People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

Chapter 657 The Storm is Coming
Three days of preparation passed in a flash.

During these three days, reinforcements arrived in Constantinople one after another, but they were not large-scale.

Most of them were civilian armed forces that came spontaneously. After the defeat of the Varna Crusade, the enthusiasm of the Catholic countries for the Crusades had completely cooled. No matter how much the Pope urged them, no action was taken.

Among them, the largest reinforcement came from the Kingdom of Candia (i.e. Crete), a vassal of Venice, and consisted of a Venetian fleet of three large ships.

The sailors were composed of Venetians and Greeks, and the ships were loaded with supplies needed to defend the city. Although there were no land combat personnel, the three large ships were enough to serve as the main force in the now weak imperial navy.

It is worth mentioning that although the Ottoman navy was huge, it was, after all, a nouveau riche that started out as a tribal chiefdom, and there was still a generational gap between it and the severely inward-looking Apennine city-states.

Even though the Latin ships that came to support and some small warships that Constantinople already had could not engage in a decisive battle with the pagans at sea, they could still rely on the Golden Horn for defense and deal with the enemy.

As for the Morea Peninsula territory belonging to the empire, the actual ruling power belonged to the two brothers Thomas and Dimitri in Constantinople, and no reinforcements were sent.

The former had a good relationship with the emperor and was sent to Northern Morea for the purpose of monitoring the latter, Dimitri Palaiologos.

As for the latter, he can be said to be the culmination of the abstract art of the Palaiologos family.

Not only did he contact the Ottomans many times and try to usurp the throne of Constantine XI, but after the fall of Constantine, he also invited the wolf into the house and, with the help of the Ottoman army, started a civil war in Morea and defeated his brother Thomas. He was truly a precious thing among precious things.

On the contrary, Thomas, after being defeated, went into exile in the courts of various European kings, always trying to call for the arrival of the Crusades. He and his descendants were also the prototypes of the "Beggar Emperor" that Losa had previously mentioned.

The garrison of Constantinople was expanded by Losa to as many as 10,000 people based on the original 4,000 militiamen.

If we include the Latin mercenaries who arrived and the militia contributed by the Venetian Concession, the number could reach 14,000.

The remaining civilians can also be issued weapons and climb the city walls to fight in wartime.

Lothar carefully selected an elite force of 250 men and transferred them to the Qiexue Army. He originally had only 100 vacancies for the Qiexue Army, and he needed to increase the number by 100 every month until the quota of 250 was reached.

But in the mock battle, the passage of this time was somehow smoothed out.

The two hundred and fifty soldiers were all transformed, mastered the exquisite skills of riding and archery, and put on standard armor. It was like a new miracle and greatly inspired the morale of the defenders of Constantinople.

Even those devout Orthodox believers who were dissatisfied with the emperor had to admit one thing: even if they chose to unite with the Latin Church, Rome and her emperor still had God's favor.

And at this time, there could only be one reason why God showed His favor to us - to fight against the pagans.

This is God's will!
God has not abandoned them.

The overwhelming majority of defeatists have renewed courage within themselves.

Because this means that their resistance is no longer "going against heaven", but a salvation that follows God's will - the Roman Empire will never perish.

The template of Lothar, the Sun King, is inspiring in itself, and coupled with the effect of the destined leader, the originally scattered Constantinople has been quickly integrated into a whole by his iron-fisted approach.

However, courage cannot make up for the gap in combat power.

The vast territory owned by the enemy and the military force that can be mobilized are far from comparable to the war potential of Constantinople and its concessions, which have a total of less than 80,000 people.

The Candle Knight looked at the city with some doubt. The priest who was walking at the front of the procession, holding the statue of the Virgin Mary and leading the procession, said: "Even if we win this battle to defend the city, what will happen? Do you think that with the current situation of the empire, we can still take advantage of the situation to counterattack and recapture our homeland?"

"Why not? Our cruel Mahamu II killed all the heirs who could threaten his throne. If we can kill him in battle, his dynasty will surely fall apart. By then, it is not impossible to support Orhan as the king of the Ottoman Empire and swallow up his legacy."

