Rhodes, the pearl of the Aegean Sea, across the sea from Asia Minor on the opposite side, has been an important shipbuilding port since the time of the Phoenicians BC, and then experienced three major Persian-Greek wars, Alexander the Great conquered the world army siege, the Roman Empire conquered the East and a series of battles, has always been an important military port and a battleground for soldiers. novel

The ancient Greeks even built one of the Seven Wonders of the World here, the colossus of the sun god of Rhodes Island tens of meters high, the marble colossus is draped in bronze armor, the torch is held high, the legs are spread and the ****** stand on both sides, and the feet are just straddling the sides of the sheltered bay and the floating island, and any ship entering the port must pass under the crotch of the sun god, which extremely reveals the civilization achievements and solemn domineering of the ancient Greeks.

In 226 B.C., the Colossus of Rhodes collapsed on its knees in an earthquake, conquering the Greek regime that built it, and the Romans took over this strategically important place in the Eastern Mediterranean.

However, the rule of the Romans did not last forever, and in a few years, Rhodes changed hands three times, and now a large number of Arabs have taken over the area.

Even if the political struggle is severe, the Abbasid dynasty that took over is not stupid to purge the last bit of artisan seeds, although the treatment is much lower, so that every artisan of the Christian faith can still live as a free people, instead of being beaten as prisoners of war and slaves.

In the harbor where the Colossus of Rhodes was once located, hundreds of shipbuilders from Damascus worked hard to command, and tens of thousands of civilians and nobles plundered by Arabs in Asia Minor were beaten as coolies and slaves, soaked in waist-deep waters, building ships day and night.

In the dockyard, three or four hundred battleships and a huge five-column battleship were lined up neatly, and in the years of the war with the Byzantine Empire, the shipyards of Rhodes had transported at least five hundred warships to the city of Constantinople.

For this shipyard, the ruler of Damascus, Hou Jie, also paid rare attention, about five floors of the shipbuilding would be transported to Damascus, and at the same time, a steady stream of food supplies would be returned here, and even part of the military rations of the Arab expeditionary force had to be deducted from here.

Under the cruel labor, many Byzantine slaves soaked in the water even festered and grew maggots on their waists, and many people died of diseases, some of them fell directly into the water and died after hitting a dozen boat boards, and some of their bodies were not found and were washed into the sea by the sea.

On the shore, there were also vicious Arab slave owners with long leather whips who reprimanded and scolded: "Hurry up, you lazy bones, pagan scum, let you work to cleanse you from your sins, or you will die and go to Hell." ”

Already exhausted and suffering from unbearable pain in their backs, many of the Byzantine slaves had angry expressions on their faces, but after a moment there was a sad silence.

After decades of Arab rise, the once glorious Eastern Roman Empire has been defeated repeatedly, and finally there is a martial emperor Anna, who is still alive and dead, and even Constantinople has been besieged for more than a year, and they have no hope.

In the midst of the long sighs of the slaves, in the direction of the harbor, where only two big feet remained, a large number of sails suddenly appeared on the sea level.

Every half a month, the army besieging Constantinople would send a fleet to receive supplies and ships, and according to the time, it was almost time for the slaves to do what they wanted, and a group of stewards went to the port exit to prepare for it.

But it didn't take long for the disbelief of Arabic shouts to fill the port exit, and a moment later, under the stunned gaze of tens of thousands of slaves, the originally high-ranking slave owners and Arab nobles all fled back in horror, and even with many overseers, they dropped their whips and turned around and ran, and after a while, finally a bold slave swam out of the water to the edge of the harbor and looked into the dazzling sunlight from afar.

A moment later, more than a dozen slaves burst into tears, but they turned back and shouted with great excitement.

"It's a double-headed eagle flag! It's our ship! ”

"Long live Augustus!!

Having been enslaved for two or three years, living a life inferior to that of pigs and dogs, the inhabitants of the empire in Asia Minor had never shouted Augustus from the bottom of their hearts as they did today, and the cheers intensified when the tall five-column warships with the flag of the double-headed eagle sailed into the harbor.

The war to recover Rhodes was carried out very simply, although the Arabs retreated to Rhodes to resist stubbornly, but they were too confident in the army besieging Constantinople, the Arab Empire left only more than 2,000 troops here, 1,000 or locally recruited mercenaries, tens of thousands of Byzantine soldiers approached the city, before Constantine IV ordered the siege of the city, the tens of thousands of slaves gathered here have angrily smashed open the city gates, More than 400 Arab slave owners and mercenary leaders, who had oppressed them the most, were dragged to the mosque converted from a church in the city, where they were beaten into a pulp of flesh with stones and sticks.

