A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

"Can it be held? When the Seljuks dispatched a hundred thousand troops, dragging a hundred cannons with them. And at that time, you had to defend Rhodes and couldn't command from Smyrna... Do you think you can hold it?"

"Yes!" Thomas said decisively.

He met Demetrios's eyes. "Rhodes Island... has never experienced a siege, has it?"

"Yes, no enemy has landed here since the Knights took over."

Thomas smiled. In his past life, he remembered the Ottomans had attacked Rhodes twice, but that was all he hadn't seen in this life.

If even the Ottoman Empire is gone, naturally there is no point in talking about anything else.

That’s why people of this era don’t understand. Not even Demetrios.

To be honest, from the first day Thomas arrived in Rhodes Island, he discovered that the city was already a bastion structure.

However, after the Battle of Smyrna, Thomas realized that although cannons had entered the historical stage, the old-fashioned high and thin city walls had not yet been completely eliminated. Bastion was not popular.

This is why the Byzantine artillery could easily create several gaps in the walls of Smyrna with a single barrage of fire.

The old-fashioned city walls were powerless against the cannons.

Therefore, people of this era had a strange illusion - that attacking a city was not difficult. At least, breaking down the city walls was not difficult.

Large-caliber artillery can create a gap by bombarding for half a day or a whole day.

In other words, people of this era did not understand how terrifying a bastion was.

Thomas remembered clearly a similar battle from a previous life. With only a few hundred or even a thousand troops stationed at the bastion, even a force of tens of thousands would be helpless.

In the end, they could only resort to a long siege and wait for the city to run out of food and surrender.

This is why it was easy for Western colonizers to establish footholds in places like India and Southeast Asia.

If we say that places like the Americas are simply too uncivilized, their weapons and equipment (especially armor) too inferior, and that they face a fundamental technological gap in firearms and steel, then the same cannot be said of places like India. They are also a millennial nation, with a large population and a massive army. Furthermore, we've seen everything we need to see, and we have all the necessary weapons. Equipment can be obtained from the Star-Moon Cult.

But there is still no way to deal with the bastion.

In fact, even the Europeans themselves could not deal with the bastion.

This thing's defensive capabilities are really abnormal.

I remember that in the Thirty Years' War in my previous life, even if it was a very ordinary bastion, as long as you didn't have 30,000 to 50,000 troops and were prepared to siege for two or three years, the bastion defenders wouldn't even look at you.

As long as the Knights are given one or two years to build the bastion, Smyrna will be secure.

"So you don't understand... Demetrios, what's the saying? Oh, my lord, times have changed! Who built the defenses of Rhodes? They must have been completed not long ago, right?"

"It was built by an Italian engineer." Dimitrios didn't understand Thomas's quip, nor did he understand why the Grand Master suddenly turned the conversation to this topic, but that didn't stop him from answering immediately. "He persuaded Grand Master Fernando, but he's already left."

"Bring back the engineer," Thomas said. "There's no rush... but please believe me, I believe this castle structure is highly defensive. Furthermore, the power of Christ is with us."

"Well, Grand Commander, even if we can hold, can we capture? We only have three thousand men! You must remember that tens of thousands of Byzantine naval and land forces were defeated before Smyrna. Even if you have the Bloody Cross, I bet the Crescent Moon Cult is definitely prepared!"

Magic is useful, but... it only works if the other party is unprepared. But by now, word of the magic flag has spread.

If you want to attack Smyrna with the Bloody Cross, you will be gambling with the lives of the Knights.

If you lose the bet, the consequences will be serious.

The Knights' greatest flaw is their limited ability to recover...

"Demetrios," Thomas smiled. "I understand what you mean. I know you don't want to take any risks. With the Knights' current strength, a head-on battle... the outcome is unpredictable."

This is assuming there is a bloody cross flag. If not, the battle will undoubtedly be lost.

He took a few steps and looked around the room. There was no one else in the room except Demetrios.

"How much did you sell my golden apple for in Rome?" Thomas suddenly asked.

"I'm sorry, Grand Master, but I wasn't able to sell the 100,000 florins you expected. I only managed 80,000. All the money went to the army..." Demetrios answered instinctively, then immediately turned serious. "Grand Master, please tell me why you would take such a risk? If even you..."

"Demitrios," Thomas smiled. "You should know that I am a student of the Holy See. And when I left Rome to take up my post on the island of Rhodes... I brought more than just a bloody cross!"

"Ah!" Demetrios's face was shocked, and then happy.

"You have another... artifact?" He touched his forehead, then pinched his thigh, making sure he wasn't dreaming.

Suddenly, he understood.

Everything was prepared by the Pope.

In other words, everything was within the plan of the master and disciple.

The Pope attached great importance to the Knights of Rhodes Island, so all his previous worries were groundless.

It was as if he initially thought the future of the Knights was hopeless, but it turned out that he had brought all this trouble upon himself.

Actually, if you think about it carefully, this is normal.

During the period of time I have been in contact with this leader, I have found him to be a rational person overall, except for some aspects that are a bit eccentric.

Especially in terms of diplomacy, he is quite sensible and does not act impulsively.

This kind of person must be quite confident in making this kind of decision.

"By the way, who is the commander of Smyrna now?" Thomas asked casually.

"I heard about a Turk named Timur Tash."

Chapter 122 Before the War 2

Smyrna, or Izmir.

The black smoke from the burning corpses has stopped for several days, but in this devastated city, the funerals in every household have not yet been completely completed.

"Every household is wearing sackcloth and mourning" is probably the best way to describe this scene. Of course, this is just a description. The funeral customs in this place do not involve wearing sackcloth or mourning.

It has been just over a month since the last battle.

In a month, many things have not changed, such as the city wall.

