Zhou Heng understood how much the soldiers in the city would suffer if this Ottoman army entered the city. Even a rough estimate showed that they numbered seven or eight thousand, which was about the same size as all the troops on the city walls combined.

The help that this defeated army from Wallachia can provide to the Empire should be very limited, and even if it is ready to come to the rescue, it needs a suitable plan, otherwise it will definitely not be worth the loss.

The Gate of St. Romanus was one of the strongest fortifications on the walls of Theodosius, as strong as the Golden Gate, but the sheer weight of the gate allowed it to open in at least ten minutes, and the Ottoman army was now only a stone's throw away from Constantinople.

"Father...... I think they should be helped. This Ottoman pursuing force should be alone, and will not easily break into Constantinople, and even if they do, they can be easily expelled if they are prepared. ”

Constantine nodded, his thoughts were no different from Zhou Heng's, any possible reinforcements would be a huge help to the empire, the empire's finances were currently stretched, and he needed more troops if he wanted to open up southern Greece to alleviate the current embarrassing situation.

"Tell them that the Empire will give them shelter, hold out under the walls for ten minutes, and the gates will be open."

The knight, having received the reply, immediately turned his horse's head and commanded the rout to set up a formation in front of the gate of San Romanus. When they started their posture, Zhou Heng found that there were actually many women and children in this group of people, they were protected by the infantry on the periphery in the center of the formation, and the real army that could fight seemed to be only six or seven hundred people. As soon as the Ottoman army rushed to the city, this group of people would probably collapse in an instant.

With the turn of the gears, the San Romanus Gate slowly opened a gap.

"Form a phalanx of spears in front of the gates! Let the archers cover the army under the city! They are not besieging the city, informing the troops of the Golden Gate and the Fountain Gate, returning reinforcements! ”

Constantine XI personally calmly commanded the army. Part of the phalanx infantry formed a traditional phalanx of spears behind the San Romanus Gate, which was used to delay the Ottomans who took advantage of the situation to enter the city.

As soon as the Ottomans approached the city walls, the artillery placed next to the San Romanus Gate also began to fire. Although the accuracy of this artillery was very poor, in the chaotic pursuit formation of the Ottomans, the rock fragments shattered by the shells were splashed apart, and they could easily penetrate the armor of many people.

After all, the number of artillery pieces was limited, and soon, the Ottoman army came into contact with the phalanx of the rout, despite the constant rain of arrows fired from the city walls.

Although this rout army looks like it is in tatters, its combat effectiveness is far beyond Zhou Heng's imagination. The spear and heraldic shield worked closely together, easily stopping the charge of dozens of cavalry rushing to the front, and even many Ottoman cavalry fell to their deaths in an instant, and the leading knight, holding a Cossack-style scimitar, easily solved the three fish that slipped through the net.

Soon, more infantry passed through the rain of arrows and pursued for a long time, so that the Ottomans also consumed a lot of physical strength, and for a while, it was difficult to break through in the face of such an arc-shaped infantry line. Moreover, the Ottoman formation was very scattered because of the pursuit, and their attack could not cover the entire phalanx at all, and the vast majority of the soldiers would soon be pierced by the spears and scimitars of the rout, and even if they broke through the defense line, they would soon be decapitated by the rout knights standing in the rear.

In the last few minutes of the opening of the San Romanus Gate, the commander of the Ottoman army saw this, and immediately changed his strategy, and under the cover of the rain of arrows, the Ottoman soldiers risked their lives to form a diamond-shaped array with extremely strong impact, and launched a strong charge towards the weak area of the phalanx!

"The door is open! Let the civilians go in first! Infantry, change formation! ”

The leading knight gave the decisive order, and the spear infantry armed with heraldic shields immediately turned into a wall and nailed themselves to the gate of St. Romanus, and the women and children they brought with them immediately passed through the gate in an orderly manner and fled behind the phalanx of the imperial infantry.

"Knight, let your men withdraw, and next, hand it over to the soldiers of the Empire!"

The Gate of St. Romanus was opened, and the remaining defeated army immediately returned to Constantinople, but it took more time for the gate to close, and the Ottoman army followed suit.

"Sword of Allah, you have entered the heart of this treasure house and conquered this city, you are the real Faheti!" The Ottoman commander obviously didn't guess that the city's defenses were only a thin layer of infantry phalanx, and at this time, the countless treasures in the imperial capital seemed to be close at hand, and no one would give up such an opportunity!

The Ottoman charge paused for only a few seconds, and immediately came in an even more turbulent manner.

In order for the rout to escape back into the city, there would inevitably be gaps in the infantry phalanx. This dense phalanx is a live target for large corps in the field, but it is very useful for defending narrow passes. The Ottoman cavalry had already lost most of its cavalry under the walls, and the impact of the army would have weakened considerably.

The diamond-shaped array was quickly stopped by shield-wielding infantry, and the spears of the Imperial army could easily pierce the outer armor of the Ottoman soldiers made of leather and iron sheets, and the Ottoman hammers, scimitars, and battle axes also quickly harvested the lives of the soldiers.

Due to the cramped beneath the gate of San Romanus, most of the Ottomans were still blocked at the gate, and the rain of arrows and the boiling oil that had already been burned on the walls never stopped. All of a sudden, the sound of howls and the intertwining of gold and iron resounded throughout Constantinople, mixed with the persistent cries of the Ottomans.

This is the first time they have seen the true face of Constantinople, and the veil of mystery has been lifted, and they believe that as long as they storm the city, the remaining Imperial army will not be able to stop them from launching a battle to slaughter!

The Ottomans were in high spirits and the offensive was becoming more ferocious. In order to preserve the soldiers of the empire as much as possible, Constantine XI calmly ordered the infantry phalanx to slowly retreat, changing the phalanx to an arched phalanx, and letting some of the Ottomans pass through the portico of St. Romanus. Of course, the red-eyed Ottomans would not give up such an opportunity, and immediately pressed the whole army, and what awaited them was another rain of arrows from the city walls.

The corpses slowly piled up under the gate of St. Romanus, but Zhou Heng, staring at this cruel picture, the fluctuations in his heart were not as rich as he imagined. The empire has gone through so many ups and downs that it may not be enough for him, or for Prince John, once to marvel or feel dizzy.

The change in formation, although it accelerated the rate of Ottoman casualties, but soon, a steady stream of Ottomans stepped over the corpses of their comrades, and then continued to charge. The arch array is weaker than the rectangular phalanx, and there are even gaps in some places that cannot be replenished in the first place.

"What about the Golden Gate and the Fountain Gate? Why hasn't the support come yet! Constantine XI withdrew his gaze from the bloody battle below the city and questioned the guards beside him.

"The Fountain Gate has already divided five hundred infantry, but the Golden Gate ......"

"What happened to the Golden Gate?"