Chapter 218 Cyprus

Famagusta, an important port in Cyprus. It was pitch black at night, and the torches on the city wall were the only light. Not far from the port, a fleet was approaching the light. The darkness provided them with cover, and with the wind and waves, they would not be discovered unless they approached the garrison.

At this time, Mihaly was extremely excited. He listened to the orders of his superiors and prepared to rush up first to get the first kill.

"Famagusta is a strong city, and there are people patrolling the port. Fortunately, the wind and waves are strong tonight, and the guards will be reduced."

Fleet commander Andronikos told each team about his plan. Before coming to Cyprus, he sent people to instigate some of the Famagusta garrisons. According to the map they provided, they quickly determined that the weakest northeast corner was the breakthrough point.

Cyprus has a total population of only 100,000, and the army is only more than 3,000. But most of them are mercenaries invited from Italy, and their combat effectiveness is still considerable.

Since Cyprus is an island country, even if reinforcements are requested, they will not arrive for several months. Atalaia is only a week away from Cyprus, so it has the upper hand in terms of time.

After the plan was explained, everyone began to prepare for the sneak attack. As for Mihaly, Andronikos asked him to operate the crossbow. This should be quite safe. He can't afford it if something unexpected happens.

The fleet gradually approached the port. Before that, they put the warships behind and led the armed merchant ships. They pretended that they came to the port to avoid the storm late at night and brought a few merchants who could speak Latin, which should be able to deceive them.

Originally, they were ready to attack, but when the other party learned that this was a large merchant fleet, they let them in directly. As long as they paid the corresponding amount, any conditions could be met.

As expected of mercenaries, they would do anything as long as they had money, and they would not miss any opportunity to make money. In their view, this fleet in the middle of the night was a lamb to be slaughtered, and they would be sorry for their position if they did not blackmail them.

The fleet arrived at the port soon, and the merchant handed over 100 gold coins in his hand, but they felt it was too little and wanted more money.

"Oh, sir. Please take me to the cabin, there is what you want."

Hearing that there was more money in the cabin, a captain-like man directly entered with two soldiers. Anyway, he had weapons on him, which was more than enough for the merchant. They entered with torches, and as they walked, they imagined endless money and endless happiness. When the merchant reminded them that they had arrived, they came to their senses. The boxes in front of them made them eager to open them, but they were empty inside, which made them a little confused. When they turned back to find the merchant, they found that the man had disappeared long ago, and instead, dozens of arrows were fired, which directly killed them.

Outside, other soldiers in the cabin quickly attacked and wiped out the patrolling guards in the northeast. Mihaly also joined the battle secretly. He directly chopped down one with a knife, and then went directly to help other soldiers defeat the enemy. The excitement on his face never dissipated. In his opinion, he was doing the mission of expanding the territory, and all those who hindered it must be eliminated.

After occupying the northeastern port, other ships also came here to transport a steady stream of soldiers and artillery. After the light artillery was assembled, it moved towards the fortress of Famagusta, and other troops launched an attack on other areas in the city, striving to occupy other urban areas except the fortress before dawn.

The entire port army was only 500 people. Facing the well-trained Wallachian army, they were defeated. Other urban areas without troops surrendered. At dawn, the Wallachian army had cleared the enemy troops in the city, and all other places except the fortress had been recovered.

After Famagusta was recovered, Michael read out the decree of Wallachia on behalf of Peter, announcing preferential treatment and freedom for Orthodox Christians, announcing three years of tax exemption measures, and calling on Orthodox Christians in other places to jointly overthrow the Kingdom of Cyprus and submit to Wallachia.

The changes in Famagusta frightened many Latin nobles in Cyprus. Some nobles thought that their serfs would rebel, so they executed them first, while other serfs directly launched an uprising and strived to join forces with the Wallachian army. As for other Orthodox Christians, although they did not directly fight against their Latin masters, they were more willing to help the Wallachian army by providing food and intelligence.

King Janus of Nicosia heard that Famagusta was occupied, and began to recruit troops from all over the country. He also negotiated with Venice and requested a loan to hire troops. Everything is going on in full swing, and I don’t know how long it can last.

Wallachia's artillery attacked the fortress, but it was occupied after just one day. Because Cyprus's fortifications had to wait until Venice took over in 1489 before they were upgraded on a large scale, it was a good time to attack now.

Wallachia did not choose to continue the attack at this time, but occupied Famagusta after clearing out nearby enemies. Michael wrote to Peter, asking for more troops, and also threatened that as long as the troops were in place, Cyprus would be conquered in a month.

Although Wallachia expanded quickly, it was too fast. Which country could expand once a year? Venice, Genoa, and the Turkic Kingdom all found it incredible. If this continued, Wallachia's notoriety would explode, and it would be bad if the Sacred Alliance 1.0 came.

But the Sacrilegious Alliance could not be formed at this time. The contradiction between Christianity and Crescent was still great. The division of the Ottoman Empire made Western European countries look down on it. Venice, the most powerful country, was not interested in expanding its territory. As long as it was not aggressive, it would be fine.

As for why Cyprus was occupied, it was because the geographical location was too important. Cyprus was too close to the Anatolian Peninsula. Whether for the sake of local security or for the hegemony of the Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus and Crete were strongholds that Wallachia had to take.

In addition, there was another reason. The climate of Cyprus was suitable for the growth of crops such as grapes and sugar cane. Before the large-scale use of sugar in the Americas, sugar cane in Sicily and Cyprus was the main source of sugar in Europe. Taking this place was also a new place of wealth.

In a month, the Orthodox Christians in Cyprus revolted one after another, resulting in some Latin nobles not arriving on time. The king only recruited 3,000 troops. Seeing that time was running out, he took these troops directly to Famagusta. The number of people who defected to the Wallachian army also increased to 2,000. Together with the original army and some monks, the number reached 5,000, which was enough to fight a big battle with the enemy.