In order to cope with the large number of people and supplies needed to besiege Gombrigne, John ordered Jeffrey to recruit soldiers of appropriate age in the towns, military towns, and villages of Epirus that were currently under the control of the Empire. In order to maintain the Empire's benevolent policy in Epirus, the number of people to be levied in various places was officially kept to a minimum, and the conscripted soldiers were also provided with food, and the fallen soldiers were given bereavement pensions and tax deductions ranging from three to twenty years according to their family situation.

For civilians who had been subjected to the Empire's compulsory military service system for a long time, this policy was like a rain from heaven, and it also greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of civilians to join the army.

The newly recruited soldiers are mainly used to replace the main force of the Phoenix Legion that temporarily serves as the local general army, and some of the extremely good soldiers will also be directly recruited into the Phoenix Legion after passing Giovanni's assessment. But Epirus' army was mixed, and neither John nor Giovanni had high expectations for this.

While studying the detailed terrain of Fort Gombrigne that the scouts had investigated, John asked casually, "I went to the camp where the Phoenix Legion was stationed last night, and the soldiers have been full of praise for the logistics lately. ”

"Oh...... It was a gift from Jerdi. Your Majesty, if necessary, this person can also come to the manor to serve you. An Albanian chef with outstanding cooking skills. ”

"That's not necessary, the logistics line of the expedition to Gombryne is the life of the Phoenix Legion. Since the soldiers are accustomed to eating, I don't need to take the love of others...... Speaking of which, how is the recruitment process? ”

Giovanni put down the pen and paper in his hand, drew a copy from a stack of excerpted papers, handed it to the attendant, and handed it to John.

"In a series of battles in Albania, the Phoenix Legion began with the siege of Eagle Rock Fort and finally completed the finishing work in other areas, with only thirty-two people lost, including the seriously wounded who could not recover for a while. The Albanians led by Derj were the main force of this attack, but their losses were not large, compared to the Ottomans. His tactical creativity is staggering, and if the Empire takes on Albania one day, we will probably suffer greatly......"

"Gyerdi...... It is not for nothing that he is called an unborn military wizard. ”

"This week's recruitment work is mainly to complete the handover of the general soldiers and the main soldiers of the Phoenix Legion, and all of them can be handed over within a month. As for the selected recruits of the Phoenix Legion, let's fill the vacancies of the light infantry for the time being. Although the blacksmith casting industry in Biyes Village is well developed, we don't have that much money to build the full body armor of the heavy infantry in the short term. Giovanni stood up and glanced at the topographical map on John's desk, "Fort Combrigne is still mainly mountainous, and the cavalry of the legion will have to dismount and march at last. Allowing the equipped war horse to climb the mountain will cause direct damage to the life of the war horse. ”

"I always feel ...... The cavalry combat ability of the Phoenix Legion is the best in the world, but there has been no room to play. John regretted that he should not have signed any truce with Muhammad in the first place. If it had been not a motley group of light cavalry but a phoenix legion that had attacked the Sultan's tent, Muhammad would have been the second Sultan of my hand. ”

"There was no way to stop the war at the beginning, and the treasury was already poor and empty. If it does not recover, Rome will quickly collapse in a short time. It's just that the Ottomans overestimated us. Perhaps John didn't feel anything, but Giovanni still had some heart palpitations when he recalled the triumphal ceremony. Constantine XI was magnificent, and if the Ottomans launched a counterattack, Constantine might not have time to cry.

"Speaking of which, where did all the money brought by His Majesty the Patriarch go?"

John's hope of increasing his income is indeed somewhat unrealistic in this group of old fritters who came out of Hagia Sophia.

No sooner had their ship docked in the port of Javel than the clergy were already looking for a new site to build the monastery.

During the reign of the Ottomans, the churches, monasteries, and monasteries of the Orthodox Church were badly damaged, and the priests came to the aid of the citizens of Epirus who had returned to the embrace of the empire with a saving mentality.

The high price they paid to the architects and designers of the abbey even led to the defection of the villagers of Bies, who had been responsible for the redevelopment of Port d'Avil, and who had enjoyed a great deal of benefits, especially since the clergy hoped that a new cathedral would eventually be built in Combrigne, second only to Hagia Sophia.

"Are they planning to make an ecumenical patriarchate in Epirus as well?"

"The royal family usually doesn't care about the church's money, not to mention that His Majesty still attaches more importance to the Orthodox Church." Sophia sighed, "Hopefully, God will really come and protect us when the time comes, so that we can successfully drive out the Ottomans......"

……

"Lord Sultan, the people have arrived."

The Ottoman Minister of Justice, Hassan Emir, opened the curtain on the Great Mosque of Muradiya.

The more civil strife contradictions became more apparent, the shorter Mehmed II's time in the Holy Palace became. The vigilance of the Sultan's own soldiers in the city of Edirne has now reached such an extent that anyone entering or leaving Edirne, even livestock, is subject to extremely strict inspections.

Privately, Mehmed had almost evacuated the defenders of the various fortresses along the Hungarian-imperial border, and with the exception of Gombrigne's special tactical position, it can be said that in the entire Balkans, all the troops that Mehmed II could mobilize were already on guard near Edirne.

"Your Majesty the Sultan, at the call of the Fatherland, I have returned to Edirne. I will always be loyal to you and Allah for the Ottoman Empire. ”

Muhammad, who was only thirteen years old, walked up the steps from the salute to Orhan.

Although he had no feelings or memories of this brother, he still showed a very touched appearance.

He grabbed Orhan's hands and said with tears in his eyes: "My dear cousin, it must be very painful to be imprisoned in a city that the Romans have broken for so many years, right? ”

"My heart is still in Allah, and Allah has given me a revelation, my dear brother, and you will surely bring the Ottoman Empire to the top! Allah whispered in my ear that in less than nine years, the Romans would be destroyed! ”

"Really...... My dear cousin, will you then dedicate yourself to the Empire? ”

"Of course, my dear...... Wait a minute...... His Majesty the Sultan? Muhammad! You! ”

Orhan bowed his head in horror, and the short dagger in Muhammad's hand had already pierced his abdomen.