1453: Revival of Byzantium

Chapter 70: First Big Day

Fourteen of February, 1453AD, one day into the siege of Constantinople.

It is only the first day of the siege and it has already led to disarray among the citizens of Constantinople.

The Ottomans consistently bombarded the Theodosian walls for a day with trebuchets and catapults of all size and judging by the looks of it the Ottomans seems to plan to do this for another day.

Giovanni had a sound sleep last night and woke up early, and now he is observing the Ottoman movements through the arrow slits in the dawn as the Ottomans has already began daily works and started loading their trebuchets again.

Behind him inside the city, the bells of Hagia Sophia and other churches rang punctually like usual telling the citizens it is a new day and it is time for their daily prayers before they do their chores of their daily lives. Usually this will be done in churches, monasteries, forums and other gathering places but today they are confined to homes under a strict quarantine order.

When the citizens realise that their lives are truly at state they will not dare to disobey the quarantine order.

However, Giovanni has no worries about the Ottoman bombardment of the Theodosian walls, as he watches the Ottoman movements, he picked up a cup of salt water and starts gargling his mouth to start his day fresh and spat it outside of the arrow slit after gargling for twenty seconds. He has adopted this habit after his madam Therma Sphrantzes complained about his oral hygiene problems.

The Ottomans readied their trebuchets in half an hour and started throwing rocks onto the walls again, while Giovanni and his men has already seeked shelter leaning on the walls behind the arrow slits feeling the impact and watching occasional rocks flying past their heads, some courageous ones even enjoyed their breakfast and started chit chattering with one another while watching this.

There is a reason behind Giovanni thinking the rocks by trebuchets are not a big deal. The Theodosian walls is massive, an engineering marvel in late Antiquity, the pearl and signature of late Roman architecture and enhanced throughout the thousand years long run building more and more components enhancing her defence.

It consists of a moat, a low wall, an outer wall and an inner wall, with a terrace between the outer and inner walls. The inner wall is approximately twelve meters high and can go up to six meters thick. Paved with limestone blocks measuring approximately 40 centi meters thick each and crushed stones refilling its gaps, which greatly enhanced the overall scale of the structure cohesion as it bonds and connect the bricks together. Thus Giovanni is not a bit worried about Ottoman trebuchet bombardment, its like what can he do? The Theodosian walls even endured through an earthquake. Are the Ottoman stones blessed with some magic and its blow can out match an earthquake? Obviously no.

Actually, what Giovanni did not know is that he got to thank Antonius for this. If it is not Antonius who 'hired' Orban and Jacob with a little bit of force involved, the father and son would have went to serve in Mehmed's court bringing first world artillery manufacturing techniques and designs helping him develop artilleries instead, then Giovanni will not be able to sit around so relaxed as he will have a taste of canon balls ten times the power of ordinary rocks.

There are three things that worries Giovanni at the current moment. One is the people inside the city, especially some goofy nobles and lords, hope that they will not plot something that will harm the macro benefits, like try to open the gates, welcome the Ottomans so that perhaps Mehmed will award them with something. Giovanni heard what they say in the council the day before and judging by their behaviour they might really plan to do this kind of thing. As it is said a well defended fortress always start collapsing from the inside.

The second thing he is worried about is the section of walls of the Blachernae district. Although it is technically speaking built higher and thicker than the other part of the walls, it is built on a steep slope which does not has a moat, making it the most vulnerable part of the defence to attack, and he is pretty sure that if the Ottoman commander is a sane person he would have his eyes on this part of the wall.

The third, and the most fatal one, is that the Ottoman navy despite all odds, have not appeared yet. Constantinople is still in severe shortage of manpower, with only a thousand combatants defending fifteen Roman miles of walls against countless Ottomans invaders. Hence they require a constant supply of soldiers, food, medicines, coins to sustain the defence. Now if let's say the maritime route is completely sealed by the Ottomans too, within half a year into the siege they will be forced to succumb to defeat by lack of food.

But he no longer has the need to worry about the Ottoman fleet.

Just as he is frowning here daydreaming about his worries, he is awaken by a gigantic banging sound which covered the crashing sound of rocks against the war, and it did not stop with just one bang, it went on producing a series of bangs just like in a thunder storm. However Giovanni reached his hand out of the shelter and realised there is no rain, the weather is perfectly fine, a sunny day indeed.

So, what caused the series of banging noise that almost shattered his ear membrane?

Out of curiosity, Giovanni carefully creeped upon the arrow slit and took a peek outside.

He saw a huge war galley, with its hulk coal black as-if it has just went through a fire, sweeping down Ottoman catapults and trebuchets within range with its guns one by one, causing a massive demolition and ravaging among Ottoman siege war machines. Judging by the skull and crossed blades flag flying on the ship, it seems like.

It is his brother Antonius' flag ship.