlessness of their ancestors. The Marquis of Gatis is one of the best among them. He fought for the king in the Catalan Rebellion and was known for his ferocity and brutality. Countless Catalan civilians died at his hands.

As a traditional aristocrat, he looked down upon the weak and extravagant Italians, and was dismissive of the sprouts of capitalism in major coastal cities such as Barcelona and Valencia, believing that this would only lead to the weakness of Christians and cause "the collapse of rituals and music" at the social level. His territory still practiced the ancient manor economy, and his peasants were still confined to their small plots of land, leading a life that was no different from hundreds of years ago.

Although the Marquis of Gatiss was not extravagant, his backward business model still made him often fall into the dilemma of being empty-handed. In order to change this situation, the Marquis of Gatiss played to his strengths and organized a group of mercenaries with good combat effectiveness. They often traveled on battlefields everywhere and earned money with horses and swords.

From the last civil war in Castile to the Hundred Years' War between England and France, from the Navarre Rebellion to the Catalan Rebellion, the Marquis of Gatiss led his army in battles across the country, and his ability to command troops and the art of command were greatly improved. The commercial nobles looked down on him, but had to admit that this brave and reckless nobleman did have some skills in marching and fighting.

After arriving in Sicily, Marquis of Gatis quickly got down to work. He ignored the intrigues of the officials of the Kingdom of Sicily and did not interfere too much in the Sicilian government. Instead, he ambitiously recruited new soldiers, trained the army, built fortresses, and improved defense.

Although the Sicilian government tried its best to collect war materials out of fear and tried its best to meet the demands of Marquis Gatis, the Marquis Gatis's defense plan was not completed as scheduled. The complex local forces in Sicily meant that only 50% of the country's strength could be exerted. The blockade of Sicily's shipping routes by the Eastern Roman Navy also made it difficult for foreign supplies to reach the port. The unruly Sicilian people's attitude towards Juan II was limited to acquiescence. It was difficult to recruit soldiers and collect taxes. Sometimes, even the conscription of civilians had to resort to force.

Therefore, the Marquis of Gatis abandoned the Noto Valley and invested most of the supplies in the other two major population centers. He built a number of fortresses around several large cities, burned bridges, destroyed roads, cleared the fields, and delayed the enemy.

The outbreak of the Sicilian Vespers uprising made the Marquis of Gatiss furious. For the first time, he spoke harshly to the administrators of the Sicilian government and took the task of quelling the civil unrest into his own hands, only asking them to continue to requisition materials and supply the army.

The Marquis of Gatiss really couldn't understand why the people of Sicily were so unruly that they couldn't even tolerate a little bit of taxation during the war. If it happened in Aragon, such a thing would never happen.

The Trastamara family is not the Angevin family, and their reputation on Sicily is not that bad. Although the Eastern Roman Empire took various measures, this Sicilian Vespers Uprising was not as fierce as the last one. The Spanish army of the Marquis of Gatiss defeated the Sicilian rebels one after another near Palermo, dispersed them and drove them into the mountains.

After initially resolving the disputes in the west, Marquis of Gatiss led an army of 10,000 to the Demone Valley in the northeast, ready to stop the Eastern Roman Empire's troops there and complete his mission.

After some investigation, Marquis of Gatis focused his attention on Catania, trying to use the terrain near Catania to deal a heavy blow to the Eastern Roman emperor who was leading his troops north.

Objectively speaking, the decision made by Marquis Gatis was very correct. Catania controls the throat leading to Messina. Although the road from Catania to Messina is close to the coast, the coast here is mostly cliffs, and the sea near Messina is also full of whirlpools and undercurrents. The navy of the Eastern Roman Empire cannot play a big role. As long as Catania can be defended, the army of the Eastern Roman Empire can only be restricted to the most barren Noto Valley. Either choose to advance into the more difficult inland mountainous areas, or return in disappointment.

Although the plains south of Catania are low-lying, they are crisscrossed with rivers and densely covered with swamps. The extremely poor roads and the plagues in summer and autumn will greatly hinder the advance of the Eastern Roman Empire. The rivers here are difficult to navigate, and the water transportation that the Eastern Roman Empire has always relied on cannot play much of an advantage. The army of Marquis Gatis can rely on the geographical advantage to continuously harass and drag them down.

Furthermore, since the land here is relatively fertile, the residents near Catania already live a good small farming life. Although the gradually increasing taxes have made them resentful, it has not yet reached the critical point of a full-scale uprising.

In order to make use of the local manpower in Sicily, the Marquis of Gatis changed his mindset and no longer used the demoralized conscripted peasant soldiers. Instead, he chose to use the mercenary distribution model to attract those brave and greedy rangers and let them fight for their own interests rather than for the so-called king and nobles.

The fall of Syracuse did not surprise Marquis Gatis, and the church's acquiescence only made him angry for a few days. This powerful warrior carried out his plan as usual, dividing his troops into small groups and blocking the Eastern Roman Empire's offensive on the Catania Plain.

