What made the time-traveling emperor even more frustrated was that although he had foreseen it through another historical record, he still failed to prevent the birth of the future "Urban Cannon" that destroyed the walls of Constantinople - the emperor Bixia had already made up his mind that once he heard that a Hungarian named Urban had come to Constantinople to sell cannons, he would immediately kill them, so as not to finance the enemy (the poor financial resources of the Eastern Roman Empire could not cast any decent cannons, Nor can he pay a salary that will satisfy Urban). And the Hungarian engineer Urban, who was good at casting cannons, did indeed come to Constantinople before taking refuge with the Turkish pagans, as recorded in history.

However, even if the emperor was a history student before the crossing, it is impossible to remember such a small detail as when Urban arrived in Constantinople. As a result, when the urban engineer came to Constantinople, Emperor Bixia happened to visit the Knights Hospitaller in Rhodes...... Next, Urban, who had gone empty, did not stay in Constantinople at all, but went directly to Adrianople to find a job for the Turkish Sultan, and was favored and invested by Mehmed II earlier than in history, and also cast the famous "Urban Cannon" earlier!

Although it seemed to later generations to be bulky and delicate, difficult to reload, and slow to fire (an average of three hours to fire a cannon), it was definitely the most powerful firearm of its time in the 15th century. , at least to be able to chisel through the imposing walls of Constantinople.

Now, the gate is 17 feet (about 5.18m) long. Weighing 17 tons, with a barrel thickness of 8 inches (about 20 to withstand the tremendous impact of the cannon), a caliber of up to 30 inches (about 762 mm), and the granite shells used to weigh 1,500 pounds (about 680 kilograms), the bronze behemoth has been completed and tested at the foundry in Adrianople. And under the haulage of 400 men and 60 oxen, let the heavy artillery carriage slowly advance towards Constantinople. Although the cannon moved very slowly, it would one day advance to the outskirts of Constantinople.

on this. The emperor was trapped in the city of sorrow, in addition to the sudden death of a heart attack from Urban, who had cursed the pagans with needles and needles, and the cannon that fell into the water or fell into a swamp on the way. There was no way - it was impossible to harass and ambush, and the defenders of Constantinople, who could not even assemble a few horses, could not compete with the Turkish cavalry in the field.

And in Constantinople in these years, there is no such powerful killer in "Assassin's Creed" who is better than the special forces and looks like 007, as for the "Assasin" Assassin organization, which was quite legendary in the Crusader era, by 1453, it had been exterminated by the Mongols for a long time.

Therefore, after calculating the remaining capital at hand, Emperor Bixia found that he could really only sit still.

In the midst of all kinds of helpless despair. Emperor Constantine XI even had the idea of "saving the country by curves" - the time-traveling emperor was obviously not as disciplined as his own figure, and if the Turkish sultan was willing to offer a slightly more generous price, let him lead a "bloodless opening of Constantinople", peacefully hand over the crown, the imperial seal, and the purple robe, and leave with the followers of the city. Nor is it absolutely non-negotiable...... Just as Tokugawa Yoshiki, the first general of the Zuihou expedition at the end of the Edo period, peacefully transferred Edo Castle to Emperor Meiji.

The bottom line of Constantine XI's negotiations was for the Turks to carve out a piece of territory in exchange for Constantinople for himself, the emperor, and his subjects who were willing to follow him—the legal inheritance of the Roman Empire could be relocated from Rome on the Italian peninsula to Constantinople at the junction of Eurasia. Nature can also migrate to more distant and remote places.

As long as he could save a spark for the future revival of the Roman Empire, Constantine XI felt that he was already worthy of this crown.

As for being a "high-ranking guest" under the rule of Sultan Mehmed II, it was something that the time-traveling emperor had never considered: first, the Turkish sultans in the early period were basically ruthless and decisive, and even their own brothers and sons could be executed en masse without hesitation, expecting a captive to live a long life by his side was simply a dream; Secondly, he still vaguely remembers the tragic fate of the queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty and the late Northern Song Dynasty Emperor Hui and the Second Emperor of Qin - being poisoned by wine is already euthanasia, and there are people who have their heads cut off and used as balls to kick and play!

Fortunately, he, the emperor, has no children or daughters, and there are no harem concubines for the enemy to humiliate, which is somewhat of a great luck in misfortune.

At this time, Emperor Constantine XI stood on the walls near the port, anxiously awaiting the response of the Turkish sultan.

Then, the commander of the Imperial Navy, Archduke Lucas, whom he had entrusted with the matter, finally brought back the "generous" promise of the Sultan to the Emperor.

