1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 298 The War Continues
Nicomedia, Marmara Coast, Northwestern Anatolia.

In the Governor's Palace in the north of the city, Sinan Pasha, the second vizier of the Ottoman Empire, stood quietly on the terrace. Fires in the distance came into view, shouts and bombardments were heard in his ears, and the servants around him were hurrying back and forth, making him feel extremely tired.

Nicomedia was a vital part of the Ottoman Empire's Aegean barrier plan. It was their most powerful fortress north of Bursa and the last solid line of defense.

The fortress was designed and built by Venetian engineers, who drew on bastion technology originating from Constantinople. It took several years to build and made great improvements on the old fortress, increasing its defensive capabilities exponentially.

Sinan Pasha remembered that the Venetian designers at the time were very satisfied with their results and boasted that the fortress was no weaker than the Theodosian Wall in terms of defensive power. As long as the commander's quality was not too bad, it could be held for more than half a year.

Sinan Pasha also participated in the overall planning of the Aegean Sea Barrier Project. He did not think that there was much problem with the evaluation of the Venetian designers, and he was confident in his military qualities. He came here ambitiously and organized the city defense ambitiously.

As soon as he took office, he immediately drove his useless nephew back to Bursa, monopolized the military and political power himself, and wrote a letter to Mehmed II, explaining the situation in the north in detail. He believed that they should not easily go out of the city to fight in the field, and should not waste the most elite soldiers in a war of attrition. They should use their own advantages, hold on and wait for reinforcements, and mainly delay the war.

The Ottoman nobles at that time were already fed up with the successive attacks and the shortage of food and military supplies. Some radicals insisted on going out of the city for a decisive battle to reduce the burden.

His Majesty the Sultan was also very hesitant, and ultimately did not fully listen to the radicals' opinions, and brought an ambiguous letter to Sinan Pasha.

Fighting is a crime, and not fighting is also a crime. This is Bursa’s opinion.

Sinan Pasha was not disturbed by the disputes in Bursa. He gave up Remusburg and firmly defended the city. Except for blacksmiths, doctors and necessary laborers, he drove away all the people. He stockpiled enough food and supplies to support him for half a year, preparing to turn the city into a meat grinder and fight blood with the Eastern Roman army.

Facts have proved that the Venetians' craftsmanship is very good, and Sinan Pasha's military talent is also acceptable. So far, Nicomedia has held out for nearly half a year under the strong attack of the Eastern Roman army. It has been on the verge of collapse several times and lost the city wall several times, but it was rescued by Sinan Pasha every time, causing heavy casualties to the Eastern Roman army.

Sinan Pasha was a traditional Ottoman nobleman. His ancestors had followed Orhan I into the Balkans. He maintained the high quality of the old Ottoman nobles and their pride and indomitable spirit.

He also liked women, opium and alcohol, but he was still a good general and a loyal nobleman.

He knew that the Ottoman Empire was on the verge of a double collapse, both politically and economically. The old nobles of the Murad II era were still capable of fighting, but the new generation of young nobles were extremely corrupt and decadent, and were devouring the entire empire from top to bottom.

He knew that even if he could complete the task, delay the Eastern Roman Empire's army, and allow Prince Bayezid to complete the raid, it would only be the last breath for this country that was plagued by internal and external troubles. The Eastern Empire's national strength had completely crushed the current Ottoman Empire. Even in a period of total war, it did not collect too much taxes from the lower-class people.

During the countless days and nights without light, Sinan Pasha climbed this terrace countless times, looking towards the distant east and watching armies arriving at the city under different flags.

What a surprise it would have been if Prince Bayezid had been among these troops!

Unfortunately, the troops that came always belonged to the emperor of Constantinople, and until today, he still has not been able to wait for his prince.

Now, the city of Nicomedia is only a broken shell. The outer walls have been completely lost, the water source has been polluted, and all the artillery shells and lead bullets have been exhausted. There is still some food, but the soldiers are in complete despair, with numbness and fatigue in their eyes.

