1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 92: The Battle Is Coming
Murad II died, mourned by his friends and enemies alike.

In the meeting room of Bilinchi, Isaac summoned all the ministers to arrange countermeasures.

It was obvious that the ministers had no idea why their master reacted so violently to Mehmed II's re-entry to the throne that he pulled them out of bed in the middle of the night.

"Murad II has died and Mehmed II has ascended the throne again."

"This man is extremely ambitious. When he first ascended the throne, he made conquering Constantinople his lifelong goal. He is the empire's greatest enemy."

"Based on my understanding of Mehmed II, he is very likely to start a foreign war immediately after quelling the unstable factors brought about by his early reign."

"Muhammad's father left him a strong and vigorous country, which gave him enough capital to squander and make mistakes without worrying about losing everything due to failure."

"Constantinople is likely to be his first target."

Isaac looked serious as he turned to the ministers.

To be honest, Isaac was no longer sure whether, under his butterfly effect, Mehmed II would launch an offensive against Constantinople on time in 1453 as in the original time and space.

This person is moody and his behavior is totally unpredictable, so we can only plan ahead and make arrangements early.

"From now on, all institutions will enter a state of emergency, all livelihood projects will be suspended, and all military affairs will be accelerated."

"I am about to go to the Auron Military Region to attend the launching ceremony of the first medium-sized galley at the Mansreti Shipyard."

"After that, I will go to Constantinople and preside over the defense of the capital."

"After I leave, everyone will take up their respective duties. Prime Minister Isurt will be in charge of administrative affairs, and the commander of the Grand Guards Mikhail will be in charge of military affairs. Please make sure to maintain correspondence."

Next, Isaac assigned tasks to the ministers.

"In terms of administration, everything remains the same. We will gradually improve the administrative structure, complete the post station system and road system, distribute land to the newly arrived refugees and slaves, and register them."

"The major projects that are already underway should be completed as soon as possible, and all those that have not yet started should be postponed."

"In terms of military, the First Guards and the Purple Guards will follow me to Constantinople to deploy defenses, and the remaining legions will be deployed in separate defenses."

"The city guard system in each city must be established as soon as possible, and the city merchants and gentry must bear part of the expenses."

"Count Mikhail is in charge of recruiting the Fourth and Fifth Guards Corps, and the personnel will no longer be limited to Greek Orthodox Christians."

With the increase of the population of the territory and the development of Queen's Port, the territory's finances began to improve. In the second half of 1450 alone, Isaac obtained about ducats from the gold and slave trade in West Africa.

At the same time, after several months of fermentation, the plundering business in the St. Simon Islands began to get on track. Pirates who heard the news bought privateering licenses and joined in the division of the lucrative trade profits in the central Mediterranean.

Most of the gold was invested by Isaac in the military. The formation of the Guards, the firearms workshop, the shipyard, the construction of the Tobruk Fortress and the Theodosius Wall all required huge amounts of funds as backing.

In Isaac's plan, several pure infantry legions of the Guards will serve as the main force in the defense of Constantinople, and the cavalry that cannot easily exert their full strength will be left in North Africa to suppress the situation.

In order to prepare for the impending war, Isaac decided to expand two legions at once, totaling two thousand people.

After years of development, Isaac's military recruitment strength is no longer what it used to be. The huge profits earned from ocean trade provide funds, the Royal Knights Academy provides officers, the Firearms Workshop and the Blacksmiths Guild provide equipment, and the increasingly wealthy population in the Green Mountain region provides high-quality soldiers. As a result, Isaac was able to form these two legions in a short period of time, and no longer face the difficulty of recruiting soldiers in the past.

Of course, these two legions are regular legions, and Isaac can only support the Third Legion, an elite bayonet infantry phalanx, for the time being.

The Fourth Legion of the Guards is a light infantry legion equipped with leather armor, armed with swords and shields, spears, maces and other melee weapons, and bows and arrows as the main long-range weapons.

In the staffing of this legion, Isaac listened to the advice of several administrative ministers and began to relax the standards, allowing local Berbers and Bedouins who believed in Orthodox Christianity and spoke Greek to join, in order to increase their centripetal force for the territory.

