Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks

Chapter 712 18: Dragon Taming Secret Art

Don't be fooled by the seemingly harmonious relations between the Ottoman Empire and the Genoese; everyone knows the Ottoman Empire is powerful, far beyond the weakened Roman Empire, and the benefits that can be extracted from such a behemoth are inevitably far less than from the latter.

"I understand."

Losa chuckled, "Regarding military strength, General Giovanni, you need not worry. His Holiness the Pope has promised that as long as we hold out for a while, reinforcements from Europe will continuously arrive in Constantinople."

Giovanni inwardly smiled bitterly. If he didn't know the inside story, he would probably be fooled by Losa's display of confidence.

"General Giovanni has traveled a long way and must be exhausted. I will instruct the palace servants to prepare quarters, a banquet, and fine wine for you and your men, welcoming your timely support in times of crisis, much like delivering firewood in the midst of a snowstorm."

Giovanni nodded and then withdrew.

Watching Giovanni leave, Losa sighed lightly.

He had discreetly probed Giovanni's identity just now, sensing a familiar wild power within him, indicating he was likely of the Half-Blood Wolf Race.

Losa held no prejudice against dark creatures, but such support indicated the reinforcements were not official and likely came from internal Genoese factions, not sanctioned by Church influence.

If the reinforcements were legitimate Crusader Soldiers sent by the Church, they would surely wield holy light.

Returning to his chamber, Losa picked up a pen and prepared to write a letter to the Grand Master of the Hospital Knight Order.

The relationship between the Hospital Knight Order and the Empire was not amicable. Rhodes Island, a territory of the Empire, was conquered by the Hospital Knights, who thereafter used the area as a base to plunder passing caravans, including "Orthodox Heretics" of the Empire.

But the Hospital Knights' occupation of Rhodes Island had been ongoing for over a hundred years, and people should always look forward.

In the face of survival, there are no enemies that cannot be reconciled.

"Esteemed Grand Master of the Hospital Knight Order, devout Guardian of Christ, Protector of Holy Crown of Thorns and other sacred relics, Jean Bompard de Rastic, please allow me to formally grant the territory of Rhodes Island to your Order, as a gesture of goodwill following Church unification, and recognition of your Order's resistance against the Heretics..."

Firstly, Losa, in the name of the Emperor of the Empire, acknowledged the Hospital Knights' lawful occupation of Rhodes Island, which had previously only been recognized by His Holiness the Pope.

Secondly, he reiterated the unification of the Church (in 1439, his brother, Emperor Ioannis, at the Florence Ecumenical Council, agreed to the union of the Eastern and Western Churches and recognized His Holiness the Pope's supreme status), following the declaration by His Holiness Innocent IV for Crusaders to aid Constantinople.

The Hospital Knight Order was not Latin merchants; they could not collude with Heretics.

Their existence was to resist Heretics, and this was their vocation.

Once they abandon this duty, before enemies arrive, they would be torn apart internally.

"Think carefully, Grand Master. If Constantinople falls, who in the Eastern Mediterranean can assist your Order in resisting the Heretics? Would it be Cyprus, pleading with Saracens of Egypt who your Order once defeated? Or the commercial city-states colluding secretly with Heretics?"

Losa began to elaborate on the reasoning, a mutual dependency that any intelligent life form could understand.

Moreover, Losa sent the personal letter previously received from His Holiness the Pope to urge the Hospital Knights to deploy troops for rescue.

Other Christ Monarchs might feign compliance to the Pope's diminished prestige following the Avignon Captivity, but the Hospital Knight Order could not.

This military monastery's power source was the Pope, and historically, after Constantinople's conquest by the Ottomans, criticism of the Hospital Knights was rampant.

If not for their impressive counterattack against the Ottoman invasion later on, the Hospital Knight Order would have gradually faced extinction even without external threats.

Lastly, they agreed to a series of unequal treaties as compensation for the Hospital Knights' support.

After finishing the letter, Losa solemnly removed his ring and sealed it with his own seal of red wax.

Predictably, when the Ottomans besiege the city, the only significant reinforcements likely to arrive would be the Hospital Knight Order stationed in the Aegean Sea.

As for the rest, there would only be scattered forces like General Giovanni, ranging from hundreds to even tens.

He wasn't sure if one letter could summon reinforcements.

Hopefully, the Hospital Knights wouldn't make things too difficult, at least send a thousand-man squad led by a Deputy Commander like the Genoese.

Just after finishing the letter, while waiting for the ink to dry, and before sending it out, an Eunuch entered the palace and said, "Your Majesty, Orhan requests an audience with you."

Losa put down his pen and said in a deep voice, "Let him come in."

Orhan, an Ottoman Prince and uncle to Mahmud II, had received comprehensive Greek education in Constantinople. Unfortunately, this was not enough to make him a contender for Mahmud II's throne.

Constantine XI had once made a fuss over Orhan's identity, trying to extort the Ottomans to pay annual tribute in exchange for not sending Orhan back to compete for the throne against Mahmud II, a demand Mahmud II had initially agreed to.

But he soon regretted it.

In fact, Orhan had no qualifications to compete with Mahmud, and Mahmud's agreement was just to placate Constantine XI and use it as a pretext for war, convincing ministers to take military action against Constantinople.

"Orhan, why are you seeking me?"

Orhan wasn't wearing a turban, and apart from his different beliefs, he didn't seem like a Turk, his demeanor respectful, tentatively saying, "Your Majesty, Mahmud uses me as an excuse for military action against New Rome. Perhaps if you hand me over, it could cease hostilities?"

"Do you worry I will hand you over to your nephew?"

Losa ignored Orhan's probing and bluntly said, "Over these years, how many have secretly come to Constantinople to swear allegiance to you? Your Guard currently has barely more than a hundred men, right? Do you think you truly hold power?"

Orhan exhaled lightly, "Your Majesty, you're wise."

"You may go."

Losa paused and added, "During this time, send your men to receive training from General Giovanni. Though his reputation isn't prominent, he has ample experience in city defense and will teach them some new things."

"As for you, being part of the Osmanoglu Family and possessing Dragon Tamer talent, hurry and tame the Sharp Claw Dragon in the Royal Garden—if you're unsuccessful, I won't hesitate to kill it to reward the soldiers with its meat."

Orhan smiled bitterly and nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will try my best, though my family lacked many key secret tomes when they fled."

Though he was a Turk, compared to Greeks publicly declaring that even a Turkic turban was stronger than the Latin Law Crown, Orhan was undoubtedly tied to him.

With the Ottomans' bloody succession tradition, they could kill infant siblings, let alone an uncle with less close kinship.

Once Constantinople fell, Orhan was doomed!

Losa frowned, "Let's forget it, tonight I'll go to the garden to help you take a look."

The capture of the Sharp Claw Dragon was also previously attempted by Constantine XI, not intending to use it for combat but to demonstrate to enemies that Orhan was a legitimate heir of the Osmanoglu Family, trying to pressure Mahmud.

But since it was captured, helping Orhan tame it would be an added advantage.

Orhan was briefly stunned, somewhat puzzled.

"Your Majesty, that beast is vicious and hard to tame, why would you go?"

Dragon taming was a secret of the Osmanoglu family; the ancestor Ottoman I was able to rise from small tribes and established such a formidable empire relying on this dragon taming art. How could you, an Emperor of the Palaeologus Family, know more about dragon taming than me?

"Don't worry about that."