1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 4 Pirates and Naval Warfare

After leaving Constantinople, Isaac ordered the Byzantine flag to be lowered and replaced with the Venetian flag of St. Mark.

Face and such are not important; safety comes first.

By flying the Venetian flag, even if they encounter an Ottoman or Mamluk naval fleet, the enemy will be hesitant to act rashly.

In fact, Isaac's fleet was not too weak. The St. Nicholas was equipped with 20 naval artillery pieces, and there was a large crossbow at the bow and stern. If necessary, the sailors could engage in close combat.

The other two merchant ships also had strong firepower, with 10 guns each.

On the uninhabited ocean, Latin merchants have always had a flexible moral bottom line.

I can’t beat him, I’m a registered sea merchant;

If I can defeat them, I am a pirate who plunders legally.

This was a special period in the past few hundred years, when Byzantium's influence in the eastern Mediterranean shrank dramatically and its navy was limited to mere existence.

The emerging Ottoman Empire did not have enough time to develop a strong fleet, and trade relied more on land transportation.

This gave Latin merchants and the Knights Hospitaller a great opportunity. They took advantage of the situation and quickly occupied various trade ports, while controlling the naval power of the Aegean Sea and the Sea of ​​Marmara.

In this context, pirates who made a living by plundering emerged in large numbers, with both the Muslim world and the Christian world participating, and both sides turning a blind eye.

By flying the flag of Venice at this time, you can avoid most pirates, including the Knights Hospitaller.

The choice of sailing at night was also to avoid encountering the main Ottoman fleet.

The full moon rises, showing the direction for those sailing far away.

Nothing happened that night, and Isaac fell into a deep sleep amid the bumpy ride.

Early in the morning, Isaac was awakened by noisy voices.

Push open the door and stop a sailor.

"What happened?"

The sailor pointed to the sea.

Four warships flying the Ottoman Navy's star and crescent flag appeared on the distant sea horizon.

Isaac rushed into the captain's room, where Captain Fidel and Commander Mikhail had already arrived.

"Your Highness, four Ottoman galleys were spotted on the port side!"

"See, Captain Fidel, what are you going to do?"

"Your Highness, Venice and the Ottoman Empire have an agreement that they will not attack each other under normal circumstances. However, the Venetian navy previously blocked the Dardanelles, which is equivalent to unilaterally tearing up the agreement. It is hard to say how they will treat us."

"Their galleys are very backward. If we can strike first, together with the guards you brought, we may be able to repel them."

Isaac thought for a while and decided to wait and see.

"Your Highness, they sent us a flag signal, asking us to stop the ship for inspection!"

The sailor on the lookout shouted down.

The four paddle boats were arranged horizontally in a semi-encirclement.

Isaac took a closer look at the other ship's sailboat, which was indeed backward and could not compare with the St. Nicholas.

The sails were not lowered and the oars were not moved.

This means that the other party has not entered a combat state, at least not yet hostile.

Isaac made a decision.

"Have the two merchant ships ready for battle. We will pretend to be inspected first to let them relax their vigilance. Tell the Venetians to wait for the sound of our cannons."

The St. Nicholas sent out a flag signal, and soon a small boat came from the Ottoman fleet.

On the boat, Captain Harsh looked at the opposite fleet cautiously.

The Venetian merchant fleets generally did not become enemies of the Ottomans; they cared more about gold than the glory of Jesus.

But the bastards of the Knights Hospitaller would sometimes use the flag of Venice to deceive Muslim fleets, wait for them to let their guard down, and then kill and rob them.

The fleet stopped out of cannon range, and the captain sent Harsh to inspect and collect taxes.

All Christians are bad!

Harsh thought.

"Aslan, what the hell are you rowing so fast for?"

Harsh noticed how quickly he was approaching the large ship on the opposite side and reprimanded.

"grown ups……"

The sailor's voice was filled with tears.

"The Christian ship is coming at us at full speed!"

blow--

A dark object flew through the air and hit the boat directly.

"Jump off the boat!" Harsh yelled.

bump--

The sailor who had just spoken was unable to dodge and had his head cut off by a flying cannonball.

The shells continued to move forward and smashed through the boat.

Fortunately, Harsh jumped into the sea early and watched his teammates struggling in the sea.

Immediately afterwards, several more shells fell into the nearby water, causing large waves.

The powerful shock wave knocked the poor captain unconscious, and he floated on the water, swaying.

Before he lost consciousness, he vaguely saw that the original Venetian flag on the San Nicolas was lowered at some point.