The Fifth Guards Legion is a medium-armor infantry legion. All members are equipped with an iron chain mail and are armed with large array-breaking weapons.

This legion was composed entirely of Armenians who had migrated to the Green Mountain region. These Armenians were short, strong and tenacious. If their loyalty could be gained, they would become the strongest shield.

In addition, the first batch of medical students from Narses Medical College have graduated, and Isaac assigned these more than 200 medical students to each legion as supplements.

By this point, Isaac's full-time standing army had reached the 7,000-man mark, almost entirely supported by the rich profits gained overseas.

Although 7,000 people are still far behind the Ottoman Janissary Guards, which number tens of thousands, they have already surpassed many European countries.

"In terms of diplomacy, Anderson sent a message yesterday saying that Karaman Bey Ibrahim II has reached a preliminary consensus with him and the union between the two sides has been basically finalized."

"Next, we still need to negotiate on the details."

Faced with the surprise of his ministers, Isaac released this bombshell news without changing his expression.

Isaac remembered it very clearly. In the original time and space, Ibrahim II of the Karamanbay Kingdom took advantage of the unstable national situation when Mehmed II had just ascended the throne and launched another large-scale invasion, threatening the city of Ankara for a time.

If the troubles caused by hostile countries to the Ottoman Empire were scored on a ten-point scale, the Eastern Roman Empire would probably be one point, the Albanian Alliance would be about two points, Hungary might be able to reach five points, and the Karamanbey State would be a solid ten points.

Karaman and Osman were originally far apart, one in the northwest and the other in the southeast, and they had nothing to do with each other.

After the rise of the Ottoman Empire, it gradually eliminated other Turkic Bey states on the Anatolian Peninsula and began to infringe on the core interests of the Karamanians.

During this period, numerous wars of varying sizes took place between Karaman and the Ottoman Empire, with both sides winning and losing.

So far, the Ottoman Empire has launched twelve large-scale military offensives against the Karamanbay State, each of which ended in failure.

Compared with the heavily Romanized Ottoman Empire and the Rum Sultanate, and the heavily Persianized Seljuk Empire and the Ilkhanate, the Karamanbay State retained the most original Turkic characteristics and, like their ancestors living in East Asia, led a semi-nomadic and semi-settled life, and has been so for thousands of years.

The Karaman Bey State hated the Ottoman Empire, regarded them as traitors of the Turks, and was always active on the front line against Ottoman expansion.

During this period, Karaman accepted almost all the Turkic warlords who were unwilling to accept Ottoman rule, and obtained a steady supply of troops and population, enough to support successive Karaman Beys to launch looting and harassment again and again.

Osman's twelve expeditions failed to completely defeat Karaman. Instead, Karaman always managed to seize the opportunity accurately, occupying large cities such as Ankara and Kutahya and depleting several Janissary Corps.

The alliance with Karaman was a very important part of Isaac's strategy.

In international politics, the butt determines the head. As long as he continues to be hostile to the Ottomans and Mamluks, Karaman will be his natural ally.

Although Karaman is a purely Turkic Muslim country, it is extremely utilitarian and is very willing to form an alliance with any country that can provide them with assistance.

In the original time and space, the alliance between Karaman and Venice was two hundred years earlier than the famous "Profane Alliance".

Now, the Venetians have just signed a trade agreement with the Ottomans, and the relationship between the two countries is in a honeymoon period. They will definitely not become enemies with the Ottomans for the sake of Karaman, who has no benefits.

"We will provide Karaman Bey with weapons, armor, muskets, and food for his upcoming expedition, send him siege experts, and provide him with strong slaves at a low price."

Isaac continued speaking, ignoring the worried looks from the ministers.

"Your Majesty, will our blatant support for pagans cause dissatisfaction among the clergy?" asked Prime Minister Isurt worriedly.

"Of course, but they can't do anything to us."

"His Holiness also expects us to defend Constantinople for him and prevent the Ottoman forces from advancing deeper into Europe."

"As long as we continue to hold out in Constantinople, the Pope will not turn against us, but will do everything he can to support us."

