In the tense and orderly preparations, the time came in the spring of 1453. In accordance with the tradition of the Turks, the Sultan erected a horse-tail flag in front of the tent, summoned troops from Anatolia, and troops from Wallachia.

, Serbia, Moldavia and other places gathered Christians, and knights, retinues, soldiers, and cannons from all over the place were gathered in the Ottoman capital Edirne, and war came.

At this time, the emperor had just returned to Constantinople. After learning that the Sultan was about to march, reinforcements from all over the city had already entered the city to help defend it. The most famous of them were Giovanni and Bogi from Genoa.

The three Adore brothers, a Catalan sailor, Don Francisco, a nobleman from Castile, etc., nearly ten thousand people are distributed on the twelve-mile-long city wall (one mile is equal to 1.61 kilometers).

), among which the four-mile-long land wall is the main defense direction.

At sea, a chain of three hundred yards long has been fixed to the sea wall of Galata, blocking the entire Golden Horn to reduce the pressure from the sea. To the south is the Sea of ​​Marmara with rapid currents.

No city in the world has such unique conditions, and the entire city is impregnable.

The defense of the land wall is even more perfect. The emperor knew that this would be the enemy's main attack direction, so he started repair work very early. Densely packed towers stood here, getting higher and higher from the outer wall to the inner wall, with extremely small spacing.

At the top of the wall, the lion flag of St. Mark and the double-headed eagle flag of the emperor flutter in the wind, and the marble cross is inserted on the city wall, bringing spiritual encouragement to anyone who crosses the Thracian plains and comes to Constantinople.

The first thing people in Dinburg see is the eerie and tall city walls.

The city wall is one hundred feet high from the trench to the tower, and two hundred feet wide from the outermost tower to the inner wall. Two new trenches five meters wide and eight meters deep were dug outside the wall. There are gates on the wall.

The city gates had bridges built over the trenches leading to the countryside, and now they are all blocked with stones. No matter who it is, they can only sigh in the face of such complete and strong fortifications.

The Sultan obviously knew this, and he tried his best to find the weak points of the city wall. He easily found two potential weaknesses. In the middle of the city wall, the city wall descended along the river valley, and gradually rose after crossing the Likas River.

, and the peak opposite the city wall obviously provides an excellent firing location for the cannon, and almost everyone can easily discover this weakness.

The other place is close to the Golden Horn. The city wall here is in a mess. This is because when it was built, an extra section was added to include the shrine of the Virgin. In any case, if he wanted to break through the land wall, the Sudan could only use these two

Find a way somewhere.

The emperor not only had Constantinople, but also had several fortresses outside the city, relying on some fortifications. However, neither the emperor nor his ministers could have imagined that the Ottoman artillery technology was so advanced. This was mainly due to other

With the advanced technology brought by businessmen and engineers from some European countries, amidst the roar of artillery, several fortresses outside the city were destroyed and all the fortifications were destroyed.

Impale the wooden stakes to frighten the enemy.

In March, armies from all over the country were assembled. Sultan led his army across the Thracian plain with great power, which brought great shock. Sultan had about 100,000 troops, including more than 60,000 infantry and more than 30,000 infantrymen.

The cavalry was overwhelming, and the dust raised by the horses' hooves seemed to dye the entire Thracian plain gray-yellow. The morale of the army was high, and everyone was coveting the legendary treasures in the city.

In April, the Sultan's army had arrived outside the city. At this time, the Sultan was inspecting his army.

The Sultan rode a tall Arabian horse and was wearing armor. He was strong and mighty.

"The morale of the army is very high and they are always willing to sacrifice their lives for Allah and His Majesty." Khalilvizi reported to the Sultan.

The Sultan knew in his heart that this was for the loot in the city. According to tradition, on the day the city was breached, the soldiers could plunder freely for three days. This was a gift from God to them.

"Build a camp, dig trenches, build earthen walls, and prepare for a long siege."

Constantinople suffered many wars, and it was obviously unrealistic to win it in a short time. The Sultan also realized this.

The Ottomans were very enthusiastic and quickly built a tent city on the flat land outside the city. They dug trenches and opened up artillery firing positions. After doing this, the Sultan led his army to a mile away from the city.

The army in the middle was in white clothes and white hats, wearing iron armor and riding tall horses. They were the Sultan's guards. The troops on both sides were in red clothes and red hats, carrying various weapons. At the Sultan's signal, they shouted together, and their voices shook the world.

.

This kind of situation has been seen many times in history, such as the confrontation between King Wu Fu Chai and the Jin army, and Mao Dun used this trick when Bai Deng besieged Emperor Gao, in order to disintegrate the enemy's will and reduce the enemy's resistance.

Although Sudan has many troops and their morale is currently high, this is only temporary and does not mean that they are not afraid of death. Once the casualties are too large and the delay is too long, they will still collapse.

"The enemy is very powerful." The emperor thought to himself as he looked at the army outside. Looking back, his subjects were obviously shocked and speechless. This is normal. After all, most of the emperor's armies are not professional armies.

Only a few veterans look natural.

The emperor was shocked. This was not a good sign. He was frightened before the war started. How could he still fight?

"My subjects, please don't worry, our city walls are the strongest in the world, and the infidels can never invade our land."

Seeing that the people's faces had not improved much, the emperor knew that words could no longer play a big role. Only victory could bring hope to his subjects. As long as he could hold on for one day, the situation would improve a lot.

The emperor did not personally arrange the city defense. Professional matters were left to professionals. Although the emperor had led troops several times before, he was still a little behind compared to a veteran general like Giovanni. He left the city defense to Giovanni.

Ni and Sesipe, the emperor walked down the city wall.

Although the current situation seems grim, the emperor is not unable to do anything. He still has a secret weapon that has not been revealed. The Sultan will also pay the price for his arrogance and arrogance.

"Is the cannon ready for adjustment?" This is what the Sultan asked his vizier Khalil.

"It is being debugged. The 1,500-pound cannon is too heavy. It will take some time to move it to the designated location. Other types of artillery are ready."

The Sudan brought not all large artillery this time, but also many small artillery.
Chapter completed!