1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 401: The War of the Styx Guards

It was late autumn, the temperature in the northern hemisphere was gradually dropping, and the cold winter of 1478 was about to arrive.

In southern Anatolia, in the Aksu River Valley north of the city of Antalya, a large grain transport team was moving slowly.

Judging from their attire, the composition of this grain transport team was quite mixed. There were armed reclamation groups preparing to settle down in the Aksu River Valley, as well as civilian laborers who volunteered to transport grain and fodder for the imperial army. A legion of armored guards were beside them, looking vigilantly around the hillsides on both sides of the river.

After the Eastern Roman Empire recaptured Antalya, the construction and development of the Pamphylia Plain and the Aksu River Valley began immediately. This was the most important logistics transit center for the Southern Army Group. The food, clothing, housing and transportation of the 50,000-strong army all depended on the transportation of the Aksu River Valley.

In the summer of 1478, under the fierce attack of the -strong Southern Army Group, several local regimes sandwiched between the Karaman Bey Kingdom and the core ruling area of ​​the Eastern Roman Empire quickly disappeared like snow under the scorching sun. Some local Beys chose to convert to Orthodoxy and surrender to the Eastern Roman Empire. They were awarded honorary titles and allowed to take their property and settle in Constantinople. Other Beys chose to be loyal to God to the end, either fighting guerrilla warfare in the wilderness or fleeing east to Konya with their remaining troops and joining Karaman Bey.

After officially entering the Great Lakes region, the marching speed of the Southern Army Group slowed down instantly. The infrastructure here was too poor. The Turks burned pastures and villages, blocked the Roman roads in the valleys with boulders, and threw livestock carcasses into water sources, trying every means to delay the offensive of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Mehmet, the commander of the Southern Army Group, immediately reported the situation to the central government of the empire, hoping that the military supply and administrative departments would come up with countermeasures to open up more supply routes, stabilize the newly occupied land as soon as possible, and wipe out the Turkic bandits hiding in the mountains and countryside.

Mehmet told the quartermasters clearly that if they let things take their course, by the time the 50,000-strong army reached the city of Konya, perhaps only half of them would be left.

Both the quartermaster and government officials knew very well that what Mehmet said was not false. Manuel I of the Komnenos dynasty suffered a great loss here. Frederick "Barbarossa" only brought 15,000 troops to attack Konya and almost starved to death on the way.

If the Rum Sultanate at that time had been ruthless enough to completely destroy the rich areas near the capital Konya, it would be hard to say who would have won or lost the famous Battle of Konya.

Karamanbay Ucan was a very ruthless man. He knew that he was no match for the Eastern Roman Empire and did not expect to escape unscathed. He attracted a large number of nomadic tribes from the East and allowed them to plunder the countryside, determined to perish together with the Eastern Roman Empire.

As a result, the military supply department and the government department took action. A large amount of labor and materials were transported to the port of Antalya, and then transported to the northern plateau through the Aksu River Valley. A large number of simple fortresses and temporary supply stations were built by engineers to minimize the influence of Turkic bandits.

In order to restore order in this land as soon as possible and better play the role of a material transit station in subsequent wars, the province of Pisidia with Antalya as its capital was quickly established, covering the Pamphylia Plain and the Great Lakes region in the north. Armed reclamation groups, under the command of administrative personnel, distributed land to fill the gaps and resume production.

On September 1478, 9, the regent grandson Constantine issued a "Storm Declaration" to all citizens under the big golden tree in Constantine Square, hoping that the citizens would carry forward the patriotic spirit and support the desert war. He hoped that they would not pin their hopes for transporting supplies on slaves who had no loyalty at all, and that they should contribute their own strength to the future of the motherland.

"This war belongs to all Romans. The Grand Palace calls on all citizens to be determined to win and fulfill our destiny..."

That day, the citizens were watching the Crown Prince growing up in the square. His figure seemed to merge with the big golden tree behind him, which was swaying in the strong wind.

