While the people of Rome were jubilant about the arrival of the professional unions and the new senate system, the knights of Rhodes, who had lived in Constantinople for a long time, finally gave an answer to Constantine XI.

Negotiations on core interests tend to be long and protracted. Although a small military fortress on the island of Cyprus was not so crucial for the Empire, for the Knights of St. John, it was the most crucial step for the entire Order to regain its foothold in the Near East.

In the end, Rastik chose to compromise and agreed to all the demands of the empire. Of course, Constantine XI would not make any more gestures, and immediately decided to send the Phoenix fleet and some soldiers of the Phoenix Legion to support the battle of the Knights. Although the Mamluks had always asserted the legitimacy of Cypriot independence, it was now highly likely that the Mamluks would choose to stand still in order to maintain relations with the Empire and fight the Ottomans together with the Romans. Moreover, the Mamluk army in the Near East had already lost more than half of its troops in the Armenian War, and the Mamluk sultan would not have dared to mobilize the last elite of Egypt until the replenishment was completed.

"Then, Mr. Knight, when are you going to declare war on Lusignan in Cyprus?"

"It won't be more than this month, and during our negotiations, the Grand Master already has a full plan. As soon as your Roman army arrives, the Rhodes fleet will also begin to sail. The knight of Rhodes paid tribute to Constantine XI, "Although we are dressed in different faiths, it is our common duty to receive the gospel of God and to purge the pagan lackeys of Lusignan." ”

Constantine waved his hand on the Holy Seat.

All he wanted was a half-price hire for the Knights. The financial situation of Rhodes was well known throughout the Mediterranean, and the bridgehead of Cyprus was nothing more than a springboard for the future of the empire in its struggle for the Near East. Even if the Rhodes knights took Cyprus, it would be the end of their expansion. Antioch and Jerusalem, two of the five ecumenical patriarchates, are the holy places of the Orthodox and should of course be guarded by the Empire.

John received the news at Fort Combrigné five days later. The knights of Rhodes had already eagerly handed the declaration of war to Lusignan, and the words were so profound and emotional that even the words of the Knights when they scolded the Mamluks at the head of Jerusalem were no more than that.

"Giovanni Giovanni! What are you doing! ”

"The order of His Majesty Constantine...... Isn't it for us to regroup our legions and prepare for a declaration of war on Lusignan in Cyprus? Giovanni took off his helmet and asked, "Although you don't need to attack on all fronts of the Phoenix Legion, you should at least make some preparations." ”

"You're too sincere! Look at what you've sent out! The New Roman Phalanx Legion? Heavy cavalry regiments? Oh my God, they're the best of the Phoenix Legion! John glanced at the high-spirited, eager soldiers, "What are you doing?" So want to go to war? All the people in this square were sent back to the camp for daily training! I'm going to feel sorry for hurting one here, but it's good for you to pull it all out. ”

Giovanni seemed to understand what John meant, but still asked with some uncertainty: "Then Your Majesty, do you want to ......?"

"The soldiers of the old nobility who had surrendered to the Empire this time, as well as the Ottoman army that had surrendered in the previous Balkan War, plus the newly recruited city guards and local guards of Epirus, were all assembled. Our partnership with the knights of Rhodes is limited to this time, and the future of Rhodes and Cyprus will still be the property of Valleologo. It's not a bad thing to get these recruits to the front line of the battlefield. John smiled indifferently, "The current specific structure and details of the Phoenix Legion, even my father is not clear, he, the knight of Rhode Island, will he know what kind of combat power the Phoenix Legion has, besides, even if it is not the main force of the Phoenix Legion, you have to think clearly, it is still their St. John Knights who are in charge of the main attack, our people, don't rush me to establish meritorious deeds and punish heretics!" Control the loss for me! The current Balkans don't have so much manpower for the empire to squander! ”

Giovanni's behavior of openly deceiving his allies, even if it was a temporary ally, still felt a little weird, but fortunately, he was not in charge of the direct command of this battle. John also handed over command to Lycaon, who was in charge of the training of the recruits. As an undercover agent of the Empire who had been lurking in the Ottoman camp for many years, and climbed to a high position without being detected, Lykaon was definitely the most sensible in his mind, and he also knew how to control the losses best.

"Of course, although our Phoenix Legion can't do anything, we can't lose this battle." John changed his words and said, "In the whole of Cyprus, there should be only one Fort of Nicosia that Lusignan can call a city defense. Cyprus' coastal defenses were far less formidable than Rhodes', and the Phoenix fleet could even advance directly to the shoreline. The ships of the Lusignan family could not stop the Ebius Radiance. Ah, yes, the shells saved me a little bit too. ”

The last time Francisco returned to Athens after the attack on Cutthroat Fort to repair and rereplenish ammunition, the Venetian's offer made John's eyelids jump. Even if he knew that the Venetians had not slaughtered the empire, John had no intention of squandering the fleet's firepower until the Munitions Factory in Urban officially ended its research and development and began producing heavy artillery and cannonballs. Otherwise, no matter how deep the gold mines in Kosovo and Gombrigne are, they will not be able to withstand this kind of consumption.

"Your Majesty, are we really going to help the Knights?"

"Oh, our soldiers still have a task, give me a good survey of the terrain, when the fortress is built in the future, don't waste time sending people up again, dangling on other people's territory, those sub-knights still think that we are spying on intelligence, and it is not good to misunderstand when the time comes."

The Empire and the Knights, the comical combined fleet, sailed for Cyprus in this way. Unlike the Empire, this Order of Knights also adheres to the spirit of chivalry, and will definitely report to the enemy in advance before declaring war. If this is changed to the Empire, and when the Fort of Nicosia falls, I'm afraid Lusignan will not know who did it.

But if you send a letter of declaration of war to others in this way, I am afraid that the people of the Lusignan family, no matter how stupid, will react quickly, and they will probably ask for help from all sides to protect their last piece of land.

The only thing that made John jealous was not the Mamluks in the Near East, but Muhammad in Asia Minor.

Once the Ottomans intervene in the war, then I am afraid that the Phoenix Legion will have to mobilize and prepare to take over the big war.