Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 367, Section 114: The First Battle
April 2nd, Easter Monday.

A date appeared in the darkness.

Then the scene gradually brightens, the text disappears, and the dawn in the east tears open the sky. A band of orange-red light spreads across the sea, making the outline of a city even clearer. It resembles a slice of pizza, nestled between the bay and the land.

The camera slowly zooms in, finally settling on the top of the city wall at the westernmost side of the city, near the St. Romanus Gate.

Below the distant horizon, a wisp of dust rises. What began as a thin line quickly expands into a sandstorm that blots out the sky, countless metallic reflections leaping and shimmering within it.
It was a tide of countless spearheads and helmets, the vanguard cavalry of the Ottoman Empire, their hooves pounding the plains, sweeping across the grasslands, forming a black torrent that approached the city walls.

Above the Gate of San Romanus.

The perspective starts from behind the three people. The one in the middle is wearing a purple robe, and there is a person on each side. One is dressed as a noble or high-ranking official, and the other is wearing armor, but only their backs can be seen.

They stared silently ahead, without exchanging a word.

The wind made the flags beside them flutter, and along with the wind came the cries of the last batch of refugees pouring in, as well as a growing buzzing sound, the low tremors caused by the approach of thousands of enemy troops.

At that moment, a long, drawn-out horn sound came from the direction of Golden Horn Bay.

The camera pans rapidly across the spires of Brachenai Palace, the red-tiled roofs of houses, and the onion domes of churches, finally stopping at the entrance to the Golden Horn.

The soldiers guarding the long dike on the shore gave a unified shout and began to push the huge winch.

With a series of loud creaking sounds, a massive iron chain, as thick as a person's waist and made of huge logs wrapped with iron and iron rings, slowly rose from the sea below the surface.

The iron chain finally reached its highest point, stretching across the entrance to Golden Horn Bay, forming a scene of iron chains blocking the bay. On the city wall, all the prepared soldiers simultaneously slammed their spears and shields to the ground.

Boom!
The camera zooms out again, returning to the high-altitude perspective from the opening scene, but it seems to have gone through some kind of time montage. Outside the western city walls, the black Ottoman army has already surrounded the city in layers, with cannon fire roaring and shouts of battle filling the air, and smoke billowing everywhere.

On the sea, the sails of the Ottoman fleet were spread out, almost obscuring the horizon, while the Christian warships in the bay, though vastly different in number, were still arranged in a tight battle formation.

The last ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the massive dome of the Hagia Sophia, as if coating it with a golden glow.

Just then, the bolded game title, which almost filled the entire screen, appeared with a suppressed bang.

1453:

constantinople

Wolf stared at the scene, lost in thought. Deep within him, something seemed to be ignited, and the fire slowly spread.

After the opening screen ends and the screen goes black for a moment, the game officially begins.

First, the date changed from April 2nd to April 3rd.

Please utilize all the knowledge and skills you possess to either inherit or transcend history.

This game is mainly divided into three sections.

[Domestic Affairs: In this section, you can appoint generals, mobilize troops, repair city walls, produce resources, and balance factions. The main person in charge is the Imperial Chancellor—Lucas Notaras]

[Military: When a battle occurs, you will automatically enter this section. You will control your troops to defend or even launch an offensive. The generals of the corresponding troops will affect the overall combat effectiveness and command sensitivity of the troops.]

When necessary, you can lead the Emperor's Guard into battle from a first-person perspective, which will greatly boost morale, but at the cost of losing control of your troops during that battle. The main person in charge is the city defense expert—Giovanni Giustiniani.

[Event: During the siege, various events will occur requiring your decisions. These events will affect morale, supplies, faction harmony, authority, and even the final outcome. The main person in charge is the Imperial Secretary General—George Sfranzius.]

In addition to the above, the following points also require special attention.

[Authority: Can be gained through battle victories, decision-making, personally fighting, mediating factional disputes, and events. It is needed in certain events and the deployment of troop commanders. Too low an authority value will also affect command during battle.]

Factional Balance:
Although the Eastern and Western churches announced their unification in order to counter the Ottoman Empire, divisions persisted. Currently, Constantinople can be divided into the following factions.

The Eastern Orthodox Church opposes compromise with Latin Catholicism and opposes the merger of the Eastern and Western churches.

Pro-Latin faction: pushes for unification and hopes to become completely dependent on Western aid.

The aristocratic class: concerned with their own interests, and indecisive.

The middle class: the foundation of morale, but easily swayed by rumors.

If you have any questions, you can consult the Prime Minister, who will serve as an advisor in the game.

