When it comes to war, if there is one simplest method with the least losses, it is likely to be many.

There are many of the thirty-six schemes.

Zhu Zhanyan is also using the simplest method and the least loss, and the method he uses has a name: public opinion war.

Junbao is indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack, but Byzantium under the rule of John VIII, or the Eastern Roman Empire, is too weak, so weak that Zhu Zhan Yan can't accept that he will lose.

However, in the face of the geographical location of Junbao, even if there is a huge disparity in strength, it is impossible to take it down without the slightest loss.

At the beginning, Zhu Zhan lost a lot of people when he landed on the beach in the Japanese Kingdom, not to mention Junbao.

Therefore, Zhu Zhanyan found another way, found a weakness from the enemy himself, and put it into action.

This weakness is the Holy See.

In the Eastern Roman Empire, especially in the castle, almost all religious people believed in Orthodox Christianity, but the Holy See and the Pope were representatives of Catholicism.

Nowadays, it is almost impossible for Catholics to send troops to help the Orthodox Church, and it is easy to think otherwise.

Unfortunately, because of the Duke of Perene in the Kingdom of Naples, Zhu Zhanyan knew about the twists and turns.

And this news was received by Jeanne II from the mouth of the Pope in bed.

I have to say that sometimes the beauty trick is still very useful, even if the so-called beauty is just a broken shoe, but it can't stand it, someone eats this set.

Betraying the faith of the Orthodox Church in exchange for the assistance of the Holy See, Zhu Zhanyan had already guessed how much of a sensation it would cause when this news appeared in Junbao.

Looking at the people of the Kingdom of Naples who were sent on the ship by the Ming army and came to the king's castle, John VIII was in trouble.

This is a conspiracy, and John VIII was well aware of it.

The two armies are fighting, and these Neapolitans will be good hostages if they are in the hands of the Ming army, although it may not be effective in the end, but it is always better to have hostages than none.

Therefore, it is definitely not normal for the Ming army to send these people, and there must be other deep meanings behind it.

But can he let it go?

Let's not talk about whether these people calling the door under the castle will affect morale, but with the position and role of John VIII now, he can't ignore it.

The Bosphorus Strait is no more than sixty miles long, and Junbao is in the lower part of the strait, only about seven or eight miles from the exit of the strait.

This distance can be easily seen by the army of the Kingdom of Sicily and the Crusaders trapped in the Sea of Marmara.

Although John VIII knew that there was no army of the Kingdom of Naples, there must have been people from the Kingdom of Naples.

More than 300 ships, this is already a great fortune, and no one, not even Jeanne II, can hand it over so casually.

What would the Neapolitans think if they were to see the reinforcements they had so painstakingly begged for, but they ignored them?

It was already a desperate situation, and now if you want to win, you can only win by uniting the army in the castle with the Crusaders and the army of the Kingdom of Sicily.

If you don't do this, in the end, whether it is the royal castle or the crusaders, or the army of the Kingdom of Sicily, they will be divided and defeated.

After thinking about it, John VIII finally decided to accept these people, but apparently not to bring them to the castle.

Big brother, what about the war, can you open the city gate casually? Are you kidding?

Not to mention that John VIII already suspected that something was wrong with these people, and even if he didn't suspect it, he wouldn't open the city gate at this time and let these people in.

Under the arrangement of John VIII, the north gate of the castle was quickly opened, but it was closed again soon after a group of people came out.

The group circled around the castle and came to the front and took away the Neapolitans who were "crying" under the castle.

However, John VIII could not have imagined that, despite his caution, things would turn around.

Regarding John VIII's actions, Zhu Zhanyan didn't make a move, and didn't even pay much attention to it, and directly let the Black Sea fleet monitor Junbao, and he paid attention to the direction of the crusaders.

The Eastern Roman Empire under John VIII was the last glorious era of the Byzantine Empire, and it was a period in history when they resisted the advance of the Ottoman Empire, but only that.

Therefore, it is not that the Eastern Roman Empire is powerful, nor is it John VIII awesome, but only because the geographical location and topography of the castle are so good, that this can survive to this day.

Now, in the face of such a war, the shortcomings of Junbao have also been exposed.

It is true that the Ming army will not be able to break through Junbao for a while, but the people in Junbao will not dare to come out.

Leaving the turtle shell of Junbao, they are a swarm of ants.

However, in any case, John VIII was still happy not to face the frontal pressure of the Ming army, although he could not spare his hands to support his allies, but being able to do this was already their limit.

If he could still free up his hands to help his allies at this time, John VIII would not have to surrender his identity and lick the Pope with a smiling face.

However, before John VIII could breathe a sigh of relief, a high-pitched voice suddenly came from the castle city, which made the smile on John VIII's face instantly freeze before it could bloom.

When he heard that high-pitched shout, John VIII knew that it was all over.

Translated, the voice reads: We would rather see the Sultan's turban than the pope's triple crown.

