Li Qinwu stood atop the stone tower, looking at the distant walls.
Those were the Theodosian Walls, the last line of defense of the thousand-year-old Roman Empire.
The Roman Empire, which had dominated the Mediterranean for a thousand years, had lost city after city and territory after territory under the twin pressures of internal strife and external enemies, until only Constantinople remained.
Before long, the sultan of the attacking Ottoman Empire would use his Urban Cannon to blast through the Theodosian Walls.
Then nearly two hundred thousand Ottoman troops would pour into the city. The last Roman emperor, Constantine XI, would lead his troops in a desperate fight and ultimately die in the chaos.
The death of Constantine XI and the fall of Constantinople would mark the final destruction of the Roman Empire, which had endured for more than fourteen hundred years!
With that, Roman civilization, one of humanity's shining lights, would perish. Vast quantities of artwork and classical texts, along with skilled craftsmen, would flee north into Europe, indirectly shaping European civilization.
Constantinople was also an important port city. Its fall into the hands of the Ottomans, whom Westerners considered infidels, would make it very difficult for northern Europeans to travel south.
Opening new sea routes would become an urgent necessity, indirectly giving rise to the Age of Discovery!
After Li Qinwu explained how Constantinople fell, who the two sides were, and what the battle meant for humanity, Rudosen pointed at the distant walls and said:
"You just said the Ottomans bombarded the walls with cannons, the walls collapsed, and two hundred thousand Ottomans poured into the city, right?
Look, those walls have already fallen!"
Li Qinwu took a closer look and only then noticed a huge breach in Constantinople's walls!
The sight drew an immediate "Holy shit!" from