1444, Byzantium Resurrects

The war raged on, but they had no choice but to fight.

They had to admit that Osman's strategy had been very successful this time.

First, he used a small number of soldiers to guard the western section of the city, then deployed a large number of siege weapons to the middle section of the city walls, forcing the eastern section to send reinforcements.

Then, under cover of night, they took a risky move and launched a fierce attack on the eastern section of the city walls.

With a shortage of military supplies and cannon fodder, this strategy was the most likely to end the war in the short term.

Now that they had fallen into the Ottomans' trap, all they could do was race against time.

"Giddy up! Giddy up!"

Isaac charged forward, followed by the 200-odd cavalrymen he had brought with him and Yaroslav's Rus cavalry.

A total of more than 500 men charged into the night, heading for battle.

The rest of the infantry followed behind.

The Corinthian Wall must be defended. If the Ottomans were allowed to plunder 60,000 people as they had done in history, the entire Morea would be completely destroyed.

With a sense of urgency, Isaac urged his warhorse forward.

The Andalusian horse beneath him galloped furiously, snorting loudly.

"Your Highness, please go to a safe place. I will take care of the front lines."

"The night makes it difficult to see, and you could easily be hit by stray arrows."

The knight Conte leaned over and kindly warned him.

"Alright, I'll cover you from the rear!"

After crossing a small hill, they saw flames in the distance and heard the sounds of battle.

"Everyone, halt! Take a fifteen-minute break!"

Isaac gave the order.

The strength of cavalry lies in their mobility and impact. Tired horses are useless.

The cavalry dismounted, took out their water bags and dry rations, and replenished themselves and their horses with water and energy.

Everyone was silent. In the quiet night, the only sounds were the distant sounds of battle and the chewing of horses.

Some soldiers had been fighting and running all day, so they ate and drank whatever they could find and fell asleep.

Isaac did not eat anything, just drank some water.

Judging from the sounds of battle in the distance, it must still be quite fierce, which at least meant that the city walls had not yet fallen.

No, he had to think of a way to make the most of the cavalry's strengths. Filling the city walls was a waste.

"Yaroslav."

"Your Highness, I am here."

The Russian stepped forward.

Isaac carefully examined the small hill, which separated the eastern and central sections of the Great Wall. The northern side of the hill was steep and exposed, making it a natural defensive structure.

Neither side had paid much attention to this area.

"Is there a small path that can be used to bypass the northern side of the city walls?"

Yaroslav thought carefully.

"Your Highness, there is indeed a small path on this mountain. It was deliberately carved out by tax-evading merchants. It was discovered a few weeks ago, but they haven't had time to block it yet."

When he finished speaking, Yaroslav also thought of something, and his eyes lit up.

"The key is that the Ottomans definitely don't know about this place."

Isaac weighed the pros and cons and paced back and forth for a long time.

"Are you willing to take a gamble?"

In the light of the flames, the young man's face flashed with excitement and trembled.

"Why not?"

Yaroslav said quickly.

"If we succeed, I will ask my father to reward you."

A quarter of an hour had passed, and everyone set off. The cavalrymen who had been sleeping on the ground scrambled to their feet.

"Mount up, let's go."

Isaac said briefly.

"Extinguish all the torches. If you can't see, just follow the ones in front of you."

In those days, there were many soldiers with night blindness, but there were no horses.

Led by Yaroslav, Isaac quickly found the mountain path used by the merchants for smuggling.

The path was quite wide, just enough for a carriage to pass.

In the dense forest, the horses' hooves struck the muddy road, making a dull sound.

The darkness of night was convenient for Osman's siege, but it also obstructed their vision.

When Isaac finally emerged from the mountain path and reached the coastal plain, he was only a few hundred meters away from Osman's siege camp.

Isaac could even see the flames on the city walls and the details of the fighting between the two sides.

Thanks to Constantine, who had prepared the most Greek fire in the eastern section, which was the most difficult to defend, neither side's firearms could be used properly at night due to their lack of accuracy, but the Greek fire was unaffected.

Anyway, there was no need for accuracy, so they just sprayed it randomly.

Even so, the advance guard formed by the Janissaries had already climbed onto the city walls and was fighting a fierce battle with the Grand Duke's guard led by Constantine.

"Almost there, almost there!"

In the Ottoman siege camp, a thin middle-aged man clenched his fists and stared intently at the battle on the city walls.

His eyes flashed with bitter hatred, his face contorted.

It was Isaac's old acquaintance, Zagan Pasha.

After being rescued, Zagan Pasha asked to be punished.

However, Murad II forgave him and allowed him to continue to offer advice.

This plan to attack one place while feigning an attack on another was Zagan's brainchild.

Standing beside him was a young Ottoman nobleman with delicate features, long eyebrows, thick lips, and a thin moustache on both sides of his mouth.

He was dressed in typical Ottoman noble attire, but carried a Latin-style long sword. Leaning against a chair, he casually carved an apple with a small knife in his hand.

His eyes were fixed on the apple, as if he were cutting it very carefully.

"Zagan, calm down. Don't let those cowards like Khalil disturb your mind."

"As long as the Qafirs still occupy Constantinople, we cannot have peace. But remember, our goal is to seize benefits, not revenge."

"Just like this apple, we peel it to eat it, not to destroy it."

The young man took a big bite and smacked his lips in satisfaction.

"Yes, thank you for your advice, Your Majesty."

Mehmed sighed deeply.

"I am no longer the Sultan. Do not call me that anymore."

Mehmed turned his gaze to the Janissaries who had already scaled the city walls, his expression dark.

