The broken crescent banner is soaked in pools of blood, and the double-headed eagle and crusader flag representing the Roman Empire hunt in the black smoke.

After the Greeks stormed the town, the Turks continued to resist with their buildings. Merchants, herdsmen, and aristocrats, each armed with bows and crossbows, spears, pikes, and even bricks and tiles, formed an impenetrable line of defense with a few sturdy houses and courtyard walls. Let the Greek soldiers or thugs leave a corpse in vain in the midst of several assaults.

However, their resistance did not last long. The gunpowder jars that lit the fuse and the stone bullets fired from the ballistas easily smashed through the rammed earth buildings, mixing the smoke and flames with the wails of crying fathers and mothers, and the anxious Turks rushed out together.

Wrapped in turbans and wearing wide robes, their bodies bathed in flames, they ran around the streets screaming.

The Greek soldiers, who had already been ready, immediately rushed up with a scream and launched a brutal and bloody "round-up" of the infidels.

At this moment, Allah can no longer protect his people and followers.

Isaac, the former leader of the puppet army who joined the ranks of the Holy War, was rescued by the Eastern Roman Empire army in a dirty shack on the outskirts of Nicaea, and relied on "holy bread", "holy water" and "holy oil" to get rid of the evil disease and restore his health, pulled his sharp spear out of the chest of a Turkish herdsman who was spitting blood, and sneered at the sight of this guy falling to the ground, and his vision gradually faded.

“…… Damn heretics, I don't think you'll have this day! He turned his head and spat out. So cursed.

-- Because of his disgraceful history of subservience to the Turkish Muslims, Isaac had to behave more fanatically than others in this army of Christians inspired by the faith. Work harder at killing heretics in order to gain the approval of your colleagues and superiors.

He got up and looked around and saw that the carnival of looting and burning continued amidst the smoke and the wails of the Muslims. The Greek soldiers smashed open every house, searched every nook and cranny, even the cemetery, and searched everything of value from warehouses and cellars. Then carrying a heavy package, carrying a man's head on a spear, and a string of women tied to the back of a horse. The monstrous hatred that he had been beaten on the head by the Turks for four hundred years, as well as the tyrannical factor deeply rooted in his heart, was completely unleashed without any scruples.

Even if you blacken your face with soot and mess up your hair. But those shivering Turkish women. Or was he dragged out one by one by the soldiers with excess hormones, stripped naked and pressed down on the dirty streets...... The screams of the women spread like trumpets over the battlefield, mixed with the wails of some teenagers, who were also killed by the peculiar tastes of some people, and the time-honored traditions of ancient Greek civilization.

And the sharp-eyed Isaac, after kicking the door and breaking into the mansion of a wealthy merchant, also found his target - a man wearing a loose and ill-fitting men's robe. A woman with a black veil wrapped in a scarf on her face, sneakily trying to slip away.

Thereupon. In the woman's desperate scream, Isaac immediately pounced, pressed her to the ground, and at the same time removed the veil from her face, and the delicate and beautiful face suddenly made him stunned for a moment, and temporarily stopped moving. However, in the next moment, Isaac screamed - only to see the fierce woman take out a knife out of nowhere and stick it in his thigh!

Unfortunately, this little flesh wound did not stop Isaac's violence, but only provoked the soldier's ferocity.

I saw him roar angrily, his eyes turned blood-red like a beast, and the iron pincer-like thugs grabbed the woman's shoulders and dragged her up violently. Then, Isaac pulled the woman's robe down hard, and made a piston motion in the midst of a terrible scream, causing his full chest to tremble in the air...... Amid the high-pitched screams, the Turkish woman's eyes filled with tears, but she did not want to be seen by the enemy, but turned her head sharply, letting the gushing tears drip into the fine sand of the courtyard......

After a few moments, Isaac, who had been satisfied, slowly put on his trousers, looked down and stroked the pagan beauties who had passed out beside him, chewed on the fine cheese and preserves he had just found, and looked at the piles of silk and gold and silver jewelry in his arms, and felt infinitely happy for a while.

However, in the next moment, his mood could not be happier anymore.

Because, through the hollowed-out carved window lattice, Isaac was stunned to see a swaying crescent moon flag, and the dust and mist raised by a large group of cavalry!

“…… Enemy attack-"

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“…… Allah, Akbar! ”

With an earth-shattering shout, thousands of Turkish cavalry raised their scimitars and rushed towards the ruined villages and towns filled with smoke and fire.

“…… Rumble ......"

Thousands of horses' hooves trampled the ground, causing a huge roar, like a bomber passing over, like a dull thunder, which in an instant shattered the dream of the Greek soldiers in the town to burn, kill, plunder, and return with a full load.

Although the Greeks, immersed in plunder and violence, finally discovered the enemy at this time, they had no time to assemble and respond.

