After confirming that the enemy had no intention of pursuing, Ali and the others all breathed a sigh of relief. They had underestimated the enemy too much this time, not expecting them to use firearms, weapons beyond their comprehension, to force their hasty advance to retreat. That evening, they tallied their recent battle losses: under the Bosporus artillery bombardment, the White Sheep suffered roughly three to four hundred casualties, though fortunately no one was captured.
Such casualties caused everyone present to fall silent; having their morale shattered in their first engagement was truly not a good omen.
"They don't follow martial ethics, just like the Ottoman Turks," Hamza said, clenching his fists in anger when discussing the Bosporus's artillery.
Alexander also nodded in indignation. He truly hadn't expected his cousin to be hiding such weapons. "Did they keep this from me all along, just waiting for this moment to catch the White Sheep Army off guard? Manuel, you damned usurper!"
Actually, this was not Manuel's fault; it was purely because Alexander's faction had relatively weak military strength, and the existing local defensive fortifications were worth preserving, which is why he had no intention of using artillery.
"If it were on flat terrain, we could bypass these castles and fortresses directly to the rear, isolating these fortifications with our old methods," a calm Ali analyzed, looking at the map.
"But this is mountainous terrain, and Akçaabat is a mountain pass. We prepared for this expedition in less than a week, and our supplies are insufficient. If we can't take this place, advancing to Trabzon is out of the question," Sheikh Hassan straightforwardly brought up the most critical issue.
"Indeed, my father relied on Diyarbakir's mountainous terrain a few years ago to repel the Mamluk invasion," Ali stroked his thick bearded chin, recalling the life-or-death war for the White Sheep a few years prior.
At that time, in 1429, the still ambitious Mamluk Sultan Barsbay, eager to expand his territory, attacked the Urfa region under White Sheep rule, intending to seize the area and destroy the White Sheep. He even captured the White Sheep Sultan's eldest son, Ali's elder brother Habir, who was left to guard the area. Finally, Kara Yuluk Osman personally led troops to the capital Diyarbakir, which had become the front line, and defended it from the mountains, repelling the Mamluk army. However, the unfortunate Habir had been held captive by the Mamluks in Cairo ever since, until he died of sorrow in 1430.
It was precisely because of this that Ali later seized the opportunity to demonstrate his abilities and obtain the succession rights to the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty. Therefore, for him, who keenly realized the ease of mountain defense, he had little desire to fight stubbornly over mountain castles, especially since the White Sheep Army was not adequately prepared.
Alexander's subsequent speech pulled him back from his memories. "My dear cousins, there is no need to worry too much about supplies. Although it is summer recently, there is enough grain growing locally. Why not just resupply on the spot?"
"That is indeed a good method." Plundering local food and grain was their Turkmen specialty. Only the relatively cautious Ali muttered to himself, "But weren't these people his subjects not long ago?"
However, despite the internal grumbling, the proposal to acquire supplies locally was quickly adopted by the White Sheep Army. Soon, many Turkmen appeared outside the castle's firing range, raiding in groups through Akçaabat's urban and suburban areas, searching for provisions while plundering valuables left behind by local residents.
But to their surprise, after a full day of ransacking the Akçaabat region, the grain they plundered was not even enough for one company of Turkmen for a week.
"What a joke!" In the evening, Alexander, temporarily staying in the town hall, was dumbfounded upon hearing this. "How could they have so effectively cleared the fields and fortified the walls, being new to the area?!"
"What's so surprising about that? Don't we Turkmen often do this?" Sheikh Hassan looked at his cousin, asking him with great confusion.
"By Allah, the point isn't that they had already driven the residents into the ravines or fortresses, and also collected all the local grain and crops in advance?" Hamza, suppressing his anger, tried his best to appear as an elder, reminding these two juniors not to miss the point.
"It seems the Bosporus was well prepared for our attack. Now, even supplies have to be transported from Erzurum and Erzincan. This is truly troublesome," Ali once again stroked his thick bearded chin, contemplating his next move.
After a moment, Ali slammed the wooden table and tentatively made a decision, "This expedition was too hasty. How about we temporarily withdraw our troops to avoid unnecessary losses?"
What? They were going to retreat before even encountering the Bosporus Army directly? Alexander immediately felt dizzy and disoriented.
Ali's brothers also disagreed with his decision. "Our army's supplies can last for another three or four days. Let's stay and see. Allah will protect us," Hamza tapped the table, stating this fact with some dissatisfaction.
"Yes, father instructed us to send troops, yet in less than a day, we've come to such a tragic state. Fourth brother, let's stay and see. A mere three or four hundred casualties are nothing to us Ghazi Warriors!" Sheikh also directly opposed his withdrawal proposal.
"Yes, those cowardly wretches will surely just huddle inside these fortifications. There's nothing to fear from an enemy that can only defend," Alexander also agreed, opposing the withdrawal. At this, even the other Turkmen tribal leaders in the camp let out dissenting boos.
Are you talking about yourself? Hearing Alexander's words, Ali became even more critical of his cousin. But seeing everyone oppose him, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue the fight.
For the next three days, the White Sheep Army actively sought ways to break through Akçaabat, with some tribal soldiers even attempting to directly climb the Pontic Mountains in that area. However, the heads of those brave and fearless Turkmen soldiers were quickly thrown back from the other side of the mountain by the Greeks, and coupled with the extreme difficulty of doing so, the attempt eventually fizzled out.
Furthermore, Ali also attempted to lead troops to bypass Akçaabat's castles and fortresses, or launch a night raid. But the former was ultimately abandoned due to terrain constraints, while the latter was repelled by vigilant guards, also revealing the White Sheep Army's true combat strength at night to the Bosporus, who then began launching several small-scale long-range night raids against the White Sheep Army after the second night, causing these Turkmen to suffer greatly.
Under these circumstances, after just three days, some tribal leaders began to complain. And a week later, due to army fatigue and insufficient supplies, even Hamza, who had initially insisted on fighting stubbornly for Akçaabat, suggested withdrawing.
Thinking of his soldiers' exhaustion, and the almost spirited appearance of the Bosporus soldiers defending the fortress, Ali sighed in his heart and then ordered the retreat from Akçaabat. "Retreat to Erzurum. Next time, this town will surely be bathed in the glory of Allah!"