In late January, Sahara was sent to South Africa.
The sun was blazing, and a sailboat flying the Portugal flag sailed towards the Africa coast. A France nobleman wearing a red shawl hood walked to the bow deck and used a telescope to observe the River Mouth area in the distance.
River Mouth The delta has a complex terrain. There is no clear main river channel, and it is filled with many sandbars and bifurcated river channels. Large mangroves grow along both sides of the river.
The captain was familiar with the dangers of this River Mouth. He did not anchor here, but just took the nobles to watch from a distance for a while, then controlled the steering wheel and sailed to the safer Gorée Island dozens of miles away.
This small island is long and narrow from north to south and narrow from east to west. It is an important stronghold of Portugal in Senegal.
A wooden wall was built at the dock and four small-caliber artillery were placed, mainly to protect the local indigenous people.
After the ship docked, the France noble walked down the pier and informed the local officials of his identity.
"I am Duke Alençon, and King Charles asked me to come over to inspect the southern coast."
France people also want to explore the south?
Official Portugal was frightened and angry. He approached the captain to inquire about the news and received a handwritten letter from Prince Henry.
The letter stated that Charles VII had no relevant plans for the time being. He was just out of kindness, so he sent a fallen noble to inquire about the situation.
At the end of the letter, it was emphasized that the Duke's interest must be dispelled. It is best to persuade him to stay in Gorée Island and then return him to Lisbon after a period of time.
After reading the letter, the Portugal official entertained the Duke warmly, gave his room to the distinguished guest, and at the same time arranged a meal as sumptuous as possible for him.
The Duke lost his appetite, so he ate some food randomly, and then asked Portugal person, "What products are there?"
"There is nothing here. The gold sand, ivory and tropical products come from the hotter and humid south, where the disease rate is very high. It is not recommended that you go there rashly."
In fact, City Official is lying. Along the Senegal river, several tribes have a Trade relationship with Portugal, exchanging gold, ivory, spices and other goods for Portugal people's muskets and other handicrafts.
"Really?"
The Duke was a little listless and followed the Portugal people around the stronghold, then climbed up to the highest wooden sentry tower and used a telescope to observe the scenery further away.
In the field of vision is a large area of barren land. There are no patches of grassland or forest. There are some gray-yellow shrubs scattered on the ground, which are not suitable for planting or grazing.
The Duke asked the civil servant who had been following him, "By the way, what's your name? I heard that the Greece people occupied Black Coral Islands in the west. What's there?"
"Martin·Perez Mendoza. The islands in the west are poor in products. There are only a few Black Coral and strongholds composed of hundreds of Greece immigrants. There are no specialties worthy of attention."
The Duke nodded and stared at the empty and silent wilderness in a daze. Bang! Bang! The soldiers not far away were test-firing the newly delivered artillery, which triggered his memories.
More than twenty years ago, the Duke fought with the British army. When the battle was in full swing, Jeanne called his name and asked him to dodge. As a result, the next moment, a cannonball hit the ground where the Duke was just standing.
To this day, he still remembers the situation clearly.
"Sometimes, fate is really unpredictable. I can avoid the cannonballs and swords on the battlefield, but I cannot escape the suspicion of the monarch."
For the Duke, this journey was equivalent to a short-term exile, and the King did not care what information he brought back. In this case, he simply accepted the advice of the Portugal people and stayed at Gorée Island to "recuperate".
In his report to the king, he almost copied what the Portugal civil servants said: The Africa south of Sahara has a hot and humid climate, is full of mosquitoes, is extremely difficult to develop, and is not suitable for long-term living.
February 1st, the capital of the White Sheep Dynasty, Tabriz.
Last autumn, Uzon Hassan heard the news that enemy troops were gathering at the border. He decisively recruited 8,000 prisoners of war and built a new-style city wall on the outside.
The exterior wall refers to the design of the surrendered officers of Ottoman. The outer layer of stone bricks and the inner layer of rammed earth are greatly increased in thickness, and it has not yet been completed.
The sky was dark, and heavy snow fell from high in the sky. Sultan, wearing plate and chain armor, inspected the construction site in the north of the city. When he saw that there was still a gap of 200 steps wide in the city wall, he immediately called the person in charge of the construction site.
"Greece people are about to come, why are you still hanging on?"
Faced with the furious Sultan, the person in charge vowed that he would definitely be able to close the city wall before April.
Winter has not yet passed, and there is a general consensus among the middle and upper classes of White Sheep: The Greece army will probably set off in March and officially arrive at the border in April.
