It's snowing heavily and the wind is freezing.
Under the command of Zhao Ziliang, the Western Qin army advanced to the gates of Constantinople despite the cold wind and heavy snow.
Before the army arrived, the vanguard of five thousand cavalry, the pontoon battalion and the siege battalion had already arrived at the Bosporus, and hundreds of large trebuchets were set up on the east coast of the strait to attack the people passing through the strait.
The Eastern Roman Empire naval ships carried out long-range attacks.
A large number of stone bullets fell from the sky and damaged many ships.
The kerosene bombs caused damage to the sea surface of the strait.
A sea of fire was ignited that lasted for more than ten miles.
The Marmara Navy Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet, which were ordered to block the Bosporus, suffered heavy casualties, with countless losses of ships and personnel.
The Eastern Roman Empire Navy suffered heavy losses.
In addition, The Western Qin Mediterranean Fleet was restrained, and the Marmara Naval Fleet and Black Sea Fleet of the Eastern Roman Empire stayed far away.
After this battle, the remaining Marmara naval fleet and Black Sea fleet of the Eastern Roman Empire no longer dared to approach the Bosporus Strait.
This allowed the Zhouqiao Battalion of the Western Qin Army to calmly build a pontoon bridge on the strait.
After Zhao Ziliang arrived with his army, The Western Qin naval fleet also rushed to the waters near Constantinople.
The naval fleets of both sides were in the Sea of Marmara.
Several battles took place.
The secret weapon of the Eastern Roman Empire's naval fleet, Greek fire, was no longer a secret in front of the Western Qin naval fleet.
After the Western Qin navy was completely contained, Zhao Ziliang's army quickly surrounded the entire Constantinople.
The entire sea around Constantinople was filled with ships of the Western Qin naval fleet.
All merchant ships in the docks of the Eastern Roman Empire in the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus and the Golden Horn were impounded.
All supplies were confiscated, other supplies were also seized, and foreign merchant ships were trapped in various ports due to the war and were unable to leave.
Zhao Ziliang was wearing an armor with fur and riding on a war horse on the east bank of the Bosporus, observing Constantinople on the west bank.
At this time, Liu Dan walked over quickly and saluted: "Your Majesty, the Eastern Roman Empire sent People say that Her Majesty Queen Irina wants to meet you."
Zhao Ziliang said calmly: "What is their purpose?"
"The Eastern Roman Empire wants to negotiate with us, and its main purpose is of course to get us to withdraw our troops," Liu Dan said, bending over and arching his hands.
Zhao Ziliang thought for a while and then asked the ministers and generals behind him: "What are your opinions?"
Everyone was silent for a moment, and Dugu Wensu handed over to Zhao Ziliang and said: "Your Majesty, our expedition was in haste and we did not make sufficient preparations.
We had no time to raise food, grass, ordnance, especially winter clothes and other cold-proof supplies.
According to my knowledge, many soldiers in the army have varying degrees of frostbite.
Although no cases of freezing to death have been found yet, it has not yet entered the deep winter, and the combat effectiveness of the soldiers has been reduced to varying degrees. decline, I do not recommend launching a full-scale war against the Eastern Roman Empire now.
Although we now have the ability to destroy the Eastern Roman Empire, the people of the Eastern Roman Empire still have a strong sense of belonging to the Isaurian dynasty.
We will occupy it now.
Arousing strong resistance among the people, I believe that only by making the people completely disappointed with this dynasty, we will not encounter fierce resistance when we occupy it again, which will be beneficial to our rule of this area."
Liu Dan cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the current situation is favorable to us.
In my opinion, it is not difficult to capture Constantinople now.
As long as Constantinople is captured, the remaining Thracian and Greek regions will be conquered."
You can slowly capture the Eastern Roman Empire.
Although it develops slowly, its resilience is very strong.
As long as you give it three to five years, it can regain its former national strength.
We cannot give it this opportunity."
Zhao Ziliang thought and weighed the words of Dugu Wensu and Liu Dan.
Both of them made sense, but they were also a bit one-sided.
He knew very well that once he fought the Eastern Roman Empire to the end, it would definitely arouse the resistance of the entire Christian world.
They would most likely unite to fight against the Western Qin in the shortest possible time.
The Holy See was very good at contacting the entire ideological community.
The Western countries jointly dealt with the pagan forces.
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The Western countries jointly dealt with the Huns Empire in those days was actually the result of the efforts of the Holy See.
Moreover, the Holy See controlled the direction of public opinion in the Western world, which Zhao Ziliang was very taboo about.
Therefore, Zhao Ziliang knew that he either did not take action, or once he took action, he would attack the Western world with such force that the Western world would never be able to recover, and spread Han culture throughout the West through force.
"Liu Dan, go tell the people sent by Constantinople that Gu has agreed, and ask him to go back and tell Queen Irina that Gu will be waiting for her to meet at Galata in three days."
Liu Dan immediately raised his hand and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Three days later, Zhao Ziliang prepared some wine in Galata, which was located in the original Qin's trading house.
At this time, the trading house was extremely heavily guarded, with a post every three steps and a sentry every five steps.
Western Qin people could be seen everywhere in Galata.
There were soldiers and horses, and the flag of the Western Qin State was planted on every building.
In the yard of Qin's Trading Company, there is a long wooden table.
On the long wooden table are several stacks of side dishes, a pot of wine, two wine glasses, and two pairs of bamboo chopsticks.
Zhao Ziliang is kneeling on one side of the long wooden table, facing the closed door.
Eyes nourishing.
