Ch.205The Fall of Constantinople (1)

# Munglig watched Jelme racing madly through Constantinople.

He clapped his hands in admiration as he watched them destroying the Byzantine Empire’s flags.

“It seems Temujin is using quite an interesting strategy, brother.”

I nodded at Munglig’s words.

Then I continued confirming kills by stabbing the bodies of dead Byzantine soldiers with my spear.

“Instead of talking, focus on confirming kills properly. We need to completely secure the walls to capture this city.”

Constantinople was an enormously large city.

It wasn’t like Black Water of Western Xia or Juyong Pass of the Jin Dynasty that would fall immediately after capturing a single wall.

The main reason Constantinople had remained unconquered for so long wasn’t just its defensive facilities, but the soldiers who had the will to defend it.

As a commander who needed to predict the course of war based on strategy, tactics, numbers, and soldier count, I knew I shouldn’t say this.

But knowing actual history, I believed one of the biggest reasons Constantinople hadn’t fallen even when it was on the verge of collapse was precisely this kind of resistance.

Many people generally believed that siege warfare was determined by how many siege weapons were deployed.

I was one of those people, but after studying Eastern and Western strategy books superficially, I found that the influence of siege engines wasn’t that significant until modern times.

The most important factor was will.

In other words, the hope that the city could still be defended was paramount.

From a conqueror’s perspective, breaking this hope was most important.

We needed to pressure the enemy by creating the impression that we had almost completely conquered them.

Psychological warfare had a greater effect in war than one might think.

That’s why I deliberately put on this performance of personally appearing on the walls to instill fear in the enemy, even though it was risky.

It was dangerous for my life, but there was no reason not to do it if it could end the war quickly.

Because my successor was already well-established.

So even if I died, the ulus wouldn’t be shaken.

Of course, this might sound arrogant, but anyone who saw Temujin would naturally think this way.

He was the true lord of the four seas chosen by history.

Just as Munglig mentioned, seeing him even deploy psychological warfare reminded me of the saying that a promising tree shows its potential from its first sprout.

“Anyway, your nagging hasn’t changed even as you’ve aged, brother.”

I couldn’t help but smile at Munglig’s words.

Having rushed here like mad after the unification of Mongolia, I kept forgetting that I was aging.

In modern terms, one might ask if this was considered living long.

But considering the short average lifespan of this era, someone like me could pass for an old man in this age.

“You’re aging too, aren’t you? Don’t act so smug, Munglig. Before complaining, shouldn’t you have children first?”

“Children… Honestly, looking at you lately makes me think I should have had children sooner.”

Munglig said this while stabbing the heart of a dead Byzantine soldier with his spear.

The fact that there was no movement despite the heart being pierced indicated the soldier was already dead.

“Lately, I’ve been contemplating life and death.”

“You’ve grown old.”

“Hahaha! I’m still younger than you, brother.”

“Then why are you saying such things?”

Munglig silently turned his head to look west.

Then he murmured softly.

“Even when I was unifying the steppes with you in the ulus, I found it hard to believe when you said you would conquer the world.”

“Did you doubt my abilities?”

To this, Munglig shook his head.

And slowly replied.

“No. It was just the meaningless worry of a young me who didn’t even know where the end of the world was.”

“…”

“But now that we’ve reached the western edge, I feel like the end of the world is in sight.”

I chuckled at Munglig’s words.

And I spoke to Munglig who was pretending to be old.

“This is not the end of the world, Munglig. And the world is wider than you think.”

“Really?”

“Yes. There are still many parts of the world we haven’t visited. I will conquer them all.”

“That’s just like you, brother.”

At my words, vitality returned to Munglig’s face.

Apparently, he thought that when our expedition, the wolf’s hunt, stopped, he would stop too.

And this during such a bloody war.

This seemed to be an important issue for him.

“The hunting season of the ulus never ends. So run with me for life, my friend.”

Munglig nodded at my words.

And like a true Mongol, he sang.

“The steppe, the sky, the Milky Way, they flow in my heart. I who know no way to stop will just keep running. By your side, brother.”

Munglig said this and extended his hand to me.

I grabbed his hand and nodded.

“The war is just beginning. Don’t be complacent and stay close to this brother.”

To this, Munglig silently nodded.

* * *

The cavalry ordered by Temujin galloped through Constantinople.

With each charge, the elaborate flags adorning the walls were destroyed.

The soldiers of Constantinople fell into terror upon seeing this.

“Ghosts! Ghosts are circling this city.”