There was a lot of information, so Wolf didn't dare to be careless at all. He read it carefully, line by line, before finally letting out a long sigh of relief and then scratching his head in frustration.

He didn't know his actual command abilities, but he was certain that he had never been good at handling complex interpersonal relationships. The mere thought of mediating factions made his scalp tingle; it didn't seem like something he could do.

But then he thought, "This is just a game. Games always offer opportunities to try and fail. If all else fails, I can just start over." This thought acted as a reassurance, allowing his tense nerves to relax slightly, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

Click to confirm, and the game will officially begin.

The game screen switches to a cluttered study.

Wolf felt as if he were sitting in a high-backed chair with a fabric cushion, with a yellowed map of Constantinople spread out on a large wooden table in front of him.

Important buildings on the map are marked with small icons. A simple tap brings up detailed descriptions and information about the person in charge. On the left are domestic affairs options such as "mobilize troops," "repair city walls," and "produce materials," which are easy to understand at a glance.

"Your Majesty, please give instructions for today's important matters."

The person speaking must be the prime minister, or the chief minister.

He looked quite old, of medium to strong build, dressed in a dark red silk outfit, with black hair mixed with white, many fine lines on his face, a short and neat beard, and a calm and reserved expression.

Beside him stood an equally aged minister, with a thin face and gentle eyes, who remained silent throughout.

"Oh, um." Wolf suppressed his nervousness and tried to make his voice sound calm and steady, mimicking the tone of an emperor in his imagination.

He clearly remembered history: the Ottoman army would arrive outside the city on April 5th, leaving him only two days to familiarize himself with the operation.

The most urgent task was to stockpile military supplies. His gaze swept over the list of officials on the internal affairs panel, each with a five-dimensional chart attached to their side.

Without any hesitation, the officials most capable of maximizing production capacity were directly assigned to the task, while the others were left to be handled by some half-baked individuals for the time being.

Wolf, the most capable and all-around expert in domestic affairs, looked at the portrait of the official, then looked up at the old minister who had remained silent, and the faces matched up.

George Sfranzius, the head of the events section, also appears to be one of Constantine XI's most trusted confidants.

Of course, he is more widely known for being captured after the fall of the city, but he survived and wrote a short chronicle, recording the fall of Constantinople from a first-person perspective.

Domestic affairs operations went relatively smoothly, but troop deployment was giving Wolf a bit of a headache. Basic commands like rotating troops and patrolling were simple, but when changing generals, the interface would pop up a message saying "Requires XX points of authority." Some generals' stats were simply appalling; letting such people lead troops was tantamount to playing with the lives of soldiers.

However, the troops that can be replaced are mostly militia units. If a real elite force is temporarily replaced, it will take some time just to get back to familiar with the troops. Right now, time is what we lack most.

After agonizing for a full ten minutes, Wolff finally abandoned the idea of ​​a large-scale reshuffle of generals, only making minor adjustments to the commanders of a few militia units to ensure that the troop deployment in the weakest areas of the city was reasonable.

After doing all this, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a light sweat on his palms.

Compared to dealing with these political matters, he longed for a quick and decisive battle.

Just then, the secretary-general stepped forward and handed over a rolled-up letter: "Your Majesty, there is something regarding the church that requires your attention."

He took the letter, looked at it carefully, and his face showed reluctance.

The content inside is likely a simplified translation based on the game's description. The meaning is quite simple: the Orthodox Church is requesting him to reduce the acceptance of Western aid, arguing that they "do not want the crown of Latin Catholicism to taint the Holy City."

"That's outrageous," Wolf couldn't help but mutter under his breath.

The city was about to fall, yet these people were still entangled in sectarian disputes. No wonder Constantinople fell in history.

He glanced instinctively at the prime minister beside him, a staunch supporter of the Orthodox Church, whose famous saying, "I'd rather see a Turkish turban than a Latin crown," was one Wolf had read in a book.

Speaking of which, why is the prime minister chosen as the advisor in the game instead of the secretary-general? At this time, the prime minister was already being disliked by the emperor because of his opposition to the merger of the Eastern and Western churches, while the secretary-general was his loyal executor and held a similarly high position and power, making him a more suitable advisor.

Three options pop up next to the letter: [Agree], [Reject], [Persuade]

Agreeing will increase Orthodox satisfaction but offend pro-Latins; vetoing will have the opposite effect; and the persuasion option is marked "authority +20 upon success," but players need to craft their own arguments.

This was more difficult for Wolff than commanding a battle. He was never good with words, and he didn't even dare to speak loudly at home, let alone persuade a group of stubborn priests.

