1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 83 Lusignan
South of the Bosphorus, on the Sea of ​​Marmara, the king of cities, the mother of cities, Constantinople.

Inside the Grand Palace, Constantine, the Emperor of Rome and the Romans, strode with his head held high, a long-lost smile on his face.

"What is it that makes you so happy, your Majesty?"

In the council chamber, Grand Duke Lucas, Cardinal Isidore and Foreign Minister Sfranchis paid tribute to Constantine.

Since Constantine came to power, at the suggestion of his co-ruling Emperor Isaac, he began to gradually reorganize the military, repair the city walls, and stockpile food and military supplies.

Constantine also made efforts in people's livelihood and religion, but with little success.

Isaac's tough measures prevented overt opposition, but could not change the citizens' inner resistance.

As Latin merchants sucked blood day by day, Constantinople inevitably declined gradually and would not be revived by the remedial measures of one or two wise rulers.

Now Constantine and his ministers are just the single pillar supporting the rotten building.

"My son finally agreed to get engaged."

Constantine joyfully told the good news to his ministers.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty. I wonder which country this princess is from?"

The ministers immediately congratulated him and then asked further questions.

In such a desperate environment, the co-ruling emperor Isaac, who had made a great reputation overseas, undoubtedly gave them great comfort and inspired people to a great extent.

Although they all knew very well that His Majesty Isaac started from scratch and built a considerable foundation with his outstanding strategic vision without relying on the power of Constantinople, theoretically speaking, it was already a brand new country.

However, this did not prevent them from cheering for Isaac's victory and feeling proud of it.

"Princess Leonor Avis of Portugal."

Constantine said this while feeling emotional in his heart.

As the Eastern Roman Empire declined rapidly, fewer and fewer countries were willing to marry the Eastern Roman royal family, and Constantine himself could only marry the daughter of a Genoese merchant.

And now, his son has successfully won the heart of a Western European princess.

Sfrancis and the others looked at each other, feeling mixed emotions.

There is nothing wrong with the Portuguese royal family of Aves itself, and it can even be said to be very good.

The late King John I and Queen Philippa of the House of Lancaster were both famous heroes with open minds and devout faith.

Under their education, their three sons, Duarte I, Prince Pedro and Prince Henry, were all talented people of their time and were called the "Glorious Generation".

With such a family background, Duarte's daughter Leonor would naturally not be bad.

What they are worried about is that the Western European ancestry of the Palaiologos family will be deepened.

Constantine XI's grandmother was a Catholic from the House of Amadeo of Savoy, and his wife Catherine was from the House of Gattiglusio of Genoa.

So, Isaac has more than half Latin blood.

If he married a princess of the Kingdom of Portugal, then their offspring...

The hot-tempered Archduke Lucas simply snorted and turned his head to the side.

"Your Majesty, has this marriage been finalized?"

Sfrancis asked politely.

"This kid has expressed his feelings to King Afonso V of Portugal through Prince Henry, and Afonso expressed his support."

"Although Leonor's uncle, the King of Aragon, feels a little regretful, he still chooses to respect and bless her."

Constantine spread his hands helplessly, obviously somewhat dissatisfied with his son's self-assertion.

Constantine knew very well what his ministers were thinking, and he had discussed this issue with his son many times in letters.

"If we really talk about bloodline, Mehmed II is more like a Roman emperor than I am."

Isaac's words made Constantine very angry.

Several years ago, Queen Mother Helena and Constantine wanted to arrange Isaac's marriage and find an Orthodox princess of noble birth for him, but they were always met with various excuses.

Constantine thought of the letters between father and son.

"What do you think of the Princess of the Brankovich family of Serbia?"

"I will not marry a traitor to the Orthodox faith, who deserves death."

"What do you think of the princess of Trebizond Komnenos?"

"The false king Raz, I will compromise and not marry."

"What do you think of the princess of the Rurik family in Moscow?"

"Tatar tax collectors are flatterers and treacherous people, so they don't marry."

"What do you think of the Georgian princess from the Bagration family?"

"The barbarians in the mountains fight against each other within their own family and do not marry."

"You feel--"

"Don't marry."

So Constantine gave up looking for a marriage partner for his son and allowed him to make his own decisions on marriage, but he often wrote letters to urge him.

"The envoys from Portugal and Aragon will soon arrive in Constantinople to start marriage negotiations. You should prepare yourself and make a good impression on others."

Constantine waved his hand.

"Sfrangis, as the foreign minister, this matter is yours to arrange."

"Yes!"

……

Billinge, Castle Black.

