The banquet went very well. A preliminary consensus was reached between the Empire and Hungary and Albania almost without any conflict.

And when Hunyadi and Gyerj returned to China, the final preparations for the war began.

At present, in the initial offensive, the coalition forces will definitely take the initiative, even if Mohammed II and his intelligence network are aware of it, they will not place too many soldiers on the border line. After all, the entire encirclement is almost a closed state. Hungary and Albania may also need to watch out for Serbia and Wallachia, but the Empire can attack with impunity. With such a long front, even if the Ottomans had sufficient troops, it was impossible to build a defensive line on the border.

"Giovanni, prepare to integrate the army and cross the universal gate!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The gooseberry seemed to have become restless, but Lilac was still leaning on Sophia's shoulder, looking down on the grand occasion of the entire Phoenix Legion from the spacious terrace of Fort Combrigna.

The two falcons grew fast, the size of a palm when they were just delivered, and now they were crowded on Sophia's shoulders.

"Warriors of the Empire, I believe you all know what this war means for the Empire!"

"It has been hundreds of years since the infidels brazenly usurped almost all of the empire's territory in the Balkans! Our people, still struggling under the oppression of the crescent moon! ”

"In the name of God, we want to save them, we want to liberate the homeland of the empire!"

John shouted from the terrace: "We will accept only one ending, and that is victory!" Look at the horses under your crotch! Look at the spears in your hands! Iron hooves will crush the infidel's ribs! The tip of the gun will pierce the heart of the infidels! And the projectile of the musket will make their heads bloom! ”

"Now! For your family! For your fellow citizens! For your empire! For Rome! Enter! ”

There was a great cheer in the castle of Gombrigne, and even countless civilians put down their work to watch the departure ceremony of the legendary Phoenix Legion. Aside from the absence of Vasika and a small group of hoplites, this was the largest offensive of the Phoenix Legion since its establishment.

They will cross the gates of the world to the inner city of Edir, and crush all obstacles in their path.

"Brother, let's go too."

"We?"

"If I want to go, you can't stop me."

Sophia teased Lilac, then smiled slyly.

……

"Agrippa ......"

"Your Majesty, I've been waiting for a long time."

At four o'clock in the morning, the reply from Edirne arrived in Constantinople at a rapid pace.

Muhammad seems to have anticipated the Empire's declaration of war, but he did not expect it to come so quickly.

In one of the reply letters from the Ottomans, Muhammad wrote:

Since you have chosen to give up peace, choose war.

Neither the constraints of the treaty nor the Ottoman might make you give up on this foolish decision.

Well, on behalf of the Ottoman Empire, I will follow your wishes!

Even if Allah is willing to return the Balkans to you, I will lead the Ottoman warriors to capture Constantinople first.

From now on, until my physical consecration, the Ottomans and the despicable Greek villains will never die!

"Your Majesty, that's the general idea. It seems that Muhammad is also ready for an imperial showdown. ”

"Hmm......" Constantine XI got up from the Holy Seat and raised the spirit, the rise and fall of the empire, and fought here.

"Tell Publius to prepare for the expedition...... In addition, we fought on two fronts, and the Ottomans planted Anatolia on the other side of the Bosphorus were handed over to Vasika and Francisco. ”

Muhammad then received three more declarations of war, and in addition to Albania and Hungary, the Mamluk Sultan Zahir arrived as promised.

As a result, the governors of the provinces, who remained loyal to Mehmed II in Anatolia, had to temporarily abandon the idea of rushing to the Balkans and instead set up fortifications along the Anatolia-Karaman line. The Ottoman fleet was also targeted by the Mamluks in the eastern Mediterranean.

"The Roman Empire, bathed in the blood of the infidels, will be nirvana!"

Constantine's hand holding the scepter trembled slightly. He had made all the plans, and he was waiting, when Publius took Muhammad's head on his neck and asked for his reward.

"Your Majesty, go ahead and rest. The Courier will deliver the battle report from the front line as quickly as possible. ”

Of course, in order for this offensive to run smoothly, the intelligence network run by Sofia and Pedro Othello has been stretched to the maximum. In addition to excluding the remaining threat from the territory of Constantinople and Epirus, they were well aware of the deployment of the Ottoman army.

What's more, Sofia still has a hole card in her hand that is enough to turn the whole tide of the battle - Lycaon, who is currently in charge of the direct defense of Edirne.

If contact with Lycaon is made through the Outposts, then Edirne is vulnerable to the Empire.

This is the reason why Sophia insisted on going with the army this time. In this war across the Eurasian continents, her spy network is no less useful than two fully formed legions.

The only thing that can hinder the empire now is the problem of treasury funds. Even though Venice had promised to provide the empire with large war loans at lower interest rates, Constantinople began to levy war taxes throughout the empire at the suggestion of Kinchi.

At first, Constantine XI was concerned about the impact of a temporary tax hike on the stability of the country, but the citizens of the empire were clearly more interested in the war than the royal family had imagined. The low taxation policy and strong support for the agricultural and commercial industries implemented by the empire after John became the co-emperor made the empire appear an extremely rare phenomenon of the country being poor and the people rich.

This gave the citizens of the empire great trust in the imperial conquest, and even the Venetian merchants who lived temporarily in the empire would donate some wealth to the empire free of charge. Individually, each amount of money is a drop in the bucket for this offensive. But when combined, it was enough to greatly reduce the expenses of the imperial treasury.

"Your Majesty, we have done everything we can. Next, it's time to hand over the stage to the warriors of the Empire. ”

The walls of Theodosius, the Gate of St. Romanus, slowly opened in the morning light. The sunlight reflected off the armor of the soldiers was dazzling and brilliant.

"Agrippa, three years ago, could you have imagined that the empire would be where it is today?"

"Your Majesty, this is fate, maybe the re-emergence of the empire is also a ...... that God has arranged a long time ago"