Chapter 218 Cyprus
Famagusta, an important port in Cyprus. In the pitch-black night, I couldn't see my fingers, and the torches on the city wall were the only light. Not far from the port, a fleet was approaching the light. The darkness provided them with cover, and with the wind and waves, they would not be discovered unless they got close to the defenders.
At this time, Mihai was extremely excited. He was listening to the commander's orders and was ready to be the first to rush forward and get the first kill.
"The city of Famagusta is strong, and there are still people patrolling the port. Fortunately, the waves are strong tonight, so the number of guards will be reduced."
Fleet Commander Androniko told each squad about his plan. Before arriving in Cyprus, the superiors sent people to instigate some Famagusta defenders. According to the map they provided, it was very easy to find the location. Quickly identify the weakest northeast corner as the breakthrough point.
The total population of Cyprus is only 100,000, and the army only has more than 3,000 people. But most of them are mercenaries invited from Italy, and their combat effectiveness is still considerable.
Since Cyprus is an island country, even if it asks for reinforcements, it will not come within a few months. Atalaiya is only a week away from Cyprus, so it has a head start in terms of time.
After talking about the plan, everyone began to prepare for a sneak attack. As for Mihai, Andronikos asked him to control the crossbow. This should be pretty safe. He couldn't afford it if anything happened.
The fleet gradually approached the port. Before that, they put the warships behind and took the lead with armed merchant ships. They pretended that they came to the port to take shelter late at night because of a storm. They also brought a few merchants who could speak Latin, so they should be able to deceive them. them.
Originally, they were ready to attack by force, but when the other party learned that this was a large merchant fleet, they directly let them in. As long as they paid a corresponding amount, all conditions could be met.
As expected of a mercenary, he will do anything as long as he has money and will not miss any opportunity to make money. In their view, this late-night fleet is a lamb to be slaughtered. If they don't blackmail them, they will be sorry for their position.
The fleet arrived at the port soon, and the merchant handed the 100 gold coins to the other party, but they felt it was too little and wanted more money.
"Oh, sir. Please come to the cabin with me. There is what you want there."
Hearing that there was more money in the cabin, a man who looked like a captain entered directly with two soldiers. Anyway, he had weapons on him, which were more than enough for the businessmen. They entered with torches. As they walked, they imagined endless money and endless blessings. When the businessman reminded them that it was time, they came back to their senses. The box in front of them made them eager to open it, but They were all empty inside, which made them a little confused. When they turned back to look for the merchant, they found that the man had long disappeared. Instead, dozens of arrows were fired, killing them directly.
Outside, other soldiers in the cabin quickly attacked and wiped out all the guards patrolling the northeastern area. Mihai also secretly joined the battle. He directly chopped down one of them with a knife, and then went directly to help other soldiers defeat the enemy. He was so excited. The look on his face never dissipated. In his opinion, what he was doing was a mission to expand the territory, and all those who stood in the way would be eliminated.
After occupying the northeastern port, other ships came here to transport a steady stream of soldiers and artillery. After the light artillery was assembled, it advanced towards the fortress of Famagusta, while other armies launched an attack on other areas of the city, trying to capture other urban areas except the fortress before dawn.
The entire port army only had 500 people. Facing the well-trained Wallachian army, it was completely defeated. The other urban areas without armies surrendered. At dawn, the Wallachian army had cleared the enemy troops in the city. Except for the fortress, the rest of the city had no troops. All places have been recovered.
After the recapture of Famagusta, Michael read out the decree of Wallachia on behalf of Peter, announcing that Orthodox Christians would be given preferential treatment and freedom, announced a three-year tax exemption, and also called on Orthodox Christians in other places to jointly overthrow Cyprus. Kingdom, surrendered to Wallachia.
The incident in Famagusta frightened many Latin nobles in Cyprus. Some nobles thought that their serfs would rebel, so they executed them first, while other serfs directly launched an uprising to join forces with the Wallachian army. As for the other Orthodox Christians, although they did not directly fight against their Latin masters, they were more willing to help the Wallachian army by providing food and intelligence.
King Janus of Nicosia heard that Famagusta had been occupied and began to recruit troops from all over the country. He also negotiated with Venice and asked for a loan to hire troops. Everything is going on in full swing, and I don’t know how much time I can withstand.
Wallachian artillery attacked the fortress, which was captured only a day later. Since Cyprus's defenses had to wait until the Venetian takeover in 1489 for major upgrades, it was a good time to attack now.
Wallachia did not choose to continue the attack at this time, but occupied Famagusta after clearing the nearby enemies. Michael wrote to Peter, asking for more troops, and also threatened that as long as the troops were in place, he would be ready within one month. Just take down Cyprus.
Although Wallachia is expanding at a fast pace, it is too fast. It is expanding every year. Venice, Genoa, and the Turkic Kingdom all find it incredible that any country can expand at such a rate. If this continues, Wallachia's reputation will continue to grow. It's going to explode, and it won't be good if the Sacrilege Alliance 1.0 comes.
However, the Sacrifice Alliance could not be formed at this time. The contradiction between Christianity and the Crescent Church was still very big. The Ottoman split made Western European countries look down on it. Venice, the most powerful one, had no interest in expanding its territory. As long as it was not aggressive, it would not Something will happen.
As for why Cyprus was occupied, it was not because the geographical location was too important. Cyprus is too close to the Anatolian Peninsula. Whether for home security or hegemony over the Eastern Mediterranean, both Cyprus and Crete must be captured by Wallachia. stronghold.
In addition, there is another reason. The climate in Cyprus is suitable for the growth of grapes, sugar cane and other crops. Before the large-scale introduction of sugar in the Americas, sugar cane in Sicily and Cyprus was the main source of sugar in Europe. Take here , is also a place of new wealth.
Within a month, the Orthodox Christians in Cyprus revolted one after another, causing some Latin nobles to fail to arrive on time. The king only raised an army of 3,000 people. Seeing that there was no time, he took these troops directly to Famagusta. The number of people who defected to the Wallachian army also increased to 2,000. Including the original army and some monks, the number also reached 5,000, which was enough to fight the enemy.