1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 56 Blood and Shadow

Yusuf backed off.

When Yusuf actually started to recruit troops, he found that he had no troops at all.

After Yusuf's defeat at Sirte, he gathered the remnants of his army and used them as a base to rebuild the Birinchi Legion.

Yusuf now has a Bilinchi Legion of more than 2,000 men, a camel rider corps of 500 men, and a Mamluk heavy cavalry corps of 150 men.

The Mamluk heavy cavalry was a legacy left to him by his father. He was reluctant to use them, so their strength was well preserved.

The remaining 2,500 people were mostly newly recruited soldiers in the city. They had only been in the army for a month and their combat effectiveness was hard to describe.

Generally speaking, powerful emirs like Yusuf would purchase Circassian slaves from the Black Sea as their own private Mamluks, and hand over their own chambers of commerce, castles and armies to them, and basically would not employ local Berbers.

After Yusuf's defeat, he had no time to rebuild his private army and could only recruit men from the city of Bilinchi to make up the numbers.

With the help of the Imam of the mosque in the city, Yusuf and several tribal sheikhs outside the city, they finally won over 2,500 tribesmen in the name of jihad.

If this were Anatolia or Cairo, the mere name of a jihad would be enough to cause the fanatics to spontaneously take up arms and take to the battlefield without any fuss.

However, in tribal North Africa, the population was concentrated in the hands of tribal shaikhs, and the number of free people was small, so when a call was raised, few people responded.

There are many citizens in the city who are willing to wage holy war, but they have no way to conduct a field battle.

After a long wait of nearly a week, Yusuf finally set out for the rescue with his assembled 4,000-strong army.

Yusuf personally led the vanguard cavalry and galloped all the way, and then met the refugees who escaped from Ajdabiya on the road.

According to the refugees, the Greeks had an army of 10,000, all of whom were baring their fangs and spitting fireballs, as if they had been blessed by Malik, the angel of fire.

Yusuf did not muster up the courage to fight a decisive battle with the Sirte army.

Bilinchi is a fortified city, and bringing these troops back for defense would be far more useful than wasting time in a field battle.

……

On June 1448, 6, after basically stabilizing the situation in the city of Ajdabiya, Isaac led his troops north and captured several coastal ports.

In fact, after the fall of Ajdabiya, there was no longer any strategic location to defend around Bilinchi.

Yusuf retreated to the city of Bilinchi, preparing to consume Isaac's manpower through the city walls.

On June 6, the follow-up troops, which had been well prepared, were divided into two groups and arrived at the vicinity of Ajdabiya from land and sea, ready to encircle Bilinchi at any time.

At the same time, the Mediterranean Fleet was fully deployed to ensure the smooth flow of sea transport routes and intercept Mamluk merchant ships.

"Bilinchi is a strong city with complete fortifications, many large granaries, a large population, sufficient water resources, and a lot of military equipment."

"Yusuf has joined forces with the Sunni Imam in the city to call on citizens to resist us in the name of jihad. The religious atmosphere in the city is strong. If we forcefully attack, I'm afraid there will be heavy casualties."

At the military meeting, Isaac briefed the commanders of the troops on the basic situation they were currently facing.

"Currently, there are 3,000 regular troops, 2,000 tribesmen, and an estimated 3,000 jihadists in Bilinchi City, possibly more."

"The news of our invasion of Yusuf must have been on Sultan Chakmak's desk by now. Even if that idiot Yusuf refuses to ask for help, Cairo will not sit idly by."

"We must prepare quickly!"

Isaac looked serious.

To be honest, I had somewhat underestimated this land where Muslims had cultivated it for hundreds of years, so much so that I never expected that so many fanatical Muslims would be called upon to oppose Isaac's invasion.

In North Africa, which is dominated by tribes, there are so many jihadists. If it were Cairo or Tunisia, wouldn't everyone in the city be against them?

"What are the plans? Tell me about it."

Isaac looked at the seated generals.

"Your Highness, we should arrange siege equipment and artillery as soon as possible, draw civilians from nearby, and drive them to attack the city and consume the enemy's ammunition!"

Baron Ibrahim said immediately.

"The walls of Bilinchi are strong, and successive emirs have added bricks and tiles. Our large artillery cannot be transported here, and small siege equipment will not be effective in the short term."

"The city of Bilinchi has a rich inventory of weapons and a mature weapons manufacturing industry and blacksmith district. We don't have to worry about the weapons problem for the time being. It's not appropriate."

Isaac rejected Ibrahim's suggestion of a storming attack.