Just now, the army of the Eastern Roman Empire suddenly crawled out of the cemetery in the city. They were dressed in black, with their mouths and noses covered. Some of them were wrapped in white cloth used by Muslims to shroud corpses. Some of them threw away the bones hanging on their bodies when they crawled up.

The cavalryman in charge of patrolling was so frightened that his whole body turned cold. It took him a while to recover and he rushed forward hesitantly.

Then, kerosene cans, gunpowder cans, and lime cans rained down on them, and the cavalrymen finally understood the purpose of covering their mouths and noses.

In the chaos, more and more Eastern Roman soldiers crawled out of the cemetery and gradually occupied two blocks.

At the same time, all the city walls were attacked fiercely at all costs, and the defenders on the walls were slowed down.

Sinan Pasha had no reserve troops left, so he could only send his own guards forward to make a last-ditch effort for the Sultan, to whom he had sworn allegiance until death.

Sinan Pasha stood on the terrace and watched the guards rush to the battlefield to the sound of stirring military music, listened to their battle cries becoming increasingly fainter, and watched one soldier after another fall under the human wave attack, never to be able to return home again.

More and more Greek flags appeared, blocks after blocks were declared fallen, fires were burning in military camps, and low and passionate war songs accompanied by military music were sung over Nicomedia.

"Almighty Lord, King of Kings, may you have mercy on me and protect my emperor..."

Sinan Pasha knew that this was the Bosphorus Military Band recently formed by the Greeks, the second regular military band in the entire Mediterranean. It was a complete copy of their Mehter, even the composition of the musicians was exactly the same.

"Under Saint Romanus, we sang battle songs, rode on horses, and charged in all directions..."

"Wherever the Holy Father points, our Emperor follows. Our glory will shine upon the world, covering the continents, the sky, and the oceans!"

The sound was getting closer and closer, surrounding us from all directions. Dawn had arrived and the sun was rising in the east. In the dim light of the early morning, the golden and red double-headed eagle flag and the cross four-beta flag were fluttering in the wind.

Sinan Pasha smiled bitterly and shook his head.

As a veteran of the battlefield, he had participated in many battles and was familiar with tunnel warfare. He had also made preparations in advance before the war.

During the siege of Constantinople eighteen years ago, the Ottoman Empire also adopted tunnel warfare and hired the most skilled Saxon miners.

Now he understood that the Greek tunnels were obviously more advanced, and there were far more than one, and for some reason, he had not noticed it at all.

The remaining Ottoman troops were separated by walls, with no way of connecting the front and rear. After a long and hard fight, they fell into despair, and more and more people laid down their weapons and chose to surrender.

"Devil's Lamp... Are the Greeks about to launch a general attack..."

Sinan Pasha raised his head, looked at the lights floating in the sky, and smiled self-deprecatingly.

After the lights came on, the Eastern Roman army paused for a moment, and then began a desperate attack. The roars and screams were getting closer and closer.

The guards of the Governor's Palace were soon killed in battle, and several heavily armored soldiers rushed up. Sinan Pasha sighed, drew his scimitar, and prepared to die for the Sultan.

The soldiers of the First Guards Legion showed disdain on their faces, knocked down Sinan Pasha's scimitar with their halberds, punched him in the face, and knocked him unconscious.

"Quick! Pull him up and persuade the remaining enemies to surrender!"

In a daze, Sinan Pasha heard the soldiers' shouts.

"The enemy is coming, we have to set up our formation!"

What Sinan Pasha didn't know was that his prince Bayezid had never thought of abandoning him, and the lights floating in the sky were not a signal of a general attack by the Eastern Roman army, but a warning of the enemy's approaching attack.

Under the devil's lamp, a group of elite cavalry were trampling the ground and rushing towards the city.

……

"They're coming, get ready!"

On the plain northeast of Nicomedia, two dragoon regiments had just assembled. The horses were panting on the side, and the soldiers had no time to rest and were digging trenches with the mattocks at their waists.

The chevaux de frise were being set up, the triangular spikes were thrown in front, the muskets were ready, and the spearmen were moving towards their positions.

