1453: Revival of Byzantium

Chapter 288: Territory of Defense

"Hatt mdafaa yoktur, sath mdafaa vardr. O sath btn vatandr!"

"There is no such thing called line of defense, but only territory of defense, for this whole territory is our entire mother nation!"

-        Mustafa Kemal Atatrk, founding father of modern Turkey.

Once several spots have been breached along the vast defense the rest of the stuff became pretty easy for the Ottoman offenders. 

Under the banners of war, waving flags, sounding of horns and thumping of drums this time the Janissaries led the charge instead of the ordinary drafted peasants, equipped in full body armor, Kilij blades and shields they are determined to get past these walls. Antonius knows too very well that a wall with a hole is no longer guaranteed to be safe, and a wall with several holes is just like a dam that has several damages allowing water to sip through, which facing immense pressure the entire piece of wall shall crumble with unmeasurable amount of water gushing through, just like what is happening now. 

Antonius is totally unlike Candarli Halil Pasha, he is not that kind of morale vacuum and do not have enough man power to spare to defend these breached walls at the cost of heavy casualties, it is simply not worth it for him. Seeing the situation is becoming irreversible he sent the orders right to every one through flags and flares ordering all battle stations to abandon the first walls and fall back to the second ones. 

As the defender retreats, the demolition experts and engineers hurriedly tossed gun powder, explosives and shells on to the compound beneath the walls with their fuse connected to a detonator lighted with fire bound to be activated when the Ottomans stepped their feet in to the interior of the walls blowing them down in to the soil, and also demolishing the first walls preventing it from being used by the foes. 

When the ferocious Janissaries leapt in to the walls head first leading all the men behind them they soon found out about these dangerous explosives lying around every where just next to their feet, they turned back to warn their pals and comrades but under the unstoppable momentum of the charging troops more and more men started rushing in to the walls and too realised these bags of explosives lying around every where. 

Things soon began escalating in to another level as the people inside wants to get the hell out of this cursed place preventing to be blown up in to parts, while the people on the outside has not a single bit of idea on what is going on inside and continued tried pushing through the limited holes unable to stop as they themselves are too pushed by the people behind them. Just as things are beginning to evolve in to a more and more despair state for both sides to the level of raising their blades against their own men, the rope fuse burnt to its end. 

And there it goes, all of these newly made explosives fresh from the factories ran by our demolition master Orban blew itself up causing an explosion that seared through the dense air and shallow Earth creating a shock wave through the grass land shattering the bodies of any near by human bodies and the wooden buildings which stands before its menace. Within a few seconds all what the defenders on the walls could see is a sudden burst of orange inflammation and then a wide spread of dense black smoke that took minutes to disperse after an explosion that sounded like a roll of thunder, even deafening the defender's ears including that of Antonius for a while. 

The Ottomans retreated, ending the first day of the siege, leaving a land of burnt bodies lying around to be pecked by crows and vultures giving them a free feast. Seeing the frontier troops, even including the Janissaries have lost the motivation to continue pushing, furthermore the sun is already setting down earlier than usual in the winter season and most Ottoman combatants are not utilized in night warfare as they cannot even see. In the end the Grand Vizier has to answer his sub coordinates plead and recall these forces back to safety.

It only took one afternoon for the Ottomans to breach the first wall which according to Helio ought to be able to last for at least three days. Though of course every thing comes with a price, it is only the first day that the Ottomans lost around three thousand fresh lives and another incalculable number of casualties that have injured themselves beyond the ability to continue fighting. What makes this thing even more sarcastic is that a substantial amount, actually almost all of people who lost their lives today under these walls previously lived under the same flag carrying the same blood as those defenders who killed them. 

But can any one accuse either side of being wrong? Obviously no, as they are merely carrying out their duty and at the same time saving their own lives. 

Nevertheless while the defenders continued to frantically enhancing the foundation of the second layer of wall and making the surface of the wooden log's sharp tip more smooth and lubricated so that the same thing will not happen again, the Ottomans seems to have found the optimal way of over coming these barricades and started preparing even more donkeys attached to linen ropes. 

But just before the siege has begun the Ottoman higher up commanders broke in to another round of argument over some thing called morale values, between Abbas Pasha and the Grand Vizier. 

"Honourable Grand Vizier! Do forgive me! But I simply cannot agree on your idea!" Abbas Pasha debated against every one in the tent with a face reddened from anger and confusion. "We are proud sons of Osman, successors of the Seljuk legacy and the direct descendant of God himself ruling over the two lands What more prestige do we have if we are going to use your method of fighting a war? Please, honourable Grand Vizier please reconsider your thoughts!" 

In the misty morning the Grand Vizir Candarli Halil Pasha looked at Abbas Pasha beneath with a pair of serpent like cold blooded eyes through a column of flickering candle lights. The other beys, pashas and generals stood in two lines on his two sides with their head lowered dare not to raise a single word of complaint unlike their fellow Abbas Pasha. This argument broke out because of a very simple reason, it is because the Grand Vizier planned to use women, widows of the soldiers who deceased prior to lay siege to the Rumelian walls, which is completely against Abbas Pasha's code of conduct by a hundred and eighty degrees as he is raised and educated in a noble back ground and sees himself as a true knight, a valorous noble who should not submit himself to the vacuum of morale values and carry out such sinful deeds. 

But that is not what the Grand Vizier thinks in his head. Candarli Halil Pasha himself has been transformed in to a morale vacuum ever since he has became the dictator of the Sultanate showing completely no mercy to any creatures. Apart from the fact that Candarli Halil Pasha felt that since their husbands have sacrificed for the Sultan, their wolves too should also prove their loyalty and chastity dying for the Sultan and accompanying their husband in the next world. 

Deep inside his intrigue filled head the Grand Vizier thinks that this Abbas Pasha only opposed his will because it is already decided that he shall be the next Pasha to rule over the eyelet of Rumelia since he got a strong foundation locally in Thessaly, and if the Grand Vizier sends any more local Rumelian over to die it shall only weaken this prick Pasha's future foundation of rule. 

Thus, Candarli Halil Pasha concluded in his mind with no facts or evidence but only intrigue that Abbas Pasha showed such a rebellious behaviour because he wants to preserve his own strength. For what? Of course, to accumulate an army and revolt against him and charge in to Edirne with that cursed Zaganos! 

This means that this Abbas man, from now onwards, is the enemy of the Grand Vizier. 

With a freezing cold humph the Grand Vizier opened his mouth behind a curtain preventing others from seeing his facial expression. "Since the gentleman shall not wish to comply with my decision and military order, then I guess we would better move him some where else far away from here so that he would not have to hear my words."

Abbas Pasha rose his head up still bowing in shock. 

"Abbas From this day onwards you shall become the Sultanate's new pasha of Bulgaria, and you shall depart from here to Sophia without any delays." 

"Honourable Grand Vizier! I."

"You may leave now Abbas Pasha." 

"Grand Vizier! Please, for this."

"Leave! At once!"