It was Manuel who put forward this initiative, and his speech not only saved these representatives but also left a good first impression on them.
"Who is this noble? He's still a child, but listen to his speech, look at his demeanor."
"Indeed, by the way, do you all know who this is?"
"I recognize him, this is His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince of the Principality."
"The Crown Prince, no wonder, this is not something an ordinary person can compare to."
"Yes, do you think His Majesty will let him govern Kaffa?"
The noisy discussions made Manuel feel a little overwhelmed, while Alexius looked at him with a mix of approval and contemplation. After a while, Alexius called him over and quietly asked him, "Manuel, would you like to try governing a city yourself?"
Manuel pondered for a moment and replied, "Yes, but I think it should be at the right time."
Alexius's response was a slight nod, without directly answering him, which made Manuel feel puzzled. But Alexius did not explain, instead, he began to chat and laugh with the surrounding officials and nobles about related topics.
The seats were quickly rearranged. Besides the Prince and his son and a few key officials sitting at the head table, everyone else's seats were mixed together. This arrangement diluted the estrangement between them and also indirectly helped to accelerate their integration into the Theodoro Principality's system.
Under these circumstances, the meeting to decide the future of Kaffa for this period officially began. The meeting proceeded quite smoothly. After they successively resolved the issues of confiscated property and land of the former Genoans in Kaffa City, the titles, status, and official positions of the representatives, and the amount of taxes Kaffa should pay, they began to dispute over the residences of the representatives, who should now be called the new nobles of Kaffa.
Theodoro Principality's high-ranking officials believed that the new nobles should be granted properties in the Mangup area, so that they would reside in Mangup City, to "fulfill the duties expected of nobles"; but the new nobles of Kaffa felt that their residence in Kaffa was sufficient to fulfill their feudal obligations, and there was no need for such an unnecessary move.
Alexius also had a bit of a headache seeing this. After all, Kaffa City's population was nearly twice that of Mangup City. If they were still allowed to live in Kaffa, wouldn't Mangup be in danger of being hollowed out? However, choosing to relocate the capital to Kaffa later because of this kind of issue would cause certain harm to the Principality's current administrative system. Moreover, bringing them to Mangup would also facilitate governance and weaken their local power.
However, what he could think of, others could also think of. To prevent the Gavras Family from suddenly having a crazy idea and discarding them after use, the new nobles frantically found reasons to avoid being forced to move to Mangup. Finally, Manuel proposed a compromise for both sides: the Principality would not force the new nobles to move to Mangup, but would instead grant them properties in the capital for free, encouraging them to reside there. However, all nobles would need to live in the Mangup area for at least half a month each year to experience life. This proposal, where both sides took a step back, was approved by the vast majority of those present, and they finally ended their wrangling over this issue.
The next proposal was about Kaffa's army. To resist Genoa's counterattack, everyone unanimously agreed that the disorganized Kaffa militia should be incorporated into the Principality's system for management. However, they again disputed the number of troops the Kaffa nobles would contribute. The new nobles of Kaffa believed that the existing 2,000-plus militiamen were already sufficient, and there was no need to raise conscripted armies made up of farmers or serfs. But the Principality's high-ranking officials believed that the Principality's old nobles had raised nearly 3,000 conscripted troops for war preparations, so they should also provide the same number. Because of this, the meeting almost turned into an unlimited fighting competition right under the eyes of the Prince and his son.
Incidentally, Kaffa's resources and manpower were indeed more than enough to raise 3,000 conscripted militiamen. However, the new nobles had just received their titles at the meeting, and their newly acquired fiefs would take time to digest. Coupled with the self-defense forces that feudal lords must retain, it was indeed a bit difficult to raise 3,000 men from them. Ultimately, after fully considering these troubles, Alexius chose to compromise and agreed to the new nobles of Kaffa's plan to maintain the original 2,000 militiamen.
Afterward, the two sides resolved some minor issues, either smoothly or with twists and turns, and the meeting was pretty much declared over. As for why the new nobles, who had secretly communicated with Theodoro from the beginning and should have been obedient, would argue with the Principality, a very important reason was that they knew this meeting, gathered through the representatives offering the city, would likely not happen again. Once they received their titles, they became dependent on the Theodoro Principality's system. If any problems arose later, they would mostly have to face them themselves. That is why they used this meeting to temporarily "unite," hoping to secure interests they could accept for the future situation.
The Principality's high-ranking officials also understood this, which is why Alexius and his team patiently discussed with these new nobles, rather than arrogantly imposing their will, to maintain the image of a gentle and patient lord.
At the end of the meeting, Alexius, who had not actively raised issues and had consistently acted as the arbiter in previous meetings, suddenly stood up. Seeing this, everyone wisely fell silent, and the meeting room instantly became quiet. Under everyone's gaze, Prince Alexius announced a decision that utterly shocked them:
"I have decided to appoint my son, the Crown Prince of all Theodoro, Manuel Gavras, as the dignitary of Kaffa, to govern this city on my behalf, starting now."