When General Masillius set out on the expedition, Constantinople held a ceremony for the general. It was a ritual arranged in ancient Roman tradition to give the people of Constantinople a sense of what the Roman Republic looked like thousands of years ago.

Twenty-two days later, Constantinople held another victory ceremony. The army formed a charging formation ten miles from the royal capital, and marched in this formation. It is five miles away from the royal capital, and the streets along the way are full of people who have come to welcome them. At the head of the procession were the honor guards, all of whom were the tallest Eastern Roman soldiers. They held aloft the flag of the Eastern Roman double-headed eagle and the axe, and behind the guard of honor, the armor of the soldiers was polished, and they passed the cheering crowd with their chests held high.

Many of the people who greeted them were military dependents, and these worried family members watched the queue intently, and when the figure of their loved ones appeared in their sight, the family members shouted the names of their relatives and raised their hands and shook vigorously. The soldiers were also just waving to their loved ones on the march. Still follow the queue and continue forward.

More people gathered at the gate of the city, and they couldn't help but cheer when they saw the victorious soldiers. The sound roared like a tidal wave, so that the emperor and others waiting in the square of Sophia Cathedral could hear it clearly.

The emperor's subordinates were all happy, and some of the people who were waiting together could only force laughter, they were the nobles of the Eastern Roman Empire, from which 99% of the traitors of the Eastern Roman Empire were born for hundreds of years. Listening to the cheers of the people of Constantinople, their smiles seemed to be made up of two layers.

The cheers came from far and near, and the sound of a military band could already be faintly heard. The emperor stood up from his seat, and the people waiting in the square couldn't help but cheer when they saw this action. It didn't take long for the military flag flying high to appear in everyone's sight. The crowd in the square immediately cheered for the troops who had arrived near the Cathedral of Sophia.

At the same time, the inhabitants of Venice heard the sound of the horn and looked in amazement in the direction where the horn sounded, and soon saw a large group of people rushing along the street. These people were dressed in completely different costumes from the Venetians, with more hides than fabrics. The weapons in his hands were also very crude, not at all comparable to the exquisite weapons produced by the centuries of accumulated technology in Venice. But even the roughest weapons can kill. The Serbs who rushed into Venice rushed into the decent shops on the streets, brandished their crude weapons and made close contact with the Venetian Celestial Cover, and then began to loot everything in the store that could be seen by them.

It didn't take long for the beautiful streets to be in shambles. Serbs have never seen so many things that attract them, and many people have robbed a house and left the house wrapped in the robes of the victims, only to see more attractive shops or houses, and they leave the loot behind and rush into the new victims. The robes that had fallen to the ground were scattered, and the contents rolled out, intermingling with the corpses and the wounded, taking on the appearance of a mess.

Under the bright late summer sun, the houses of Venice are constantly set on fire, and black smoke rises to darken the sky of this beautiful city.

It was only the next day that Boyan learned of the looting of the city of Venice. For the first few minutes, he couldn't even judge his mood. The city was nominally the seat of the Western Roman Empire, but the Venetian Restoration League resisted the Roman court in various ways.

Especially when the Roman court began to restore the old republican system, Venice, which had always maintained an electoral system, took advantage of the opportunity to re-establish the parliament to resist the imperial court. Knowing that Venice could no longer have an army of its own, the profiteers managed to refuse to allow the Imperial Army to be stationed in Venice. At least the refusal to be stationed before the re-establishment of the Imperial Senate. Boyan was not the only one who resisted, he also needed to suppress the various separatist forces that had been formed for hundreds of years, so he simply sold the Venetians a face and temporarily withdrew his army.

This barbarian invasion was, of course, a loss for the Western Roman Empire. At the very least, the Venetian profiteers will no longer have a reason to refuse the Imperial Army to take over the defense of Venice, which may be a good thing.

After a short period of joy, Augustus had already decided in his heart that he could not let the Serbian barbarians go. The Serbs, who were defeated by the Eastern Roman army, did not seem to have been wounded, and still had the strength to plunder on the side of the Western Romans. This is not unusual in the eyes of the Mongols, and according to the rules of the Mongols, such a force must be exterminated.

With a decision, Boyan immediately called his trusted generals and began to arrange the decision to send troops.

By this time, the Serbs had already set out on their way home, and His Excellency Dušan personally led the process. He thought that he would have to loot in Venice for three days, but he didn't expect to rob several times more money than he imagined in just one day. Due to the lack of transport forces, Dušan could only throw away nearly half of the booty and quickly withdraw to Serbia.

Not all Serbs were able to obey orders, and some small tribes remained in Venice. His Excellency Duchamp ignored them, and the order to let them retreat had been given, and the reasons for the rapid retreat were given several times before departure and after the successful plunder. Retreating from Venice to Serbia would take time, and carrying a large amount of supplies would slow down the march. Once caught up by the Roman cavalry, not only will you lose the loot, but you will also lose your own life.

