Antioch, as a famous trading city, has been a human existence for a long time, and was one of the trade transit points of the empire during the Roman Empire, with as many as 500,000 people living in the city at its peak.

However, due to the war with the Persians and the rapid rise of the Arabs, Antiochus also fell to the Seljuks of Arabia more than 400 years ago.

During the First Crusade, Bohemond led the Crusaders to recover Antioch, but instead of keeping his agreement with the Byzantine Emperor, he took Antioch as his own and established the Duchy of Antioch.

In the war with Mehmed II, Constantine nominally ceded Antioch to the Ottomans, but the Ottomans were not yet able to compete with the Sultan of Egypt, so Antioch remained under the control of the Mamluk Sultan.

Surrounded by mountains and rivers, Antioch is the only way from Anatolia to Syria, known as the Pearl of the Orient, which has been very important to rulers throughout the ages, and the city is extremely strong, but it has one drawback: it is located in an earthquake zone.

Historically, four earthquakes have destroyed the walls of Antioch, and sometimes, due to financial constraints, the walls are not repaired in time, and they are easy to be occupied by foreigners.

At this time, Antioch also received the order of the Sultan of Egypt, knowing that the enemy was close at hand, and began to strengthen the city defenses early, under the rule of the Mamluks, Antioch did not restore its former position, but became lower and lower, which was partly due to the hostility between the Mamluks and the Ottomans, Antioch was on the front line for a long time, so that the Mamluks were worried about the development of Antioch, until now, the inhabitants of the city are only about 20,000, less than one-tenth of the heyday.

As the news came, Alfonso also tentatively marched to Antioch, along the Orontes River, and soon reached the city of Antioch.

The soldiers busily set up their tents, and Alfonso and Constantine took the lead in patrolling the surroundings,

"It's a dangerous place, isn't it?" Alfonso and Constantine chatted,

"As long as Antioch is held, no one can enter Syria, and the big hats just hide behind, like rats hiding in a hole."

Not far away, the tall walls of Antioch are made of blocks of stones, black in the sunlight, like a black beast lying prone in its nest, which makes people shudder.

"Lord Constantine"

Alfonso turned his head and asked Constantine with some curiosity,

"After a few hundred years of Antiochus under Byzantine rule, there were no secret passages in the city?"

"I don't know." Constantine shook his head,

"The first time I saw the walls of Antioch was now."

Alfonso laughed, and it took a long time to recover,

"Of course, of course, but isn't there anything in your royal collection? After all, your country is known as a witness to European history. ”

Seeing that Constantine didn't want to speak, Alfonso didn't speak again, and stood quietly on the hillside, looking at the city wall in the distance, smacking his lips,

"How beautiful!"

After looking at it for a long time, his tone was a little regretful,

"How cruel!"

"Yes, is it really possible to take such a strong city with manpower?"

Laszlo also felt a little emotional, although he had seen the walls of Constantinople, he had not seen the cannons built by the Ottomans, and at that time, Mehmed II had destroyed all the cannons in order to prevent the technology from leaking, so he could not think of anything that could destroy such a wall.

Alfonso said with a deep smile in his words,

"If manpower can't do it, then I'm afraid we're still people of the Roman Empire."

Regardless of Constantine's reaction, he left straight away, not giving Laszlo a chance to refute.

"He... It's just rude. ”

Laszlo took a few steps closer to Constantine, his tone remorseful.

Constantine sighed,

"You've got to learn to live with it."

It's no wonder that Alfonso was a little reliant on Constantine, the reason was just that he was afraid that the rise of Byzantium would affect Aragon's interests in the Mediterranean, as for why not suppress Constantine?

You can't give up immediate interests for the sake of future threats, as long as you grow faster than him, he is not a threat, not to mention, there is more than one enemy in Aragon, turning the enemy into his friend, this is diplomacy,

As for Constantine, there is nothing to say, and now we have to rely on Alfonso, and the rest can only be said later.

……

War room

"The plan to besiege the city simply won't work." Laszlo spoke out against Bernard's proposal,

"Use your brain, the enemy has water and food, what's the use of besieging the city? It takes a year to take Antioch, then we might as well go straight to open Ro, maybe a little faster. ”

Bernard grimaced, "Then we must at least cut off the enemy's internal and external communication, otherwise the city will be even more difficult to fight." ”

"Alright, alright," Alfonso stopped the two of them arguing in time,

"A siege is necessary, and Bernard has some truth in that."

Laszló stopped arguing indignantly, but Alfonso changed the subject,

"Lászlo has a point, it's just that the siege is too slow and doesn't fit our strategy."

"Besiege the city first, and then discuss the storm when all the troops have arrived."

Alfonso and the mud, which made Bernard very dissatisfied, Laszlo did not bring anyone, of course he can say that he attacked, but there are still 10,000 French troops in the coalition, if these people are finished, Charles VII must kill him,

Thinking of this, Bernard stood up and spoke in a tough tone,

"I have reservations about the assault."

Alfonso slapped the table like an angry lion,

"I'm the commander of the coalition, and you want to disobey me?"

Bernard blushed and said nothing, pursed his lips tightly, and looked at Alfonso without evasion,

Seeing this, Ferdinando hurriedly played a round,

"The big picture is important, the big picture is important, don't let the enemy see the joke at this time."

After staring at each other for a long time, Bernard still backed down, bowed his head, and walked out slightly embarrassed.

As soon as I left the conference room, I heard Alfonso's loud taunt,

"How dare he disobey me? Did he think he was Charles VII? Scold! ”

"A little grand duke, who dares to shout in front of the king, put it a hundred years ago, it is enough to kill him a hundred times."

This is a bit exaggerated, the duke also has to see if he has real power, and the duke with real power can't even help the pope, the empty duke...

"Now that it's decided, let's start preparing."

Constantine was also reluctant to stay longer, and as he got older, Alfonso's temper became more and more impermanent, and the once "tolerant Alfonso" was difficult to see again.

At the same time, the Mamluk Sultan Hari Luke also made the decision to send troops after "rewarding" the Mamluks.

Yes, according to the custom, when the Sultan wants to conduct military operations, he must first send a sum of money to the Mamluks, the Mamluks mean slaves, and their soldiers are all slaves, hence the name of the Mamluk dynasty, this group of people is brave and good at fighting, and there are almost no opponents in the Arab world, but loyalty has been a mystery since its inception,

After so many years, the combat power is no longer the bravery of the Mamluks who founded the country, after all, the original Mamluks won the Mongols and drove the Mongols out of Syria directly, and the current Mamluks can also bully and bully some small countries, and they can't beat the Ottomans, of course, the Ottomans are not weak.