After the coronation, the conquest of Asia Minor officially entered its countdown.
However, compared to the formidable force that besieged Constantinople, the army about to participate in the Crusade was much smaller.
A large number of conscripted auxiliary soldiers, who were not skilled in combat, and accompanying civilians were settled in Constantinople to assist with the city's restoration work.
Some warriors, eager to return home, also embarked on their journey back, carrying the spoils they had gained from this holy war.
Laszlo and the other Crusaders did not blame them for abandoning the campaign midway, as they had already proven their faith and courage in the Battle of Constantinople.
The Emperor offered his final blessings to these brave warriors returning to the West and dispatched envoys with his orders to towns and ferries along their route, ensuring they would provide convenience to the returning Crusaders to help them reach home safely.
These individuals would carry the stories of the Crusade back, igniting people's religious fervor, though they were destined to miss out on the glory that was to come.
At the narrowest point of the Bosphorus Strait, the Ottomans had built two fortresses.
The fortress located in Europe was named Rumelian Fortress, also known as Roman Fortress, or Throat-Cutting Fortress, while across the strait, there was also the Anatolian Fortress.
The Ottomans installed cannons in these twin fortresses, aimed at the sea, and from then on began to intercept and extort all ships entering the Black Sea.
However, with the fall of Throat-Cutting Fortress, the blockade of the strait was completely lifted, though many ships would still be damaged by cannon fire when passing through the strait.
In February 1469, the sound of cannons around the Anatolian Fortress became increasingly frequent; the Crusader Fleet bombarded the fortress from the sea, and the vanguard troops who had crossed the strait completely surrounded the entire fortress, continuously striking its walls with artillery.
This was not a very large military fortress; when it was first built, it only had a twenty-five-meter-high watchtower and a mosque, with slightly shorter watchtowers at its four corners, and the walls were only two meters thick.
When Throat-Cutting Fortress was built in 1452, the Anatolian Fortress was also renovated, with several watchtowers and a warehouse added. Later, it was used as a military prison by the Ottoman Empire, where many captives from the Byzantine Empire were imprisoned and executed.
Despite Mehmed II further strengthening the fortress's defenses and increasing its garrison to three hundred men during the Battle of Constantinople, it was still no match for the Crusaders, who were in high spirits.
In just a few short days, the fortress was breached by the Crusader vanguard. Most of the city's defenders died in battle, and the remaining few who were captured were enslaved and taken by merchant ships to Constantinople, where they were put to work as free labor in the city's reconstruction.
On the watchtower in the center of the fortress, Laszlo and his accompanying generals stood, enjoying the rare scenery.
The fortress was built on the land at the narrowest point of the strait, and from their current position, they could clearly see the situation across the strait. The Emperor's banner flew over Throat-Cutting Fortress, and soldiers kept a close watch on the sea, with the dark muzzles of cannons beside them.
The cannons of Throat-Cutting Fortress had not fired for a long time, but the cannons of Anatolian Fortress had been rendered useless due to excessive firing in recent days.
The initial purpose of building these two fortresses was to cut off Constantinople's most important supply route and control traffic through the Bosphorus Strait.
The Ottomans particularly liked to target the Republic of Genoa, which controlled several colonies in the northern Black Sea, such as Caffa, Sinop, and Amasra.
When the Ottoman Empire attacked Constantinople, it was the Genoese, claiming neutrality, who provided the most assistance to the Eastern Roman Empire.
Later, after many twists and turns, the Republic of Genoa eventually sided with the Emperor, which made the Ottomans hate and fear them even more.
To maintain their trade routes in the Black Sea, the Genoese had to endure Ottoman extortion and even robbery.
After the Emperor and the Venetians completely broke ties, the Ottomans, to help Venice punish the Genoese for their piratical activities, once closed the sea passage to the Genoese.
Therefore, after the fall of the twin fortresses, known as the "Throat-Cutting" fortresses, the Genoese immediately could not contain their hatred.
Marquis William of Montferrat stood beside Laszlo, lowering his voice slightly to advise the Emperor: "Your Majesty, General Doria, the Genoese commander, on behalf of the Genoese government, requests that you dismantle these two evil fortresses, because both fortresses were born from the Ottomans' ever-expanding ambition and utterly tyrannical robber mentality."
This was an old topic, and Laszlo always felt that the Genoese seemed dissatisfied with his previous ambiguous response and were now subtly mocking him under the guise of criticizing the Ottomans.
What expanding ambition, what robber mentality? Laszlo admitted that he did have the idea of controlling the strait and, consequently, manipulating Black Sea trade, but was there anything wrong with that?
