Chapter 565: Breaking the City

The streets of Constantinople are neat and orderly, but it is these wide and straight streets that give the struggle real feasibility.

The riot first started from the port of the Golden Horn. Sailors armed with weapons rushed down from the warships and lowered the iron chains that blocked the Golden Horn, allowing the warships on standby in the strait outside to rush into the Golden Horn.

The soldiers in charge of guarding this place were stunned. They did not expect that the navy, whom Marcian treated as an ally, would rush towards them with swords in their hands.

The entire dock was in chaos. The guards of Constantinople and Hermanus' navy were engaged in a melee. More and more warships poured into the Golden Horn. A large number of small boats docked, and fully armed sailors rushed onto the dock with daggers in their hands.

Marcian's soldiers soon couldn't hold on any longer, they either fled or surrendered. Soon, a tide of troops poured out from the streets and rushed towards Marcian who was guarding the western wall defense line.

"Caesar, bad news! Hermanus has betrayed you, and now his army has defeated our troops stationed at the docks, and they have cut the chain that blocks the Golden Horn."

"Damn it! Damn it!"

The surprised Marcian was now left with only endless regret. He had never expected that Hermanus would choose to betray him when Luca's army was at the gates.

"How many people are there?" Marcian's expression was solemn, his whole face turned blue due to anger, veins bulged on his forehead. I'm afraid that no matter who heard such news, they would be angry and unbearable.

"Thousands, Caesar." The officer's tone was very frustrated, which explained the current situation. "They have captured the prison and controlled the palace. Countless prisoners have been released. And, and..." The officer hesitated for a moment, as if he didn't know where to start.

"What's wrong? What else?" Marcian was about to collapse and lose his patience.

"Augusta was captured by them!" The officer was so panicked that he didn't know what tone to use to talk to Marenius about this matter. The general he trusted the most betrayed him, not only turning his sword against him, but also capturing his wife. Such a double blow would be unbearable for any commander.

"Where are they now? Also, where are our city defense soldiers?"

"They are crossing Augusta Avenue, heading straight towards us. The soldiers are on this long and narrow wall, and there are two field regiments of troops on the street. They know nothing about this."

"Then tell them quickly to form a defense line! No matter what, they must guard the streets and the city."

The officer who delivered the order ran down quickly. Marcian turned around and looked at the Luga army waiting quietly under the city. They were waiting as if nothing had happened. Perhaps they had already known about all this and were watching Marcian's self-destruction with cold eyes.

"It was all your idea, it was all your idea!" Marcian gritted his teeth and pounded the stone with his fists.

"What should we do, Caesar?" The officers of the capital's garrison stood behind Marcian. Although each of them tried their best to remain calm, the inner turmoil turned into cold sweat dripping from their foreheads.

"Don't panic, gentlemen!" Marciano didn't intend to surrender. He waved his hands at the officers to calm them down. This was the only way now. "As long as we control the city walls and prevent Flavius ​​Luca from coming in, we will always find a way to deal with Hermanus. Even though their sailors and rioting soldiers and prisoners are just a mob, they are no match for our guards."

On the empty streets, the soldiers of the two field regiments were divided into small groups of 100 people to form shield walls in every street. Their ears were filled with the rumbling sound of a large number of footsteps, and in front of them were hundreds of heads surging.

The citizens, prisoners and sailors rushed towards them with weapons raised high.

"Defense! Defense!"

The guards huddled together under the centurion's roar. They held their shields forward and pointed their spears at the crowd in front of them. "Stop them and protect Basilus! God will bless you and give you the courage to stop the rebels' attack!"

Under the Arch of Constantine, the two sides were already fighting each other. As both were Romans, they were as familiar with the weaknesses of their own army as they were with their own bodies.

Hermanus' archers and javelin throwers climbed up the houses on both sides of the street and looked down at the garrison troops below who were engaged in a fierce battle.

No matter how good the armor is, it cannot protect against flying rocks and arrows falling from above.

Marcian's army was defeated, leaving behind a field of corpses. They looked up at the archers on the roof and even though they were filled with hatred, they had no choice but to endure it.

There were a total of one hundred of Marcian's most elite armored cavalrymen. They gathered on the main Avenue Augusta, wearing heavy armor and holding long lances pointing directly at the rebels rushing before them.

"Send these damn bastards to hell!" The leading commander shouted loudly, waving the iron sword in his hand and pointing it at the soldiers rushing towards him, "Kill them!"

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The armored cavalry following closely behind roared loudly and rushed towards the citizens in front of them, but when they were almost halfway, the leading commanding officer suddenly reined in his horse and shouted loudly for the cavalry behind to stop.

Because the leader of this group of soldiers turned out to be Augusta Purgolia. Purgolia was obviously coerced. She was terrified, and tears froze on her face. She couldn't cry anymore. She looked lost and had lost all the dignity of being "Augusta".

"It seems that Hermanus is determined to face the enemy with you, Luca." Listening to the shouts of killing coming from the city and the frequent looking back of the soldiers defending the city, it is not difficult to see that they have been tied up in the quagmire of civil strife.

"Constantinople is like a tortoise, with a hard shell and fragile internal organs. We attack the internal organs instead of the solid shell, and they will definitely be in chaos." Luca said, patting the captain's staff in his hand, shaking his head and sighing: "Choosing a civil war in such a troubled time is really a rebellious act."

"But we certainly did, after Theodosius, your father, died."

"Since it is my father's order, I will obey it." Luca's eyes were deep and hesitant. "I don't know how far I can lead this country, but now I am the one that everyone wants. It's time to settle accounts with Marcian."

"Constantinople has three gates. The outermost gate has two layers. The outer layer is a floor-to-ceiling iron mesh, and the inner layer is a wooden door." John Antiochus took out the map and said, "It is almost impossible for us to attack from the outside!"

(End of this chapter)