Sultan also had the same view. He forced the construction team to speed up the progress, not because the enemy was imminent, but because of the lingering anxiety in his heart.
He is twenty-seven years old this year and has been fighting for more than ten years. Greece Field Legion is one of the most elite troops in his impression.
The New Army formed by White Sheep has six thousand Musketeers, six thousand melee infantry, and numerous small artillery. Its combat effectiveness is not as good as the Greece field army. The enemy is strong and we are weak, so we can only hope that the enemy will make scheduling errors.
If the enemy commander is Georgia's old king Alexander, or the current king Vakhtang, Uzon Hassan is half sure of defeating the enemy.
The commander is a character like Romanus, Marcus, Damien. Uzon Hassan has a 30% chance of winning.
If Vitus goes out in person, Uzong Hassan will find it difficult to win.
After defeating Black Sheep Dynasty, Uzon Hassan's prestige reached its peak, and the tribal leaders unanimously believed that he was the most capable monarch after Timur.
The problem is that Vitus's commanding talent is equally outstanding.
Uzong Hassan cannot expect Vitus to make some stupid mistakes and then defeat his main force.
What is more likely is that Vitus in turn took advantage of White Sheep's flaws to defeat or even annihilate White Sheep Army at a very small cost.
"Even if Vitus meets Timur and "Lightning" Bayezid at their peak, they will never lose."
Uzon Hassan came to the heights of the city wall and overlooked the snow-capped land in the north.
Assuming that the decisive battle between the two armies is lost, Armenian Highlands will most likely be unable to defend, and Tabriz may also be lost.
Last autumn, he made relevant arrangements to move the most trusted White Sheep tribe to the middle and lower reaches of Mesopotamian Plain, and the craftsmen moved to Baghdad and Basra.
"If the enemy is still pursuing you, flee to Southern Persia."
Although White Sheep has a vast territory and can mobilize 100,000 troops under extreme circumstances, most of the conscripts come from the aristocratic forces left by the Black Sheep Dynasty and Timur Empire. They have poor combat effectiveness and low loyalty. Uzong Hassan cannot trust these people.
In early March, Constantinople.
As the weather got warmer, Privy Council issued transfer orders to all troops, notifying them to assemble at predetermined locations.
Judging from the map, nearly 60,000 soldiers are deployed in three places: Trebizond, Cappadocia, and Lycia. The winter is cold and long, and dispersed stationing is beneficial to the army in obtaining supplies and reducing the spread of diseases.
The expeditionary force is expected to be assembled before April, and its first target is Armenian Highlands in the east.
For religious reasons, the attitude of the local residents is more inclined to the Eastern Roman Empire camp, which makes it easier for the expeditionary force to obtain supplies and find water sources.
After capturing this plateau, Vitus's next target is Tabriz, forcing the enemy to fight his own side.
"... This is my battle plan. During the army's expedition, Romanus will stay behind Constantinople and handle all government affairs with full authority."
Today, the Rome fleet controls the sea power of Eastern Mediterranean, effectively isolating threats from the direction of Italy. The France and Naples camps do not have the ability to conduct cross-sea attacks, and the only threat is Jagiellon Dynasty.
In order to prevent this neighbor from attacking from behind, Vitus did not deploy Balkans Frontier Army, and at the same time left Varangian Legion in Constantinople as the final reserve team.
If Jagiellon really launches an attack, the Greece area is ready for full mobilization. As long as Constantine can hold on for 2 to 3 months, the rear can gather five Auxiliary Brigade to join the battle. In this way, the number of troops on the front line will exceed 40,000, and Trace Italienne can last for a long time.
"What I'm worried about is not Balkans, but the front line." Romanus looked at the eastern part of the map and felt that the expeditionary force was too small.
The empire has a total of six legions, two are left in Balkans, and the remaining four legions are used in the east.
During the attack on White Sheep, Antioch Frontier Army (Sakarya Legion) must stay in the defense zone and be alert to the surprise attack of Mamluk.
In other words, the real core of the expeditionary force is only three legions, Hermes Brigade, and five regular Cavalry Brigade.
Among the remaining troops, there are two auxiliary Cavalry Brigade and two Auxiliary Infantry Brigade (temporarily recruited Frontier Army, Garrison District troops, and Militia), four thousand Armenia rebels, eight thousand soldiers promised by the Georgia kingdom, and more than five thousand directly affiliated troops (staff officers, Siege Cannon, engineers, Field Hospital).
The total number of the expeditionary force reached 83,000, and the field troops that could be used were less than 50,000.
If Romanus had the decision-making power, he would most likely wait another two years to form more field troops to participate in the war.