He was the ruler of the Balkans, and the entire western Black Sea coast consisted of his vassal states. Coupled with the navigation advantages of the Danube River, Black Sea trade was indeed worth investing in and paying attention to.
However, Black Sea trade was currently entirely dominated by the Genoese. They had, after all, cultivated this route for hundreds of years, so how could they easily give up their advantage?
Laszlo could easily choose to directly coerce the Genoese into submission, but that would be too unsightly and would cause unnecessary panic among the Empire's feudal lords.
Therefore, he had to adopt some special measures to establish the advantage of his own and his vassal states' merchants. Throat-Cutting Fortress and Anatolian Fortress were his indirect moves.
"William, I actually think these two fortresses have their necessity. The Genoese have preserved their precarious Crimean colonies and regained the right to operate Galata. They should be satisfied with this..."
Laszlo did not offer too many explanations; in fact, he was not very willing to directly address this issue.
The Genoese were now pressing him on why he wouldn't dismantle the fortresses controlling the strait. He even wanted to directly reply that as the Emperor ruling Constantinople, he had the right to control the strait.
However, such a response would undoubtedly cause great embarrassment to both sides. The conquest of Asia Minor could not do without the help of the Genoese Navy, and the large amount of logistical supplies they transported from various parts of Europe would be crucial to determining the outcome of the war.
William immediately understood the Emperor's difficulty. After a moment of thought, he tentatively said, "If you promise to grant Genoese ships—no, perhaps all Crusader nations' ships—the privilege of free passage through the strait, then perhaps the Genoese will not be so entangled in this."
Laszlo thought for a moment and finally nodded in agreement with William's suggestion.
Even if he didn't impose restrictions on the Genoese now, as long as the two fortresses remained under his control, the initiative would always be in his hands.
For now, it was better to appease the Genoese and seize the opportunity to win over people's hearts. After all, he had received a lot of assistance from various parties for this Crusade, and souring relations over such a minor matter was not a wise choice.
Laszlo, of course, understood the Genoese's urgency, but he was not like the East Roman Emperors of the past who had to rely on Venetian naval support, allowing a commercial republic to manipulate them at will and obey their every command.
He had already given the Genoese a lot of extra consideration, and now he only hoped that the Genoese would be sensible enough to remain silent when they should.
Seeing the Emperor relent, William also breathed a sigh of relief. He was, after all, the Emperor's representative in Northern Italy and was always caught between the Italian lords and the Emperor. Any disagreement that arose had to be resolved with caution.
Since the Emperor had already made a concession, his subsequent negotiations with the Genoese would be much easier.
With that topic concluded, Laszlo's gaze shifted to the Ottoman prisoners of war being escorted onto ships at the nearby port.
"Look at those fellows. Despite the vast disparity in strength between the two sides, they refuse to surrender to us. Most of them chose to face death in battle.
The Ottomans have occupied these regions for over a hundred years, so the Turkification here is very high. As we push further east, the resistance we encounter will only become more intense.
Gentlemen, we must be prepared for hard fighting, and at the same time, we need to carefully plan our advance to avoid getting the army bogged down in a quagmire and incurring avoidable defeats."
Laszlo turned to the many Crusader commanders beside him and spoke, though it sounded more like a reminder to himself.
"Your Majesty, we do not need to advance deep into the plateau to confront the Ottomans in unfavorable terrain.
The heart of the Anatolian Peninsula lies in its many prosperous coastal cities and ports in the west, such as Nicaea, Bursa, and Smyrna.
The Ottomans' foreign trade largely depends on these important ports established along the Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara. If we can capture these areas, it will deal a heavy blow to the Ottoman Empire.
Moreover, the land in central Anatolia is not suitable for agricultural development. Currently, the Ottoman Empire's most important grain-producing areas are concentrated in the many river valleys along the western coast. If we can occupy these agricultural regions, the decline of the Ottoman Empire will accelerate further."
Grand Master Giovanni of the Knights Hospitaller also spoke at this time, informing the commanders of the methods he had researched for dealing with the Ottomans.
Rhodes, after all, was close to the Asia Minor coast, so the Knights Hospitaller were extremely knowledgeable about the situation of the Ottoman Empire.
The Anatolian Peninsula is generally higher in the east and lower in the west, with most of the land being plateau terrain, covered with mountains, which is not conducive to agricultural development.
Therefore, compared to the western coastal regions, the population density of the central plateau is much lower.
However, the mountainous terrain also promoted the development of animal husbandry on the Anatolian plateau, providing a large number of cavalry for the Ottoman Empire.
His past experiences fighting in the Transylvanian mountains and the Swiss Alps had left a deep impression on Laszlo, and he absolutely did not want to lead a large army into an endless expanse of mountains.