"I would rather die in the desert of Greater Romania than live in the paradise of Lesser Romania!"

"Rome, God, Emperor, Manifest Destiny!"

The strong wind brought heavy rain, and the lightning in the sky flashed like a silver dragon. The citizens of Constantinople shouted the name of "Stormer", and the sound of mountains and seas even drowned out the storm above their heads.

The "Storm Declaration" written, revised and sent to Constantine by Isaac quickly spread in the two capitals and thirteen provinces. The patriotic enthusiasm of the citizens and students was aroused. Spontaneously formed grain transport teams and construction teams set foot on land from the ocean and went deep into the plateau from the coast. The huge national strength was undoubtedly revealed at this moment.

Relying on support from all sides, the "Aksu Avenue" leading from the port of Antalya to the northern plateau expanded northward at an extremely rapid speed. Volunteers dug channels in the lower reaches of the river for inland transportation, and built roads in the upper reaches of the river to provide them for horse-drawn carriages and camels. Huge amounts of supplies came from the colonies and the mainland, and were transported to the battlefield by huge amounts of manpower and animal power.

The busy Aksu Highway naturally aroused the vigilance of the Turks. The mountains on both sides provided a good hiding place for the Turkish bandits. The earliest groups of volunteers built fortresses and supply stations at the cost of huge casualties. Although subsequent grain transport teams would also be attacked by the Turks, the situation had improved to a great extent.

As for completely eliminating the bandits, this is very difficult. They have the advantage of being on home soil and can escape at any time. Setting fire to the mountains does not have much effect. The Eastern Roman Empire can only pin its hopes on the increasingly cold weather.

As the temperature dropped, the Turkic looters became more active. They had to grab enough daily necessities before the cold winter came. Otherwise, all it took was a heavy snowstorm to wipe out one in ten of them.

In order to curb the crazy behavior of the Turkish looters, the Southern Army Group, which was about to approach the city of Konya, also sent guards to the Aksu Avenue. These regular troops often followed the large grain transport teams and sent them from one supply station to another.

It was impossible for the Eastern Roman Empire to pave the entire Aksu Avenue with fortresses. The weak points between fortresses would still be attacked by Turkish looters. In order to minimize the frequency of attacks, the military supply department decided to adopt the "large transport team" model, imitating the ocean-going merchant fleet, to gather those scattered small transport teams and guard them with heavy troops. The Turkish looters either gave up the attack or had to confront the Eastern Roman regular army responsible for the escort head-on.

Cars rumbled and horses neighed as the transport team traveled on the Aksu Avenue. The stones and trees on both sides of the road had been dealt with by previous generations. Volunteers could see destroyed farmlands and desolate villages from time to time. This was originally fertile land, but under the influence of the war, it has become a wasteland.

The captain of the escort was a Purple Guard named Barak. This was the most vulnerable section of the road. The Purple Guard soldiers had already put on full armor and the spring-loaded pistols at their waists had already been loaded. In this kind of raid, they had no time to change equipment and could only wear heavy armor to endure this difficult journey.

The quartermaster department arranged a number of military horse-drawn carriages and camel carts for them. The armored soldiers took turns to rest. The grain trucks driven by volunteers were protected in the middle. Some students who volunteered to join the war sang their school songs while driving.

"We come from Syracuse, the hometown of Archimedes..."

The school song floated in the air, and Barak frowned. He didn't like this group of high-spirited students and felt that they would only cause trouble for him. Even though they were singing happily now, when the Turks really attacked, they would all be able to hide behind the soldiers and tremble in fear.

However, Barak also admitted that this group of students was very motivated. Students from big cities made great contributions in calling on volunteers. They promoted patriotic enthusiasm through speeches, parades, paintings and other means. Many volunteers came to this dilapidated land at the call of students.

"Okay, stop singing."

Barak looked at the student council president who was driving a two-wheeled carriage and said calmly.

