"And we, we are fully capable of launching such an offensive." Publius shifted his perspective from the map to the sandbox, making the deduction clearer, "Constantinople currently has only one Holy See Guard, which is not mobilized unless there are special circumstances, and a small number of city defenders. But if the offensive is centered on Athens, it means that cities like Athens and Thessaloniki will need to be on the defensive. In this way, they don't need much troops. ”

Publius placed some of the troops of Prince Thomas and Duke Latius in the city of Constantine.

Perhaps only the absolute centralization of the empire at the moment, coupled with the absolute loyalty of the vassals, could mobilize the soldiers under the upper nobility so casually.

"The Morea had a relatively abundant supply of soldiers, and after Athens recovered from the plague, it gained a large number of popular support, and the army population was quite abundant. Even a conservative estimate would have put the number of infantry available to the empire in Constantinople to around 10,000. This satisfies the basic requirements for the siege of Edirne. ”

"General Publius, I am sure that Mehmed II will not lead tens of thousands of his elite soldiers and the Sultan's guards to sit and die in the city of Edirne. Even if the damage of the rebellion has not been overcome, Muhammad should be able to easily parity with our coalition forces in the Balkans. Another general of the city defense army did not fully agree with Publius, "Because of the location, it is impossible for us to join forces with Hungary and Albania and gather superior forces." It is even possible that we will be broken one by one by Mehmed II. Without a unified command, the combat effectiveness of the coalition forces is not as simple as one plus one equals two. ”

Constantine also nodded slightly from the Holy Seat. The pincer offensive is indeed powerful, but this is based on absolute superiority and unified scheduling, otherwise, any salient may be annihilated first, and then the whole offensive will fall apart. Suffering this kind of loss, the empire is not once or twice. The use of such high-risk tactics in such a critical battle for life is probably only considered by a young and vigorous general like Publius.

"In this battle, the empire wants absolute victory...... Victory at all costs! Constantine tapped his palm on the ground twice, "Publius, I hope to get a plan with the highest success rate." ”

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty...... You can't say that......" Publius was about to defend himself when Kinskey, the treasurer, had already spoken. Usually at the Imperial Council, Jin Qi always chooses to be sensible and silent. If the bottom line and core interests are not touched, he will not speak.

"Your Majesty, we will borrow a lot from Venice in this war, this is already a fact on the table. We had to buy the ammunition used in the naval and army artillery from the Venetians. With such a heavy burden, the more it drags on, the less likely it is that the empire will win the war. Jin Qi got up and said bluntly. No one will be more sensitive to the endurance of the treasury than him, "the time for our offensive should be at the end of the year." In other words, when the army's rations were most rapidly depleted, our fleet had to ensure that the Morea and the grain ships from the European continent were not attacked by pirates or Ottoman warships, and that the Ottoman troop carriers were not allowed to pass through the strait. Ten thousand steps back, even if Venice and the Mamluks do their best to ensure the safety of the seas, we do not have any capital to continue to delay on land! ”

"What about the gold mine that His Majesty John discovered in Combrigne? If we increase the intensity of mining, we should not let the empire's economy collapse in a short time, right? Purbrius asked, pretending to be ignorant,

"The economic after-effects of over-reliance on gold mining are only going to get worse! We don't know how long the veins will last, and one day the gold mines will run out and the empire will be in a state from which it will never recover! The economy will collapse faster than you think! Unless we transfer the contradictions to the next war, popular support for the empire will collapse instantly. "But in this way, it will fall into the next endless cycle: the victory of the war, the unlimited expansion will make the empire the target of containment by other continental countries, and if the war is lost, the empire will be quickly carved up and cannibalized." Ladies and gentlemen, don't think too optimistic about the economic situation of the Empire, we have never been rich. ”

This is not alarmist, even though the economies of Greece and Epirus have recovered rapidly, and the empire has continued to build buildings and recruit troops, keeping the treasury balance at risk. Any accident can bankrupt a country, and at this time, launching such a large-scale war, the empire can only be quickly resolved. Otherwise, it is crushed by loans and rebellions.

It can be said that since Kinchi became the chief finance minister of the empire, the state of the treasury has been "about to bottom". On the contrary, Venice gave the empire a lot of immediate help.

"Your Majesty, if necessary, we can have General Giovanni and His Majesty John temporarily return to Constantinople to discuss countermeasures again." Publius stood up confidently and said, "I'm sure General Giovanni will support my decision." The risk of a protracted battle is no less than that of a pincer offensive, and besides, we should trust the Phoenix Legion to destroy everything. ”

"Young man, your self-confidence will make you retribution!" The general of the city defense sat down indignantly.

After Publius took over the reins of life and death for the entire Holy See, the city defense had lost its original position in Constantinople. Although the Imperial Council can still participate in the old system, it cannot actually interfere in any decision-making.

Agrippa the Elder wisely ignored the protests of the city defense commanders, and the upper nobility was "complicit", which was unprecedented in the empire.

Whether this absolute power is good or bad, the elder Agrippa does not have a certain number in his mind, but at least under the leadership of a wise ruler, he can lead the empire further.

"In that case, I support the decision of the Council," Agrippa voted in favor of Publius' proposal.

Other original opponents of the meeting eventually chose to compromise. Just because Publius was single-handedly promoted by Giovanni, almost all the military bureaucrats in the empire were loyal to John, and as long as they agreed, there was no possibility of opposition from others.

"Then write to John, I haven't seen him in a long time."

……

The gooseberry, carrying a dying hare, landed on a grass hut on the roof of the terrace of Fort Combrigna.

Epirus received a rare rainstorm.

"Brother, it seems that the sky is about to change......

"It's changed, dear Sophia."