Eagle Flag of Epirus

"The Eagle Flag of Epirus (

"Look, Master Ranieri, the Greeks in Thessaloniki are still not moving at all." Pointing to the quiet harbor, the Venetian sailor said. The sailors could not help being a little confused and uneasy to be able to get close to the city so smoothly.

But Ranieri Dandoro sneered slightly and said: "It seems that the victory of the past few days really dazzled their heads. There is no little defense at all. This seems to save us from trouble, but even What can they do. The sea is no longer the Romans’ sea, but ours.” I laughed at the Epirus and Bulgarians who cooperated with them in my heart, and in Ranieri’s view, dealt with a Cesalo. Nika is completely effortless.

At this time, Ranieri was full of spirits. Although he had to take the blame and resign as a veteran in the preparatory committee, despite being frustrated in the political struggle before, he was not discouraged. In the past year, as a veteran of the governor of Heraklion, he sat on the island of Crete. He not only successfully quelled the riots of the wealthy Greeks, but also wiped out the raging pirates in the area and cultivated a large-scale navy. This time he is determined to win. The capture of Thessaloniki was also to retaliate against Justinian, who had suffered a great deal from him before.

Wait and see, Greek boy. And the mediocre people in Venice who are not grateful!

Ranieri looked at the closer and closer city walls, and there was a wave of waves in his heart. After his father Enrique Dandoro successfully used the Crusade to capture Constantinople, the Senate responded to their family Both respected and guarded, as the son of the consul, Ranieri thought he was qualified to compete for the new consul but repeatedly hit a wall. Now he has completely changed his mind. Since the lagoon of Venice can't accommodate him, he has made a career in the entire Aegean Sea.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this kind of thinking that Ranieri and his fleet made a very low-level mistake. Any experienced commander would never act like this. The first thing to do is to dispatch several Clippers to scout the situation, rather than rushing forward lightly. However, Venice, who scorned the Greeks, didn't think it was necessary to do so. Little did it know that the Turks and Greeks in Thessaloniki were no longer as weak as they were at the beginning.

Seeing the enemy approaching, Arslan leaned down and ordered the soldiers to remain quiet, and waited for the Venetians to enter the range of their bows and arrows.

"Listen to my instructions, no one is allowed to act rashly." The Turkic instructed in a low voice, and under his command, the soldiers waiting to be dispatched were all from the Peloponnese. The losses in the offensive and defensive battles of the first two days were not small, but they still maintained a high morale, swearing to the death to defend the city for their lord Justinian.

...

"Play the horn, so that the guys in the city don't die in their dreams even if they die." The arrogant Venetian ordered his subordinates on the deck, and then on the sea of ​​Thessaloniki, the horns and drums The sound of trembling sounded through the sky, and at the same time the sound of sailing wooden oars hitting the water.

"Offensive, ready to land," Ranieri shouted. At this time, there was a strong wind blowing in the sea, which was blowing from the south. Really help me too! Thinking proudly, the man immediately ordered the soldiers to unfold the sails again, but saw the canvases of dozens of warships opened, like huge sailfish sprinting toward the seawall of Thessaloniki.

The sailors are now ready. The three warships arranged to act as forwards acted swiftly. At the same time, their decks were also full of archers, aiming at the city head, waiting for a command, and threw the arrow rain over to let the defenders in the city have a taste.

The sound is getting closer, but there is still no movement in Thessaloniki. Looking at this scene, the Venetians are not suspicious at all, because the harbor is empty and there are only two or three abandoned merchant ships, and there are no residential buildings inside. It was really a depression, and the Thessaloniki did not organize a defense here at all.

At a close enough distance to the coastal wall, the first three Venetian warships stretched out the ladder to stand on the city wall. The people of Epirus, who had already waited impatiently, rushed forward to the city of Thessaloniki. Launch an offense-they want to be ashamed!

It is a pity that Arslan, who was waiting for them behind the city wall, would not give them this opportunity.

