1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 36 Encirclement and Suppression
"Quick! All troops move forward, we must keep the enemy's elite troops!"

Isaac whipped his horse and raised his sword high.

The standard-bearing officer waved the command flag, and immediately, the infantry phalanxes in the center and on the left wing ended their defensive mode and, under the guidance of commanders at all levels, charged towards the enemy's center.

Mehmet's cavalry was pursuing the enemy's scattered left wing, but they were temporarily unable to contact them due to flames and thick smoke.

Send out the infantry to kill all the enemy's main forces, wait for Mehmet to recover, and then use the victory to attack the enemy's phalanx to achieve complete success.

The premise is that Isaac's infantry can delay the enemy's center formation.

In the central camp of Fezzan, King Abdullah looked at the direction where Adnan Sheh left in a panic.

The left and right wings all collapsed. Although his central army was elite, it no longer had the advantage in numbers and morale.

The 1200 infantrymen forming the military formation in the front were the hard work of several generations of his family.

Professional armorers, professional weapons workers, and professional instructors transformed this group of slaves into an iron army that was feared throughout the desert.

It was with the help of this army that he was able to stand out among many Shekhs and become the supreme king.

And today...

"The front troops will line up to block the way, and the cavalry will withdraw with me."

He said this slowly, as if all his strength had been drained out.

"I am willing to die for Your Majesty!"

The commander of the front army shouted loudly, then mounted his horse and stepped forward to take control of the army formation.

"Steady! Steady!"

Rushing in the front were the vanguard infantry of the First Legion of the Guards. They were equipped with spears and wore chain mail. They were originally used to defend against possible cavalry charges by the enemy, but here they were used as sharp knives to pierce the enemy's formation.

clang--

The spear pierced the shield, making a sharp sound.

The two sides engaged in battle and began to fight.

After the initial charge, the Guards soon found themselves in a tough fight.

The enemy's advance and retreat, attack and defense were clearly measured, and they were completely different from the ordinary conscripted tribesmen.

The Guards were even pushed back at one point.

"Kill! For Rome!"

Mikhail roared, wearing heavy armor and a visor helmet, and led his guards to rush forward and join the battlefield.

Blood splattered and broken arms flew everywhere. Both sides were blood-thirsty and wanted nothing more than to thrust their swords into each other's chests and smash their heads with hammers.

Just when the battle was at a climax, the Purple Guards' infantry arrived at the battlefield and charged into the enemy's formation from the side.

The Black Legion ignored the fleeing southern Ade and charged straight at the Kingdom's regular army from the other side.

Although the enemy was extremely brave, they were gradually defeated under the three-sided attack.

"The king has escaped! We are defeated!"

Isaac had people shouting in the local Arabic language.

The fighting soldiers looked back and found that the following cavalry had already fled, leaving them alone on the entire battlefield.

"Put down your weapons and surrender immediately!"

More and more voices began to ring in the enemy's ears.

clang--

A young face filled with fear dropped the knife in his hand.

He was beheaded by a small team leader with a single sword strike.

"Anyone who dares to mention surrender will die!"

blow--

Before he could finish his words, an arrow hit the captain in the throat. He staggered and fell, landing in the sand.

In the Purple Guard formation, Hakan fired several arrows and shot down several soldiers who put up the most fierce resistance.

He shook his strong bow with satisfaction, and the Palaiologos emblem on it became more and more eye-catching.

"We surrender!"

An enemy soldier shouted, dropped his weapon, and fell to his knees.

Gradually, more and more enemy soldiers began to surrender, and after the last diehards were eliminated, the war came to an end.

Isaac rode forward and headed straight for the battlefield. The victorious soldiers looked at their master eagerly.

Isaac smiled.

"Roman soldiers, I am proud of you."

"After the war, those who have made contributions will be rewarded."

The sound of horse hooves rang out, and Mehmet, in the lead, led a line of captives. Their hands were tied with ropes and dragged on the ground, begging for mercy.

The cavalry battle also ended.

He dismounted and knelt on one knee.

"Your Highness, we were unable to catch up with the fleeing King Abdullah."

"These are all the nobles of the tribe that we have captured."

Isaac lifted Mehmet up and patted him on the shoulder.

"I saw it. That fool king was very decisive. He directly abandoned the front army."

"It's not your fault."

Isaac turned his head and looked at the soldiers.

"Return to camp! Celebrate!"

……

That day, the soldiers had a delicious meal of camel meat.

Isaac went around and distributed the fine wine from his collection to the soldiers.

Cleaning up the battlefield, dealing with the wounded, counting the losses, and taking in the prisoners were all troublesome tasks, but Isaac simply left it alone.

It’s still better to drink.

After drinking with his soldiers until midnight, Isaac returned to the camp and fell asleep.

The war was over, and there was no local force left to drive Isaac away from here.

Several days of fatigue and the joy of success hit him at the same time, and he suddenly felt exhausted.

