Standing on the walls of Constantinople, watching the teams of "Mujahideen" rushing out, the traversers who watched coldly all sighed in unison. ,!

“…… What a rabble! Former Prime Minister Kotori Yu Mahaku sighed, while Wang Qiu and the others nodded sympathetically.

-- Inspired by faith, inspired by the Church, lured by wealth, and mobilized by Emperor Constantine XI, Constantinople, with a population of less than 100,000, miraculously assembled an "army" of 9,000 men in just one week, and then marched out of the arena gate leading to the northwest with hymns singing...... Of course, although the quantity is barely up, the quality cannot be guaranteed at all......

In order to get enough strong men in the shortest possible time, Constantine XI Chapter 36 and Holy War (II) almost exhausted all the crooked ways, and every man in the whole city, from sixty-year-old men to twelve-thirteen-year-old boys, from farmers to priests, from carpenters to cooks, from artists to scholars, was all conscripted into the army and thrown into the holy war. Since the number of adult men is really insufficient, even able-bodied women are pulled up to make up the numbers......

In addition, due to the temptation of the emperor's high salary, those expatriates from Western countries temporarily living near Constantinople, as well as sailors and oarsmen, also moved one after another, cameo mercenaries to participate in the holy war, thinking that even if they could not take the Turks' fortified Adrianople, they could at least mix a set of weapons and a military salary from the Eastern Roman emperor, and by the way, loot some small villages and towns on the way to subsidize their families.

Obviously, it is completely impossible to get so many unorganized and undisciplined rabble to unify their uniforms and flags in just a few days. Therefore, among the procession that walked out of the city gate to the battlefield at this time, only a small number of people carried the double-headed eagle banner of the Eastern Roman Empire, most of them carried all kinds of crosses drawn by themselves, and some Orthodox clergy even carried huge wooden crosses and icons, or the Thirty-sixth Chapter of the Virgin Mary, and the huge portrait of the Holy War (II), which made it look like a religious procession, but it did not look like they were going to war.

Fortunately, the troops, though poorly qualified, were well equipped - with millions of weapons just captured by the Turks, everyone was armed with decent spears, scimitars, daggers, crossbows and shields, and the more senior officers were able to get their hands on the famous Damascus scimitars. The seized chain mail and plate armor are also piled up, and anyone who thinks they can wear them can take them casually...... It's just that the cattle and horses that were originally used to pull the cannon were all smoked to death by Soman poison gas, so the siege artillery left by the Turks really couldn't be dragged and had to be left behind.

As for the old, weak, sick and disabled who remained, the next few days were probably very hard - the 140,000 corpses of Turks outside the city, and many more dead horses, dead sheep, dead dogs, and dead cows, were all waiting for them to be burned one by one! It's a huge undertaking......

Truth be told, although Sultan Mehmed II and his mightiest army of 140,000 men had been killed, and incidentally the entire court of the Ottoman Empire had been buried - since the battlefield of Constantinople was not too far from the capital, Sultan Mehmed II confidently moved the entire central government to the front line, and then was poisoned by Soman, leaving Turkey in a state of anarchy paralysis...... But it was still a crazy adventure to travel 150 kilometers on the undefended Thracian plain to attack Adrianople, a fortress town that had been entrenched by the Turks for a hundred years.

-- Because of the horror and shock caused by the violent death of 140,000 Turkish troops in one night, they may really be able to kill all the way to the city of Adrianople, after all, this land was not long ago the hinterland of Gyeonggi of the Eastern Roman Empire, and there are many remnants who miss the Imperial Double-headed Eagle. But if you want to go one step further and take Adrianople, which is still entrenched by tens of thousands of Turks and has extremely strong defenses, it will not be so easy.

“…… Mr. Emperor, do you really want to use such a rabble to go on an expedition to Adrianople? You see, your troops have nothing but enthusiasm and swords, but no discipline, no organization, no heavy artillery, no siege engines - of course, there are many of these things in the wilderness outside Constantinople, they are all dropped by the Turks, but you can't get them to Adrianople, a hundred and fifty kilometers away......"