The Turkic man took the lead in arranging bows and arrows. Accompanied by his roar, a group of fluttering birds swooped from the city to the outside: this is a burning rocket, like countless people with long tails in the dark. The meteor shot towards the unsuspecting landing army of Epirus. At any time, the Epirus infantry who stepped on the ladder and climbed into the city were in a mess. They wanted to win the title, so some people did not even carry a shield. This structure is to face the Turkic archers from the city wall. With the countless rockets that came up, they couldn't hide, they couldn't retreat, and they couldn't even resist. The screaming soldier dodged in a hurry, and the lucky ones returned to the Venetian deck, but the hapless man sank to the bottom of the sea, soaked in blood, and the corpse floated above the sea.

At this time, the Thessaloniki garrison ambushing on the head of the city no longer needed any concealment, raising the torch, and the light of the fire illuminated the entire coast, dispelling all the night.

I saw a banner that Ranieri was familiar with flying high on the battlements: Moria's black fox, which was the nickname given to Justinian by the feared Latin. The hatred from the beginning has now become a resounding name that no one knows. The rockets kept firing away, and due to being too close, the Venetian warship in the front was even splashed with kerosene, and the fireworks on the deck suddenly filled the soldiers, panicking the soldiers.

Seeing this, the Venetian sailors hurriedly turned around and stayed away from the attack range of the Thessalonika defenders, worried that the fire would become bigger and did not care about salvaging the fallen soldiers. While ordering people to put out the fire, they let the Epirus and Bulgarians. The organization of people fought back.

"Arrow! Suppress the enemy on the head of the city!"

"Hurry up!"

The commander's commands were intertwined with the howls and screams in the harbor, but the coalition forces that were frustrated in the offensive were still in a mess.

On the side of the ship, the archers who were barely dispatched were noisily on the swaying deck, raising the bow high and aiming at the defenders at the head of Thessaloniki. But the center of gravity is unstable, so these Bulgarian shooters who don't know the water can't maintain the center of gravity at all, let alone aim. Just seeing the arrows flying on the city rain, but only jumping and smashing down the battlements, there is no killing effect at all, it is a waste of bows and arrows.

On the other hand, the Turkic archers, they are also assisted by the Vadarutai people at this moment. Although there are not many people, they can hit the enemy's vital points with their arrows in the face of the live targets in the harbor.

"My Lord Governor, what should I do!"

Unexpectedly, the Venetian was also a little panicked.

But Ranieri Dandoro, who was sitting behind him, didn't have any waves on his face at this time, but instead showed a sneer.

It's just so interesting!

For the Epirus and Bulgarians who were killed and injured during the landing, he didn't care about their lives or lives. He just needed to be a stage to prove himself. Ranieri immediately ordered the remaining ships to move on. , And initiate a login immediately.

"Let the iron-clad warship clear the way at the forefront!"

Ranieri sent his assassin, and the huge Calais sailed out of the fleet. The battleships armed to the teeth broke the balance on the battlefield as soon as they appeared. I saw that the rocket fired from the head of Thessaloniki couldn't help the opponent at all, and this was precisely the magic weapon for the Venetians to land in Galata and capture Constantinople.

"Hmph, even the Greek fire can't help us the slightest, just rely on your little flames now." Ranieri said triumphantly, and Ranieri ordered the subsequent warships to continue to approach Thessaloniki under cover, the low one in front of him. The city wall is completely incomparable with the city defenses in other places. As long as you have the right to dominate the sea, the seawall will be conquered sooner or later.

Ranieri's trick was really useful, and the Venetian warship slanted toward the river bank. The cabin planks were opened, and the Epirus and Bulgarians, who had been waiting for a long time inside, immediately slaughtered to the shore and went straight to the water gate.

There is the gateway to the sea of ​​Thessaloniki. Rather than a city gate, it is a small gate with a drainage outlet. It is very narrow and tends to be submerged at high tide. Because of this, there is almost no defense there. force. The first target chosen by Epirus and the Bulgarian army was there.

