Let me introduce you, this is my girlfriend, the Israeli boxing champion

Every day, the Sultan prayed in public on the carpet in front of the golden and red tent, facing the east direction of Mecca (which is also the direction of Hagia Sophia). At the same time, he promised that if the city could be conquered, the soldiers would get unlimited spoils. The believers were greatly tempted by the red apples and were full of expectations. The double temptation of serving the will of God and getting a lot of spoils at the same time was irresistible to the nomadic people who lived on plunder.

On the basis of this double promise, the Sultan began to prepare for the siege. He knew that he had to make it quick. The siege required human sacrifice. The enthusiasm and anticipation of the siege, as well as the willpower to fill the ravines with trampled corpses, all had a time limit.

Unexpected setbacks could quickly lead to a breakdown in morale; in such a large concentrated group of people, rumors, dissent, and discontent could quickly sweep through all the tents like a steppe wind; if the campaign dragged on into the heat of summer, typhoid fever could easily spread even in the well-organized Ottoman camps.

The adventure was also dangerous for the sultan himself. No matter how quarrelsome and divided the Christian states might be, the West would eventually come to Constantinople by land or sea. From the hill at Maltepe he looked up at the rolling land walls and the closely spaced towers and three lines of defense, recalling how impregnable they had been in history. He might profess his faith in the valor of his soldiers in public, but his ultimate hope was in the cannon.

For Constantine XI, time was of the essence. The defenders’ strategy was desperate and simple. They had no means of launching a counterattack to lift the siege. Their only hope was to hold out long enough for reinforcements from the west to force the blockade. They had resisted the Arabs in 678, and they must do so now.

In the misty drizzle, regular horn sounds were heard from 100 miles away.

"Da Vinci, do you hear that? The Ottomans have begun."

PS1: Well, as expected, the power outage in the school still happened.

Chapter 113 The enemy fled in all directions, what a bunch of incompetent rats!

In fact, one thing that Alwin and El-Melloi II had not calculated was the impact of the long rainy season on the Ottoman army.

Today is the first day of the siege of Constantinople. Logically, Mamtim should be in charge of the central army and command the battle - but he is not on the battlefield.

The cannons that the Sultan had high hopes for were loaded on disc-wheeled carts and moved slowly along the muddy road from Edirne to Constantinople in the spring rain. It was unknown how long it would take to reach the front line.

The Sultan could hear the noise of their advance from afar: the oxen that struggled and bellowed as they drew the carts, the staccato cries of the slaves who were being driven, the curses and shouts of the drivers, and the continuous, monotonous music of the creaking axles, like the whispering and howling of demons from hell.

The Sultan, sensing something was wrong, dismounted immediately. He called a pasha who was in charge of supervision and asked him a seemingly ordinary question.

"How long will this rain last?"

"Based on past years, it will take another month to complete the project, Sudan."

When the military supervisor Pasha trembled and said this fact, he could already foresee how the Sultan would react.

"...Okay, very good, now I have an order. I order you to get the Urban cannon to the front line within a week, no matter what!"

"But Sultan, we don't have enough reserve troops--"

"Then now! Immediately! Immediately! Recruit soldiers! By any means necessary! There is no need to be so polite to these Greeks! Compared to Constantinople, none of this is important, do you understand?!"

"understand!"

After issuing the order with thunderous force, the Sultan looked back in the direction he came from. Countless ancestors had failed in conquering this red apple of the Sea of ​​Marmara. Although he had made sufficient preparations and knew that it would take more than one day to capture it, he still hoped in his heart that Khalil Pasha, his father's most trusted adviser, who had been temporarily entrusted with the important task, could achieve some results.

However, the facts disappointed the Sultan. After becoming the temporary commander-in-chief, Khalil Pasha was troubled by these generals who kept asking for battle. He could no longer bear it and finally gave the order to launch a siege.

Although the Ottoman army still had some artillery, it was far from threatening the tall Theodosian Wall. In this situation, the Ottomans immediately launched the first siege.

Under the cover of artillery fire, a light infantry unit launched an attack on the weak section of the city wall in the Licas River Valley, which seemed to be massive but was actually disorganized.

The Ottoman infantrymen shouted slogans of holy war and rushed towards the city wall waving all kinds of swords. General Giustiniani looked at these ignorant Ottomans under the city like he was looking at a fool, and even whistled. Originally, he was thinking of calmly commanding his soldiers to hold on to various positions and slowly consume the strength of the Ottomans with the help of the city wall, but now it seems that he can fast forward to the stage of making dumplings.

"This is a 10-meter-deep moat, with seawater introduced into it. Plus Ms. Mona Lisa's 'surprise', I wonder if you like it..."

Naturally, those Ottoman soldiers could not hear the Genoese's ridicule. The order these F2 soldiers received was to attack this isolated city A.

As for the result...

"Help, I need backup!"

"I can't swim!"