"There is a shallow ford ahead. The Turkic raiders on the other side of the river like to attack there the most. More than a thousand volunteers have died there."

The student council president scratched his head in embarrassment, immediately stopped the singing, and moved towards Barak.

"Commander, your army is so elite, we will definitely be fine, right?"

"It's hard to say. There will always be casualties in war."

Barak shook his head.

"You are from Sicily?"

"Yes, the University of Archimedes in Syracuse."

The student council president nodded.

"Have you ever met any of our alumni?"

"No, I was in Akşehir area clearing out bandits."

Barak continued to shake his head.

"It is strange that Sicilians should come to join the war."

“Ordinary Sicilians are not participating much, they are not fully integrated into the country.”

The student council president said.

"But we are college students, we represent the force of progress, we should lead the trend."

The student council president patted the school emblem on his chest with some pride, the Archimedean spiral.

"Some people say that college students should just study hard and not get involved in politics, military affairs, or national affairs. What do you think?"

“I think they’re right.”

Barak responded stiffly.

“But is that still called a college student?”

The student council president curled his lips.

"We are the ones who expose social injustice, spread advanced ideas, and take the lead in standing up when the country needs help."

"We want to express our ideas, which is a right granted to us by law."

The student council president said with interest.

“You look at universities in backward countries, like Al-Azhar University in Egypt, the University of Al-Qaraouine in Morocco, and even the so-called Nalanda University in India.”

"This kind of university cannot lead to progressive thinking and cannot cultivate true geniuses."

"Through this volunteer activity, we want to let the whole empire hear our voices. We want to let them know that the power of college students is very strong. We are the future of this country!"

"Well, whatever you say, I'm not interested in any of that."

Barak said.

"I am the commander of this large transport team. Just don't cause any trouble for me."

"Don't worry, we will absolutely obey your arrangements."

The student council president nodded quickly.

"Captain, three students from the Art Department are here too. Once our mission is successful, can we draw a sketch of you and your soldiers? This will become important historical material in the future."

The student council president looked at Barak's armor and military uniform with some envy.

"Your outfit is so impressive. I've seen the Third Army of the Purple Guard before, and their equipment is not as good as yours."

Hearing the compliment from the student council president, Barak smiled and agreed to his request, wiping the non-existent dust off his shoulder armor with his right hand wearing a deerskin glove.

In fact, in the entire Eastern Roman central army sequence, the legion led by Barak is very special. Although it has not been formed for a long time, its combat effectiveness is extraordinary.

Different from the carefully selected Guards Corps, the Purple Guard Corps' soldiers came from a more diverse background. Most of the soldiers were Turks who converted to Orthodox Christianity, deserters, bandits, vagrants, captives, slaves... This was how the original Purple Guard Corps came about.

For a long time, the combat effectiveness of the Purple Guards was inferior to that of the Guards. This army was not only the main force of the central army, but also a political declaration of the emperor to the Turks: as long as they were willing to obey the Eastern Roman Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire was willing to give you generous treatment.

Later, due to the influence of the Great Turkish War, the Purple Guard began to expand on a large scale. The mixed source of soldiers led to a series of problems, including numerous military leaders, corruption of military pay, military business, and disobedience to discipline... Ibrahim, the Turkish Minister of the Army and one of the founders of the Purple Guard, was quite angry about this. He believed that this group of ruffians was a complete disgrace to the Turkic Romans, and took advantage of the citizenship reform to carry out a major purge against them.

Ibrahim regarded the 6th to 9th Corps, which were in the worst condition, as the focus of his purge. He disorganized and reorganized them all. All officers who disobeyed discipline were executed. A considerable number of officers were sent to the Army Officer Academy for military and loyalty education. He drew a large number of backbones from the first five legions, which were in good condition, to fill the vacancies in the 6th to 9th Corps. He personally led the legions in forced training, taught Greek to middle and senior officers, and enforced it among the lower-level soldiers.

