Upon receiving the news that he was surrounded by the combined forces of Bosporus and Venice, the middle-aged Genoese nobleman stationed at Andos Fortress looked utterly bewildered, "How did they get this information? Although we were indeed ordered to prepare for an attack from within the fortress, wasn't our secrecy quite good?"
Hmm, it seems this unlucky fellow still didn't know the fact that Genoa's remaining strongholds in the Black Sea region had been infiltrated by the Venetians' intelligence system like a sieve.
"Then, Baron, what should we do?" one of his personal valets couldn't help but exclaim.
"Relay my military order to all officers and soldiers: Hold! According to the established plan, our navy should soon be coming from Amastris..." Before the nobleman, referred to as Baron by his valet, could finish his sentence, a series of massive cannon roars interrupted him.
"What are these Romans and Venetians up to again?" the Baron roared furiously, but his angry voice was nothing compared to the sound of the cannon fire.
As this Genoese noble frantically issued orders, the Venetian fleet and Bosporus Army besieging Andos Fortress, impatient after their surrender demands went unanswered, had already begun their bombardment. If the opponent hadn't been Genoese, Manuel would have been more cautious, letting Genoa's old rival, Venice, initiate the bombardment before the Bosporus forces followed suit.
But this time, his opponents were the Genoese, old enemies. Since it was that country, he had no intention of being lenient. After all, the relationship between the Bosphorus Despotate, which was the former Theodoro Principality, and Genoa was already bad enough; a little more badness wouldn't matter. At most, the animosity would increase to anger, which in his eyes made no difference.
About half an hour later, after such a round of combined sea and land bombardment, more than half of Andos Fortress's defensive structures had been destroyed. At this point, the Baron stationed in the fortress realized that if things continued like this, let alone waiting for allied reinforcements from Amastris, he himself, and even the less than five hundred defenders, might all perish here. Furthermore, under the encirclement of the Venetian fleet, whether their own fleet could come to support them was a huge problem.
Finally, in a hopeless situation, he quickly sent someone to contact the besieging parties to discuss surrender. After confirming that if they surrendered voluntarily, neither of the two opposing nations would harm them personally, His Excellency the Baron swiftly ordered his soldiers to raise white flags, and he himself raised a white staff, surrendering the entire fortress to the besieging forces.
Andos Fortress, a Genoese stronghold with over a hundred years of history, thus returned to the rule of orthodox rulers in less than half a day. From then on, it would never again be possible for it to be taken by Latins.
After witnessing his Caesar cousin take down the Genoese trade stronghold, which had troubled Trabzon for many years, with such decisive action, the Despot David Komnenos, who had been forcibly dragged along, felt a momentary pang of melancholy. Although he had already understood that following Manuel in the war against the White Sheep Turkmens would likely mean always taking a backseat, he, who considered himself the legitimate heir of the Komnenos family, still dreamt of finding an opportunity to expand his power and become a true despotic monarch.
But now, he suddenly felt a sense of disillusionment. This sad feeling forced him to ask himself: If he were the Basileus of Trabzon now, could he, like his cousin, use war to extensively purge and even eliminate the merchant-commune forces that had plagued the country's trade for so long?
The answer was obvious.
While David Komnenos was deep in thought due to the battle unfolding before him, Serenus, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, riding a yellow-maned horse and serving as a guard beside Manuel, was holding a pen and paper, resisting the jolts of his mount, and busily writing something.
Seeing his subordinate in such a state, Caesar found it hard to maintain his composure, "Serenus, if you need to record something, you should wait until you dismount or return."
"No, no, Your Majesty," Serenus shook his head at this, "This is my first time personally experiencing a medium-to-large-scale battle. If I don't record what I've seen, heard, and felt at this very moment, wouldn't that be a great waste? Holy Father, Your Majesty, why didn't you bring me along when you fought the White Sheep Turkmens before?"
"Recording firsthand historical materials, huh, but this is still a battlefield," Thinking of this, Manuel felt a black line cross his forehead.
Speaking of which, this person's presence this time was due to his own request. At first, Caesar was touched for a moment, thinking he had specifically given up the power to temporarily govern Trabzon City to assist him, but now it seemed it was entirely for the purpose of recording war history.
But this also seemed not bad, Manuel mused. Just as he was about to console the generals and soldiers after the battle, the flagship of the Venetian fleet had already docked, and its Naval Commander had come ashore, ready to discuss the next strategic plans with the monarch of Bosporus.
At the same time, the main force of the Bosporus Army led by Tukharovsky had also arrived at Giresun, a key western town, preparing to rest and gather intelligence before quickly reinforcing the border troops currently engaged with the enemy.
And upon learning that the Autocratic State's Army Commander was personally leading the troops for support, the local garrison commander quickly found a gap in his schedule and arrived to meet him half an hour later. Facing the officer's apologies and welcome, Tukharovsky skipped the unnecessary pleasantries and made his appropriate statement, "Holy Father above, let's dispense with the extra words. Quickly tell me the current situation of both our forces and the enemy. I plan to commit the soldiers to battle roughly after lunch. We cannot let the soldiers currently on the battlefield and those about to go to battle die in vain."
Facing the Commander's words, the lean and spirited young officer before him immediately felt a profound respect in his heart. And he immediately and earnestly laid out all the necessary intelligence on the spot: "Commander, the enemy, that is, the combined forces of Janik and Kandar, launched a fierce attack on Giresun around dusk two days ago, taking advantage of our army's relaxed state during a shift change.
"Although we responded barely in time and held them back from the most important cape defense line, we still allowed them to cross the rivers in this area. This was a dereliction of duty on my part.
"Also, what is very concerning is that these Turk infidels seemed to have been prepared, and as soon as they launched their offensive, it was directed at the river section, which was slightly weaker in our defenses but still crucial, forcing us to retreat to the mountain and cape regions.
"Although our unit later reacted and held the remaining areas during the night, we still lost the river section, which is a strategic location. This humble subordinate is incompetent, and I ask for your punishment, Commander."