As summer turned to autumn, the two armies had fought more than a dozen small-scale conflicts here. Although each side had its own wins and losses, the Spanish mercenaries of the Marquis of Gatiss still had the upper hand in the exchange ratio of numbers because the main force of the Eastern Roman Empire had not yet deployed.

In addition, Marquis Gatis also built a lot of fortifications at the port of Catania. In his opinion, if things continued to develop in this way, as long as they could block the naval landing of the Eastern Roman Empire, it would not be a pipe dream to delay it for a year or two with the help of Catania.

More than 20 years have passed, and the bastion technology originated in the Eastern Roman Empire has long been spread to other countries. Military engineers from European countries have made adaptive improvements to the Eastern Roman bastions, and the Italian bastions are the most advanced. The military engineer of the Marquis of Gatis is from Venice. It is said that this bereaved man asked for a very low salary in order to resist the advance of the Eastern Roman Empire, and he focused on strengthening the defense of Catania.

"Your Excellency the Marquis, Captain Batista is back."

A voice came into the ears of the Marquis of Gatiss, waking him from his thoughts. It was his knight Charles.

"Oh? What was the outcome?"

The Marquis of Gatis looked at the Chevalier Charles.

"That Sicilian boy is a bit brave, but he's too greedy."

"We won the battle and brought back a lot of prisoners. Captain Batista is waiting for your inspection, but..."

Knight Charlie reported, seeming to be hesitant to speak.

"You will understand once you go there."

The Marquis of Gatis frowned, said nothing, picked up his sword, and walked down the castle.

Mounting their war horses and bringing their followers, they arrived at the parade ground in Catania.

There was a light rain in the sky. Marquis of Gatis looked around and looked in the direction where the crowd was gathering.

The local Sicilian mercenaries laughed wildly and pointed at the captives who were kneeling on the ground.

"Ah, the respected Marquis of Gatiss, you are here!"

A middle-aged man with a thick Sicilian accent looked at the Marquis of Gatiss with a smile and bowed to him exaggeratedly.

"I led my brothers to defeat them by a stream, and brought back the prisoners as per your orders."

As he said this, he threw the cloth bag in his hand to the ground, and inside it were more than a hundred ears.

“Well, this is also a trophy.”

Batista kicks the bag.

"I led a party of three hundred and fifty men, met about four hundred, killed sixty-three, captured fifty-three, and the rest escaped."

The Marquis of Gatiss nodded, kicked the sack to his adjutant, and came to the prisoner.

Gatis glanced at the prisoner and his expression suddenly turned ugly.

"Fifty-three people, more than half of them are black?"

The Marquis of Gatiss looked at Batista.

"Which city's slave shooting army is this?"

"I don't know. I haven't asked yet."

Batista shook his head, waved his hand, and called for an interpreter.

“Ask them where they are from.”

The interpreter leaned down and spoke to the black prisoner. After a while, he stood up.

"Did you ask?"

Batista looked expectant.

"No, Captain, I don't understand them."

The translator said awkwardly.

"Asshole, go ask those Turks! Don't you even understand Turkish?"

Batista roared and dragged over a Turk.

"The Marquis wants to know, which city are you from?"

"Sousse."

The Turkish captive hung his head and whispered, "Africa Province, Susa Archers."

"Well, listen, Sussians, you have been captured by the great Marquis of Gatiss. You now have two choices, either tell us some useful intelligence or die."

Batista glared at him fiercely and asked in his not-so-fluent Turkish.

"I am just a slave who has not yet escaped from slavery. Even if there is intelligence, I have no way of knowing it."

The Turk said woodenly.

"We were sent up the river to scout for the enemy, and we were accompanied by a group of Slavic cavalry. They ran too fast and we lost them."

"Where is the Greek Emperor at present?"

Batista asked.

"do not know."

"What about the troops?"

"do not know."

"Okay, there's no way to find out."

The Marquis of Gatiss waved his hand, interrupting the meaningless inquiry.

"So, after all your efforts, you only managed to defeat a group of slave soldiers who broke away from the team?"

"Your Excellency the Marquis, as far as I know, slave soldiers also receive rewards."

Batista put on a smiling face.

"You are a noble, so your words will not go unreliable, right?"

The Marquis of Gatiss stared at Batista coldly. After a long while, he signaled the military judge to come forward to count and settle the reward money.

"What are you going to do next?"

"We have made enough money and it is difficult to recruit soldiers. The Greeks are adapting to the environment and many locals are attracted by their good life. Our advantages are gradually being eroded."

"Now, we are going to go home. You promised that we can leave anytime we want, as long as we are within your control area."

Batista took the bag of gold coins, whistled, and pulled some crumpled documents from his pocket.

"Everything you want is ready. The detailed battle situation, the enemy's movements detected, and the specific locations where the Greeks built roads and bridges are all here."

