paranoianovel Chapter 819: Siege of Constantinople
Chapter 819: Siege of Constantinople
Chapter 819: Siege of Constantinople
Constantinople, with Galata on the other side.
The Crusaders had already broken through the fortress at this time - in fact, this place was originally a residential area for the Venetians. Although it was said to be broken through, the resistance they encountered in the process was actually quite slight.
Since then, the Venetian fleet has completely blocked Constantinople's sea routes.
Bela III stood on the wall of Galata, wearing a crown helmet, imperial lamellar armor, and a bright red battle robe.
"Constantinople, it's been a long time since I last visited this place. Unfortunately, this time, I will no longer be a mediator, but the conqueror of this city."
During the reign of Emperor Manuel, Béla III spent nearly ten years at the imperial court, from the age of fifteen to twenty-four, and his entire youth was deeply influenced by imperial culture.
He even joined the imperial army and attacked Hungary.
Later, when Emperor Manuel died and Emperor Alexios succeeded him, he took the opportunity to break free from the control of the empire.
He said to the captain of the Venetian fleet beside him: "I actually have a Greek name, also called Alexios. Although I have no intention of getting involved in the crown of the empire, after the city is captured, Alexios' widow, the pearl of the empire, will be handed over to me for disposal."
It's not that Bella III didn't want to be the emperor of the empire, but he just didn't have the claim. In his early years, he was engaged to a princess of the Komnenos family. If the marriage could be completed and the princess was still alive, there would still be some room for maneuver.
The reputation of this Crusade is already bad enough, but at least there is still Prince Angelos to act as a fig leaf.
Legal principles are something that cannot be seen or touched, but they are the foundation of every monarch. As the king of Hungary and Croatia, if Bela III really did this, he would be digging his own grave.
The Venetian fleet commander frowned: "I'm afraid the church won't do as you wish."
"Yes, the church is always in the way. For example, our new Pope even threatened to give us an excommunication order in order to order us to stop our advance. He should first think about how to deal with the Germans who have occupied Naples so close."
Bella III's tone was full of sarcasm, and it was obvious that he did not take the new Pope seriously at all.
Emperor Henry of the Hohenstaufen family first intimidated the Lombard League supported by the Pope, and then reached an agreement with the Empire to capture Naples, Benevento and other places. Now the territory of Greater Germania has surrounded the Papal States.
Emperor Henry built a large number of wizard towers in his territory and trained spellcasters, and his reputation grew. If the Pope wants to repeat the "Humiliation of Canossa" again, he will have to think twice about whether he should also repeat the experience of Pope Gregory when the Papal City was breached and he died in exile.
The Venetian captain smiled grimly: "Yes, he always tries to stop us, but we are still here."
Standing opposite this high wall that stretches from the Sea of Marmara to the Golden Horn.
Over the years, it has blocked countless invaders who tried to conquer this city. The Huns, Alvars, and Saracens all sighed in despair at the sight of this fortified city.
But this does not include the Venetians, because they have the most powerful maritime force in the Mediterranean world at that time! No matter how strong the Theodosian Wall is, can it still block the sea?
Bella III said jokingly, "In my opinion, His Holiness the Pope is also watching. If we fail, we will be the sinners who instigated the conflict between the Eastern and Western Churches. If we succeed, we will be the heroes who helped him bridge the rift between the Eastern and Western Churches."
The Venetian captain shook his head slightly. "The main force of the empire is trapped in Sicily, and there are only a pair of orphans and widows in Constantinople. There is no reason to fail with such a good opportunity."
Although the Venetians were also Catholics, as businessmen, their views on faith and dogma were always to obey what was beneficial to them and to disobey what was not. This was not the first time that they disobeyed the Pope's edicts.
Suddenly a sailor walked quickly onto the deck and whispered something in the captain's ear.
The Venetian captain's face suddenly changed.
"What happened?"
The Venetian captain took a deep breath and said after a long while: "The widow who stole the throne has found a strong ally."
"Strong reinforcements?"
