People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

Chapter 650 You will return like lightning
After returning to Semanud, Lothar quickly chose to start the simulated battle scenario.

The small words slowly emerged in his mind.

You have chosen the high-difficulty battle simulation scenario, The Fall of the Ottomans in 1453.

Requirements for passing the level: Defeat the Ottoman "Conqueror" and his army, and crush the ambition of "Conqueror" Mahmud II (the name is sensitive, so choose another Chinese translation) to conquer Constantinople.

Please note that this scenario is a six-star template trial, which is extremely difficult and has only one chance to try, so please treat it with caution.

As the light and shadow flicker.

The passionate sound of cello faintly rang in Losa's ears.

It was like a sudden thunder and an iron cavalry rushing across an icy river.

After a moment, it seemed as if countless people were calling, praying, and singing loudly.

“You will return like lightning.

The whole country will have a feast.

Sea, land and sky, all under your lightning.

I will wear white and touch you again.

Your light and my heart.

Constantine Dragases Palaiologos.

By the grace of God, Emperor of the Romans.

Saint Romanus riding a white-legged mare

Four betas, show mercy.

When the singing gradually died down, when Losa opened his eyes again, he found himself in a deserted city.

The emperor in a purple robe stood in front of more than a dozen Varangian guards and in front of a dilapidated statue of Emperor Manuel, looking at the desolate and dilapidated streets, which had traces of looting and had not been repaired until now.

Weeds grew among the collapsed stone ruins.

On the once bustling streets, there are only a few farmers who are skillfully applying fertilizer to the cultivated fields along the road.

He looked at the poorly equipped militiamen and at Constantinople, which looked like a large rural village, and a wry smile appeared on his face.

"This is now Constantinople, the Queen of Cities..."

He succeeded Constantine XI and was in charge of sorting out the mess. He quickly sorted out the gift left to him by Constantine XI - the understanding of the current situation in his mind.

The emperor of the empire is now just the mayor of Constantinople.

Constantinople, which once had a population of hundreds of thousands and was considered the most densely populated and prosperous city in the Western world, now has only a few tens of thousands of people left, many of whom are Latin immigrants.

Although the Empire still has an enclave in Moria, that place has been a barren land since ancient times.

Originally, under the painstaking efforts of Constantine XI, Morea was able to barely muster nearly 10,000 conscripted soldiers.

Unfortunately, the six-mile wall he built with great effort failed to withstand the Ottoman attack.

After the Liuli Wall was breached, the Ottomans who entered the Morea Peninsula plundered most of the Morea population at one time.

After years of hard work, all has gone to waste. Today, Moria can no longer provide any support to the empire.

Apart from the "Crusaders" who might arrive one after another, he could only rely on the army in Constantinople, which had a total of less than 7,000 people, more than half of whom were militias, to resist the Ottoman army, which was ten times larger than his own.

Moreover, because the emperor decided to accept the Pope's request and merge Orthodoxy with Catholicism, the Orthodox forces were quite dissatisfied with the emperor. Many subjects of the empire would rather accept the rule of the Ottomans than be subject to the Latins who had looted Constantinople and had a blood feud with them.

There are both internal and external troubles.

If Lothar had not yet transformed into a true dragon, the only way out he would have had would have been to "turn his back on the enemy and surrender with courtesy" while still retaining his position as Grand Duke of Moria.

As Losa's mind moved slightly.

The first option appeared.

The system's voice was silent. You replaced Constantine XI, worried about the mess you took over and thought your chances of winning were slim, so you decided:

A: The Ottomans are strong in both men and horses, so we dare not confront them. It is better to retreat by boat, avoid their attack, and start anew.

B: The enemy is strong and we are weak. We should quickly write dozens of letters to His Holiness the Pope, Regent Hunyadi, the King of Naples and Aragon, the Doge of Venice, my posthumous son Laszlo, and all other Christian lords who can be named, asking for support.

C: There are no reinforcements at all. Those self-righteous Latins, including the Pope, are a bunch of liars who can only talk big. We can only rely on ourselves, declare the abolition of "Church Unification" and eliminate all Latins in the city.

There actually is this option to transfer in!

Losa smiled bitterly. Although he had fantasized about it before, after coming here he realized that this idea was not reliable at all.

Move to North Africa, which is full of pagans and has no chance of development at all.