"All soldiers, line up quickly and return to your posts!"

A young commander shouted among the troops.

His name was Samaras. He was the commander of the Mephistopheles Regiment of the Dragoon Guards. He was from Athens and was a member of the emperor's personal guard.

"Samaras, this battle is left to you to command!"

Beside him, another general rode up on horseback and spoke loudly to him.

This is the 4th Regiment of the Guards Dragoon, the Nephilim regiment commander, Baron Monza, whose ancestral home is in Albania. He has a hereditary title and has always been at odds with Kaloyan, the commander of the 3rd Regiment.

His rise to power was the result of political mediation, and his own abilities were relatively limited. Monza was fully aware of this and never did anything beyond his ability. He did not seek to achieve anything, but only to avoid making mistakes.

"Thank you very much, Baron. Mephisto's fighting ability is relatively intact, so we will serve as the vanguard!"

Samaras exclaimed.

"Okay! I also want to see your new weapons!"

Monza nodded.

Compared with several other dragoon regiments, the newly formed Sixth Regiment is quite special. Among the three hundred musketeers, one hundred and fifty are equipped with additional spring-loaded short-barreled guns, which are usually inserted at the waist. They can shoot on horseback and provide an extra opportunity to fire during war.

In order to reduce weight and length, the spring-loaded guns they were equipped with were not very powerful and had a short effective range. However, when facing cavalry charging at high speed, the relative speed of the lead bullet and the human body would be very high, enough to penetrate heavy armor.

"Line up! Line up! Everyone has his duty, and the military musicians are beating the drums!"

Samaras shouted his orders.

"The Saracen demons are coming to kill us. Our mission is to delay them and buy time for Nicomedia's army!"

The war drums sounded, and the soldiers of the two legions lined up to the east. The spearmen took up their positions behind the trenches, and the musketeers placed their gun barrels on the stands.

The earth began to tremble, and in the distant wasteland, a group of cavalry appeared in people's sight, rushing straight towards them.

This is not the only road to Nicomedia, but it is the closest road to the northeast. If the Ottomans want to maximize the effect of the raid, they will definitely not choose any other road.

After receiving the signal, the two dragoon regiments began to gather here. Due to the short time, some soldiers failed to reach the designated location. The Mephisto regiment, which was closer, gathered more than 800 people, while the Nephilim regiment, which was farther away, had only more than 600 people.

It was obviously impossible to stop the groups of Muslim cavalry with just 1,500 musketeers, and the two legion commanders had no hope of doing so.

Their purpose was to delay the enemy, slow down their pace, and buy time for the large army under the city of Nicomedia.

The cavalry in the distance also saw them and slowed down.

"How can they be so fast!"

Bayezid, who was in the center of the army, was shocked and angry when he saw the phalanx blocking the road.

His troops had been running for two days straight, having rested only once on the road. The soldiers were quite tired and continued charging on their last breath.

"Ishaq, didn't you say that the Greeks only had three thousand rangers in the east, two of which were in the southeast?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, they were not included in the intelligence I collected previously."

Ishaq pursed his lips and pointed to two large flags in the distance.

"Those are the Greek emperor's royal dragoons. They have been in the south before and should have moved north recently."

"Our raid lasted only three days, and the harassment of Bursa lasted only four days. The Greek troops are mainly infantry, how could they be so fast!"

Bayezid's chest rose and fell.

"Your Highness, should we go around it?"

Ishaq suggested.

"How can we get around them? They are mounted infantrymen, and their speed is not much slower than ours. If they follow us, and we attack Kocaeli, they will set up positions in the rear and shoot. We will immediately be caught in a dilemma."

Bayezid licked his lips.

"They are few in number. Leave one troop to watch over them, and the rest of you will follow me straight to Kocaeli."

"The Greek commander has probably received information from the Devil's Lamp. We can't delay too long!"

Ishaq was silent for a moment and gritted his teeth.

"Your Highness, please let me lead a thousand cavalrymen to stay here. I will do my best to hold them back and open the way for you."