"Your Highness, Bilinchi is on the sea. Can we use the navy to carry out a landing operation?"

Mikhail asked.

"The defense facilities at Bilinchi Port are intact. Landing rashly would be tantamount to committing suicide."

Isaac rejected it outright.

In these days, naval landings are extremely difficult and require extremely skilled coordination between the army and navy, which our own army obviously cannot do.

Seeing that no one was talking, Isaac sighed.

These generals had too narrow a vision. They only focused on a point on the map and thought about how to capture the city of Bilinchi.

The real strategy should not focus on the gains and losses of a city or a place, but should focus on the increase and decrease of vital forces.

The key to this war no longer lies with Yusuf or Isaac, but with the Egyptian Sultan, Chakmak.

"Everyone, look here!"

Isaac spread out the map.

"Yusuf is just a caged beast, so he is not a concern. What we really need to do is to get reinforcements from Cairo."

"How many are coming? Are they elite? Who is leading the troops?"

“These things determine our success or failure.”

"We cannot decide what the Chakmak Sultan is thinking, nor can we decide the quantity and quality of the reinforcements."

"But we can use some means to directly weaken the reinforcements."

Isaac found Ajdabiya on the map, circled the dot that represented Bilinchi, crossed the Green Mountain region, and stopped at a place name that lay on the coastline.

Tobruk.

"The city of Tobruk was first established by ancient Greek colonists, who used it as an agricultural and animal husbandry base and an outer fortress of Birinchi, and it was the eastern gate to the Cyrenaica region."

"From Tobruk eastward to Alexandria, it's all desert, with occasional oases."

“If the Mamluks send a large number of reinforcements, they will definitely make their final supplies here.”

"Our goal is to take this place."

Isaac finished speaking and looked at the generals who were lost in thought.

"Your Highness, the distance from Bilinchi to Tobruk is quite long, and there are many important cities along the way. I'm afraid it will take quite a while, right?"

"The road near Tobruk is also clear. It will be difficult for us to truly resist the Mamluk reinforcements, right?"

Mehmet said, standing up.

Isaac smiled.

"We will not attack any of the coastal cities, such as Bayda, Marj and Derna."

"When Yusuf fled back to Birinchi, he took all the troops from these cities. Now the only people stationed in the cities are some militias and fanatical jihadists."

"These people can hold a strong city and cause us great trouble, but they are completely incapable of fighting in the field."

"We can just assign a few cavalry to conduct surveillance."

The generals were still confused, but Isaac was no longer going to explain.

There are some things that they will understand immediately after practicing them once.

"Captain Nikephoros!"

"Your Highness!"

"You will lead the Second Guards Corps and the Duke of Parma's Grand Marquis Guards to monitor the city of Bilinchi, and another 2,500 tribal militiamen will be assigned to your command!"

"Don't worry, Your Highness. Yusuf's troops are barely able to defend the city and don't dare to come out for a field battle."

Nikephoros patted his burly chest. "Captain Erdosh!"

"You will lead the Slaves Legion of more than 3,000 people, along with 500 nearby tribesmen who are loyal to us. You will abandon the big cities and go deep into the countryside and towns in the form of 100-man cavalry to strike at the local Muslim forces."

"The entire Green Mountain area is your hunting ground."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Erdosh knelt down to express his gratitude and turned back proudly to look at the envious eyes of the other generals.

It seems that His Highness Isaac still favors his Slaves Legion the most!
Green Mountain is not high, with an average altitude of only 600 meters in later generations, and there are no steep checkpoints.

This area has a Mediterranean climate with annual rainfall of over 600 mm, which is suitable for agriculture and is the essence of the entire Cyrenaica region.

Grapes, wheat, barley, olives, citrus fruits...everything that can be grown in Europe can be grown here.

The inhabitants were prosperous and peaceful, not having to endure the long droughts that their neighbors had to endure.

The wealth accumulated over a long period of time was just enough to fill Isaac's increasingly empty purse.

"I will lead the rest of the troops and take Tobruk directly. We will get supplies on the spot."

"Commander Yaroslav, Count Adnan."

The two men stepped forward and saluted.

"You are all cavalry. As the vanguard of the army, march ahead and scout the terrain. Do not engage in battle."

"Yes!"

After arranging all the war preparations, Isaac raised his glass and watched the red wine in the glass ripple under the candlelight.

“I hope that the next time we raise a toast again, it will be in the city of Billinge.”

"At my feet will be Yusuf, who is kneeling in surrender and begging for his life, and the ground will be covered with the tattered flag of the Mamluk Sultan."