Even now, the three huge gaps in the city wall are still there, and people can enter the city directly through the gaps instead of through the city gates.

But there are also things that change.

For example, here in the City Lord’s Mansion, there are new people.

Unfortunately, the previous city lord died in the war.

He hadn't actually been on the battlefield, but had remained safe in the city. He should have been able to weather the battle safely. However, the enemy didn't play by the rules, and a group of defeated soldiers found an opportunity to fight their way back into the city, seizing several ships from the harbor and escaping.

During this chaotic process, the poor old city lord retreated a little bit slowly...

Just cancel the account directly.

I guess even the defeated soldiers who escaped don’t know the results of their battle.

Fortunately, this world may lack territory, but it will not lack lords.

In the City Lord's Mansion, in the City Lord's living room, a man was standing at the window with his upper body naked, looking at the scenery outside.

The man was probably in his forties or fifties, with a sturdy build and well-defined muscles. He was still strong and muscular, but a bit of fat had crept into his waist and back. His once-clear eight-pack abs had been condensed into a single one.

"Your Excellency." A servant's voice came from the door. "Your Excellency Timur Tash."

“Come in,” said the man named Timur Tash.

An elderly man dressed as a servant entered, his brows lowered and his demeanor humble. He was a veteran servant of the mansion, and he wasn't very familiar with the new city lord. He didn't know his preferences, and was still observing his words and expressions.

However, as a senior servant here, he still has some confidence.

After all, he was a seventh-rank official in the prime minister's office and a servant of a lord, so he actually had a certain influence on the lord.

He walked in. "My lord, they are waiting for you in the reception room."

"Oh." After hearing this, Timur Tash picked up the clothes beside him and began to put them on.

"Sir, were you satisfied... last night?" The old servant asked in a low voice, glancing at the couch in the distance.

He took the initiative to find a few women in the city to warm the lord's bed, as a test of the lord's hobbies.

And those were not ordinary women, they were basically women from wealthy and powerful families in the city - this was an era when people generally did not have enough food to eat, and due to nutritional limitations, poor families could not raise beautiful women.

It's not impossible, but the chances are very low.

Only wealthy families who have no problem with food and clothing can raise beautiful women.

And these families were also happy to send their daughters or sisters to the bed of the new lord.

It is a common practice to use women in the family to climb up the social ladder. People from all countries in the world understand this trick without any instruction.

Besides, the Xingyue Cult is a polygamous sect after all. Maybe if I'm lucky, I can become his wife?

"Not bad." Timur Tash pointed to the bed. "By the way, I'm going to meet the guests. You take care of it."

Deal with it? The old servant was stunned for several seconds. When he came to his senses, he had a bad feeling in his heart.

He quickly took a few steps over and saw several naked women lying on the couch.

Their fair skin was covered with scars, their faces were blue, their eyes were rolled back, but they had already stopped breathing.

died?

All dead?

The old servant was shocked and turned to look at Timur Tash who was still getting dressed.

"Master, these women... these women..." These women are not ordinary low-class people. No one would care if a few of them died. Their families are all powerful figures in the city.

One of them is quite important.

Timur Tash sneered. "What? Just a few pagan women!"

"Sir, this girl's father..." the old servant was eager to explain. "He's a powerful figure in the city!"

The others were fine, but there was one that was different.

He tried to get close to a rich and powerful man but ended up losing his daughter's life.

"Powerful people? They're just some infidels! Slaves conquered by the sword of God! I enjoyed his daughter because I think highly of him. Not to mention his daughter, I want his wife, his mother too. Let's see what these infidels dare to say!"

"But..." The old servant realized that the situation was not good. "Her father was once mentioned by His Majesty the Sultan..."

His words were interrupted by a slap.

Timur Tash slapped him hard, knocking him to the ground.

After a long while, the old servant finally managed to get up from the ground. One side of his cheek was already red and swollen. His mouth moved, and then he spat out two teeth.

This time, he didn't dare to say a single word.

Timur Tash was already furious.

How dare a servant talk too much in front of his master!

"Take care of this!" Timur Tash, who had already dressed, said coldly to the old servant.

"Yes...yes, sir..." the old servant replied reluctantly.

Timur Tash strode out of the room and came to the reception room.

The reception room was already full of invited guests.

The wealthy merchants, big and small families in the city, or in other words, all the people with status and reputation in the city came.

A large conference room was filled with all kinds of people.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Timur Tash spoke directly.

"His Majesty the Sultan asked me to come here for two main reasons. The first is to stabilize the situation here, and the second is to form a new fleet." Timur Tash looked around.

This victory resulted in the capture of many warships, and the Sultan took advantage of this opportunity to choose the warships as best he could in distributing the spoils.

Everyone knew that the Sultan wanted to build a fleet here in Izmir to suppress the Byzantines.

We were suppressed by the Byzantine navy before, but now we can finally counterattack.

Within a few years, there was no possibility for the Byzantines to rebuild their fleet.

The Knights Templar and the Byzantine Navy were destroyed one after another, and it was finally the turn of the Crescent Moon Cult to hold their heads high!

"We have warships, but we're still short of sailors and soldiers, especially experienced sailors. We must recruit them quickly," Timur Tash said. "Besides that, our city faces many problems. The city walls need repairs, and the fallen need compensation, but our treasury is empty and we can't afford it. So, I've invited you all here to help solve this problem. Please share your thoughts on what we can do."

After he finished speaking, no one responded. No one answered him again when he asked more. They all pretended to be deaf and dumb.

"Since everyone's out of ideas, let me offer one. I'd like to impose a special tax based on property!" Timur Tash sneered inwardly. "30% of each household's property as an emergency tax to fulfill the Sultan's important trust..."