Adrianople is a city located less than two hundred kilometers from Constantinople.
Even before the division of the Norma Empire, it was a military stronghold where every Augustus would gather forces before going to war.
Correspondingly, if one wanted to attack Constantinople, they had to capture this fortress first.
After the Esman people occupied it, they designated it as their capital, ready for further conquest.
Between Adrianople and Constantinople, there were naturally many Esman towns and small castles scattered around.
"Your Excellency Emir, we can't go out to attack, we can't!"
At this moment, on the walls of a certain town, a dozen soldiers were clinging to the legs of an Esman nobleman, crying bitterly.
They cried as if their whole family would die the next second.
"Even the mighty Sultan fell at the hands of the Khitan devils."
"The imperial army of tens of thousands was defeated like a mountain collapsing."
"If we go to pursue the Khitan people, wouldn't it be seeking death?"
They cried and pleaded, "If it's just us who die, it's nothing."
"But if we anger the Khitan people, what will happen if they come back to attack this town?"
"Those devils will not spare anyone!"
When Shu Yichao's army passed by this town, the town's leader, an Emir, had a sudden idea to send troops to attack the Khitan from behind.
But the soldiers who received this order were terrified!
Emir, if you want us dead, why not just kill us? Why find such an excuse?
They were not like Emir, who had never been to the front lines.
They knew how ferocious the Khitan people were!
When they realized that Emir wasn't just looking for trouble, but really wanted to attack the Khitan, they hurried to advise against it.
This matter could lead to the destruction of their families.
But regardless of how these soldiers cried and pleaded, Emir remained unmoved.
He self-righteously scolded these soldiers.
"You cowards who fled from the front lines!"
"You don't deserve the protection of the true God!"
"Look at you now, crying like weak women."
"Today, you will go whether you like it or not!"
"Otherwise, I will execute you first, then sell your wives and children into slavery!"
"Don't even think about running away. If you don't bring back a few Khitan heads within three days, the same fate awaits you."
Emir felt that these soldiers were truly terrified.
Wasn't it normal to lose a battle?
Constantinople had experienced numerous sieges. It was just that this time they managed to hold on, albeit with heavy losses.
But listening to these soldiers who had returned from the front lines, they were talking nonsense.
Among their various delusions, it seemed that every Khitan person was made of steel, with a terrifying appearance, and they were all bloodthirsty demons who could kill as easily as killing chickens.
"Really, I'm not asking you to annihilate all the Khitan people.
Just follow behind, quietly find opportunities, and take out a few Khitan who are separated from the group.
But these people are wailing and lamenting as if I'm forcing them to their deaths..."
Really, were they worthy of being called brave warriors of the Esman?
Under Emir's coercion, the Esman soldiers who knew the situation was hopeless reluctantly prepared to leave.
Then, there was the sound of weeping echoing throughout the town.
The soldiers wrote their wills, divided their belongings, and hid their families in cellars before tearfully setting out on their journey.
"Oh, it's over, it's all over."
Some disabled soldiers who had also fled from the front lines, huddled in corners like walking corpses, muttered to themselves as they watched the dozens of people leave the city.
"They will all die."
"They will all die."
Emir's actions had a significant effect.
In less than an hour, Shu Yichao surrounded the town with nearly a thousand elite archer cavalrymen, kicking up clouds of dust.
"Damn it."
Shu Yichao muttered.
"Brothers, we've been underestimated."
"A few dozen people dare to come and cause trouble for us."
"I've never felt so aggrieved in my life!"
"Get ready to attack." Shu Yichao pointed to the wooden walls of the town.
With such walls, they didn't even need to break down the city gates with stones. The elite archer cavalrymen could simply climb over with hooks.
"As usual, kill those who is highter than the wheels!"
"Great Khan." At this moment, a elite archer cavalryman approached Shu Yichao and said, "There's a saying about killing those who is highter than the wheels. Is there any criteria for the wheels?"
"Hmm?" Shu Yichao said in surprise, "Criteria?"
Then he understood.
"Hey, I didn't realize you guys had such ideas."
Although the saying was to kill those who escape, there were standards for the wheels.
A four-foot wheel was a wheel, and a three-foot wheel was also a wheel.
"So, what standards are you planning to use?" Shu Yichao asked curiously.
Then, he saw this tall and strong man fumble shyly in his bag and take out a wooden toy vehicle, about the size of his palm.
"..." Shu Yichao glanced at the toy car and fell into contemplation.
"Four-wheel drive?"
"I guess not with this one."
...
"It's really unbelievably smooth."
On the other side, leading the Crusaders forward, Constantine XI of the Romans sighed sincerely.
This Norman emperor naturally knew what kind of motley crew he was leading.
They might have been mobilized due to a moment of religious fervor, but their low combat effectiveness couldn't be masked by spiritual zeal.
Except for a few mercenaries and a hint of military demeanor, most of them could only be called armed rabble.
And the Seleze Plain was not safe either, with the violent Esman immigrants walking around various strongholds and the Esman riders appearing and disappearing like the wind.
On the way forward, Constantine XI had been worrying that his Crusaders would reveal their true colors after encountering setbacks, collapsing at the slightest touch like the "Poor People's Crusade" in history.
But what Constantine XI feared hadn't happened at all.
Not only did they not encounter the Esman cavalry's head-on attacks, but they also swept through like a hot knife through butter, with the people offering food and drink to welcome the royal troops.
The Norman remnants, who had endured heavy taxes and labor under the Esman oppression for generations in the Seleze Plain, flocked to the Emperor's purple double-headed eagle flag, one after another.
As a result, the troops under Constantine XI's command, which had started with ten thousand, swelled rapidly to thirty or forty thousand—and most of them were young men.
This was not surprising, considering the need to support the Sultan's massive army, the lavish salaries of the Pashas and Emirs, and the Sultan's extravagant lifestyle...
These subjects, of course, had to be plundered of their last penny.
Recently, in order to cast the Supreme Cannon, the massive army had been gathered to attack Constantinople, and to build a magnificent palace—
Even more extortion and looting had caused countless families to perish, all for the purpose of destroying their sacred city in their minds, naturally causing public outrage.
But the end result was the Sultan's miserable death, and the defeat of his two hundred thousand-strong army...
In this situation, why wait to take revenge, follow the Emperor, and clean up the Esmans with all your might?
"They say they felt the boundless power of our Lord calling them to participate in the holy war."
Constantine XI said to Madam Mati, with a wry smile.
"Do you think that's believable?"
"Absolutely not." Madam Mati's face also showed some speechlessness.
"I think they're more like being frightened by the boundless power of our Caesar."
"So they come to join the holy war for safety."
Up to now, there had been no battle for the Crusaders, and the reason for their unstoppable advance—
Just look at the Esman towns and castles that had been razed to the ground, the heaps of rubble like small mountains, and the corpses hanging from trees swaying in the wind, and it was all clear.
The Esmans on the Seleze Plain had been almost wiped out by Shu Yichao, who had set out ahead of them!
Originally, Shu Yichao had intended to swiftly strike Adrianople.
But the Esmans along the way annoyed him.
A few weaklings, getting drunk like this—dare to come and fight me?
Am I weak in your eyes?
Shu Yichao immediately changed his primary objective.
First, take care of these short-sighted fools.
So, the Esmans strongholds scattered across the Seleze Plain, dozens of small forts, and the routed soldiers from the front lines, were all wiped out.
"It's really quiet." Shu Yichao joked as he marched, "There's not a soul on the plain."