Sweet dreams.

Isaac's snoring continued until noon the next day.

The patrolling soldiers heard Isaac's snoring and laughed with their hands covering their faces.

Then Isaac rushed out of the tent, chose a campfire at random, and sat down on the ground.

He grabbed the meat roasting on the campfire and stuffed it into his mouth in big mouthfuls.

The soldiers who were eating nearby were stunned.

After dinner, it’s time to get down to business.

"Order! All officers, report to my meeting room immediately!"

Isaac gave orders to the soldiers around him.

After a while, the commanders of various legions walked into Isaac's tent one after another and saw Isaac sitting in the main seat.

Isaac waved his hand and motioned for everyone to sit down.

"Your Highness, the battlefield has been cleared, and the casualties of both sides are still being counted."

Mikhail spoke first.

"We'll talk about this later. How are the remaining enemy troops?"

"The enemy lost most of their cavalry and camel riders. Some of the remaining defeated soldiers surrendered, while the rest fled to the south."

"A part of the enemy's Adnan Sheh fled to the Mabre Oasis. Their attitude is unclear at the moment, but they seem to be determined to hold on."

“King Abdullah has not returned to Mebre Oasis and his whereabouts are unknown.”

Isaac thought about it for a moment.

"Well, let's gather our forces and head to the city of Mebre to see what Adnan says."

"Let our subordinate tribes spread the word that Adnan rebelled, Fathiye was killed in battle, and the king was defeated and missing."

"Let's push them."

Everyone took the order and left.

The Oasis of Mabre is important and must be taken.

It is okay for a small tribe to negotiate terms, but if it has any other intentions, the same fate will befall King Abdullah who is now fleeing in panic.

On November 1446, 11, Isaac gathered his troops and headed for the Oasis of Mebra.

Along the way, they continued to take in the defeated soldiers and put them into prisoner-of-war camps. They would be handed over to Erdosh later, and the affiliated tribes that participated in the battle would also get some.

After arriving at the Oasis of Mebre, Isaac set up camp there and sent an envoy to the city to deliver a letter. The letter contained only a few cold words:

Surrender or die.

He used the momentum of a great victory to threaten Maybre in order to be strong.

These tribes are hard on the nose and do not respond to soft words. It is useless to persuade them with kind words.

Then Isaac ordered all the cavalry to disperse, intercept all merchants trying to enter the city, control the main traffic routes, and block the entire city.

Without any hesitation, he expressed his attitude directly.

That night, Adnan sent his son Murashi to Isaac's camp to try to negotiate terms.

Isaac sat at the center, the sheikh of the subordinate tribe sat on the left, and the commander of the legion sat on the right.

"My sincerest regards, Your Highness the Great Isaac."

Mulci lowered his posture and knelt on one knee.

“Your specific actions don’t seem sincere.”

Isaac said coldly without looking at him.

"Your Highness, my father had already intended to surrender, otherwise he would not have retreated in the face of the enemy."

"The main purpose of holding the city is to guard against the fleeing troops of the traitor Abdullah."

Murci spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Isaac smiled noncommittally.

"In that case, I would like to stay in the city of Maypre tonight. Is that possible?"

"Of course, but..."

Murshi looked up at Isaac.

"There are some discordant voices in our tribe who do not agree with my father's decision to pledge allegiance to you. We are afraid that they will take risks."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone glared at him.

"It doesn't matter. My army will wipe them out."

Isaac said calmly.

Murshi did not answer, but stared at Isaac.

"Tell me, what do you want?"

Let’s speak frankly!

"Father agreed to lead the tribe to convert to the Orthodox religion and pledge allegiance to you, providing taxes and manpower. In return, he wants the title of Earl of Maypre."

After he finished speaking, everyone in the audience turned their eyes to Isaac.

Tapping lightly on the table, Isaac didn't answer for now.

This is a very serious question.

It not only concerns the resettlement of the surrendered tribes, but also the interests of the commanders present here.

When others follow you to fight, of course they have desires, but it is impossible for them to be driven entirely by love.

This problem had not been exposed for the time being due to Isaac's deliberate suppression, but it was only brought to the surface by Murci now.

To decentralize or to centralize power, this question has troubled all monarchs in history.

The bureaucratic system of the early Byzantine Empire was very complete. The commanders of various military districts were in charge of military affairs, the governors were in charge of civil affairs, and occasionally some lifelong pronias were granted. Generally speaking, each department had its own responsibilities and checked and balanced each other.

Later, with the decline of central authority, military district commanders began to interfere in civil affairs, gradually becoming warlords and hereditary, and transformed into local forces.

After 1204, the military district system existed in name only, and the feudal fiefdom system from Western Europe began to prevail.

Sometimes, it’s not that the monarch doesn’t want to centralize power, but he simply can’t manage it.

There was a saying in ancient times that the best knight could run from his master's castle for three days, and the area he would surround would be the area of ​​land that the master could effectively control.