Losa's face was full of confidence.

In fact, he didn't think about what would happen after winning the battle. As long as he could win the battle to defend the city, the mission of the simulation battle would be accomplished.

"Sounds like a novelist's fantasy."

The Candle Knight wiped the silver sword in his hand. In their time, similar stories were popular - if Rome had not fallen, if the independence war of the thirteen colonies had won the final victory.

"Everything depends on human effort. Don't you like poetry? The most shocking poems always come from storms."

Lothar said with a smile, next to him was the St. Romanus Gate and the fast-flowing Lex River that ran through the city.

He was wearing Maximilian's Holy Cross Plate Armor. Constantine XI also had a set of armor, but it was obviously not as gorgeous as this holy relic.

The Ottomans mobilized their army with great fanfare. If Lothar had not reorganized the army, many people would have thought of surrendering just by looking at the enemy's mobilization of troops.

The composition of their army was as complex as that of the army under Saladin in the past. The most elite part, of course, was the Janissary Guards of Mahamu II and the Sipahi cavalry, which were similar to the European princely knights.

But in addition to these, there were also large-scale vassal armies from the states of Asia Minor and the Zoroastrian Crusades that came all the way from the East. These miscellaneous troops made up the majority of the Ottoman army.

The evening breeze blew up the Candle Knight's platinum hair. She put on a stag antler hood, like an elf wandering above the world.

“Everything depends on human effort.”

The Candle Knight repeated in a low voice what Lothar had said. She once again felt the burden on her shoulders, but it was different from before. Before, she only felt suffocated and breathless, but now she truly felt the weight of this responsibility.

She is willing to take on the responsibility of protecting the land and the people.

"Captain, Viviana von Hohenzollern will use the candle and sword in her hand to win the final victory for you."

Lothar looked at the serious-looking Candle Knight, smiled and nodded: "Thank you."

The soldiers and laborers shouted in unison as they carried bricks, stones and wood onto the city walls.

Not only the city walls needed repair, but many of the towers and the armory on the city walls were also in disrepair, filled with cobwebs, and birds had built nests in many places. Some remote areas were littered with gnawed bones, and no one knew when these citizens were abducted by the demons living here.

Since Emperor Manuel defeated the Ottoman army led by Murad in 1422, the city walls have not undergone large-scale renovation due to the empire's dire financial problems.

The weakest point of the city wall is the middle section between the St. Romanos Gate and the Charissius Gate, because the Lycus River passes through the wall of Constantinople and deep into the city.

Because it is located in a river valley, the city wall here is at a lower level, and artillery deployed on the other side of the moat can easily attack the tower and the interior of the city wall.

The traitor who surrendered to the Ottomans must have known this, so the middle section of the city wall would definitely become the most intense part of the battle, and the emperor himself would lead the Varangian Guard and the Keshik Army to garrison there.

In addition, there is the northwest section of the city wall bordering the Golden Horn and the Blachna Palace in the north. The same is true for the coastal city wall here, which is personally garrisoned by the Genoese mercenary leader, Giovanni Giustiniani, who led 800 elite mercenaries.

Lothar divided the entire city wall into twelve military districts, each with a garrison of five hundred to one thousand men. The four northern military districts were commanded by Justinia, the four central military districts were commanded by Lothar himself, and the four southern military districts were all handed over to Orhan, who had been transformed into a dragon-blooded follower.

In addition, there are 2,000 mobile troops, all of whom are well-equipped elites who will fill in the battlefield when the battle reaches a critical moment.

Lothar still has some confidence in the front battlefield.

Only behind Constantinople, there was the enemy's naval force coming from the Golden Horn. Although there were iron chains across the river, coupled with its own naval defense, it was enough to resist the enemy's navy.

But the Galata district on the other side of the river was controlled by the Genoese.

Although there are many Genoese among the defenders, it does not mean that the Galata defenders will stand on the side of Constantinople. Once Mahamu II puts pressure on them or offers a higher stakes, they are likely to give in.