Unfortunately, Vitus has no time to wait any longer.
Vitus is twenty years older than Uzon Hassan, and is destined to be unable to survive the other party. The only way is to attack as soon as possible to interrupt the rise of the White Sheep Dynasty, rather than delaying it until his later years, and then forcefully lead the army to go on an expedition.
At noon, War Council finished and Romanus returned to his residence for dinner. On the way, he bumped into Leo who was full of excitement.
Leo is seventeen years old this year. He graduated from Army Elementary School last year and was promoted to Army Higher School. His main major is still Artillery, and he has an additional minor in Engineering.
Thanks to training all day long, his height is close to that of his brother, and his skin color is darker. At first glance, he might have been thought to be a young construction site apprentice.
Romanus: "I know you are going to the front line, there is no need to show off to me. This war is different from the attack Corfu. It requires a long journey. By then you will know how hard it is to march in the wild."
Leo felt that his brother was scaring him. Military Academy held outdoor training regularly. He didn't realize how difficult it was.
March 2nd, morning.
Leo followed Vitus to the dock to board the ship, accompanied by direct troops and a small number of cavalry, totaling 6,000 people. Thomas has been feeling bored recently, so he also joined the expeditionary force.
Amid the prayers of Patriarch, dozens of ships raised their sails and sailed away from Golden Horn in an orderly manner, passing through Bosphorus Strait in a column from south to north.
In early spring, Black Sea's harsh sea conditions have not completely subsided. The leaden cloud pressure is very low and the dark blue sea surface is undulating. Leo grabs the rope with his hand and has a good view of the land scenery on the starboard side.
In the evening, the wind direction turned to the northeast, and the fleet anchored at Karasu port.
Leo asked Thomas: "Ten years ago, this is where the Rome army landed and then launched Battle of Sakarya?"
Thinking about the past, Thomas fell into a long memory. At that time, he commanded the heavy cavalry troops and suffered a lot in this hilly area. Their marching speed was not as fast as the most ordinary infantry.
Later, the equipment of the heavy cavalry was simplified, from the Western Europe cavalry with full plate armor to the more flexible medium cavalry (the armor weighed only 15 kilograms), and the marching speed was greatly increased.
"Unfortunately, my horse Snow Treading on Dark Clouds is too old and is no longer suitable for the battlefield."
Thomas's new mount is the descendant of Snow Treading on Dark Clouds. It looks the same as a horse, but its size and explosive power are not as good as Snow Treading on Dark Clouds.
In Leo's expectant eyes, Thomas recounted the scene when Battle of Sakarya and he led the heavy cavalry to attack Janissaries: the enemy infantry all fell down, just like harvesting wheat in autumn.
Later, he also mentioned Battle of Konya, the situation of his own side facing off against Black Sheep heavy cavalry.
Leo:"Do you also want to command the cavalry this time?"
"No, I am commanding the Auxiliary Brigade and Armenia rebels." Thomas was in a low mood. Brother Jue still looked down on him and used a bunch of miscellaneous troops to fool him.
After resting overnight, the fleet continued sailing early the next morning. The mountains on the shore gradually became higher and covered with lush pine forests.
Pontic Mountains.
This mountain range lies across the north of Anatolia. It is majestic and steep, stretching for thousands of kilometers from west to east. Leo heard that his father had hidden two secret workshops in the mountainous area to produce New-Style Porcelain and High-Quality Glass.
On March 14, the fleet rounded a cape, and a city surrounded by mountains and sea appeared in front of it.
"Trebizond, we are finally here." Leo stood on the bow deck of the ship, looking at the old capital of the Komnenos family.
The city wall is like a gray snake entwined on the coast, and hundreds of sailboats are moored at the dock. The buildings go up step by step along the mountain, and the palace at the top flies the flag of Palaiologos.
Twenty minutes passed and the flagship slowly docked. Vitus led a group of followers to the palace on the top of the mountain and set up a temporary command headquarters here.
He asked Province Governor: "How is the situation of Georgia?"
"Vakhtang has sent twenty shipments of grain, and his army is gathering at the border. Once we attack Armenian Highlands from the west, Georgia Army will launch an attack from the north to cooperate with our offensive."
Georgia and New Army are equipped with firearms. The disadvantage is that the tactics and organization are backward, which seriously affects the combat capability of the army.
Vitus has no hope for the combat effectiveness of its allies. Their task in the first stage is to contain some enemies.
After Armenian Highlands is captured and the two sides join forces, Georgia Army will obey the command of the Eastern Roman Empire in exchange for some land after the war as reward.