Invincible urban management

Standing on the city wall of Constantinople, watching the groups of "jihadists" file out, all the passers-by who watched coldly sighed repeatedly.

"... What a mob!" Xiaoniao Youzhenbai, the former prime minister, sighed, while Wang Qiu and the others nodded sympathetically.

——Under the encouragement of faith, the encouragement of the church, the temptation of wealth, and the mobilization of Emperor Constantine XI, Constantinople, with a population of less than 10, unexpectedly managed to survive in just one week. , miraculously gathered an "army" of 9000 people, and then sang praises and stepped out of the arena gate leading to the northwest...Of course, although the number is barely up, the quality is completely ineffective. Guaranteed...

In order to get enough strong men in the shortest time, Constantine XI almost exhausted all crooked methods, every man in the whole city, ranging from 60-year-olds to [-]-year-olds , from farmers to priests, from carpenters to chefs, from artists to scholars, all were conscripted into the army and put into jihad.Because the number of adult men is really not enough, so even strong women are dragged in to make up the number...

In addition, due to the lure of the high salary offered by the emperor, those expatriates from Western countries temporarily living near Constantinople, as well as sailors and oarsmen, also heard the news one after another, and came to participate in the holy war as guest mercenaries, thinking Even if Adrianople, which was built by the Turks, could not be taken down, at least it could get a set of weapons from the Eastern Roman Emperor plus a military salary, and by the way, rob some small villages and towns on the way to subsidize the family.

Obviously, it is completely impossible for so many unorganized and undisciplined mobs to unify their uniforms and banners in just a few days.Therefore, among the teams that walked out of the city gate to the battlefield at this time, only a small number of people held the double-headed eagle banner of the Eastern Roman Empire, most of them held various cross flags drawn by themselves, and some Orthodox The clergy, even holding huge wooden crosses and icons, or a huge portrait of the Virgin Mary, made it look like a religious parade, but it didn't look like they were going to war.

Fortunately, although the quality of this army is poor, the equipment is very good-because millions of weapons from the Turks have just been seized, everyone can be equipped with good spears, machetes, short swords, and crossbows and shields, and slightly more senior officers can also get the famous Damascus machete.The seized chain mail and plate armor are also piled up like a mountain. Anyone who thinks they can wear them can take them at will... It's just that the cattle and horses that were originally used to pull the cannon were suffocated to death by Soman gas, so Turkey The heavy siege artillery left by the people could not be moved, so they had to be left behind.

As for the old, weak, sick and disabled left behind, the next days are estimated to be very hard-the 14 Turk corpses outside the city, and more dead horses, dead sheep, dead dogs, and dead cows, all Waiting for them to burn and bury them one by one!This is a very large project...

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——Because of the horror and shock caused by the sudden death of 14 Turkish troops overnight, they may really be able to kill all the way to the city of Adrianople unimpeded. After all, this land was the hinterland of the Eastern Roman Empire not long ago. Many miss the remnants of the Imperial double-headed eagle.But if you want to go one step further and take Adrianople, which is still occupied by tens of thousands of Turks and has extremely strong defense facilities, it will not be so easy.

"...Mr. Emperor, do you really want to send such a mob to Adrianople? You know, your team has only enthusiasm and swords, but no discipline, no organization, no heavy artillery, no siege equipment - of course , there are a lot of these things in the wilderness outside the city of Constantinople, all dropped by the Turks, but you can't get them to Adrianople, 150 kilometers away..."

Pointing at the flow of people winding out of the city, Wang Qiu asked Constantine XI with a puzzled face, "...can this look really win the battle?"

"... To be honest, the chances of winning this expedition are very slim, but if you can't seize this opportunity, then the future will really be dark."

Constantine XI replied very calmly, "...Instead of huddling behind the city wall and suffocating to death, it is better to take the opportunity to fight hard! Besides..."

He suddenly changed his previous serious expression, and instead squeezed his eyes slyly, "...you will definitely help when the time comes, yes!"

