Eagle Byzantium

After receiving the order, Melo gave priority to arranging the Red Hand Brigade, the Artillery Corps and the 4,000 newly surrendered Serbian prisoners of war to build the western fort.

As for the southern fort facing the north wall of Durazzo, Melo did not rush to implement it. He followed the emperor's instructions: "Give Mr. Klembold some time to think about it. His king Coroman should have secretly sent him a letter. I hope that the Hungarian soldiers will give up resistance and take the initiative to hand over the forts and towers on the north wall of Durazzo."

This group of people started the project quickly, following the "Geddie camping and fortification technique". Facing the hills and beaches of the gray-blue Adriatic Sea, trenches and camps were quickly dug, and then the earth was dug to form a semicircular artillery fort with a sloping serrated battlement on the outside. It was filled with dog-foot wood, and dozens of field guns including the "brigade gun" (four guns) were pushed into it. The gunners' target was: Venice and Sicily ships anchored in the harbor of Durazzo.

About eight Venetian galleys were soon subjected to fierce and intensive bombardment. Their ships were long and narrow, with golden icons hanging on the cross sails, and triangular sails that could be steered. The largest long-range weapon was a long-armed trebuchet at the bow, like a dragonfly with its head lying down and its tail raised. The rest of the firepower was the crossbows, bows and arrows, and gunpowder thrown by the sailors on both sides of the ship, but now everything seemed powerless in the face of artillery. After about a day of bombardment, one of the eight ships sank, two were severely damaged, and the rest dared not stay and could only risk retreating to Corfu.

The next to suffer were the Sicilian ships. The artillery of the northern siege army of Merlo became more and more fierce, and the state became better and better. The artillery fortifications they built could not only shoot at the sea surface, but also suppress the semicircular towers on the coast of Durazzo.

In addition, the army of the New Roman Empire also used "drifting mines", that is, putting strong Khitan snow in a sealed iron tube, wrapping the muzzle with moisture-proof deerskin or cowhide, fixing it on a raft, inserting a delayed burning fuse on it, and releasing it towards the port after measuring the ocean current. Once the fuse burns out after approaching the enemy ship, it will trigger an explosion.

With both artillery bombardment and mine laying, more than one-third of the traffic on the sea of ​​​​Durazo was soon lost. The Venetian fleet retreating to Corfu encountered an uprising by the island residents, and several ships were burned. The sailors dared only stay on the deck of the ship or in the fortress at the shore, unable to obtain supplies. They were hungry and panicked, and their morale was very low.

Soon, Durazzo was in a state of distress. The army was short of food and clothing, and there were too many of them, all nestling in an isolated city. The surrounding villages and towns were all controlled by the emperor or pro-emperor tribes. They had no way of getting enough supplies. Now the fleet near the castle was threatened by artillery and mines. A week later, the ships of Bari, Ancona and Ragusa, flying the emblems and flags of their respective city-states, appeared on the sea in a swaggering manner, and fought with the warships of Venice and Sicily many times, threatening to completely trap Durazzo.

On the Italian peninsula of Gaia, the situation was also extremely unfavorable for the Kingdom of Sicily and the city-state of Venice: the former's attempt to take over Naples, Calabria and Apulia aroused the vigilance of many Norman nobles, who also united and refused to submit to the Roger family of Sicily. The latter is now sandwiched between the German Empire, Hungary and Gawain's New Roman Empire, none of which are friendly characters. The Adriatic Sea, the channel for ocean trade, is blocked and strangled, and its strength is rapidly losing blood.

Therefore, before resolving the threat from the East, Gawain will never give up the use of troops in Durazzo. He wants to use this to defeat his opponents in Giardini and the Two Sicilies, and strive for peace with the greatest benefits.

On the other hand, the defenders in the city can't stand it.

The Venetians and Sicilians began to doubt the loyalty of the Hungarian soldiers. After all, the rumors of the bloody coup in the Pannonia Palace have more or less spread. People are saying that Coroman killed his brother and nephew, strengthened his arbitrary power, and moved closer to Constantinople, and wanted to suppress dissidents with the tyrant Gawain as a backer.

So the Venetians and Sicilians began to hold secret meetings to split up the three or four thousand Hungarian soldiers left by Almos, but where to divide them became a problem. The Norman commander, Count Duan, believed that these Hungarians should be allowed to guard the front line of the bridgehead and consume these unsafe factors when resisting Gawain's army; while the two sons of the former Venetian governor Ferreille, Giosofat and Tafur, were more respectful to the Hungarians. They proposed to continue to retain the opponent's camps and organization, but not to ask them to guard the key areas or towers.

"After all, when fighting, we need Hungarian brothers to take up one wing." Giosofat said that peace is still the most important thing.

"But now in Udurazo, where is not bombarded, and where is not a key point?" Count Duan retorted.

When the two sides were at a stalemate, encouraging news came: a fleet from Moria, carrying a large amount of food and two thousand elite soldiers who had been regrouped and trained under Gonletto, continued to fly the flag of the "Razor Company", broke through the blockade of the Strait of Otranto set by Gavan, and bravely braved the artillery fire from the artillery forts of the Monastery of St. Michael, and sailed into the port of Durazzo.

The morale of the defenders was greatly boosted, including the Hungarian soldiers, who used crossbows from the tower of the north wall to fiercely fire and repelled the attack of a Red Hand Brigade task force, which attempted to seize the commanding heights of the north wall while the Moria fleet entered the port.

Three days later, 4,000 volunteer soldiers, mostly Irish and Scottish, and some Lombards, who had vowed to avenge Pope Eugene after his death, actually took a boat and risked crossing the Adriatic Sea to reinforce Durazzo.

On the towering tower of St. Michael's Monastery, the observation post first discovered the fleet and used fireworks and mirrors to send a firing signal to the western artillery.

The coastal round tower of Durazzo also discovered the drifting fleet and hurriedly sent out a warning signal.

However, most of the fleet was hired merchant ships, and they were still at a loss for danger. The sailors on the deck could only see low mounds on the coast, and they didn't know what was hidden behind them...

Soon, the shore artillery took advantage of the fleet's unpreparedness and suddenly fired. For a time, the mountains and seas shook and sparks exploded. The mast of the nearest flat-bottomed merchant ship was broken immediately, and the side and cabin of the ship were penetrated. The people on it sank before they could escape. The two ships behind it were also severely damaged and stranded. The beach and shallow water were suddenly filled with people and various luggage.

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The other ships were in a panic and another one hit a "drifting mine" and was blown open in front of the guards on the round tower. The seawater poured in, and the "bulging" ship was tilted below the waterline. In the end, less than 2,000 people entered the city safely.