Wang Qiu pointed to the flow of people who were wandering out of the city, and asked Constantine XI with a puzzled expression, "...... Can this look really win battles? ”

“…… Truth be told, the chances of winning this expedition are slim to none, but if you don't seize this opportunity, then the future is really dark. ”

Constantine XI replied with unusual calmness, "...... Instead of hugging behind the city wall and suffocating to death, it is better to take the opportunity to fight! Let's talk ...... again."

He suddenly changed his previous serious expression, and instead squeezed his eyes slyly, "...... You're going to help then, right? ”

“…… Alas, I knew it was so...... In the end, it's going to be a problem for us......"

Regarding the scoundrel face of this traverser emperor, Wang Qiu had to roll his eyes and sigh, and at the same time raised his middle finger in disdain.

At the same time, on the port docks of the Venetian Concession on the Golden Horn, the commander-in-chief of the Venetian Republic's reinforcement fleet, the military governor of the Cretan colony, Gabrirevis, and the ambassador of the Republic of Venice to Constantinople and the prefect of the concession, Girolamo. Minotto (Girmomi, also watched the Eastern Roman Empire's "holy war" as if it were a mouse.

Not far from them, a group of citizens of Constantinople who had signed up for the Holy War were happily lining up in front of the wagons to receive the weapons they had just captured from the Turkish barracks, and then armed themselves - Arab scimitars, light chain mail, helmets adorned with fur, and ornate silk or linen robes, gave this Christian jihadist army a pagan style. What's more, because of the rush of time, they didn't even have time to erase the crescent moon on their shields, so they had to hastily draw a cross with charcoal.

Several Orthodox priests, also wearing armour, are holding crosses to bless the mujahideen and encourage them to become the bravest warriors.

“…… Look, who do I see? Butchers, beggars, cooks, coopers, bakers, and ...... pimps in the courtyard."

Pointing at these "mujahideen" who were in shabby clothes, tall, short, fat and thin, and didn't look like they could fight, Admiral Trevison couldn't help but laugh and teased...... It reminds me of the Poor Man's Crusade! Did they think the expedition was a pilgrimage? ”

“…… Not just the Poor Man's Crusade! This crazy Roman emperor even got a female crusader! ”

Ambassador Minotto sighed and shook his head, and stretched out his hand to another alley not far away, where a group of women in heavy makeup and debauchery, but also in armor, were laughing and singing praises in their charming voices, and swaggering through the city with red crosses.

Most of the women are the dock warblers familiar to sailors, and the woman who leads the flag is even more eye-catching - she is tall, well-built, her face has a kind of ** charm, but her eyes are shining like a fever, revealing a rare excitement and expectation.

Because of the limitations of her class, although she tried her best to dress herself beautifully, she could only wear a white shirt with sleeves as a commoner, and then put on a rich cloak and countless dazzling jewelry—the cloak was goose-yellow because she did not dare to use purple and red, which symbolized the nobility—and put a colorful hairpin into her hair, which glittered in the sun.

Seeing this group of coquettish women marching in line, the Venetian sailors gathered on the pier blew excitedly. Whistle.

And after seeing the bright and beautiful girl in the lead, Admiral Trevison's eyes were wider than a bull's eye for a while.

“…… Oh! My God! Isn't the leader the man with the cross flag Diolena? The night before she was lying on my bed and flirtatious, and she took one of my silver rings! He almost groaned and sighed, "...... Now she is pretending to be a saint! ”

“…… That's right! The emperor of Constantinople has already mobilized all the women for his crazy adventure, and I really don't know how to end it next...... Do we have to wait for God to give another miracle and send angels to slaughter all the infidels in Turkey? ”

Ambassador Minotto scoffed disapprovingly, "...... The whole city was emptied by him, and it seems that the emperor really didn't think that someone else would take advantage of it? Hehe, seriously, at the moment, even with the Concession Guards under my command, it is enough to make the Eastern Roman Empire change its master! ”

-- Note that Ambassador Minotto is not talking empty words at this time. You know, the majestic walls of Constantinople may be an insurmountable barrier in the eyes of the Turks. But for the Venetians, it was nothing - their concession and army were originally inside the walls of Constantinople, next to the edge of the palace! It's like Dongjiaomin Lane in Beijing during the era of China's Beiyang government.