A purple double-headed eagle that hadn't been seen for a long time was cutting through the waves.

At this time, the St. Nicholas had entered level one combat readiness, and the rowing slaves were working desperately under the whip of the overseers.

"The boat has been destroyed. Prepare the port gun. The enemy's right ship is testing fire. One shot, fire!"

The port gun roared, and a row of solid lead bullets drew perfect parabolas in the air.

Unfortunately, the Ottoman fleet was at the edge of the range, and the shells were not powerful enough and fell into the sea.

"Accelerate, accelerate!"

the captain roared.

Our three warships were all running at top speed at this time. They had to quickly approach the enemy ships and gain the upper hand before the Ottoman fleet could react.

The Ottoman fleet was arranged horizontally, which actually gave it an advantageous position.

However, the Ottoman warships were too backward and the number of naval guns was far from enough.

This gave Isaac his opportunity.

The San Nicholas was moving at full speed, drawing a large Z on the sea.

It's near, it's near!
The Ottomans finally made a move.

bump--

There was a flash of fire and white smoke.

Six stone bullets fell into the surrounding ocean and also missed.

"Starboard guns ready, enemy ship to the left, one shot, fire!"

The guns on the starboard side of the San Nicholas roared, and heavy lead bullets flew towards the enemy ship.

At the same time, the two Venetian merchant ships also opened fire. When the smoke cleared, the sailors on the lookout cheered.

"The enemy's left ship was hit, the mast was broken, and the deck was on fire!"

Looking ahead, Isaac vaguely saw the broken masts and burning decks of the enemy ship, and the Ottoman sailors cursing and desperately trying to put out the fire.

If the enemy does not have enough slaves, losing the sails and cables will basically mean losing the ability to conduct long-distance operations.

The remaining three enemy ships continued to fire.

The old-fashioned stone-shooting cannon was ineffective, aiming was largely by chance, and its lethality was limited.

The artillery battle between the two sides lasted for a while, and it could be said that it was just a fight between two weaklings.

Our three gunboats focused on the Ottoman flagship in the middle and fired wildly. The flagship was hit by several bullets, but it remained stubborn and unyielding.

The Venice's HMS Harrier was also hit by several bullets, but fortunately there was no major leakage.

The enemy apparently also discovered the disadvantages of their own firepower and insufficient range, so they turned around and tried to get closer and shoot at them with bows and crossbows.

Captain Fidel would not give them a chance and ordered the fleet to deploy on the spot and face the enemy broadside in order to achieve the maximum attack area.

The situation between the two sides reversed in an instant.

Halfway through the charge, the enemy lost another galley, and St. Nicholas's cannon hit the gunpowder magazine directly, causing the enemy ship to sink while shaking.

At this time, the enemy flagship bravely rushed to St. Nicholas under the fire.

The crossbowmen on the enemy ship were ready to fire, with anger in their eyes.

Then--

They saw that on the deck of St. Nicholas, the guards, who had been gathering their strength for a long time, drew their longbows.

The battle is no longer a foregone conclusion.

After a round of shooting, the enemy ship finally raised the white flag.

The remaining dozens of enemy soldiers were killed or wounded, and Isaac also lost two men and a dozen were slightly injured.

Isaac then forced another enemy ship to surrender, and then quickly approached the first incapacitated galley. After failing to persuade it to surrender, Isaac ordered the archers to shoot arrows, and then the guards and sailors boarded the ship to fight, leaving no one alive except the slaves who rowed the oars.

"Your Highness! In this encounter, under your wise command, we sank one enemy ship, forced two enemy ships to land, captured one enemy ship, captured 104 sailors, and 138 slaves at the cost of a minor injury to one enemy ship. Your Highness, please tell us what to do next!"

On the deck of the San Nicholas, Captain Fidel reported loudly.

Isaac gave him a long look.

He only gave the most basic orders, and the rest of the tactical decisions were made by the captain, but he did not seek credit for himself.

The young man has a future!

His professional qualities are so strong, his tactical vision is so sharp, and his ability to deal with people is so adept?
Tell me, how many glasses of wine do you usually toast to your leaders?
Isaac patted Fidel's broad shoulders, stood on the platform, and said loudly:
"Roman soldiers! Today, we defeated the Turkic fleet and won glory for the empire!"

The guardsmen cheered enthusiastically, but the sailors were much weaker.

"There is a reward for victory! Fidel, Mikhail, three hundred ducats are your reward. Please have a drink with the soldiers after you land!"

