"Given that, Your Majesty, what kind of Simferopol do we intend to build?" Arno asked at last.
"Good question." Manuel said calmly, "To be honest, I haven't quite figured out how to build it yet."
"Ah?!" Arno and Orophin almost fainted upon hearing this.
"But it's alright, I have some general ideas." Manuel quickly added when he saw their reaction, "For instance, to promote the spread of the true faith, Simferopol will add a large number of new orthodox churches under the Church's name; at the same time, preparations must be made for the construction of administrative buildings in the city center; and local schools must also be established to spread our great Roman culture…"
As he spoke eloquently, the agitated hearts of the two men gradually calmed down. Although Manuel's construction plan, as presented, seemed rough, it was sufficient as an impromptu proposal. "He really hasn't figured it out? How come I feel like His Majesty understands it quite well," Arno thought.
After the final parts of the discussion were concluded, the resolution to build Simferopol was officially issued. Soon after, the public began to discuss it animatedly. And these discussions, as usual, led to some people's idle gossip.
A few days later, at noon, in the military camp on the outskirts of Mangup, two generals casually discussed Manuel's resolution to build Simferopol.
"I really don't understand. If he wants to build Simferopol, why doesn't he just have everyone kill all the Tatars in the city? Why does His Majesty not intend to target them at all?" After finishing the morning's training, Posadas complained to his colleague Patniko.
Patniko, who was beside him, felt completely dumbfounded after hearing this. "Holy Mother above, do you think the remaining Tatars wouldn't react? The North Tauris, which has only just stabilized, would erupt in rebellion again! Moreover, if you did as you said, North Tauris would become a no-man's land!"
"Ah? A no-man's land, wouldn't that be great? The air of the Tauris Peninsula without Tatars is as sweet as after a rain in early summer!"
You're sick, Patniko almost blurted out, but due to their colleague status, he had to hold it back and said indirectly, "Huh?! This, Your Excellency Posadas, please be careful, this is a very extreme expression."
"Really?"
"…"
At the same time, the Latin noble youth from the Italian Peninsula finally arrived in Mangup, intending to transfer from there to Tana, Venice's Black Sea colony. However, during this period, he first had to use that letter of recommendation to visit the Venetians settlement in this city and announce his arrival.
Yes, Mangup also had a Venetians settlement. Although through negotiations back then, neither the then-Theodoro nor the current Bosporus had granted Venetian merchants the common trade privileges found in other countries. However, no matter what, the two nations were considered quite close quasi-allies. Therefore, after Pietro Lando, the Venetian Black Sea consul, conveyed the Council of Ten's request to establish a Venetians settlement in Mangup, the then-Prince Alexius readily agreed to the matter. And after Manuel's ascension to the throne, out of the necessity of leveraging Venetian trade routes, besides repeatedly reiterating that the laws of the Autocratic State also applied to the area, he did not unduly interfere with the place.
This is how Mangup's Venetians settlement came into being. However, the Latin youth was not yet fully aware of this story; in his eyes, the Venetians settlement here seemed not much different from those in other countries. After he arrived at the consular sub-office in the settlement, the news that Bosphorus Caesar intended to build Simferopol also reached his ears.
"This Caesar Manuel is a very ambitious monarch," was his thought on the matter. However, the subsequent inquiries from the sub-office staff interrupted his train of thought.
"Is this Your Excellency Carlo di Giovanni?"
"Yes, it is I."
"Your surname is…"
Everything was being carried out in such an orderly manner, as if everything was returning to normal. However, the highest echelons of this country knew that this was not entirely the case.
Around early October, in the morning, the delegation led by Serenus arrived at Sarai, the capital of the Golden Horde. After finding lodging, he led his men without delay to report, seeking an audience with Muhammad Khan of the Golden Horde.
Facing the visit of the Bosporus delegation, Muhammad Khan initially felt a bit awkward, and for a moment even had the desire to throw them out of Sarai. But to prevent the Khanate's currently nominal vassal from completely siding with the Christian powers to the west, such as Poland and Lithuania, he ultimately forced himself to gather his spirits and received their request for an audience in the Khan's palace.
Upon meeting Muhammad Khan, the two sides first exchanged a few casual pleasantries, and then Serenus proactively presented a chest of dukats, taking the opportunity to request a private discussion. "Khan, the matters to be discussed next are of considerable importance to both of us. I ask that you dismiss any irrelevant persons for now."
After pondering for a moment, Muhammad Khan granted his request. "I want to see what tricks these Goths are trying to play." With this thought, he dismissed all irrelevant attendants from the reception room.
"Speak, what do you want?" After dismissing those people, he impatiently asked.
"You misunderstand," Serenus replied with a smile, "We in Bosporus are not only thinking of ourselves, but also of Khan. Whether it was the former Theodoro or the current Bosporus, we will always stand by Khan."
"Huh?" Muhammad Khan felt a bit on edge.
What a joke. Don't think he didn't know how Sayid Khan had colluded with them earlier, indirectly hindering his ascension, and how they had raised a butcher's knife against the stubborn Tatars on the Crimean Peninsula under the pretext of forced conversion. Although he didn't care about the lives of those unruly Tatar tribes to the south, these Christians caused his intervention to end in a whimper, making him lose face greatly before the nobles of the entire Khanate in his first year in office. This not only damaged his prestige but also subtly made those ambitious Tatar princes in the Khanate, just like him, think they had an opportunity, leading them to stir. He had originally intended to make great strides after taking office, but instead, he had to spend half a year stabilizing them because of this.
Thinking of this, Muhammad Khan felt a surge of anger, but it was inappropriate to show it in a diplomatic setting. He could only maintain his composure and, with an unchanged expression, questioned the Greek man before him, "Then what can you offer the Khanate?"
"We in Bosporus are willing to restore former ties with the Golden Horde." Upon discussing this, Serenus smiled mysteriously.