On January 2, 1447, the heavy artillery of the Eastern Roman Empire army arrived in the eastern suburbs and began to bombard Moudros's East Wall.
The construction standards of the city wall were low and it only lasted for five days before some sections collapsed.
After persisting to this point, the one thousand Switzerland mercenaries in the city realized that they had fulfilled their duty to defend the city, so they sent an envoy to request negotiations, and the conditions they received were:
They handed over their weapons and participated in the construction of the project at Lemnos. After the beginning of spring, Eastern Roman Empire arranged for ships to send them back to Italy.
This condition was acceptable. Switzerland mercenaries lowered their flags, walked out of the city wall obediently, and placed their weapons in an open space.
Boranov has not yet recovered from his illness. He is wrapped in a blanket in the cold wind, with his light red hair stained with a few snowflakes, observing the surrendered enemies.
Venice has strong financial resources. Each mercenary is equipped with an iron helmet, with a ring of rabbit hair or wool stuffed under the helmet rim for warmth. The armor is wrapped with a dark red tweed cloak. To a certain extent, the cloak is equivalent to their military uniform.
The proportion of spearmen in Mercenary Regiment is close to half, assault infantry (Halberd, Two-Handed Sword) account for a quarter, and the remainder are long-range infantry, equipped with Matchlock or Crossbow.
"The composition and weapons of Switzerland mercenaries are similar to those of other Mercenary Regiment. The reason why their combat effectiveness is ahead of their peers is due to discipline and morale."
Boranov looked at these taciturn mountain people. They were of medium height and thin. In appearance, they were far inferior to the tall and gorgeously dressed Germany mercenaries.
However, Boranov firmly believes that discipline is the key to an army's combat effectiveness. Even if the number of Switzerland mercenaries is reduced by 20 to 30%, they can still defeat the taller Germany counterparts.
In the past year and a half, Venice sent Germany mercenaries and Switzerland mercenaries to loot the coast, and Boranov fought with them all.
Gentlemen Two-Handed Sword from Germany used to wear a huge flat round hat, with rooster tail feathers or other bird feathers inserted behind the hat.
They prefer bright red, orange and yellow clothing, and occasionally use blue and green, and their exaggeration reaches the level of aristocrats.
During the battle, Two-Handed Sword soldiers are extremely destructive, but they are not suitable for forming a dense formation-this is not conducive to wielding a giant sword. They prefer to keep a distance from their comrades to avoid cutting down their own people.
The Switzerland mercenary's attack method is to form a wedge formation and launch a fearless group charge. The effect is far better than that of the Germany people.
Boranov lamented. "When a war breaks out, the ones who attack most harshly are these silent people, not those who usually make loud noises."
Soon, the last group of mercenaries walked out of the city gate and handed over the paper information of Lemnos to the attackers.
Witnessing this moment, the Eastern Roman Empire troops outside the city cheered, thankful that they had avoided a street fight.
Boranov did not participate in the soldiers' celebration. He knew very well that there would be many islands waiting to be recovered in the future. As expected, the entire winter would be spent in endless island landing operations.
January 5th, Blachernae Palace.
At ten o'clock in the morning, Vitus yawned and walked into the main hall and asked these solemn-looking civil servants:
"Tell me, how much was your loss last year?"
As Finance Minister, Carlo Santis stood up and reported the bad news to the emperor, "The total deficit is 700,000..."
Throughout 1446, the empire's shipping in Eastern Mediterranean was cut off, and Trade's income shrank significantly.
The only bright spot is that the provinces surrounding Black Sea are developing well, such as Moesia on the Balkans, Paphlagonia and Trebizond on the north coast of Anatolia, and Circassia on the east coast of the Black Sea.
Therefore, last year's revenue remained at 1.9 million Florin.
In terms of expenditure, in 1446, Mediterranean Sea was frequently attacked along the coast, and two large-scale wars broke out: the border conflict with Mamluk, and the Battle of Antikythera.
War means casualties. Eastern Roman Empire needs to take care of the wounded, bury the dead, and distribute bounties to survivors. The total cost exceeds 300,000.
The cost of repairing damaged warships and building new warships is even greater. Venice's naval heritage still exists. If Eastern Roman Empire wants to maintain its current advantage, it must increase investment in the navy.
Adding up all the expenses, Finance's expenses suddenly increased to 2.6 million.
From the beginning of the year to now, Finance Minister has borrowed two loans, totaling up to 500,000 yuan. The merchant group could not borrow the money, so the minister issued public bonds under the emperor's instructions and borrowed another 200,000 yuan.
Vitus was used to this situation of borrowing money to survive, and told Finance Minister, "During this period, you can find a way to raise another 200,000 yuan. Admiralty is in a hurry to use the money."
"As commanded."
Carlo had this intention. The news of Battle of Antikythera's victory and Fabius's death reached Constantinople, and the public sentiment was enthusiastic. The bonds were issued at this time and are expected to be sold out within a month.
The topic on Finance was over, and Patriarch suddenly stood up and spoke:
"Your Majesty, some crew members have proposed donating money to build a special church for Fabius. Do you agree? Or, let him be buried in an existing church?"
Vitus Recall Constantinople the tombs in various places in the city and on the outskirts of the city.
Until now, Hagia Sophia has not had the function of a cemetery. The only exception is Enrico Dandolo.
In 1204, Dandolo served as Venice Governor, inciting the fourth Crusaders to capture Constantinople.
Subsequently, Dandolo stayed with Constantinople to handle matters: coordinate the relationship between Crusaders's various forces and transport various treasures back to the homeland.
In 1205, Dandolo died of illness and was buried in Hagia Sophia. This was a political act that showed victory, not the tradition of the Eastern Roman Empire.
In the early and mid-term period of the Eastern Roman Empire, the person who served as the royal mausoleum was Church of the Holy Apostles.
Its size is second only to Hagia Sophia. Starting from Constantine the Great, many emperors and important officials were buried here, such as Justinian and Heraclius. The last emperor buried here was Constantine VIII (960~1028).
In 1204, Venice and Crusaders ransacked most of the churches in the city and took away more than a hundred sacred objects.
As a royal mausoleum, Church of the Holy Apostles received a lot of attention. Crusaders plundered gold and silver vessels and sacred objects, pried open the emperor's coffins including Justinian, stole the funerary objects inside, and the church was severely damaged.
After Palaiologos regained Constantinople, he was in a long-term financial shortage and had no money to repair the Holy Apostles Church. All emperors were buried in other monasteries.
More than two hundred years have passed, and Church of the Holy Apostles has fallen into disrepair. Even if Eastern Roman Empire is willing to pay, it cannot be restored to a relatively intact state.
After a while, Vitus gave a reply, "Notify City Hall to choose an open space in the south of the city to build a new church and ancillary cemetery for the burial of naval officers who have made outstanding contributions."