Maybe everything is predetermined, or maybe it's the hearts of competitors.

When Zhu Zhanji fought a decisive battle with Mahamu at the mouth of the Three Gorges, Zhu Zhanyan, who was in Europe, also made a move.

The Kingdom of Sicily is really not a great power, if it is really a strong country, then the Kingdom of Sicily will not be imprisoned in Sicily, and even the corners of the Kingdom of Naples will not be touched.

Fearing the influence of public opinion, the Holy See and the Holy Roman Empire still sent troops to support, but this support was ......

How so? It can only show that the eye-eyed person knows that it is very perfunctory at a glance.

More than a dozen ships of the Duchy of Venice sailed out of the Adriatic Sea and headed in the direction of the Kingdom of Sicily, but only after the first encounter with the Ming army, three ships were knocked out, and then ......

The rest of the ship immediately adjusted its sails and left without looking back!

In this so-called support, whether it is the ten ships that were sent over, or the navy that was about to collapse at the touch of a button, or the final scene of fleeing at the touch of a button, it was full of perfunctory.

After receiving this news, Frederick III immediately gave up his last hope and immediately escaped from the palace, preparing to find a ship to escape from the Kingdom of Sicily.

The Kingdom of Sicily is an island nation, the closest to them is the Kingdom of Naples, but even then it is separated by the Strait of Messina.

The fleet of the Duchy of Venice was already the strongest sea force that the Holy See and the Holy Roman Empire could mobilize at this time, and with the fleet of the Duchy of Venice on the verge of collapse, Frederick III did not think that anyone else could hold the Strait of Messina and provide a way for land reinforcements from the Holy See and the Holy Roman Empire.

As the saying goes, stay in the green mountains, and don't be afraid of no firewood.

In history, a monarch like Chongzhen who dared to die was actually a very courageous monarch, whether in the East or the West, the vast majority of monarchs basically made the decision to flee when faced with the inevitable death of the country.

For example, Zhao Song's perfect face...... Oh no, it's Zhao Gou.

However, compared to Zhao Gou, Frederick III is actually quite outstanding, but this excellence is not voluntary.

On his way to escape the Kingdom of Sicily, he was surrounded by the Ming army's fleet and sank permanently in the Mediterranean.

Even, no one in the Ming army knew that one of the ships they sank contained the king of the Kingdom of Sicily.

The fall of the Kingdom of Sicily once again put a straw on the backs of the Holy See and the Holy Roman Empire, but for the Holy See and the Holy Roman Empire, the losses caused by the fall of the Kingdom of Sicily were still under control.

They didn't really care much about the demise of the Kingdom of Sicily.

The Kingdom of Sicily is an island country, and in the face of the Ming Dynasty, which is so powerful at sea, the Kingdom of Sicily is definitely the first to be abandoned.

For Martin V and Sigismund, they were only concerned with how much negative impact the fall of the Kingdom of Sicily would have on them.

Because this time it was a good thing to send troops to resist, and the Ming army was a surprise attack this time, and the previous frontal battlefield had always been near the Danube, so the fall of the Kingdom of Sicily did not have a great impact on Martin V and Sigismund.

This is only temporary, though.

Before they could catch their breath, a sudden change caught them off guard, making them instantly confused.

All this time, the Kingdom of Naples, which was their ally, suddenly burst out, stabbed the Papal States in the back and occupied Rome!

At the time of the fall of Rome, Martin V was in the Basilica of Rome and understood everything after seeing the Duke of Rein with the troops.

However, for Sigismund, who was in Aachen, the capital of the Holy Roman Empire, the betrayal of the Kingdom of Naples and the fall of Rome were something he could not understand.

For Sigismund, he had thought about almost everything, but he didn't expect Rome to fall like this, because Rome was the seat of the Holy See and the capital of the Papal States.

Once Rome is threatened, the resistance suffered by the Ming army is definitely the strongest, even if the end of the fall is inevitable, it will definitely not be so fast.

Sigismund's confidence came from the influence of Catholicism in Europe.

However, he was not in Rome and did not know it as clearly and intuitively as Martin V, who was in Rome......

"Duke of Rein......

In the Roman Cathedral, when Martin V turned his back to the cross and looked at the Duke of Rein in front of him, and at the group of heavily armed but obviously yellow-skinned men behind the Duke of Rein, he understood everything.

"Your Excellency, I'm sorry."

The Duke of Rein bowed slightly and saluted Martin V, his last respect.

The blood flowed slowly in the most sacred place in the hearts of Catholics, and the candle flame that was still bright even in the day flickered slightly, making the top cross shimmer slightly.

However, this light did not bring new life, but destruction like the martyrdom of Jesus.

