Barbara's anger stemmed from a report detailing how numerous Catholic missionaries, leveraging the construction boom in Simferopol and aided by Radifa Keni, the Bishop of Kaffa residing in Theodosia, were attempting to spread the Catholic faith among the newly settled Rus immigrants and Tatar indigenous communities in parts of North Tauris. If they had done it covertly, given the flirtatious relationship between Bosporus and Catholic nations, it might have been possible to turn a blind eye.
However, when Eastern Orthodox priests from Bosporus tried to establish themselves in local monasteries, they were not only prevented but also incited by Catholic priests to be driven out by the villagers. This was simply outrageous…
"This is preposterous! No matter what, the official religion of Bosporus is still Eastern Orthodox! These heretics are far too audacious!" Barbara, already well-versed in the 'glorious history' of these Catholic heretics within the Roman Empire from her historical studies, had a poor impression of the Catholic sect. Now, with such an outrageous incident occurring, the two factors combined made her furious enough to want to send people to directly expel these Catholic priests from the territory.
But in less than half a second, she calmed down. Under the current circumstances, as regent, if she were to make such a rash move, the neighboring Catholics would surely interpret it as the will of Bosporus. At that time, the Autocratic State would certainly face diplomatic condemnation, causing no small trouble for her husband, who was still fighting in Asia Minor.
However, this did not mean she would let the matter rest until Manuel returned to Tauris. Even if she couldn't directly expel them, as a Roman who was quite skilled in strategy, it would not be difficult for her to legitimately drive these Catholics out of North Tauris.
Thinking of this, her expression returned to calmness, and a faint, gentle smile even appeared on her face, which made the attendant, Ano, recall his respected Caesar with a sense of shame.
While Barbara was contemplating how to legitimately expel those Catholic missionaries from North Tauris, in a castle near Kaysiskoy village in the Pontus region, the local lord, Peter, was bowing gratefully to Emperor Manuel, whom he had invited to the main seat, expressing his gratitude for his timely arrival in repelling the White Sheep Turkmens.
Manuel, however, did not particularly enjoy this. Instead, after confirming the progress of the battle damage assessment, he worried about the local population, saying to himself, "If we don't actively encourage immigration after this Turkmen invasion, the local population might not recover for a very long time, will it?"
"Indeed, Your Majesty," Peter nodded, partly agreeing and partly fawning, picking up his words. "Although these Turkmens from hell were repelled in time this time, more than half of the local peasants and serfs are probably gone. Holy Father, even though those who farm are just talking livestock, even livestock shouldn't be treated like this! If this continues, let alone collecting taxes and rent, I might have to personally take my family to farm in a few years."
"To be fair, you're right." Hearing Peter's complaint, Manuel stroked his chin, where he was growing a short beard, contemplating how to deal with this situation.
Although in the long run, as long as he dealt a few more heavy blows to the invading Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty, these Turkmens should give up on trying to restore Alexander Komnenos to Trabzon, by then, the outskirts of the Trabzon region would likely be devastated. Although under the Komnenos Dynasty, the outer Pontic Mountains served as a barrier protecting the vital coastal plains, after these conflicts, and considering the historical fate of Trabzon, he always felt that this single mountain range was not enough to ensure safety.
"An effective population is everything; at the very least, we must ensure that the local Greek Eastern Orthodox population can grow steadily." Considering this, after dealing with the dinner Peter had prepared for him and his generals, Manuel spread out a topographical map of the Pontus region in his bedchamber and began to trace on it with a quill.
After much tracing and deliberation, he came up with an excellent idea. "By the way, Erzurum and Erzincan, along with the Lake Van region and Mush, are still called West Armenia, aren't they? That means…" As he thought this, a clear, gentle smile appeared on Manuel's face.
The next morning, after breakfast, Manuel first requested the battle report from the relief battle of the previous afternoon.
"Even with the conscripted militiamen, our troop losses did not exceed 250 men; conversely, as the party under counterattack, the invading White Sheep Army suffered approximately 400 casualties, with another 300 or so captured." Manuel first nodded at this good news, then turned to Badars, who had submitted the report, and asked, "What about the local civilians?"
"Uh, Your Majesty," Badars was completely bewildered by the question. He hadn't expected Manuel to ask about this and could only rack his brain to recall Peter's private complaints from yesterday, vaguely saying, "Well, according to Lord Peter, the local lord, it seems about a thousand of the original two to three thousand peasants and serfs were killed, went missing, or fled due to the Turkmen invasion…"
"Is that so." Manuel's heart lurched, and then his resolve to execute the plan in his mind became even stronger.
After summoning his generals and simply distributing rewards for their merits, Manuel motioned for them to be silent. He then took out the map he had drawn on the previous night, hung it on the wall, and began to explain the plan he had conceived:
"Gentlemen, although we have repelled the White Sheep Turkmens' incursions several times during these days, we have also suffered significant losses, and even allowed the Eastern Orthodox people, whom we should protect, to be senselessly slaughtered by the Turks. Although we can continue to defend by relying on the mountains, if this continues, even if we ultimately win, we will be utterly exhausted.
"Moreover, if a mistake occurs in the battle with the White Sheep, leading to excessive losses, the lords under Trabzon, which we have just taken control of, will likely harbor rebellious intentions. If it escalates to that point, can we, whose elite troops rely entirely on local recruitment from the North Black Sea coast, truly remain here for long? And at that time, our heavily damaged army would probably have to abandon all the achievements we have made so far."
At this point, all the generals present understood his meaning. Even though they knew their Caesar's recent remarks contained elements of sophistry and a slippery slope, they were unwilling to defy his subtly revealed determination. Instead, they awaited his next statement with immense solemnity and caution.
Seeing the generals' attitude, Manuel smiled faintly inwardly. Then, with his right hand, he firmly patted Erzincan and Erzurum to the south, solemnly declaring his bold plan, "Therefore, in accordance with the will of the Three Saints, our army's next objective — to advance into Erzincan!"