"...Well, I knew it was like this... In the end, it will still add trouble to us..."

Wang Qiu could only roll his eyes and sigh at the rascal face of the traverser emperor, and at the same time gave his middle finger contemptuously.

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At the same time, on the pier of the Venetian Concession in the Golden Horn, the commander-in-chief of the reinforcement fleet of the Republic of Venice, the military chief of the Crete colony Gabriel, the admiral Gabriele Trevisan, and Constantine the Republic of Venice Girolamo Minotto (Girolatto), the Ambassador of the Fort and the Chief of the Concession, also watched with cold eyes the "Holy War" in the Eastern Roman Empire that was as smoky as a rat.

——Not far from them, a group of Constantinople citizens who signed up for the jihad are happily queuing up in front of the carriage, receiving all kinds of weapons just seized from the Turkish military camp, and then arming themselves ——Arabian scimitars, light chain armor, helmets decorated with fur, and gorgeous silk or linen tunics make this Christian crusade full of pagan style.What's more, due to the rush of time, they didn't even have time to erase the crescent moon pattern on the shield, so they could only draw a cross with charcoal hastily.

Several Orthodox priests, also in armor, were holding up their crosses to bless the jihadists, encouraging them to become the bravest fighters.

"...Look, what people did I see? Butchers, beggars, cooks, coopers, bakers, and pimps in the brothel..."

Pointing to these shabby clothes, tall, short, fat, and thin, who don't look like "jihadists" who can fight, Admiral Trevison couldn't help laughing and teasing, "...It reminds me of the old days. Poor Man's Crusade! Did they make the expedition a pilgrimage?"

"...It's more than just poor crusaders! This crazy Roman emperor even managed to get a female crusader out!"

Ambassador Minoto sighed and shook his head, pointed to another street not far away - there, a group of women with heavy make-up, slutty gestures, but wearing armor were laughing and singing praises in charming voices singing, holding high the red cross flag and swaggering through the city.

Most of the women among them are the wharf warblers familiar to the sailors, and the woman leading the flag-raising is even more eye-catching—she is tall and well-built, her face has a kind of sexy charm, and her eyes are full of It glowed like a fever, revealing a rare [excitement] and anticipation.

Due to the restrictions of her birth class, although she tried her best to dress herself up beautifully, she still could only wear a commoner's white shirt with one sleeve, and then put on a luxurious cloak on the outside, embellished with countless dazzling decorations. Jewelry—due to not being able to use purple and red, which symbolized the nobility, the cloak was light yellow—finally, a colorful hairpin was inserted into the hair, shining brightly in the sun.

Seeing this group of coquettish prostitutes coming in line, the Venetian sailors gathered on the pier all excitedly blew.post.

And after seeing clearly the bright and attractive prostitute in the lead, Admiral Trevison's eyes were wider than a bull's eyes for a moment.

"...Oh! God! Isn't that the leading woman holding the cross flag Diorena? She was lying on my bed the night before, flirting, and took away one of my silver rings! "He almost moaned and sighed, "...now he is pretending to be a saint!"

"... That's right! The emperor of Constantinople has already mobilized all the prostitutes for his crazy adventure. I really don't know how it will end... Do we have to wait for another miracle from God? , Sending angels to bombard and kill all the infidels in Turkey?"

Ambassador Minoto sneered disapprovingly, "...the whole city was emptied by him. It seems that the emperor really didn't think that someone else would take advantage of it? Hehe, to be honest, right now even if only With my concession guards, it is enough to change the Eastern Roman Empire!"

——Attention, Ambassador Minoto is not talking empty words at this time.You know, the majestic walls of Constantinople may be an insurmountable moat in the eyes of the Turks.But for the Venetians, it was nothing at all—their concession and army were originally inside the walls of Constantinople, next to the palace!It's like the Dongjiaomin Lane in Beijing in the Beiyang Zheng Fu era of 〖China〗.

