Chapter 48 Preparations for the Next Step

Osman's strength can support Bayezid's plan, but the Sultan doesn't know that the other side has the blessing of the Chosen Son. (No meteorite hail)

The army led by Peter this time has 11,000 people, accounting for a quarter of the entire population of Dobruja. Who let these people join the army directly when they heard that they were going to Varna, making it like the Spring Festival travel rush in later generations.

After capturing Varna without bloodshed, Peter began to incorporate all the troops of Dobruja into his new army. About 3,500 people, half of whom were unwilling to fight, Peter directly took out the medicine that could cure all diseases: gold coins. These soldiers saw it, and they didn't leave, and they obeyed him.

Peter's lavish spending and preferential treatment of soldiers made many people join his army. Including mercenaries, guerrillas who resisted the Ottomans, and small lords who planned to establish meritorious deeds. Although the composition is complicated, the common goal of defeating the Ottomans has not changed, and this is enough.

Peter looked at the map in the castle in Varna, and his father must have been very smooth. Then only Tervono was left.

"Sir, according to some people who have come to surrender, the Ottoman cavalry near Burgas has begun to move."

"Movement, do you know where they are going?"

"According to the direction of their movement and the news, they are going to Edirne."

Ha, it's true. With the temper of the Lightning Sultan, how could he remain indifferent.

Peter prepared two plans to deal with Bayezid's different actions.

If Bayezid plans to send troops in the spring, then Wallachia will take advantage of this time to occupy Tervono. Even if the opponent's city is stable, it doesn't matter. Please use explosives to blow it up. If one time is not enough, come more times.

If Bayezid plans to send troops immediately, then fight them directly, hurt them, and then deal with Tervono.

Of course, this is the setting, and the specific implementation must be flexible.

"Next, we should move towards Tervono, but this city is extremely strong. I'm afraid the Ottoman army will come before the city is broken."

Constantine said the next problem, how to occupy Tervono before the Ottomans come.

"Plans are dead, but people are alive. Since Trvorno takes a long time, we should consider other methods."

Peter has a particularly bold plan in his mind, but because the risk is too great, he just buried it in his heart, but now he still plans to talk about it.

Peter thinks that instead of waiting for the Ottomans to come, it is better to take the initiative to attack across the Balkan Mountains and attack the Ottoman capital Edirne. (The Balkan version of the Meridian Valley Strategy)

This plan is very bold, because it is really unthinkable to attack the capital of a country with 10,000 troops. Moreover, the Ottoman army must have set up heavy defenses in the capital, and this plan was opposed from the beginning.

But after a closer look, this plan still has its merits. Because the Balkan Mountains are mostly in Serbia and Macedonia, there are fewer mountains in Dobruja, and the army can come to Edirne along the coastal plain.

"My lord, this is too risky. If it fails, it will be easy to be killed by the Ottomans."

"Of course it won't work now. All we have to do now is wait."

Peter is leading so many people this time, so what about the supplies of Dobruja?

Regarding this situation, many people admired Peter. Because he directly announced that as long as they delivered supplies to them, they could get a voucher, and then they could go to the salt field in Constanta to extract a certain amount of salt for sale.

Salt is so precious that each lord must take strict care of it, but Peter gave away salt in exchange for merchants to deliver supplies. What is this? This is a very kind and reliable lord. If they don't rely on him, who will they rely on?

emmmmm...

Although it is said that this is the time when the West gradually surpasses the East, the Eastern method is still used to solve the supply problem. But it is still really useful.

Many merchants began to deliver supplies, of which the Chamber of Commerce paid for part and other merchants paid for the other part. What was delivered were food, weapons and so on. As for artillery, the army had to transport it by itself.

The proportion of cast iron cannons continued to rise, but bronze cannons still occupied a major position. The artillery workshop was also divided into two parts under Peter's order, one responsible for producing siege cannons and the other responsible for producing field cannons.

A heavy artillery and a light artillery have different applications. Heavy artillery is powerful but too heavy, so light artillery is used in field battles. It is light and easy to transport.

In addition, the craftsmen also changed the way artillery is transported. The solid wheel was replaced by a large wooden wheel with spokes, which effectively reduced the weight. The wheel also changed from small to large, which enhanced the passing performance in the field environment. The elevation mechanism was placed in front and separated, so that the gun body did not need to be elevated with the gun carriage, and there was a special traction mechanism. Through a simple combination, it can be turned into a four-wheel mode with the gun carriage, which greatly facilitated mobility.

Peter was discussing the next action, and Varna was still peaceful. Of course, a large number of people also joined the army, no matter what the reason was, it was to resist the Ottomans.

Those who joined the army became light cavalry and long-range firepower units. Muskets and crossbows are the easiest choices, and they can be learned in half a month.

A large amount of gunpowder was also transported to the front line. Constanta transported more than 4,000 pounds of gunpowder to the front line in one go. This is unprecedented in European countries.

Varna is located on the west coast of the Black Sea, close to the Danube estuary and the Bosphorus Strait, and has an important geographical location. Supplies can be transported by sea, saving a lot of time.

After Varna fell, the surrounding manors and castles surrendered. Peter also took three steps to gradually stabilize his rule, including tax exemption, withdrawal of troops, and intelligence collection.

Peter also wrote a letter to Mircea. The Ottomans were preparing to integrate their troops and send troops, and Serbia might be among them. He suggested that his father annihilate the Serbian army before the Ottomans gathered their troops.

If the enemy is numerous and we are few, we will concentrate our forces on one point and defeat them one by one, and then we will become a situation where we are numerous and the enemy is few.

This is not only Peter's idea, but Mircea also thinks so. The Serbian heavy cavalry is a hidden danger. Take this opportunity to get some land and armor from Serbia.

After sorting out the affairs of Vidin, Mircea set off with 22,000 people. With the Vidin light cavalry as the vanguard, Mircea led the army behind and then began to enter Serbia.