bookandnovel Chapter 686 Offensive and Defensive Casting
Chapter 686 Offensive and Defensive Casting
Chapter 686 Offensive and Defensive Casting
"It's Miss Viviana!"
"Great Dragon Knight, Savior of Constantinople!"
"Lord Candle Knight!"
When the first citizen of Constantinople saw the iconic female knight in black and white armor, the crowd that was already celebrating the victory became excited again.
People had sincere reverence on their faces and waved to Viviana and the emperor beside her, expressing their love and respect for them. Compared to the majestic emperor, the Candle Knight was undoubtedly more lovable.
It's not just the appearance that matters. They recognize the emperor's efforts and the talents he has shown over the past few days. But as an emperor, protecting his subjects is actually an inherent responsibility.
But Viviana was not like that. This foreign female knight who came from nowhere had no responsibility to Rome, but she still saved Rome when Constantinople had become an isolated city, just like Joan of Arc saved France.
Both the Greeks and the Latins worshipped and appreciated her in their hearts.
Viviana was a little overwhelmed by the gratitude. She responded to people's enthusiasm reluctantly and looked at the emperor beside her for help from time to time.
Even though Lothar stated the reasons why he had to do so, as an upright knight he still felt ashamed of the honor that should not have been his alone.
The Galata district, separated only by a strait, was also caught up in the carnival, but this did not include the Genoese upper class.
Those who stayed now, including the governor appointed by Genoa, were somewhat unhappy at the moment. Some time ago, they were forced to cut off material support to Constantinople due to the oppression of the Ottomans.
Many were ready to surrender if the Ottomans decided to take tough measures.
Because they knew very well that the Republic would not enter into a hostile state with the Ottomans for them, because the Ottomans who had blockaded the Sea of Marmara could cut off the access to the Black Sea at any time, turning their colony on the other side of the Black Sea, the Crimean Peninsula, into an isolated city.
They had neither the strength nor the courage to deal with the dragon ridden by Mahamu II.
However, the development of the situation was beyond their expectations. A terrible red dragon was shot and killed by the Roman emperor himself. The nightmare hanging over the heads of all Balkan countries, Mahamu II who rode on a three-headed dragon, was also killed by the dragon riders under the Roman emperor.
That's the Dragon Rider!
They couldn't afford to offend a pagan who rode a dragon, nor could they afford to offend a Roman emperor who had dragon riders at his service.
How could Rome, with such power, allow the Ottomans to enjoy many commercial privileges after defeating them?
They had no power to resist at all, not to mention that the Genoese in Galata were nominal subjects of the Roman emperor.
The Governor of Galata could not help but smile bitterly and said, "Let's wait and see. Who knows, the Roman emperor might send someone to invite us to come over tonight. We should kneel before him and swear allegiance to him. Are you ready to accept the rule of the new emperor?"
This time, no one dared to call the emperor the Greek emperor.
"Vivianna, winning a war is a difficult thing, but how to distribute the benefits after the war is also a difficult thing."
Losa and Viviana were walking on the streets of Constantinople. They had come to the Colosseum. Next to it was the "Bishop's Palace" where the Ecumenical Patriarch was supposed to live. However, due to years of disrepair, it had become a dangerous building. It was obviously impossible for Patriarch Mamas to really live here.
Prior to this, Constantine XI had a very bad relationship with the Patriarch over the issue of "church unification". In this battle, he gained huge prestige and was able to force the Patriarch to bow to him.
"What do you mean?"
"The Genoese made efforts to defend Constantinople, whether it was General Giovanni and his mercenaries who came without asking for payment, or the Genoese militia who came from Galata on their own initiative."
Losa said: "These people deserve to be rewarded, but the first thing I have to do now is to make the Genoese in Galata surrender to me and abolish the trade privileges of Genoa and Venice."
"This"
Viviana frowned. She was instinctively dissatisfied with this behavior of crossing the river and destroying the bridge.
"It was impossible to continue the Genoese commercial privileges. A monarch with an empty pocket could do nothing and accomplish nothing, no matter how shameless it seemed."