-- Under normal circumstances, wherever the army is, the scouts must be scattered several kilometers away in case of any unforeseen circumstances, otherwise they will be beaten in the back and will not know what is going on. Therefore, it is rare for the enemy to kill the side and not know anything about it.

But the problem was that the more decent regular mercenary units in the Eastern Roman Empire's camp were now gathered by the emperor, preparing to launch a general attack on the city of Bursa, and at the same time guard against possible Turkish reinforcements.

The troops sent out to "purify" the Muslim infidels everywhere were all Isaac, the militia that had been improvised in the enemy-occupied areas of Asia Minor, and belonged to the category of ultra-cheap cannon fodder who were all dead and did not feel distressed.

In fact. These people are not so much the army as they happen to be assigned to well-equipped armed robbery gangs, and they are extremely lacking in all kinds of military and criminal common sense. After entering the town, he didn't even leave a sentry to look out for the wind, and his level was even worse than that of ordinary bandits.

In the past, when they were one-sidedly slaughtering Turkish civilians everywhere with their superior swords and superior numbers, it was not harmful to be occasionally negligent. But after the opponent summons reinforcements, these low-level mistakes become very fatal.

As a result, a new round of overwhelming shouts and killings. In this smoke-filled ruins, there was a sudden sound, and the narrow and winding streets and alleys were full of people. A terrible bugle. The rumbling drums of war, the clatter of swords, the cries of women and children, the sounds of the soldiers cursing and shouting are intertwined. Occasionally, there will be a few thunderous explosions. turned this town, which had been silent, into a pot of porridge again.

A moment later, when Turahan Pasha Tsema entered the town, it was already quiet. Thousands of mangled corpses lay on the ground, blood flowing everywhere, and the ominous black shadows of crows swirling in the sky.

The pungent smell of blood and rancid smell mixed with the scorching smell of gunpowder smoke formed a disgusting battlefield atmosphere.

The Turkish cavalry, which arrived in time, finally got out of the hands of the Greek thugs after a bloody battle. Recapture the town that had been slaughtered.

At this moment, some Turkish cavalry were counting the food, arrows and gunpowder they had found. Take something easy to carry with you. Some people carried shovels and dug trenches outside the town to hastily bury the dead townspeople. Others fed their camels and horses with concentrated fodder such as beans and hay. Still others were pacifying the remnants of the newly escaped Turkish population and torturing several Greek prisoners of war who had just been captured.

Instead of stopping in the town, Turahan Pasha walked straight through the town to the west of the town, where he could see the towering walls of Bursa in the distance, before jumping off the saddle. Heavy metal riding boots trampled on the ground with a crisp sound. A chilly autumn wind blew, sending the corners of his cloak flying high, revealing a muscular body full of scars and sores.

Hanging his gorgeous and heavy helmet on the saddle beside him, looking at the devastated scene around him, and the purple imperial flag of the Eastern Roman Empire fluttering on the hills in the distance, Turahan Pasha sighed, did not speak for a long time, but could not help but wet his cheeks with tears.

He knew that it was the camp of the Eastern Roman Emperor, and that it was also the place where the noblest spoils of war were located.

If he had 50,000 men, he would have swooped down at this time, vowing to capture the Eastern Roman Emperor in the camp.

If he had 20,000 men, he would have set up camp in an orderly manner, choose the place where he would fight, and then send a letter to the Eastern Roman Emperor to challenge him to have a vigorous fateful duel in this place to decide the ownership of this land.

If he had 5,000 men, he would also take advantage of the brief gap when the enemy had no time to react and try to raid the Eastern Roman Emperor's imperial tent.

But the problem is that the army that remained with him at this time was only a mere 2,000 men.

-- On the march from Ankara to Bursa, an unprecedented and complex plague struck Turakhan Pasha's army, claiming thousands of lives in just a few days and destroying all discipline and order.

Most of his soldiers either fell ill and died on the march, or left the group in the middle of the march because of the fear of the plague, or mutinied themselves at the instigation of careerists. Even his only son contracted typhoid fever and died in the village halfway through.

The pervasive and deadly plague was simply more terrible than any enemy for a dense crowd like the army.

After losing his heirs and most of his army, the grief-stricken Turakhan Pasha no longer had the luxury of becoming the overlord of Asia Minor, but only wanted to return to his native Bursa, the birthplace of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, where it didn't matter if he died.

Therefore, after a little silence, he still made the most conservative decision: "...... Loyal warriors, the road to the city of Bursa has been opened! Now, while the enemy has not yet reacted, let us hurry in and help the people of the city to strengthen their faith! ”

A few more hours later, Constantine XI, in his purple tent, had a headache to learn the bad news that Turkish reinforcements had broken through the siege.