Of course, the language education of soldiers in the Eastern Roman Empire had a reward system. Learning Greek not only earned them liquor, tobacco, and various luxury goods, but was also a stepping stone to advancement in citizenship and military rank.

Ibrahim's high-handed tactics naturally aroused opposition from many people, but most of the soldiers silently accepted the reorganization of the Army Department and bid farewell to their past free and unrestrained life. They had already taken root in the empire, and all their families were in big cities. The first five Purple Guards were guarding the training grounds covetously, and there was no way for them to rebel.

Then, Ibrahim laid off some unqualified soldiers and made suggestions to the emperor to strictly control the recruitment threshold of the Purple Guard and not to recruit indiscriminately just because of political needs.

Finally, Ibrahim asked for a large number of highly qualified officers from military academies and recruited a number of brave and loyal young men from good families from the second generation of Turkic Romans, even though these second generation Turks no longer had a good impression of the name "Turk".

Before the start of the Second Great Turkish War, the twelve Purple Guard Corps had been basically reorganized and had a full strength of 24,000 people, equal to the Guard Corps. The proportion of Turkic soldiers had declined, and a number of Greek and Russian soldiers had been added.

Before the start of the Second Great Turkish War, the number of standing troops of the Eastern Roman Empire had exceeded 60,000, which was about 2.5 times that of the Hungarian Black Army during the reign of Matthias I, three times that of the Capikulus Legion during the reign of Murad II, and four times that of the Imperial Company during the reign of Louis XI. If calculated solely in terms of numbers, it could be called the strongest army in the Mediterranean in the past hundred years.

Of course, the standing army of the Eastern Roman Empire was mainly infantry, with very few cavalry. This was the most important factor for the large number of standing troops. The cost of equipping and maintaining a French Order Knight was even higher than that of a ten-man squad of Guards. If the Kingdom of France also gave up heavy cavalry and used infantry instead, the size of their standing army would probably be almost the same as that of the Eastern Roman Empire.

During the long war, the Army Department gradually discovered the pain points of the existing military system. Although the large square infantry was cheap and efficient, and could effectively counter cavalry charges, it was not omnipotent. The heavy infantry had its own advantages in street fighting, sieges and small-scale encounters. The First Corps of the Purple Guard began to appropriately add armor to the large square infantry. The Tenth and Eleventh Corps were set up as heavy infantry at the beginning of their establishment, and were also equipped with military carriages.

However, despite officers' repeated emphasis on the importance of cavalry, their emperor did not recruit large numbers of cavalry of all types, apparently believing that infantry alone could defeat the Turkic nomads in Anatolia.

Barak's legion is the 10th Legion of the Purple Guard, a heavy infantry, but compared with other heavy infantry, they are also special.

After crossing a hillside, the large transport team entered the most dangerous section. The river here shrank into a shallow beach that horses could easily cross. There were still some remaining carriage parts on the shallow beach. It was obvious that many transport teams had suffered losses here.

Barak immediately became alert and gave a few instructions to his adjutant. The soldiers quickly put on their helmets and gauntlets. The legion emblems on their armor sparkled in the sun.

This is a complete set of plate armor, forged from large pieces of metal, divided into ten parts. It can wrap the soldier's entire body in heavy defense, and can effectively resist the slashing of swords, the shooting of light bows and crossbows, and even the bullets of muskets.

Plate armor is a type of full-body armor that European civilization has only begun to vigorously develop since the Renaissance. It surpasses the chain mail, scale armor and lamellar armor of the past in both defense and aesthetics. The more famous plate armor includes the Milanese and Gothic styles, as well as the Maximilian style and Greenwich style that have not yet appeared.

The Eastern Roman Empire did not have plate armor in the past few hundred years. In order to allow several heavy armored legions in the central army sequence to have better equipment, Isaac spent a lot of money to recruit many Western European craftsmen, including Tommaso Missaglia, a member of the famous plate armor family.