So, if they really want to destroy the Eastern Roman Empire, the Venetians can do it at any time... But the question is, why would they do it?

——The current half-du li Eastern Roman Empire, although impoverished and often in debt, is still a good dog that can trade its own bones with its Venetian master for weapons and food.If the Venetians were not greedy enough and insisted on taking Constantinople as a transportation hub as a colony, not to mention sitting on the fire pit immediately, they would be besieged by groups from all directions—not only the Turks would immediately take Venice Regarded as the first-class land, and the Genoese who have been monopolizing the Black Sea trade for these years, they will also feel that they are strangled by Venice-and the huge expenses and numerous sacrifices to resist Islamic heretics in the Near East will all depend on The Venetians took it upon themselves.

"...Your Excellency, Constantinople is the throat of the entire Eastern Mediterranean. I don't know how many people want to seize this remaining treasure of the Eastern Roman Empire. It is easy for us to defeat the emperor with a false name, but we must It is almost impossible to clean up the situation and hold the city. The entire army of the Republic is still deeply trapped in the battlefield of Milan, and there are not so many surplus troops to send to the east."

Admiral Treveson hesitated for a moment, but still felt that he should warn the Venetian ambassador who was far away in a foreign country and might not be well-informed, "...using the Milan Civil War (1447-1450) in the past few years, we successfully captured Milan. A large part of the duchy's land allowed half of northern Italy to plant the golden lion flag of the republic. But now the new Duke of Milan, Francisco Sforza, the notorious mercenary leader, has gradually stabilized the duchy of Milan It has to be said that this rough bastard is really good at war. The Republic has suffered heavy losses on the North Italian battlefield in recent years, and has been fighting very hard. There is no time to pay attention to other places ...

This time, in order to reinforce Constantinople, I had to draw all the troops in Crete.If we want to capture Constantinople, not to mention the serious impact on politics and faith, just from a military point of view, in order to defend the city, we have to draw all the troops from Greece and Asia Minor, Adding the Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes Island, I'm afraid they won't be able to fill this hole! "

Admiral Treveson stared closely at Ambassador Minotto's eyes, and solemnly said word by word, "...so, I hope you will not be fooled by some superficial opportunities, act recklessly and act arbitrarily. What embarrasses both the parliament and the governor!"

"...Hahahaha, it's just a joke, don't be so serious!" Ambassador Minotto shrugged his shoulders disapprovingly, "...don't worry, I am well aware of the difficulties the Republic is currently facing—after the end of the meeting with the Milanese Before the war, we had no spare capacity to open up more overseas battlefields—so I would never act rashly! Moreover, the crown of Rome has long since faded, and it has no value at all in my eyes."

While swearing in this way, he patted Admiral Trevison on the shoulder, "... By the way, Admiral, the battle in Constantinople has come to an end. What are your plans next? Return directly to Crete Colonies? Or rush to the country to reinforce the Italian battlefield?"

Although he didn't like the ambassador's frivolous attitude, out of consideration of his duties and obligations, Admiral Treveson took out a beautifully framed official document from his pocket and showed it in front of Ambassador Minotto , and leaned into his ear at the same time, and said in a low voice.

"...Although the city has been saved by God, my battle is not yet over--the order given to me by the governor and the council is to gather all the forces from Crete and cross the sea to reinforce Constantinople. But in It is strictly forbidden to provoke the Turks until I reach Constantinople. When I arrive in Constantinople, I will be under the command of the Emperor of the East, but the great sacrifice of Venice must be emphasized to the Emperor."

Speaking of which, Admiral Treveson's words suddenly changed, "...if the battle in Constantinople has subsided by the time I arrive, then no matter whether the emperor wins or the sultan wins, my fleet will They are about to transfer to Moria in the Peloponnese Peninsula, and use force to force the two younger brothers who were conferred there by the emperor to bow their heads to the Republic, and once again cede some of the Venetian concessions that were taken back by them..."

"...In other words, you have just rescued the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, and you are going to attack the last territory of this empire right away?"