After the fall of Rome, Zhu Zhanqi also set off by ship from Constantinople to the most influential city in Europe in this era.

And before he arrived, Mu Sheng evacuated all the soldiers from Sicily and took all the men to Rome.

Although Mu Sheng didn't know the special significance of Rome, he couldn't help but have an understanding of the existence of people.

Before leaving, Zhu Zhanyan asked Mu Sheng to put pressure on the Kingdom of Naples while attacking the Kingdom of Sicily.

It's time for this dog leg who has surrendered to Daming early to play a role, if it can't play its due role, then for Zhu Zhanyan, this dog leg is equivalent to not asking for it.

In fact, Jeanne II was not willing to give in.

It is true that she was the first in all of Europe to surrender to the Ming army, but she did not want to get to where she is now, because she knew very well that once the Kingdom of Sicily and the Papal States had fallen, and the Balkan Peninsula had fallen into the hands of the Ming army......

At that time, the Kingdom of Naples became an isolated island surrounded by the Ming army, and whether she herself lived or died, and even whether the entire Kingdom of Naples survived or perished, was handed over to the Ming army.

This is also why the Duke of Rein would take the yellow-skinned Ming army to capture Rome, because even Jeanne II, if she wanted to attack Rome, she would not be able to do it.

This is the consequence of the classic superposition of theocracy over royal power.

However, Jeanne II had no choice.

At this point, Zhu Zhan Yan is actually equivalent to a showdown, if Jean Na II does not follow what Zhu Zhan Yan said to attack Rome, it will not be Rome that will fall, but Napoli, the capital of the Kingdom of Naples.

Therefore, even if he wanted to put the right to decide his life and death into the hands of others, Jeanne II still had to obey.

Because if she doesn't obey, then she will not put the right to decide her own life and death in the hands of others, but will die immediately.

However, the only thing she is glad about is that at least for the time being, Zhu Zhanyan will not do anything to her.

In addition to the Kingdom of Naples, the Ming army had two allies in Europe, namely the Kingdom of Aragon and the Kingdom of Castile.

Although no one knew that the Kingdom of Naples had surrendered to the Ming Dynasty before this, as soon as the news of the fall of Rome came out, everyone knew about it, after all, if it wasn't for this, there was basically no reason for the Kingdom of Naples to attack Rome.

If Zhu Zhan is so quick to hide the birds, it will trigger a crisis of confidence between the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile, and the alliance between them and the Ming army will also break down in an instant.

After all, even if we all know that the so-called allies will settle each other after the final victory, no one wants to be liquidated before the victory.

In fact, it is true that Zhu Zhanyan does not want to swallow the Kingdom of Naples at this time, even if the Kingdom of Naples is no longer of much use to him.

At the very least, he could ignore the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile only after Zhu Zhan took control of the Strait of Gibraltar and even the entire Mediterranean.

Only then will he be able to dispose of the Kingdom of Naples at will.

……

When Zhu Zhan Yan stood in front of the Roman Cathedral, it was already the third day of the fall of Rome, looking at Martin V, whose blood had dried up in front of him, Zhu Zhan Yan waved his hand very impatiently, and asked people to drag away this unappetizing corpse.

"Burn it."

Looking at the Roman cathedral in front of him, Zhu Zhanyan's tone was a little regretful.

Zhu Ling, Zhu Ping, and even Mu Sheng had no doubts about Zhu Zhanyan's order, although they also felt that it was a pity that such a landmark building was burned down.

But because of this, they know very well how much damage such a landmark can bring to the enemy when it is destroyed.

They also think so about Zhu Zhanyan's regret.

It's just that what they don't know is that Zhu Zhanyan is not sorry for this.

This kind of building that cannot be taken away, Zhu Zhan Yan has never felt that it has no value, maybe it has high historical, cultural, religious and artistic value, but for Zhu Zhan Yan it just has no value.

It's as if the eight robbers burned down the part of the Old Summer Palace that could not be taken away.

The part of the Old Summer Palace that could not be removed did not mean anything to those robbers, and for Zhu Zhanqi, the Roman cathedral was the same.

However, he was different from the robbers, because not only did he think that a building like the Roman Cathedral that could not be moved was meaningless, but that there was no point in what could be moved.

In Zhu's view, the highest meaning of those things that will eventually become cultural relics is nothing more than to display them in front of the descendants of the makers of these things, just like the British Museum and the Louvre in later generations.

However, this is meaningless for Zhu Zhanyan, because he has no intention of leaving a population on this land.

At the very least, he didn't plan to keep the boys.

Since there is no posterity, where does the so-called meaning come from?

He didn't appreciate the so-called Western art.

(End of chapter)