Chapter 656: Preparation for War

"Bring up those traitors!"

The guards who had been waiting for a long time immediately pushed the prison cart to the arena.

There were dozens of prisoners in the prison cart, most of whom were dressed quite well. Some were wearing silk pajamas and barefoot, looking like they were pulled out of their sleep.

"It's General Cardius. I was wondering why I didn't see him today."

"Isn't that Mr. Callinicus from the Stonemason Guild? How could he be a traitor?"

In the prison cart, the identities of the big names were quickly identified, causing a commotion.

The Ecumenical Patriarch, who was sitting in a conspicuous position, looked surprised. Half of the prisoners in the prison cart were clergy, which made him frown.

In today's Rome, the emperor's authority is no longer supreme. Things like the emperor arbitrarily appointing a eunuch as the Ecumenical Patriarch are gone forever.

If the Palaiologos emperors did something out of line, they would also be subject to the risk of being excommunicated and excommunicated.

Constantine XI's imperial treasury could not even maintain the Hagia Sophia, and had to rely on the Russian Orthodox brothers for support.

The emperor had almost no standing army except for the Varangian Guard, which had a size of only a hundred people. He could only rely on Latin mercenaries (Latins were a general term for Greeks, equivalent to the Franks in the Saracens), which was no different from a large feudal lord.

Losa didn't care about the ugly face of the Ecumenical Patriarch, and said angrily: "Last night, the Imperial Treasury was attacked, and dozens of guards guarding the treasury were killed. Were they not vigilant enough or incompetent?"

"No, of course not!"

"Because the hidden arrows shot at them came from behind them, from the so-called own people, from those who rode on the heads of ordinary people and soldiers, high above, enjoying people's offerings and admiration, but because they were afraid of the iron hoofs of the Ottomans, they wanted to preserve their wealth and chose to betray the traitors who knelt and licked the stinky feet of the Turkic barbarians!"

The anger soon spread throughout the stands.

"Damn traitors, kill them!"

"Use their blood to commemorate the dead soldiers!"

The crowd was outraged, and for a moment, the Ecumenical Patriarch, who wanted to stand up and speak for the prisoners, could not help but shut his mouth.

Lothar looked at the pale-faced prisoners. Among them were several extraordinary people with extraordinary strength. For example, Sir Theodore, who actually stole last night, was a powerful magician.

But unfortunately, they ran into Lothar and Viviana. The two did not use their full strength at all and easily subdued them all. Recaptured the dragon-shooting crossbow.

"You betrayed your emperor and the subjects of the empire just like Judas betrayed Jesus Christ. You are supported by them and enjoy the honor and status that others cannot enjoy, but you try to sell out the interests of everyone so that you can wag your tail and beg for mercy from your new master."

"No, you are not as good as Judas. At least Judas repented."

Lothar's voice was full of anger. Seven points of this anger were false, but three points were sincere.

Only people with high status are qualified to be guides and traitors.

They have resources that ordinary people don't have. They are in high positions, but they don't think about protecting the country and the people, but only think about their own selfish interests. Such people, even if they have a conscience, will hate them.

"Your Majesty, please forgive my sins."

"Your Majesty, I know I was wrong."

"Please forgive me."

The prisoners begged and cried. Some saw Lothar approaching and tried to kneel down to kiss his boots and beg for forgiveness, but he kicked them away.

They looked at the people in the stands with fear, worried that those unruly people who didn't need to look at them in the eyes in the past would really ignore them and rush down to tear them to pieces.

Some people also cursed: "The Ottoman army is ten times larger than ours. Do we have to be buried with you?"

"Dragaces, if you let me go now, I can still say a few good words for you in front of the new king. Otherwise, you will definitely become a piece of rotten meat in the mouth of the dragon raised by the Ottoman king!"

For such people, Lothar didn't even want to look at them.

But some people stiffened their necks and looked angry: "I am innocent. I just discussed scriptures with Sir Theodore and never had any private contact with pagans. Dragases, how can you slander an upright clergyman like this?"

"Slander?"

Lothar came to the clergyman who was stripped of his vestments.

He was indeed not a traitor. He was arrested by Lothar who took the opportunity to expand the case, but he was definitely not innocent.

