Fanfiction 25: Tianjiao - June 17th
In the 12th century, Europe was still intoxicated with aristocratic warfare. Knights wore gorgeous armor, elegantly raised their lances, and won the hearts of ladies with a gorgeous charge. Proud knights were rampant on the European continent. As God's dependents on earth, they were responsible for conveying God's will to the world. All doubters were greeted with the knights' angry charge. No one could stop the advance of these silver torrents, except the light cavalry of the Seljuk Empire in the Arab world. These cavalrymen of the Asian Empire were barbaric and crazy, and appeared and disappeared unpredictably. Their light attire could keep a safe distance from the knights. When the knights were exhausted from chasing, they would do everything they could to provoke the knights' anger. When a knight rushed out of the team for glory, these despicable vultures would jump up and eat the knights, and then flee like a whirlwind, leaving only dust. The knights with superb martial arts and solid armor looked so clumsy in front of these cunning cavalry. Fortunately, their simple swords and crossbows could hardly penetrate the knights' sophisticated armor, and in the end, the Christians successfully drove the vultures out of God's land. It was a great shame for the arrogant knights to be tied with the pagans and even suppressed for a time. After the victory of the First Crusade, the Western world was ready for the next war, determined to let the pagans feel the wrath of God at the right time. The opportunity to avenge the shame finally came. The Seljuk Empire attacked Edessa. Two years later, the Crusaders assembled and swore to fight for Jerusalem. At this time, the scouts accidentally captured the pagans from the East. This former Pasha of Turkey brought unbelievable news to the Western world.
Five years ago, in Katwan, the regime from the Eastern Silk Country challenged the powerful Seljuk Empire. Sultan Sanjar mobilized Islamic countries to fight against these unbelievers. The result of the war was that the Turkish cavalry was defeated again and again by the Silk People. The pillar of the Arab world, the powerful Seljuk Empire, retreated step by step in five years. In the end, the Sultan died in the battle and the regime collapsed. This also explains why more and more Muslims have appeared on the edge of the European world in recent years and tried to escape into Europe. Just when the nobles were arguing about whether there really was an army that could destroy the Seljuk Empire within five years, Constantinople, the pearl of the Eastern Mediterranean, the center of world wealth and art, and the last pride of the Romans, welcomed the "guests" from the East after a long absence. The last news about the Eastern Empire was the shocking collision between the country called Tang and the Arab world in Talas. After four hundred years, the Arab world no longer had the good luck before and was smashed to pieces. The Western world eliminated the threat of Muslims without taking action, but they had to face the more terrible Silk People.
Threat from the East! Panic spread like a virus in medieval Europe. More Crusaders gathered and headed to the Byzantine Empire to join the conflict with the East. This battle was about faith and determined the survival of Europe. It was this conflict between the East and the West that made the name of Khitan resound throughout Europe and also opened the prelude to the darkest period in Europe's history.
The last emperor of Byzantium, Manuel, was pinned down by the Khitans with black ash on their hands at the gate of the city to hold a captive surrender ceremony to show the Khitans' martial arts. Before the execution, he turned his head and looked at Constantinople for the last time. This was the final farewell of the last Roman emperor to Constantinople, and it was also the last time that Europeans set foot on the land of Constantinople. The city wall that stood for 800 years, together with its emperor, finally existed only in the mournful songs of Europeans, "Many years later this city will still belong to you, and you will return like lightning."
——TN Dupuy, The Evolution of Weapons and Warfare (10)
The Whirlwind from Khitan
The sound of water pouring down, my dry lips absorbed the precious water. "Where is this? Who am I?"
Another basin of water poured down, and fragments of memories emerged in my drowsy mind: the ancient and towering churches, the solemn hymns, the devout people praying in the bright candlelight, the purple robes handed to me by the bishop, and the high-spirited knights crowded up the towering walls of Constantinople. Walls? Walls!
The third basin of water completely woke Manuel up. Manuel I, the ambitious Roman emperor who had just inherited the throne, dreamed of reviving the Roman Empire, weakening the authority of the Holy Roman Empire in the west, curbing the offensive of the Seljuk Empire in the east, and letting the name of the double-headed eagle echo in the Mediterranean. But what the young emperor didn't expect was that the powerful Seljuk Empire in the east collapsed overnight, and the demons named Khitan marched straight in. They used incredible tactics to let the warships bypass the chains of the empire blocking the river and burn the flames under the strong walls of Constantinople.
The emperor was never afraid of a challenge. He personally climbed the city wall and led the knights to cut down the first lunatics. "God is on our side!" the emperor proudly announced. Unless God cast a thunder of punishment, no one could knock down the strong walls of Constantinople. Until that day, the emperor climbed the steps as usual under the escort of the knights. An inexplicable heat wave rolled over from under the city wall, and the emperor was knocked over and fainted. The last scene was the disappearing city wall.
"You bunch of damn Khitan barbarians." The moment Manuel opened his eyes, he saw the young man sitting opposite him, flipping through the emperor's favorite biography of Caesar. The humiliation of losing his country and the anger of being offended made Manuel shout out, but his mouth was immediately blocked by someone.
"I came, I saw, I conquered." To Manuel's surprise, the young man spoke in Latin, slowly reading out Caesar's famous saying. Looking at the surprised emperor, the young man immediately switched to Greek, "Don't be surprised. If you are in a precarious situation, you will also be motivated to learn. Let me introduce myself. I am Yelu Zongbi, the direct subordinate of the Emperor of Liao, Yelu Dashi, who is more dazzling than Caesar." The young man waved his hand and let the emperor loosen his restraints. Manuel scolded as soon as he opened his mouth, "You are just an oriental barbarian, and you dare to claim the title of emperor and blaspheme Caesar. You are a bunch of bald crows in your humble room. Are you going to tear up the gift of God and turn the most prosperous city in the world into ashes!"
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