After obtaining advanced technology, the Eastern Roman Empire set up a plate armor manufacturing center in Adrianople, and designed "Thracian plate armor" with Eastern Roman characteristics based on its own needs and mass production requirements.

Compared with the Milanese and Gothic styles, the Thracian plate armor is lighter, thinner, more flexible, and cheaper. It is mainly equipped for infantry rather than cavalry. It has an inclined breastplate similar to the Greenwich plate armor, a Spartan Corinthian-style face-covered helmet, a T-shaped eye socket, and a high tassel on the top of the armor.

However, compared to Western Europe, the steel in the Eastern Roman Empire was stronger, smelted faster, and cheaper. If working at full capacity, a production team at the Adrianople Plate Armor Factory could produce a team of ten Thracian plate armor every day.

At this time, mass production technology of plate armor had begun to appear in Western Europe, and the Eastern Roman Empire had brought the efficiency of mass manufacturing to the extreme. In Adrianople, the three steps of mining, iron smelting and manufacturing were completely separated and did not interfere with each other. There was also a clear division of labor within the plate armor factory responsible for manufacturing. A skilled craftsman only needed to master the manufacturing method of one component, and the assembly and combination were completed by others.

In addition, the smelting technology of the Eastern Roman Empire surpassed that of Western Europe. Isaac absorbed a lot of smelting technology from India and China in the East through various means, and he also provided some inspiration for the smelting workshops of the Eastern Roman Empire. At present, the Eastern Roman Empire has fully adopted Eastern-style hydraulic piston blowers and coke ironmaking technology, which can provide higher temperatures for large furnaces and increase the utilization rate of iron ore by more than ten times.

Later, Eastern Roman craftsmen learned the Ming Dynasty's steel pouring method through oriental books and Isaac's instructions. They were able to pour high-carbon molten pig iron into low-carbon wrought iron to directly obtain steel with excellent properties, thus eliminating the time and energy consumed by repeated forging.

In this era, China's metal smelting technology was still far superior to that of the West. The quality of China's iron ore was not good at all and could not be compared with Europe, North America or Australia. The hardworking and wise Eastern craftsmen developed the smelting technology to its peak and utilized every bit of iron element to the extreme.

In fact, until the eve of the Industrial Revolution, European merchants were still importing iron products from the East. No one would not love something that was cheap and good quality. Later, the Eastern Roman Empire established the Imperial Mining University in Nicaea and began to study chromite. They successfully smelted ferrochrome in the air at a furnace temperature of more than 1,500 degrees, and then obtained high-strength chromium-containing steel through the steel pouring method. Although this alloy cannot be called "modern chromium steel", its properties are obviously better than ordinary steel.

Because of its research on chromium-containing steel, the Imperial University of Mining received a reward of 20,000 solidus, established an alloy research laboratory, and began to apply the experience of chromite ore to manganese ore, boron ore and other minerals.

Of course, it is difficult for them to make a major breakthrough in a short period of time. The main components of chromite are chromium and iron oxides. The chromite in Anatolia is very good and of excellent quality. There is no need to extract chromium alone. Chrome-iron alloy can be obtained by direct smelting. This coincidence is difficult to replicate.

After the emergence of chromium-containing steel, the royal family also established a complete set of plate armor production facilities in the city of Nicaea. In order to better desulfurize, craftsmen would add a small amount of pure copper when smelting ferrochrome, which made the plate armor appear purple-black and looked mysterious.

Since the chromium element increases the hardness of steel, the plate armor produced in Nicaea continued to reduce its thickness. This type of plate armor was lighter and was named Nicea style. Although the quality was better, the price was very high. Except for those dignitaries who pursued extreme beauty, only the Tenth Legion of the Purple Guard used Nicea style plate armor. The father of Legion Commander Barak was the largest chromite mine operator in the entire empire. He was willing to provide low-priced ore to the Nicea Plate Armor Workshop on the condition that his son's legion would be equipped first.

