1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 5 Arrival in Athens
Isaac's fleet remained at Negroponte for three days.

During this period, 40 new guards had been recruited from nearby villages, and the powerless galley was successfully sold to a private Venetian ship owner for 2000 ducats.

With a little repair he could sell it for 3000 ducats.

Ottoman sailors reduced to slavery were sold to local nobles, where they would be worked to death in the fields or sold to new locations.

There were no ready-made naval artillery in the area, so the purchase of additional artillery would have to be put off until later.

Recruiting crews for the three warships, repairing damage, and purchasing supplies cost Isaac another 500 ducats.

Currently, Isaac still has more than 2000 ducats.

Three days later, the fleet set out in the early morning.

Negroponte is very close to the city of Athens. At noon, the Acropolis of Athens is already in sight.

The fleet raised the Byzantine flag, and soon a small boat came to pick them up.

Isaac walked onto the deck, and the harbor was getting closer.

The crowd on the shore cheered, apparently already knowing that the supplies had arrived.

The leader was wearing a purple coat, with a long sword at his waist, sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and a burly figure.

Constantine Palaiologos, future Imperial Basilius, last Roman emperor.

The ship has docked.

Isaac was the first to jump off the boat and strode towards his father whom he had not seen for a long time.

"I salute you, Lord of Mystras and Despot of Moria,"

"This time, I was ordered by His Majesty to escort food, fodder, weapons and gunpowder to help. During the voyage, my ship encountered the Ottoman fleet. We sank one ship and forced two to land. This is the captured Ottoman flag!"

Isaac took the Ottoman flag from the servant and threw it at his feet.

Everyone cheered, and a pleased smile appeared on Constantine's resolute face.

"Look! This is the prince of Palaeologus! This is the fleet of the Roman Empire!"

Five ships were lined up in a row, with their black gun muzzles pointing at the people on the shore.

The crowd cheered even louder, and some people unconsciously shrank their heads.

"Anyone who has made contributions will be rewarded. Today we will host a grand banquet for all the soldiers!"

Constantine ordered.

At the banquet, Isaac stayed for a while and then got up and left, heading for Constantine's camp.

My father has been waiting for a long time.

Only then did Isaac have the opportunity to take a good look at this legendary last emperor.

Constantine looked very much like his brother Ioannis, but was more lively and energetic.

Handsome, resolute and decisive.

His big black eyes were bright and sharp, his chin was covered with hard stubble, and his skin was a healthy bronze, in stark contrast to the paleness of the other members of the Paleolithic clan.

Constantine was in high spirits at this time. He spent many years managing the fiefdoms of Morea and Corinth, and finally assembled a force of 5000 people. He responded to the Varna Crusaders in the north, and successively captured Lepanto, Athens and other places, forcing the Medici family of the Principality of Athens to surrender, and then marched straight to the Thebes area.

This was the largest military operation in the late Byzantine period. Its purpose was to take advantage of the Ottoman Empire's internal and external difficulties to open a road from the Peloponnese Peninsula to Constantinople and change the embarrassing situation of the capital being isolated overseas.

The military operation progressed smoothly and at one point reached the Thessalonica area.

If the Varna Crusade had been victorious, or if the standoff had remained, Constantine might have actually succeeded.

But there are no ifs in history. The news of the Crusaders' annihilation had already reached Constantine's army.

Some local nobles who had just surrendered began to make moves and pretended to be disobedient to Constantine.

The good news brought by the good son Isaac shocked some of the fence-sitters.

Some landlords and gentry who had originally been reluctant to provide military supplies began to "donate generously."

Constantine looked at his twelve-year-old son with satisfaction.

Not bad, not bad. He volunteered to leave the capital, sell his property and join the army.

His features became sharper, his expression calm, and his every move was full of confidence.

Is this still the same son who was timid and obsessed with books before?

Perhaps he was touched by the empire's increasingly worse situation.

Constantine thought so.

"The situation of the war is relatively clear at the moment. Your uncle Thomas is supervising the battle at the front. Thebes will be conquered soon."

Constantine ran his finger across the military map from south to north, and hesitated at the place of Thessalonica.

Thessalonica was once one of the major cities of the empire and was briefly reconquered by the empire during the Ottoman Interregnum.

Later, the emperor found it difficult to raise troops to resist the aggressive offensive of the Ottomans, so he took the initiative to sell it to the Venetians.

