1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 52 Muhammad
Kruje Mountains, Sfantigler Fortress.

The fortress is located on a mountain pass, firmly guarding the road leading to Kruje Castle in the east.

The fortress was flying the red flag of the Castrioti family with a black eagle, which obviously belonged to the Albanian Alliance.

In contrast, the besiegers obviously had more people. They flew a flag with three crescents on a green background, had good military discipline, and had joint camps all over the mountain.

This is the Ottoman army.

Among the Ottoman army's three crescent flags with a green background, there were also a few special flags.

A lifelike claw:
The 1st Janissary Guards, the Sultan's Claw.

A gold chair:
The 2nd Janissary Guards, [Golden Throne].

A giant wolf howling to the sky:
The Fifth Legion of the Janissary Guard, the Konya Wolf.

A pair of sharp eyes:
The 10th Janissary Guards, [The Vision of Fatima].

A bloodstained sickle:
The 15th Janissary Guards, the Scythe of Bayezid.

These elite legions are located in the center, like stars surrounding the moon, guarding the golden and red tent in the center.

It was the seat of the empire's sultan, Murad II.

Next to the golden and red tent, in a slightly smaller tent, a young nobleman was quietly reading a book.

Mehmed, the only son of Murad II, the only legitimate heir to the empire and the governor of Manisa.

Compared to a few years ago, the former Sultan has become introverted and quiet, with his proud eyes deeply hidden, replaced by a gentle expression.

A few years ago, he was tricked by the Janissaries and forced to give up the throne of Sultan.

Then he was caught off guard by Isaac, and the momentum of his faction was greatly reduced.

In the past few years, Muhammad has calmed down. Apart from following the battles, he has stayed in his fiefdom Manisa, devoted himself to learning various knowledge, and no longer participated in factional struggles.

Murad II had always disliked him, and Mehmed was well aware of this.

Is it because of his humble origins and his half-Greek ancestry?
Or was it because Murad II devoted all his fatherly love to his two brothers?
If his two brothers were still alive, there would be no way he could become the Sultan, right?
Mohammed laughed to himself.

Boom, boom, boom!
"Come in."

Zagan Pasha gently pushed open the tent, fearing to disturb his master.

"Your Highness, I have collected the information you requested."

Mohammed put the book down.

It is a hardcover edition of "The Life of Alexios".

Zagan Pasha glanced at the double-headed eagle emblem on the book cover and frowned.

However, he was very careful to hide his little thoughts, opened the booklet, and began to explain it to Muhammad.

"Ten days ago, Grand Duke Isaac Palaiologos of Surt led his army across the sea to occupy the town of Oguelle, and then captured the port of Brega, cutting off Yusuf's route back to Bilinchi."

"Count Mikhail Trisan led another part of the army back to Surt to resist Yusuf's final frenzied attack."

"When the news that their route back was cut off reached the attacking army, the entire army collapsed and fled in all directions."

"Yusuf, escorted by a small group of elite soldiers, hastily fled back to Bilinchi from the south."

"There is now serious internal strife in Birinchi. Yusuf has lost his army and the trust of the tribal sheikh."

“It is estimated that Bilinchi will not be able to continue to pose a threat to Sirte for a long time.”

“Given the poor relationship between Yusuf and Cairo, the Mamluk central government is unlikely to help him.”

Zagan Pasha closed the report and looked at Muhammad, who was listening attentively.

"Are there any specific details about the battle?"

"We don't have many informants in North Africa, and they are mainly concentrated in Tunisia, Cairo and Fez, so there are no further reports for the time being."

Zagan Pasha explained awkwardly.

"Didn't I ask you to suggest to your father last time that he invest more resources?"

"Your Highness, unfortunately I have to tell you that His Majesty and the ministers do not want to invest too much in North Africa."

"They would rather use all their spies to monitor the Emir at home than waste them in a place that is out of our reach."

Mohammed shook his head with some regret.

"I really don't understand Isaac."

“Sometimes very cautious, sometimes very bold.”

"If Yusuf succeeds in capturing the port of Sirte, won't all his efforts be in vain?"

"Maybe... he didn't think that much at all?"

Zagan guessed.