So, if they really wanted to destroy the Eastern Roman Empire, the Venetians could do it at any time...... But the question is, are they going to do this?

-- The present semi-independent Eastern Roman Empire, although poor and often unpaid, is still a good dog who can exchange his own bones with his Venetian masters. If the Venetians were not greedy enough to take Constantinople as a colony, which was the hub of transportation, and not to mention that they would immediately sit on the fire pit and be besieged from all sides, not only would the Turks immediately regard Venice as the first land, but also the Genoese, who had been monopolizing the Black Sea trade all these years, would feel that they were choked by Venice, and that the Venetians themselves would have to bear the enormous expenses and sacrifices of defending against the Islamic infidels in the Near East.

“…… Your Excellency, Constantinople is the choke point of the entire Eastern Mediterranean, and I wonder how many people want to seize this last remaining jewel of the Eastern Roman Empire. It will be easy for us to defeat the nominal Emperor, but it will be almost impossible to clean up the rest of the situation and hold the city. The entire army of the Republic was still mired in Milan, and there were not so many surplus troops to send to the East. ”

Admiral Trevison hesitated, but felt that he should warn the Venetian ambassador, who was far away and probably not very well-informed...... Taking advantage of the civil war in Milan (1447-1450) in previous years, we successfully seized a large part of the Duchy of Milan and planted half of northern Italy with the golden lion banner of the Republic. But now the new Duke of Milan, Francisco. Sforza, the notorious leader of the mercenaries, had gradually stabilized the interior of the Duchy of Milan and began to launch a counteroffensive - it must be said that this rough bastard was really good at the war, and the Republic had suffered heavy losses on the battlefields of northern Italy in recent years, and had fought so hard that he had no time to pay attention to other places......

This time in order to reinforce Constantinople, I had already had to drain the entire force of Crete. If we want to seize Constantinople, not to mention the serious political and religious influences, from a military point of view, in order to hold the city, we will transfer all the troops of Greece and Asia Minor, and then pull the Knights Hospitaller in Rhodes, I am afraid that we will not be able to fill this hole! ”

Admiral Trevison stared closely into Ambassador Minoto's eyes and said solemnly, word by word, "...... Therefore, I hope you will not be fooled by some apparent opportunity, and act rashly and on your own to do anything that will embarrass both the Council and the Governor! ”

“…… Hahahaha, just kidding, don't be so serious! Ambassador Minotto shrugged his shoulders disapprovingly...... Rest assured, I am well aware of the difficulties that the Republic is currently facing - we do not have the strength to open up more overseas battlefields until the war with the Milanese is over - so I will not act rashly! Moreover, the Roman crown has long since been dimmed, and it has no value in my eyes. ”

He swore as he patted Admiral Trevison on the shoulder, "...... By the way, Your Excellency, the war in Constantinople has ended, what are your plans for next? Is it a direct return to the Cretan colony? Or rush to the home country to reinforce the Italian battlefield? ”

Although he did not like the frivolous attitude of the ambassador, out of the consideration of duty and obligation, Admiral Trevison still took out a beautifully framed official document from his pocket, showed it to the ambassador Minoto in front of his eyes, and at the same time leaned into his ear and said in a low voice.

“…… Although the city had been saved by God, my battle was not over - the order given to me by the governor and the council was to gather all my forces from Crete and cross the sea to reinforce Constantinople. But before arriving in Constantinople, it was strictly forbidden to provoke the Turks. When I arrived in Constantinople, I would be under the command of the Eastern Roman Emperor, but I must stress to the Emperor the great sacrifice that Venice had made for it. ”

Speaking of this, Admiral Trevison's words suddenly changed: "...... If, by the time of my arrival, the fighting on the side of Constantinople had subsided, then whether the Emperor had won or the Sultan had won, my fleet would have to be transferred to Moria in the Peloponnese, and by force the two brothers whom the Emperor had enshrined there would have bowed to the Republic, and that some of the Venetian concessions which had been previously recovered by them would be ceded again......"