The prime minister, as expected, knew the contents of the letter. After Wolf had read it, he said, "Your Majesty, I suggest we agree to their demands and appease them. The seas are currently blockaded by the Ottoman navy, and the Western world can no longer provide us with assistance. So, in reality, whether we agree or not, we have no reinforcements."

Fortunately, Wolf had read the book and knew that one of the main reasons for the lack of reinforcements was the intense opposition from the Orthodox Church.

The best option here would definitely be to persuade him, but he ultimately chose to reject it.

While Orthodox Christians do indeed make up the majority of the city's population, the city's defense expert, Giustiniani, is from the Latin world, and the mercenaries he leads are the true elite troops.

History has proven this point. Yet the prime minister seems to be deliberately ignoring it.

Whether from the perspective of maintaining balance or reassuring them, it should be rejected.

The secretary bowed and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty," before withdrawing.

Almost instantly, the faction satisfaction panel on the right side of the screen changed.

Orthodox Church declines, Latin Church rises, Citizens decline, Nobles remain unchanged.

It can be seen that the majority of the citizens were Orthodox Christians. While the nobility likely also leaned towards Orthodoxy, they were more focused on practical benefits.

For the next two days, Wolf devoted himself entirely to preparations for battle. He repeatedly adjusted the production ratio of supplies, prioritizing the production of arrows, catapults, and stones for repairing the city walls.

They also learned how to operate on the battlefield through a drill.

The game's military section is a typical top-down strategy mode with a fog of war, similar to the Total War series, but with a delay in command transmission.

After issuing orders to distant troops, there was a waiting period before they could be executed. Wolf patiently practiced this several times, silently memorizing the reaction speed of each unit and the efficiency of transmitting orders at different distances.

The panel also has a "Speech to Boost Morale" option, which can be triggered by consuming 5 Authority points, but requires the player to give the speech.

Wolf hesitated for a long time before finally closing the interface. He was afraid that a failed speech would dampen morale.

Time flies by in the midst of our busy schedules, and the date in the corner of the screen jumps to April 6th.

As history has progressed, Mehmed II led the main Ottoman force to the west of the city yesterday and set up camp in front of the San Romanus Gate, but did not immediately attack the city.

And today, the first battle has finally begun.

An alarm suddenly sounded, and the screen automatically switched to the military section, zooming out to focus on Golden Horn Bay.

The Ottoman fleet appeared on the horizon in a dark mass, its sails blotting out the sun, heading towards the iron chain blocking the sea.

"Is the first battle a naval battle? Thirty ships against a hundred?"

Wolf licked his lips, his eyes lighting up as he looked at the stark contrast in numbers, and began to operate.

There are thirty ships here, including ten cargo ships, used to reinforce the sea-blocking iron chains. He can actually mobilize twenty ships.

Of these twenty ships, only ten belonged to the Empire and possessed the ultimate weapon, "Ocean Fire," which in later generations had a more widespread name: Greek Fire.

A weapon formula that was tightly controlled by the royal family and whose secret recipe was lost after the empire's collapse.

"With the iron chains blocking the sea, they can't cross. With the support of the troops on the shore, we can easily send them packing!"

Wolf kept operating, and because there would be delays, he needed to anticipate the battlefield situation.

The standard tactic was to hold the chain defenses and use the terrain to their advantage to repel the enemy. But Wolf wasn't satisfied with that; he wanted to expand his gains and show the Ottomans the might of the Eastern Roman navy, which required micromanagement.

The Ottoman fleet braved a hail of arrows and stones to reach the iron chains, attempting to sabotage them.

Wolf sent Greek fire troops to intercept them, using ordinary warships as bait.

The naval battle on the screen intensified. The Ottoman fleet attempted to adjust its formation, but was repeatedly ignited by Greek fire. Catapults on the shore also fired continuously, boulders pelting the ships, sending splinters of wood flying, and causing hulls to crack and flood.

However, the Ottoman fleet was simply too large, and the loss of a few warships was merely a minor injury.

These hundred ships are only a part of the fleet.

Even if the battle could be fast-forwarded, it lasted for several hours. Wolf was highly focused throughout, and he only snapped out of that state when the last Ottoman warship turned and fled in disarray, feeling a sense of disorientation and exhaustion.

The Battle of Golden Horn Bay – An Epic Victory!
23 Ottoman warships sunk, 1 friendly warship lost. Authority +20, overall faction satisfaction increased, morale slightly increased, supplies slightly increased.

Wolf looked at the results on the panel and couldn't help but smile.

"This is the real war. Come on, let's continue."

(End of this chapter)