"I will also provide 500 people."

Aries Prince Khalil on the side spoke up.

"Thank you, Your Highness. We will remember your help."

Bayezid nodded.

"If we can drive out the Greeks and preserve our land, we will be your strongest backer and help you when you need it most!"

"Me? Not the Aries Alliance?"

Khalil smiled.

"What's the difference?"

Bayezid also smiled faintly and looked at the Aries prince who had no special talents but was ambitious.

"Okay! Then I'll fight you once!"

Khalil was somewhat happy. He waved his hand and assigned 500 elite cavalrymen to make a total of 1,500 people for Ishaq.

In his opinion, the siege of Nicomedia had lasted for nearly half a year. The soldiers of the Eastern Roman Empire must have been short of food and clothing, and their morale was low. They probably couldn't even form a basic formation, let alone resist his 3,000 elite troops.

This young prince, who grew up in the inland, has become accustomed to the war mode in the Middle East. There, the land is barren, water is scarce, the area is vast and sparsely populated, and local supplies are extremely limited. Under normal circumstances, a siege would not last so long. If the town was not captured for a long time, the besiegers would immediately face increasingly serious internal problems, and eventually either retreat or collapse.

"It is settled then, Ishaq, may Allah bless you."

Bayezid looked at his followers.

"For Allah, for Uthman."

Ishaq nodded to Bayezid and drew his scimitar.

"O sons of Osman! Follow me! Drive the Greeks out of our land!"

"kill!"

Fifteen hundred cavalrymen formed up and charged towards the two dragoon regiments.

Gunshots rang out, blood splattered everywhere, and people and horses fell to the ground.

Bayezid calmed his mind and looked to the southwest across the chaotic battlefield.

"O devout Muslim, O people of Allah, the Greek camp is right before our eyes, follow me and charge!"

……

The sky was dark and the summer wind was howling, mixed with the salty smell of the sea and the burnt stench of fire.

The city was burning, the Ottoman crescent flag fell to the ground in the flames, and the double-headed eagle flag of the Eastern Roman Empire rose slowly, announcing the change of ownership of the city.

Half a year passed, and the two armies fought repeatedly on this coast. The wasteland was full of hastily dug graves, and the city walls were dark red, as if soaked with the blood of many people.

In this battle, both sides lost a total of more than 20,000 people. The Eastern Roman Empire won the final victory with its powerful national strength, but in return it only got a ruined city and scorched earth. It is unknown when it will be able to recover its former vitality.

The fighting in the city was basically over, the remaining Ottoman troops were either dead or surrendered. The Eastern Roman army that had entered the city did not dare to rest for a moment, and began to file out from various city gates and form a battle formation in the northeast.

The long and fierce battle also exhausted the soldiers' bodies and minds to a great extent. Among the army of more than 10,000 people, only two guards corps still maintained more than half of their combat effectiveness. Instead, they became tougher because of the tempering of the war, like a heavy sword without an edge, silent and full of blood.

As the central army, they certainly don't have to fight a battle to their death like the slave shooting army. They will only blend in with the cannon fodder to surprise attack the defenders and disrupt their formation at the most critical moment.

Ibrahim and Kaloyan stood quietly in the center of the army, staring at the road to the northeast.

The two most elite guards corps were deployed on the two wings. Their formations were still neat and their quality was still high.

Kaloyan's Behemoth Regiment was placed in the center of the army, leading several thousand archers. The quality of the archers was much worse, their formation was disorganized, and they were noisy.

Ibrahim also pulled up the quickly mobilized field artillery and some light catapults, and set up an artillery position on a hillside not far away to bombard the enemy.

As for those slow-moving siege cannons, they remained where they were. Ibrahim had no time to drag them away, nor did he have extra troops to guard them. He could only let them do what they wanted. "Are you nervous?"

Ibrahim asked quietly.

"A little."

Kaloyan covered his chest with his hands, as if trying to stop his pounding heart.

"It's okay, just go through it a few more times."

Ibrahim smiled.