At that moment, Mehmed had just concluded his first term as Sultan. In 1444, Sultan Murad II, weary of political affairs, abdicated in favour of his 12-year-old son Mehmed to evade responsibility.

Who would have known that as soon as his son took power, he would pull off such a stunt?

He directly invited a Shiite mendicant monk to settle in Edirne, throwing the entire religious community into turmoil.

At the same time, the struggle between the two factions, the Grand Vizier Halil Pasha, who advocated peace, and Zagan Pasha, who advocated war, intensified, and the court was also embroiled in war.

The provincial governors began to stir up trouble, and Karaman in the east took advantage of the situation to invade the border.

As a result, Sultan Murad IV became convinced of the weakness of the Ottomans.

This was followed by the formation of the Crusaders, and Murad II returned to power and won the decisive battle of Varna.

Just a few weeks ago, the warlike Zagan Pasha was defeated and returned home, taking the entire fleet with him.

Halil Pasha took advantage of this opportunity to attack Zagan Pasha and his backer, Mehmed II.

The Janissaries were also dissatisfied. After their demands for a pay rise were rejected, they staged a coup, and Murad II reluctantly became Sultan again.

Murad II himself did not want to fight this war, but he had no choice but to launch a punitive expedition for the sake of the empire's reputation.

The resources expended by the empire in this war exceeded expectations, and with Khalil Pasha constantly stirring up trouble, Murad II also began to hesitate.

This opportunity for a large-scale offensive was fought for by Muhammad at the cost of his life.

Three Janissary legions, plus 10,000 private soldiers, were all the troops available to Muhammad and Zagan Pasha.

This was also the maximum number of troops that could be supplied with military provisions.

Among them, 3,000 were stationed in the western section to distract the enemy, while 6,000 carried a large amount of military equipment and advanced on the central section, forcing the elite troops in the east to return to defend their positions.

Finally, the three most powerful Janissary legions launched a night attack on the eastern city walls.

As long as the city walls were breached, military supplies would be obtained, and this gamble would be worth it.

Once the walls are breached, what can stop us?

Mehmed looked at the precarious defenders and a cold smile appeared on his lips.

...

"Are the fire oils ready?"

"Ready."

"How are the horses resting?"

"Ready for battle."

"Let's fight."

Isaac rode forward and looked at the more than 500 horsemen behind him.

"The Ottoman siege camp is ahead. They are very proud and didn't dig the trenches very deep. We can jump over them. Without further ado, follow me and charge!"

"Charge!"

The Conte knights led the way, followed closely by Yaroslav.

They were like hunters in the dark, pouncing on their prey standing in the moonlight.

The ground began to shake.

"Raise our flags!"

Isaac's guards raised purple double-headed eagle flags and lit torches so that the defenders on the city walls could see them.

The cavalry began to charge in groups, and the enemy was caught off guard and unable to form an effective defence.

The elite soldiers all rushed to the city walls, leaving behind the wounded and some of the guards.

They never expected anyone to attack from behind.

Weren't the Kafirs just hiding in the city and fighting a desperate battle? When did they get so close?

Conte led the cavalry to break through the first line of defense and officially entered the camp.

"Throw the oil bags!"

One after another, the cavalrymen threw the fire oil bags in their hands, splashing them on Osman's tents, granaries, and armory.

Suddenly, flames shot up into the sky.

Osman's wounded soldiers crawled out of the burning tents, wailing in pain.

"Your Majesty, I will escort you to safety!"

Zaghan Pasha had recovered from his initial shock and said urgently to Muhammad.

"Damn it! I still have 500 guards who can fight Kafir. If I run away, what will happen to the Janissaries?"

"Your Majesty! Your safety is the most important thing! There is fire everywhere. You must leave immediately!"

Zagan picked up Mehmed and placed him on his horse.

"You bastard! I am the son of the Sultan! How can I desert my post in the face of battle!"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, you are the only heir to the Ottoman Empire, you must not be harmed..."

Zagan kicked the horse's hindquarters, and the horse bolted in pain.

"Cavalry, mount up and protect His Highness! Infantry, hold back the enemy!"

With that, Zagan jumped onto his horse and followed Muhammad.

The abandoned infantry, of course, refused to stand by and scattered in all directions.

The soldiers defending the city walls saw their own flags and were immediately invigorated, shouting loudly.

In contrast, the Janissaries had already occupied a tower and were in a favourable position.

However, their camp was suddenly stormed, and flames lit up the sky.

The central flag was cut down, and the commander was nowhere to be found.

They were beaten back by the counterattack of Constantine's personal guard.

"Conte! Give up the pursuit and focus on rescuing the defenders inside the city!"

Isaac observed that the enemy cavalry had already fled far away, and our horses were exhausted, so it was impossible to catch up.

It was better to end the war as soon as possible.

Conte turned his horse around and began charging towards the enemy troops below the city walls.

Isaac looked at the battlefield and suddenly sensed something.

He turned his head and saw a young man dressed in luxurious clothes among the fleeing cavalry, looking back at him.

Isaac also patted his horse and faced him.

The other party waved his fist at him, then rode away without looking back.

The war was coming to an end, and the wounded soldiers and remaining infantry in the camp all knelt down and begged for mercy.

On the city walls, the Janissaries were still fighting fiercely, but they were already showing signs of exhaustion.

It was finally over.

Isaac slowly walked into the enemy's central camp, which had not been burned down.

On a table in front of the camp, there was a half-eaten apple.

For some reason, Isaac felt very uncomfortable when he saw the apple.

He kicked it away.

At this point, Mehmed II was still very inexperienced. It wasn't until after he abdicated in 1446 that he undertook extensive studies and eventually grew into the fearsome conqueror he was known to be.

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