Under Barak's command, the soldiers of the 10th Legion of the Purple Guard jumped off the carriage, dressed themselves with the help of auxiliary soldiers, and were checking their wheelbarrow pistols, long swords or war hammers.

Their shoulder armor was engraved with the Constantine Cross emblem of the Purple Guard, and on their breastplate was a three-headed fierce dog. The sides of their helmets were decorated with canine fangs and hellfire, making them look particularly sinister.

"Everyone stop, all soldiers, line up in front."

Barak narrowed his eyes, looked at the woods not far away, and recalled the simple common sense he learned in the Army Officer Academy.

"Birds are circling but dare not land, there are ambushes."

The soldiers immediately followed the commander's orders, forming a defensive formation in the front and protecting the transport convoy behind them.

"Bring it here."

Barak said calmly.

The auxiliary troops in the rear received the order, and a large group of sturdy and ferocious gray-black war dogs were led over. They walked to the front of the battle without saying a word, and stood beside the soldiers in the fearful eyes of the volunteers.

This is the Kangal, one of the largest and most ferocious dogs in the world. An adult male dog can reach up to one meter in height at the shoulder and weigh up to eighty kilograms. Its bite force is extremely amazing and it is an excellent guard dog. It was first brought to Anatolia by Turkic nomads. In the 16th century in the original time and space, it became a military dog ​​of the Ottoman Empire, and later became a national treasure of the Republic of Turkey. It has high military and civil value.

The Kangal was one of the military dogs that was collected and systematically bred on a large scale by the Eastern Roman Empire in Anatolia. It enjoyed the same status as the ancient Roman war dog Cane Corso and the German war dog Rottweiler.

Not long ago, at the suggestion of co-ruling Emperor Justinian, the Eastern Roman Empire followed the example of its ancient ancestors and began to incorporate military dogs into the war sequence. The Tenth Legion of the Purple Guard was the first unit equipped with Kangal dogs. Craftsmen would follow the ancient Roman model to create armor for Kangal dogs and sharpen their fangs.

Barak walked up to the tallest Kangal, stroked its black fur, asked for a piece of jerky and stuffed it into its mouth.

This is the dog king of the military dog ​​unit and Barak's friend. Barak named him "Cerberus" after the three-headed dog of hell in ancient Greek mythology.

The soldiers of the 10th Legion of the Purple Guard love war dogs. They use the three-headed dog of hell as the symbol of the legion, painting it on their flags and armor.

Due to the eerie purple-black armor and the mysterious and ferocious symbol of the underworld's evil dog, the official code name of this legion was set as "Styx Guard".

Before taking on the escort duties, the "Styx Guard" encountered a refugee group led by remnants of the Turkic army during the march. With the help of Kangal war dogs, the soldiers wiped out the team of more than a thousand people, leaving almost no survivors.

Without particularly good equipment, an adult man has no ability to defeat a Kangal military dog. The weight of over 80 kilograms alone is enough to make a man's legs and feet go weak.

The Kangal dogs stared at the woods not far away, and Cerberus growled softly, which confirmed Barak's guess that there was indeed an ambush.

rustling—

Seeing the transport team stopped moving forward, the Turks realized that their whereabouts were exposed, and rushed out of the woods one after another and lined up in the flat river valley. There were more than a thousand cavalrymen and the rest were infantry, with a total number of more than four thousand. The cavalry were better equipped, perhaps they were Turkic defeated soldiers, and the infantry had almost no equipment, probably they were refugees who fled to the mountains. They were hungry and looked greedily at the transport vehicles loaded with supplies.

"Looking at the style of their equipment, they are undoubtedly Karamanians."

Barak muttered to himself.

"It's not difficult."

"Commander, do you need our help?"

The student council president yelled from the back.