Facts have proved that no one can reverse the huge strategic disadvantage.

The Venetians were unable to stop the Ottoman offensive and completely handed over the city to the Ottomans in 1430.

If this commercial center and military stronghold could be recaptured, the extremely unfavorable strategic situation of the Byzantine Empire would be partially improved, and the newly occupied areas would no longer be indefensible.

"Isaac, what do you think?"

"Father, Thessalonica cannot be fought."

Isaac said without thinking.

"Oh? Why? Many people in the army suggested that I take the city while the main Ottoman army is still waiting to defend."

Constantine looked normal.

Isaac cleared his throat.

"Thessalonica has sufficient defense facilities and is garrisoned by the Ottoman regular army. Even if we can take it down, we will suffer heavy losses. When the main force of the Ottomans retreats, how can we resist them?"

"The Thessalonica region has a large population, and most of them are Orthodox Christians. We can mobilize the people and form a new army..."

"You'd better give up this idea, father."

Isaac interrupted his father's delusion without any hesitation.

"It is true that the local people miss their homeland, but if they are asked to take up arms to fight against the Ottomans, I am afraid no one is willing to do so,"

"As far as I know, the Ottoman policy towards Orthodox Christians was quite tolerant. There was no large-scale oppression, and people's awareness of resistance was not high."

Isaac paused and added,
"They may be better off than they were before."

Constantine's face turned blue and red.

There is nothing shameful about this. In the last years of the dynasty, there were frequent wars, land annexation and heavy taxation.

The empire suffered from several civil wars, and the two sides did not recognize each other, so it was impossible to share the military expenses.

This brought great suffering to the people of the empire.

The Ottomans' enlightened ethnic and religious policies enabled them to integrate the newly conquered lands in a short period of time, making the snowball grow bigger and bigger.

Wow, more Roman than Rome.

"What do you think we should do?"

Finally asked!
On the way here, Isaac thought about this problem and came up with a rough plan.

The fear is that Constantine is stubborn and will not listen to good advice.

"Father, I have four main plans."

Isaac stood up.

"First, after Uncle Thomas captured Thebes, he stopped his advance, rested on the spot, and appeased the people;"

"Second, the people, food and money of Athens and Thebes were forcibly relocated to Corinth and Morea. The resettlement expenses were paid by the seized financial resources, and merchants were required to contribute money and labor;"

"Third, mobilize the people to mine stones on site and repair the six-mile long wall of the Isthmus of Corinth, and purchase firearms to strengthen defense;"

"Fourth, contact Venice and Genoa to see if they are willing to purchase the ports in the newly occupied areas."

This is a preparation to completely abandon the newly occupied areas, clear the fields and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out.

However, it takes great courage to give up all the results of several months of battle, and there will definitely be considerable internal and external resistance.

Constantine did not answer for a long time.

"Tomorrow you will follow me north. I will arrange for the fleet's artillery for you. Take your guards with you."

Constantine waved his hand.

Alas! He still couldn't make up his mind. Isaac had no choice but to agree and leave the camp.

This is also to be expected.

Judging from the evaluation of Constantine XI by later historians, he was an excellent knight, a resolute commander, a qualified politician and a poor diplomat.

His grasp of world trends and various forces is rather superficial, and he always likes to take things for granted, which is a common problem among idealists.

Historically, Constantine XI's rule in Athens and Thebes has been unstable, and local people's power has not been well utilized.

It was not until the Ottomans recovered and sent troops to attack that Constantine decided to abandon the two places and guard the six-mile long wall.

The local forces in Thebes and Athens surrendered to the Sultan and became the vanguard of the Ottomans' attack on the Great Wall.

I can't just sit there and watch this happen, I have to do something!
Isaac called Andrew, his chief steward, and drove the carriage to the slave market in Athens.

Christianity's attitude towards slaves has always been unclear. The church opposed selling fellow brothers into slavery, but as for pagan slaves, it had no control over it at all.

At this time, there were many Muslim slaves in the market, including men, women, young and old. Most of them were Ottoman civilians who had moved here in recent years, and there were also some captured warriors.

Isaac's target was them.

It was easy to distinguish between the warriors and the civilians. The warriors looked at each other with disdain, as if mocking the stupidity of the pagans, and they believed that the Sultan would come to their rescue soon.

The civilians brought their families with them, with dull eyes and expressions of panic.

Slaves made good labor and were not killed indiscriminately, but they feared being separated from their families.