"Zagan, you need to think more about tactics and strategy, and less about political gamesmanship."

"Your Highness, this is what you should do as a monarch,"

"As for me, my duty is to stand behind you and block all the hidden arrows for you."

Zagan Pasha said confidently.

Instead of being annoyed, Muhammad burst into laughter.

"Zagan, in your opinion, what should this Duke Isaac who defeated us do next?"

"I guess he will take a rest and maybe send out troops to teach the Hafsids a lesson?"

Before Muhammad could speak, Zagan continued.

"Your Highness, I think you should not pay too much attention to North Africa. That is the territory of the Egyptian Sultan. Our focus should always be on the Balkans."

"You haven't even put much energy into the current Albanian rebellion!"

Mohammed curled his lips in disbelief.

"Well, well, dear Zagan."

"Your tone of voice is becoming more and more like my father's."

"Okay, you're still one of the generals of the army, go get busy."

Mohammed snatched the report from Zagan and wrote the number "7" on the cover.

Zagan sighed, bowed and left.

Mohammed pulled out the remaining six reports from the side and looked at them attentively.

Founding a Chamber of Commerce, exploring West Africa – No. 1;

The fleet takes shape, the Battle of Corinth - No. 2;

……

Albanian War – No. 5;

War of the Milanese Succession - No. 6;

Defense of Sirte - No. 7.

This is the trajectory of Isaac's actions over the years.

Mohammed spread out a map of North Africa and searched on it.

"Misrata... um..."

There was disdain in Muhammad's eyes.

The Hafsid dynasty is just a lamb to be slaughtered and there is no need to worry about it.

His eyes wandered to the other side.

Bilinch.

... "Your Highness, I think we should conquer Bilinchi first!"

Isaac's new advisor Ymir stood up and spoke in a sonorous voice.

As soon as these words came out, all the generals under the table glared at him.

This was the second meeting convened by Isaac, attended by all military personnel, with the purpose of discussing the next strategy.

Almost all military commanders believed that the principality should take action against Misrata and destroy this bandit den.

"Your Highness, I believe this Behairi man is an undercover agent sent by the Mamluks. I suggest you detain him."

Mikhail stood up directly, his words full of distrust towards Ymir.

There was a murmur of laughter from the audience.

Isaac stared at the map without looking up.

"Ymir, tell me your reasons."

The trapped counselor looked at Isaac gratefully.

"First, from a strategic perspective, we are at a complete disadvantage against the Mamluk Sultanate."

"From Sirte to the mouth of the Nile, there are vast expanses of desert in between. Only the Cyrenaica region has a suitable climate and a large population, which can provide supplies for the army."

"From a topographical point of view, the Cyrenaica region has the Green Mountains as a barrier and occupies a high point, while from Cyrenaica to the east and west it is flat land with no strategic location to defend."

"As long as the Mamluks occupied the Cyrenaica region, they would have absolute strategic initiative."

"They can rush from Cairo to Billinge with a large army and station there without having to worry about supplies."

"I can say with certainty that if the Emir of Birinchi was not Yusuf, a remnant of the previous dynasty, and if the political struggle in Cairo was not so vicious,"

"Then we will face perhaps an army of 50,000, of which there may be 5,000 Royal Mamluks."

"The religious atmosphere in Cairo is very fanatical, and the rulers who claim to be the guardians of the three holy sites will never allow a Christian country to rise near them."

"As long as Cyrenaica is in the hands of the Mamluks, we are like meat on a stick,"

"It's not being cut now, only because the owner is sick and can't wield the knife."

"When the giant Mamluk eases up a bit, he will absolutely crush us to pieces."

After Ymir finished her speech, she looked around and everyone fell silent.

No matter how optimistic a general is, he would not think that he has the strength to compete with the Mamluk Sultan in his prime.

You know, Cairo alone has a population of about 200,000, far larger than the entire Principality of Sirte.

"If we can conquer the Hafsid dynasty first and absorb the Tunisian region, can we make the Mamluks afraid to act rashly?"

Mehmet questioned.

"If you want to conquer Misrata, you can, even without going all out."

"If we progress smoothly, it is not impossible to capture Tripoli."

