Chapter 476: Canal Zone Attack

The ship departed from Buda along the Danube River to the Black Sea, and Peter took Lajosh to prepare to return to Constantinople.

At Mary's request, Peter decided to garrison part of the Roman army on the Hungarian border and at Pozzoni. And guaranteed that as long as Hungary is attacked, Rome will definitely protect him.

He originally planned to stay for a while, but things in Egypt forced him to come back and take charge of the overall situation.

"Your Majesty, a few days before the changes in Egypt, an envoy from Castile came to Cairo."

I didn't expect that Castile, a country that was very loyal to Catholicism, would look for the Mamluks, who belonged to the early Sacrifice League.

"Let the army of Western Anatolia be transferred to Damascus and Ashkelon. I will be like their Saladin and go to Jerusalem myself."

This directly means a declaration of war, without any diplomacy. Peter directly stated that the only diplomatic method was war.

Mahmoud gathered tens of thousands of soldiers and a large number of cavalry and rushed directly to the canal zone. At the same time, tens of thousands of civilians mobilized by the imam went together.

Rome's canal zone is a two-kilometer area centered on the canal, with a population of 50,000 people. Important Roman commercial firms have set up stations here, the most important of which are the two towns of Suez and Rosetta at both ends of the canal, which control this area. Two places controlled the canal.

In order to protect the canals, the Roman Empire invested a lot of money in building town walls, using Eastern rammed earth technology. The inside is made of lime and other materials, and the outside is made of bricks. And the city wall is also very high, basically built according to the city wall of Nanjing City in the Ming Dynasty.

Zheng He's gifts to Rome also included 200 craftsmen from various Ming dynasties, including civil craftsmen. They introduced the Ming Dynasty's city wall technology to Rome, and Peter decided to use this in the construction of city walls across the country. The canal area was used as an experiment first, so this city wall with the highest defense was created.

Mahmoud was shocked when he saw the city wall of Rosetta. What kind of technological tree broke out in Rome to build the city wall. It doesn’t look easy to do.

As usual, Mahmoud first sent a letter to the city asking them to surrender, but what he received was an abusive letter, as unpleasant as it sounded. This made the Sultan so angry that he directly ordered an attack.

The Mamluks still used trebuchets and crossbows to attack the city. They, like other nomads, disdain firearms, and these instruments have little lethality on the city wall, and using stones is like scratching an itch.

"Attack, attack!!!"

The Sultan gave an order, and the soldiers and civilians with weapons rushed forward. When the defenders on the city wall saw it, they took out their artillery and opened fire. Even twenty artillery can cause heavy losses to the attacking army.

After finally reaching the bottom of the city, they were surprised to find that their ladder was not long enough and there was still a long distance to the top. Since they could not go up, they had to cut down.

"Ah", after the sound of a cannon, a large number of people disappeared from this world. This is definitely not good news for Sudan. He just wants to establish his prestige. As a result, many people will definitely oppose him and at least occupy Rosetta, so that he will have the capital for peace talks in the future.

Thinking of this, Mahmoud became confused again. He directly ordered people from surrounding villages to join his army and build larger slings, higher ladders, and more powerful battering rams. However, because the amount of work was so large, it would take at least a week. ,

"Your Highness, we must fight quickly. Now that you have just become Sultan, the country is still unstable. Rashid and other places have not surrendered to you. If it takes too long, I suggest that it is best to retreat."

A general put forward the most realistic plan. Today's attack suffered heavy losses. You must know that most of these soldiers belong to their vassals. It is really heartbreaking to lose so many people. It is better to go back to reorganize, accumulate strength, and then come again.

Mahmoud just smiled bitterly, "You don't understand at all. If you can retreat, you can retreat now, but you can't retreat now. Once you make such a move, the army will disperse."

He knew that he became the sultan because of his hostility to Rome. The merchants hoped that he could regain their interests, the nobles hoped that he could seize Roman land for themselves, and the patriarch hoped from a religious perspective that he could drive out the heretics. These factors came together to produce the previous coup in Cairo.

This forced Mahmoud to take action against Rome. Even if this was not his original intention, the public's emotions had been aroused. In addition to Roman merchants, the Coptic Church also suffered massacres. Children were sold into slavery and their property was deprived of their property. . And they also retaliate against the Sunnis in kind, which is really a new grudge added to the old hatred.

"I understand your concerns, but we cannot withdraw now. Egypt can still be united just for this breath. If this breath is gone, it will be really over."

When the Sultan left Cairo, the faces of the people in the city were filled with smiles. They sent wreaths to the army. Some families even took out the food they were reluctant to eat and gave it to the army. Young people followed them here. The patriarch blessed them in order to make his triumphant return. It is because of this obsession that no matter how miserable the people are now, it doesn't matter, as long as they can bring themselves tenfold returns.

Although the Sultan's rule is based on the vassal nobles, the people living under the law also have great power. The imam uses the law to influence the people and force the Sultan to follow his own wishes, especially those who have come to power through abnormal means, and must be recognized and endorsed by the Caliph. So under heavy pressure, he is destined to fight Rome to the death.

"Okay, let's think about how to occupy this place. I have to solve the problem of Nasir Faraj."

Although they know that they are fighting for their beliefs, they also have to eat. After driving away the Roman merchants, they found that their business could not continue. Previously, because of the large increase in cotton prices, the landlords and nobles increased their cotton production. Now, no one buys their cotton, and their own textile industry can't swallow it, so they can only put it in the warehouse to mold. Cotton planting is not only laborious, but also uses a lot of water. Now all the money has gone down the drain, and farmers have to pay various taxes. In order to obtain funds, they can only sell agricultural products to the market, resulting in a sharp drop in prices and a further decline in living standards.

In addition, the trade between Alexandria and other ports declined in a very short period of time. They could have made money by relying on their geographical location, but now they have no choice but to force the canal, and they are afraid that they will lose it before they even get their teeth into it.