Turning to Italy, in this world, Sicily and Naples are both under the rule of the Kingdom of Aragon, the overlord of the western Mediterranean. Furthermore, there are wolves controlling the rural areas, and they are not to be trifled with.

Even if it is some small city-states in northern Italy, it is extremely difficult to seize them by oneself.

After all, among the 7,000 men he had, a considerable number were Latins, who came here for the reputation of fighting against pagans. Once he abandoned Constantinople and lost the title of jihadists, the team would immediately fall apart.

By then, there wouldn't be many people willing to follow him. At best, he would bring a guard of several hundred people with him, and in the future he would travel around the palaces of various European monarchs, eating and drinking for free, and become a character like Viserys the Beggar King in A Song of Ice and Fire.

Could it be that I really have to wait in this world of combat records until the Ottoman Empire has transformed into the sick man of West Asia, and then return like lightning to pull the conqueror out of the coffin and "defeat" him?

The possibility of exile by sea is almost zero today. It is better to go straight through the Ottoman territory in the Balkans and exile by land, where the success rate is higher.

The last and most crucial point is that he has no boat.

The imperial navy that once crisscrossed the Mediterranean now doesn't even have a single ship left.

The shipbuilding technology was completely lost, captured by the Crusaders and sold to Latin merchants.

Unless you borrow from the Venetians and Genoese.

But what price could one pay for an emperor who has abandoned his country and is left with only an empty title?

The greatness of Constantine XI lies in the fact that he died in battle. Once he became a fugitive, this halo disappeared and he was just an exiled nobleman who believed in a heretical sect.

The laurel wreath of the Roman emperor cannot be sold at a high price.

Losa smiled bitterly and chose option B.

Although he made this choice, he felt that the only possible reinforcements now would be the Knights Hospitaller living in Rhodes Island.

As for the commission for inviting them to join the war...even the emperor's purple robe was patched, and the gems on his crown were fake. If he could really come up with a large sum of money, he would have used it to hire soldiers or repair the city walls.

The only price that could be offered was to promise them some more commercial privileges, or even cede them an urban area so that they could enjoy the same privileges as Latin merchants. This was the only bargaining chip left in the hands of the Roman emperor.

In addition, Hungary, the country most likely to provide support, is caught up in internal political struggles.

The posthumous son László (German translation: Ladislaus) had limited political skills. Although he was the king of Hungary and Bohemia, and Archduke of Austria, he had no way of grasping real power. He was at loggerheads with the regent Hunyadi and made many stupid moves, forcing the famous anti-Austrian general and Hungary's most famous war advocate, the famous White Knight János Hunyadi, to resign as regent.

Unless his posthumous son Ladislaus was willing to bow his head for Constantinople and ask Hunyadi to come back and lead the troops to war, that was obviously impossible. Ladislaus did not have the courage or the responsibility.

France was mired in the Hundred Years' War, and Frederick, the Holy Roman Emperor of the Habsburg family, had little interest in supporting Constantinople. He hoped to seize control of the Archduchy of Austria from his cousin.

Simulated warfare can adapt to the current situation and only require micro-management at key points, but this time is different from before.

Historically, Charles VII could have won, and he had more than one chance, so there was room for error.

So Losa decided to micro-manage the entire simulation battle!

Lothar raised his hand and looked at this body that was completely different from his own, but essentially the same. He said to himself, "It is all done, but fate cannot be violated. It is not your fault. You cannot save Rome, so let me save it."

Constantine XI had done the best he could.

People often compare him with Chongzhen, but Losa feels that if Chongzhen really had the ability of Constantine XI, the Ming Dynasty could have lasted at least another ten years.

As for option C, there is no need to mention it.

Now, half of the defenders of Constantinople rely on the "despicable Latins". Trying to get rid of them all would be even more stupid than cutting off one's own arm.

At this time.

An eunuch ran over quickly and said with surprise, "Your Majesty, reinforcements are coming!"

"How many people came?"

"Eight hundred. They came in two galleons."

The eunuch stopped and took a breath before continuing, "He calls himself Giovanni Giustiniani, a mercenary leader from Chios. The soldiers he leads should be Genoese stationed on Chios."

The Genoese not only had many island territories in the Aegean Sea, but also many commercial ports and colonies in the former empire's "Kherson Military District", which allowed them to control the Amber Road and sell slaves.

"At least now we have a boat."

Lothar smiled and strode forward: "Let's go and greet these devout Crusaders."