1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 76 Fire Warship

In the city of Tunis, Caliph Yahya looked at the kneeling Messenger Payir with a changeable look.

"You mean, Nasirlan drove you back?"

"He didn't say it, but that's what he meant."

The Payir messenger lowered his head.

"Albert, the messenger from Billinge, received similar treatment."

"What's the current situation in the city?"

Yahya asked.

"The merchants organized several unsuccessful rebellions, which were quickly suppressed by the city guards who were completely on Nasirlan's side."

"The remaining merchants obediently offered warriors and gold to the new king."

"After basically pacifying the situation in the city, Nasirlan launched a major purge among the city guards, placing his trusted aides in positions and eliminating dissidents. He now has a firm control over this well-equipped force."

"He ignored the agreement we had reached and just drove us away."

Yahya clenched his fists tightly, his face gloomy.

Unexpectedly, after Zakaria left, a more powerful Nasirlan came.

No matter how united the Merchant Council is, it will not be a monolithic entity. Slow infiltration will always find a breakthrough, leading to their own collapse.

But it is difficult for authoritarian regimes to use this method.

"Is he still willing to submit to me?"

"What he meant was that he was willing to submit to your authority, but did not want to be controlled by you."

"I'm afraid he said the same thing about Bilinqi."

Yahya sneered.

Messenger Payil knelt on the ground without saying a word.

"Go away, it's not your fault,"

Yahya sighed.
"I underestimated this cousin who has always been regarded as incompetent."

"caliph……"

There was the sound of footsteps, and after a while, Yahya's advisor walked in.

The advisor looked at Messenger Payir kneeling on the ground and Caliph Yahya with a bad look on his face, and his heart skipped a beat, thinking that something was not right.

"caliph……"

The consultant hesitated.

"Say!"

"Misrata has been destroyed, Umar has surrendered, the people of Melfa are in a state of panic, and I'm afraid Hamza can't hold on."

Yahya's expression remained unchanged.
"As expected, anything else?"

"The Christian fleet that had disappeared for a long time reappeared and captured Djerba."

……

Djerba Island, La Spezia Castle.

Giovanni Giustitiani, dressed in military uniform, inspected the city defenses that were under repair.

The captured slaves from the nearby villages were forced by the sailors to carry heavy stones and earth and walk up the fortress wall step by step to fill the gaps made during the previous siege.

After discussion, Captain Fidel allowed Giovanni to remove some light crossbows and matchlock guns from the fleet and install them on the Fortress of La Spezia as defensive weapons.

A week after Djerba changed hands, Giovanni finally observed the arrival of Hafs's local army near the Castello di La Spezia.

The passage between Djerba Island and the mainland is narrow, muddy and slippery, not suitable for large-scale military operations, not to mention large siege equipment. It would be extremely difficult to attack the La Spezia Castle at the end of the passage from here.

A small group of enemy troops launched a tentative attack, but after being frustrated, they immediately withdrew and retreated back to the North African continent.

Everyone knows very well that with the changes in Tripoli and the change of ownership of Djerba Island, the focus of the war has shifted from land to sea.

If the Hafsid dynasty could defeat the invading Christian fleet at sea, it could easily annihilate the hundreds of troops entrenched in La Spezia Castle and drive the Christians out of their core waters.

On the contrary, if they failed to gain control of the sea and only relied on a small passage on land, they would not be able to capture the La Spezia Castle which was stuck at the end of the passage under the harassment of enemy ships, and could only watch the outsiders consolidate their rule on Djerba Island step by step.

For several consecutive days, the small ships sent by Captain Fidel to patrol the periphery discovered traces of the enemy fleet in different directions. After testing each other, they did not force an attack and spontaneously prepared for the decisive battle that was bound to break out later.

As the enemy fleet gradually grew in size, Captain Fidel sent an urgent message, requesting that follow-up troops come as soon as possible and join the battle.

If Giovanni were asked to comment on the upcoming naval battle, he could only describe it in two words: confusing.

Both fleets included a number of pirate forces, and their exact strength was impossible to count. Both sides could only send as many troops as possible to Djerba Island and try to gain more chances of winning.

For a time, the sea area around Djerba Island was suddenly rough and stormy, and a war was imminent.

……

"Robert easily seized all the spoils and the emperor's tent, and took possession of the plain where he had camped during the siege of Dyrrachium..."