"My body, my body—"

An extremely rare scene in the history of war appeared: the defending troops almost laid down their weapons, and lay down on the edge of the city wall, watching these Turkic landlubbers unable to extricate themselves from the 10-meter-deep moat. They looked at the moat and the slope, and suddenly felt that all their work during this period was worth it.

What's the saying, no pain, no gain.

As for those light artillery pieces that are roaring non-stop, for the Theodosian Wall, the only thing we can do is double the caliber of these artillery pieces.

When the Ottomans' fighting spirit was exhausted, Giustiniani, who had been waiting for an opportunity for a long time, personally led hundreds of soldiers to rush out from the secret door in the city wall. The Ottomans obviously did not expect that the Romans in the city could actually launch a counterattack. Caught off guard, the entire Ottoman defense line was quickly torn open.

Carape, a Roman centurion and a classical Greek warrior hero, knocked down several Ottoman guards in heavy armor and shield, then plunged his sword into their chests and throats, rushing towards the Ottoman commander like Hercules.

The Ottoman commander in charge of the siege looked at Longabis, whose face was covered in blood, and cursed in a trembling voice: "Infidel! Die!"

Looking at the scimitar slowly coming towards him, Karape slightly bent down and dodged it, then grabbed the commander's right hand holding the scimitar and twisted it violently.

"what!"

Looking at the Ottoman commander wailing in pain on the ground, Karapet smiled cruelly and kicked him unconscious.

"What's the situation?" Giustiniani, who was counting the results of the battle, asked with a frown as he looked at the Ottoman commander who had fainted on the ground.

“Looks like we’ve caught a big one.” Karapet squatted on the ground and pulled the unconscious Ottoman commander over, pulling the red stripe on his collar, which was obviously the symbol of an Ottoman noble.

Giustiniani nodded. "Pick him up. We should go back."

"Why? General, we finally got the chance to break out. Hurry up and inform His Majesty to break out and wipe out these pagan invaders in one fell swoop!"

After hearing what Karape said, the general smiled bitterly and shook his head. Nonsense! If it was so easy to kill the Ottomans, the emperor and Chaldea would have done it themselves long ago. Would Alvin have needed to seek envoys from the six countries? Would Constantine XI have needed to ask Venice and Genoa for help?

Giustiniani had a very clear understanding that something might have happened to the Ottomans. However, judging from the Sultan's ruthless methods, it was possible that he was using his side to purge those opponents for him.

"Count the wounded, bring back our injured brothers and our spoils. This is only the first day! But victory will eventually belong to us!"

Under the command of Giustiniani, the Roman army swept through the Ottoman vanguard camp at a rapid speed, and immediately retreated back into the city after capturing the Ottoman commander.

This was the first day of the siege.

PS1: Total War: Three Kingdoms players should be very familiar with the chapter names╰(*°▽°*)╯

PS2: None of the freshmen in this class are good-looking...

Chapter 114: There is no doubt that destroying Osman is the right decision

The Sultan finally returned, but the timing of his return was wrong - he returned just after the vanguard troops defeated Constantinople.

"What happened? Why is the situation in the army not right?"

He opened the central army tent, and sure enough, Khalil Pasha was there.

"Sultan." Khalil Pasha looked ashamed, but the look in his eyes revealed his thoughts. "Our army was defeated."

"How did you lose?"

"Those noble officers openly disobeyed orders and led their troops towards the Theodosian Walls."

"Really? Then I'm lucky enough, at least I'm still alive." He smiled self-deprecatingly, but to Khalil Pasha, the man who watched him grow up, he was more certain of his inner thoughts.

The Sultan is trying to eliminate dissidents! He is using the Byzantine sword to kill people! It can be said that he kills two birds with one stone.

"By the way, Mr. Khalil, what are the casualties in Constantinople?"

"Uh......"

When it comes to casualties, Khalil Pasha becomes hesitant to speak, which seems very strange to the Sultan.

In terms of seniority, Khalil Pasha was an important official left to him by his father and also his teacher; in terms of ability, Khalil Pasha also participated in the Battle of Varna, and his ability and prestige in the army were not a big problem.

Even if we take a step back and say that siege warfare is an extremely difficult task, in the Sultan's view, even if he is the only one left at the end, it is not unacceptable as long as he can take the red apple in front of him.

"Those noble officers took their troops to attack Constantinople, and then..."

"And then what, what was the outcome?"

The Sultan raised his voice in vain. Even though these people were just cannon fodder in the front in his plan, they were still more or less useful.

But the next moment, Sudan was stuck there as if the pause button had been pressed.

"Sultan...those troops were completely destroyed, and the Byzantines did not lose a single soldier."

"..."

The Sultan was silent, but Khalil Pasha keenly felt that a volcano was brewing and he understood the meaning of this sentence.