"As for the rest of the noise, let them be."

Isaac put his hand down to stop the ministers from speaking.

The building is about to collapse, and he must unite all the forces he can in order to deal with the powerful Ottomans.

"In addition to the Karamans, we will also contact all other forces that have grievances with the Ottomans and seek their support, even if it is only verbal wishes."

"Albert will be responsible for arranging these matters. He will personally visit countries that are closer, and send messengers to countries that are farther away."

Isaac handed Albert a long list.

Isaac was very clear that the vast majority of these countries were unwilling to provide any effective help, and the remaining few were willing to provide help, but it would be difficult for them to pose a substantial threat to the Ottoman Empire.

Everyone understands the principle that the lips and teeth are interdependent, but when it comes to putting it into practice, there are very few rulers who can make wise decisions.

After the meeting, Isaac dragged his tired body back to his warm home.

With the arrival of a hostess, the Black Castle changed its previous cold and indifferent atmosphere and began to become gentle.

Leonor knew that Isaac hated extravagance, so she did not buy any expensive items or furniture. Instead, she paid attention to some seemingly insignificant details to make the living environment comfortable and warm.

After finishing a tiring work every day, Isaac can finally enjoy the care of his family, tear off the cold mask he has tried hard to wear, and get a moment of peace.

Isaac walked quietly into the garden, put his arms around Leonor's waist from behind, buried his head in her brown hair, kissed her snow-white neck, and felt the tenderness that belonged only to her.

"In the next few days, I will conduct an inspection tour of various places in the territory to arrange local government affairs and defense."

"Ah."

"After that, I will take a boat north to the Auron Military Region to visit the first medium-sized galley built by Mansreti."

"Ah."

"Next, I will go to Constantinople."

"I also need to go."

Leonor suddenly turned her head and looked at her husband with gentle but firm eyes.

"There's going to be a war, and you're not in the right condition right now."

Isaac gently stroked his wife's bulging belly, feeling the beating of the new life.

"I heard that only the prince born in the Purple Noble Palace is a true Purple Noble, who can become the heir to the empire and be supported by all the people."

"What a fallacy."

Isaac laughed.

Now that the existence of the empire has become a question, who would care about this!

Isaac sighed as he looked at Leonor's pursed lips and serious eyes.

"Okay, once I stabilize the situation in Constantinople, I will immediately send a fleet to pick you up."

"But we have to agree that if war breaks out, you and the child must leave immediately by boat."

Isaac said seriously.

"Why are you so nervous? Muhammad has just ascended the throne. There won't be any big moves in the next five years, right?"

Leonor was a little strange.

"I received a letter from His Majesty Constantine today. It seems that this Mehmed II is very reasonable and a pacifist."

pacifist?
Isaac couldn't hold it in any longer.

"What did he say?"

After Leonor became pregnant, Constantine often wrote to inquire about her, fearing that Isaac, a first-time father, would neglect the next heir to the empire.

However, every time Isaac wrote back, there were only two things he asked for: speed up the repair of the Theodosian Wall and give up using Prince Orhan.

Over time, the depressed Constantine sent letters directly to Leonor and had a great time chatting with her.

Leonor tilted her head and thought for a moment.

"He said that the new Sultan, Mehmed II, received the envoys from Constantinople with pleasure and generously offered a promise of peace."

“Not only that, Epirus, Trebizond, Kandal, Dulkadir, Wallachia…almost all the countries received peace guarantees from Mehmed II.”

Leonor took out the letter and read aloud the sentence on it.

"We should celebrate that Sultan Murad II, who had troubled us for many years, has finally left. The new Sultan Mehmed II is a generous and peace-loving person. I think this must be a gift from God..."

Isaac was speechless for a moment.

An extremely powerful military power, a ruler determined to fulfill the Ottoman dream, made a promise of peace to all the small countries around it.

The key point is that most of them foolishly believed it and congratulated each other.

Isaac remembered that another person in later generations made similar guarantees, but later occupied these small countries one by one and swept his army across Europe.

"It's getting dark, go to bed."

Isaac rubbed Leonor's head and kissed her gently on the forehead.

(End of this chapter)