Later, Molitor was shocked to get the news, he had been in the Levant to mediate, and he had heard about the results of the consul election, but he did not expect that the new consul's radical military policy would be so rapid and irreversible. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

And just before he was ready to rush to Prusa to make up for the misunderstanding and gap between the two parties with Gawain (after all, Molito and Gawain can be regarded as old friends since Barry's time), Gawain already knew what the Venetian city-state was doing.

"Are the pigs in St. Mark's trying to blackmail me? But I'm not going to eat it. Gawain's determination was unwavering, "Anyway, my light ships are not going to go from the waters of Rhodes, and the Venetian army is not strong enough to threaten my plans, it would be good if they could hold the northern front of Crete." Anna, there will be no changes to the date and deployment of the general assault on Prusa! ”

Previously, a large fleet of ships from the port of Atalya had avoided the waters of Rhodes and instead followed the long and winding coast between Atalya and Miletus, numbering eighty ships, but all of them were new light ships, commanded by Count Jalguba.

What is this light ship? In short, it was mass-produced by absorbing the boats of the Slavic pirates who roamed the Yukchen Sea.

Whether it is a Viking longship, a Tarsus sunfish, or an Italian city-state's galleys, they are very expensive in terms of materials and manufacturing, and they are very exquisite, and the scale and combat power are by no means achievable in a short time.

Therefore, Gawain's policy for the current Tarsus fleet is to "give priority to the development of small warships" and "short, flat and fast", so the Atalia sailors have built a large number of light warships called "Skuas" in the previous period, which are actually large trees cut down from the Taurus Mountains, such as willows and linden trees, from which they are hollowed out with tools, and then spliced together, laying dense and compact planks on the sides and bottom for arrow and bulletproof, and then using reed strips and hawthorn bark straps to tighten on both sides (play the role of pins) , so that this group of "skuas" can sail more smoothly on the shallow sea coast, even if it is flooded, it is not easy to sink. A "skuas" is generally 70 Anna feet long (about 167 meters), 10 Anna feet wide, 9 Anna feet high, with a mast in the center and a small sail, a rudder in the bow and stern, sailing but mainly powered by oars, fifteen long oars on each side, plus Maldivian or Greek sailors armed with bows and arrows, the full crew is about 50 to 70 people. In addition to the bows and arrows, long guns, and axes of oarsmen and sailors, there are shrimp whisker cannons with doors that can fire shotguns on the bow, and large barrels at the bottom of the ship can hold Khitan snow, fire ropes, and food (rusks, wheat flour, etc.).

Eighty ships carried nearly 5,000 sailors and oarsmen, mostly Maldeites and Greeks summoned from various islands, who controlled these light "skuas" and could even make their way around the islands and cliffs at night! The bow of the skua after the draft is only less than two feet above the sea, and with the reeds laid down, it looks as hidden as a large floating seaweed from a distance.

In a day and a night, the fleet had crossed the coast southwest of Lydia and was clouding towards Smyrna, just as the Venetian army had just routed the Cretan rebels at the plain of Mesara, and the fleets of both sides could be described as "passing by" to some extent.

When the "Skuas" appeared on the island of Respos two days later, the castle of Massemna, which was still in John's possession of John's subordinates, saw this formation, and hurriedly lit the beacon of the alarm, and transmitted the urgent military information to Gallipoli along the islands of the northern line.

Soon John in the imperial court also knew, "Tarsus sent a small longship like locusts, which seems to be about to break into the Marimara Sea and block the sea route of the city of Prussa!" ”

The Emperor, who was in a nervous mood, hurriedly summoned his henchmen and attendants to discuss the matter, "I am ready to gather all the available soldiers and horses in the imperial capital and go to the rescue of Prussa. ”

Everyone was silent, because most people knew that it was not easy for Prusa to hold out for three months, and now the entire Constantinople John could pull up the heads, plus the Hungarian reinforcements could not exceed 10,000 people, if they crossed the sea, they might not even be able to beat Gawain's "skua swarm", and even if they landed on the land of Prusa, they would not be able to compete with Gawain's wolf-like elite brigade. The end result may be "the loss of Prussa, and the loss of the last hope of the royal family, and perhaps even the emperor will be captured." ”

"The co-ruling emperor may be able to strike again and force Gawain to withdraw from the army." One of the attendants said cautiously.

But John scoffed, he was already disappointed in Theodoro's repetition, and at least could not count on it.

Another more sober-minded analyst said, "Your Majesty, holding on to it now is the only way for the empire to win. Friendly Venice has launched a counteroffensive on Crete, and our diplomacy with Bohemond is beginning to bear fruit. Therefore, it is better for His Majesty not to send the last troops to Prussa, but to hold on to Gallipoli and the imperial capital, I believe that this is also the idea of General Tetisius. ”

"But if you lose Tetisius and his new army, who will help me to defend the walls of Gallipolis, Theodosius, and the straits, you say? Don't you want the fertile soil of Mysia and Bithynia? If so, when the situation improves, who will lead the armies to counterattack in the future? John asked several questions in one breath.

Then the atmosphere in the whole palace cooled down, and John was so discouraged that he had to admit that although he sometimes hated the noseless general, he could not leave him at all.

And the Ducasse family was not very peaceful during this time, the former Caesar who had been blinded kept asking his wife Theodora (that is, Alexios's sister and John's aunt) or directly asked the Queen Mother Irene to come to the project, and he chose a man from his own clan named Evraimius. The handsome young man of Ducasse wanted the emperor to appoint this young man as the chief of the guard, and to serve as the commander of the forbidden army along with Mikhail.

John knew in his heart that there was no such thing as a free lunch, and now was the time for the Ducasses family to demand a "loan". If he loses Tetisius soon, he will be reduced to a standard "loner" in the entire Imperial army.

"Prepare two ships for Gallipoli, and I will discuss with Tetisius the need to guard Prustha." In the end, John himself gave such an order.

Soon the next day, three days before the day of Gauvin's planned general attack, Tetisius continued to urgently command the people and soldiers to build a retreat wall behind the corner of Prussa, when a messenger came to him, "His Majesty's ship has sailed into the river port to meet you, and he himself is waiting for you at the fortress of Gallipoli, wishing to consult with you about the immediate disposition of the battle, and the defense of the city shall be entrusted to his deputy, General Meriselos, for the time being." ”