"Although Alexios suffered an unpleasant defeat, was severely wounded, and lost many of his noble comrades, he was not the kind of person who would shrink from embarrassing people and things..."

On the Mediterranean Sea, Isaac sat in the navigation room, holding a glass of mead, leaning quietly on a special chair, restraining the turmoil in his heart, and said nothing.

Count Yergubai of Bairdi sat nearby, his face pale and his head drooped. He pointed at a thick book and read it word by word.

"The empire has no money - his predecessor, Nikephoros III, had squandered the treasury and used it for nothing meaningful..."

"Ouch—"

A wave hit, the boat was shaking, and Yelugubai bumped directly into the corner of the table, tears in his eyes.

On the other hand, Isaac didn't even spill the golden wine in the cup.

"When will it arrive?"

Yergubai picked up the chair and closed the book in a huff.

"I should have known not to get on the boat!"

"You had to follow me, so you should blame yourself."

Isaac felt somewhat gloating.

Before the fleet set sail, the child clamored to go along, and ended up being seasick for several days. He is only feeling a little better now.

After Isaac brought him out of Bilinqi, the child who had lived in seclusion in the palace for many years was free for the first time. He looked around like a newborn deer, full of curiosity about the world and wanting to try everything.

As his father's posthumous son, his previous life was obviously unfortunate. His brother Yusuf did not, like most Muslim rulers, have the heart to kill his younger brother who threatened his position directly. Instead, he chose to imprison him and simply teach him some languages ​​for ten years.

Until he met Isaac, his days began to become colorful.

Out of consideration for his status and a little sympathy, Isaac was happy to keep him by his side often to meet some local Cyrenaica gentry and merchants to appease their hearts.

"Keep reading. You must read until the sun sets today!"

Isaac said sternly. "I don't want to read this! It's full of all kinds of difficulties and no fun at all!"

"Then change the paragraph and just read the words correctly."

Isaac nodded.

Yergubai was flipping through the "Life of Alexios" in his hand and stopped at one page.

"The emperor knew that the Pisans were good at naval warfare and was therefore very worried about the coming war."

"So he ordered his craftsmen to make cast bronze or iron figures of the heads of lions or other fierce land beasts, with their mouths wide open, and to put them on the prows of every ship that was built, so that the sight of them would infuriate the people..."

"Then he ordered a pipe to be connected to the beast's mouth so that the flames could be sprayed directly at the enemy, giving the impression that the beast was breathing fire..."

"Your Majesty, have you ever seen such a strange thing?"

Yelugubai asked with some curiosity.

"of course."

"What are their names?"

Isaac glanced at him.

"Did you see something?"

"No, sir, I..."

Yelugubai became nervous, his face turned red, and he stammered.

"If you don't tell the truth, I'll throw you out."

Isaac pointed out the window and saw the waves surging.

"The day before yesterday when we stopped at New Bellefa, I saw ..."

Isaac nodded without being too critical.

"You've seen it, it's no secret."

"So what are they?"

"The Romans called it the Fire of the Sea, and among the Saracens it had another name more universally known."

"Greek fire."

Greek fire, which originated in the seventh century AD, was a powerful weapon invented by a Syrian Christian named Galenix. Its main component was petroleum, which was sprayed out through a nozzle during battle to kill the enemy.

Because it is not easy to carry, it is mainly used in naval ships and city wall guards.

After the Battle of the Mascar, the Eastern Roman Navy was almost wiped out and lost its control of the sea in the eastern Mediterranean. The Arab Navy marched into the Sea of ​​Marmara, heading straight for Constantinople.

At the critical moment, the Eastern Roman Empire deployed a large number of fire warships loaded with Greek fire to meet the Arab navy. Under the fierce attack of Greek fire, two-thirds of the Arab navy's ships were directly burned and fled in panic. Constantinople was saved.

After that, Greek fire appeared repeatedly on battlefields throughout the Eastern Roman Empire and performed brilliantly.

At first, the craft of Greek fire was kept strictly secret by the Eastern Roman royal family, and other countries were prohibited from spying and learning.

As the empire declined, some of the raw materials for Greek fire leaked out, and both the Arabs and the Latins successfully made imitations.

As the research deepened, people found that this weapon was not omnipotent, and its shortcomings were as prominent as its advantages.

