Mosul, the famous city of Babylon, the second largest city in later Syria~Li~Asia, is also the industrial center of its north, with a history of 3,000 years, even in this era, it is the center of Mesopotamia.

Outside the city, the tent of Heraclius, the commander of the Byzantine camp, was lit up all night.

He and most of the generals in his battalion knew the news that the back road had been cut off, so don't look at the fact that the army is surrounding Mosul at this moment, but an atmosphere called frustration and dreary envelops the entire barracks.

As a powerful general in Byzantium, Heract knew better than anyone how Byzantium had been dragged into the war.

In fact, as the staff of the Governor's Office under Li Zhe were strange, the current Byzantium actually did not have the slightest reason to go to war with Tianzhu.

In fact, although Byzantium now borders Tianzhu, from the geostrategic point of view of the two countries, neither side has any reason to go to war with the other.

After hundreds of years of war, the top brass of Byzantium also understood that the future of Byzantium was not in the East, at least for the next hundred years. The impossibility of their conquest of this eastern land was determined by the Byzantine culture, historical origins and national identity of the Byzantine itself, for which the land and population of the East were more of a burden than a resource.

Therefore, Byzantium's national resources are not so much used for the development of the east, but rather for the westward direction, and it is better to use them within its own Europe, whether it is the chaotic Great Plains of Ukraine or the chaotic and rich Italian Peninsula, which are far better targets than the chaotic West Asia. And it is also more in line with the interests of Byzantium itself.

Although Byzantium has declined, it is still no problem to bully and bully these small scattered countries.

It would also help Byzantium return to the center of the power game on the continent, rather than just a forgotten corner of the world, as it is now.

It was not without such an idea at the top of Constantinople at the beginning.

But all this is ruined by the lobbyists from the peninsula who smell of gold. They poured into Constantinople in droves with the stench of money, corrupting every important minister around Manuel IV with beauty and money. They used flowery language, beautiful gifts, and exaggerated flattery to deceive Manuel IV and dispel him.

In addition, the clergy from Rome who wore cross-robes, as the Eastern Roman Emperor, who had been isolated from the Holy See for hundreds of years, received recognition from each other again after many years.

This bow of Rome was just right to arouse the ambition of Manuel IV and to swell the confidence of the emperor, and the clergy put on a loud and passionate performance in the court of Constantinople, like a clown, as if their emperor could really personally direct this Christian counterattack on the East.

No, not Christendom in general, but only Spain and other countries in Western Europe sent a small number of troops. It is clear that this is just a fabrication by those people, and what they want is to give Manuel IV the feeling of co-lord of Christendom, as if returning to the time when the emperor commanded Europe.

What a despicable lie!

But it fooled the emperor.

Everything in front of him, with tens of thousands of troops in hand, is in a dilemma, and this dilemma is the result of this.

So in the final analysis, the source of everything is on the emperor's head.

Heraclius even suspected that this war was a trap elaborated by the dastardly peninsulars for Byzantium!

Now what?

Do you want Heraclius to withdraw in front of the enemies at the head of the city?

No, look at the city in front of you! Behind the thick walls were not the weak West Asians, nor the Mongols, but the Orientals, the Song people, who overthrew the Ilkhanate with only one arm, and they hid behind the walls not because they were weak, but because they used the walls to consume the blood of the Byzantine soldiers and disguise their fierce ambitions.

Heraclius was sure that the Song general was leading his soldiers, polishing their fangs and blades behind this thick wall, and could follow him Heraclius at any moment to strike him a heavy blow.

In such a situation, how and where did Heraclius retreat, not to mention that there was a vicious cavalry of the West Asians hiding behind.

These are obviously the enemy's earlier arrangements, and the goal is him, in order to annihilate the only remaining elite of Byzantium in his hands.

Their Emperor Your Majesty, this is ruining the future of the empire with your own hands!

Heraclius felt that he could almost see the tragic future.

…………………………

In the city of Mosul, Ma Zhong and his Japanese officers were very excited, they also stayed up all night, the news from Asia Minor made everyone in the city fall into an irrepressible state of excitement, originally they were suppressed in the city by the enemy's army, did not dare to go out without authorization, and were almost completely suppressed.

Who knew that overnight, the plot reversed, and in turn, the enemy troops outside the city became praying mantises, but they in the city became waiting yellow birds.

Shi Xiu's move on the Persian side was simply a stroke of genius on the battlefield, as soon as the cavalry came out, it immediately cut off the communication between the front and rear of the enemy army, and suddenly made tens of thousands of enemy troops outside the city a lone army!

On the contrary, it is possible for their side to flank and encircle and annihilate this enemy army.

And according to intelligence, the army under Heraclius is already almost the most powerful army in Byzantium, and it has almost wiped out the elite that has been trained in the country over the years. If you eat this enemy army, you can just step on Constantinople!

This was something that even the most optimistic deduction of the Governor's Office had not expected.

At that time, Shi Xiu was still fighting with the Mongols on the grassland, who could have that this guy would withdraw so quickly and become a strange soldier on the battlefield?

At that time, it did not mean that the Byzantine army under the city would not be able to do it immediately, but now although the enemy is overwhelming, it is still not a strong opponent for itself in a short period of time, but with the army outside, the back road is cut off, and as time passes, it will only take half a month at most, and the enemy army with no food and grass will sooner or later become the turtle in the urn of its own side.

Inside the city, the news spread quickly, although it was still besieged, but the situation inside and outside the city was completely two worlds, the inside of the city was jubilant, and the outside of the city was lifeless.