"Dimitrios, Your Highness, no, Your Majesty, you are free."
In the early morning of October 28, 1444, inside the Monastery of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, a team of unknown armored personnel attacked a hidden location within the monastery during the change of day and night. After striking down the guards and several priests on site, they opened the door to where Dimitrios, the brother of Constantine XI, was being held under house arrest. Dimitrios, who had been confined for quite some time, looked up and saw the leading armored Greek warrior from the group kneel before him, leaving him completely astonished and bewildered.
As the youngest son of Manuel II, and the brother of John VIII and Constantine XI, the 37-year-old Dimitrios also had the same jet-black hair, dark eyes, and handsome features as his relatives. However, due to being under house arrest for a period and his mental state being imbalanced for a long time, his face appeared much more haggard than before, and his beard was somewhat disheveled from lack of care.
"I am 'free'? What does that mean?" Dimitrios, dressed in a monk's robe, became highly vigilant and cautiously asked, puzzled. Having been under house arrest for so long, he had some understanding of current affairs, but due to repeated political failures, even if he still harbored ambitions, he would not easily trust an uncertain "rescue." Unless a foreign monarch he deeply trusted was willing to provide a guarantee as a backing for his actions.
"Basileus Constantine XI has left the capital, taking his guard to Morea for a military adventure, so Constantinople is currently in a de facto vacuum; the Latins are profit-driven, and the Liguria have suffered significant losses due to Bosporus Caesar Manuel's actions in Asia Minor, while the Venetians have also been slightly harmed by Constantine XI's actions in Peloponnese and to its north. Therefore, not only will they not hinder Your Majesty, but if offered enough profit, they might even support you; the Catholic world, led by the Roman Curia, is too far away to help with an immediate crisis; as for the Ottoman,"
At this point, the man paused, then a slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth,
"This is the Sultan's command."
Almost simultaneously, the armored Greek pulled out a piece of paper with Murad II's monogram from his waist, revealing his true identity: an Ottoman spy planted in the city, and the Sultan's temporary spokesperson.
Upon seeing the monogram, Dimitrios's expression changed from confusion to sudden realization, and then from realization to overt excitement and ecstasy.
"Good! Good! Good!
"I knew the Sultan would not abandon me!" Confirming that his rescue was at the behest of Murad II, the monarch he revered, Dimitrios immediately burst into tearful, wild laughter, making his once handsome face appear incredibly ferocious, even somewhat ugly.
After indulging in his emotional outburst for a while out of sheer joy, Dimitrios finally composed himself, stood up, and continued to press his questions:
"What does the Sultan plan to do? Although my scoundrel brother has left the city, my mother and that old man Lucas Notaras are not easy to deal with, not to mention my Brother-in-law, Bosporus Caesar, has also arranged a troop of soldiers outside this city. And those short-sighted Constantinople citizens who don't understand the greater good… These are all obstacles in our way. Does the Sultan have any good strategies?"
Facing Dimitrios's questions, the leader was momentarily a little helpless: it seemed the Sultan's judgment that this man was a fool was quite correct; if there were truly no other options, the Sultan would not have risked using them.
Although he complained inwardly, the leading armored man still put on a confident demeanor to reassure him, "To support Your Majesty, the Sultan has specifically dispatched a unit of light cavalry. As long as you can control one of the city gates, they will be almost outside the city. You only need to give the order, and you can take control of this city.
"And at this point, Your Majesty, do you have a better opportunity than this?"
Hearing this, Dimitrios, assured by the Ottoman side, lowered his head and fell into a brief silence. A moment later, he looked up again, directly at the Ottoman agents before him,
"Let's go,"
At this moment, the fervent flame of ambition finally rekindled in his eyes.
On October 28, 1444, Dimitrios Palaiologos, who had been under house arrest in the monastery for over a year and a half, was released by Ottoman agents stationed in Constantinople. At noon that day, this prince, who many believed had been politically condemned to death, began to unite his old party with the help of the Ottoman agents to challenge the staff his brother had left in the city. By that afternoon, he officially advanced rapidly towards the Grand Palace, forcing the Prime Minister Lucas Notaras and his mother, Empress Helena, who remained there.
Neither the Prime Minister nor the Empress Dowager were prepared for the upheaval caused by Dimitrios. Lucas Notaras, who was at the time discussing with Empress Helena whether to grant the Bosporus army passage outside Constantinople, was stunned for a while upon learning the identity of the instigator.
"Dimitrios, Your Highness? Is it really him? What happened to him? Holy Mother Mary, has he been possessed by some Ottoman Turk?"
But his bewilderment did nothing to resolve the situation. Due to the suddenness of the event and Dimitrios's aggressive approach, the unprepared Grand Palace was occupied by Dimitrios's followers by dusk. As for the Prime Minister, the Empress Dowager, and foreign envoys, they fled in disarray to Blachernae Palace under the protection of guards amidst the chaos. That was also where the Empress Dowager's daughter, Manuel's wife Barbara, was located. And the detailed information of their escape there was naturally secretly disclosed by her to her husband.
The changes in Constantinople quickly spread throughout the Sea of Marmara coast and the Thrace region within a day or two. The citizens of Constantinople, upon realizing what had happened, were indignant, while Dimitrios, eager to seize power, ordered a crackdown; Ottoman Sultan Murad II, upon learning of the success of his risky scheme, was overjoyed and ordered the light cavalry unit to quickly rendezvous with Dimitrios, so that this ancient city would completely fall to his side.
Meanwhile, on the eastern shore of the Sea of Marmara, Manuel, having learned from his wife's messenger that his Brother-in-law, an Ottoman sycophant, had taken advantage of Constantinople's lack of a strong leader to openly conspire with the Ottoman, causing such a major disturbance and unrest in the rear, was so enraged that he openly cursed Dimitrios in front of his subordinates in the main camp.
But mere anger was useless in solving the problem, so after venting his emotions, he immediately regained his composure: according to the message from his wife, his Brother-in-law could currently only stably control the coastal downtown area, and control of the city gates was not yet in his hands!
Upon discovering this loophole, Manuel seemed to understand where the breakthrough lay. Therefore, when his Prime Minister anxiously asked him, "Your Majesty, what should we do now?" the Caesar merely flung his cloak and resolutely said:
"Prepare to save, no, to control the capital of us Romans, the Mother of All Cities—
"Constantinople."