Chapter 267: 262: Discuss

To surrender the city to the Ottomans or not, that is the main issue for the day. 

The most elite bunch of people under Antonius's led is probably all gathered here for this meeting, with all the master minds on different specialties and fields, and one must have expected that by gathering all of these specialists around they ought to be able to achieve all sorts of things discussing out a most efficient way of handling this crisis. However, the reality turned out to be that when these people are gathered around in a meeting asking them to handle this kind of stuff, they made a mess of themselves and after a prolonged time of discussion no solid and conclusive solution or result is being made.

Antonius grew increasingly frustrated looking at this bunch of rowdy folks beneath him arguing like a bunch of elders bargaining for eggs in the grocery market, and a question also rose up in the deep of his head. Why are all these master minds and specialists so inefficient when gathered together? Each one of them can solve issues fast and perfect when working on their own or in a small time, but there just seem to be a force, a friction that stops them from collating their work and talents together. Though Antonius knows that in urgent times like this, he himself as the leader cannot have any signs of impatience, afraid or anger on his face, and thus he stood up and walked out of the room leaving the captains and courtiers inside startled. 

But their silence is only short lived, and they continued quarreling and debating half a minute after Antonius has left, thinking that the admiral might have just went to take a pee or drink some water back in his own chamber. However, what they don't know is that Antonius is in a room just a wall away, where he can have a seat while listening to the arguments in the other room. That is why Antonius has always mentioned that the builder of this government house must be a genius knowing what the lord wants. 

Antonius took his seat on a chair near the window, watching the late summer Mediterranean sceneries in the garden outside, a season when flowers bloom the brightest, with birds and butterflies fluttering around the clusters of plants, mini animals like squirrels climbing up and down the trees with some slight sea wind chasing away the heat and humidity of this season bringing in early signs of Autumn. Antonius opened the window minimizing the noise from the near by room and took a deep breathe of this unpolluted fresh air. Antonius looked at the reflection through the window pane. His faithful guard Yuri is already standing there waiting for his orders, guarding his personal safety where ever he goes after his main post as the commander of the Varangian is taken over by Fjodor. 

"I am not going to go back to that brawling market again." Antonius said to Yuri leaning against the window. "I shall talk to them here, one by one." 

"Which man do you want to see first?" 

"Call me…" Antonius hesitated. "Call me Khalid first, and when he comes, please be there outside and stop any one from peeking their ear over here." 

"Roger that." 

A while later, the confused and blurry Khalid standing in the middle of a bunch of captains wearing a brand new uniform borrowed from Abraham with no one to talk to is pulled out of the crowd by Yuri saying that the admiral wants to see him, then under the sight of every one he is brought in to the room opposite, where there is only him and Antonius. 

"Come here, Khalid." Antonius called out. "I will only ask you three questions." 

"Yes, my lord." Replied Khalid nervously as he walked forward lowering his head. 

"Are you able to build up the cavalry force in three month's time?" Antonius asked in a calm way trying to not make Khalid nervous. 

"I will, I can promise you, our men have already been dispatched to every where buying Saracen, Mamluk and Berber slaves, and the training work of Rumelian riders are also on going." 

"How many cavalries do you think the Ottomans will bring along with them this time for us?" Antonius asked again looking at Khalid's eyes. 

"Four thousand, no more than five thousand." Replied Khalid. "The woods and valleys in this region around Thessaloniki are not a suitable terrain for massive amount of calvaries to spread out, and further more the Ottomans shall be bringing large amount of siege equipment and supplies for this operation, thus they will only need the cavaliers for recon works, protecting them against the flanks, and being a highly mobile force that can reinforce various armies and spots in a short duration of time." 

"I see." Nodded Antonius. "Final question, if you and Abraham, with your cavalry force, are to meet the Ottomans face on in the terrain outside Thessaloniki. I would not request you people to crush them for me, but can you at least hold on there for a long time?" 

Hearing this Khalid felt like he has realised some thing, but still he nodded heavily and replied. "Yes! Admiral! All of us in the cavalries division are willing to die for you for gifting us with a brand new identity allowing us to walk on the streets in broad day light again!" 

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"I see." Antonius nodded again with out any expression. "You may now go, please call Abdullah for me, remember, do not expose any words we just discussed to other people." 

Khalid went out of the room feeling both an excited yet anxious feeling burning in his heart after he thinks he has caught some information in the admiral's words. When he went back to the room a wave of captains who never bothered talking to him before rushed to crowd by his side asking Khalid what has the admiral just said, but he kept his mouth shut and went to Abdulla conveying the admiral's request to see him. 

"Abdullah my brother, I have three questions for you." Antonius did not even give Abdullah any time to prepare himself and straight away carried on to asking. 

"Yes, please." 

"What is the possibilities of us achieving peace with the Ottomans?" 

"Totally zero." Abdullah has not a single hesitation in his words. "We cannot be too naïve facing a life and death situation like this Antonius, the Grand Vizier has made up his mind knowing that it is a must to squash us before we secure the holding and continue to expand in Thessaly eating up Zaganos Pasha's territories. Although he has a lot of disputes with the later, but he is a true Ottoman who built this Sultanate with the ex Sultans, and he will not tolerate us taking the city, from the moment we set food on Thessaly the Grand Vizier has became dead end rivals with no possibilities of peace." 

"Will he let us be if we go back on to the seas?" 

"Nope, he wont, he will attack us the moment he has a foreign support or stabalised his power. If we concede to his demands, he will see us as weak and use the chance to further increase his prestige among the Sultan's court." 

"Then, final question. Abdullah, do you think we should stay, or do you think we should go?" 

"We should stay." Frowned Abdullah. "My brother, if we leave, there will not be another chance for us to get back, we will face a much tougher city defence, a much larger enemy garrison and most importantly we shall lose the popularity and trust of the people." 

"Thank you, Abdullah." Antonius leapt forward holding Abdullah's hands tight and sticked his cheeks close to Abdullah, surprising the later with this form of courteous gesture he is not used to. "Please, get me Anjelo, and do not expose our conversation to any one else." 

A minute later Anjelo came in, it is a rather quick session this time round, with only two questions. 

"Old man, if I put you in charge of the city's defense, can you make sure that you can hold the city for at least two months, even if I pull out most of my forces?" 

The old man bowed graciously tip toeing his foot. "I shall motivate the entire population and the church, have no worries." 

"When I am out of the city, can you make sure that there are no intrigues or plots against me among those people inside the city?" 

Anjelo smacked his chest. "No intrigues can escape my eyes, I have seen more intrigues and plots in my seventy years of life than any other people." 

Antonius smiled and hugged Anjelo. "Thank you, old man, now please call Julian in, and don't tell the others what we have talked about." 

Antonius spent half of the day summoning his followers one by one asking them various questions that is closer to their specialties and using these answers his view on the entire situation became more and more clear, achieving totally ad different effect than summoning all of them and once and listening to their dissension and squabbles.

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