"But the battle ahead will be extremely difficult."

"Tunis, Kairouan, and Sfax are all fortified cities. Let's not talk about whether we can gather enough troops to besiege the cities. Even the local forces of the Hafsid Dynasty are enough to give us a hard time."

"It is true that the Hafsid dynasty was infighting, but they were not fools. When foreign invaders began to seize their core areas, they would still unite to face the outside world."

"Unless our military strength is overwhelming, enough to make them lose all desire to resist."

"If we only occupy Misrata and Tripoli, we will not be able to change our strategic disadvantage at all, and we will be crushed by the Mamluks who have recovered."

At this point, all the soldiers were truly silent, with their heads lowered in deep thought.

"Tell me your second reason."

Isaac spoke.

"Second, now is the best time for us to conquer Cyrenaica. Bilinchi is in turmoil and the tribal power has been greatly damaged. It will be difficult for Yusuf to recruit a strong army in such a short period of time."

"If we miss this opportunity and let Yusuf recover, or wait until Yusuf is overthrown and an emir with good relations with Cairo takes over, we will no longer have the slightest chance to take this crucial place in a short period of time."

"Third, you have imprisoned many tribal sheikhs before. Their tribes must have re-elected new sheikhs during this period. We can release them and cause infighting among the tribes, thus further weakening Yusuf's power."

"Fourth, Cyrenaica is very close to the Morea region and can be reached in two days by fast ship."

"We can ship supplies by sea, thus bypassing the vast desert."

Isaac looked at a map of Sirte and Cyrenaica.

The whole of Cyrenaica was like a huge hammer, looming over Surt's head.

"What if we fail to capture Bilinchi in a short period of time and delay the Mamluk reinforcements?"

Isaac asked.

"That depends on your own wishes."

“Yusuf will not be willing to allow Cairo’s forces to enter his territory and will certainly try to resist on his own.”

“When he finds that he cannot resist, he will ask for help from Cairo.”

"The Mamluk Central will certainly send reinforcements, but I am sure they will dwell on this issue for a long time."

"How many troops will be sent? Who will lead them? Who will own the occupied land?"

“These issues will take time to negotiate.”

"If you really fail to capture Bilinchi before then, you will have no choice but to withdraw."

"I am very familiar with the Cyrenaica region. If you can hand over your army to me, I can guarantee that we can capture the city of Bilinchi before the Mamluk reinforcements arrive!"

Isaac glanced at him.

What are you thinking? How could I hand over the army to you?

Military power can only be firmly grasped in one's own hands.

Even the closest generals have to be guarded against, let alone you, a newly appointed advisor.

Isaac did not answer, but compared the advantages and disadvantages of marching westward and eastward.

The advantage of going west is that there is little risk.

The downside is that the current bad strategic situation cannot be changed, and we cannot go all out. A considerable number of troops must be left behind to prevent a possible counterattack by Bilinqi.

Are the remaining troops enough to capture big cities like Tunis and Kairouan?

Compared with going west, the biggest disadvantage of going east is that it is more risky.

The advantage is that if Birinchi is successfully captured, if the Mamluks want to counterattack, they will have to cross a long section of the desert, and supply will be delayed for a long time.

If the opponent's navy does not have an advantage, this means that the opponent will not be able to deploy all its forces at the same time.

At the same time, he would form a strategic balance with the Mamluks, and it would be difficult for both sides to attack each other.

In this way, he would be able to free up his hands and slowly solve the problem of the terminally ill Hafsid dynasty.

Isaac stood up and looked at everyone.

"The entire army will rest for two months to replenish personnel and equipment."

"Prepare for a major offensive in the west to force the Hafs to pay compensation and confuse our real enemy."

"Send a letter to Parma and Morea asking them to send reinforcements."

"Purchase food, buy large quantities of dried meat and dry food to supply the army."

"Purchase transport ships. The army will march to the coastline ahead of the Green Mountain region, and the water source will depend on the fleet."

“Release the imprisoned tribal sheikhs in batches to disrupt Yusuf’s conscription system.”

"This time, we will solve the threat from the east once and for all!"

Isaac pulled out his knife and stabbed it hard into the map.

(End of this chapter)