It seems that the Gregor family is determined to have a hard time with the royal family...... But where did the Gregor family get the guts? John watched the line from the distance to the camp that was instantly opened, and he really didn't expect that Joel would choose to strike first.

This not only gave the royal family an excuse to take action to eradicate the rebels, but also cleared all resistance to the reorganization of the bureaucracy.

"The private soldiers of the Gregor family, at full capacity, should not exceed 3,000 people. This also includes the entry of all temporary conscripts. I'm afraid that Kastoria's internal tax revenue can't even afford to raise two thousand standing soldiers, and what combat effectiveness does Your Majesty expect from their army? Lycaon stood by John's side, and although Constantine XI wanted Lycaon to remain in the Holy Guard, John had the cheekiness to take the famous general with him.

In fact, John, or Sophia, who is in charge of intelligence, also has his own considerations.

At this point, the intelligence network in the Balkans could be temporarily closed, and Sophia immediately shifted the focus of intelligence gathering to Asia Minor. But Pedro's control over Asia Minor was much less than in the Balkans. Re-establishing the intelligence network will not only require a lot of costs, but also focus on cultivating the right human resources. Lykaon had openly betrayed the Ottomans, and there were probably only a few of the low-ranking officers who remained within the Ottomans as eyeliners, under the thorough investigation of Mehmed II. Therefore, in addition to leading the cavalry of the Phoenix Legion with Vasika at a critical moment, Lycaon also needed to find new candidates for the intelligence network in Asia Minor.

"General Lukaon, during your tenure within the Ottomans, you must have also participated in the war against Kastoria, right?"

"On more than one occasion, Kastoria has been a place where rebellions have been frequent. In addition to the Gregor family, who took the lead this time, there were some new Ottoman nobles. Moreover, the Gregor family, although an ancient Roman family, had strong ties with the Ottomans. The Ottoman royal family had always been more lenient in taxing Castoria, which may have been one of the reasons why Gregor was not loyal to the empire today. ”

"I'm just wondering, doesn't this Joel Gregor, the head of an old family, have the slightest ability to judge the situation?" John looked at the gradually thinning defense line on the city wall, "I am afraid that the whole world should be shocked by the current momentum of the empire, the Ottomans, who are as strong as a hundred battles, have been driven out of the Balkans by the empire, in the face of such an achievement of the empire, why should the Gregor family be the first bird?" ”

"Maybe at this point, you should talk to that ...... yes, Jeffrey. Lycaon brushed the question gently.

Strictly speaking, he is now also a member of the new aristocracy. Standing directly in opposition to the traditional old family can bring unnecessary trouble to yourself. Comfortable with the Ottomans, Lycaon relied on this attitude of keeping a distance from anyone.

"Leaves don't stick to you...... General Lycaon, you have returned to the Empire, there is no need to hide your talents like this anymore. ”

"Maybe wait for me to understand the situation inside the empire, Your Majesty, you also said that I am just a newcomer, and I should not be doing such a job as evaluating the upper class." Lycaon smiled perfunctorily, then continued to turn his gaze to the battlefield.

Today's protagonist is the Legion of the New Roman Phalanx, so the cavalry led by Lycaon and Vasica is only on the sidelines for now.

It's just that the combat effectiveness of the defenders on the city wall is really a little insufficient, a large part of them are still people or craftsmen, and even the musketeers have not fired a few shots, and the line infantry on the periphery has already opened up the situation on the city wall. Although it can be seen that Joel Gregor recruited as many soldiers as he could in the few days he spent destroying the road, the difference in the combat effectiveness of the untrained soldiers and the regular army is difficult to describe......

John had originally envisioned that the legions of the new Roman phalanx might be better suited for field warfare, and that they might not perform too well in such siege battles, but this group of musketeers gave the empire enough face. Under the cover of the infantry, the concentrated net of fire could quickly open huge gaps in the walls, while the bows and arrows on the walls were mostly weak and could only hit the armor of the hoplites.

Joel Gregor, who had been shouting on the city walls before, had lost his sights, and because of the strength of his troops, Giovanni did not choose to besiege the city of Castoria, but only arranged some of the cavalry near the city gates, even if Joel could escape by himself, it would be absolutely impossible for the entire Gregorian family in Kastoria to fly out of the city with wings.

"The musketeers climbed the walls, advanced at a steady pace, and cleared the defenders of the walls first." Giovanni gave the enemy enough face and gave orders meticulously.

The execution of the new Roman phalanx has yet to be trained, but the fighting power has far exceeded everyone's expectations. The reloaded musket was a declaration of death, and the soldiers of the Gregor family fled in confusion even after seeing the muzzle.

They did not have any experience in fighting such regiments. Moreover, the earth-shattering sound of gunfire was enough to arouse the most primitive fear in the hearts of human beings - when the armor no longer had any protective effect, the flesh was undoubtedly extremely vulnerable to bullets.

The soldiers of the Gregor family soon paid the price for the disorganization of their front. Although the deflection of the musket was severe, John had already targeted it. In the New Roman phalanx, three people formed a firing squad, commanded by a relatively more experienced musketeer, and each firing squad was not to eliminate three targets at once, but to concentrate on one person. In this way, compared with chaotic and disorderly shooting, the enemy's lives can be harvested more efficiently in the pursuit battle.

"Don't waste time, just find out the surname Gregor in the city one by one when the clearing is almost done!" The words that came out of Giovanni's mouth were a little uncomfortable, but being able to obey orders was a good habit that the new nobles had. Although this arrow did not hit, Giovanni had no intention of letting Joel go.

"General Giovanni, they surrendered!"

"Huh?" Giovanni was about to personally go up to the city wall to command the battle, but it was this group of improvised rabble that took the lead in dropping the chain, "Accept the disarming, but according to His Majesty's decree, find out the identity of everyone, and not let go of any local nobleman, regardless of family!" ”