-- The already crumbling city of Bursa. After getting this new force, I'm afraid that there will be variables again.

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Time flies, and the cool autumn is fleeting. A wet and cold winter is accompanied by cold winds on the northern shore of the Black Sea.

In December 1543, on the front line of the city of Bursa, the siege position of the Eastern Roman Empire army, the tent of Emperor Constantine XI

“…… Dear Bixia, with the blessing of Almighty God, we have successfully crossed the Dardanelles and landed on Asian soil on the other side of the strait. The resistance of the Turks was very weak. Our troops effortlessly captured the city of Canakkale, which held the channel of the strait, - due to the outbreak of a massive plague, the Turkish garrison burned the barracks and fortresses themselves long before the arrival of our troops. Escaped without a trace.

In the ensuing sweep, about 10,000 Turks were killed near the harbor, leaving the entire beach soaked in blood. In addition, at least 50,000 Turks have already died of the plague. We were going to sell some of our captives as slaves. But no buyers could be found at all. Neither the Genoese, nor the Venetians, nor the Florentines were interested in doing the human business in times of the plague.

Although the amount of booty harvested was somewhat unsatisfactory, encouraged by the victory, our army was still overwhelmed along the coast of the Sea of Marmara, and the remaining pagans were almost vulnerable. Under the banner of God's glory and holy war, they were scattered like mud and sand, and then they were completely wiped out one by one in the crusade of Christians everywhere. On olive trees on both sides of the road through which our troops passed. All were covered with pagan heads, jokingly called "Turkish grapes" by the soldiers.

According to Bixia's previous edict. All the pagans who took up arms against the Roman army were to be put to death by their families, and the young women who were of good looks were to be used as prostitutes or as reward soldiers, as the case may be. And the infidels, who voluntarily surrendered, gave them rations and forcibly expelled them to the east. And those Christian rebels who were desperate to join the infidels and help the Turks against the imperial army were to be executed by lot, and the rest were reduced to serfs, supervised by the army, and restored to the water facilities destroyed by the Turks.

At present, our army has completely swept the outskirts around the city of Canakkale, exterminated and expelled all the Turks in Yujian, captured more than 20 Turkish ships scattered in this area, and seized the island of Marmara, completely controlling all the shipping routes in this sea area.

Only a handful of the most ferocious Turks refused to submit, lurking among the hills, sporadically attacking our rear roads and baggage caravans, but this was not a serious problem, and the native Greek Christians had lived here for twenty centuries and were far more familiar with the land than the new pagans. When we have completely destroyed their tribes and villages, and killed all the infidels, the newly recovered land will naturally stabilize.

Inspired by the Christian rebels, they have gathered under the banner of our double-headed eagles, and have now assembled a new force of more than 5,000 men, in addition to tens of thousands of able-bodied men who can serve as a reserve soldier. The Jews in the city also gave their possessions to reward our troops. The reconnaissance squad, advancing southward, made a surprise attack near the city of Manisa on the Aegean Sea, only to meet strong resistance from the Turks.

In addition, the Knights Hospitaller on the southern island of Rhodes also sent people to contact us, hoping to join forces with our army to attack the cities of Smyrna, Manissa, and Ephesus. At the same time, they also want to get a batch of 'holy relics' from Hagia Sophia that can prevent the plague, and they are willing to pay the corresponding price.

Now, in order to put an end to this year's fighting as soon as possible, I have managed to gather 7,000 soldiers and civilians and, under the cover of the naval fleet, march slowly along the Corniche towards the Bursa battlefield, which is expected to arrive in five days, hoping to help you.

Your most loyal companion, Commander of the Imperial Navy, Lucas......"

After reading the telegram sent by the Commander of the Imperial Navy, Grand Duke Lucas, from the Dardanelles battlefield on the Western Front, Emperor Constantine XI couldn't help but show a lonely wry smile on his face, and then he stood up and walked to the map table full of small flags.

At this time, the two Eastern Roman armies that crossed the sea from the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus respectively, like the two pincers of crabs, clamped the two ends of the Sea of Marmara respectively, and then advanced east and west, encroaching step by step, sweeping the Turkish Muslim settlements in the vicinity one by one, killing or expelling them. After the "Marines" led by Grand Duke Lucas successfully blocked the Dardanelles, most of the more than 20,000 square kilometers of land surrounding the Sea of Marmara have now been planted with the small double-headed eagle flag representing the Eastern Roman Empire.

The overall strategic situation seems to be very good, and the only trouble is that the old capital of the Turks, Bursa, is really a hard nut to crack.

As of today, the fierce siege has been going on for more than forty days, but the fall of Bursa is still far away.

Because, the Turks in the city, who were originally scattered, finally had a backbone that could organize the war of resistance at this time. (To be continued.) )