Everything that needs to be said has been said, and the small tribes are not badly obsessed with money. They could be used as a delaying tool, and the time consumed by the Romans to encircle and suppress these small tribes was the time for the retreat of Lord Duchamp's large army.

In addition to supplies, there are also some beautiful Venetian women in the team. At night's rest, these women became a source of happiness for Serbs. With the exception of a few women who were judged to be gifts for other clan leaders, those women could be thrown away if they were used badly. Serbia also doesn't have that much food locally. Winter is coming.

The situation developed as expected by Lord Duchamp, and the Western Roman cavalry was the first to reach Venice. There was no opposition to the total takeover of Venice, but in the past, many thugs secretly threw stones and mud at the Western Roman army. This time the Venetians no longer objected, and many even volunteered to lead the way for the Imperial Army and pursue the barbarians.

The cavalry set off again, and they saw dead or dying Venetian women in the camps they had once stopped in Serbia, which provoked the Venetians even more. When I chased to the edge of the mountain, I saw a large number of trees on the road. The Serbs were very experienced, and cutting down some trees did not prevent the infantry from passing, but it was very effective in stopping the cavalry, especially the baggage vehicles.

Even so, the Mongol cavalry still took advantage of the hardships and hard work of the Mongol horses, and they even left their baggage behind and chased them into the mountains alone. The Venetians and the Serbian barbarians had fought a lot of battles, and were far more familiar with the roads than the Mongol cavalry. The key pass was approaching, and even in the distance the marching queue of Serbs could be seen.

The Mongol cavalry found themselves blocked by Serbian-made barricades. The path was completely blocked by trees, and it took more than half a day to remove the trees by hand. Although the Venetian guide was sad and angry, he did not dare to lead the way. After this pass, there is the Serbian mountains. There were only Serbian-speaking barbarians, and every place was very dangerous. Although the Venetian guide did not care about the life and death of the Mongols, as a guide, he could not guarantee that he would get out of there alive. The Mongol cavalry could only give up the pursuit, and in anger, they simply scolded the Serbian barbarians who were far away.

Augustus Boyan thought that he could form an expeditionary force immediately, but he was still delayed. The Venetian snitched, and the informant was not the kind of poor man who was bought by a small amount of money, but a local figure with a big face. It would be inaccurate to say that these local figures, who suffered heavy losses, were important people in the report against the Venice Restoration Union. These men had moved their families and belongings away before the Serbs invaded, and they controlled the post stations along the way. Under normal circumstances, the post will warn of the news of the barbarian invasion in advance.

Listening to the indignant speech of the whistleblower, Augustus Boyan had some doubts in his heart whether these fellows were members of the Venice Restoration League. From their accurate descriptions, it can be felt that their emotions are more of an indignation of betrayal. And not anger against the traitor.

However, Boyan had no intention of disposing of them because of this, and what he needed most now was allies. Italy's long and narrow peninsula is not particularly large, but the traffic is not smooth. In particular, shipping is completely in the hands of the province of Dasong Europa, and land transportation is too inconvenient.

The whistleblower was assured that the investigation would be carried out, and the Minister of Home Affairs was sent to take charge of the matter, and Boyan requested a tripartite meeting. The news spread quickly, and seven days later, the city of Athens was full of people from Eastern and Western Rome and the province of Europa in the Great Song Dynasty, and a meeting was held against the Serbian barbarians.

As soon as the meeting began, Yang Congrong, the envoy of Europa Province, asked if he wanted to invite Yuan Guo to participate. It didn't matter if the Eastern Roman delegates were there, it was not a bad thing for the Quadripartite Alliance to participate in the crusade. The representative of Western Rome expressed a cautious lack of optimism. First of all, time does not allow.

The Mediterranean climate is dry and hot in summer and warm and rainy in winter. The so-called warmth is compared to countries such as Yuanguo, where the temperature in the mountains of Serbia can also drop below freezing. If the Yuan Kingdom is invited to participate in the crusade, there will be a delay in time. Moreover, the Western Roman Empire and the Yuan Kingdom were nominally subordinate to the forces of the Mongol Empire, so the internal intelligence knew more.

It is said that now Hao Ren, the lord of the Yuan State, is ready to go to Baghdad to take over the post of prime minister, and the Baghdad side has repeatedly urged, perhaps Hao Ren, the lord of the Yuan State, has already embarked on the trip. Without Hao Ren presiding, Yuan Guo's reaction would be even slower. If it drags on for another month, it will be the end of September. By the time the Yuan army arrived, it was October. Drilling into ravines during the rainy season, which begins in October, is not to mention encountering the enemy, and the weather alone can cause many sicknesses in the troops.

When the envoy of Europa learned that Hao Ren was going to Baghdad, he took this to heart, and immediately began the next phase of the meeting to discuss how to defeat the Servia barbarians.

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