The renovated mosque was immediately restored to a Christian church, the statue of Christ that was originally covered with mud was peeled off inch by inch, and was surrounded by more than 100,000 citizens in the middle, Constantine IV was sent into the church in the cheers of the people, standing in the church bell tower and looking down, everywhere were liberated Rome, Greek slaves, Constantine IV, who had never been so embraced, could not help but show a gloomy smile on the corner of his mouth.

I'm worried about the lack of soldiers! The cannon fodder for the counteroffensive against the Arab Empire is here!

Thinking of this, Constantine IV walked to the window of the bell tower with great majesty, pulled out the Roman sword at his waist with great solemnity, and roared majestically below.

"The time of the barbaric Arab pagans plundering Christians is over!"

"I, the grandson of Emperor Heraclius, the emperor of Rome, the protector of the Christians, will lead you to reclaim from the infidels the lands that belong to you, and to take back everything you have gone!"

In the religious oppression of the Arabs, the impoverished inhabitants of Asia Minor had accumulated enough hatred and anger, like a huge powder keg meeting a splattering spark, Constantine IV only said a few words, and the more than 100,000 residents of Rhodes below and the plundered slaves broke out in an extremely excited response, and the roars in all directions were like a landslide, and everyone was excited to raise their arms and roar loudly.

"Long live Augustus!!

The ships built directly in the port of Rhode Island for the Arab Navy were transported directly to the Rhodes shipyard slaves who were incorporated into the army on the same day.

The defeat of the 100,000-strong Arab expeditionary force was so sudden that even Rhodes, which was on the front line of the war, was unprepared, let alone the cities behind.

Akshan, Antalya, Ichel Iskenderun, cities that originally belonged to the Greeks are now occupied by the Arabs, and the atrocities of the Arabs when they invade the cities seem to be repeated under the rage of the Byzantine army that counterattacked.

On the third day, at the mosque of Akshan, about 3,000 Arabs, old and weak, women and children who had been relocated from the desert cowered in fear, constantly praying to the Lord for salvation, but unfortunately, most of their husbands and sons were invaded by the Byzantine army, and the enraged slaves of Rhodes did not accept their prayers at all, surrendered, and in the roar of anger, countless firewood and grass were piled up near the mosque, and then a fire was blazing.

In the black smoke, weeping and screaming filled the entire city of Akshan.

Five days later, the streets of Tarensus, the original capital of Ancatolia of the Byzantine Empire, were filled with black smoke and dust, and countless townspeople were fleeing to the east with cries, only a few days after putting on their armor, and the freed slaves everywhere were chasing after them with vicious smiles on their faces and bloody Roman daggers.

Compared to five days ago, the Roman mob army, which had plundered an unknown number of villages and towns in a row, was even more irrational, to the point of killing people on sight and grabbing things when they picked them up, and whether it was Arabs, the Romans had to convert to Islam, and even Christians like them could not escape the massacre.

Corpses and burned houses were everywhere, blood had reached the ankle bones in the streets, and hundreds of Arab women with their children had no way out, taking refuge in the remaining Christian churches in the city, but the Byzantine mob army who had killed the show did not hesitate to pursue them.

Listening to the music outside and the painful voices of women and children, he pressed his back against the gate with his broad back, and Leonard wept bitterly, holding his head and criing out miserably: "Lord! They're not Christians, they're beasts! ”

Eight days later, the island of Cyprus.

Standing at the bow of the Byzantine warship, the once magnificent largest port of the Arab Imperial Navy turned into a sea of fire, thousands of ships burned in the fury of the Greek fire, and at the bow of the Byzantine warship, the general of the Epshkin Military District, Mezchos, waved his sword at the sea with great excitement, and excitedly shouted at the hundreds of ships under his command: "Follow General Ben, take down Damascus, and pay back the blood debt brought by the Arabs!" ”

With a loud roar, countless oars slapped into the water, as if the white waves crawling by centipedes could not heal for a long time.

Almost at the same time, under the city of Constantinople, the black banner of the stars, moons and suns that had besieged the city for 400 days was slowly lowered, and the remnants of the Arab expeditionary force, which were starving and shaking, like skeletons, finally lowered their once murderous heads, and under the leadership of the commander Faleda, they staggered to the gates of Constantinople, and under the watchful eyes of many Byzantine cavalry, they dropped their weapons and surrendered on their knees.

Without all supplies, all fleets, and a scorched earth behind him, Faleda was cornered.

Dressed in the luxurious purple robe of the emperor, holding the scepter, wearing the emperor's golden crown, looking at the Arab commander who bowed his head and prostrated at his feet, kissing his boots with sincere fear, Constantine IV's already aged face couldn't help but show an unprecedented sense of pride.