After being formally crowned as Bosphorus Caesar, Manuel officially became the monarch of the Autocratic State, truly stepping onto the stage of history as a sovereign.
And now, our esteemed Manuel, the Bosphorus Caesar, was full of ambition, tidying his attire in his room, preparing to take his seat on the main throne of the palace and govern his nation according to his will.
But before that, he still had to confirm one thing—
"So, Father truly won't accept the appointment as Co-Caesar?" Manuel asked Gregory Giunio, who stood before him, his tone quite regretful.
"Yes, Your Majesty. His Old Majesty said that after the civil war, he has lost interest in the affairs of the Autocratic State, and from now on, this land will be entirely managed by Your Majesty," Guney replied.
It seems the civil war at the beginning of the year left a considerable psychological shadow on his father, Manuel mused to himself. He had originally intended to appoint his father, Alexius, as Co-Caesar to help him share some of the burden, but since his convenient old man insisted on not participating, so be it.
Thinking this, Manuel nodded, granting his father's request to retire to the family castle on the outskirts of Mangup.
After resolving Alexius's position, he calmly proceeded to the main throne of the palace, officially receiving the audience of his ministers. Since the Autocratic State still temporarily followed the Theodoro system, this audience felt somewhat like a nascent establishment to Manuel.
Upon returning to his familiar office, Manuel formally decided on the first order of business after taking power: forming his own cabinet. Whenever he recalled the arduous work of governing Theodosia, which had shown signs of overwork, Manuel felt a pang of fear. Moreover, since he did not consider himself a jack of all trades, having trustworthy and capable individuals assist him was naturally essential. In short, now that he had officially taken power, establishing his cabinet to share the burden on his shoulders was paramount.
He had a general idea of the specific candidates after the civil war ended. Although an unexpected vacancy arose, given the current situation of the Autocratic State, he ultimately chose to do two jobs himself. After a quarter of an hour of reviewing the candidates, he stood up, accompanied by his wife Barbara, and instructed his attendants to summon all the pre-selected individuals, preparing to commence his first imperial meeting.
Soon, Metropolitan Oulophin of Kherson, exaktor Isaac Arno, Admiral Falero, General Tukharovsky, and his Commander of the Guard, Badars, all arrived in the room, standing respectfully, awaiting his further instructions.
Looking at them, Manuel's expression was solemn, and he quickly announced his appointments: Metropolitan Oulophin would continue to manage religious affairs as the Patriarch of the Cherson Diocese, acting on his will; Arno was granted the position of Minister of Finance; Falero was appointed Admiral of the Autocratic State, and Tukharovsky would serve as Army Commander; Badars, already the head of the secret service, officially became the Chief Secretary of the Autocratic State, commonly known as the head of spies.
As for why Barbara was present, it was because he intended for Barbara to appropriately involve herself in cabinet affairs to help him share the pressure. This was not uncommon in Roman history, or even European history, although many such attempts had disastrous outcomes due to the spouse's incompetence, such as the Eastern Roman Empire's Empress Dowager "Anna of Savoy," who once triggered the Two Johns Civil War…
However, this was also related to the early death of Andronikos III, whose abilities were still decent. At least under normal circumstances, when a strong husband was alive, even the most domineering wife could not stir up trouble, let alone Barbara, who was not that kind of person. This is why Manuel dared to let Barbara secretly engage in cabinet affairs.
The cabinet members were largely aware of Manuel's subtle intentions, but since many of them had personally witnessed her capabilities and were not particularly bothered by such a common occurrence across Europe, they tacitly ignored the matter.
Manuel, seeing this, nodded with satisfaction and asked them, "Are there any other questions?"
His new cabinet members exchanged glances, and after some subtle deferral, Arno was pushed forward. "Hmm, Your Majesty, then what about the Chief Secretary of the Autocratic State, who is also the Foreign Minister?"
That's a good question, isn't it? Manuel felt an urge to slap his forehead. According to his original plan, he intended to appoint Michael Arno, the father of the young Arno before him, as Chief Secretary, and Nikephoros Meaessenus, the exaktor whom he had previously admired but whose qualifications were still shallow, as Minister of Finance. However, Michael Arno's sudden death during the civil war disrupted this plan. Although, according to the contingency plan, he promoted the capable young Arno to Minister of Finance, he had no idea who to appoint as Chief Secretary. While he had considered appointing Georgia Mana, whom he had once intended to cultivate, as Chief Secretary, he ultimately abandoned this idea due to Mana's unremarkable abilities. In Manuel's eyes, if one lacked ability, it was better not to join the cabinet and leave the position temporarily vacant.
Therefore, facing the doubts of his new cabinet members, Manuel patiently explained, "Currently, there is no suitable candidate, so the position of Chief Secretary will remain temporarily vacant. But do not worry, a suitable candidate will soon fill it; the current vacancy is merely temporary."
Seeing their Majesty explain this way, they generally understood his intentions and no longer questioned it. Afterward, Manuel chatted with his new cabinet for a good while before declaring the first imperial meeting successfully concluded. Although this meeting was merely a formality, and specific matters would have to be discussed in detail later, it marked the beginning of Manuel's rule getting on track.
However, before leaving, his Army Commander, Tukharovsky, deliberately lingered. After subtly hinting at his intentions, Manuel, understanding, had his wife and irrelevant attendants withdraw, preparing to hear Tukharovsky's question.
Seeing this, Tukharovsky quickly posed his question, "Your Majesty, although you hinted at it early on, I still don't understand why I ended up as Army Commander? Logically, those two from the Philaka Legion, in terms of ability and experience, should be no less than me. And General Patniko, as an old general, should also be no less than me."
The two he referred to were clearly Aidian and Vladimir. In fact, Manuel's appointment of him was not a sudden decision but a result of careful deliberation. Taking this opportunity, he frankly explained the reasons for such an appointment to Tukharovsky, "Aidian and Vladimir indeed seem like good candidates at first glance, but I do not intend to let them leave the Filaka Legion. Moreover, they have been with me for too long, and some things have become habitual, making them not the optimal choice to command the entire army.
"As for the old General Patniko, he is indeed a good candidate, but I have watched him lead troops in battle since I was young. How could I not know the actual situation? And," Manuel paused, "he is a man of my father's era."
Tukharovsky could feel the trust his Majesty was conveying to him when he spoke the last sentence. This immediately made him bow in loyalty, "I will not fail Your Majesty's foresight. I will prove to others and to future generations that Your Majesty's choice was not in the slightest error."
"Good!"
After bidding farewell to Tukharovsky, Manuel, having dealt with the cabinet appointments, sat comfortably in his chair, preparing for the next step of governance. At the same time, a three-masted sailboat from Constantinople was sailing on the Black Sea towards Mangup. On board, a distinguished guest, enduring the physiological urge of seasickness, stood at the bow, gazing out at the sea, "This, this is… ugh, the Black Sea. I wonder what the Bosphorus Autocratic State, which His Highness the Despot values so much, is like now, ugh…"
"Guest, would you like to come down from the deck first?" the captain asked with concern, seeing his unwell expression.
The distinguished guest looked at the captain with a complex expression. He would bet that his seasickness symptoms were definitely caused by the captain's poor skill or the ship's poor quality. He had taken many boats between Constantinople and Morea, and not once had he been as severely seasick as he was now.