Isaac threw the last coin bag on the deck, and the ducat coins rolled all over the floor with a clinking sound.

"Long live your highness!"

All the staff cheered.

The fleet continued to move forward, with the St. Nicholas at the end towing a powerless warship, two merchant ships on both sides, and two surrender ships in the middle.

The weapons of the surrendered ships were confiscated, and only one-third of the slave oarsmen were manned, and the St. Nicholas was assigned guards to keep a close watch.

And so, at noon on the third day, the fleet arrived at Negroponte, the Venetian colony on the Greek peninsula.

After landing, the news of the defeat of the Varna Crusaders arrived as expected, casting a shadow on the victory of the naval battle.

However, the guards and sailors went ashore happily, and soon they would spend all of Isaac's 300 ducats.

Isaac took this opportunity to meet with the captain of the Ottoman flagship, who was also the captain of the small fleet.

What he didn't expect was that Captain Kerman was a Greek and an Orthodox Christian.

After some communication, Isaac learned about Kerman's legendary life experience.

Kerman was originally a member of the Imperial fleet stationed in Thessalonica and had studied astronomy at the University of Constantinople.

After Thessalonica was abandoned by the Empire, the remaining fleet was taken over by Venice and the Ottoman Empire respectively.

Kerman was favored by an Ottoman Bey and became a captain of his private fleet.

Normally, Kerman's mission was to impersonate the official Ottoman fleet, intercept merchant ships passing through the North Aegean Sea, and collect certain benefits.

Merchants passing by generally do not resist, at most they will complain a few words.

Until he met Isaac, who did not play by the rules.

"You are an Orthodox Christian. Did the Ottomans discriminate against you?"

"No," Kerman lowered his head.
"They suggested that I convert to Allah, but they didn't make things difficult for me after I refused. There were still many Orthodox Christians in Thessalonica, and of course, there were also many traitors who converted."

Isaac was silent for a while. This was true. The Ottomans had a relatively open-minded attitude towards religion. Many Europeans who believed in Orthodoxy and Catholicism served the Sultan and Beys at all levels. Greeks who converted to Islam were even more valued. Currently, Zagan Pasha, the favorite adviser of Mehmed II, was a former Christian.

There is a reason why the Ottoman leader usurped the title of "Sultan of the Romans". The Ottoman replacement of Byzantium was more like a change of dynasty. Many of the excellent policies of the Byzantine Empire were retained. The Ottoman religious policy was also very tolerant, which was able to attract talents from all over the world.

Their enemy is a thriving, rapidly rising empire.

Isaac made a decision.

"Kerman, my name is Isaac Palaiologos, a prince of the Empire. Now I allow you to remain as captain. Among your old subordinates, those you can trust will be retained directly. If you are short of people, you can recruit more. What do you think?"

"I do, Your Highness." Kerman stood at attention and beat his chest with his hand.

Kerman had no other choice; the consequence of his refusal was to be sold into slavery.

Escape was even more impossible. The Ottomans tolerated infidels but hated traitors.

This is his last chance!

"Your Highness, the captain of the other ship is a Bulgarian and an Orthodox Christian. I can persuade him to surrender to the Empire."

Isaac nodded with satisfaction. The young man is very sensible!

In the evening, Isaac invited Mikhail, Fidel, Kerman, and a Bulgarian captain named Novich to dinner.

During this time, Isaac announced his future plans.

Of the three captured warships, the unpowered galley was sold directly, and the other two were upgraded and joined Isaac's private fleet.

Among the captured sailors, all the Orthodox Greeks and Bulgarians were retained, while the Ottomans were reduced to slaves.

The number of guards was increased to 140, with new soldiers recruited from Negroponte and required to be Greek Orthodox Christians.

Fidel served as the captain of the fleet and also served as the captain of the flagship San Nicolas.

Kerman captained the galley Northumbria.

Nowicki served as captain of the galley Manuel.

The secondary officers of each ship were rotated, and the first mates of the Northumbria and Manuel were both former officers of the San Nicholas.

The captured goods and surplus slaves were sold to raise funds to purchase guns for two new warships.

After the dinner, both the guests and the hosts had a great time.

Isaac looked at the warships parked on the shore, and his heart was suddenly filled with a sense of pride.

It took him half a month to become the owner of three warships.

Muhammad? I'll tear off his skull and use it as a bowl!

My name is Isaac, please die with Osman!
(End of this chapter)