On June 20th, Thomas's troops landed on the east coast.
According to Varzama, he and the city's defender are cousins, and he is 90% sure to persuade the other party to surrender.
Thomas circled around the city wall and ordered the soldiers to camp on the outskirts of the city to make preliminary preparations for digging trenches and attacking the city.
At night, Eastern Roman Empire soldiers dug trenches and Siege Cannon positions under the cover of darkness as usual.
The next morning, the soldiers were busy transporting Siege Cannon. Thomas had gone through dozens of battles. Even if the defenders refused to surrender, he was confident of capturing the entire city.
The sun was hot, so he rested under a date palm tree on the outskirts of the city and observed the sketches made by the artist.
The content of this painting is a scene of hunting crocodiles a few days ago: a crocodile about five steps long rushed to the river beach, and His Royal Highness held a musket and accurately shot lead bullets into the crocodile's pupils.
The painter asked, "Your Highness, what do you think? If you think it is okay, I will make it into an oil painting after I return to China."
Thomas stroked his chin with his left hand and felt that the size of this crocodile was a bit exaggerated.
He was about to make a few comments when the guards suddenly sent news: the defenders sent an envoy to confirm the follow-up treatment issues.
"That's it." Thomas left the painter behind and began to discuss the surrender with the envoy.
The surrender ceremony went surprisingly smoothly. At noon, the Damietta defenders walked out of the city gate, put down their weapons and waited for the surrender.
Thomas talked with Mamluk nobles and understood the real reason why the defenders surrendered:
It's not because of the relative relationship between the guard and Varzama, it's because the guard was forced by Sultan and can no longer survive.
When Vitus landed, the Damietta defenders were the closest, but they did not launch an attack immediately, but allowed the main force of the Eastern Roman Empire to land.
After receiving the news, Sultan sent two groups of envoys one after another.
The first time was urging, forcing the defender to leave the city and push Vitus's landing force into the sea.
The second time was a reprimand, requiring the guard general to lead his troops out of the city, disrupt the enemy's supply routes, and slow down their advance.
The guard estimated the time, and the third group of envoys was coming soon. He was worried that he would be dismissed or imprisoned by Sultan, so he had no choice but to surrender.
Thomas was unbelievable, "There are only one thousand Musketeers in the city, two thousand levied cavalry and more than five thousand Militia. How can these troops defeat Vitus? Why don't Sultan send more soldiers?"
Varzama explained, "Most of the elites in the country are concentrated in Levant After the Frontier Army. Guwaz was defeated, Sultan divided the local troops into three groups, stationed in Alexander, Cairo, Road of Horus, and other places were just make-up Militia. This battle cannot be fought."
After the army took over Damietta, Vitus made adjustments and specially formed a team of Inland River Fleet, allowing Eastern Roman Empire crew members to control the sails and cables, while Copts acted as oarsmen and was responsible for downstream shipping and supply transportation.
On June 25, Vitus led the main force upstream and quickly reached Mansoura in the middle reaches.
At this time, the Eastern Roman Empire army numbered 34,000, and an additional 4,000 were recruited from the local area, for a total of 38,000.
Mansoura is located on the east bank of the river and has not built a new city wall. Vitus handed over the auxiliary troops and local troops to Thomas, asking him to pretend to be the main force of Rome to attract the attention of Sultan.
"You want to lead the remaining troops to rush south and rush to Cairo in one go?"
Thomas has been fighting with his brother for more than ten years, and he instantly guessed what he meant.
But, are the troops brought by my brother too few?
Vitus didn't think so. In the first battle of Sea of Galilee, he defeated Mamluk Frontier Army, killed over 10,000 prisoners, and the remaining troops fled into the desert. This most capable frontier army was destroyed.
After landing at Egypt, he found that the enemy's local troops were weaker than expected.
If the elite Frontier Army has reached the second-tier level of the Rome army (Auxiliary Brigade), the current local army is not even as good as Auxiliary Brigade. Whether it is cavalry or infantry, they are no match for the Field Legion.
Delaying it any longer is just a waste of time, it is better to deal with the opponent as soon as possible.
June to October is the flood season downstream of the Nile River. The water level rises in June and July and reaches its highest level in August. The longer the delay, the more troublesome it will be for the army to cross the river.
Therefore, Vitus gave up the attack on the remaining areas of the delta. Since Cairo was located on the east bank of the Nile River, the army marched on the Hedong plain, with no mountains or hills in the middle to block it, and pushed it to the city in one go.
