"Wait, Ridwan, didn't His Highness say not to directly kill the Sultan?" a guard in the room asked the Turkmen in front of him in horror.
Ah, this, I got carried away… Ridwan, who had come back to his senses, also felt that something was seriously wrong. If he didn't find a scapegoat quickly, not to mention Crown Prince John, even the Sultan would not be able to protect him.
"That's right!" Ridwan turned his head, disavowing all responsibility, and put on a righteous expression, "I'm talking about you! I told you to wake the Sultan for questioning, but why did you strike him down?! Men, seize him for me!"
"Yes, Sir Ridwan." Everyone present swarmed forward and, while the Turkmen mercenary who had just attacked Alexius IV was still bewildered, tied him up with five flower knots.
"I've been wronged, Sir Ridwan, everyone! I merely gave Sultan Alexius the sleep of a baby!"
"Still daring to quibble?! It seems more words are useless; we'll send him to His Highness John later!"
"Yes, Sir!"
As a result, late that night, Crown Prince John received the good news of his ascension with a complicated expression, and also… the news of his father's death.
After confirming with Ridwan, John, without any hesitation, ordered the unfortunate Turkmen mercenary to be dragged out and executed. Only when the man's head was brought before him did his anxious heart, due to the unexpected turn of events, slightly ease.
From the results, this coup was a great success. The only flaw was that his father had actually died. According to John's original plan, he wanted these Turkmen to blind Alexius IV amidst the chaos, and then he, the Crown Prince, would step forward and send his elderly father into a monastery to "enjoy his later years." Now that Alexius IV was directly dead, it was possible that he would have to confront those who coveted power in the country, especially the faction led by his younger brother, Alexander. "Trouble is brewing," John shook his head inwardly.
However, John quickly calmed down. Although the current situation was the worst-case scenario, he had made contingency plans to prevent the coup from failing. Thinking of this, he waved his hand, telling Amiroutzes beside him to cooperate with him to conceal the matter according to the pre-arranged plan. At this point, John suddenly came to his senses, "Did I forget someone?"
John's concealment efforts were quite effective; at least for several days after the coup, Trabzon remained calm. And Bosporus, which had been closely monitoring the situation in secret, was also in the dark due to communication limitations and the other party's level of secrecy.
However, Manuel, who was politically astute, had already begun preparations to land on the southern shore of the Black Sea since receiving the news that day. For this purpose, he specially summoned his generals and commanders in the afternoon to discuss battle strategies with them.
Upon their arrival, Manuel first briefly explained the situation to the generals who were not yet aware, and finally concluded with a serious expression: "In short, the Romans south of the Black Sea are in crisis, and as the claimant to Trabzon, I cannot stand idly by."
His words did not cause much stir among the generals. Although Patniko wanted to say a few words after hearing it, he had to hold back due to not finding a suitable reason; Tukharovsky and Falero had known since last year that their Sultan intended to move south, so their expressions were calm; Aidian and Vladimir, as high-ranking officers of the Filaka Legion, expressed unconditional obedience to any of Manuel's orders; Badars, as his Commander of the Guard, always stood by his respected Sultan; as for Posadas, there was no need to mention him, he would raise both hands to support Manuel for any war-related proposal.
Seeing this, Manuel did not delay, making concise and clear arrangements: Aidian and Vladimir would follow him to mobilize all Filaka Legion taxi soldiers, Badars would attend to him as usual; Falero would dispatch the navy; Tukharovsky would prepare to command a Grand Company of about 2,000 men and await further orders; Posadas would prepare to lead over 750 Grand Company soldiers and conscripts mobilized later, also awaiting further orders; finally, Patniko would be responsible for leading the remaining troops to defend the homeland.
After these arrangements were made, most of his generals obeyed without objection. Except for Tukharovsky, the Army Commander, who remembered something and tried to confirm, "Speaking of which, Sultan, how will you arrange the Tatar cavalry corps and Circassian troops you have been preparing these days?"
"I will issue separate orders for the Tatar cavalry corps later. The Circassian corps is still being prepared; it's not their time to enter the field yet."
"Yes, Sultan." Tukharovsky could only continue to harbor his doubts.
After seeing off most of his generals, Manuel had Badars send someone to summon Suleiman Karamanoglu, "Tell him I have important matters to discuss. By the way, what has he been doing lately?"
"Reporting, Sultan, Sir Suleiman has recently been reading scriptures, practicing new and old weapons, and playing with his young wife. Also, uh, sometimes he spends the night with some commoner girls he summons."
"He's not doing anything pedophilic, is he?"
"The secret department doesn't know the specifics, as we have no right to inquire about such matters."
Suleiman, you would be arrested in later generations. Manuel had an urge to slap himself in the face.
Seeing Manuel's subtle expression, Badars asked a little uneasily, "Uh, Sultan, do you still want to call Sir Suleiman?"
"Hmm, of course. Such a small matter is just gossip for after-dinner conversation, not worth mentioning." Manuel immediately composed his expression and explained calmly.
That afternoon, Suleiman, having received his order, quickly rushed to Bangup Palace to meet Manuel. Although he did not yet know the specific reason, based on his interactions with Manuel these days, a bold guess had probably formed in his mind.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Manuel probed, "Suleiman, do you want to return to your country and regain your position?"
Why bring this up suddenly? Suleiman was a little surprised; he had thought Manuel would first discuss matters south of the Black Sea with him. However, out of trust in the other party and a desire to regain his position, he still nodded, "Hmm, you also know the reason why I've stayed here for so long. But let me clarify first, even the entire Karaman Beylik has limited contact with the Black Sea region, so my usefulness there is not great."
"What a keen political sense." Manuel sighed inwardly. Fortunately, he had not called Suleiman for this matter. Thinking of this, he showed an elusive smile, "I know, so I didn't call you for that reason. I just have something to tell you: soon, our time will come."