Batista chuckled and looked at the Marquis of Gatiss.

"Your Excellency, although I am a rogue in your eyes, I have been on the battlefield before. I can see that the Greeks want to use slave soldiers to consume your soldiers and money."

"They have invented new medicines. Malaria is no longer a difficult obstacle. They have brought a large number of engineers and are building floating bridges on many rivers."

"I suggest you stop sending regular troops to harass them. It won't produce any results. The rainy season is coming soon, and it will be difficult to march. Their muskets and cannons will be scrapped. With your existing fortifications, it won't be difficult to survive until next year."

As soon as these words were spoken, the followers brought by Marquis Gatis glared at Batista, and several knights had already put on their swords at their waists.

There was a hint of anger between the brows of Marquis Gatis, but he still waved his hand and let Batista's mercenaries leave freely.

He is a traditional aristocrat, and his words are law, and everyone knows it.

The Marquis of Gatiss rode back to his residence with Batista's march report and spread out all the documents he had collected in recent days on the table.

"On August 8, Syracuse officially fell. The Greek emperor summoned the nobles and merchants in the city and issued a decree to provide food for the citizens, treat diseases, and organize collective entertainment..."

"On September 9, Knight Charles led 10 cavalrymen to explore the south and clashed with a Slaves cavalry unit. Both sides suffered losses."

"On September 9, Captain Batista led 20 newly recruited mercenaries to the mountainous area in the southwest and discovered traces of the enemy's engineering corps. Due to the large number of the enemy, no battle was engaged."

"On September 9, Baron Thomas led his private cavalry on a reconnaissance mission and observed enemy movements. According to speculation, they seemed to be preparing to move farmers in the war zone to a safe area."

"On October 10, we discovered a road that the enemy was building and destroyed it."

"On October 10, we found some simple fortifications by a river in the mountains. They seemed to be trying to stay there for a long time."

The last one is today's, and it is basically the same as the previous intelligence.

The Marquis of Gatiss read the summary report softly, with a strange smile on his face.

"Build roads and bridges, distribute food, treat villagers, and relocate people on the front lines to the Notto Valley in the south to prevent them from suffering losses..."

"What a benevolent and kind emperor!"

The Marquis of Gatiss tapped the tabletop with his knuckles and looked at the Knight Charles standing beside him.

"Charles, what do you think is the purpose of the Greek emperor's tricks?"

"Honestly, I don't know."

Knight Charlie smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"If he wanted to quickly capture Catania and Messina, he would have to rush through the swampy lowlands regardless of the losses and requisition a large number of civilians to build roads and bridges, but he did not do that."

"If he wants to slow down and advance step by step, he has to focus on a few points and a line. It is enough to build roads and bridges on this line. He does not need to worry about other places. Building fortresses is useless, not to mention relocating people."

"His actions are completely confusing. He doesn't seem to be here to fight, but more like to build something."

Charlie thought about it and looked at the Marquis of Gatiss.

"They are still building the fortress. In my opinion, the Greek emperor may not plan to take Catania in a short time. He may concentrate on managing the Noto Valley until next year."

"It's possible, but not very likely."

The Marquis of Gatiss was in deep thought.

"Sicily in winter is full of heavy rain and mud. The Greek emperor's muskets and artillery will be greatly weakened. He cannot march in winter. If he fails to capture Catania before the end of autumn, he will have to wait until next year."

As he spoke, Marquis Gatis looked at the map again, picked up the quill, and circled a few points on the map.

"Look, their army seems to be moving towards the northwest mountains. Could it be that the Greek emperor wants to abandon Catania and go directly into the inland mountains?"

"Or do they intend to bypass the marshy lowlands, climb over Mount Etna and go straight to Catania?"

"But this is impossible. We have arranged many sentries along this road, and many castles have not been lost. A large army cannot sneak in secretly, but a small army may be able to..."

The Marquis of Gatiss muttered to himself, his brows knitted into a knot.

"My Lord Marquis, I think you are worrying too much."

Knight Charles shrugged.

"The Greek emperors were human beings, not gods, and it was impossible for them to completely avoid military mistakes."

"Besides, he rarely commands personally now. Most of these actions are ordered by the conservative General Ibrahim."

"No, we must not underestimate him. It is precisely because Sicily is difficult to conquer that he came here. The tactical deployment may have been completed by Ibrahim, but the strategic planning must have come from the Greek emperor himself."

The Marquis of Gatiss shook his head and sighed.

"How about this? You go and summarize what we just discussed and ask all the armies to pay special attention to it. At the same time, you must also strictly check the citizens in the city and prohibit them from going to the military areas including the port fortress area."

"Go collect taxes near Catania again and drive the people south. If the Greeks want it, give it to them!"

"His Royal Highness has led tens of thousands of troops south to Toledo. If we survive this winter, things will definitely turn around!"

(End of this chapter)