Bella III sneered: "Arslan of the Turks? He is the only one who can be considered a strong ally. The rest, such as the Pechenegs, Cumans, and Khazars, are just a bunch of uncivilized barbarians who eat raw meat and drink blood and don't even have many sets of armor."
"Not Arslan."
The Venetian captain smiled bitterly and said, "You should know who the most prestigious monarch in the Mediterranean world is during this period. Even as far away as Ireland, there are gold coins with his portrait printed on them, and the Gwent cards are also popular."
"Lothar? He's not busy conquering Egypt, but coming to support the heretical Greeks?"
Bella III frowned, a trace of anger rising on his old face: "This man humiliated my envoy, acted on his own, and stole the throne of Egypt. Now he is against me again?"
If it weren't for Lothar, he would have led the Crusaders to the Holy Land and obtained the fame and wealth that were within his reach.
He thought for a moment and then said, "Captain Dandolo, the Egyptian tyrant has just defeated the Saracens and their military power is at its peak, but their navy is very small. Your country has many eyes and ears in the Mediterranean. If we can stop the Egyptian tyrant's fleet and send them to the bottom of the sea, and then blame them on pirates and sea monsters, wouldn't it save a lot of trouble?"
"Your Majesty's words make sense, but it is well known that King Lothar has an adult dragon that is more than 50 meters long. The former Tyrant of Cyprus, Isaac, was able to destroy the Empire's Aegean Fleet with just a 20-meter-long black dragon. How many ships can we exchange with the Egyptian Tyrant?"
Captain Dandolo said softly, "Your Majesty, no matter how many ships we have, we cannot afford to lose them like this. Otherwise, the Pisans and Genoese will not sit idly by and watch us rebuild our ships and increase our maritime power. We will be strangled in the Adriatic Sea."
The Venetians founded their country on commerce, and their navy was the foundation of their survival. If they suffered a heavy blow, it could basically be considered a dead end.
He paused for a moment and continued, "The reason why our country of St. Mark is willing to provide your army with ships this time is only for the purpose of employment and to monitor the flow of the money we lend to your army. The governor will not agree to provoke this Egyptian tyrant."
This was not entirely false. In addition to blockading the Golden Horn, the Sea of Marmara, and Sicily, the Venetians planned to take over some urban areas and territories after the war to offset the military expenses lent to the Crusaders.
The number of land troops in the Venetian headquarters is very small, and most of them are mercenaries with average combat effectiveness.
Bella III's face looked a little ugly. After a long while, he snorted coldly: "Then please wait and see, Captain, to see whether the cavalry of Hungary and Gaul is better, or his newly rising overseas monarch is more powerful."
In addition to the elite troops of Bela III of Hungary, most of the Crusaders in this crusade were rural knights from Gaul.
From this we can also see how enthusiastic the Gauls were about the Crusades. Philip called for a group, King Richard the Lionheart called for another group, and Bela III could recruit another group.
Inside the Blahena Palace.
Lagaia, the regent queen of the Eastern Empire and the widow of the late Emperor Alexios, closed her eyes somewhat tiredly.
The city of Galata was captured, and the sea route to Constantinople was blocked. Many supplies could not come in. The price of food in the city has soared three times in recent days and is still rising.
These days, she could clearly sense that the morale of the soldiers in the city was declining rapidly.
She could not boost the morale of the soldiers like the male emperors, affectionately calling them "sons", patting everyone on the shoulder, putting silk gifts around their necks, and telling them that the emperor was with them.
She could only stay in the palace and entrust all military affairs to her ministers, even though they might have secretly reached an agreement with the rebels of the Angelos family.
Looking around, she didn't know who she could trust except Anna who was still in Sicily. Even her daughter thought she was the Komnenos and not her, Ducas, and secretly made friends with people from the Komnenos family.
This magnificent city filled with Greek conspiracies is full of invisible swords and hidden arrows.
"Anna, in this situation, can the King of Franks really be trusted?"
"If the supreme throne of the empire is within his grasp, will he really be satisfied with the empty title of Vice Emperor of the East?"