Other places that are further away must be managed by subordinate vassals.

Isaac had previously granted some titles on La Palma Island, the Bijagos Islands and the San Nicolas Islands, but they were all empty promises and they had to build the territories themselves in order to increase their enthusiasm.

Isaac had actually already made a decision on the division of the Grand Duchy of Soult.

"Multhorn, your father is a wise man and deserves the title of earl, but not in Mybray."

"I had a dream last night that Mebre had built a magnificent cathedral. I thought, this is God's will, and I must complete it."

Isaac was talking nonsense.

"Where will you place us then?"

Isaac opened the map, found Mabre, and slid his finger down to point to a dot.

Uguchi, located at the foot of Mount Sabua, is the location of King Abdullah's direct ranch.

"I can confer upon your father the title of Count Ugu."

Murci's face looked a little ugly.

The ecological environment here is pretty good, but it is surrounded by hostile tribes. If we really move here, I'm afraid we won't be able to feel at ease for a long time.

"Those tribesmen in the former city of Maibre who are willing to go with your father can leave, and those who are unwilling to leave can stay."

"This is my last mercy."

Murci nodded and went back to report the news.

Knight Conte and Ibrahim looked at each other with expectation in their eyes.

Isaac saw what his men were doing and closed his eyes, pretending to be unaware.

The geographical conditions in North Africa are complex, and it is certainly impossible to put the entire region under the jurisdiction of administrative departments. This is unrealistic and would not be worth the effort.

Important cities and large oases must be controlled by themselves, secondary cities and oases are controlled by the Dobruja people and close tribes, and more remote and secluded places can be granted to surrendered large tribal shekhs.

For his subordinates, Isaac planned to implement a modified fiefdom system.

As the name suggests, the land was granted to meritorious officials, who had ownership and use rights of the land. Isaac sent people to take care of it on a daily basis and regularly handed over the output to the lord.

If descendants wanted to inherit the fief, they needed to obtain the consent of the lord and pay a large sum of money.

This is also a kind of compromise between the monarch and his subjects.

That night, seeing that there was no movement in the city, Isaac plundered several small tribes outside the city and distributed the tribesmen to his own slave tribe.

The next morning, Shekh Adnan of the Mebre tribe came out of the city and declared his allegiance to Isaac and agreed to all of Isaac's conditions.

From then on, the largest oasis city in the Jufra oasis group belonged to Palaeologus.

Isaac renamed it Fort Narses in honor of the eunuch general who was so popular among the barbarians.

Isaac then gathered an army and launched a sweep of the entire Jufra oasis group.

On November 1446, 11, with the help of Count Adnan, Isaac basically completed the cleanup of the surrounding areas.

The disobedient tribes were directly attacked and destroyed, and the people were divided among the subordinate tribes and their own slave tribes.

The tribes that obeyed were required to convert to the Orthodox religion and to provide them with supplies.

On December 1446, 12, Isaac returned to Narsesburg and presided over the post-war rewards.

In this battle, the Grand Duchy of Soult lost a total of more than 2900 troops, and it is estimated that more than 4000 enemy troops were annihilated.

More than 1000 desert horses, more than 4000 camels, and countless sheep were seized.

Most of them were supplies prepared by the Maibre tribe for the kingdom's army, and Isaac had no intention of returning them.

As the sun rose in the east, Archbishop Elster of Surt arrived and baptized all the surrendered tribesmen and sheikhs.

They all looked extremely pious, but Isaac was sure that if Muslim forces returned here, they would immediately change back.

The Sheikhs of these small tribes may be changed, but Count Adnan can only stick to his own path.

He already had a bad reputation among the Sunnis, and this time he took the lead in converting, which angered the king, and there was no turning back.

"Adnan Mebre!"

the herald shouted.

Adnan stepped forward and knelt respectfully before Isaac.

"It is a great virtue to admit one's mistakes and correct them. I hereby appoint you as the Count of Ugu, and your fiefdom shall be the area around Uguchi."

"The 2000 tribesmen who are willing to follow you will pledge their loyalty to you and become your subjects. I hope you will treat them well."

"In order to help you regain your fief, I have specially allocated 500 soldiers, 500 horses, and 500 camels as my personal gift."

Adnan Shane went down.

He slowly walked down the stairs and looked at the city to which he had devoted his heart and soul.

If I had not run away, but helped the king to withstand the attack, would I be celebrating now?
Or, would they suffer an even more disastrous defeat, with their entire clan being wiped out?
He smiled, shook his head, and put his complicated emotions behind him.

Most of the tribe followed him, still believing in the Shekh who had led them to glory.

Even for those who support me, I can't give up.

He straightened his clothes and walked out of the hall, thinking back to his youth, when, just like today, he led the tribesmen loyal to him, conquered the east and the west, resolved the surrounding threats, and established his own foundation.

Now, let’s do it again.

(End of this chapter)