By the time John Jr. delivered the letter to me, it was estimated that this rebellion would be in an endless tug-of-war. "Derj learned of the results of the ambush on the outskirts of Prokupure a day later, and the first moment he received the battle report, Gerj guessed the reaction of the Eastern Empire in a few days from beginning to end.

  The first fresh snow has melted, but this winter is far from over.

  Having won Albania a temporary outlet to the sea, the vanished Derj has long since "settled" in the dense forests of Serbia. And the only thing he did for months was looting.

  Serbia's militias, patrols, and city guards were almost entirely concentrated in key traffic points or strategically important fortresses. There was nothing wrong with this decision in itself, or it should be the only solution that the Serbian rebels should have used to hold out until now.

  It's a pity that the gap between hard power has brought about the result that Derj can use various methods to break through the loopholes created by the Serbs themselves. However, the method used by Derj was the most egoistic and the least noticeable - he actually made a full Albanian infantry regiment take off its heraldic armor, abandon the black double-headed eagle banner, and break it into pieces...... Go up the mountain and be a bandit.

  That's right, in times of war, it was a common thing for mountain bandits to rob villages. But in general, relying on the village's own militia and the support of the surrounding towns' urban defense forces, it is generally able to resist looting on an ordinary scale. However, Derj never gave the Serbs a chance to resist. At least two companies of infantry were dispatched for each looting of a village, with nearly 300 men, and if the target was concentrated in a town of a certain size, the number would even increase to about 800.

  The looting lasted only a few hours, and the goal of Derj was not to accumulate supplies through looting, let alone to defeat the Serbian rebel army, which was completely out of step with his own national strength. He had a clear orientation to the strength of his regiment - to dismember the Serbian logistics system and imperceptibly disintegrate the Serbian armed resistance. No matter how much the Serbian people love their homeland, all the big conditions are the current conquest, including the rebel government, which at least saves their lives. But at this time, the large rear of Serbia had gradually been taken captive and had the taste of a poor life.

  It is conceivable that Smederevo's supplies may not be so sufficient, cutting off the last supply of the Serbs, and Nišburg will usher in a self-defeating end.

  So Derj immediately reassembled an entire legion, and in the end, the size of the legion actually increased instead of falling.

  "I suddenly had a bolder idea......," the pit viper licked, licking her cracked lips. This expression was also seen by Derj's personal clerk, Koretti, in front of the walls of Smederevo a year ago.

  After that night, the Serbian capital fell.

  And after a year, the Serbs don't seem to have much memory.

  Perhaps there was some luck involved, but when Derj arrived outside Smederevo in the starry night with some sentinels and messengers, he happened to run into a convoy of grain and left in a hurry. Their steps were hurried, and the steps of the mule carts were therefore less coordinated. According to Jerj's judgment, this small food convoy probably did not go to Nišburg, but more likely to provide emergency winter food for the townspeople of Prokupuleri for two or three days. Because the city of Prokup, whose walls had been massively damaged, had lost any defensive value, neither the Serbian rebels nor the Roman legions fought for control of it, and now Serbia was able to spare some supplies to supply the townspeople here, which made Derj look up to the leader of the rebels.

  However, the appearance of this grain transport team gave Jerdi a godsend.

  Recently, it is a well-known thing that bandits in Serbia have become inflicted, so even this small grain transport team is equipped with a defensive force of about three infantry companies. But I am afraid that the Serbs would never have imagined that in the depths of the Serbian jungle was an armed force full of entire legions. The reason why Derj sent more reconnaissance teams to Smederevo day and night was that he hoped that one day the miracle of the surprise attack on the capital would be staged again. And now, a heaven-sent opportunity is in front of him.

  "Tell our soldiers to stop this convoy before it enters Niš...... Remember, you have to act quickly and don't let the slightest word of wind slip away...... By the way, try to leave as many alive as possible. These food deliverers will become our most important helpers in the second capture of Smederevo. ”

  Coretti nodded as if he didn't understand, and prepared to deliver the order.

  As long as the convoy was sacked by the "mountain bandits" and a considerable part of the resistance was lost, Derj had every reason to disguise his Albanian soldiers as part of the grain convoy.

  ……

  "Now that's all that's left for the last question...... "Agrippa Sr. asked the last question, "how are we going to communicate our plan to Skanderbeg." He can be found anywhere in the Albanian mountains and forests. We don't have that much time to find him and his legions in the wilderness. If the issue of the supply of Nišburg and Prokuple is resolved during this time, it should be meaningless to contact Derj at that time. ”

  "Your Majesty, Smederevo's battle report."

  While everyone was pondering Agrippa's serious question, one of the chamberlains, in his characteristic high-pitched voice, knelt before Constantine XI with a report of war in his hands.

  Constantine instinctively wanted to reach out his hand, but the wrinkled hand suddenly hung in the air again.

  "You say...... Where? ”

  Thinking that Constantine XI had not heard clearly enough or was dissatisfied with something, the chamberlain hurriedly knelt down and shouted vigorously: "Smederevo's war report, written by Derj of Albania himself." ”

  John's mouth was wide enough to fit a fist, and he watched in amazement as his chamberlain handed the report of battle to Constantine XI.

  "This Gyerdi...... In just three or four days...... What did you do? ”