“What nonsense are you talking about ghosts? This is the work of enemy cavalry.”

“Enemy cavalry? That means the enemy cavalry crossed the sea to get here!”

“Cavalry crossing the sea is impossible. Unless it’s God’s will…!”

Whether ghosts or cavalry, that wasn’t what mattered.

What mattered was that cavalry too fast for their eyes to follow were destroying the flags on the walls.

It was just flags being destroyed, but the pressure they felt was no joke.

This was because they couldn’t determine the enemy’s numbers.

The biggest factor contributing to this was that a rebellion was currently underway within Constantinople.

As a result, Byzantine soldiers had no choice but to face the pressure of confronting an imaginary enemy like ghosts, whose identity and scale they didn’t know.

“I… I’d rather surrender.”

“Th-that’s right. If they’re Mongol troops and not ghosts, it means they’re following Emperor Alexios II. Then we wouldn’t be traitors.”

“Emperor Alexios must have returned by divine power to punish the false emperor. This is God’s will!”

Division began to arise among the soldiers.

Normally, if such division occurred internally, commanders would step in to resolve it.

But Stefanos, who was loyal only to the emperor who guaranteed his safety and the power that was the foundation of that safety, couldn’t stop the Byzantine soldiers who wanted to surrender.

More precisely, he lacked the ability to stop them.

This was because he wasn’t from a military background.

As someone who had risen to power riding on the emperor’s favor, there was no one in this city who sincerely followed his command.

“The dukes of Western Anatolia have surrendered too.”

“Right. Why should we sacrifice our precious lives?”

As soldiers gradually began to surrender, civilians who noticed this started persuading them.

“Stand with the people.”

“That’s right. Don’t sacrifice your precious lives for a fake emperor.”

With civilians also persuading them, most soldiers eventually deserted.

Because of this, the defense inside Constantinople inevitably collapsed rapidly.

Seeing this, Stefanos instinctively felt things weren’t going well.

It was thanks to this innate sense that he had been successful. So he immediately sensed that now was the time to flee.

He turned his head to look at his adjutant.

And pretending to bestow mercy, he addressed the adjutant.

“I appoint you as temporary commander.”

“M-me, sir?”

“Yes. I will lead some soldiers to attend to His Majesty the Emperor. Then we will escape the city and join the reinforcements coming to save Constantinople.”

Stefanos’s message was simple.

I’m going to flee with the emperor. You all stay here and hold out until you die.

Saying this outright left the adjutant dumbfounded.

Seeing this, Stefanos became angry.

“Why don’t you answer?!”

“What you just said sounded like you’re transferring the commander-in-chief position to me and running away.”

“Running away! This is for His Majesty the Emperor, and this country…”

“So you are running away, aren’t you?”

The adjutant’s eyes grew cold.

Any remaining sense of duty as a soldier in his heart had disappeared.

This was because Stefanos wasn’t a soldier.

He was just a sycophant. An incompetent sycophant who only knew how to flatter.

There was no reason to be loyal to such a sycophant.

So he drew his sword and pointed it at Stefanos’s neck.

“Wh-what are you doing! I-I am the Mega… who leads the entire army by the august command of His Majesty the Emperor…”

“You just transferred the commander-in-chief position to me, Stefanos.”

“N-no… th-that…”

“That means all forces must follow my orders.”

The adjutant said this while slightly pricking Stefanos’s neck with the sharp tip of his sword.

A small scratch formed on Stefanos’s neck, and blood began to bead from it.

“Uh… ugh…”

Seeing blood, Stefanos wet himself.

Seeing this, the adjutant snorted in disbelief.

“To think the man commanding us was such a bed-wetter. God! Why do you send us such trials!”

“P-please put away the s-sword. Th-then I’ll q-quietly disappear.”

Stefanos instinctively sensed his life was in danger.

So he let go of everything and begged for his life.

Seeing this, the adjutant looked at him impassively.

Then with his rough hand, he grabbed Stefanos by the nape of his neck.

“Ugh… aaaaargh!”

And kicked him in the buttocks.

Around Stefanos, who had fallen pathetically onto the street, stood citizens filled with anger.

“It’s Stefanos…!”

“The tyrant’s henchman!”

“Let’s tear him apart!”

“W-wait… w-wait! If y-you spare me, I’ll g-give you gold and treasures!… S-so… aaaack!”

He was trampled to death by the angry citizens.

Once the second-in-command of the Byzantine Empire, he could only meet his death as a mere piece of meat.