Chapter 661: Booming Gunfire
Early in the morning of the sixth day.
A thin layer of mist descended over Constantinople, covering the vast Ottoman camp below that looked like the sea.
The defenders looked much more relaxed, chatting casually, and swallowing their breakfast with difficulty, with the pungent smell of blood in the air.
Conservative estimates show that the enemy left thousands of corpses under the city yesterday alone.
The temperature has warmed up now, and experienced mercenaries believe that what they smell today is just the smell of blood, but in a few days, they will smell the stench of decay. Those who can't eat now will be even more unable to eat that day.
"Oh, no, if you can't even stand the smell of blood, you will definitely not live to see that day."
At noon, the mist gradually dissipated.
The huge siege camp was once again revealed in people's sight, and the faces of the defenders who were still talking and laughing became depressed again.
With a loud bang.
A huge solid stone bullet hit Constantinople with a terrifying momentum.
Bang --
The stone bullet hit the city wall, but the violent vibration was transmitted to the ground in less than a second. The city wall hit by it was still solid, and there was not even a crack on the bricks.
Mahamu II, standing next to the cannon, glanced coldly at the Hungarian craftsman beside him.
The craftsman named Urban said quickly, "It is the power of magic, Your Majesty. The Greeks buried a magic circle in the city wall. This is the reason why the Theodosian Wall has been in existence since its establishment. But the power of the magic circle of the Theodosian Wall is limited. The Greeks have not produced a legendary spellcaster for hundreds of years, and the craftsmanship of repairing the magic circle has long been lost, so as long as the city wall is bombarded continuously, it will definitely be broken."
The cold voice of Mahamu II came: "Urban, I have given you the highest trust and treated you ten times better than all the imperial craftsmen. Don't let me down."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Urban quickly knelt down on the ground in fear.
After a long time, he stood up with the help of his servants.
Looking at the familiar city wall and the flying four-beta flag, he sighed with a complicated expression. He had served the Greek emperor, and Constantine XI also treated him with courtesy.
Unfortunately, impoverished Rome could not afford the horrific cannon casting expenses, and the salary he received was pitifully small.
But who could blame an emperor whose crown decorations when he ascended the throne were all fake gems, and whose purple robes were all patched?
Sorry, Your Majesty.
He silently drew a cross in his heart, and then resolutely ordered loudly: "Clean the barrel and prepare for the second round of firing!"
The test firing of the Urban cannon was just the beginning.
The Ottomans deployed hundreds of cannons in the artillery positions and began to fire. After the mist dissipated, layers of pungent gunpowder rose again under the city of Constantinople.
Although the magic circle buried in the Theodosius Wall preserved the city wall from being attacked.
But how long can the magic circle, which has not been repaired for a long time, last? It still makes people feel a little panic.
In addition, the outermost wall, which was not counted as one of the three walls, was only 1.5 meters high and was built on the edge of the moat. There was no magic array in the battle wall used to snipe the enemy who filled the moat. It soon collapsed with the enemy's bombardment.
Once the enemy filled the moat, it saved an obstacle to overcome and could directly attack the city wall.
In addition to the artillery, the large-scale trebuchet positions were also frightening.
One after another, the giant trebuchets began to fire flaming projectiles.
But the Ottomans soon discovered that the flaming projectiles quickly lost their temperature after hitting the city wall or in the city. The splashing sparks did not cause any disasters. All the flames seemed to no longer be hot and could not ignite any ignition materials.
But this was just the only good news among countless bad news.
In the enemy camp, the huge siege towers and battering rams visible to the naked eye, and even the actions of digging tunnels and filling the excavated soil into bags to fill the moat, were not concealed at all.
In the past, the barbarians were shocked by the fortifications and stone bridges built by the Roman legions at a rapid speed, but now the situation has been reversed.
The army of Mahamu II, who controls a large territory, inherits most of the Roman heritage, and summons countless craftsmen to serve him, is showing the Christians without concealing that his attack will be from the sea, the sky, the ground, and even the underground.
The artillery roared and the momentum was huge, but the four β flags were still flying high.
The emperor in purple robes, with one hand on his sword, was listening to his ministers reporting the damage to each section of the city wall. As expected, the enemy's attack focus was arranged in the middle section, which was guarded by him personally and was also the weakest wall.
"Are there any movements from the Genoese in Galata?"
"They claim to be threatened and have to cut off the food and grass that they sent to us."
Did they just cut off the support?
Lothar breathed a sigh of relief: "Always pay attention to the movements of the Genoese in Galata. Don't put all your hopes on the spies we bribed. If there is an emergency, we may not be able to react."
It is best for Galata to be neutral. Once Galata falls to his side, he has no confidence to guard Constantinople here and send people to support Galata from being occupied by the Ottomans.
Falling to the enemy is even more terrifying, which means that the Golden Horn is lost, and the enemy's fleet with an overwhelming numerical advantage will easily defeat the Roman fleet that has lost its iron chain defense line, threatening the sea wall defense line of Constantinople.
But it can be expected that the Ottomans will not allow the Genoese in Galata to remain neutral. Once the Ottoman offensive is frustrated and the losses are too serious, Mahamu II will either attack Galata, or it will happen. The famous scene of boating on dry land.
After he finished speaking, he climbed onto the city wall again.
"Your Majesty, the city wall is in danger now!"
Lothar shook his head and said: "I have to tell the soldiers that I am with them. This is my promise to them."
His only hope of reinforcements, the Knights Hospitallers of Rhode Island, received no response.
Perhaps like the Merchant Republic, it fell into disputes.
Some close ministers who heard the news seemed to have expected it. They were not disappointed by it. Instead, they comforted the emperor: "Your Majesty, those Europeans are not trustworthy. Instead of counting on them, it is better to count on the pagans of Karaman. We can send troops to contain it at this time.”
He sighed with emotion in his heart. It is better to ask for help than to ask for help from others. When it comes to running around asking for help, the two brothers John and Constantine have done a good enough job.
As for the Karamanbey country, this country was once the Ottoman's biggest enemy in Asia Minor. It repeatedly stabbed the Ottomans in the back when they attacked the Rumelia region.
The Ottomans hated the Karamanians for stabbing their brothers in the back and thwarting the cause of jihad.
The Karamanians angrily accused the Ottomans of driving pagans to fight and slaughter their brothers. The two sides were already at odds with each other. Even though they had been married to each other, this could not change the relationship between the two sides.
In the final analysis, Asia Minor is still a small country and cannot tolerate two powerful powers.
It's just that Karaman has declined due to the defeat of many previous battles against the Ottomans. The Ottomans have left enough troops to guard the border to guard against Karaman rebellion.
In fact, Karamanbey was in a similar situation to Constantine XI. They were both withered bones in the tombs. They just relied on the two banners of Timur and the Mamluk dynasty to survive.
They are indeed more trustworthy than the Latins.
But it is powerless.