"This is the last major Ottoman counterattack. If we thwart their plan, the morale of the city of Bursa will be further reduced."

"I have sent light cavalry to look for the three Slaves thousand-man teams. I hope they can come back as soon as possible."

"The gifts sent by His Majesty are also ready. I believe they will be of great use."

Kaloyan nodded, took a deep breath, and drew his sword.

"My lord, they are coming."

"In any case, it is an honor to fight alongside you, Your Excellency."

At the junction of the earth and the sky, the sound of horse hooves came from far away, the galloping horses splashed up clouds of dust, and the Ottoman flag and the flag of the White Ayun Dynasty appeared in everyone's sight.

The double-headed eagle flag flying over Nicomedia dealt a heavy blow to the intruders. Bayezid raised his hand and the cavalry slowly stopped.

"The city fell."

Bayezid's eyes dimmed.

"No, we still have hope. They just captured the city. Their troops are in disarray, their morale is low, and they are very tired."

Khalil narrowed his eyes.

"Look, we didn't even have time to demolish the artillery positions."

"How can the Greeks fight when their army is almost entirely made up of infantry?"

"My heavy cavalry can cut through them easily!"

Khalil curled his lips in disdain.

"You're right."

Bayezid observed it carefully and nodded.

"Their cavalry hasn't arrived yet. This is our chance."

"Change horses, put on equipment, and prepare to kill the enemy!"

Bayezid roared.

The cavalry of the Ottoman Empire and the White Ayun Empire began to make final preparations for the decisive battle. War horses in better condition were replaced and heavy armor was put on.

Lances were raised forward, sabers were held upright, and the neighing of war horses and the prayers of soldiers rang in the ears.

Bayezid suppressed his excitement and put on his helmet.

He rode forward to the front of the army, and used the scimitar in his hand to strike the spears held in front of each cavalryman, making a series of crisp sounds.

"O warriors, the fortress of Allah has been attacked most severely. What do you think we should do?"

"kill!"

the cavalrymen shouted.

"My people, the descendants of Osman have been provoked by outsiders. What do you think we should do?"

"kill!"

The riders roared.

"Well, for Allah, for Uthman, for our ancestors, grandfathers and fathers."

"For the ever-brave Turkic people!"

Bayezid held his scimitar high.

"Kill them all, and Allah will protect us!"

"kill!"

The cavalrymen roared in unison and broke into a trot.

Not far from them, God's people also clenched their swords.

"Oh, the Lamb of Jesus Christ, oh, the subjects of His Majesty the Emperor, we have gone through untold hardships to recapture Nicomedia and clear the last obstacle to our march to Bursa."

Ibrahim shouted.

"But the stupid and cunning Saracens still want to defeat us and resist the emperor's army!"

"war!"

The soldiers yelled.

Ibrahim looked around, nodded slightly, pulled out a wet sword from the wooden box held by his servant, and held it high.

"The Emperor gave me the Holy Sword, and God blesses me for it! God will help us win every victory!"

Ibrahim stared at the flaming sword.

"For God, for the Emperor, for the ancient Roman nation!"

"In the name of the Holy Sword, fight to the end!"

On the desolate land, the cavalry began to speed up, and the sounds of shouting and killing were endless.

On a small hill not far from the battlefield, the artillerymen had already completed the loading of the shells and the arrangement of the fuses, and were keeping a close eye on the enemy, waiting for the signal from the commander.

Next to them, a squad of light catapults was also making final preparations, with the soldiers wearing thick leather gloves and holding earthen jars filled with water.

woo-

The bugle sounded and the decisive battle began.

"put!"

boom--

Flames spewed out of the muzzles, and lead bullets fell towards the Ottoman army with black smoke.

At the same time, the catapult team also completed the final loading. They picked up the gray-white coated stone bullets from the earthen jars and loaded them into the scoop.

blow--

A group of stone bullets flew into the sky, generating heat from friction in the air and burning fiercely. The flames were green, like the will-o'-the-wisp in hell.

thump—

The shells first hit the Ottoman army, splashing blood and causing people and horses to fall to the ground.

