"Perhaps we can now take advantage of the lack of air defense in the Ottoman rear and capture the cities one after another...... But we have to think about how to resist the tide of attack when Murad comes back. ”

Constantine XI finally calmed down, obviously, the Empire's military resources, plus the 10,000 men of the Morea, were still very nervous, and if they had to divide their forces to defend the Isthmus of Corinth, Athens, and Thebes, they would be stretched: "Since we cannot guarantee that the Crusaders will be able to crush the Ottoman offensive on the western front, we should also be relatively conservative in our own response strategy." This matter will be discussed after the capture of Athens. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Constantine handed the letter to his attendants and asked him to continue to Constantinople and personally deliver it to Zhou Heng or Sophia.

"Prepare for the general attack and save time."

The gates of Athens were not as strong as Constantine had imagined, and the city's army was already weak in their will to fight, and when the first imperial soldiers climbed the city walls in the face of a sparse rain of arrows, the Athenian army's defense line collapsed like a landslide and tsunami.

The Empire's armies have always been good at defending, and even when attacking cities, they will maintain a disciplined formation. There are usually four or five people together, forming a circular squad array at the same time. The advantages and disadvantages of this formation are equally obvious, and the mobility of small arrays is extremely poor, and such a mobile barrier usually gives the defenders ample time to react and support.

"For Rome!"

"For the Empire!"

The soldiers who rushed to the walls shouted frantically, the blood spilling in the sky stimulating the wildness in them. With the swing of their guns and swords, the Athenian defenders could barely put up any decent resistance before they were cut to the ground, and after building up one unapproachable landing zone after another on the city walls, almost all the warriors of the empire gave up their undefended formations and broke into pieces, searching for the next prey to be sent to the blade.

"Latius...... This is Rome. Constantine XI finally smiled in front of his tent.

For many years, the empire only thought about defending the city, and no longer expanded its territory. How humiliating was he when he became the emperor of a land?

"Your Majesty who will return...... Balkans, Asia, Syria, Egypt...... The whole Mediterranean rim, the whole continent of Europe, will belong to the Empire! ”

This may be the sigh of two middle-aged people who have been trapped for too long, but this wish is not deeply rooted in the flesh and blood of every imperial person.

"Go, Latius, above the Acropolis, wait for me."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Half an hour later, the vanguard of the empire managed to take control of the city gates. The Athenian army began to retreat into every house and alley, making the last sporadic resistance. The Grand Duke of Athens was still expecting reinforcements from Crete and even the Ottomans, but he did not know that at this time, the Ottomans in northern Greece were also about to fall into dire straits.

As for the Venetians...... At the "gracious" invitation of the Pope and Hungary and other countries, the Doge of Venice was forced to participate in this crusade against the Ottomans. In order not to cause trouble, Venice at this time was very honest.

Latius, mounted on his horse, quickly rushed to the forefront and began to command the final siege battle. The city of Athens was divided into an inner city and an outer city. Important facilities, including the Acropolis, were still separated from the outer city by walls.

Although the prosperity of Athens at its peak has long since evaporated, the city still has a complex structure of streets and alleys. This kind of entrenchment could cause a lot of unnecessary losses for the imperial soldiers who were accustomed to Constantinople. In addition, the morale of the Imperial army is currently high, and it is easy to fall into traps or encirclement if you charge in a disorderly manner. Lathius finally decided to regather his forces and storm the inner city in an orderly manner.

The actual losses caused by the siege to the expeditionary legion were not large, and there were more than 4,000 men left to fight immediately, and after a brief weighing of the pros and cons, Latius continued to consider the best interests of the empire and split the legion in two. Two thousand five hundred men stormed the inner city, and the remaining one thousand and five hundred men advanced towards the port of Athens (port of Piraeus).

The empire moved extremely quickly to storm the city walls, and the port of Athens must have been anchored by many merchant ships and warships. Among them, I am afraid that there is no lack of wealth of the Ottomans. Constantine had already decreed that the plundering of civilian property was forbidden, and the Ottoman ships became the most worthy trophies in the port of Athens.

The advantages of regrouping forces quickly became apparent. The defenders of the city of Athens themselves intended to adopt a strategy of fighting more and fighting less against the scattered imperial armies, and breaking them one by one, but when a legion of several thousand men appeared in front of them, any advantage would be lost.

There were even Athenian citizens who were still cowering in their own residences to welcome the soldiers who were stained with blood and water, which was quite a taste of welcoming the king.

The Acropolis is already close at hand.

"Honorable ruler of the Roman Empire, master of Constantinople...... We are willing to submit to the Empire and become vassals of the Empire! ”

"Vassal?"

From the siege of the city to the dedication of the city by the Grand Duke of Athens and the Florentine Giordila, it was only half a day. The whole of Athens, including the port, was now under the control of the Empire.

"Your Majesty...... Athens was guaranteed independence by Venice and Florence......"

"When the Duchy of Athens did not exist, the guarantee of independence was useless." As the most important nucleus of the Empire's revival, Constantine was well aware of the importance of complete control over Athens. Whether by land or sea, Athens is the throat of the whole of Greater Greece, and even the whole of the Aegean and Balkans. A painless vassal does nothing to change the status quo.

"Submit to the Empire, and you can still be sent back to your country with peace of mind to be your little noble." There was no emotion in Constantine's tone, there was no doubt, "The Empire will take full control of Athens in a few hours." ”

"Your Majesty the Emperor...... IMHO, Eastern Rome may be able to bully an unsuspecting principality at this time, but the Ottomans, I'm afraid, won't watch your empire and control the whole of Greater Greece? There was a slight disdain and mockery in Giudilla's eyes, "At that time, will the empire trapped in the city of Athens also have today?" ”

"That's not something you should worry about. We are not negotiating at this time, and I am afraid that there will be an answer to all this after you officially withdraw from the Balkans. Constantine replied, "Now, I am very generous in granting you the right to leave with dignity. ”

There was a moment of silence in the negotiation room.

Constantine wouldn't kill a nobleman easily, but he had countless ways to make the Archduke of an hour ago worse off dead. The ancestral criminal law of the Eastern Romans was no joke.

In the end, it was Giordila with a gloomy face, and with a few Florentine and Venetian nobles, got on the ship back to the Apennine Peninsula.