I watched Er Chuang’s short video, and everything went numb!

[The Byzantine Empire once again asked the West for help, but the Holy Roman Empire only verbally condemned the Ottoman Empire. ]

[The Pope wanted to help, but no one listened to him. He could only pay for a few ships of supplies out of his own pocket. Apart from that, there was no other assistance. ]

[They thought that Constantinople had been besieged dozens of times and it was fine, so this time would not be a big problem. ]

[In August 1452, the Ottoman Empire built a new fortress, but no one took it seriously. ]

[A Venetian merchant ship did not want to pay the toll and ignored the warnings of the fortress garrison and tried to break through. ]

[Suddenly, a stone-throwing cannon fired a huge cannonball, smashing one of the ships to pieces. ]

[From then on, the Ottoman Empire declared its control of this trade route to the world. ]

……

Accompanied by narration and subtitles.

A video clip of this incident was inserted into the sky giant screen.

The Ming Chengzu plane.

Zhu Di looked at the cannon in the image and his eyes lit up.

This cannon looks interesting.

……

[And the designer of that cannon was none other than Urban, the most outstanding weapon master of that era. ]

[Because Byzantium owed him wages, he switched jobs to the Ottoman Empire. ]

[The Ottoman Empire did its best to help him successfully develop a new type of cannon. His masterpiece will completely rewrite the rules of siege warfare. 】

Barrage flew out:

"Urban Cannon, right?"

"Reply - Yes, it is known as the most powerful siege weapon in the Middle Ages, and each shell weighs 680 kilograms."

"Reply - Hey, it's just like that, it's too easy to explode, Urban himself died in an explosion."

"Reply - It is more practical to load gunpowder and shells directly from the rear of the cannon, and the Portuguese cannon that can fire continuously is more practical. (Picture: Photo of Portuguese cannon)"

"Reply - On the battlefield, the Portuguese cannon is definitely more useful, with a fast firing rate, fast heat dissipation, and not easy to explode."

"..."

The plane of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Di said to Zhu Zhanji in a deep voice:

"Zhanji, write down the picture of the Portuguese cannon and the information as well."

"Let the craftsmen develop it later."

In the mouths of later generations, this Portuguese cannon has so many advantages, so he naturally wants to find a way to make it in Ming Dynasty.

This is not the magical weapon of later generations. It is entirely possible to make it successfully under the conditions of Ming Dynasty.

……

[The rich people in the city fled by boat, but there are still two ships coming in the opposite direction. ]

[A Genoese officer named Giovanni volunteered to join the war with 700 fully armed mercenaries. This person will play the most critical role in the defense of the city. ]

[But except for this team of Genoese and a team of Spaniards, there are no other European reinforcements. ]

[On the other hand, the Ottoman Empire's war machine was fully operational, with soldiers, craftsmen, slaves, weapons, gunpowder, ships, food, and minerals pouring into the front line. ]

[The Sultan finally assembled an army of 200,000, while the garrison of Constantinople was only 8,000. ]

……

Hearing this comparison of forces, many common people in all dynasties were shocked. This was too much of a disparity.

But many famous generals who were proficient in military affairs in all dynasties were very calm.

Because they knew very well that in a siege, the attackers must have several times more troops than the defenders.

However.

Generally speaking, this ratio is about 10 to 1.

And the Ottoman Empire's troops this time were more than 20 times the garrison's.

It seems that they are really determined to win.

……

[Constantinople is easy to defend but difficult to attack because it has walls on three sides. The current on one side of the Sea of ​​Marmara is very fast, so it is impossible to stop ships and land here, so there is no need to send people to guard it. ]

[The Golden Horn in the north is a natural harbor, and across the Golden Horn is the colony of Genoa: Galata City. ]

[At the entrance of the Golden Horn, there is a huge iron chain connecting the walls on both sides, and only a small number of navies are needed to guard the entrance. ]

[Finally, there is the most famous Theodosius Wall on the west, which is also known as the most difficult military fortification in the history of human cold weapons. ]

[The wall has five lines of defense, from the outside to the inside: an external protective wall, a moat, an inner wall behind the moat, a steep slope protective wall, an outer city wall, an outer city platform, and an inner city platform. 】

[The outer wall is about 8 meters high, and the inner wall is about 12 to 20 meters high. 】

[The total number of military towers on the outer and inner walls is as high as 96, and there are about 300 corner towers and various fortresses. The numerous fortifications form a multi-level gradient and high-firepower coverage projectile weapon attack belt. 】

[At the same time, the more than 20-meter-wide moat outside the city wall forced the enemy to be exposed to the firepower of the defenders. 】

[Almost all the Byzantine defenders were arranged at the Theodosian Wall. 】

……

Accompanied by narration subtitles.

A huge and clear military map appeared on the high-altitude giant screen, which clearly marked the geographical location and various defense facilities of Constantinople.

