"Heavy rains have broken the difficult mountain roads of Combrigne, and the waves are not suitable for ships to anchor in the port of Auver. But we caught up, father. A few days later, John met Constantine XI in the Purple Palace.

His Majesty the Emperor is not too old, perhaps because Barcelissa Evie takes care of him quite well, John feels that Constantine is more energetic.

"Constant victories are always a joy, John." Constantine was not so majestic in the presence of John and Sophia as he was in court, and like the old father of every Roman, he was kind and firm, "How long has it been...... You seem to have grown a little taller. Sophia is also, the reputation of the princess of the empire, I am afraid that it will spread throughout Europa in the future! ”

This kind of intimacy between family members was actually a bit uncomfortable for John. But he wasn't disgusted.

"Father, you called us and Giovanni to Constantinople, presumably for the war with the Ottomans at the end of the year, right?"

"I've always admired your cleverness, John, especially for the past two years." Constantine smiled, "To tell you the truth, you and Sophia were able to get the empire to get the help of the Mamluks on their own, and not only me, but the entire Imperial Council was very surprised. But for the Empire, it was undoubtedly a surprise. ”

"Your Majesty, you may not believe it, but Zahir Sultan gave these things away on his own. If we had not learned about what previous sultans had done, perhaps to be on the safe side, we would have really rejected such an offer for the time being. Sophia sighed, "That is, we went to visit the Sultan of Zahir first, otherwise, he might have traveled all the way to Constantinople and begged the empire to let the Mamluks participate in the war." In this way, the empire can also have a better harvest. ”

Constantine was slightly stunned, and then returned to normal: "Although Zahir is not a fool, in terms of governing the country, his eyes have only been focused on lifting the transitional position of the sultan, and he may not rule for long if he provokes the aristocracy in the country." Of course, it doesn't matter, and there's nothing wrong with the Empire being able to eat a fat meal once in a while. ”

"And what about other than that?"

"Of course, it was the Ottoman offensive tactical choice...... It's getting late, and tomorrow I'll call a council of the Emperor, and we'll talk about it then. John, you can make your suggestion at the right time, and you don't have to be as rigid as before. Constantine patted John lightly on the shoulder, "I can see a lot of things these days that Epirus is in your hands. I know you have Jeffrey's help, but Jeffrey can't be brave enough to lead an army and fight the Ottomans. ”

……

"Pincer offensive?"

Giovanni glanced at Publius with some surprise: "This is very particular about the strength of the two wings, I have absolute confidence in the Phoenix Legion, especially the Phoenix Legion with the addition of Mamluk slave cavalry, but in the direction of Constantinople, how much of an offensive can we make?" ”

Giovanni's innovative strategic vision has always been very optimistic about Giovanni, but Giovanni is more conservative in comparison. Although he was only a superficial military governor, he still had a general understanding of the military population of Constantinople. The joint dispatch of the city defense army and the Holy See Guard may still have the slightest possibility of capturing Edirne, but who will guarantee the safety of Constantinople at that time?

"Don't worry, General Giovanni. This is a troop report from the Duke of Latius and Prince Thomas, you can take a look before you judge. ”

Giovanni took the report with a suspicious look on his face and read it word for word.

"Seven thousand? Nine thousand? ”

"Their soldiers fell from the sky?"

"Can any of you explain this to me? Is this the manpower they can free up by removing the necessary sources of defense? Is this really not a misrepresentation? ”

Giovanni's series of questions, as did the report when it was first sent to the Imperial Council.

Publius explained with a smile on his face: "General Giovanni, Morea has always had some surplus troops, and the plague did not suffer much from the Isthmus of Corinth because Prince Thomas wisely cut off the Isthmus of Collins. Greece Regional ...... To be honest, I don't believe that Duke Latius would have led Greece to create this rate of development. Heavenly Father is above, 9,000! Although there were mercenaries and peasants mixed in, it was shocking enough. If I have the chance, I will definitely visit Thessaloniki and Athens. Duke Latius, he is a military general! ”

"It's surprising, but it's reasonable." Agrippa the Elder also said, "Even if Epirus had mined gold, it could not match the speed of Latius's unrivaled development, and the unique silk and maritime trade, the best deep-water harbor, and the abundant fishery resources brought by the mild ocean currents of the past two years, allowed Athens to develop rapidly with almost no worries." If we don't open up a direct route from the empire to the European continent, I'm afraid that in more than ten years, Constantinople will be left behind by Athens. ”

"Constantinople is not so bad, Mr. Agrippa...... The Ottomans blocked the Silk Road, and if we could reopen this trade route, Constantinople would still be the queen of all cities. ”

"Now is not the time to discuss this!" Constantine smashed the scepter to the ground, "Giovanni, Thomas and Latius will not deceive us, this is the source of troops we can send at least, and if we are forced to recruit troops in wartime, this number will only be more." Now, tell me, what's your plan? ”

"Your Majesty, if we have such abundant manpower, we will have no problem fighting the Ottomans head-on." After much deliberation, Giovanni said, "It is absolutely impossible for Muhammad to have all his forces in Edirne. It is an indisputable fact that our deployment is scattered, and since this is the case, then his idea must be to break our troops one by one in the field. On the Western Front, Hungary and Albania can only take care of each other, but I believe that the strength of Gyerdi and General Hunyadi should not cause any big trouble...... And the empire ...... Edirne, we're just one step away. ”

"We're going to besiege the city?" Publius asked tentatively.

"We must besiege the city! Only by besieging Edirne and cutting off all their supplies can Muhammad come to his aid! In this way, we can witness with our own eyes how Phoenix killed the two Sultans on the battlefield together! ”