But at this time, a defending army in Thessaloniki came out on the initiative. They rushed to the river bank from the narrow water gate, and they were the Vadarutai cavalry. I saw the iron hoof stepping across the shallows, splashing water. The riders smashed into the Epirus and Bulgarian crowds, and the tall horse easily knocked down a large area of ​​an unstable enemy, vowing to drive the opponent back to the ship. But at this critical juncture, on the tall ship, the Venetian archer shot deadly crossbows at the Vadarutai people. In an instant, more than a dozen soldiers and horses of the garrison were shot down. A good cavalry offensive was suddenly blocked. This also gave the Epirus people a chance to breathe. The Varangians from Mikhail's troops hurriedly arrived and used spears and battle axes to defend them. After a short while, the whole scene was full of flesh and blood. Seeing that the resistance was difficult to succeed, the Vadarutai archer who retreated with a bow and arrow repelled the pursuers and retreated from the water gate to the city.

How could this make the Epirus and Bulgarians reconciled. They regrouped and the commanding noble yelled, "Bump open the city gate, Thessaloniki is ours!" The coalition army also shouted.

After landing on the land, Thessaloniki was so close at hand for the first time. After receiving the promises of Emperor Mikhail and Tsar Boril, the zealous warriors approached the sea wall one after another.

Some people climbed directly onto the city wall, but the Turkic bows and arrows above were not displayed. Some tried to circumvent from the side. However, the trap had been dug there long ago. The coalition forces had no choice but to storm the water gate, even though the place was small. The only thing that closed the intersection was an iron gate that didn't look solid.

Desperate to rush in, Epirus soldiers armed with spears pressed on, and waiting for them were the Macedonian militias waiting in line. Most of these newly recruited soldiers were poor peasants. They lost their homes due to the war and were taken in by the Queen of Odosia. Therefore, they belonged to a fanatical and loyal force in the city. Although the combat effectiveness in the field is unreliable, the peasants who took up arms in the narrow area of ​​Watergate resisted the enemy who had dispersed in front of the city gate and were evenly matched for a while. The peasants picked up their spears and pointed them at the crowd of enemies. At the same time, the Epirus also stretched out their hands and grabbed the barrels of their guns to take them back, but they screamed and screamed, followed by a foul smell. Soldiers who had worked as blacksmiths realized that their weapons were burned in the fire.

The two sides fought each other separately. There was only a thin iron gate between them. Soon the number of deaths and injuries increased rapidly. The entire corridor of the Watergate was stained red with blood, but who are the fanatical soldiers of each other? Not willing to take a step back.

Arslan, who commanded the battle directly above, was still leading the soldiers to hold on~www.ltnovel.com~ The stone bullets fired by the ballista on the Venetian ship were a little breathless, and the broken stone fragments scattered all over the place. , Scratched the face of the Turkic man, dripping with blood. But Arslan was too late to wipe it. He stared at the enemies that were constantly pouring into the water gate below, and he remained motionless despite the arrow rain flying stones passing by his side. He was waiting for a suitable opportunity.

When another warship of the Venetians was seen docking at the pier, a large number of Bulgarian and Epirus coalition forces joined the battlefield. Realizing that the time had come, Arslan ordered the engineers who had been standing by behind the wall.

"It's time for you to play! Don't let the Queen Odosia down." Turning his head to look at them, he turned the key to victory on the battlefield to them.

"Yes!"

A team of engineers who had already been gearing up for a long time launched the trebuchet that they had already debugged as soon as they got the order. Although their trebuchet was far inferior to Emperor Mikhail’s giant counterweight trebuchet outside in power and range, but Now the enemy troops outside are close enough to them. This is a scene that has been rehearsed many times in advance, and every action has been carved into the minds of these soldiers.

"emission!"

With an order, the trebuchets in the city dropped deadly ammunition on the enemies outside the city, neither barrels burning with asphalt nor heavy boulders. When a few fiery red fireworks crossed the night, the Venetians fought fiercely. , Bulgarians, and Epirus were not even aware of it.

But when the kerosene tanks that were thrown out landed on the predetermined positions--the merchant ships filled with combustibles, the fiery waves of fire swallowed everything around in an instant, bringing this piece of sea to the sea. The darkness shines as dazzling as day.