Eagle Flag of Epirus

Not long before Prince Theodor and the armies of the Principality of Athens began to see the saw, the Roman navy was moored outside the port of Piraeus behind him, although the imperial navy has been declining since Emperor Manuel. So that he has already lost the advantage he had in the Mediterranean. However, after Constantinople was conquered by the Venetians, the Romans, who had learned from their pains, gradually realized the importance of the ocean to them. Therefore, a small fleet in Epirus has already been prepared. This time Theodore was able to successfully raid the rear of the Principality of Athens and rely on the fleet in Thessaly.

This is why, after Justinian took control of Nafplio, Prince Theodor dared to take the risk of a detour to land and attack the Principality of Athens. If there is no threat from the sea, even if it encounters setbacks, the Roman army only needs to control the port of Piraeus. You can take the boat and retreat calmly.

However, all these plans were completely shattered with the sudden arrival of the Venice fleet. In the early hours of the morning, when the Roman sailors on the ship were still half-dreaming and half-awake, under the cover of early morning fog, a silent fleet approached the unsuspecting port of Piraeus slowly like a poisonous snake, and Rome People didn't even notice it.

The horn of battle was sounded, and when the sleepy Roman navy finally reacted, the Venetian fleet had completely completed the blockade of the port of Piraeus. This immediately caused panic in the Roman navy, especially when the enemy was facing burning asphalt barrels that turned the port into a sea of ​​flames. The chaotic Roman army did not have any people in charge at all, because the main force was in the city of Athens. Face off with the Latin see-saw. Seeing that the situation was not good, countless people abandoned their warships and fled to the shore because of fear. Therefore, even a small number of Roman navies organized an offensive attempt to break through the blockade of Venice, which was completely futile. They can't deal with the Venetian army that has been prepared for a long time. It can be said that the Venetians today are the undisputed overlord of the entire Mediterranean.

After seeing the Roman army in the port turmoil, the Venetian army also clamored to march forward, and saw the rushing boats and boats vigorously, like a terror sea beast appeared from the sea to make the left-behind Roman army shattered. Where can there be more thoughts? Do resistance.

However, in a moment of effort, Piraeus Port was the first to be lost, and then the Venetian did not intend to stop, but quickly landed. The already prepared Venetian soldiers opened the hatch noose and rushed forward to chase and kill. The broken Roman army. It was not until the Acropolis that was guarded by the army that it listened, and then the soldiers who learned of the military situation rushed in anxiously to report the emergency military situation coming from behind, regardless of the situation.

As soon as this remark came out, everyone was shocked and unbelievable. Whether it was Prince Theodor or his generals, there was more fear in his eyes besides shock.

"What are you talking about?" A man with a trembling voice raised up the messenger in front of him regardless of his identity and asked, wanting to reconfirm whether he heard him wrong.

However, the answer was desperate. He only heard the trembling messenger say: "Piraeus Port has fallen, and the guards of the Acropolis are asking for our support!"

"My God!" The somewhat unsteady general leader Yisong threw the soldier in front of him to the ground and threw himself to the ground, while the others on the scene frowned. This is undoubtedly the worst thing, although they are not too flustered, but in fact they have no ideas in their hearts at the moment.

Obviously before they were prepared to persuade Prince Theodor to give up attacking Athens, but now their back path has been cut off by the Venetians, and their situation really plummeted as they had feared. It's even worse. Now that they have no way out of the enemy's territory, it is completely equivalent to being trapped in a joint siege by the Venetians and the Principality of Athens.

"What shall we do, Your Royal Highness?"

Looking at each other, they had clearly spoken before, but now they can only hope that Theodor Dukas in front of them can take them out of danger.

At this time, the shocked look on Prince Theodor's face had disappeared, and it was replaced by a calm, a calm calmness. Instead of panic, the man immediately made a decision.

"It seems that we are really careless. We never thought that the Venetians would actually roll up their sleeves and end the game. How many of them are there?" Prince Theodor asked while looking at the trembling messenger as he calculated. Before making a response, he decided to understand the enemy's strength. Theodor Dukas, who had suffered a loss before, obviously did not make the same mistake again.

"There are almost 20 warships, Your Royal Highness." The messenger hurriedly replied. This is exactly the number estimated by the defenders after they saw the Venetian navy attacking at sea.

"Twenty boats... It seems that the Venetians are really serious this time!" Theodor muttered to himself~www.ltnovel.com~ But His Royal Highness, the closest Crete from here Wasn't the Venetian army on the island defeated by us at Fort Wiscari not long ago? How could this be so fast—"

"Fort Wiscari? It was just a tough battle. In the final analysis, it was not enough to hurt the opponent's navy." Theodor shook his head and said, perhaps because of the previous encounter in Fort Wiscari. It might be the disastrous defeat that attracted Venice's attention.

"Then your Royal Highness, please make a decision quickly! I think it's possible for us to break through the position of the Principality of Athens and retreat north to Thessaly. If we continue like this, we are likely to fall into the enemy's front and back attack." The former impatient on the side At this time, the generals couldn't help but put forward his own ideas. Since the port of Piraeus in the south has been lost, then going back is a dead end. Rather than doing this, it's better to attack northward and hit the opponent flat-footed, maybe you can save the current situation.

However, as soon as this statement was published, other people were discolored. It is important to know that the Principality of Athens in the north is also ready to attack. At this time, the storm is undoubtedly taking a huge risk, so this proposal aroused a lot of opposition as soon as it came out.

"enough!"

Hearing only a rebuke, Theodor Dukas, who was looking at the map in front of everyone, raised his head and showed a serious expression, as if he was thinking about something. For a while, everyone in the military account was waiting for this. The man makes the final decision. However, what everyone did not expect was that Prince Theodor, who finally broke the silence, actually nodded affirming the seemingly crazy idea of ​​the other party.

"The whole army packs up and goes north to break through!"

This man also made the final decision after weighing the pros and cons. Instead of retreating to the Acropolis and waiting for death, he might as well take the risk and break through!