As the sound of horse hooves came over, a eunuch quickly walked over and reported to Zhao Ziliang: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty Queen Irina has arrived."
Zhao Ziliang pondered for a moment, got up and walked out.
Arriving outside the door, Irina was being helped out of the carriage by a black eunuch.
The two finally met again after several years, and they were relatively speechless.
Finally, Zhao Ziliang broke the silence and said: "I have prepared some wine.
Your Majesty, let's go in and drink and talk.
Please" Irina was silent for a moment and responded to Zhao Ziliang with an Eastern dialect: "It is better to obey orders than to be respectful."
The two walked into the business side by side and sat across from each other on the long table in the courtyard.
Zhao Ziliang picked up the wine bottle and filled the two wine cups with wine.
He put down the wine bottle and said: "Your Majesty the Queen has come from afar, please drink this."
Let’s drink a cup to relieve our fatigue.”
"You should be the one who came from afar."
A hint of sarcasm appeared on Elena's face, and then her face turned cold: "I believe that you must have acted hastily in sending troops this time.
You are not prepared enough to swallow my entire empire in one go. , even if I can barely swallow it, I'm afraid I will die of abdominal distension in the end.
How can I retreat and tell me your conditions?"
Zhao Ziliang picked up the wine glass and drank it in one gulp, then put down the wine glass and said: "Okay, today we won't talk about romance, only interests.
Let's take the Bosporus as the boundary.
The east of the strait belongs to us, Western Qin, and the west of the strait still belongs to you.
The Roman Empire ruled, this condition is not too much."
Irina laughed angrily: "I have never seen a bandit speak so confidently in such a conversation.
It is absolutely impossible for me to agree to such conditions.
At worst, we will be defeated.
Even if our Isaurian dynasty is destroyed, we will have to Let you, Xi Qin, get stuck in this quagmire and be unable to extricate yourself."
Zhao Ziliang looked at Irina in silence for half a minute, and then said: "I don't need the Asia Minor Peninsula, but all the islands in the Mediterranean must belong to me, Western Qin."
After hearing this condition, Irina immediately realized that if all the islands in the Mediterranean were ceded to Western Qin, then from now on, the fleet of the Eastern Roman Empire would be completely useless and could only be trapped in the Aegean Sea and Malma La Hai, Adriatic Sea and Black Sea, she flatly refused: "impossible" Zhao Ziliang picked up the jug again and poured himself a glass of wine, and said: "It seems that Her Majesty the Queen has no sincerity in coming to the peace talks this time.
If she does not give some benefits, it is absolutely impossible for our hundreds of thousands of elite troops in Western Qin to For those who evacuate, let’s talk with swords and guns.”
"Goodbye, huh" Irina stood up and left angrily.
Zhao Ziliang watched Irina's retreating back until her figure disappeared at the gate, and shouted to the side: "Come here, convey Gu's decree.
The whole army will rest for three days.
Three days later, at Mao hour, fire will be made to make food, and Chen hour will begin to attack the city. " "Yes, Your Majesty" Dugu Wensu stood up and raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, are you really going to attack the city?
Once it starts, there will be no room for negotiation between the two sides.
The only options are the surrender of the Eastern Roman Empire or the unconditional withdrawal of our troops."
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Zhao Ziliang narrowed his eyes and said with a murderous look on his face: "Convey Gu's will to the logistics.
No matter what method they use, even if they kill all the people in Asia Minor, they must raise enough winter clothes and food for Gu, and capture all the captured people."
All ordnance, equipment, supplies, bows, crossbows, arrows, etc. were all transported to supplement the army.
In order to solve the problem of unsustainable logistics, Gu allowed them to break through all bottom lines.
Since Irina wanted to fight to the end, she would make the Eastern Roman Empire pay a heavy price.
Even if we had to withdraw our troops, we would have to take Asia Minor.
The peninsula was plundered into nothingness, and Constantinople was reduced to ruins.”
Everyone present could not help but feel a chill in their hearts.
They had never heard Zhao Ziliang give such an order since they started following him.
Only now did they finally understand what it meant for the king to lay down millions of corpses in anger.
The big move of the Western Qin Army was quickly sent to Irina through a detailed report.
At the same time, the military feudal lords in Constantinople City also began to attack Irina after these days of secret communication.
They secretly instigated , secretly ordered the soldiers to slacken the defense of the city, so that the soldiers on the city wall did not have the determination to defend the city to death.
The dual huge internal and external pressure put Irina in a dilemma.
The analysis of close ministers made Irina realize that if the Western Qin army was allowed to attack the city, given the current military morale and defense situation of Constantinople, I was afraid that she would be in trouble.
It could not withstand the repeated attacks of hundreds of thousands of troops from the Western Qin Dynasty.
The afternoon before Zhao Ziliang issued the order to attack the city, Liu Dan came again to report: "Your Majesty, Queen Irina sent someone to negotiate and said that she agreed to the conditions proposed by your Majesty last time, but it did not include the Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea, If Your Majesty has no objections to the islands in the Sea of Marmara and other waters, she will immediately send heavyweight ministers to discuss with us the details of the negotiation terms after receiving the reply."
Zhao Ziliang pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "Okay, you can tell the person who came here that I have agreed, and let Irina send someone to discuss the specific details within three days.
The treaty must be signed within five days, and within a month The transfer of sovereignty of all the islands in the Mediterranean is completed within a certain period of time.
Unless the transfer of sovereignty of all islands is completed, I will not withdraw my troops."
"Yes, Your Majesty" Liu Dan agreed and turned around with a roar
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