Difficult to transport, hard to find raw materials, short range, unstable, and easy to hurt itself, these are the key issues that are difficult to solve.

The most important thing is that fire warships are generally small boats with good maneuverability and cannot adapt to the turbulence of the deep sea.

Due to various restrictions, the fire battleship is destined to only make a splash in some special situations, but cannot dominate all seas.

However, as a latecomer, Isaac joined forces with the Hussite naval designer Mansreti to improve the combat methods of traditional fireships, overcame some difficulties, and brought them back to the battlefield.

The warship Isaac is currently on was converted from a large transport ship and does not usually participate in battles.

The ships were only equipped with a crossbow at the bow and stern, which gave them some self-protection capabilities.

However, after being modified by Mansreti, this large ship was able to carry four small sampans, which were usually hung on both sides by chains and could be lowered in wartime to serve as an attack force.

In Isaac's design, each sampan is about three meters long and one and a half meters wide, and can carry four crew members. The sampan is equipped with a simplified version of Greek fire, which can quickly approach enemy ships by paddling and launch flamethrower attacks.

Simply put, the converted transport ship is the mother ship of the sampan, responsible for the accommodation of the crew, the storage of Greek fire, and the preservation of fresh water and food.

The mother ship was made of special wood, reinforced and with higher sides to counter the boarding tactics favored by Muslims.

In this way, the disadvantage of the fire warship that it cannot sail on the ocean can be overcome, so that it can have both long-distance combat capability and wartime flexibility, thus turning it from a defensive artifact into an offensive weapon.

In addition, Isaac simplified the Greek fire device, removed the beast statues, removed the personnel protection facilities, reduced the weight and burden, pursued the maneuverability and aggressiveness, and focused on cost-effectiveness.

Isaac also put a lot of effort into selecting the personnel. Fire warships are inherently dangerous, and even more so after Isaac's improvements. After each mission, whether the crew can return alive depends on whether God favors them.

Of course, Isaac was reluctant to let his valuable professional sailors do such a suicidal job, so after much thought, he decided to use the free Muslim slaves.

Isaac specifically selected those honest Muslim farmers who had families with them, controlled their families, and forced them to carry out this nearly suicidal attack.

When they approached the enemy ship, halfway through spraying fire, looking at the oil pot trembling in the high temperature, no matter how determined they were before, they would surely begin to feel fear and regret, and even worse, they might no longer care about the lives of their families and try to stop this dangerous behavior.

Of course, Isaac had already thought of a countermeasure. He deliberately asked the craftsmen to make the flamethrower valve disposable. Once ignited, it could not be stopped at all. Either the flames would be completely sprayed or they would explode.

As for jumping off the boat to escape, sorry, don't forget that you are still a slave and your feet are shackled.

Isaac also specially equipped each fire warship with far more fuel than needed, turning it into a powder keg.

As for fuel, there is a shortage of everything in our territory except oil. Although most of it is buried deep underground, there is still a small amount in the shallow layer, which is enough.

This tactic certainly has its limitations. It cannot be used in extreme weather, when the enemy's firepower is too strong, or in rough seas.

This was a gift that Isaac prepared specifically for the Muslim fleet that liked to fight boarding battles in shallow waters.

"The enemy fled in despair at the sight of the fire ships, and the emperor regained his dominance over the seas..."

Seeing Isaac fall into deep thought, Yergubai continued to read, stealing glances at the sun from time to time, hoping that it would set quickly.

"Your Majesty, that seems to be our ship!"

Yeergubai's eyes were sharp and he shouted out the window.

Isaac gave him a slap on the face, opened the hatch and went onto the deck.

A fleet appeared on the left, and the leading ship was the St. Nicholas, which Isaac had not seen for a long time.

"Order! Lower the flag of Venice! Replace it with the flag of Rome!"

During the voyage, Isaac tried to choose remote sea routes, but he still flew the flag of Venice to avoid being harassed by Muslim pirates.

Then, the Santa Maria and seven other mother ships lowered the St. Mark flag and replaced it with the double-headed eagle flag.

The St. Nicholas had apparently recognized Isaac's flag and sent out a signal.

Isaac looked at the flag, converting it into letters in his mind, spelling out the word.

Long live the emperor.

(End of this chapter)