Lothar sneered: "Pyrrhus, as a servant of Christ, you only know how to preach the coming of pagans. It is God's punishment for the world. You want the subjects of the empire to willingly submit to the pagans, fool the hearts of the people, and take away the backbone of the Romans. Your crime is more abominable than those scums who accept bribes and serve the pagans."

Pyrrhus was so angry that his beard was shaking: "You despicable scum of the Palaeologus family, you usurped the cause of Emperor Theodore (referring to the Palaeologus family usurping the throne of the Nicaea Empire) and sold the interests of the empire to the Genoese. You are traitors!"

Although the Palaeologus family is also a big family in the empire, it was able to become the regent of Nicaea and even usurp the throne because of its identity as the "leader of the Latin mercenaries."

After that, the recapture of Constantinople and the unification of the empire were inseparable from the help of the Genoese. This was also the check and balance technique of the emperors of the Palaeolian Dynasty, who introduced the Genoese to fight against the Venetians.

It's just that now, the conflict between the empire and the Latins is no longer the main conflict. The enemies of the Latins have become an important force that can unite under the empire to fight against the heretics.

Did Constantine XI go to Florence in person and agree to the church's unification request that John VIII not hate the Latins?

Of course, he hates it. If nothing else, he hates the territories and concessions occupied by Genoa and the Venetians in the empire, as well as the commercial wealth that should belong to the empire. Any normal person will feel resentful about this.

But now is simply not the time to consider such issues.

"I will fight to the death for Rome, and history will judge whether I am right or wrong."

Lothar glanced at Pyrrhus coldly and waved.

"Execute fire!"

The wolf-like guards immediately swarmed forward, threw hay into the prison van, and lit torches.

As the fire burned, screams suddenly sounded.

Some prisoners kept hitting the cage, while others shrank into the middle of the cage to avoid being burned by the flames. Before long, the only thing left in the arena was the cheers from the people in the stands.

Lothar is back to his old business. If he has no money or food, he will confiscate his house. The empire has no money, but it does not mean that the "pillars" of the empire have no money.

They use their money, land and houses as military expenses and rewards for meritorious officials. As a ruler, they can also give chicken soup and blood. These things are also indispensable.

Lothar raised the Spear of Destiny high and gave orders.

"From today on, the empire has entered a state of emergency war readiness. All criminals can be sentenced to death only after being tried by a war court. All subjects, generals, and clergy of the empire must do everything they can to support those who fight against the heretics. Great cause."

"Everyone, the once fertile empire has only one lonely city left. Faced with the infidels pressing every step of the way, we have no choice but to retreat."

Lothar put on his helmet, and the guards around him immediately erected the four-beta flag, which is the symbol of the Palaeolian dynasty, meaning the king of kings and the ruler of the Greek kings: "I cannot promise that this battle will be inevitable." To win, I can only promise you, my subjects, that your emperor will always watch you fight against the enemy, and please promise your emperor that you will also fight to the death when the emperor and his banner do not retreat."

"Hail, for the King of Kings, for Basileus!"

The people waved their arms, shouted loudly, and looked at the emperor who was bathed in infinite brilliance, as if he had descended from heaven, with faces full of fanaticism.

From this moment on, Constantinople was like a war machine, with every rusty part starting to work again.

The 50,000 residents in the entire city, including the Venetians in the concession, total less than 80,000 people. If these people can really mobilize with all their strength and pull up an army of more than 10,000 people, it will be very easy.

Unfortunately, the Black Sea trade has been tightly blocked by the fortresses built by the Ottomans on both sides.

On the contrary, the Mediterranean trade has not been interrupted because it can rely on the caravans of Venice and Genoa.

The empire's supplies are limited, and what is lacking is not food.

It’s not just stones or wood that are the building materials needed to repair the city wall. There are a lot of ruins in the city that can be dismantled and used to defend the city.

But the raw materials of Greek fire, magic materials, boiling oil, asphalt, gunpowder and so on.

Greek fire was originally lost.

But luckily last night, the captured Sir Theodore found the recipe for Greek fire from the library. He originally planned to give it to Mahamu II in exchange for reward. Unfortunately, this thing returned to the empire. in hand.