"General Lycaon, you seem to be coming faster than your good news......"

John was still thinking about how to raise funds for the expansion of Gombrigne and the construction of the Cathedral of Santa Tonica, and Lycaon, who had not been heard from for two days, was the first to return to Fort Gombrine.

"How's the situation in Cyprus?"

"There is no danger. It's just that their Grand Master Rastik is obviously a little unhappy. Lycaon half-jokingly rummaged through his clothes, then took out an improvised report from his jacket pocket and handed it to John, "You can look at the part of the city wall of Nicosia after the breakage, I don't think the Empire would be happy if it played the role of the Knights." ”

John stood up on the arm of his chair, struggling to read the words on the report. Although it can be seen that it was written in a hurry, the strange handwriting is not much different from the time John first arrived at Slou Gardens.

"General Lykaon, you've probably been under the Ottomans for a long time, so it's time to practice our imperial writing......"

The language used throughout the report was quite concise, and it didn't take long for John to read it before he noticed a lot of glaring figures.

For example, the casualties of the Legion's light infantry were only 30 percent of the Order's......

"We ...... Although our aid this time is similar to a mercenary relationship, and the preservation of living forces is the focus, but with such a war loss ratio, it is not surprising that Rastik just ran back to Epirus to declare war on us...... General Lucaon, we must at least ...... Pretend to be a little bit! Despite his words, John was not at all worried. Even if the walls of Combrigne were shattered, the knights would probably not have a chance to approach the city.

Regardless of whether their fleet can break through the naval blockade of the Phoenix Fleet, even if they are lucky enough to dock, they will probably be driven back to the sea by the Phoenix Legion one by one. Swim back to Rhodes along the Aegean Sea.

"We may indeed need the help of these knights in the future, and they will have a reason to shirk the ...... when the time comes."

"Actually, such a battle loss ratio has nothing to do with us, and in itself, their knights were the first to rush into Fort Nicosia. Be the first to make contact with Lusignan's line and exchange fire. The casualties that erupted in an instant were not something I could have prevented. Rastik's command ability...... Not to belittle the Knights. If such a person can be the Grand Master, then the Knights of St. John may not pose any threat to the Empire at all. Rhodes is just a piece of land that the empire can enjoy at any time. ”

"The fact that Rastik was elected Grand Master was in itself the culmination of the internal struggle of the Order. Until the Francois and Castile wars cease, the Knights will be like that. John knew what he knew. The struggle of the knights involved the interests of many countries, even more wonderful than the court intrigues of the Eastern Empire, but the well-armed knights could still have such losses under the premise that the city wall was breached, which was indeed something that John did not expect.

"There is such a loss...... In fact, it was entirely because the knights were too underestimated. I've warned Rastik more than once, but he's quite dismissive of Lusignan's defence. They even rushed into the city after the collapse of their walls, ignoring the intricate layout of the city of Nicosia. And their mercenaries, quite shrewdly, used fire attacks. Lycaon took out a blackened piece of armor and placed it on the table.

"Fire attack? In their own city? ”

"Yes. The Lusignan family is determined to live and die with Cyprus. On more than one occasion, they ambushed the knights of the Order with fire, and every time they entered a house to search, they were suddenly engulfed in the skyrocketing flames. The most pitiful thing was that when dozens of knights ran into a church after four or five remnants of the Lusignan family, the church instantly burst into flames. The heavy armor worn by the knights could not be removed alone, so in the midst of the fire, they could only be roasted alive through their armor. I don't know how much Lusignnan paid to destroy the city. But now, even if the Knights had taken Cyprus, it would have been a surviving ruin beneath the fire. ”

Perhaps the Lusignans had already figured out a way out, and when the remaining soldiers began to search for the remnants of the fire that had not yet been extinguished, they found that most of the city's inhabitants had been emptied. It may have been Genoese who came to their aid, but there is no detailed evidence. In any case, this battle was for the Knights to gain nothing but control of Cyprus. Because of this fire, Cyprus' tax revenue may not return to its previous level for ten years. ”

John nodded thoughtfully, and then removed the flag of the Lusignan family from the map on the island of Cyprus.

"By the way, Lycaon, I have a question for you."

"Your Majesty, you say."

"How can you get some quick money?" John cautiously lowered his voice, "Anything will do." ”

He secretly stretched out four fingers and shook them in front of Lycaon.

"Fifty thousand gold dummaks? Your Majesty, do you want to renovate and renovate Château de Combrigné? ”

"It's five million ......"

"Five million? Your Majesty, it is impossible for you to have so much money if you have emptied all the veins in the empire! Are you going to buy the entire Order outright? Lucaon could hardly believe his ears. At the beginning, the cost of Murad I to build the palace of Edirne was only a million gold dumaks when converted into dumaks. I'm afraid this money is enough to build half of Constantinople.

"Why should I buy an army that is infighting all day long, empty of fame and no combat effectiveness. Is the name of the Roman Empire useless? I want to build a brand new bishopric...... Oh, and not me, for the whole empire, for the spread of the Orthodox faith. ”

"How many troops can be hired with this money......"

"We can't afford to hire us, believe me Lucaon, in the future, this parish of San Canito will be the strongest cash cow in the empire...... By the way, is there a way for you to get this money? ”

"Unless you can go and ransack the Holy See. Otherwise, I can't think of any other place in the world where you can get so much money at once. Lucaon shook his head rather regretfully. He was a military commander himself, and he was not interested in internal affairs, especially when it came to money.

"Holy See...... Holy See...... That's right! ”

"Your Majesty, right for what?!" John's reaction surprised Lycaon, who had just mentioned it casually, "Are you really going to rob the Pope of his money?" ”

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