When he had some free time, Isaac would gather several of his main generals from time to time to keep in touch with them and talk about the ongoing war.

There was a sand table on the table, and Isaac ordered people to make it into the battlefield of Kruye Castle.

"The Ottoman army of 100,000 is approaching, with a full range of siege weapons, and Serbia is providing them with food and fodder."

"Albania has 10,000 troops with low quality and poor equipment, trapped in an isolated city, and without weapons of mass destruction."

"If it were you, how would you fight?"

Isaac introduced the battlefield situation to the generals and asked them to enter the battlefield, put themselves in the battlefield's shoes, and think of ways to break the impasse.

The generals looked worried and racked their brains.

"Count Mikhail, you go first!"

"I will fight as your majesty says."

Mikhail simply shook his head.

He drank a lot of newly brewed mead, and his cheeks were already a little rosy.

"Ibrahim, come here."

Isaac had no choice but to turn his head to Ibrahim, the commander of the Purple Guard, who was in deep thought.

"The Ottoman army was large and heterogeneous, and included armies from many vassal states."

"We could try to send assassins into the Ottoman camp and try to murder the Sultan."

Ibrahim made a shocking statement.

Isaac waved his hand, motioning him to sit down.

In the feudal autocratic era, the monarch was the representative of the country. If one could successfully assassinate the monarch who led the army, it would indeed cause panic among the enemy to a great extent, thereby winning the war.

Many people have tried this method before and have achieved success.

To take a more recent example, during the First Battle of Kosovo in 1389, Serbian assassins successfully infiltrated the military camp and stabbed Sultan Murad I to death on the spot.

Several decades later in the original time and space, Vlad III the Impaler personally led his men to sneak into the Ottoman camp, and no one stopped them.

If he had not identified the wrong tent, Mehmed II would have died in humiliation.

Of course, this kind of assassination also has great risks. Not only is the success rate low, but it is also likely to arouse the anger of the Ottomans, which in turn boosts their morale.

In the First Battle of Kosovo, Murad I died tragically, and Bayezid I, nicknamed "Lightning", ascended the throne on the battlefield, boosted the morale of the army, and defeated Serbia.

"After all, this is just a side path. You can try it, but you can't pin your hopes on it."

"Mehmet, you speak."

Mehmet stood up.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, the Ottomans have come from afar. Although they have the support of Serbia, they must be short of food and grass. Our army can retreat first and show weakness to the enemy."

"Judging from the Ottomans' past fighting style, they will certainly disperse their cavalry, bypass Kruje Castle, and plunder the Albanian countryside."

"Then we can hide a small group of cavalry and harass the Ottoman granary. We should retreat as soon as possible and not fight to the end."

"As long as you do it often, you will always find an opportunity." "Without enough food and grass, the enemy will collapse without a fight."

"very good."

Isaac nodded, quite satisfied.

Historically, Skanderbeg did just that.

It seems that this general who was born a Slavic slave does have a certain military vision and is worth cultivating.

The door opened and the servant Yergubai walked in.

"Your Majesty, Lord Isurt asked me to call you. Someone wants to see you."

Isaac stood up and put on his coat.

"You guys continue your discussion and stay for dinner tonight."

……

In the meeting room, Prime Minister Isurt sat in his seat, chatting and laughing with the young noble woman sitting upright, alleviating the slight sadness on her face.

In the garden nearby, a knight in heavy armor was playing with a little girl.

Isaac walked into the meeting room and met today's guests.

"Your Majesty, my dear cousin Isaac, I am glad to see you again."

"Your victory has brought joy to the family, and your fame has even spread to the court of Cyprus."

“For that, I offer you my heartfelt congratulations.”

The young woman stood up and bowed to Isaac.

"Please take a seat, your Majesty, dear cousin Jelena."

Isaac had seen her before at a family gathering in Constantinople and had some impression of her.

Jelena Palaiologos was the only daughter of Constantine XI's second brother Theodosius and Isaac's cousin, and a close relative.

She had married John II of Lusignan, King of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Armenia, a few years earlier, becoming Queen of the small island nation.

"It's nice to see you in Castle Black."

Isaac took the main seat and motioned for Jelena to sit down.

"Are you having any trouble?"

Speaking of this, Jelena's eyes turned red.

"I know that as a queen, it is very rude to leave my husband's court without permission, but I really have no choice."

"What happened?"

Isaac signaled, and the servant brought a cup of steaming camel milk and handed it to Jelena.

With Jelena's narration, Isaac figured out what happened.

In fact, this is a large-scale family ethical tragedy that has gotten out of control.

