What kind of nonsense is this? How can everything be 'all or nothing' now? This guy was clearly greedy for the land Alexander Komnenos promised, and, blinded by greed, convinced him to participate in the Komnenos family's restoration. Now, after losing one battle and seeing the danger of being counter-attacked, he's scared and quickly using his connections to call for help, isn't he? Isfendiyar felt both angry and amused, but simply couldn't speak.
After trying his best to calm his emotions, the old Bey Isfendiyar subconsciously moved himself further away from the Emir. At this moment, he thought of another rather important matter and used the opportunity to change the subject, "Allah above, where is Alexander Komnenos?"
Just as the two Beys were discussing Alexander Komnenos, the claimant to the Trabzon throne happened to land in the port of Amastris, preparing to go to Sinop shortly with his Brother-in-law Francesco Gattilusio, to visit the Komnenos family's old ally, Kandar Bey. Of course, he didn't yet know that the old Bey he had known for a long time was currently not in Kandar's territory, but was meeting another Bey in the Ordu palace in Janik.
Moreover, his mind was on something else entirely.
"How did my damn cousin win again, and where did he pull these Venetians from?" Having just learned that Andos Fortress had been captured by the combined forces of Venice and Bosporus, he couldn't help but curse through gritted teeth.
"The Venetians, ah," Francesco, who was beside him, stroked his sparsely bearded chin thoughtfully, "You might not know much about it. Before the Gavras Family elevated their title, that is, when they were still called the Principality of Theodoro, these Goths were already flirting with the Venetians, and even openly brought Venice into the war some time after they started fighting us."
"There was such a thing?" Alexander's eyes widened. At that time, he was still in Trabzon, vying with his father and brothers, and although he had heard of the Black Sea war, he didn't know much about it.
"Otherwise, how could a mere Theodoro have taken away large stretches of the Tauris Peninsula's coast from us without any follow-up?" Francesco chuckled. When he spoke of these topics, his attitude was quite indifferent, as if he were talking about matters unrelated to himself.
Alexander was slightly puzzled by this, "But why do I feel like you don't seem to care much?"
"Well," Francesco smiled, "It wasn't our Gattilusio family that lost land, prestige, and titles in that war. Rather, my father and I were, well, amused to see those useless people sent by the local faction get beaten so badly."
"Ah, this." Indeed, the coldness between local and central authorities and the mutual disdain among nobles are common everywhere.
On their way to Sinop, the two discussed other matters. However, the rest of the topics were uninteresting and uninspired.
While the other two sides were active, Manuel was not idle either. He was currently in the Giresun city hall, carefully considering whether to invade Janik as originally planned. During this time, he recalled the military conference held recently in Trabzon city—
"If we are indeed attacked by Janik and other Tukish Beys, if we can successfully repel them, will we choose to hold our ground within our borders, or will we directly counterattack into their territory?"
When he posed this strategic question with great force at the time, his generals all fell silent. Correspondingly, their expressions were extremely serious.
After a while, at Manuel's instruction, people gradually offered their opinions. Although these views varied, their starting point was, without exception, from the perspective of Bosporus, at most incorporating possible enemy deployments and plans.
But Tukharovsky, as the Army Commander, had a peculiar subtle feeling. Feeling somewhat strange, he looked at the Caesar on the main seat and found his monarch's expression particularly tense and solemn, as if their next opponents were not just those Tukish Beys and Komnenos remnants, but also other existences that he feared and worried about even more.
Was it the Genoese? No, logically, as long as they dared to get involved, the Venetians, who had signed a mutual defense alliance, would definitely not stand by.
Who could it be then? Tukharovsky pondered deeply.
Watching his subordinates ponder, Manuel couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. On second thought, most of them seemed to have ignored the largest power in Asia Minor all along, perhaps because of the smooth power grab in Pontus and the successful war against the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty...
Thinking of this, the young Caesar frowned slightly. Most of Bosporus's generals came from Eastern Europe, separated from Asia Minor by the Black Sea, and the rest were recruited from the Trabzon region, which was protected by the Pontic Mountains. It was indeed difficult to immediately think that the damn Turkish giant would be watching here.
But what if something unexpected happened?
He did not continue to think further, but instead continued to wait for someone to raise the question that had troubled him for a long time.
To his surprise, there were still people who understood his concerns.
After Tukharovsky finished his thoughts, he immediately laid out the results of his deliberation at the meeting, "Your Majesty, and gentlemen, shouldn't we pay attention to the fact that the Ottoman Sultanate, the suzerain of these Tukish Beys, is right next door to us?"
These words immediately ended the somewhat lively atmosphere. And at this moment, Manuel, sitting on the main seat, finally found a suitable entry point. To this, he slowly waved his hand, indicating that he had something to say.
The generals present immediately fell silent, awaiting their sovereign's speech.
"Holy Father above, Army Commander Tukharovsky speaks very truly." Caesar Manuel immediately affirmed the statement of his cabinet member, "Janik and other Tukish Beys are nominally vassals of the Ottoman Sultan; we cannot rule out the possibility of Ottoman interference through this.
"Unfortunately, and fortunately, we are not yet large enough," he said cautiously, "Therefore, Ottoman Sultan Murad II is unlikely to target us immediately; otherwise, they would have actively intervened when we were fighting the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty."
His initial thought was clear: to follow his heart's choice and fight a defensive counterattack within their borders. But listening to the discussions of his generals, he quickly made a more correct adjustment.
"But if we drag on with these Tukish Beys for too long, it will only draw more attention from the Ottoman. In that case, our goal is clear: quickly force these Tukish Beys off the battlefield!" Saying this, he stood up directly,
"So, if we engage in battle with the Tukish Beys next, we must invade their territory as quickly as possible, forcing them to agree to unconditional peace with us within three months."
Having finished his recollections and clarified his thoughts, Manuel no longer hesitated. He rose and strode out of the room, "Order the entire army to prepare to march on Janik."