Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 333 Shame Yes, extreme shame!

[At the end of the mountains and the sea, the ashes carry the wail, and the ancient land - Constantinople, the city longed for by the world, is about to fall.]

[The past glory and order, like a candle in the wind, will dissipate between iron hooves and flames. ]

——Anonymous

Only ruins remain of the ancient thousand-year-old empire, and Rome, which once ruled the world, has also fallen in disgrace.

Shame, yes, extreme shame.

Constantinople, with its 15,000 garrison troops and 500,000 citizens, considered itself weakly defended…

You have to know that the number of soldiers in the Fourth Crusade was actually only 12,000. Even if the Venetian sailors were included, the total number was only about 25,000.

In this situation where there was no obvious gap in strength, the leader of the Fourth Crusade, Count Theobald of Champagne, easily stood on the Galata Tower and looked at the city on the other side of the Golden Horn.

Hundreds of thousands of people have built a world that is completely different from the world outside the city walls. It is the city that the world longs for, and the Hagia Sophia stands tall like God's palace on earth.

The walls of Theodosius were tall and strong, and there was no record of their fall.

The ancient city, carrying a civilization that does not belong to this era, is like a heart that continues to beat to this day.

It is now August of the year 1200, and a few days ago the Crusaders captured the Galata Tower.

Galata Tower, guarding the northern end of the chain that sealed off the Golden Horn.

The capture of the Stone Tower meant that the Golden Horn was opened. With the existing fleet of Constantinople, it was simply unable to compete with the Genoese.

It also means that the Crusaders completed the strategic partial encirclement of Constantinople.

Then, it was time to attack the city.

In the eyes of Theobald, Count of Champagne, this huge city now seems to be infested by insects.

The Venetian fleet attacked the sea wall from the Golden Horn, and the Varangian Guard fought with it. Soldiers on both sides fell from the city wall like insects and ants.

And in the northwest, at the Palace of Blachnais, another war was about to begin.

Because the distance was too far, the army of thousands of people looked like a few beetles lying there in Theobald's eyes.

Then the city gates were opened, and the defenders in Constantinople chose to go out of the city to meet the enemy.

But then, Theobald showed confusion, because after not much confrontation, those "Romans" seemed to lose their formation and retreated towards the wall on their own initiative, and their formation could not be maintained.

What started as a retreat turned into a rout.

With neither side seemingly firing a single shot, the "Romans" were defeated...

Theobald stood high and saw far. In his eyes, the world was actually like a sandbox.

Obviously, the number of "Romans" is much greater than that of Crusaders...

According to Theobald's estimate, if the Crusaders had 3,500 men, then the "Roman" army would not be less than 7,000.

Such a sudden defeat without a fight was beyond his expectations.

However, what he really didn't expect was that he would have to wait until the next day.

On the day after the siege Theobald received more definite news.

The "Roman" general who led nearly 10,000 soldiers to attack the Crusader camp outside the city yesterday was called Alexius Angelos.

This person was actually the emperor of the "Romans", the lord of the empire in purple robes. When he received this news, Count Theobald of Champagne was still eating, but before he swallowed the food in his mouth, the next sentence of the messenger almost choked him to death.

"...Sir, last night, Alexios III fled from the city with several guards!"

"Cough cough..."

Theobald, Count of Champagne, coughed violently several times.

"what?!"

"I mean, sir… the people in the city seem to have deposed Alexios III and acknowledged Isaac II as the true emperor."

Isaac II was actually the original emperor and the younger brother of Alexios III. It was because of his dethronement that his son Alexios asked the Crusaders for help, hoping that the Crusaders could help them regain the throne.

in other words……

After arriving in Constantinople, the Crusaders only captured the Galata Tower and launched a small-scale siege.

Then this city that the world longs for declared its surrender?
How could these Westerners who came from afar reap the fruits of victory so easily?
The unexpected surprise fell from the sky so easily and landed on his head that it took Theobald, Count of Champagne, a long time to come back to his senses.

……

Four months later, the Crusaders realized that they had laughed too early.

Even though they forced the citizens in the city to recognize the accession of Alexios IV, the city was simply unable to raise the gold that Alexios IV had promised.

Alexios IV promised the Crusaders that if they helped him recapture Constantinople, he would collect 20 silver marks, provide the Crusaders with 1 Byzantine professional troops, maintain 500 knights in the Holy Land, and send the Byzantine navy to transport the Crusaders to Egypt...

In a short period of time, he could only raise 10 silver marks.

Indeed, this money was enough to pay off the Crusaders' debts to the Venetians, but it was far from satisfying the Crusaders' appetite.

In order to obtain the 10 silver marks, Alexius IV even ordered the destruction and melting of precious Roman icons to extract the gold and silver in them...

Shame, yes, extreme shame.

The ancient thousand-year-old empire is now reduced to ruins, and Rome, which once ruled the world, has fallen into disgrace...

Her current leader is so weak and a puppet!
In order to eliminate the hidden danger, Alexios IV and a part of the Crusaders went to hunt down Alexios III.

During this period, a rebellion broke out in the city and some Latin residents were killed.

In retaliation, armed Venetians and other Crusaders entered the city from the Golden Horn and attacked a mosque.

In order to cover their retreat, the Crusaders set a fire in the city before leaving.

This fire burned for three days and three nights.

After this, the hatred between the Latins and the "Romans" could no longer be eased.

Isaac II died, Alexios IV was hanged...

Now, in this cold winter day, the Crusaders once again become besiegers and are about to launch an attack on this "city that the world desires".

And the impact of this was far more than just staying in Constantinople.

When the Kingdom of Georgia, far away on the other side of Asia Minor, received the news, it realized that the time was ripe.

The plan that had been prepared for a long time can now be implemented.

(End of this chapter)