Many famous generals who were proficient in military affairs in all dynasties were shocked when they saw it:

"This is really a natural military fortress!"

From a geographical point of view, Constantinople is already a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

And in the west, where the only natural barrier is insufficient, the Byzantine Empire built such a terrifying Theodosian Wall.

This Constantinople can really be said to be impregnable.

This defense capability is really too strong.

No wonder it was attacked dozens of times in thousands of years before it fell twice.

……

The plane of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin looked at the map on the giant screen in the sky, pondered, and asked Li Jing and other Tang generals:

"My dear nobles, how do you think we should attack this city?"

"First, take down Galata City, and then open the big iron chain of the Golden Horn from the inside to let the navy in."

"I have the same idea. We can't attack the Theodosian Wall unless it is absolutely necessary."

"It would be great if we had those magical weapons of later generations, and we could blow it up directly with cannons."

"The Ottomans have cannons, I wonder if they can blow it up?"

"..."

Li Jing and others spoke out one after another.

They were unwilling to attack the Theodosian Wall.

With the terrifying defensive ability of that wall, even if it could be taken down, it was unknown how many people would die.

Li Shimin nodded slightly.

His point of view is similar. If it was in the era of cold weapons, the only way to start was from the direction of the Golden Horn.

……

[On April 6, 1453, a fierce siege began. ]

[69 Urban cannons were arranged along the city wall. This was the first large-scale concentrated bombardment in the world. ]

[The city wall collapsed, and the flying debris flew around the city. The city was full of fear. ]

[But the cannon could only be loaded seven times a day, and its design surpassed the metallurgical technology of that era, and it often exploded. ]

[Giovanni was indeed a genius general. He took advantage of the gap in the cannon loading and led the soldiers to fill the gap in the city wall with everything they could get. ]

[The two sides were deadlocked. The Sultan set his sights on the Golden Horn, but the 140 Ottoman warships never broke through the chain. 】

【This 21-year-old young man had a great idea. He used rollers and grease to pave a channel on the hillside north of Galata City. He mobilized huge manpower and animal power and dragged 70 warships into the Golden Horn overnight, threatening the northern wall. The defenders were forced to divide their troops for defense. 】

……

"Is this possible?"

Many ancient people in all dynasties were shocked.

The idea of ​​dragging warships in from land is indeed unexpected.

However.

The human and material resources required for this method must be an unimaginable astronomical figure.

……

【Giovanni led the exhausted defenders to resist tenaciously. In more than 50 days, they blocked the attack of 5,000 artillery shells, repelled three large-scale attacks and more than a dozen raids, and killed tens of thousands of enemy troops. 】

【Only 4,000 defenders were left, but no rescue had come. The morale of the Ottomans was on the verge of collapse, and both sides had reached their limit. 】

【The defenders did not know that they were very close to victory. The citizens kept crying and praying, hoping for a miracle. 】

【In the Ottoman camp on the other side, the war faction and the peace faction were arguing fiercely. 】

【In fact, the little sultan's rule was not stable. If he failed, he would face a crisis of rule. If he succeeded, he would gain]

[Finally, he made up his mind to launch the last attack. ]

[On May 27, the Ottoman Empire gathered all the artillery and launched the most violent bombardment in the entire battle, which made a huge gap in the city wall for a whole day. ]

… (To read the exciting novels, go to Faloo Novel Network!)

"In the end, it still depends on artillery!"

Many famous generals from all dynasties sighed in their hearts.

This Constantinople is indeed the ultimate in defense.

However.

Even such a solid city can still be blown open by artillery. []

It can be seen that the significance of the weapons revolution.

…

The plane of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Di was more determined to vigorously develop firearms and continuously improve the weapons and equipment of the Ming Dynasty.

As long as the weapons are strong enough, there is no wall that cannot be broken.

……

[After a whole day of preparation, in the early morning of May 29, the Ottomans launched a general attack from the gap. ]

[After a full four hours, the defenders were exhausted, but they still annihilated all the enemy troops that entered the city despite huge casualties. ]

[The angry Sultan threw the last fresh force into the battlefield: 5,000 elite guards. ]

[But after another hour of fighting, the guards not only failed to move forward, but even began to retreat. The defenders seized the opportunity to counterattack. ]

[However, two sudden and strange events reversed the situation. ]

[In the north, the defenders inexplicably forgot to close the gate, and dozens of Ottoman soldiers sneaked into the city and planted the Ottoman flag on the tower. People mistakenly thought that the city had been lost. 】

……

“This…”

Many ancient people in the past dynasties did not know how to evaluate it.

The Byzantine Empire was doomed to fail because it made such a mistake inexplicably at a critical moment.

Of course.

Some ancient people also felt that under heavy pressure, there would be mistakes, and such mistakes might happen sooner or later.