"You will hold slaves and livestock in your hands, and gold coins with the head of Chakmak inscribed on them in your pockets."

"Wan Sheng!"

……

Count Adnan rode his desert horse on the dry and hard road, feeling uneasy.

Yaroslav in the front was in great spirits. He ran from the front to the back of the team, shouting loudly and whipping the slaves who were slow to move.

The vanguard team formed by the two men set out from the city of Ajdabiya, traveling light and with a small group of people. It took them fifteen days to pass through the Green Mountain area, carefully bypassing large cities, and all the way to the boundary between the grassland and the desert.

Two days ago, they easily broke through the defenseless Matuba, handed it over to the Slaves Legion that arrived later, and continued their attack to the east.

The city of Tobruk was right in front of them, but it was not their main goal.

The two men joined forces with the tribal shekh, who had previously secretly pledged allegiance to Isaac, and looted outside the city, forcing the defenders in Tobruk to retreat and defend.

Next…

"Count, the Gabby Well is right before our eyes, or should we split up and intercept it like last time?"

Count Adnan came to his senses and looked at Yaroslav who was riding towards him.

This Ruthenian from Kiev was very excited and obviously eager for war and looting.

Adnan nodded and said nothing.

More than a thousand cavalrymen were divided into two groups and surrounded the oasis in the basin.

The women and children who stayed behind looked at the aggressive invaders, panicked and fled in all directions.

The old people just smiled bitterly.

In the past two years, their fresh blood has been almost completely drained by several wars.

Yusuf attacked Sirte and took away a group of young warriors who were blinded by religious fanaticism, but they never returned.

After the Christians attacked, Yusuf continued to recruit soldiers, taking away the younger middle-aged men and children.

Tobruk was attacked a few days ago, and the governor pulled the last of the living forces to defend the city.

The old, weak and sick were guarding this oasis. In front of a cavalry of more than a thousand people, they were lambs to be slaughtered and had no ability to resist at all.

Yaroslav shouted loudly, galloped on his horse, hacked and killed indiscriminately, leaving no room for these poor people.

Adnan walked behind, his eyes downcast.

An old man rushed through the interception and fell to his knees under Adnan's horse.

The guard at the side was about to swing his knife but was stopped by Adnan.

"General, we are willing to surrender. Please spare these women and children. We will all be your slaves, continue to herd for you, and give you the best furs..."

With tears streaming down his gray hair, the old man hugged the legs of Adnan's warhorse and begged desperately.

The winner takes all that the loser has and takes his followers as slaves, but does not kill them indiscriminately. This is the rule of the desert.

Adnan sighed, his expression complicated.

"Go call Chief Yaroslav and we'll discuss whether these tribesmen should stay or go."

After a while, Yaroslav arrived on horseback, covered in blood.

"what's up?"

he asked in Greek.

Yaroslav saw the trembling Berber old man beside him and spoke in a bad tone.

"Yaroslav, they are your slaves, please stop killing them."

Yaroslav raised his eyebrows.

"I'm sure you know exactly what His Highness instructed before he left."

"Your Highness did not say to kill them all."

The two were in a stalemate.

Yaroslav sneered.

"Okay, send someone to lead them to the Slaves Legion."

"I will report all of this to you. If I make any mistakes, Your Highness will hold you responsible!"

Yaroslav reined in his horse, whipped the whip, and sped away in a cloud of dust.

"General..."

The old man came up to him pitifully.

"You can't stay here any longer. My people will take you west."

Adnan stared into the distance. Yaroslav was not lying. He stopped killing, gathered the tribesmen together, and rushed over here.

"This place is about to be destroyed."

In July 1448, under Isaac's orders, Yaroslav and Adnan led the vanguard to the outskirts of Tobruk.

After intimidating the city's defenders, the vanguard swept through all major water sources, wells, and oases west and south of Tobruk, destroying them all.

The ecological environment of the desert is difficult to improve, but very easy to destroy.

The well mouths were blocked with stones and sand, the population in the settlement were all driven westward, all the trees in the oasis area were cut down, and all the large water sources that were difficult to block were polluted.

Water sources are filled with rotting corpses, and the stench and possible plague are enough to deter any passerby from trying to quench their thirst.

In order to achieve the best effect, they also brought a large number of rotten dead pigs, cut open their stomachs, and threw them in the most conspicuous position on the water.

In addition, lime, saline-alkali soil, poison, feces...all the dark tricks you can think of are used.

For a time, the entire eastern part of Tobruk became a restricted area for all living things.

(End of this chapter)