“…… In other words, you have just rescued the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, and you are about to attack the territory of this empire? ”

Listening to this logically contradictory order, Ambassador Minotto couldn't help frowning, but then he was relieved - the reason why the Republic of Venice wanted to rescue Constantinople this time was definitely not out of any good intentions, but because it would not allow this strategic place to be annexed by other opponents, thus posing a threat to itself...... On the other hand, it is to see the Eastern Roman Empire as a dish on a plate, which is only allowed to be eaten by oneself! Since the main dish of the imperial capital of Constantinople seems too hot at the moment, and the gain of grabbing it outweighs the loss, let's nibble on some side dishes and snacks first!

For example, after China's First Sino-Japanese War, the Russians also joined forces with Germany and France to engage in "three-country intervention to return Liao" to force the Japanese to spit out the Liaodong Peninsula. And the Manchu court, which had just been beaten to the ground with a blue nose and swollen face, was really grateful. But then these old Maozi immediately revealed their true nature, and swallowed the entire three northeastern provinces in one gulp as "benefactors", so that Li Hongzhang, who was in charge of foreign affairs, almost choked up......

While Admiral Trevison and Ambassador Minotto were chatting on the docks, not far from them, hundreds of Venetian sailors and oarsmen, sweating and shouting trumpets, dragged the seventeen-ton Urban cannon with a cable and carried it to their own ship.

-- Despite the efforts of State Secretary Franz and the righteous compulsion of the "Christian Holy War", the Venetian side reluctantly agreed to postpone the collection of debts for the time being, and wait until the battle of Adrianople was over. But in order to show his sincerity in repaying the debt according to the agreement, the emperor still had to give the Venetians something in advance. Of the sixty-nine bronze guns that the Turkish Sultan had thrown outside the city, with the exception of a few light guns that were dragged by the Emperor to attack Adrianople, the rest of the large-caliber heavy guns were handed over to Admiral Trevisen's Venetian fleet at the price of ordinary scrap copper, and in addition to the thousands of finely polished huā granite cannonballs, which were also captured from the Turkish barracks.

However, what Emperor Constantine XI never dreamed of was that the unruly Venetians, after receiving the goods, immediately planned to transport the cannon to Moria in the Peloponnese to bombard his brother's castle......

In addition to these bulky and expensive bronze cannons, the emperor also delivered a surplus of tents, canvases, saddles (all the Turks had died) and miscellaneous goods to cover the accumulated debts (the captured weapons were needed to arm the "holy warriors", and the gold, silver, and jewels were taken away by Wang Qiu and Kotori Yu Mahaku...... These bits and pieces were nothing in the eyes of the well-informed Venetian merchants. But another batch of high-quality oriental spices – pepper, cloves and nutmeg – caught their eye.

After learning that the spices came from the hands of a certain "Mongol crusader", Girolamo. Ambassador Minotto immediately organized a small group of soldiers to join the "holy war" as "Venetian volunteers", first to observe the success or failure of the Eastern Roman Empire's Jedi counterattack adventure, and secondly, to get close to the "Mongol crusaders" who were able to get spices......

Note: The Poor Man's Crusade, one of the most hilarious "supernumerary crusades", was organized by Peter the Hermit and Walter the Donkey Knight before the First Crusade, gathering tens of thousands of fugitive serfs, wanted criminals and thieves. This rabble poured into the Eastern Roman Empire from Western Europe, and then was sent to Asia Minor by Emperor Alexios, and as soon as they landed, they were swept away by the Turks and stuffed into slave markets......

Equally hilarious are the Child Crusaders and the Virgin Crusaders, whose final destination was the slave market or the Jimi.

Another: The government of the Republic of Venice at that time really made the decision to attack Moria while reinforcing Constantinople, and to form an alliance with the Eastern Roman Empire while declaring war. It's a hard way to understand!!

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