He paused for a moment, and then continued, "In fact, it is unfair to attribute the merits of these Genoese to the Republic of Genoa. The two are not equal. I will strive to transform the Genoese in Constantinople from subjects of the Republic of Genoa to subjects of Rome. And give them the rewards they deserve."
The same operation was naturally applied to the Venetians. No matter what, Losa could not allow the two leeches to continue sucking blood from Rome.
As for whether the two countries will take drastic measures, to be honest, they dare not turn against the Ottomans. Even if they defeat the Ottomans, Rome, which has dragon knights serving it, is not someone they are willing to provoke.
Even if the Venetians and Genoese really decided to use force, Losa didn't care.
The military means of these two commercial republics were really lackluster. Although the Genoese were defeated by the Venetians, they still had strength. The two sides were still each other's biggest competitors and were restraining each other. Even if they decided to use military force against Rome, it would be difficult for them to use their full strength, let alone join forces.
As maritime powers, the two commercial republics could at most dispatch their fleets to blockade the coast of Constantinople, but Lothar was able to transform into a real dragon and burn their proud fleets to ashes with a breath of dragon fire.
In addition to the Genoese, pensions for soldiers killed or wounded in battle among the citizens of Venice and Greece were also essential, which required a large sum of money or land.
The heroes who performed outstandingly in this battle also need to be rewarded, even if it is just a blank check, such as giving the heroes the land that Rome has already lost.
Given that the Ottomans had been defeated and were destined to fall into civil strife, this move would not cause much backlash.
As for the issue of subsequent expansion, the only option is to continue to implement the "Pronia" system, which is similar to the feudal system.
The Roman military district system was on the verge of collapse as early as the 12th century in the medieval world. After the Crusaders occupied Rome, they established feudal states such as Epirus, the Principality of Athens, and the Principality of Thessalonica.
If the impoverished Rome wanted to expand rapidly, the feudal system was essential. Lothar even planned to rely on Orhan to conquer some Ottoman lords and even form an army of Turkish mercenaries.
Indeed, Lothar had accomplished the goal of this simulated battle.
All that is being done now is only out of a sense of responsibility and the possible impact on the value of the "Six-Star Template".
Constantine XI had good personal abilities, but in some historical simulation games, his numbers were often mediocre, because he was the king of a fallen country, and no matter how strong his abilities were, there was no stage for him to display them.
The evaluation of a monarch is obviously linked to his achievements.
Even if you can get a six-star template as a minimum, there are still differences in levels among the six stars. Obviously, this is also related to the final results achieved by Losa in this simulation.
While waiting for a reply from the Genoese in Galata, an unexpected news arrived.
"Your Majesty, the Ottomans outside the city are fighting!"
"It seems that the opportunity came faster than we expected."
Losa couldn't help but laugh.
"Aren't they afraid of us?"
Viviana was a little confused. The sharp blade hanging above their heads was so close to them, didn't they know that they should huddle together for warmth at this time?
"This is an open conspiracy. It can't be changed just by seeing through it."
Lothar chuckled and said, "Besides, Viviana, we are not in a life-and-death battle with the Ottomans. Only one can survive. The history of Rome hiring Turkish mercenaries to fight can be traced back to four hundred years ago."
As it stands, with Rome's weak strength, it is already quite difficult to integrate the territory of the so-called "Rumelia" region of the Ottoman Empire. In Losa's expectation, in the short term, he can only extend his tentacles to the western coastal areas of Asia Minor at most.
After the collapse of the Ottoman rule, the surrounding forces will also come up to fill the vacuum. Karaman and the Aquarians will move westward, and the Hungarians will move southward, and they will defeat the Ottomans in one fell swoop. This is not a good thing for Lothar.
"Perhaps it won't be long before an Ottoman messenger comes and hopes to gain my approval, or even offers to become my vassal?"
Lothar said with a smile.
When Constantine XI ascended the throne, he sought the approval of Mahmud II.
If Mahamut II did not allow it, it would have been difficult for Constantine XI to ascend the throne.