"They seem to have the advantage in numbers!"

"No need, just hide well!"

Barak refused outright.

"They are just a bunch of bandits. It won't take too much effort!"

The two thousand heavy infantrymen obviously frightened the Turkish raiders, but the approaching winter left them with no way to retreat. Since the Eastern Roman Empire strengthened its guard force, they had not been able to rob food for a long time. If there was no replenishment of supplies, the next step would be cannibalism.

Encouraged by the Turkic leader, the looters started shouting. The first to rush forward were the cannon fodder infantry, while the cavalry stayed where they were.

This was a common tactic used by the Turkic raiders. They would use infantry to hold back Eastern Roman soldiers while they profited from the loss, then run away after robbing. If the enemy was too strong, they could also use the speed advantage of the cavalry to quickly escape.

As for these cannon fodders, there are refugees who lost their homes due to the war everywhere, and you can easily pull out a large number of them.

"One thousand men follow me, the rest stay where you are and guard the supplies."

Barak saw through the crude tactics of the Turkish marauders and responded in his own way.

"The War Dogs are in the front. Let those pigs wearing white turbans feel the roar from hell!"

The soldiers untied the ropes and made the sign of the cross on the heads of the war dogs. It seemed that the light of God was also bestowed on these brave creatures.

"Roar!"

Cerberus roared, and the rest of the Kangal dogs also roared. The armored war dogs rushed towards the disorganized Muslims like small chariots.

"Styx Guards, forward!"

Barak swung his warhammer, and the purple-black cluster trotted towards the battlefield with an unstoppable momentum.

Nicene plate armor has achieved the ultimate in weight reduction, but the speed of heavy armored legions is still not fast enough. This is the value of military dogs. They can delay the enemy troops trapped in the battle circle and wait for the arrival of their masters.

The ferocious Kangal dogs ran and jumped, knocking down one ragged Muslim cannon fodder after another. Most of them were refugees who had not received military training. They were too hungry to walk and had no power to resist the war dogs. Their screams and wails echoed in the valley.

The war dogs have received professional training. Their usual imaginary enemy is a scarecrow wearing a white turban. They will use their weight to knock down the opponent, strangle the opponent's hands with their sharp claws, and then bite their necks with their sharp canine teeth, killing them with one blow.

The heavily armored soldiers also rushed forward. To deal with these stragglers, they directly adopted the most primitive and brutal tactic - collision. The Muslim swords could only leave fine marks on their armor and could hardly hurt the soldiers themselves.

The battle soon turned into a one-sided massacre. One side was 100% armored, while the other side was not. Only a few heavily armored soldiers were knocked unconscious by stones by the starving Muslims, while the others were intact.

The Turkic cavalry on the hillside and the thousand soldiers in front of the transport team looked at each other from a distance. After a moment's hesitation, the looters fled quickly, leaving all the remaining soldiers on the battlefield behind.

The Muslim refugees let out desperate howls. They were surrounded by heavily armored soldiers and armored war dogs. They were panting and crying bitterly. Some of them dropped their weapons, knelt on the ground, and prepared to surrender.

"Legion Commander?"

Some soldiers looked toward Barak.

"Kill them all, leaving no one behind."

Barak said coldly.

"This is a wasteland. We still have a long way to go. Every bag of flour must be supplied to General Mehmet's troops. There is no extra food to feed them!"

The heavy infantry received the order, raised their weapons and slowly advanced forward. The war dogs would occasionally pounce on the outermost Muslims and bite off their necks. The screams lasted for a long time over the wasteland.

The overly bloody scene frightened the volunteers hiding behind the soldiers so much that they could not utter a word. When Barak, covered in blood, returned to the transport vehicle, the student union president opened his mouth but ultimately remained silent.

"Do you think they shouldn't be killed?"

Barak glanced at him, tore off a piece of cloth and wiped his hammer.

"No...we don't have any extra food..."

The student council president shook his head.