"In my impression, Napoleon captured Alexander in early July and Cairo within a month. I was delayed in the desert for some time on the way. I walked through the Hedong Plain, so I should be faster than him."
After the division of troops, Vitus still had 23,000 people, including four infantry battalions of the Attica Legion, Heavy Cavalry Brigade, Second Light Cavalry Brigade, Second Dragon Cavalry Brigade, and Sakarya Legion, personnel directly under the headquarters, and a small number of Copts soldiers.
The enemy troops are also dispersed. There are troops at Alexander in the west and Road of Horus in the east. There will not be too many troops gathered at Cairo.
He felt these troops were enough.
On June 27, Vitus collected enough horses and camels and began to march south.
As time passed, the water level in the Nile River became higher and higher, and the cultivated land near the river bank was submerged. The river water carried a large amount of sediment and reeds washed from the upper reaches, forming a turbid ocean.
The vast waters attract flocks of water birds, such as herons and mallards, and local farmers operate fishing boats or rafts to cast nets in the flooded areas to catch fish.
According to the climate of Egypt, June to October is the slack period for farming. In the classical period, farmers had to perform corvee labor for the rulers and build magnificent pyramids.
The era of the Pharaohs has passed, and farmers no longer need to build pyramids. Their main work has become repairing dams and building new city walls, manors or mausoleums.
Copts guide said that in August when the water level is at its highest, most of the land near the river bank will be submerged. Sometimes, standing on the bank, you can't even see the opposite river bank.
"So exaggerated?"
Vitus adopted the guide's suggestion and when planning the march route, he deliberately made a large circle to the east and chose roads with higher terrain. The army carried eight thousand Draft Animals, which could move independently from the fleet.
Two days later, news came from the vanguard: they encountered a group of enemies, numbering nearly 6,000, and the two sides were fighting fiercely.
"Did Damien get lucky and catch up with the enemy by chance? Or did the other side deliberately release bait to ambush our reinforcements?"
Vitus made a deployment and led eight thousand soldiers to reinforce. The remaining troops deployed Wagon Fort on the nearby slopes, using baggage carts to circle three huge squares to protect Draft Animals and the baggage.
During the journey, Vitus frequently used telescopes to observe nearby woods and villages.
Whenever he found a suitable ambush location, he sent a team of cavalry to investigate, but could find no sign of an ambush.
The commander's hesitation affected the army's marching speed. After more than two hours, they had only traveled six miles.
"Weird, could it be that the enemy didn't set up an ambush halfway? Is it because I thought too much?"
Vitus looked at the date palm forest a mile away, waiting for news from the pathfinding cavalry. If the enemy did not take action, he would join the vanguard.
"The enemy wouldn't be stupid enough to attack Wagon Fort in the rear, right?"
Phew~
Suddenly, two fireworks rose in the sky ahead, conveying the meaning: Our troops defeated the enemy.
Vitus asked the guards to send a reply signal: Our troops are providing reinforcements.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, Vitus arrived at the battlefield and saw his own light cavalry chasing the defeated troops in the fields. The horses' hooves stepped on the shallow water in the low-lying areas, and the mud splashed up made the riders and mounts quite embarrassed.
In a dry open space on higher ground, two infantry battalions sat on the ground in a daze, alert to enemies that might appear at any time.
On the right side is a large group of captives bound by ropes. They are also sitting on the ground with blank eyes.
Not long ago, the defenders of Road of Horus received an order to temporarily mobilize troops to reinforce Cairo. As a result, they ran into the vanguard of the Eastern Roman Empire and quickly collapsed.
Every time a group of prisoners was captured, the light cavalry took them to an open space and ordered the prisoners to pile weapons and armor together, gradually forming two hills.
Vitus I picked up a recurve compound bow. The back of the bow, which should have been smooth and tight, had slightly raised edges. There were some small gray-white spots on the inside of the bow arms, which were mold spots caused by moisture.
He held the bow arm and pulled the string slightly with his other hand. He clearly felt that the force on the bow arms on both sides was unbalanced and decisively gave up pulling the string. "This bow is completely useless."
The quality of the remaining equipment is also very poor. The rust on the iron spearheads and armor has not been polished off. The ropes or leather strips that fix the armor pieces show signs of moisture. The overall structure of the armor has become loose and has lost its compact and strong texture.
When arrows are stored for too long, their tail feathers loosen and fall off. According to statistics from the medical team, the penetration power of enemy arrows is low. The trouble lies in the rust on the arrows, which may induce Tetanus.
