Chapter 229: Good Sleep

"Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death."

-        Sun Tzu, 'Art of War'

"Will the Ibrahim Pasha then allow his exhausted worn out soldiers to close their eyes and get some quality rest?"

The captains all nodded slightly thinking about their admiral's words. 

"With this, we launch a surprise attack on them laying siege in a time when biologically speaking a man should be in a state of deep sleep, and then we shatter their ears when they are still in their dreams making all of these quick for us, instead of doing it in a stupid way assaulting the walls in a traditional warfare, we might have even more lives lost." 

"Yes, my admiral." The men below acknowledged Antonius' idea and bowed. 

"Listen to my orders! We shall wake up when the moon is directly above our head, have a quick meal and a drink up refilling our energy, and we shall set off sneakily laying assault from both the sea and the land when the first trace of the white sun can be observed coming up from the horizon." 

"Admiral, do we need to inform that Sultan?" Asked Abraham. 

Antonius thought for a while and answered. "We shall only tell him after we have started our siege, I do not think those men by his side are reliable… Fisnik!" 

"Yes! Admiral!" The teenager Fisnik gulped nervously and rooted up from his seat. 

"You shall stay behind here in the back, and when you hear the first cannon shot coming from the sea, pass that Sultan my letter, I shall explain every thing in details over there." 

"Yes, admiral." Although a bit disappointed that he cannot prove himself in a fight, Fisnik still accepted the order. 

"Go back! Prepare yourself for the actions tomorrow! Get ready lads!" 

"Aye admiral!" 

…

Antonius is indeed right. 

Almost every successfully military leader passing through the long run of history like meteorites and shooting stars have a common trait, no matter of their social status, wealth, personality and behaviour, they show at least some love and care for the soldiers they command. Which is the same for our Ibrahim Pasha tonight. 

He has just issued the orders for three quarters of his men to finally lay down on the straws to have some pleasant rest taking the precious time, as they know that this kind of time might not be long after the Rumelian bastards and the rebels collate their strength tomorrow. These soldiers now only have one thing in their mind, to sleep. Upon the orders of their general Ibrahim pasha arrives telling them that there will not be any attacks most probably until tomorrow noon, many soldiers fell instantly onto the ground in their armours hugging their weapons leaning against the wall and went into their mentally relieving dreams.

Most of the Ottoman defenders went to sleep, but not for Ibrahim Pasha. He took up the initiative after his soldiers have slept to patrol the walls with his personal guards around the walls under the moon and stars, while collecting the corpses of deceased soldiers deposing them into carts sending them to be washed and covered in linen cloth; Although it is indeed difficult times, but they still cannot forget the rituals prior to burial as devoted followers of Allah. 

Upon surveying the eastern side of the wall just before the first trace of sun light is about to emerge, Ibrahim Pasha came across a man of his, most probably still in his sixteen of age, miracle how he had survived for so long, squeezed there hugging his legs and some straws trembling from the cold as he is bare footed. Out of instinct Ibrahim Pasha took off his coat, bent down and covered the young soldier's foot keeping him warm returning a smile back onto the soldier's sleeping face. 

However, just as Ibrahim Pasha is about to get back up, the side of his eyes caught some movements beneath the walls from the arrow slit. 

Just this little trace of movement caught in his eyes is enough to ring the alarm bell in his mind as he quickly took a step up moving closer to the arrow slit observing the vast land under the arrow slit, but with a little of Nyctalopia he could not catch any suspicious actions happening on the land disguised in the darkness of night. 

"Pass me the fire torch."

Ibrahim Pasha moved the torch light closer to the arrow slit, but still, he could not see any things happening down there. Thus, he dropped the torch light under the walls onto the land beneath, and what he observed through the short duration of dim brightness is astounding giving him a shock down to the bones. 

The land beneath is occupied with helmets, helmets combined with Rumelian and Genoese styles, squatting there quietly with their cutlass already drawn out, and ladders laying beside them, waiting there like a bunch of terracotta warriors, with their attentions attracted by the fire torch making them all look at Ibrahim Pasha standing behind the arrow slit spontaneously. 

"We are discovered! Send the signals! Start the attack earlier in advance!" Cried Abraham as he pulled out his composite bow from the back, loaded with arrow, pulled the spring and shot it right at the arrow slit – all of these actions are done in merely a few seconds, sending right at the blunt dark figure on the walls who dropped the torch. 

"Ahhhh!" 

Ibrahim Pasha covers the gruesome long tear spreading almost half of his right face squatting down in pain and agony, but he has no time to moan as he desperately cried out to the guards around him. "Do not care about me! Enemy contact! Ring the alarm! Wake every one up!" 

Though it is still a little too late. 

Seeing their hide out have been discovered, Antonius shot a flare up high signifying the start of tonight's all out attack. Julian who is leading the fleet on the seas pulled the battle stations alarm, the sailors are quickly mobilised getting ready to their respective canon positions, with its bearings and measurements already done a while ago. The marines and varangian under the lead of Yuri readied themselves on land tidying up their armour. They shall be the spear head for this morning acting as beasts covered up in metal plates. 

The siege of Izmit by Antonius began. 

A second flare was thrown in to the dark sky, seeing this flare Julian yelled out with all of his strength. "Fire!" 

Following his command, the hundreds of canons pointing towards the city walls unleashed their power projecting their metallic shells on to the defensive walls. These poor walls, an indeed defensive architecture master piece constructed and renovated hundreds of years ago, have witnessed and foiled countless siege attempts by conventional siege forces. However, this time these walls had a good taste of some thing it has never tasted before, artilleries, which is some thing totally not what its designers have planned for last time. 

The shells made the entire chain of walls tremble with tiny rubbles and bricks falling off from the place of impact, making even the ground unstable with Ibrahim Pasha falling onto the floor losing his balance. He quickly got up and rushed to the southern walls and gaped when he had a view of what is going on over there.  Hundreds of ships, coming of various sizes, lined up in a curved line outside the city on the sea blasting shells towards his city; He have expected the Rumelian to bring along many artilleries this time round, but not this much, how did this Antonius man even managed to make so many artilleries in such a short period of time? This fleet along have more artilleries than the entire Ottoman arsenal! 

"Throw the wet cow rugs off the walls!" Ibrahim Pasha ordered holding his turban helmet. "How many artilleries do we have here!?"

"Only a decade! Pasha!" His guard cried out. "And all of them are allocated in the other side of the walls!" 

Ibrahim Pasha stared blankly at the bombarding fleet outside hearing this guard's words and sighed. "Mobilise every single human in this city, no matter whether they are of young or old, man or woman, follower of True God or not, get them here to repair the walls." 

"Yes, honourable pasha." 

…

After roughly five rounds of bombardments the sailors started charging up the walls under the cover of archers and crossbows. Decades of ladders borrowed from Orhan are erected on the ground with hundreds of brave young men trying to climb up fast biting their cutlass in their mouths, with the agilities of monkeys and the wits of Hercules they made it up the walls in no time and began a close quarter combat with the awakened Ottoman defenders. 

Meanwhile Sultan Orhan have just been awaken by the consistent shelling.