Salonica.
Inside the lavishly decorated Governor's Mansion.
Karaja, the Second Empress, and others were resting while listening to the reports just collected by their attendants.
After fleeing from Adrianople, they had been running southward, finally joining forces with the Morya Legion in this city.
At this moment, the table was filled with a sumptuous lunch—
Fragrant honey water, crispy roasted lamb, steaming hot flatbreads, greasy fried meatballs... but not a single person touched them.
Instead, they all looked wan and dispirited, with no appetite.
"After the Khitan entered Adrianople, they unleashed a brutal massacre and looting."
"Anyone who dared to resist had their heads chopped off and turned into a pyramid outside the city."
"The remaining tens of thousands of people, surprisingly, didn't dare to resist a mere thousand Khitans and all obediently became captives."
"Then they were all conscripted into forced labor and slavery by the incoming Norma Emperor..."
"After that, the Khitan Caesar didn't stop, but swept through."
"Along the way, castles, towns, none could hold out for a day."
"Almost as soon as the Khitan arrived, they immediately breached the city—even if the defenders outnumbered the Khitans."
"Large numbers of officials, warriors, nobles, anyone who heard the Khitan Caesar was passing by, would flee the city."
"Almost no one had the courage to face that blood-red double-headed eagle..."
"The Albanian Legion was trampled by the blood-red double-headed eagle flag. It is said that crows circled endlessly in the sky, and even the wild dogs on the ground turned red-eyed."
When they heard that the Albanian Legion was completely wiped out and the First Empress and her entourage had all perished on the battlefield, even though they had been bitter enemies, Karaja couldn't help but sigh.
"Alas, who would have thought that such a noble empress would meet such a fate?"
The Second Empress nodded with a heartache.
Now, she not only didn't feel relieved because her archrival was dead, but instead felt a tinge of sadness.
Yes, with the last competitor out of the way, her son would soon become the only legitimate and undisputed Sultan.
However, that blood-red double-headed eagle flag was getting closer and closer!
One misstep, and they might meet the same fate as the First Empress!
How could they be happy again?
"Brother, if we hold the city, we should be able to defend it," the Second Empress said somewhat uncertainly.
In recent days, they had sorted out the forces they had at hand—
The Morya Legion boasted a nominal strength of twenty thousand, but in reality, it was eleven thousand, with about seven to eight thousand being combat-ready.
Salonica, as an important port city within the Esman territory, also had over a thousand defenders.
Combined, with some additional troops from fleeing soldiers and conscription of young men, they could muster a force of around fifteen thousand.
Choosing to defend the city with a force several times larger than the enemy's seemed like a joke to any experienced commander.
But if the opponent was the Khitan Caesar under the blood-red double-headed eagle flag—well, let's analyze the situation specifically.
"Defend the city?" Karaja shook his head. "We can't defend the city."
"We have to engage the Khitans in a frontal battle."
"Brother!?" The Second Empress widened her eyes in disbelief.
"The current situation is beyond our control," Karaja explained the current situation to her, counting off on his fingers.
"In the recent battles at Constantinople and the Seleze Plain, the Empire suffered unprecedented defeats, severely undermining our credibility."
"Many of the chieftains in Anatolia are now ignoring our orders."
"The suppressed Normans, upon seeing the double-headed eagle flag, have all risen in rebellion."
"The Norman Emperor is leading a Crusade, and they've already recruited tens of thousands of Normans."
"And knowing that the Sultan has died, the entire Albanian Legion was wiped out, and Adrianople has fallen, the enemies of the Empire, like Nolia, Vania, Hungary, and Albania, are all itching for action."
"The situation is getting worse and worse, but we have very little force at our disposal—almost only this small number of troops."
"If we can't take advantage of the fact that the enemy's forces are not yet fully assembled and quickly defeat them one by one, but instead shrink back into the city, allowing the enemy to grow and strengthen..."
"We'll be truly doomed."
"..."
"Listening to you, brother, makes sense," the Second Empress weakly said. "But—how do we win?"
Karaja's suggestion was good, but it felt like suggesting putting a bell on a cat.
It's a good idea, but how do we implement it?
We're cowering in the city precisely because we're afraid of losing. Now, to take advantage of the fact that the enemy is not fully assembled and defeat them one by one—we might not even be able to defeat the Khitan Caesar.
"Don't worry," Karaja said with a smile. "I'm not that foolish—"
"Abandoning the convenience of defending the city and risking our lives on the battlefield against the renowned Khitan cavalry."
"We can fight a guerrilla war!"
Then, Karaja shared his plan with everyone.
In simple terms, it was to use some miscellaneous troops to lure the Khitans to the edge of the city walls.
Then, let the elite troops face away from the city walls and form up for battle.
During this time, use the cannons, bows, and crossbows on the city walls to bombard the Khitan army relentlessly.
Even if the Khitan cavalry is incredibly brave, they can't possibly withstand cannon fire.
"Considering how valiant the Khitan Caesar is—we can dig some horse traps along the edge of the city wall, with each trap corresponding to a cannon. We'll pre-position them so that the cannonballs can hit the traps precisely."
"As soon as they approach the corresponding trap, we'll immediately bombard them with the cannons."
"I refuse to believe that even the Khitans can withstand this kind of attack."
"As long as we defeat the Khitans, our cavalry will only need one charge to crush the tens of thousands of rebels under the Norman Emperor."
"By then, we might even be able to reclaim Adrianople, subdue the rebellious chieftains and warlords..."
The more Karaja spoke, the louder and more excited he became, envisioning the future as if he could see himself wielding power, commanding the Esman court in the future.
"Pasha," a Esman officer couldn't help but interject.
"Would the Khitans be so foolish?"
"In a situation where they're vastly outnumbered by us, would they dare to chase us all the way to the base of the city wall?"
"What if they just take one look from afar and retreat?"
"Maybe others would do that," Karaja stroked his beard, "But I can assure you, that Khitan Caesar is not that kind of person."
"He's too arrogant, too arrogant to think that there's no one in this world who can match him and his iron cavalry."
"Wherever there are more people, he charges, wherever there are more troops, he kills."
"If he acts together with the Norman Emperor, bringing those tens of thousands of cannon fodder along, and if they let the cannon fodder go ahead and test the waters, I really don't know what we'll do."
"But for now—hmph."
Karaja looked at everyone, solemn and confident.
"Everyone, prepare to assassinate the Caesar together."