In the late autumn of 105, after Justinian launched the first attack in the city of Argos and started the second all-out war between the Roman Empire and the Achaean princes, the Roman army stationed in Thessaly not only failed to

The Latin army of the Kingdom of Salonika went south to shrink its defenses. On the contrary, as if cooperating with the Greek resistance in Moria, it launched a new round of attack on the Principality of Athens, which had previously expressed its surrender.

The Latins of the Principality of Athens, who were also aware of the movements of the Roman legions, already understood that the menacing Romans this time definitely wanted to eliminate them once and for all, even before they received a formal declaration of war, and they were already prepared for this.

Otto Rocher, Duke of Athens

The various fortresses built outside the city of Athens gathered all the forces they could muster, plus the Cross mercenaries and Latin militia troops from the east, totaling about 25,000 people, to form a solid defense line and prepare to rely on the castle and the river.

, hindering the advance of the Roman army.

This method has proven effective time and time again. The Principality of Athens, which had been at war with Epirus for a long time, relied on this method to resist another Greek military campaign to regain the area. Although this time the Achaean Principality had already

The Duke of Athens clearly refused to provide support, but was confident that he could continue to defeat the opponent. He was obviously not very worried.

However, what happened next was completely beyond his expectation. The Roman army that poured out did not go straight to Athens from Thessaly, but unexpectedly deployed suspicious troops in the north to confuse the unsuspecting Latins, while the main force

After returning to the city of Athens by sea, they suddenly landed at the port of Piraeus. An elite navy commanded by Theodor Doukas instantly destroyed the Latin maritime defenses, allowing the Roman army to take over directly.

The most important acropolis behind the Principality of Athens.

This frightened the troops of the Principality of Athens who were still deployed in the northern fortress. Especially after learning about the fall of the Acropolis, their morale plummeted. "Grand Duke Otto, what should we do now? The Acropolis has fallen, and the rear area has fallen.

The city of Athens is in danger, and we must return aid." Once the city of Athens falls into the hands of the Greeks, it means that the Principality of Athens will be completely destroyed. This result is undoubtedly catastrophic, and Duke Otto, who directed this war, naturally

Be clear about this.

The man could only give an order: all the troops immediately abandoned their original direction and marched back to the city to rescue the city of Athens. Only a small number of people were left to hold on to the fortress, and he led the main force to go out to fight against the Roman army that was already approaching the city.

As a result, the army of the Principality of Athens marched forcefully towards the city of Athens behind them to support them. However, Prince Theodore, who had already anticipated this, was not busy attacking the city. Instead, he had already set up a battle array and was waiting for Duke Otto.

and his army.

Since it is a full-scale war, it is time to decide the outcome in one battle. This time, he took the risk of abandoning Thessaly regardless of the danger of Thessaloniki. Theodore Ducas was determined to completely eliminate this place.

of enemies.

I saw the Roman flag formation, which was very strict. It was no longer as desolate as when the Latins first attacked Constantinople. Under the order of Prince Theodore, the spearmen lined up behind him, and behind him were the spearmen.

Elite archers guard the only way for the Latins. A fierce battle is inevitable.

This was a war that would determine the fate of the country, and both the Romans and the Latins knew it well.

On the first day, neither Theodore's army nor the army of the Principality of Athens had any intention of attacking. They were just fighting hard. Everyone knew that as long as this battle was fought, the outcome of the war would be finalized.

.

If the Principality of Athens wins, the Roman army with no way to retreat will inevitably suffer heavy casualties in its last-ditch battle. However, if Prince Theodore wins, the leaderless city of Athens without reinforcements will also become his prey.

A cruel war is about to break out——

…

…

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On the other side, the situation faced by the Principality of Athens in the north soon spread to the Principality of Achaia. The helpless Duke Otto immediately asked for help from the nearest neighboring country and even expressed his willingness to surrender.

This put the Achaean Kingdom in a dilemma. The Achaean Kingdom, which was already facing a full-scale war, was originally preparing to mobilize all its strength to completely eliminate the Greek resistance forces in the south. However, it encountered successive attacks. First, as the North and South Peloponnese,

The city of Argos, the gateway city, fell, leaving the people in Israel

The Achaean princely state, whose capital was Linsi, completely lost contact with the northwest rear. The people of the Roman Empire, who were already dissatisfied with the original Roman Empire, took the opportunity to rise up and respond in large numbers. Then Nafplion, which they thought could be stabilized, also

The sad news came that the people of Pisa had turned to the side of the Roman Empire.

This directly led to a huge change in the balance of the war. The loss of Nafplion directly caused the Latins to lose the last barrier in the south, which caused their plan to attack Argos to be temporarily shelved.

There is endless debate about this, but it would be unreasonable to storm a fortified city while guarding its flanks against the Pisa threat.

The Gaean nobles were hesitant. After the news reached Corinth, Earl Gottfrey, as the palace minister, took the opportunity to once again put forward the proposal to go north. For a while, many centrists were shaken, and this is indeed human nature.

, facing the current situation, the leaders of the Achaean Kingdom are not confident that they can solve the huge crisis they are facing now.

And this naturally caused the prestige of the monarch, Marquis William Chaplet, to be once again damaged, and the envoy he sent was also killed. Nafplion was undoubtedly on the side of the Greeks. The risk of continuing to go south is undoubtedly

It was huge, but it would be equally dangerous to get involved in the war if he went north. He would not be simply beguiled by the Principality of Athens' empty words of surrender. Marquis William once again rejected the proposal of Prime Minister Gottfrey.

There were many reasons for the refusal, but the more important reason for William Chaplet was another reason that cannot be said, that is, he was unwilling to continue to allow the expansion of Earl Gottfrey's power as the palace minister. Indeed, he once

He considered arranging his former deputy and friend as his future heir, but since then, Gott

Free's arrogance and domineering but increasingly aggressive behavior made him intolerable. However, a fierce quarrel broke out between the two parties, so the man finally made a decision-that is, to deprive Earl Gottfree of his title, but this

But it directly led to another result, that is - Gottfrey, who launched the rebellion, directly chose a military coup.

In the chaotic city of Corinth at this moment, the nobles of the palace faction who quickly took control of the place sent troops to hunt down the marquisists of the William faction. A white terror spread in the city. It turned out that when Gottfrey led the army into the palace

However, they discovered that William Chaplet had already disappeared, so the decisive man immediately sealed off the entire city, as if he was determined to make his former best friend disappear completely.

At the same time, Marquis William, who was hiding in a hidden hiding place and looking at Viscount Seine and Sir Baptiste in front of him, took a deep breath and finally looked at the two calmly and said:

"Corinth is only so big, and it will only be a matter of time before he is discovered. With my words, I will eventually drag you down, and I will leave my nephew to you two." As he said this, the man looked at the half-year-old boy beside him.
Chapter completed!