Then, special stone bullets also hit the crowd, ghost fires scattered among the crowd, and even more painful screams and wails resounded in the sky.

The faint green fire splashed on the backs of the horses and on the cavalrymen. Once it touched any exposed skin, it could not be extinguished. The high temperature of over a thousand degrees could burn big holes in even iron armor, let alone the fragile human body.

Under extreme pain, even the strongest will could not withstand a single blow. Soldiers and horses rolled on the ground, trying to put out the flames, but it was in vain.

The Muslim soldiers who survived the disaster looked at this scene in horror, their fear and panic in their hearts were beyond words.

"In Allah..."

Bayezid also saw this horrifying scene and muttered to himself.

The second wave of artillery fire and the second wave of stone bullets came in a flash, and the Muslim cavalry dodged in a hurry.

This time, the cannonballs were just as powerful as before, but the stone bullets had turned into ordinary stones.

"They don't have that stuff anymore! Let's keep charging!"

Bayezid was overjoyed and immediately drove his cavalry forward.

"As long as we rush to them, the enemy's artillery and catapults will be useless!"

The cavalrymen felt relieved, reorganized and began a new round of charge.

Then, the third wave of stone bullets ignited green flames again and fell into the Muslims' army formation in the desperate eyes.

There was another wailing and another panic.

"Keep charging! We're already very close, they can't fire anymore!"

Bayezid bit his lip, furious.

The Muslim cavalry hesitated for a moment and continued to charge, their formation was no longer complete and their speed was no longer fast.

"Be prepared to meet the enemy."

In the Eastern Roman army, Ibrahim looked at the miserable plight of the Muslims with indifference and gave orders to the standard-bearer.

"What is that?"

Beside him, Kaloyan asked with lingering fear.

"Your Majesty didn't tell you?"

Ibrahim smiled.

"The messenger of light, white phosphorus."

"It is useful, but difficult to make and the quantity is too small. We just used up several years' worth of stock and it is gone."

Ibrahim licked his lips and looked at the Muslim cavalry approaching.

"This thing has a huge impact on morale. Look at those Saracens. They are obviously starting to hesitate and hesitate."

"They've already lost half the battle. It's time to let them see our great formation."

Ibrahim waved his hand.

"Fire!"

……

On June 1471, 6, with the help of Saxon miners and using the most advanced German technology, the Eastern Roman Empire dug a tunnel leading to the city of Nicomedia and finally captured this so-called indestructible fortress.

That morning, Prince Bayezid led nearly 7,000 cavalrymen from the Ottoman and Aq Qoyunlu coalition forces to charge towards Nicomedia. They were blocked by two units of dragoon guards on the way and were forced to send out a unit to resist them while continuing the charge with the remaining cavalry.

Under the city of Nicomedia, a fierce battle broke out between the hastily formed Eastern Roman army and the Muslim coalition forces that came from afar. The battle force was more than 10,000 infantry against more than 5,000 light and heavy cavalry.

After the battle began, the Eastern Roman Empire's artillery and catapults caused the Muslim army to lose more than 200 people and dealt a serious blow to morale, causing them to become timid.

Then, the two armies officially engaged in battle. The Eastern Roman Empire's large square tactics were used on a large scale in field battles for the first time. The combination of spears and muskets caused a lot of difficulties for the Muslim cavalry.

However, the slave archers of the Eastern Roman Empire also suffered heavy losses in the long siege and attrition. Veterans proficient in combat were very scarce, and a large number of slaves had limited combat effectiveness when a powerful enemy approached. The central army formation was once broken open by the Muslim heavy cavalry.

However, the guards corps on both wings burst out with extremely strong fighting power, and used airtight phalanxes to turn themselves into roulette wheels of flesh and blood, preventing the left and right armies of the Muslim coalition from breaking through the line and completing the encirclement, and they still had enough strength to support the precarious central army.