Young and strong male slaves were in great demand, and beautiful female slaves were in even greater demand.

The elderly and children were abandoned like worn-out shoes. The young men and women who were bought would often beg their masters to buy their parents and children as well, but most of the time they could only get the whip from the slave owners.

The tragedy of couples being separated and families being broken up is happening everywhere.

Isaac walked and stopped, getting off the car from time to time to look at the slaves who looked good, opening their mouths, taking off their clothes, and checking whether they had any hidden diseases and whether they were strong.

Not very satisfied.

At this time, the crowd started arguing.

A father did not want to be separated from his wife and daughter, so he broke free from the wooden shackles and knocked down the slave trader who was forcibly taking them away.

"Bastard!" The businessman covered his bleeding eyes, and the guards beside him surrounded the man.

"Kill him!" the merchant shouted in Latin.

The daughter in his arms closed her eyes in fear.

Isaac stepped forward.

Standing between the guards and the man.

The guard recognized the emblem on Isaac's clothes and saluted.

"Greetings to you, young prince. Leo, the captain of the third squad of the Athens Security Corps, is at your command!"

The Latin merchant also recognized Isaac and came forward to tell him about his grievances.

"Your Highness, this man must be a spy, and he must be executed!"

"I want them all."

The businessman immediately pretended to be embarrassed.

"I'm afraid not, Your Highness. Those two women are both very precious..."

Isaac turned his head and saw the man holding a damaged wooden yoke, protecting his wife and daughter behind him, looking like he was ready to fight to the death.

His wife and daughter were beautiful, and the merchants probably bought them as gifts for the powerful.

“How much are they worth?”

The businessman's face suddenly lit up with joy. His eyes, which were as big as green beans, squeezed into a ball, and the corner of his eye that had just been bleeding healed instantly.

"Your Highness wants it, and I should have given it to you, but..."

"How many?"

"Not expensive, not expensive... 100 ducats for the two women, and I'll give the man to Your Highness..."

Isaac threw out a purse.

His movements were graceful, but his heart was bleeding.

After the crowd dispersed, Isaac took the family of three back to his residence, let them take a bath, change clothes and have a full meal.

After they were done packing, Isaac received them.

The man remained alert and stopped his wife and daughter behind him.

When Isaac saw him, he became furious.

"Hello, 100 ducats."

Isaac spoke in stiff Turkic.

The man was stunned for a moment, not understanding what it meant.

"Kafir, what do you want to do?"

"If you call me such an insulting term again, I will sell your wife to a brothel."

The man immediately became obedient.

"You were a soldier, weren't you?"

Isaac determined as he sipped the wine slowly.

"My Lord, I am a deserter."

As expected, the man had military experience, and the way he held the wooden collateral was extremely standard, he could only be from the Ottoman regular army.

"Why did you run away?"

"Bey Master asked us to retreat, but we were not allowed to take our families with us."

Apparently, family is the deserter's weak spot.

Isaac made up his mind.

"I'm going to set you free."

Isaac clapped his hands, and the servant beside him untied his wooden shackles.

"What do you need me to do?" The man was a little surprised.

"I will give you 1500 ducats. You will recruit deserters and bandits scattered in the countryside. Then, you can raise the Ottoman flag, rob Christian villages and caravans, and drive them south."

The man was stunned and his eyes turned away.

"Your wife and daughter will stay with me. They will convert to the Orthodox Church, and there will be a place for your daughter in the church school in Athens."

"How can I be sure that what you say is true?"

"You can refuse, and I will keep you, and send your wife and daughter to the beds of various nobles."

The man glared at Isaac with vicious eyes, and Isaac stared back at him nonchalantly.

"Dad..." the daughter stammered.

The man's fierce eyes were suddenly filled with sadness.

"Aren't you worried that I might run away with the money?"

"You have already escaped once. Osman will not tolerate you."

"I can't raise a large army by myself."

"I will arrange."

At the same time, Butler Andre returned to his residence with 50 slaves bought from the slave market.

Some of them were fugitive slaves, some were wanted criminals, and some had similar experiences as men.

They will change their appearance and become bandits, driving the civilians around Athens to the south, thus retaining more vitality for the empire.

"What's your name?"

"Ibrahim, Your Highness." The man knelt on one knee, and his wife and daughter also knelt down.

"Well, Ibrahim, I wish you success."

Isaac raised his cup, and the wine was as red as blood.

(End of this chapter)