Hearing this logically contradictory order, Ambassador Minotto couldn't help but frowned, but then he was relieved—the reason why the Republic of Venice wanted to rescue Constantinople this time was definitely not Out of good intentions, but not to allow this strategic location to be annexed by other opponents, thus posing a threat to itself... On the other hand, it is to regard the Eastern Roman Empire as a dish on the plate, which is only allowed to be eaten by itself!Since the main dish of di du Constantinople looks too hot at the moment, it’s not worth the loss to grab it, so let’s eat some side dishes and snacks first!

In fact, this kind of unscrupulous practice of killing people while saving people has been common in Western political circles for many years. For example, after the Sino-Japanese War of [-]-[-], the Russians also first joined forces with Germany and France to implement the "Three Kingdoms" Intervention and return to Liao" forced 〖ri〗 to spit out the Liaodong Peninsula.And the Manchu Qing court, who had just been beaten to a bruised nose and swollen face, was truly grateful for this.But then these old men immediately showed their true nature, and swallowed the entire three northeastern provinces in one gulp as "benefactors", making Li Hongzhang, who was in charge of diplomacy, almost choked...

While Admiral Treveson was chatting with Ambassador Minotto on the pier, not far from them, hundreds of Venetian sailors and oarsmen were sweating profusely, shouting and dragging the boat with cables. The Urban cannon weighing seventeen tons was transported to his own ship.

——Although through the mediation efforts of Secretary of State Franz and the righteousness of the "Christian Jihad", Venice finally reluctantly agreed to temporarily postpone the debt collection until the Battle of Adrianople is over.But in order to express his sincerity in repaying the debt according to the contract, the emperor still had to give some things to the Venetians in advance.Among them, the 69 bronze cannons left by the Turkish sultan outside the city, except for a few light cannons dragged by the emperor to attack Adrianople, the rest of the large-caliber heavy cannons were handed over to Trey at the price of ordinary scrap copper. In addition, Admiral Wesson's Venetian fleet also presented thousands of rounds of finely polished hua granite shells - which were also seized from the Turkish barracks.

However, what Emperor Constantine XI never dreamed of was that after the unscrupulous Venetians received this batch of debt repayment materials, they immediately planned to transport this giant cannon to Momo in the Peloponnese Peninsula. Leah, to bombard his brother's castle...

In addition to these cumbersome and expensive bronze cannons, the emperor delivered to the Venetians a surplus of tents, canvas, saddles (the Turks' horses were all dead) and sundries to cover the mountain of debts (The seized weapons need to be used to arm the "Holy Warriors" and the gold, silver and jewels were taken away by Wang Qiu, Xiaoniao Youzhenbai and others)...The above-mentioned odds and ends, in the eyes of well-informed Venetian merchants, are really It's nothing.But another batch of oriental spices of excellent quality - pepper, cloves and nutmeg - deeply attracted their attention.

After learning that these spices came from a certain "Mongolian Crusade", Ambassador Girolamo Minotto immediately organized a small group of soldiers to join the "Holy War" as "Venice Volunteers" Middle——Firstly, to observe the success or failure of the Eastern Roman Empire’s great adventure of counterattack, and secondly, to get close to the "Mongol Crusaders" who can get spices...

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Note: The Crusade of the Poor, one of the funniest "non-staff crusades", was organized by the hermit Peter and the donkey knight Walter before the first crusade, and assembled tens of thousands of fugitive serfs, wanted criminals and thieves.This gang of mobs poured into the Eastern Roman Empire from Western Europe, and then they were sent to Asia Minor by Emperor Alexius like a plague god. They were caught by the Turks as soon as they landed, and they were all stuffed into the slave market...

Also funny are the Children's Crusade and the Virgin Crusade, whose final destination is a slave market or a brothel.

Another: The government of the Republic of Venice at that time really made a foolish decision to reinforce Constantinople while attacking Moria, and declare war with the Eastern Roman Empire while forming an alliance.This logic is really incomprehensible.