"But won't you chase after the cavalrymen who escaped?"

"We can't catch up. We are very slow, and His Majesty doesn't seem to have the will to form a large-scale cavalry."

Barak said.

"But it doesn't matter. It's already hard for looters like them to get supplies. After the cold winter is over, there will be half as many refugees in the wasteland."

Barak's words reveal the bloody reality. Hundreds of years ago, Turkic Muslims stole the Romans' homes and used the land resources of Anatolia to reproduce and thrive. But now, Anatolia no longer belongs to them.

With the help of the auxiliary soldiers, Barak took off his armor, lit a cigarette for himself and closed his eyes.

"Hurry up, after sending you to the next supply station, we still have to go to Konya and join General Mehmet's camp."

The soldiers took off their armor and got on the transport vehicles. The war dogs returned to their trainers and followed the convoy silently. The large transport team continued to move forward and bypassed the open space filled with corpses.

A flock of crows smelled the scent of death and circled above the open space, squeaking. The cold wind blew, and winter was coming.

……

At the northern foot of the Taurus Mountains, the city of Konya overlooks the basin to the north. The area around the city is also charred black, and a large double-headed eagle flag is flying above the camp west of the city.

On a small hill north of the camp, Karaman Bey Ucan held up a captured Eastern Roman telescope and looked at the well-organized camp.

"An army of 50,000 men, crossing the wilderness, must leave soldiers behind to defend the newly captured city."

Wu Can muttered to himself.

"Surprisingly, more than 30,000 people arrived at the gates of Konya."

"Their supply capabilities are simply too strong."

"Want to fight?"

A tribal leader came over with a pipe in his mouth and asked in a gruff voice.

"Or run?"

Wu Can didn't answer, his lips tightly pursed.

In this era, when an army went out on an expedition, they seldom carried supplies or built supply lines. They usually adopted the method of replenishing supplies on the spot, which was simply looting. They would rob wherever they went. If there was nothing to rob, they would either starve, reduce the size of the army, or withdraw their troops and go home.

It’s not that the commanders haven’t thought about transporting supplies from far away, but this method is simply too inefficient and wasteful. People and horses have to eat and chew food along the way, and by the time the food reaches the destination, perhaps only one-tenth of it is left.

Wu Can had this in mind. His scorched earth policy would make it difficult for the Eastern Roman Empire's army to obtain supplies from the newly occupied areas. The long inland supply lines would not only be extremely wasteful, but would also be subject to continuous attacks from nomads. In his view, even if the Eastern Roman army really rushed to the city of Konya at all costs, their morale would be low and they would suffer serious casualties.

His nomadic troops were patrolling outside. At that time, when Mehmet's army was in the midst of the siege, he could lead his troops in a surprise attack, use a victory to demonstrate his value of united front work, and then negotiate with the Eastern Roman Empire, exchanging nominal allegiance for actual independence.

As for the Muslim refugees who were displaced because of him, Wu Can didn't care. If he couldn't even guarantee his own authority, there was no point in keeping them.

However, the powerful national strength of the Eastern Roman Empire taught him a real lesson. Mehmet's army advanced step by step and managed to reach the city of Konya with a huge amount of supplies. There was no expected famine and casualties, no expected depression and unrest, and the combat effectiveness of more than 30,000 people was basically intact.

As for the city of Konya itself, Ucan never had any hope. The Ottoman Empire had completely destroyed this fortified city in its attack more than ten years ago, and the city walls were torn down. Ucan had the courage to play both sides between the White Abyssinia and the Eastern Roman Empire, and was able to integrate some nomadic tribes into his own hands, but he really had no talent for governing the city, and had neither a plan nor the money to repair the city.

Now, there are still more than 5,000 frightened defenders in Konya. Without external assistance, they may not be able to hold out for a month.

"It's going to snow, let's go spend the winter."

Wu Can put away the telescope and sighed.

(End of this chapter)