Chapter 348 War Strategy
The sudden change caught Constantinople off guard, and Mircea did not learn the news until the third day after the coup.
“Looks like we need to prepare early.”
Mircea said to the ministers in the Senate. This incident happened at Trebizond, and Rome must be vigilant.
"Your Majesty, there is one more thing. The Ottoman Sultan is gathering his troops recently. It looks like there is going to be a big war."
"That little kid finally couldn't sit still anymore."
Mircea looked down upon the little sultan. However, he has some ability to unify the remaining lands of Ottoman. Peter also wanted to see what explosive power his father who had just lost his child could have.
"Okay everyone, that's it for today!"
Mircea announced the adjournment of the meeting, leaving only Adrian, Theodore and others to continue the discussion.
"Your Majesty, we must make preparations early. The Turkic tribes are erratic. If they cannot be captured in one fell swoop, they may be broken into pieces. This will be detrimental to the empire's long-term future."
"Egypt also presented a batch of weapons and food to the Ottomans. I'm afraid it's for us."
Within a year, war broke out again, and Mircea was also tired. He also wants to live a stable life, but he is surrounded by powerful enemies, and if he doesn't pay attention, he will die without a trace. You have to withstand it.
"Ancyra is the forward position of the empire and cannot be lost. We must recruit soldiers from Anatolia and strike first."
Mircea gave the order. But before it was carried out, the servant came to report that a letter had been sent from Trebizond. Mircea took a look at it, his facial expression changed from surprise to anger, and he handed the letter to Peter.
"I, Alexios Megas Comnenus, Emperor of Trebizond, defender of the faithful faith. I command..."
Peter stopped mid-read and looked at Mircea.
"continue"
"Shameless usurper Mircea, give up the illegally occupied land, my army will retake Constantinople in the future, and then..."
Peter paused and continued.
"Cut your head off"
Mircea laughed angrily at this letter, "Who gave him the courage to issue such an arrogant declaration to me? Is this going to start a war with the empire?"
Mircea looked at the minister and said, "Go down, all go down."
Adrian and others had no choice but to withdraw from the palace. Only Peter was there to communicate.
"Father, even with the support of Georgia, they would not dare to do this. I am afraid that this is fueled by Osman."
"Well, I underestimated this child. He is younger than you, but he still has abilities.
Mircea's expression was a bit ferocious, and the policy of recuperation could only be postponed a little. This must be done before the Ottomans are destroyed. The spymaster Jika has something important to say.
"Your Majesty, the spies we sent to the Ottomans have returned the news."
"explain"
"The Ottoman Sultan has ordered all men over the age of sixteen from various tribes to assemble, and the city garrison has also gone to Konya. The total army is expected to reach more than 200,000."
Mircea was stunned for a moment when he heard this number, but Jica had not finished speaking yet.
"Not only that, Muhammad also ordered the slaughter of a large number of cattle and sheep to make military rations, and recruited a large number of civilians to transport supplies for them. He also made bold promises to capture Ancyra within 10 days and Constantinople in two months. "
Mircea was too shocked to speak, and Peter was also shocked.
"Father, he is not here to attack the empire, he is here to fight for his life."
Mircea's hand trembled when she picked up the wine glass, and after taking a sip, she lost her grip and dropped it. He had never experienced so many enemy troops. Coupled with Trebizond's provocation, one can imagine the pressure the Roman Empire faced.
"It seems that the evening is going to be lively." Mircea smiled bitterly and ordered the prime minister to wait for several important ministers to come back and continue the discussion.
Outside the palace, Angel also learned that Osman was going to attack. And there are still 200,000 troops, which gives him, the prime minister, a headache. He is about to retire, and something like this happens again. I have to be busy for a while.
The ministers came to the palace at night. The surroundings were quiet, and the meeting hall was filled with candles. They knew that they could not leave without discussing the outcome.
But what everyone didn't expect was that it was Peter who presided over the meeting this time. Emperor Mircea was absent, and Peter gave the explanation that the emperor was unwell, but Angel felt that it was not that simple. After looking around, I felt someone's eyes staring at me. It seemed that the emperor was watching them somewhere.
"Everyone should know the news about Trebizond and Ottoman. Muhammad is going to lead 200,000 troops to attack the empire. Whether it is war or peace, let's talk about it."
A brief silence followed, and Adrien was the first to speak.
"Your Highness, I think we should take advantage of the fact that the Ottoman army has not yet been assembled and strike preemptively. Defeat them first, and then search the entire territory for those soldiers who escaped. In less than two years, the whole country will be safe."
Adrian was still optimistic, and others expressed that they needed to negotiate with Osman to gain time, and then fight them decisively. But this was obviously something the emperor and Caesar didn't want.
"Your Highness," Angel came out to speak. "Currently, Ottoman needs time to assemble his troops, and our country also needs to assemble its troops immediately. To frighten Osman, the empire is not something he can defeat."
Mircea nodded behind the partition, this was to his liking. This time he did not want to go to the battlefield to fight, but left the matter to Peter, hoping that he could continue to create miracles, and also for him to continue to gain prestige.
Since they were all going to fight, Peter decided to mobilize Anatolia first, and the mobilized soldiers in the Balkans should also quickly go to Ancyra. 200,000 nomads are a large number. Once they enter the empire, the consequences will be disastrous.
Fortunately, the weather helped Constantinople, with heavy rain for ten consecutive days. Mehmet's troops had to take shelter in Konya, while other unorganized armies moved slowly elsewhere. Some soldiers had to rest in trees, and food and weapons began to mold and rust. Moreover, it rained heavily and a lot of crops in the fields were lost. Muhammad was very angry about the weather. He found a wizard from somewhere and asked him to make the weather clear immediately. It didn't work, so the Sultan killed him.
The city of Konya also suffered a lot of damage. The large amount of rainwater has overloaded the city's drainage system and then blocked it. The stagnant water in the city cannot be drained out, so urban residents have to hang pots to cook, and their lives are miserable.
But this kind of weather was limited to eastern Anatolia, and the western region of Ancyra was sunny. Woike, who was responsible for the city's defense, also took advantage of this time to strengthen defenses and recruit soldiers. Residents have also begun to migrate to the city or the rear. All crops have been harvested, and cattle and sheep have been moved to other places. Only the pigs remain where they are.