King John II of Cyprus was a Frenchman with amorous character. He had an affair before he married and had an illegitimate son, James, with his Greek mistress Marietta.

After Jelena married John II, she was furious about her husband's infidelity.

After John II openly brought Marietta back to the palace, Jelena was so angry that she bit off a piece of Marietta's nose.

If it was just a fight between women, it would be fine, but the key is that this family dispute also involves the right to succession to the throne.

According to French tradition, Princess Charlotte, the daughter born to Jelena, is the legitimate heir to the three crowns, but John II prefers his illegitimate son James and tries every means to whitewash him.

James committed riots several times and even murdered palace guards, but was suppressed by John II.

"You defeated the Mamluk Sultan and declared a naval jihad against them, which made the merchants in Cairo feel insecure."

"In order to prevent Cyprus from becoming a transit point for your jihad activities, the Mamluks began to accelerate the erosion of Cyprus."

Isaac raised his eyebrows and laughed in his heart.

"They contacted James, who was eager to usurp the throne, and promised to support him in ascending the throne."

"They sent out troops?"

Isaac's tone began to turn serious.

Jelena shook her head slightly.

"Not yet, but they are funding James, giving him the ability to raise an army and even hire assassins to attack us."

"Just four days ago, a group of assassins disguised as bandits attacked us on the way I took Charlotte to pray. Several of my father's former subordinates fought desperately and finally escaped with their lives."

"If I continue to stay in Cyprus, I will be killed by James one day."

"I don't mind, but Charlotte is only five years old..."

"Where is the king?"

Queen Jelena's eyes turned red again and she shook her head heavily.

Understood.

The scumbag John II allowed his illegitimate son to collude with hostile forces abroad and watched his wife and daughter being forced away.

Queen Jelena is beautiful and elegant, why don’t you, John II, like her?

What? You look down on the Palaiologos family?

At this time, a pretty little girl ran into the meeting room giggling, holding a handful of freshly picked flowers.

"Charlotte! You're in trouble again!"

Jelena quickly wiped her tears and put on a serious look.

"Mom! Flowers for you!"

Charlotte threw herself into her mother's arms and buried her head in her breast.

Isaac looked at Jelena's forced smile and sighed inwardly.

For a nineteen-year-old girl, it was indeed very difficult.

My father died two years ago, and my mother passed away early. I have no biological brothers and have been alone ever since.

Her husband John II not only failed to give her warmth, but also brought her endless harm.

The little Princess Charlotte was carefree. She turned her eyes and set her eyes on the cookies on the table.

In the heart of a child who lacks fatherly love, where the mother is is a warm home forever.

Isaac remembered that in the original time and space, Jelena died of depression after a few years. With the protection of several supporters, Charlotte successfully lived until the death of John II and succeeded to the throne as Queen of Cyprus.

After Charlotte's coronation, her illegitimate son James had been trying to usurp the throne and eventually succeeded, ousting his half-sister and becoming the last monarch of the Lusignan dynasty of Cyprus.

Isaac picked up a cookie, squatted down, and handed it to the little princess with a smile.

Charlotte quickly left her mother behind, picked up the cookie and ate it, mumbling a thank you.

“What is the current situation in Cyprus?”

Isaac asked the maid to take Charlotte to the garden and turned to ask Queen Jelena.

"What else can I do?"

"With the King's almost blatant support, James has gained a large number of supporters."

"Because of my identity, many Orthodox Christians and Orthodox priests support Charlotte, but they don't really want to see a woman on the throne."

Jelena said with a wry smile.

Cyprus is a Crusader state. Its people are all Greek Orthodox Christians, but its rulers are Catholics from France.

During the hundreds of years that the Lusignan family ruled the island of Cyprus, they had always tried to Latinize Cyprus, but the effect was minimal, which led to a widespread disconnect between the lower-class Orthodox people and the upper-class Latin nobles.

The current situation is very embarrassing for Jelena and her daughter.

According to the French inheritance system, women can be monarchs, but the king did not like them, mother and daughter.

The lower classes had a favorable impression of Jelena, who was born in the Purple Chamber, but the Greeks were more resistant to female heirs.

"Stay here with me first. Even if I can't help you regain your power, at least you'll be safe."

Isaac didn't know how to comfort his cousin, so he could only let her stay for the time being.

"Helena is married to Baron Conti and lives in Derna. I will let her accompany you tomorrow."

"Thank you for your generosity. I haven't seen Helena for a long time."

Jelena wiped her eyes and forced a smile.

(End of this chapter)