The morning after assigning Badars his task, Manuel gathered his generals at his temporary palace in Erzurum to discuss the upcoming strategic plan.
After all the generals had gathered in the spacious council hall, Manuel led a brief prayer, then quickly got to the point: "Though not yet definitively confirmed, military intelligence suggests that the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty's main force is highly likely to counterattack our army, which has already captured Erzurum." After stating his conjecture, Manuel solemnly closed his mouth, wanting to hear his generals' opinions.
The first to speak was, unexpectedly, Dungar, a Western European. "If Caesar's words are true, then it's likely the elite White Sheep Army, led by Kara Osman himself, coming from Diyarbakir. Caesar, they are not as easy to deal with as the Turk people from West Armenia. In the worst-case scenario, we could be facing nearly ten thousand Crescent Sect soldiers." After speaking, he noticed all the generals present were staring at him, forcing him to quickly explain, "Um, I was in a military post in Trabzon before, right? During that time, I also collected a lot of intelligence on Asia Minor factions through my position. I swear to the Lord, though not extensive, it's generally accurate and reliable…"
No, they aren't questioning your intelligence; they're annoyed that you, a deputy general and an Anglo-Saxon heretic, are stealing their thunder, Manuel thought, having seen through most of his generals' intentions. To prevent the military conference from reaching an impasse, he quickly defused the situation with a calm tone, "Gentlemen, we are discussing how to deal with the White Sheep Turkmens, are we not?"
Facing Caesar's personal address, the generals immediately withdrew their unusual gazes from Dungar, returned to their proper positions, and earnestly resumed discussing how to deal with the highly probable arrival of the White Sheep main force.
Suleiman, who was with the army, meticulously outlined the current situation of the Bosporus Army: "Currently, our army still has an operational strength of over 5,500 soldiers, of which nearly 3,500 are farmers and soldiers brought by us from north of the Pontic Mountains, and the rest are conscripts. If the Armenians in this area are willing to cooperate, our army should be able to replenish to over 6,000 men." This gave the generals present a more concrete understanding of the current situation in the region.
"The Christians of Erzurum have only recently driven out the infidels," Manuel emphasized with a touch of helplessness, then added, "However, facing such a formidable enemy, I believe the patriarchs of the local Armenian Church will also actively cooperate and effectively publicize how the Turk people usually treat them."
After that, he continued to signal his generals to speak freely.
After half an hour of noisy discussion, Aidian, a general of the Philaka Legion, summarized the known information and stood up to propose, "Caesar, in my humble opinion, facing an enemy possibly numbering over ten thousand, we should not actively sally out to fight. Although Erzurum's city walls, especially the western section, are significantly damaged, if we rashly engage in a field battle and suffer heavy losses, it would be counterproductive."
Manuel nodded in strong agreement with Aidian's opinion. "Indeed, that is very well said."
After the generals discussed various useful or flawed strategies, Army Commander Tukharovsky suddenly looked at Manuel and abruptly asked a very important question, "Speaking of which, Caesar." His expression was very serious as he continued, "What if the White Sheep choose to bypass Erzurum and attack Erzincan? What if they divide their forces?"
His question brought silence to the entire hall. Manuel had already prepared an answer for this question and the situation it created.
"Our intelligence and scouts will report the approximate size and movements of the White Sheep Army to us in due course. If they truly abandon what seems to be a readily available Erzurum and choose Erzincan, which is currently reorganizing its defenses, we will also be informed in time. By then, facing a White Sheep Army that has detoured or passed through Ottoman territory, we can certainly provide timely reinforcements. If the opportunity is good, we can even try our familiar tactic of rear surprise attacks to wear down their strength.
"Furthermore, I personally do not believe they will take a detour. Our army, controlling Erzurum, is like a foot on the White Sheep's throat, directly pinning down the White Sheep's West Armenia region. Coupled with our recent capture of the city, Kara Osman must understand that our defenses in this area are weak. They cannot possibly not make some attempts here.
"As for dividing forces," Manuel's lips curled into a slight smile as he spoke, "the White Sheep Turkmens are not good at siege warfare. If they choose to divide their forces for battle, the situation might even reverse due to the numbers."
After some thought, most of the generals were convinced by Caesar's analysis.
After this military conference, Bosporus adopted a defensive strategy centered on holding the city. In the following week, after granting the Christians of Erzurum basic rights and some land, and with the call of the church and civilian personnel, many Christians actively participated in reinforcing the city defenses and joining the army to defend the city. Although there was a fair amount of persuasion involved, the surrounding military and civilians were at least united.
And just as Manuel expected, after careful consideration, the White Sheep indeed chose to retake the relatively easier Erzurum as the first step to boost morale and deter the enemy. A week after the Bosporus military conference, in mid-September, White Sheep Sultan Kara Yuluk Osman personally led an army of nearly ten thousand to the Erzurum area, intending to recapture the lost territory in one fell swoop.
But to the Turk people's surprise, in just over a week, their enemies had already established several simple but threatening defensive lines in the highland mountains.
"Damn Romans!" After a small unit's attack on the defensive line failed, Kara Osman in the central army tent couldn't help but frown and curse.