The Sun and the Lion

The Hungarian peasant army went on a rampage and marched southward, successively attacking many castles on the banks of the Maroz River and burning down countless manors. All the captured squires and nobles were executed, and their bodies were displayed in public in the same way as the masters used to intimidate the untouchables.

After plundering enough supplies, Györgi went north and defeated several armed aristocratic groups and approached Buda. On the way, some towns welcomed the peasant army. The support of the citizens significantly enhanced the peasant army's military strength and even provided firearms.

After receiving the friendly patronage of several towns, he repeated to all Hungary in the town square of Ceglade, in the name of "the representative of the Hungarian people", the basic fact and declaration of revenge for the shameless betrayal of the lords and bishops against the Crusaders. , and also announced the political program drafted with the help of the monks - the new society is based on the two major groups of farmers and citizens, the feudal system is abolished, all priests have equal status, the country is ruled by elected bishops, and the nobility and church land are equally divided.

Shocked by the sudden peasant rebellion, the king and lords held an urgent meeting in Buda. They were overwhelmed by discussing how to suppress the "heresy". The lords expressed pessimism and wanted to imitate the story of the Hussite war to borrow lessons from the suppression.

Some people are happy and some are worried. The panic and confusion of the Hungarian nobles also benefited the Ottomans who were marching towards Belgrade. When the news of the Peasant Crusade rebellion and the Ottoman cavalry arrived in the city at the same time, the defenders' mentality was desperate.

"Did you find out everything clearly?" Selim asked the scout officer who came into the tent to report.

It was never a secret that the Holy See called for a crusade. The informant immediately sent the information to Kostantiniya. When he learned that the Christians wanted to beat up the lost dog, he quickly began to prepare for war, and he also wanted to take the initiative to fight and defeat these people at the border. A crusade.

After reorganizing his army in the winter, he was confident that he had regained the ability to defend against the enemy. Especially since he needed a victory to make up for the losses caused by defeat, he "temporarily burdened our people for a year" to raise military supplies and made another bet.

As the saying goes, when God closes a door, he will open another window. After learning that the Pope and the King of Hungary were stabbed by the sharp blade used against him, Selim's combat ideas became radical, and he lost everything and now makes up for it. Isn’t this a good time to conquer Belgrade?

After being able to confirm that Belgrade had temporarily become an isolated city, he immediately organized troops to begin the siege of the city. The reorganized troops could still be said to be strong, although their size was not as large as that of Fatih Sultan's troops, but their infantry There are complete troops, cavalry and artillery teams, and there is also a river fleet on the Danube to block the city's river port.

Now there are nearly 20,000 Ottoman troops under the city of Dunbing, and the core is still Jenicheli. In addition, Sipaxi recruited from various places are on their way to gather. If they all arrive, Selim will have a large-scale army in his hands. A mobile force of around 30,000 to 40,000 people.

"Is this really a newly defeated division?" Mihai, the city lord stationed here, scanned the Ottoman army below the city from the tower. They were preparing to attack the city in an orderly manner. Snake cannons and mortar cannons had been deployed.

The rumble of cannons was heard, and the stone or iron cannonballs flew over the city wall and hit the bell tower of a church. It collapsed with the sound, and the cross on the roof also fell off. Is this an ominous sign?

"Master, it's dangerous up there, let's go down." When the shelling started, the soldiers were about to escort Mihai down the city wall. The city lord did not show any force and immediately returned to the castle to command the defense and met with the bishop who was concerned about the situation.

How many defenders are there in Belgrade at this moment? Compared with János Hunyadi back then, it was too shabby - in 1456, there were 7,000 castle guards alone, but now there are only one-tenth. In addition, they can also rely on armed citizens. Well, the elite cavalry, peasant crusaders and river fleet that the White Knight personally led to come to the rescue are all gone now.

Now that panic is spreading in the city, Mihai has to order the execution of dozens of defeatists who spread rumors and try to boost the morale of the army and civilians: "The Turks are bluffing. They have just experienced a great defeat and are really capable of taking advantage of them." Are you leaving this fortified city? God is with us!"

"I am attacking the fortified city!"

After inspecting the progress of preparations for the siege, Selim read the letters sent with the supplies displeasedly. In his opinion, these urgent letters did not mention any important matters.

The high-ranking viziers were uneasy about Padisha's sudden change in the battle plan. They wrote letters to advise Selim not to aim too high and make dangerous moves. He really couldn't afford to lose.

But he sneered at this. The more critical the situation became, the more he would bite off a piece of flesh from the Christians and use bloody wounds to warn them not to act rashly and seize the initiative, otherwise they would be attacked by a group. The situation is very passive.

The sound of gunfire continued for several days and nights, looking for Shuyuanwww. zhaｏshuyuｎｎ.com A small section of the wall collapsed, a large section of the wall was swept away, and the towers on the southern city wall were damaged to varying degrees. The time was ripe for a storming attack.

A fierce attack came suddenly. The guards without the protection of the wall were knocked down by Jenichery's precise shooting. The warriors with swords and shields quickly rushed to the bottom of the city carrying long ladders, and climbed up the city wall through the long ladders or the slopes formed by the collapse. .

Compared with those seniors who were lost in Ankara, the newly added Janiceri to each company were much inferior. Their all-out assault overwhelmed the guards without a single blow. The Hungarian soldiers and citizens bravely climbed up to the top of the city. The pagans fought.

The number of Janicerys who climbed onto the city wall gradually increased, and the guards on the outer wall found it difficult to withstand the offensive. They could only fight and retreat. Fortunately, Belgrade had two city walls, so there was no need to retreat directly into the castle and wait for death.

However, the core of the war is people after all. When the seven hundred well-trained guards retreated to the inner city, less than half of them were withdrawn. The losses of the armed citizens were even greater. In comparison, the losses of Yenicheri who assaulted the city wall were not much. There is no remaining force to continue the offensive, not to mention the continuous flow of follow-up troops pouring into the outer city to join the battle.

In less than two hours, Selim received the news that he had taken control of the entire city, as well as the corpses of the city lord and bishop. The place where his grandfather had returned in vain was now his prey.

The important town on the Danube River was ignited with raging fire, allowing the villages on the other side to see clearly. The conqueror chose to burn it to the ground, and all the residents of the city became slaves of the Sultan.

Padishah did not intend to stop at this point. The civilian ships captured from the river port were used to build pontoons for the Ottoman cavalry to raid the vast north bank of the Danube. If all the settlements between Bud and Belgrade were burned to the ground, they would surely be able to plunder a lot of loot. It should be enough to make up for the loss of Ankara's defeat.