1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 6 Athens and Thebes

Chapter 6 Athens and Thebes
The next morning, Isaac did not slack off and trained with his guards and Constantine's army.

After breakfast, the army set out north.

The journey was smooth and there was no trouble.

At noon, Constantine arrived at his loyal city of Thebes.

Constantine's good brother Thomas was waiting at the city gate early, and the guards saluted Constantine together.

After three days of siege, the local garrison in Thebes surrendered to Thomas yesterday.

We are all Romans, what are we playing with?
Isaac stepped forward and saluted Thomas.

"Long time no see, dear uncle, honorable Despot of Achaea."

"Long time no see, little Isaac!"

Thomas' voice boomed.

This is another Palaiologos, the younger brother of the current Eastern Roman Emperor and the grandfather of the future Russian Tsar.

His daughter, Princess Zoe, later married Grand Duke Ivan III of Moscow. She was the mother of Vasily III and the grandmother of Ivan the Terrible.

The legal system of the Third Roman Empire of Russia began here.

However, Princess Zoe has not yet been born.

This Byzantine prince has just turned 35 and is in the prime of his life.

He was also Constantine's closest brother and most loyal comrade-in-arms.

Prior to this, Thomas had participated in many of Constantine's military campaigns.

Later, he and his stupid brother guarded the six-mile Great Wall until the end.

After the greetings, the army entered the city.

The Greeks in Thebes welcomed the return of the Palaiologos family with mixed feelings.

Since the Fourth Crusade sacked Constantinople in 1204, the area has been mostly ruled by Latin colonists.

More than two hundred years have passed until now.

Everyone knows that they are Orthodox Romans, but no one knows what it is like to live in Rome.

Especially with the recent rise of the Ottoman Empire, the Principality of Athens has been walking a tightrope between the two forces, focusing on measuring the material resources of the principality and winning the favor of the Sultan.

Thebes is located at the junction of the border between the Principality of Athens and the Ottoman Empire, and Turkish cavalry often come to exploit it.

The Grand Duke from Florence dared not speak out, and not only did nothing, but also had to pay tribute to the Ottoman Empire every year.

The Byzantine emperor was paying, so what's wrong with me paying?
Against this background, local Greek Orthodox Christians inevitably harbored illusions about their homeland.

Unfortunately, the empire was on the decline and could hardly protect itself.

Looking south to the royal army for another year, only half a company was left.

This time Constantine returned like lightning and was indeed welcomed by the local people at the beginning.

At this time, Constantine was still secretly happy with his stupid brother.

But Isaac knew very well that the locals were admiring the strong rather than being patriotic.

When the Sultan arrives with his army, they will immediately turn against him without any hesitation.

After lunch, Constantine convened a military and political meeting.

The meeting was chaired by the brothers Constantine and Thomas, and military and political officials at all levels participated.

Isaac was allowed to sit in on the trial.

The meeting first summarized the previous victories, then arranged the matters of food and armaments, and finally entered the highlight of the meeting - discussing whether to continue the march and how to deal with the Grand Duchy of Athens.

Different from what Isaac thought, the political side advocated going north, while the military side advocated stopping the advance.

A few white-bearded old men were talking in a sonorous voice about promoting morale, boosting spirits, and reviving the empire. When they talked about the sad parts, they couldn't help but shed a few tears.

Isaac felt nauseous.

I didn't see you during the battle, but you jumped out when the cake was being divided!
Uncle Thomas was so angry that he slammed the table and started arguing with them.

Constantine remained silent, thinking quietly.

The meeting lasted from noon to sunset, and Constantine finally made the decision - let's eat first and discuss it tomorrow.

When they heard about the meal, the white-bearded men were no longer so passionate, wiped their tears and ran to the dining table.

Isaac did not express any opinion throughout the process.

The initiative of this meeting is still in the hands of Constantine. If he wants to advance, no one can stop him.

I have said everything that needs to be said. I believe he will figure it out!
Over the next few days, the meetings were intense, but of course, nothing was discussed.

It's an old Byzantine tradition, and everyone is used to it.

Until a piece of news came -

Athens, which was thought to be stable, suddenly encountered trouble.

A group of Ottoman remnants robbed the Latin merchants' horse farms and obtained many fine horses;

Afterwards, the remaining soldiers robbed the team carrying military supplies and obtained a large number of weapons including muskets;

For several days in a row, nearby villages were constantly attacked. The remaining soldiers did not aim to kill people, but would rob all the money and food.

The surrounding villagers were in panic and a large number of refugees fled south for refuge.

At this time, General Andre released a large amount of food in the name of His Royal Highness the Prince to supply the refugees.

Countless farmers who lost their homes were grateful to Isaac.

The Athenian guardsmen were unable to hunt down the Ottoman cavalry, who came and went at a rapid pace, and asked Constantine for help.

