Chapter 79: Aristophanes

"The navy did not suffer a defeat! The navy, did not suffer a defeat, let me repeat this for one more time! The navy did not suffer a defeat against the Ottomans!"

The following day, In the various forums and streets, various leather-lunged broadcasters can be seen or heard shouting on the streets to passers-by. While they also know that their effort to eliminate these rumors spreading across the city might end up in vain as it is a natural instinct for people of Rome to suspect, question, believe in conspiracies and intrigues rather than listening to government figures.

There is even rumor spreading around that the mégas droungarios Antonius De'Ricci has died in the exchange of gunshots yesterday, thus Antonius had to come out to make a public statement to soothe the nerves of people which is already pulled like a spring that might break at any point.

It did not take long before the Ottomans, whose morales are boosted by successfully deferred the Roman's attack while not knowing that they no longer have a standing navy, decided to try an assault on Constantinople, and this time they mean serious unlike the last few occasions.

Zaganos Pasha himself planned and commanded this assault which involved a total of fifteen thousand troops attacking the walls from three directions, divided into the northern army group, central army group and the southern army group, with the other two as a smoke bomb and the real deal on the most vulnerable portion of the city defense, the walls of Blachnarea.

Zaganos Pasha chose a good timing too, he picked a time slightly after noon to initiate the attack, a time when the Sun is slightly on the west and is still powerful. This means that the Ottomans attackers have their back facing the Sun while the Roman defenders have their front facing the Sun, thus the Ottoman attackers can look up at them with ease while the Roman archers will have the endure the blazing rays of Sunlight directly at a high place where the sunlight is at its strongest, greatly lowering their accuracy and persistence.

Zaganos Pasha rode on horse slowly behind the breath-taking sized Ottoman siege tower while bragging to his sub-coordinates a quote that he came up with.

"A small trick in a legendary battle might not look like a big deal, but a lot of them, when combined them, can be a decisive factor that lead to your eventual victory."

With a tilted head and dimpled grin, he happily accepted the flattering and compliments by his subjects around him, led out a series of garish guffaws and continued bragging in an unabashed manner. "Remember you people, it is an honour that our Sultan has granted you low lives to partake in this epic battle, and perhaps next time you shall see my big name in your children's textbooks, Zaganos Pasha, when you see it, do not forget to tell your children further of my legends, clear?"

…

Back on the walls.

"Things are not looking good." Antonius frowned as he stands on one tower looking out at the Ottoman formations inching forward slowly but steadily.

Antonius is entrusted by Giovanni and Constantine to defend the Blacknarea portion of the walls. While Giovanni stays on the central facing the Ottoman central battle group, Constantine himself sitting on the southern portion of the walls facing the Ottomans southern battle group, while Mauro and the Mega Doux Loukas Notaras sits at the back with reserves.

"Under this bloody Sun me and my men cannot even have a proper shot at those infidels, admiral!" An old captain of a galley from Antonius' fleet called Castello groaned aiming with a cross bow.

Beneath them, three Siege Towers have crawled to a distance dangerously close to the Theodosian walls, thousands of Ottoman archers are already getting into a position ready to shoot with a light infantry ahead of them holding an over-sized shield, forming a basic hit and defend combination while the Roman archers cannot do anything against it except trying the best of their luck hoping that somehow there projectile can find its way through the shields onto the enemies.

"I think I have seen a similar situation like this somewhere…" Abdullah murmured at the back.

"Where?" Asked Andronikos Laskaris curiously by his side.

"When I was studying Hellenic literature, you are a Greek…. ahem, Roman right? You must remember the famous play of 'The Clouds', right?"

"Oh…" Andronikos Laskaris tried his hardest to recall to not appear to be ignorant in their own national culture and replied. "Is it Euripides?"

Abdullah tried not laugh. "No, its Aristophanes."

"Oh…"

"Get to the point my friend, what is your point?" Antonius by the side saw his political counterpart Andronikos in a dilemma and came to help out, also anticipating the later would give some useful device to save his dilemma as well.

"Oh yes, it is mentioned in that play by Aristophanes and Hellenic historical studies, it did mention a mirror that burns, like in the renowned sentence 'Strepsiades. Have you ever seen a beautiful, transparent stone at the druggists', with which you may kindle fire?'"

Abdullah paused for a while realising Antonius is losing his interest, and quickly changed the topic. "Also, in the Hellenic histories, roughly eight hundred years before the Great Prophet migrated to Yathrib, or as you Christians call it two hundred plus years before the birth of Christ, Archimedes of Syracuse faced a similar situation like this, and suggested the defenders of the city to use mirrors to reflect the sunlight and incinerated the Roman ships besieging the…."

"Oh my brother, Abdullah you are a genius!" Antonius exclaimed and gave Abdullah a tight hug which almost suffocated the later, patted him on his back filled with excitedness.

"Abraham, listen." Then Antonius turned around and instructed. "I want you to lead a hundred brothers to go around and get all the mirrors in the city, and bring it here onto the walls, get all the workers in the iron works too, I want them to be here as soon as possible!"

"Aye captain!"