The Phoenix Legion returned to Constantinople a week later, led by Vasica.

In order to suppress the "patriotic" elements in the army, who still wanted to regain Trabzon's independence, Vasika spent a lot of time. It was only when the new army inclined towards Nikephoros regained control of Trabzon that Vasika relented.

Soon, the army of the empire entered a new state of readiness.

Although everyone knew in their hearts that there were Ottoman spies in the city of Constantinople, it was impossible to abandon the handling of the affairs of the empire for these reasons. Moreover, even if the Ottomans were fully prepared, the empire would not necessarily lose this battle.

Especially if the empire already controls most of Greater Greece. But of course, there are also risks associated with this move. The main forces of the Ottomans, with the exception of a part that remained in Armenia to prevent Karaman or other forces such as Black Sheep or Trabzon from backstabbing, had already arrived in the Balkans by fleet. As a result, the Crusaders had to switch from offensive to defensive again, and some fortresses of greater strategic importance even changed hands several times, and the long tug-of-war stretched the Crusaders' troops.

The Empire, while happy to see such attrition, would not allow the Crusaders to collapse quickly. As a result, with the intervention of Constantinople and the Pope, Frederick III von Habsburg, the emperor of the Germans, who had only been on the throne for two years, had to personally sign a conscription order and inject some new blood into the crusaders.

Surprisingly, Władysław III's blood still seems to be burning, and he has some subtle friction with Hunyadi. The defensive and counterattack-oriented Hunyadi was a symbol of cowardice in Władysław's eyes, and the young king, who had more than once led a small number of cavalry to charge the Ottoman camp, was quite fruitful, which made him equally prestigious in the army, and made him even more dissatisfied with Hunyadi's command.

This hidden danger was also slightly perceived by the emperor in Constantinople. It's just that the empire is now busy with the reconquest war in Greater Greece, and it really can't find time to point fingers at the internal problems of the crusaders.

Autumn is halfway over.

"Your Majesty, before winter...... It's time to get your hands dirty. Giovanni took the letter that Latius had sent from the city of Athens.

The recovery of the cities of Athens and Thebes was ideal, both in the army and in the people's livelihood, and the people expressed a strong welcome to the resumption of the Roman Empire's almsgiving rule. Several new Orthodox churches were erected, many people were put back to work, and even two Ottoman sieges were defused during this time.

Not to mention the Morea, which owns the Isthmus of Corinth, and although the Peloponnese is still the main pillar of agriculture, the recent détente between the Empire and Venice has led Prince Thomas to receive a lot of investment from the merchant republics.

There are also Genoese shadows among them. After all, the rivalry between the two commercial republics is inextricably linked.

The risk to the empire was very small, and even if the siege failed, the Ottomans would not be able to take advantage of the winter to launch a retaliatory siege, which would be to bury their own soldiers. It was even possible for the empire to take advantage of the situation to regain part of the Thracian region.

"Giovanni, how many men do you expect Constantinople to send this time?"

"Your Majesty, for Thessaloniki, after the capture, control will also be transferred to the Greater Greek region, and it will not bring great benefits to Constantinople until Constantinople opens up the main communication artery, so what we have to do is to cooperate with Prince Thomas and General Latius...... Oh no, it's the Duke. "Our most important task is to hold back the troops supported by Edirne, because if the front line is encircled, then we will be defeated." ”

"There was now at least 25,000 Ottoman troops in the city of Edirne, and Constantinople had only more than 10,000. Among them are 2,000 musket regiments that have not yet formed a combat capacity...... If you want to resist such an army in the field, whether it is my garrison legion or my two uneasy little ones Phoenix legion, they will be severely damaged......"

"Of course, we can't stop the Ottoman army head-on...... All we need to do is procrastinate. As long as they can take Thessaloniki in the time we create, it will be useless for Edirne's reinforcements to arrive. Giovanni stood up from his seat.

At the recent Imperial Council, Giovanni was definitely the center of gravity. After all...... It's been a long time since the empire tasted victory. The unassuming nickname of the Empire...... Don't mention it.

At this time, Giovanni pointed his hand to the west side of Constantinople on the map.

Thracian region.

This place undoubtedly touched the heartbeat of the Ottomans and the Empire. It is one of the most fertile regions of the Balkan Peninsula and a bridgehead connecting Eurasia. At the same time, it has a long Black Sea coastline, sufficient population resources and commercial resources.

Since the Ottomans invaded the Thrace region, it has been heavily guarded all year round, and the defense strength was not inferior to that of the inner city of Edir. And for the empire, Thrace, which had fallen for a hundred years, has not given up its claims. As long as Thrace could be captured, the blockade of Constantinople would collapse completely.

The empire could use the Black Sea route to gain a large supply and commercial benefits, and to open up a connection to the Trabzon region, which would be greatly threatened by the Ottomans in Armenia. After all, this group of self-proclaimed orthodox Christians allied with Karaman and the Black Sheep on more than one occasion to attack the Ottomans.

Secondly, once Thrace fell, the inner city of Edir would be threatened by the Greco-Thracian siege network, and the Ottomans would never allow it to see.

However, due to the presence of broken artillery and other firearms, the impenetrable walls of Thrace were extremely limited in their ability to shelter the Ottoman defenders, and if the Ottomans had to make a choice, they would have abandoned the decision to return to Thessaloniki and turn to Thracianism.

In this way, the ultimate goal was successfully achieved - the Greater Greek region was completely taken over by the Empire, and the Empire could plan to open up land routes.

When the occupied territories of the Ottomans in the Balkans were completely cut off from Asia Minor, the threat to Constantinople would cease to exist, both in Asia Minor and in the Balkans!

Constantine XI pondered for a while, then asked, "What if the Ottomans divide their forces?" After all, the Ottomans had a force of twenty-five thousand men. 5,000 men to defend Edirne, 10,000 men each to support Thessaloniki and Thrace......"

"So...... It would be the stupidest decision Muhammad and Murad had ever made, and they would regret it for the rest of their lives, until they died! ”