Historically, the Ottomans reached a secret agreement with the Genoese in the Galata region, and used the "dry land boat" method to transport the fleet from land to the Golden Horn, bypassing the indestructible Golden Horn defense line.

Once the Ottoman fleet broke through the blockade of the Golden Horn, with the empire's current weak naval power, it would be difficult to compete with the enemy even with the Latin fleet.

noon.

Lothar and Viviana had their meal on the city wall.

All the soldiers and civilians in the city ate together, and the food the soldiers ate was obviously much better, which was a reward for their bravery.

Halfway through eating.

Losa suddenly felt something and raised his head.

"what happened?"

"The storm is coming!"

Lothar looked serious. In the clouds, a breath of energy that was faintly pulling at his bloodline was gathering momentum. He looked into the distance, and his powerful mental power outlined the image of a three-headed dragon in his mind.

Each of the three-headed dragon's heads wore a metal crown, and the terrifying aura made Lothar feel a little solemn.

His dragon bloodline actually originated from this world.

If he had not been strengthened multiple times by "Bathing in Dragon Blood", the level of his bloodline after becoming a true dragon would be that of an ordinary high-level dragon, which would be far lower than the rank of these three demon dragons.

"storm?"

The Candle Knight quickly responded: "Ottomans?"

As soon as he finished speaking, countless flaming flags broke through the horizon in the distant sky.

Riding on their horses, the armored cavalry, wearing robes of various colors, marched slowly towards Constantinople in a scattered but dense formation.

The guards on duty on the tower soon discovered this and blew the horn to alert the enemy to their approach.

Many soldiers who were eating bread subconsciously stood up and looked at the seemingly endless, dark Ottoman army emerging on the horizon, forgetting to chew the food in their mouths.

The number of enemies is so great, far more than people can imagine.

"What are you standing there for? Pass on my orders and continue eating!"

When Lothar's order was passed down, it seemed as if the petrification spell on the defenders was lifted, allowing them to move again, quickly stuffing food into their mouths, and preparing for defense in full swing.

After the enemy army entered the battlefield, they began to set up camp.

By the evening, a large camp had begun to take shape.

In the camp, Lothar, who had excellent eyesight, had even seen giant siege machines being taken down from chariots and horses and pieced together by Ottoman craftsmen. It would take only a few days for them to be put to use.

At this time, an arrogant Ottoman general rode his warhorse and strode to the walls of Constantinople.

"Listen, people in the city. Tell your emperor that my master said that as long as he surrenders the city, my master will generously give him a piece of territory and let him continue to be the so-called emperor there."

He waved his lance and shouted intimidation: "If you resist to the end, when the city is captured, all those who took up arms to resist will be nailed to the stakes!"

The intimidation of one person is not worth mentioning.

But what if this person is supported by a terrifying army that is as densely packed as an ocean with no end in sight?
He had seen that the two Varangian guardsmen who were guarding him, warriors known for their bravery and courage, had already begun to wipe the sweat from their foreheads, and said insincerely: "The weather has been getting hotter recently."

Even the most courageous person would be frightened when he sees a huge army that is impossible for all the European countries to assemble.

Even for Lothar, a veteran of many battles, it was the first time he saw an army of this size.

According to rough estimates, the Ottoman army, including civilians and logistical personnel, had at least 200,000 people, which was more than any army formed by Saladin.

A Qiexue soldier glanced at Losa, and seeing that the emperor nodded slightly, he decisively drew his bow and arrow.

This soldier, already known for his strong physique, now drew his heavy bow, and with ease pulled it to a full moon, and shot out the heavy armor-piercing arrow.

But the person who came was extremely cunning, and his position was right at the limit of the bow and arrow's range.

Although it could still hit him, it was already weak and had lost its force, so he easily deflected it.

"Hahaha, you cowardly and incompetent Greeks, you only dare to shoot arrows at the city wall? Can you send someone to fight me?"

The newcomers taunted and insulted the defenders loudly.

The Candle Knight looked at Lothar and blinked: "I will fight."

Losa shook his head: "Why use a butcher knife to kill a chicken?"

"Pass my order to send Orhan to battle."