The battle lasted from morning to afternoon. The Muslim coalition, led by Bayezid and Khalil, launched continuous charges but failed to defeat the infantry phalanxes of the Eastern Roman Empire. The spears were still sharp and the muskets were still spewing smoke.

The sun began to set and the soldiers on both sides were exhausted. Just as Bayezid tried to use the last of his elite cavalry to charge the enemy, a thousand-man Slaves force from the southeast finally appeared on the battlefield, shouting "Long live the enemy!" and charged over.

The Muslim soldiers fell into despair. Bayezid had been overwhelmed by the successive failures and was still clamoring to continue the charge, but Khalil of the White Abyssin Dynasty was unwilling to waste his troops and ran away on the spot.

In a hurry, the bodyguards knocked Bayezid unconscious, took the last mobile troops to evacuate the battlefield, fought a bloody path out of the attack of Slaves' thousand-man team, and escaped into the depths of the wilderness.

In the next few days, Osman and the remnants of the Aq Qoyunlu fled all the way, and several rangers of the Eastern Roman Empire chased them all the way. Bayezid discarded his clothes and symbols of his princely power, disguised himself as an ordinary soldier, and fled eastward regardless of anything. He found his infantry team that was crossing the river, ordered them to block the pursuers, and he crossed the Sakarya River himself.

The front line suffered a great defeat, and the Aries Prince and the Ottoman Prince fled across the river one after another. The Ottoman soldiers lost their morale and scrambled to cross the river to avoid pursuit by the Eastern Roman cavalry.

On June 1471, 6, the Battle of Nicomedia ended with the complete defeat of the Muslim coalition. The city of Nicomedia fell, Ottoman general Ishaq was killed in the battle, and the Ottoman second vizier Sinan Pasha was captured.

In this battle, the Eastern Roman army suffered more than 6,000 casualties, the Ottoman army lost almost all the main forces of the Eastern Group, and the Aq Qoyunlu lost nearly 3,000 elite cavalry.

After the battle, Ibrahim led his troops to the Sakarya River, gradually clearing out the remaining enemies and deploying defenses along the river.

The end of the Battle of Nicomedia marked the complete defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the northwest. Prince Bayezid lost cities and territories and only escaped with his life. His prestige was destroyed. The eastern army was in name only and no longer had any combat capability.

The end of the battle also marked the final success of the second phase of the Eastern Roman Empire's war plan. Although the process was difficult, the quality of the Ottoman army was indeed the best in the Muslim world. The fall of Nicomedia and the establishment of the Sakarya Line meant that the Eastern Roman Empire no longer had to worry about attacks from the East, and the city of Bursa was already within sight.

The news of the end of the battle spread far and wide, and the citizens of Constantinople celebrated. The queen, who was in charge of regent, announced a three-day celebration with unlimited alcohol.

Isaac, who was at the front line in Nicaea, also received the news of victory. He immediately led the army gathered in the Nicaea Basin to the south to prepare for the siege of Bursa.

After receiving the news, Muhammad II was silent for a long time and announced that the army that went out to intercept would be withdrawn back to the city. At the same time, he wrote a letter to Uzung Hasan, expressing his willingness to accept all his conditions.

Uzon Hassan, who was busy signing an agreement with local leaders, saw Khalil who had fled back in a panic. He comforted him with gentle words, saying that his son's failure was not completely worthless, at least it made him understand the true combat power of the Eastern Roman Army and its superb logistical capabilities based on the sea transportation system.

On June 1471, 6, Uzungol Hasan met with Ottoman prince Bayezid and formally signed an armistice agreement with him, promising to protect the Ottoman Empire and prevent the invasion of the Eastern Roman Empire.

On the same day, Uzungol Hasan sent envoys to the Eastern Roman Empire, ordering the two countries to cease fire and prohibiting each other from attacking the city of Bursa.

On June 6, Isaac, the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, met with the Aquarium envoys in the military camp, tore up the letter of credence, refused to mediate, and submitted a declaration of war to the Aquarium Dynasty.

Before one wave subsides, another wave rises; the flames of war are ignited and will never go out.

(End of this chapter)