Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 349: The Fall of Constantinople

In the seventy-eighth year of the Li Yuan Dynasty, spring began.

When the Crusaders from France arrived at the gates of Constantinople, the patriarchs and nobles in the city finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the relationship between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire has never been very good, because one believes in Eastern Orthodoxy and the other believes in Catholicism.

But now, facing foreign enemies, the Eastern Roman Byzantine Emperor John II still warmly received the French King Louis VII.

Originally, Louis VII's wife Eleanor, the daughter of the Duke of Aquitaine, was actually very disgusted with this expedition.

But after seeing the prosperity and wealth of Constantinople, these aversions were slowly suppressed by her.

"How many people did you bring this time?"

John II, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Byzantine Empire, asked Louis VII.

Louis VII could also proudly tell the other party, "This time, I brought 50,000 people."

Everyone understands this, so there is no need to brag about the 100,000-strong French army.

John II, the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Byzantine Empire, said: "This time, the enemy we are facing is not simple at all."

After all, Louis VII was in the West and the information he could obtain was limited.

They often just listen to what the Pope or the archbishops say.

He also said, "I heard that you went out and fought a battle with them?"

John II, the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Byzantine Empire, said: "Yes! Those Seljuks were already difficult enough to deal with."

"Now it's not just the Seljuks, but the Song Dynasty in the east, plus the Seljuks, plus Khwarezm, the East and West Karakhanid Khanates, and the Muslims."

Louis VII said: "Don't worry, now that I am here, it will be impossible for the enemy to break through the walls of Constantinople."

John II, the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire of Byzantium, also said: "If France can defeat the other side, we will reward them handsomely."

Those who can sit in this position are all smart people.

John II, the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Byzantine Empire, knew very well that if he did not give the other party some promises, the other party might not do their best for them.

after that……

The two sides discussed the specific content of the report.

In fact...

This was somewhat contrary to Louis VII's original plan.

After all, Louis VII never thought at the beginning that the next battle he would have to fight would be the defense of Constantinople.

then……

John II, the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Byzantine Empire, was also a little hesitant as to whether or not to tell the other side about his experiences on the battlefield.

But in the end, the Eastern Roman Byzantine Emperor John II chose to shut up.

Because he was afraid that if he described the enemy as too powerful, the young Louis VII might be scared away by his words.

even……

John II didn't even dare to say how many people the Song army had.

After arranging a place to live for Louis VII and his young wife, who had just married, the Eastern Roman Emperor John II of the Byzantine Empire left.

at the same time……

On the Song Dynasty side.

More than 400 warships were also built on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean and in Egypt.

Obviously, the Fatimid dynasty could not stay out of this battle.

Even if they are not asked to bring all the military forces from across the country, it is still necessary to bring two or three thousand soldiers as a gesture of respect.

Manpower, food, etc. from all over the country are also continuously gathering at the front line.

The model of Constantinople was placed in the middle of the military tent.

In fact...

It was not difficult for the Song Dynasty to capture Constantinople.

However, other factors must also be considered.

For example...

Does the other side have any reinforcements?

Don’t let an enemy suddenly appear from behind when they are besieging the city.

natural!

For example, the King of France led his troops into Constantinople, and the Song Dynasty had already received news of this.

can only say……

This might add some obstacles to their subsequent siege.

and……

Perhaps after entering Constantinople, there will be a more intense hand-to-hand combat.

This year, summer.

Everyone started to take action.

First, troops were sent from the Mediterranean to capture some small docks, ports, and towns in the west outside Constantinople.

Immediately afterwards...

An army of one hundred thousand gathered in Constantinople.

This battle was destined to be recorded in history. After all, Constantinople had existed for thousands of years and had never been breached even once.

however……

The times have changed.

If it were still the era of cold weapons, then of course, it would be quite difficult to capture Constantinople.

But now is the era of hot weapons.

It took the Song army less than half a day to break through one of the more than ten gates on the west side of Constantinople by using a simple feint attack and key breakthrough strategy.

After all, even if it is an army of 70,000 people.

Some are brave and good at fighting, while others are afraid of death.

When those brave and good at fighting are attracted to other places, it will naturally be difficult for the remaining ones who are afraid of death to hold on.

However, it must be admitted that the defenses of Constantinople are indeed very strong.

There must be a reason why it has never been breached in thousands of years.

Even though the Song army had gained some advantages at the first moment, as the army broke through the first city wall, there were still the second and third walls to come.

If they hadn’t known that there was only one chance, those who rushed forward in the first round would have been specially selected elites.

It is really hard to say who will win or lose this siege.

Everyone immediately used this gate to rush into the city.

One hundred thousand against seventy thousand.

The Song Dynasty has a coalition force of 100,000.

On the other side were 50,000 French soldiers and 20,000 Constantinople mercenaries.

In fact...

Even if we reach the city, this battle will not be easy to fight.

If there were no musketeers and artillery to clear the way.

This battle, even inside the city, will probably take at least several days and nights to end.

And so it is.

The battle lasted for three days and three nights before it ended.

This is of course also inseparable from the other party's tenacious will to resist and firm religious beliefs.

When the war ended, the streets of Constantinople were flooded with blood.

According to rough statistics, in this battle, the Song Dynasty coalition army suffered at least 10,000 casualties, and the main force of Constantinople was almost wiped out, and the rest could only face the fate of being massacred. And...

In Constantinople, many civilians were also killed.

In fact, there was no intention to kill civilians at the beginning, but some of those civilians were religious and devilish.

They rushed forward with wooden sticks, and there were quite a few civilians like them, so the coalition forces could only send them to the sky.

