In fact, through the trade and logistics of the Mediterranean, after some turnaround, the terrible epidemic that had come on had spread back to Constantinople in the plague areas of Asia Minor and Italy, causing the deaths of thousands of citizens and pilgrims...... Fortunately, under the super-era healing power of antibiotics, aspirin and various antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs, Constantinople can withstand it for the time being.

-- In the 15th century, this percentage of mortality was nothing.

The only regret for Emperor Bixia was that Prince Orhan, the last descendant of the Ottoman Turkish royal family, was stranded in Constantinople as a hostage, and his wife and children were unlucky enough to die of a new round of plague - at this point, the Ottoman royal family had completely disappeared from this shijie earth, and the Eastern Roman Empire could no longer cause chaos for the Turks by supporting a puppet regime.

In short, in this tragic summer, the Christian shijie in the west is of course the death knell, and the Islamic shijie in the east is the same as the lamentation, and every day countless villages and towns are killed, and tens of thousands of Christians and Muslims return to heaven in their sickness. The infinite fear of death enveloped everyone's heart, and all kinds of terrible rumors about the destruction of Shijie and the coming of the end were noisy for a while.

However, in the midst of this purgatory on earth, which is full of sorrow and suffering, Constantinople, which stands majestically between the Christian and Islamic shijie, is like a lighthouse erected in the dark mist, illuminating the way for people to struggle for survival - the "holy water", "holy oil" and "holy bread" generously given by the Orthodox Church in Hagia Sophia not only fully united the people. Keeping the subjects of the empire firmly united under the banner of "holy war" is also a powerful hidden weapon, which can be very effective in recruiting rebellions. A soldier who surrenders without a fight.

For example, in Calsedon, which is now the headquarters of the Crusade Army, the local townspeople spontaneously organized a rebellion, killed the Turkish governor and the garrison, and then returned to the imperial flag - before, when the inhabitants of Calcedon came to seek medical treatment, according to the emperor's instructions. The Orthodox priests of Hagia Sophia openly declared that they would be happy to relieve the suffering of devout Christians, but they would never admit any heretics!

Therefore. In the vicinity of Constantinople, many villages and towns had to expel or massacre Turkish Muslims in exchange for "holy water", "holy oil" and "holy bread", or the salvation of modern antibiotics and medicines in different time and space......

Now. Through the shock of miracles and the fear of death. He has been very effective in uniting people's hearts; And the Turkish army, which had died violently outside the city, provided the impoverished Eastern Roman Empire with plenty of armament and baggage - the time was ripe to regain the lost territory in the East!

“…… Bixia, the Holy War Army participating in the Eastern Crusade has been assembled, please take up and preside over the flag awarding ceremony! ”

Just as Emperor Constantine XI was holding a teacup and thinking about it, the urging of State Secretary Franz came to his ears.

So, the emperor walked out of the palace surrounded by guards, and the bustling streets and rows of houses were in full view for a while.

-- Compared to the grandeur of Constantinople. The town of Chalcedon, the "temporary capital" where the emperor is currently stationed, is naturally much smaller. It's just a palace. A fortress, plus a school, a pier, and a shopping street, is not much larger than an ordinary village. But Emperor Constantine XI found the town more comfortable and alive than the empty capital - Constantinople, once a million-inhabited city, is now reduced to 70,000 inhabitants and is essentially a few dilapidated villages surrounded by ruins.

On the contrary, the town of Chalcedon is less shabby and dilapidated because of its small size, which makes it densely populated.

The most important thing is that, no matter how small and mundane, this is, after all, a city that belongs entirely to the Eastern Roman Empire, and not a supreme emperor like Constantinople, but who has to endure the existence of two "states within states" of Venice and the Genoese Concession.

In short, in a rather cheerful mood, Constantine XI took his imperial ministers to the wilderness on the outskirts and began to review his army.

-- In recent months, plague patients and devout believers seeking God's blessing have been pouring into Constantinople by sea to pray for life-saving "holy water", "holy oil" and "holy bread", as well as blessings from Orthodox priests. A considerable number of the ruined nobles, poor knights, and prodigal mercenaries, after being exiled to Constantinople to save their lives, claimed to have been "inspired by God" (more likely to have taken a fancy to the emperor's high salary - the "high salary" paid in pepper) and joined the Eastern Roman Empire's preparatory crusade, so that Emperor Constantine XI, who had been demoted to a centurion, once again had a relatively abundant professional army.

Therefore, the emperor finally put together 200 cavalry, more than 4,000 regular infantry, more than 5,000 auxiliaries and handymen, and the total number of the whole army was as high as 10,000.

Although it is equivalent to the establishment of a division in later generations, this is the largest army that the Eastern Roman Empire has been able to organize in the past hundred years.

The only regret is that due to the prevalence of horse plague in all parts of Europe and Asia, it is difficult to buy war horses even if you have money, so the number of cavalry is relatively scarce.

This army, which seemed to the layman to be a formidable force, was stationed on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, on the outskirts of the town of Kalsedon. Countless tents are like mushrooms, crowding the vast field. The bonfires lit in the camp are like blooming red flowers.

In contrast to the rabble that had previously gone on expedition to Adrianople, this was a real combat force. The knights, clad in iron and straddling their horses, resemble the beasts of war wrapped in metal. The infantrymen, armed with scimitars and battle axes, lined up in a dense line, following the knights - thanks to the 140,000 Turkish troops buried under the city of Constantinople this spring, Emperor Constantine XI, who had always been poor, now finally had enough and luxurious armor to provide the "jihadist army" participating in the crusade with the most haode equipment, armed to the teeth in one go.

-- Even in the relatively backward era of cold weapons, the restraining effect of sophisticated equipment on warfare was very powerful. A noble knight would have been easily killed by a hunter at a distance with a crossbow if he had not put on armor like a tin can. And if a group of heavily armored knights managed to storm a group of unarmed peasants, it would mean the beginning of an avalanche of disasters......

The gentle sea breeze blows from the west, pulling the double-headed eagle flag, and hunting towards the battlefield in the east.

Looking at this Roman army, which originally did not exist in history, Emperor Bixia couldn't help but feel excited for a while, but at the same time he had some doubts:

“…… What about my Varangian guards? It's the Tatars and Rus' with the scythe-hammer banner, why aren't they here? ”

Then the Emperor received a dumbfounded answer - his "Varangian Guard", that is, the crossers who were mainly Russian "former communist fighters", were now holding the canonization ceremony of the Holy Sophia Cathedral across the strait! (To be continued.) )