"With poor equipment and insufficient personnel training, the enemy has been busy for so long, and the result is these Militia?"
Vitus handed over the newly arrived reinforcements to Damien, allowing the other party to lead the energetic team forward. Vitus stayed on the battlefield to clean up the mess, waiting for the follow-up troops to come and join together.
July 2nd, morning.
More than 600 cavalrymen of Second Light Cavalry Brigade galloped along the road. They avoided the flooded area near the Nile River. This road was on higher ground and located to the east, at the junction of green space and desert.
During the break, the cavalrymen climbed up the date palm trees on the roadside and picked the unripe green dates.
Brigadier Sanggebu wiped the dust on the surface of the date palm with his sleeve, and when he ate it into his mouth, he felt a slight astringency and the flesh was crisp, like eating a pear.
On the west side of the road is an irrigation canal with plenty of water and a few reeds and leaves floating on it. The horses drink the river water with their heads lowered and their tails flicking to drive away the mosquitoes lingering around them.
At nine-thirty, the team set off again. Their mission was to advance along the road. If they were not blocked by a large group of enemy troops, their final destination would be the suburbs of Cairo.
"Brigadier, there are enemies ahead!"
Hearing the warning, Sanggebu pulled out Sabre and led the troops to rush to the fork a few hundred steps away. When they arrived nearby, they found that there was only a group of grain trucks in front of them. Militia, who was responsible for escorting the trucks, fled in all directions without making any resistance.
"What did the convoy transport, Niter, bacon?"
Sanggebu slashed the sack with a knife, and the golden wheat grains were scattered all over the ground. The horse walked nearby excitedly and chewed the fresh wheat.
The light cavalry's mission was to conduct reconnaissance, and they did not have the energy to look after these captures. They continued to march after the horses had eaten and drank enough.
At noon, Sanggebu finally saw the goal of this trip: Cairo City.
They were located in the highlands of the northeastern suburbs. Looking from a distance, the entire city appeared a monotonous earthy color under the scorching July sun.
The dense building complex spreads from the Nile River in the west to the edge of the desert in the east, and the most eye-catching one is a magnificent castle.
The castle was built in the Saladin period, initially to resist Crusaders. Subsequently, Saladin moved Court here, and it became the center of power of the entire dynasty. Over the past hundreds of years, successive Sultans continued to expand the castle facilities, causing its area to become larger and larger.
"Don't waste time, draw a map quickly."
Sanggebu's educational level is low, so he leaves the drawing work to the staff below.
Worried that the enemy would leave the city at any time and be driven away, the staff acted hastily and only sketched some landmark buildings and key areas.
Saladin Citadel (Cairo Citadel) is located on the high ground in the east of the city, overlooking the entire city, and further east is the desert area.
According to Copts's introduction, in recent years, Cairo's population has been increasing and the city has been expanding eastward.
To the west of the city is Nile River, flowing from south to north. The river is busy with merchant ships and fishing boats going back and forth. At the time when the water level is rising, the depression in the direction of Northwest is flooded by water, forming a wide swamp that reflects sparkling white light in the sun.
On the west bank of the Nile River, Sanggebu saw some huge triangles, wide at the bottom and narrow at the top, about a hundred steps high, located in the pale golden desert.
The sun shines from the west, and these giant buildings cast huge shadows on the ground, like a netherworld.
"Is this a creation of gods or a mortal skill?"
Hearing Sanggebu talking to himself, the Copts guide explained, "These are the tombs of rulers thousands of years ago. At that time, they believed that the west was the place of death, so these tombs are located on the west bank."
While everyone was talking, the city wall defenders finally confirmed their identities: they were not their own mercenaries, but Tatars light cavalry from the Eastern Roman Empire!
The reason why it took so long to identify was because the equipment of the light cavalry was messy. The helmets were in the traditional pointed style Steppe. Some carried compound bows on their backs, and some were equipped with spears.
Before the light cavalry showed their flags, at first glance, the defenders thought they were some lost Turkic Cavalry.
More than ten minutes passed, the city gates opened, and thousands of cavalry filed out, preparing to drive away this group of enemies who had suddenly arrived.
"Retreat!"
Sanggebu's mission is reconnaissance, not combat.
Before leaving, he asked the soldiers to light up the flag, stick a Purple Double-Headed Eagle Flag on the top of the hill, and place a letter underneath.
The letter was written by the emperor himself and was brief:
On July 3rd, Vitus·Palaiologos will arrive at the outskirts of Cairo and visit Sultan himself.