If Constantinople succeeded in defending itself or if the Crusaders from Western Catholic countries arrived, it would not only be a serious blow to the empire, but everyone would be nailed to the pillar of shame in military history.

On the first day of the siege, the defenders were completely unscathed! Not even a single person had a broken finger!

"...Really? I understand. Pass on my order. Before the Urban cannon reaches the front line, the entire army must not take the initiative to attack. After the artillery is fully deployed, wait for my order. Those who disobey my order will be burned at the stake!"

"Uncle Khalil, please organize the engineers. Have them build bunkers behind the constructed earth ramparts and dig tunnels toward the Theodosian Walls. Their goal is to dig an 800-meter-long tunnel that leads all the way to the foot of the wall, and then blow down the wall from underground. Also, prepare a large number of bags filled with soil, choose a suitable location, and try to fill the trenches outside the city to pave the way for the next large-scale offensive."

When enemies come, we will fight them with our soldiers; when water comes, we will block it with earth. In a short period of time, the Sultan came up with two good plans, which makes him worthy of the name of a conqueror.

But to his surprise, his beloved teacher shook his head and rejected his plan.

"I'm sorry, Sultan, I've considered both of these options, but neither is feasible."

"Why? Uncle Khalil?"

"First, the dry moat outside the Theodosian Wall is refilled with water, and it is highly corrosive seawater. What's even more outrageous is that the Byzantines have deepened the moat to a great depth. As for the second option, Sultan, I'm not sure if you will believe it, but their walls have extremely rich firepower resources, which may not be inferior to ours."

"The Theodosian Wall can be upgraded again? What did they do?"

"Nothing, they just repaired the interior wall."

At this point, Khalil Pasha also smiled helplessly. They had hit a tough nut this time. It would be fine if it went on like this for a day or two, but if it dragged on, the situation would be greatly disadvantageous to them.

After giving the order, the Sultan left the central military tent again. Although the order he issued was for the entire army to be on standby as if hanging up a white flag, this did not mean that the Ottoman army would stand still. He was preparing to go to the nearest port.

"Perhaps, starting with the navy would be a good choice." The Sultan thought to himself. He mounted his horse and headed for the south of Constantinople with his Yericheni.

As for Constantinople, it was a different story. According to Giustiniani's report, after they captured an Ottoman official, the heads of the other gates hurried to the headquarters of the St. Romanus Gate.

"General."

"Go in. The Ottoman is inside. We have tried many methods but failed to make him surrender. Maybe you are the only one who can help us."

Outside the command post at the Porta San Romanus, Alvin and Leonardo ran into General Giustiniani at the door. The Genoese had won a great victory at the Blachernae Gate today, but there was no sign of fatigue on his face. On the contrary, he looked extremely excited.

"If you're going to launch a night raid tonight, remember to take me with you, General."

"Of course."

After a brief encounter, they walked in under the watchful eyes of the guards.

"His Majesty."

"Come on, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Constantine XI, who had been waiting for them for a long time, put down the book in his hand, and Alvin saw the title of the book at a glance - "Decameron"

Or rather, The Decameron.

"Maybe I should bring a copy of Jin Ping Mei?"

"You know that Jin Ping Mei is worth more than that, Alvin." Da Vinci rolled his eyes at him. "By the way, the passage described in Flaubert's Madame Bovary is much more vivid."

"You guys in Valhalla are really good neighbors."

"Didn't Amadeus give you the manuscript of his Requiem? You can let him come out and play it after this operation is over."

"Ahaha, so Leonardo, can you paint me a painting that's as good as the Mona Lisa?"

"That depends on my mood, um~~~"

During their lively and interesting conversation, they came to a small house. Standing at the door, they could hear curses coming from inside.

"This guy hasn't touched a drop of water for a day. Sometimes I really admire the diligence of these Ottomans."

Having said that, Alvin saw the fear in Constantine XI's eyes. When he thought about the extremely chaotic situation in this area in later generations, he couldn't agree more.

Therefore, there was absolutely no problem in completely destroying the Ottoman Empire in 1453. Without a doubt, this was the most correct decision.

PS1: The first comeback from - down to - in the World Championship should have been exciting.

But the two teams are Top Esports and Fnatic...

To be honest, judging from the performance of Top Esports in the first two games, whether it meets JD.com or Suning, it is estimated that it has already bought vacation tickets today.

Come on G2 Esport! Europe's last hope!

PS2: RTS games are down. It is worth mentioning that this Blizzard vice president is the one who announced the remastered version of Warcraft 3.

Chapter 115: To do something knowing it is impossible is a sage.

"Is it done so quickly?"

Leonardo da Vinci leaned against the wall and looked at the pocket watch in his hand. It was barely half an hour when Alvin came out whistling and holding a stack of papers.

"Don't you see who I am?" He handed the precious Ottoman military deployment to Leonardo. "Twenty-five minutes out of thirty minutes were spent writing this. General Justiania really caught a big fish this time."