……

[In the south, Giovanni was injured again, and then seemed to have lost his fighting spirit. Although the Byzantine emperor tried his best to keep him, he still insisted on evacuating, and the mercenaries also withdrew, and the defenders completely collapsed. 】

……

The plane of Taizu of the Great Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that, judging from Giovanni’s previous performance, he should be a person of strong character and would not give up easily.

So this person must have known that it was impossible to do anything and the fall of Constantinople was a foregone conclusion, so he decided to evacuate.

……

[The Ottomans rushed into the city frantically, and the exhausted emperor took off his robe, rushed to the enemy and fell to the ground and died. ]

[The Ottomans cleared the garrison while slaughtering. ]

[Women and children became spoils of war, Constantinople became a hell on earth, and the impoverished city was looted again. ]

[Nowhere to ventSoldiers, disobeying the Sultan's orders, began to destroy buildings. 】

[The Sultan immediately ordered to stop looting, avoiding greater destruction. 】

[The Byzantine Empire, which lasted for a thousand years, perished. 】

The barrage flew out:

"It is not easy to survive for so long."

"Reply-Yes, there are not many empires that lasted for a thousand years in the history of the world."

"Reply-However, this so-called thousand-year empire is actually diluted. It is different from what we understand. The so-called Byzantine Empire is not a dynasty, but a total of kings."

"Reply-Good guy, if we count it this way, shouldn't we Chinese count the entire imperial era? That is an empire of more than 2,000 years, hehe."

"Reply-No problem, it is uniformly called the Chinese Empire, haha."

"..."

Many ancient people from all dynasties were stunned.

The Byzantine Thousand-Year Empire, it turns out that this is how it was called.

Isn't this nonsense?

According to the Chinese standard, the thousand years of the Byzantine Empire is not the time that a country existed, but the time that twelve countries existed together.

For example, the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty were not considered to be one country, but were counted separately.

…

The Great Qin Plane.

Qin Shihuang shook his head.

He felt that these Western empires were a bit unworthy of their names.

The Holy Roman Empire, which claimed to have a national history of more than 800 years, was actually a unified country in the form of vassal states coexisting.

And this Byzantine Empire was even more outrageous, it actually counted 12 dynasties as one country and created a thousand-year empire.

…

[The Ottomans called themselves the Third Rome and continued to attack the West until they were defeated in Vienna, and Europe, which had been trembling for more than 200 years, finally settled down. 】

【Looking back at the thousand-year history of Byzantium, it was once extremely glorious, but it also fostered arrogance and conceit. 】

【Blindly rejecting advanced technology and ideas, clinging to rigid dogmas, the glorious history became a burden and shackle that could not be put down, and was eventually eliminated by social progress and technological development. 】

【ZJ contradictions, endless civil wars, and stupid diplomacy are only secondary, and the collapse of the military district system is the root cause of decline. 】

……

The plane of Taizu of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not agree with the view of this last sentence.

In his view, the military district system itself has huge problems.

Even this system is an important reason for the decline of the Byzantine Empire.

……

【Civilization is not civilized, and the dark Middle Ages are not all dark. 】

【And in the embers of death, the ancient spirit and the fire of the future ignited the light of the new era. 】

[The merchants who lost their vital routes rushed out of the Mediterranean, opened up new routes in the turbulent ocean, and opened the era of geographical discoveries.. ]

[Those Byzantine scholars who fled to Europe brought the essence of Greek civilization to the Renaissance. ]

[Europe began the process of nationalization and lost interest in ZJ. ]

[In 1453, it was at the peak of a revolution. ]

[In the following decades, gunpowder, sailing ships, pocket watches, astrolabes, navigation manuals, ZJ reforms, Copernicus, Leonardo da Vinci, Columbus, colonialism, monetary revolutions, etc., will completely change the rules of the future. ]

[The aftermath of the earthquake in 1453 still deeply affects the world today. 】

The barrage flew out:

"To put it simply, after the YSL country Ottoman controlled Constantinople, the JDJ country in Europe was forced to carry out maritime power reforms."

"Reply-Yes, JDJ lost this bridgehead. In order to make money, Europeans could only be forced to develop ocean voyages and conduct ocean trade. Ocean voyages became the political correctness of the courts of European countries."

"Reply-Then the Age of Exploration began, and the Age of Maritime Power arrived."

"..."

With these barrage discussions, many ancient people from all dynasties roughly understood the meaning of the last paragraph of the video.

"A blessing in disguise?"

This thought emerged in the minds of many ancient people.

...

In the sky-high giant screen.

The video refreshed.

A new video appeared.

[Which province in China is the best at fighting? A big competition of the comprehensive combat effectiveness of soldiers from various provinces in China! 】

……

A simple line of big characters directly aroused the interest of many ancient people from all dynasties.

Which province in China has the best fighters?

The ancients of course thought it was their own province.

However, this is just their own opinion.

Is it really the case?

The ancients stared at the giant screen in the sky with expectation. .