The sheriff was also very confused as to why the remnants of the army always knew the location of the horses and weapons clearly and why they were always able to escape before being encircled.

Thinking of this, he would sincerely thank the kind and generous His Highness Isaac.

If he had not helped the refugees regardless of his own wealth, the refugees with nowhere to eat who swarmed into Athens might have eaten him alive.

Damn the Ottomans!
After the news of the attack on Athens reached Thebes, Constantine finally stopped hesitating.

"This military operation has come to an end. Our next strategy..."

"Isaac, tell me something!"

Isaac, who was paddling in the corner, was suddenly called out and was a little at a loss.

He stood up slowly and looked around. "My Lords, I think that whether we continue to march or not, there are some things that must be done urgently."

"First, appease the refugees. We can ask wealthy merchants to donate money and materials to help our compatriots, and then go south to the Moria region in the form of a reclamation group;"

"Second, the placement of the Grand Duke of Athens. This issue involves many aspects. We cannot risk angering the Catholic Church by directly abolishing the Grand Duke. We should keep him and make him pay the tribute he deserves. At the same time, we should ensure the freedom of Orthodox Christians and the empire's right to station troops in Athens. Their fleet can also be borrowed for use;"

"Third, build the Corinthian Wall. Your families are all located south of the wall. You probably don't want your hometown to be looted by the remnants of the Ottoman army."

"Finally, we can send a small number of cavalry north to plunder property and slaves, while attracting Orthodox Christians to the south."

As soon as the strategy was put forward, everyone in the audience began to whisper and consider the feasibility of the plan.

Whitebeard wanted to say something, but was warned by Constantine's eyes.

Normally we treat you as mascots, but don't take yourself too seriously at critical moments.

"Since there is no objection, let's do it this way!"

The last plate of Constantine.

After some discussion, Constantine decided to stay in the north to stabilize the situation, while arranging looting in the north.

Thomas led his troops south to oversee the repair of the Wall of Corinth.

Isaac issued a military order, vowing to wipe out the remaining Ottoman troops around Athens, otherwise he would be beheaded.

Isaac returned to Athens, boarded the St. Nicholas, and met Ibrahim who had been waiting there.

"Dad!" Ibrahim's daughter rushed to him.

Isaac gave them time to reunite and then summoned them.

"You did a great job. You are very capable. I was not wrong about you."

Ibrahim remained silent and did not answer.

"I called the priests of the Athens Orthodox Church to preside over the baptism ceremony for your family. Your daughter is learning Greek in the church school, so don't worry."

Ibrahim did not refute that his wife and daughter had already told him.

The wife and daughter were freed from the life of fear and were living a good life, but they missed their husband and father.

"The activities around Athens can be ended. You should lead the team to Epirus in the northwest, continue looting, and drive the people to the southeast."

"Horse, man."

"Three days later, a group of Genoese merchants will leave for the north, and their cargo will mainly be horses and slaves."

Ibrahim nodded and prepared to leave.

"We don't have much intelligence this time. We should avoid big targets, equip more horses, and run away if we can't win."

"I'll have Kerman lead the Northumbria to wander along the shore. Please cooperate."

Isaac waved Ibrahim away.

When he reached the door, Isaac called him.

"I won't let you do this forever. When this is over, you will become my subordinates. You will be the commander-in-chief, and I will let the Patriarch of Constantinople baptize you."

Ibrahim turned his head and took a deep breath.

Get down on one knee.

The eyes that had always been dull seemed to glow with some brilliance.

Isaac smiled with satisfaction.

After Ibrahim left, Isaac looked happily at the property he brought.

Part of the loot was used to recruit remnant soldiers, and part was used to maintain the troops.

The oldest one went to Isaac's table.

More than 9000 ducats, a truly huge sum of money.

Isaac planned to use this as a basis to recruit a group of new soldiers from among the refugees.

In addition, firearms units must also be put on the agenda.

As a result, more than a dozen villages were displaced and six caravans lost all their money.

The next day, Isaac was invited to attend a rally held by the Orthodox Church to swear to suppress bandits, attended by representatives of merchants and refugees.

Merchants and refugees expressed great gratitude to Isaac for opening his warehouses and releasing grain, and even the Orthodox Church personally commended him.

Why does this food taste so familiar?
Nonsense, how could you not be familiar with the ones you grow yourself!
"Your Highness, when will you leave the city to suppress the bandits?"

the Bishop asked.

The businessmen also looked over with concern.

Isaac looked troubled.

"The exact time is not certain yet, probably this month, after all, there are still many difficulties."

"We are preparing military rations and equipment, but we are also short of manpower..."

“Businessmen will donate funds, and our church will also donate manpower and manpower!”

The bishop swore a solemn oath.

"There are many deficiencies in muskets..."

“We buy from Italy!”

"Many artillery pieces are inadequate..."

“We buy from Hungary!”

"There are many armors..."