The Bosporus Army entered the Adyghe Principality in less than a day, causing another unsettling ripple in the political landscape of Eastern Europe.
The Kingdom of Lithuania, however, was indifferent; Adyghe was too distant for them, and they were not heavily involved in the related slave trade. Moreover, the growth of Bosporus, which was somewhere between an ally and a vassal, was a good thing for them.
Half a month later, in the Sarai Palace, Golden Horde Khan Muhammad Khan expressed his displeasure, feeling as though his blood was rushing to his head.
"Tsk," he felt an indescribable emotion about this. Logically, as the Khan, he should not be so enraged by the survival or demise of a small tribe like Adyghe. But when he remembered that it was Theodoro—now Bosporus—who had subjugated it, the same entity whose intervention he had failed to thwart not long ago, an unnamed fire of anger ignited within him. Not to mention, the other party had frequently been flirting with Said Khan, whom he had overthrown at the beginning of the year, and the Kingdom of Lithuania, his geopolitical rival.
However, out of fear of their strength and that of their allies, and recalling that they had stationed their army in Adyghe in less than a day, Muhammad Khan had to be cautious and dared not act rashly. After all, while the Golden Horde appeared powerful now, it was actually riddled with internal crises. Spending significant effort to fight Bosporus would be a thankless task and might even benefit the Tatar princes eyeing them from the south.
"Alas, so be it." Finally, Muhammad Khan abandoned his desire to declare war on Bosporus and let the matter go, as if nothing had happened.
Before this news reached the Sarai Palace, an ambitious prince among the Circassian tribes had also taken notice of the matter.
On the fifth day after Adyghe was occupied by the Bosporus Army, Inal, Prince of the Jannet Principality, received intelligence regarding the event.
Inal, a man in his prime, merely frowned upon receiving the information, then set aside the paper containing the report, as if it had never existed.
"Your Highness, shouldn't we do something?" His subordinate was quite surprised by this, as he knew how much effort Inal had put in and how many trials he had faced over the years to unify the Circassian settlements.
"What, do you want to go to war with Bosporus?" Inal turned his head, his sharp, hawk-like brown eyes fixed on his subordinate.
"This…" His subordinate was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Then isn't that right? Endure it. Provoking external forces is a major taboo." With that, Inal turned away again.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Thus, the Bosporus garrisoning of Adyghe was silently accepted by the surrounding countries, as if it had never happened.
These were, for Manuel, expected developments. On the third day after successfully completing this special military operation in Adyghe, he convened an Imperial Council as Caesar to summarize and analyze the event and its aftermath.
However, before summarizing this special military operation, his cabinet members noticed that, in addition to themselves and two scribes, a handsome, black-haired young man they knew, Serenus, had joined the Imperial Council.
Manuel smiled slightly at this, "I said before that the position of Chief Secretary would be granted to suitable talent when necessary, didn't I?"
His cabinet members all nodded in agreement.
"Now, I have found a suitable person. In this special military operation, as well as in the previous revision of the legal code and strategic analysis, he has consistently proven his abilities.
"Justinian Seresnus, now, in the presence of the Holy Father, by the will of the Three Saints, as Bosporus Caesar, I bestow upon you the position of Chief Secretary of the Cabinet." Upon finishing his words, Serenus smiled and stepped forward at Manuel's instruction, taking his place among the cabinet members. This also marked the completion of the last member of Manuel's cabinet—well, at least in the traditional sense.
Although Serenus was still relatively new in Bosporus, he had demonstrated remarkable talent in legal compilation and this special operation. Therefore, the cabinet members had no complaints, except for Patriarch Orophin, who, unaware of the details, was still listening to Tukharovsky's brief explanation of him.
At this moment, Serenus's expression was calm, but he was already quite joyful deep down. This was his first time truly engaging with and participating in the top-level construction of a nation. "I wonder what great achievements await me in the future?" he thought happily.
However, the very next morning after being appointed Chief Secretary, he was astonished by his Caesar's eccentric ideas—
"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, it would be best not to put this idea into practice." Arno reminded the Caesar before him with an awkward expression.
"Why? Isn't this a good way to attract people to settle in North Tauris?" Manuel exclaimed in surprise.
"Then can we use a more normal method?" Arno's hands, holding the plan, trembled slightly.
"Although this kind of thing is a bit outlandish, it's effective!"
"This isn't just a bit outlandish, Your Majesty, this is extremely outlandish, Your Majesty!" Arno finally couldn't hold back and bluntly summarized Manuel's outrageous plan to attract population: "'Cultivate a group of professional courtesans to go to the Ruthenia region of Lithuania to seduce local orthodox Rus peasants, serfs, and unemployed vagrants, enticing them to settle in North Tauris; for those without families, allow them to marry courtesans with good compatibility and establish a family, paying a ransom fee to the Autocratic State; for those with families, entice them to abandon their wives and children and follow the courtesans to settle in North Tauris… This, this, this, this is truly…"
Manuel nonchalantly turned his head away, "There's nothing to be done. Although excellent measures to encourage immigration and colonization were announced at the grand conference that day, very few responded. That's why I resorted to this desperate measure."
"What kind of desperate measure is this! I never thought Your Majesty had such a peculiar habit." Arno covered his face and sighed deeply.
"Nonsense, how can you casually accuse someone of being impure?!"
Standing beside them, Serenus was already stunned. He felt that a certain beautiful image in his heart had shattered like a mirror falling to the ground.
After some back and forth, Manuel finally, quite reluctantly, abandoned the idea of putting this plan into practice. When the Imperial Council returned to calm, Manuel retracted his slightly relaxed expression, sternly tapped the table, "Alright, it's time to discuss our diplomacy in Eastern Europe."