Sultan actually has several meanings, and in later generations, the sultan was often considered a viceroy similar to the position of the Islan religion, but in this day and age, the term sultan often means power, power, and adjudication.

In layman's terms, it is the ruler.

As I said before, Junbao, including the entire Byzantine Empire, believed in Orthodox Christianity, and the Pope and the Holy See were representatives of Catholicism, and the crusaders who sent troops at this time were naturally also representatives of the Holy See.

Previously, John VIII concealed the claims of fighting foreign enemies and the Crusades from everyone inside the castle, so the people in the castle would accept the support of the crusaders.

But now, the Neapolitans whom he had sent to pick them up had informed them of the fact that they had received assistance from the Crusaders from the Pope by merging their Orthodox Church with Catholicism.

Then the people were very indignant, and the news spread from the Neapolitans, to the soldiers of the castle, to the defenders of the city, and finally to the ears of the soldiers and the people of the city.

Under the brainwashing of the so-called faith, these people would rather die than receive the assistance of the Holy See on behalf of the Catholic Church, which is called preferring to see the Sultan's turban rather than the papal triple crown.

Across the bank.

With a snap, Zhu Zhanyan put away the monoculars in his hand, turned his head and shouted at Jian Xiao.

"The time has come! Drumming and passing the army! ”

The penetrating sound of drums sounded, accompanied by the muffled sound of horns, and the Ming convoy that had been docked in the Bosphorus since its appearance finally made a move and began to slowly move in the direction of Junbao.

At the same time, the Ming army on the coast of Nicaea also began to set up a swarm of rockets, and their eyes were directed at Junbao.

But at this time, the gates of the castle were ...... opened.

The fanatic who has been brainwashed by their faith is really a very difficult creature to understand, and they can do anything to kill their faith when it is insulted.

When they learned that their rulers had betrayed their faith and betrayed the Orthodox Church in exchange for crusader aid from the Holy See, these Orthodox fanatics finally became irrational.

"His Royal Highness."

A burst of broken Chinese sounded, and Zhu Zhanyan turned his head to see that Duke Rene was walking towards here with a few people.

Zhu Zhanyan raised his eyebrows, although this Chinese is lame, it can be understood and understood.

But what he thought about was still too good, this Duke Rene only learned this sentence, and after saying this sentence, it became Middle English that Zhu Zhanyan couldn't understand.

"Your Royal Highness, he said that he brought a gift from Queen Jeanne II on this trip and wants to give it to you here."

The translator dutifully conveyed the words to Zhu Zhanyan.

Zhu Zhanyan's brows furrowed slightly.

Give gifts at this time, say it's a little early to celebrate, say mockery......

They probably didn't dare.

In Zhu Zhanyan's somewhat puzzled gaze, the box brought by Duke Rene was opened, revealing a piece of paper that had been rolled into a tube.

Judging from the traces of paint that could be faintly seen on it, Zhu Zhanyan felt that it was a painting.

Beckoning, Zhu Ling and Zhu Ping quickly walked up, took out the painting and spread it out.

After seeing the contents of the painting, Zhu Zhanyan smiled, and smiled happily.

I have to say, this Jeanne II ...... It's really heartfelt.

Because the painting has a name: Brian and some of his trophies.

This painting was supposed to have been created by a French painter in the 19th century, but Zhu Zhanqi did not know why it appeared here, who created it, and whether the inspiration for the creation came from himself who led the Ming army to the west.

But in a sense, this painting, which parents would not dare to let their children see in later generations, is a good reflection of the present, and even predicts the future of Europe.

In the painting, a general named Brian stands in the doorway and laughs wildly, and a groveling man opens the door for Brian, and on the ground are placed items such as pottery, cloth, and gold and silver, which are clearly trophies.

In addition to these, five naked women were kneeling or half-lying on the ground, with expressions of despair and panic on their faces.

In the lower left corner of the painting, the head of an apparently white man is lying on the ground, a testament to his military exploits.

Sending this painting at this time means that I wish Zhu Zhanyan can sweep across Europe like Bryan in this painting, make great achievements, and win countless trophies.

"It's good." Zhu Zhanyan smiled and nodded.

"Pass the order, if you can successfully capture Junbao, everything in the city except for the population will not be counted as the spoils of war, first come, first served!"

"Yes!"

After listening to Zhu Zhanyan's order, Jian Xiao looked confused, but Zhu Ling did not hesitate at all.

Previously, except in the Wa Kingdom, Zhu Zhanyan had not issued such an order.

And Duke Rene, who was on the side, was very eager to pull the corner of the translator's clothes when he saw Zhu Zhanyan talking with a smile, obviously wanting to know what Zhu Zhanyan had said.

The corners of the translator's mouth opened a mocking smile, but he still translated what Zhu Zhanyan said to him as he wished.

Seeing Duke Rene's face go from smiling to freezing instantly, and then to smiling bitterly, the translator's heart was more or less happy.

(End of chapter)