It can be said……

The Song army has fought many battles over the years, and this battle is one of the most difficult ones.

By the end of the fight, many people were completely exhausted.

I lay on the ground and couldn't get up.

As for Emperor John II of the Eastern Roman Byzantine Empire, he did not give up even at the last moment. He led the troops personally and repelled wave after wave of attacks from the Song army.

Until he was finally shot dead by a sharpshooter of Li Yuanjun.

As for the young Louis VII…

At first he was quite new to the things happening on the battlefield.

But when he actually saw the tragic situation on the battlefield, it completely exceeded his previous understanding of war, so he directly wet his pants.

You still have to be beaten even if you wet your pants!

At last……

He was also accidentally killed by Li Yuan's army.

The main reason was that John II was too powerful and popular among the people, so Li Yuanjun thought that Louis VII was also so powerful and popular among the people.

In order to prevent the other side from arousing the morale of their soldiers and causing more casualties to the Song Dynasty coalition forces, the Li Yuan army decisively chose to kill the other side.

Of course!
If Constantinople had not used oil weapons, the Song Dynasty coalition forces would not necessarily have suffered so many deaths.

Quite a lot of people on the Song Dynasty coalition side were burned or killed by those oil weapons.

After occupying Constantinople, Han Shizhong and Yue Fei immediately dealt with the corpses in the city.

There are some other coalition forces that may not be very powerful when fighting, but they are good at raping women.

Yue Fei wanted to punish these people, but was stopped by Han Shizhong.

After all, this battle...

A lot of their people have died. If you stop them now, who will follow you to fight in the future?
This also made Yue Fei a little doubtful about the reason why they started this war. What was it?
Is it really for justice?
Han Shizhong said, "Think about how those Muslims, who were still in their infancy, were turned into human food by the Crusaders. These people were not good people. In fact, what they did to Muslims was even worse than what the Crusaders did to them."

Yue Fei also said: "So we have to be like them?"

Han Shizhong also replied: "Hasn't it been this way since ancient times?"

then……

Next, Zhao Xin had in his hands a letter from Yue Fei reporting Han Shizhong for his bloodthirsty nature and his cruelty to civilians.

Zhao Xin wrote back, "Military discipline is really important! Leading by example is also important! Did Han Shizhong rape women? If so, give him 50 lashes, and beat him again when he returns. As for the soldiers, they are all human beings, and this is normal. What's more, some of them have a blood feud with the enemy."

"But... military discipline does need to be maintained!"

"Raping innocent women is definitely not okay. They should be educated to avoid harming civilians as much as possible."

"Especially for the Li Yuan Army, we must be stricter!"

Since Han Shizhong himself did not do that, Yue Fei really lost his temper after receiving the letter.

The news of the fall of Constantinople quickly spread throughout Europe.

This time...

All forces that were fighting or having conflicts had to stop their actions.

Because this news is shocking to any country or lord in the West.

You know, that’s Constantinople!

An existence that has never been breached by any enemy for thousands of years.

You actually said...

Did the Byzantine Empire just fall like that?
then……

All wars that were being fought, as well as those that were being prepared, had to be stopped immediately.

All the kings, dukes, counts, archbishops from various regions began to gather in Rome to hold meetings to discuss what they should do next?
Although their Catholics have never been in agreement with the Eastern Orthodox Churches.

But now... this is no longer a question of whether the two sides are of one mind.

But...

As fellow Christians, they must recapture Constantinople! They must avenge their fellow Christians!
If anyone at this time still has his own little plans in mind and is unwilling to contribute.

Then he will become the enemy of the entire Western world!
to this end……

Those who should sign a ceasefire agreement should sign it.

And then…

They are all preparing for battle.

Even some of the more fanatical believers couldn't wait any longer and wanted to set off immediately after hearing the news.

After learning the information, Han Shizhong and Yue Fei had to put aside their prejudices and cooperate again.

Just imagine, France can mobilize an army of 50,000 people. If the entire Western world were to gather together, it would be unreasonable if they don't mobilize 100,000 or 200,000 troops.

and……

If you really want to say it.

In fact, for Han Shizhong and Yue Fei, Constantinople was not the end.

Taking Constantinople was only the beginning.

Because to the west and north of Constantinople, there are thousands of miles of land, where there are countless small countries of all sizes.

These small countries would certainly not be truly indifferent to the fall of Constantinople.

The people closest to Constantinople are the Bulgarians.

However, about 122 years ago, the kingdom established by the Bulgarians was defeated by the Eastern Roman Byzantine Empire and was finally forced to be incorporated into the Eastern Roman Empire.

just now……

The Eastern Roman Empire has already fallen, so can they establish a new country?

In fact...

The Bulgarians' desire to rebuild their country has been a constant throughout these 122 years.

of course!

Now there is also a problem for the Bulgarians.

That is, there should be no problem in establishing a country.

The question is, after the founding of the country, which side should we side with?
I can only say that Bulgarians have very small brains.

And it's too short-sighted.

Next, they chose the Vatican.

They sent people to tell the Western Roman Pope Innocent II that if he recognized their establishment and legal status, they would help the Pope drive away the enemies of Constantinople.

This shows that they don't take the Song Dynasty coalition forces seriously at all.

of course!

It is also possible that they had more contact with Western Rome in the past and knew the situation there. They knew that once they became king, they would have their own land and their own taxes, and it would be difficult for others to control them. They would have considerable autonomy in the local area.

But if it was surrendering to the Song Dynasty, that might not be the case.

He might not be able to become a king, and at most he could only be the emir of a region.

can only say……

These powers are different.

(End of this chapter)