Fortunately, he didn't need to. According to Giovanni's analysis, the vital areas of the Ottoman Empire were mostly concentrated in the western coastal regions, where population, commerce, and agricultural development were crucial to the Ottomans.
Therefore, Laszlo set his sights on the coastal areas. If he could occupy the western coastal regions of Anatolia for a long time, the Ottoman Empire's strength would be continuously weakened.
Even if he couldn't achieve this goal, Laszlo intended to lead his large army to turn the Ottoman Empire's core regions upside down.
As long as he could make Mehmed II's life difficult, his goal would be achieved.
"Excellent. Then we shall proceed south along the coastline, all the way to the city of Bursa, and see if the cowardly Mehmed II will abandon his new capital, Bursa, and flee in panic, just as he once abandoned Constantinople."
Laszlo's sarcastic words drew a round of laughter from everyone.
After taking Constantinople, their confidence in fighting the Ottomans had soared to an unprecedented level.
In the past, the Pope always believed in the Ottomans' weakness, but unfortunately, the monarchs of European countries did not share this view.
But now, everyone saw the undeniable decline of the Ottoman Empire. The former fear quickly turned into a desire for revenge, and so they were now very eager to follow the Emperor in striking the Ottomans, thereby proving their courage and piety.
After a brief rest, the victorious Crusaders immediately set off east along the Sea of Marmara coast.
The towns and villages along the way put up a rather fierce resistance. The local muslims residents had learned of the Christians' cruelty and cold-bloodedness from the Sultan's decree, and to avoid humiliation and enslavement, they preferred to fight to the death.
However, non-muslims groups such as Greeks and Jews living in these areas did not harbor much hostility towards the Crusaders. They were even willing to serve the Crusaders in exchange for the safety of their lives and property.
Laszlo quickly realized that this approach was not sustainable.
Although the Crusaders' formidable strength easily crushed the muslims' resistance, the Crusaders' casualties were also constantly increasing in the process.
In past religious narratives, it was generally believed that negotiation with muslims was not an option, nor was it possible to convert them through missionary work; the only way was to eliminate them through military conquest.
Such fanatical thinking among the Crusaders ultimately ignited the fanaticism of the muslims, and a storm of retaliation from the Islamic world quickly followed, leading to centuries of intermittent warfare between the two religions.
However, after the Crusaders established states in the Holy Land, they began to adopt a policy of tolerance towards the local populace, because the trickle of human and financial support from Europe alone could not enable them to establish a firm foothold there.
Ultimately, they accepted the people there, whether they worshipped Christ or Allah.
Laszlo quickly adopted a similar approach, pardoning the muslims residents of two towns that surrendered to him, without harming their lives, property, or freedom.
This caused some controversy within the Crusader ranks, but ultimately, no one questioned the Emperor's decision.
Fortunately, there were not too many reckless and arrogant Frenchmen in this Crusader army, otherwise the tragedy of the Nicopolis Crusade might have repeated itself.
Decades earlier, Laszlo's maternal grandfather, Sigismund, had once given his word of honor to make an Ottoman city willingly surrender to the Crusaders. However, just as the Hungarians were preparing to take over the city, French "knights" rushed in as the city residents opened the gates and massacred the inhabitants.
This nearly led to a large-scale conflict between the Hungarian Crusaders and the French Crusaders, because the Hungarians believed the French had sullied the honor of their king, Sigismund.
This terrible incident also made the Ottomans realize the cruelty and cunning of the Crusaders. Therefore, in the subsequent Siege of Nicopolis, the Ottoman defenders chose to fight to the death until their Sultan arrived with a large army to relieve the siege, almost completely annihilating the Crusaders.
Laszlo did not want to add more obstacles to the upcoming war because of some fools' impulsive decisions, so he issued strict orders to all Crusaders, which ultimately received good feedback.
As expected, during the subsequent advance, more and more villages and towns were willing to pay ransom and open their gates to surrender to avoid harsh treatment.
Their rapid advance was abruptly halted only when the main army reached outside the important port city of Izmit on the Sea of Marmara.
This terrible incident also made the Ottomans realize the cruelty and cunning of the Crusaders. Therefore, in the subsequent Siege of Nicopolis, the Ottoman defenders chose to fight to the death until their Sultan arrived with a large army to relieve the siege, almost completely annihilating the Crusaders.
Laszlo did not want to add more obstacles to the upcoming war because of some fools' impulsive decisions, so he issued strict orders to all Crusaders, which ultimately received good feedback.
As expected, during the subsequent advance, more and more villages and towns were willing to pay ransom and open their gates to surrender to avoid harsh treatment.
Their rapid advance was abruptly halted only when the main army reached outside the important port city of Izmit on the Sea of Marmara.