“…… The Sultan said that all he wanted was the city, Constantinople. If you are willing to surrender the city to the Sultan, the Sultan agrees to let you leave with your treasure and people, and then give you Mistra and make you a friend. ”

In the warm sea breeze, the dusty Grand Duke Lucas conveyed the reply of Sultan Mehmed II with a blank face.

“…… Mistra? I heard you right?! What does this mean in Sudan? Give me my brother's territory?! ”

The emperor was first taken aback, and then there was despair on his face, "...... I see, this is the trick of Rome to destroy Carthage! ”

In this regard, Grand Duke Lucas, who also saw through the tricks of the Turks, also nodded silently.

On the eve of the Third Punic War, in the process of the Romans conquering North Africa and destroying the city of Carthage, they also used peace talks to paralyze their opponents - first in the name of peace talks, they asked the Carthaginians to take hostages, and then demanded that the Carthaginians hand over all their weapons, and Zuihou forced the Carthaginians to demolish the city and move elsewhere...... When the Carthaginians finally began to resist, they had no weapons to use.

The Turkish Sultan "generously gifted" Mistra to Emperor Constantine XI, the city of Moria on the Peloponnese, the only decent enclave of the Eastern Roman Empire today, is currently given to the emperor's younger brother Demetus.

In other words, Sultan Mehmed II was trading with Emperor Constantine XI who was trapped in a lonely city with a city that originally belonged to the Eastern Roman Empire, not only to easily obtain Constantinople, but also to drive the emperor to the Peloponnese with the remaining Eastern Roman army to fight his brother Demetus for Mistra - at that time, no matter who won or lost this fratricide, it would greatly deplete the remnants of the Eastern Roman Empire. Next, it will be the turn of the Turks to "catch cicadas with praying mantis, and yellow finches behind".

This meant that the Turkish Sultan had no sincerity in the peace talks from the very beginning and was not prepared to leave Constantine XI with any way to live.

――――――――――――――――――――――

“…… Hehe, Lucas, it looks like we're running out of options, aren't we? ”

After the initial shock, Emperor Constantine XI smiled miserably and turned his back to the sea, overlooking the city of Constantinople.

The afterglow of the setting sun slowly spills over from the far west, and the Hagia Sophia, the Royal Palace, and the Colosseum all reflect a faint golden light under the sunset. The brilliant golden glow hides the mottled scars of the old buildings, making them look dreamlike and unreal.

The city, named "New Rome" by Emperor Constantine the Great, is the millennium-long rut that the ancient Roman Empire dragged behind. Although it had its glory and prosperity, prosperity and greatness, in the midst of a new era of fierce turmoil, the remnants of this classical civilization were eventually evaporated like water stains under the scorching sun, or they continued to exist under a new name - Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Turkish Empire!

“…… Give up all illusions of peace and get ready for war! Lucas, one of the toughest battles is about to begin! I don't know if we can win this battle, and I can even say that our chances of winning are very slim. But if Constantinople was lost, the Roman Empire would have disappeared entirely. The city, which holds the soul of the Romans, will forever be hoisted with the crescent flag, and the Hagia Sophia will be converted into a mosque......"

Stroking the battlements of the city wall beside him, Emperor Constantine XI sighed like a dream, his distant and profound gaze seemed to penetrate infinite time and space, "...... In that distant golden age, when the Romans were leisurely whistling in their magnificent and ornate baths, they were probably optimistic that the Roman Empire, like the bath under them, was built on a single piece of granite and would never be destroyed.

And by the time of our generation, everyone should have understood that there is no such thing as an endless feast in this world, and everything has an end......"

He vented the chaotic thoughts in his heart like this, and muttered to himself for a long time before finally getting down to business, "...... The enemy's land and sea attack is about to begin, Lucas, I order you to immediately pull up the barrage of the Golden Horn, and at the same time issue martial law orders for the whole city, and prepare for defensive warfare! ”

The Emperor flicked his fingers at the somewhat peeling walls and said to Lucas.

“…… Yes, Bixia! Grand Duke Lucas bowed slightly, "...... Well, the answer to the Turkish Sultan ......"

“…… Tell the hypocritical Turkish Sultan: Put away your fake so-called 'generosity'! It is clear that what you desire is not peace, but war! Now, I can only turn around and face God alone! I will not flee, nor will I evacuate the people! I will close the gates of the city and shed a drop of my own zuihou for the glory of my people and of Rome! ”

Constantine XI waved his hand fiercely and said categorically, while wrapping his purple robe tightly and striding down the city wall.

- In the dim twilight of dusk, the figure of the Roman emperor seemed so dim and small, as small as his broken empire............)