A gold Solidus coin rolled twice on the ground before coming to a halt with its face up.

John was very dissatisfied with his proposal to win two out of three, which was rejected by Sophia.

It was a relatively calm summer for Constantinople and the entire surviving Roman Empire, until the sea breeze from the Sea of Marmara cooled down to John, who had fainted in his house in the Slou Gardens, finally realized that something should be done.

Throughout the summer, the actions of the Ottomans were not small. Upon learning of the loss of Thebes and several other cities in Greater Greece, Murad II was furious and immediately returned to Edirne by boat with the main army. In a burst of invective, the Ottoman general Larouch, who had abandoned the city and fled, was executed, and announced that he would postpone his intention to abdicate and hide his power. During this period, the Ottomans again organized their forces and launched a retaliatory siege of Constantinople.

But as it happened, the siege coincided with a massive Crusader offensive, and the Ottomans, who had already weakened their eastern defenses, were on the verge of collapse, and Murad II had to return in disgrace. However, this siege also temporarily slowed down the speed of Constantinople's attraction of displaced people. After a not-so-elaborate count, the population of Constantinople stopped at the number of a hundred thousand.

Looks pretty good, but alas, not a piece of good news.

The pressure on food in the city is getting more and more intense.

The Ottoman fleet reappeared on the Aegean Sea, and food supplies from the Morea and other countries could only be transported to Constantinople by merchant ships from Genoa and Venice, which put a huge burden on the empire's finances. Even the signs of bankruptcy slowly emerged.

In this way, in the palace of Constantine, the opening scene appeared. At the Imperial Council of His Majesty the Emperor, the princess and the crown prince of the empire decided to decide the next move of the empire by guessing the pros and cons of the coin.

This scene caused a nervous breakdown on several of the slightly aged ministers, but it was only with the persuasion of Giovanni, Francisco and His Majesty the Emperor that the scene stabilized.

John's proposal was to take advantage of the Crusaders' onslaught to gather forces from Morea and Great Greece and go to besiege Thessaloniki, the last Ottoman fortress in Greater Greece, so that the Empire's taxes could be completely freed from the risk of bankruptcy. Sophia, on the other hand, hoped to infiltrate the court of Edirne and gradually weaken the power of the Ottomans at the smallest cost. This approach will not have an immediate effect, but it will be painful for the Ottomans in the future.

The empire of the year also tasted this taste.

After the Crown Prince and the Flower of the Empire made their respective proposals, the traditional performance of the Imperial Council was revealed. After a brief judgment of interests, the eagle and the pigeon were clearly divided, each standing behind their respective supporters arguing with each other.

The entire Purple Palace became a mess.

As a result, Constantine XI symbolically came forward to relieve the siege, saying that the suggestions of the two young geniuses would be adopted, and sent Giovanni Giustiniani, the current commander of the Imperial Phoenix Legion and commander of the garrison of Constantinople, and Jokris, the current commander of the Imperial Phoenix Legion and the commander of the garrison of Constantinople, who was already in his sixties, to start preparations.

"You see, Your Majesty is always biased towards you...... Apparently I guessed it would. Sophia plunged into the bed with some dissatisfaction, "Even if it is so risky to storm Greece, he still wants to do this kind of attempt for you." ”

"Because if you don't try, it feels so bad to die slowly." John tossed the special gold Soridus coin in front of Sophia, "Look. ”

"It's all back? Then why are you rushing to say it's positive? ”

John laughed, "If I guess and win, Your Majesty may not take your advice." Father, he takes domestic affairs, diplomacy and espionage too lightly. The fact that he did not receive the letter in time and took down Salonika by the way has always been haunted by His Majesty. In his mind, he must have been bent on driving the Ottomans out of the Balkans and out of Armenia through war. But I know that now that the transfer of power within the Ottoman court is about to take place, at this time, if you can provoke an internal rebellion, it will be absolutely fatal to the Ottomans. ”

"Hey, it's still my brother ...... smart"

"You can't say that...... If it is a spy or foreign minister who is absolutely loyal to the empire and has great ability, it will take too long to cultivate, and no one can guarantee that the empire can afford to wait for these years. John sighed, "At present, the people who are barely planted in Edirne, to tell the truth...... Not enough to see. ”

"Don't worry, brother, I will soon let His Majesty and the entire empire know what a terrifying damage an excellent spy network can do to the enemy's interior!" Sophia suddenly became full of confidence, she rolled over on the bed, and asked John, "Brother, if Your Majesty is going to attack Thessaloniki, when will it be offensive at the latest?" ”

John pondered for a moment and said, "At most, it won't be more than late autumn, and normally, a winter march is a foolish decision. Moreover, the offensive of the Crusaders will also be greatly weakened in winter, and we will not have the spare forces to contain the main forces of the Ottomans. ”

"That's good! Brother, next month, I'm going to mobilize the Phoenix Legion! ”

"What do you say......"

"I want the Phoenix Legion! Don't forget, the Phoenix Legion is loyal to you and me at the same time, and I have the right to transfer! ”

"However, you want such a siege team that is not so strong...... Wait a minute...... Trabzon? ”

Sophia smiled and nodded.

So far, she is alone in manipulating the curtain that is slowly opening on Trabzon. And now she wants to mobilize a legion with excellent combat effectiveness, the only possibility is that in just a few months, all the plans for Trabzon have been arranged.

When Constantine XI was pulling his hair at the treasury, Sophia, the girl, was ready to include the richest city in the Pontus region into the empire.

"I have to ask...... How sure are you? ”

"Seventy percent. It will not exceed this number. A coup d'état is a very dangerous thing. Campaigning, relationship consolidation, falsification of claims in Trabzon...... None of this lasted long, and with such a big and swift movement, John Comneen, no matter how stupid, could not have been unprepared. ”

"I have to say that this success rate is not very high...... It is even possible to bury the entire newborn Phoenix Legion. ”

"Are you willing to gamble?"

“…… Even if the strait was blocked by the Ottomans, Trabzon could bring almost the same amount of benefits as Salonika...... I will tell Your Majesty and ask for his permission. ”

"Thank you, brother! Then leave it to me. ”