Finally, Manuel and Vytautas reached a secret agreement. According to the agreement, Vytautas would dispatch at least 1,000 foreign mercenaries to assist Manuel in any recent military operations, with Lithuania still paying the initial wages. In return, Manuel had to expand the territory of Theodoro, convert to Roman Catholic after his ascension, abandon his vassalage and tribute to the Golden Horde, and become Vytautas's vassal.
Both parties believed this deal was highly profitable, but beneath the surface of close cooperation, they each harbored their own ulterior motives.
On his way back, Vytautas sneered inwardly, 'This callow youth, still wet behind the ears, tries to extort me. Does he really think these troops are free? Once he returns to Theodoro, he'll either fight outwards or inwards. Either way, the troops I send won't let him renege on the debt.' Meanwhile, in the embassy, Manuel also mocked inwardly when he was alone, 'Vytautas, that old fool, how much longer does he think he can live? As soon as he goes to meet God, all the achievements his soldiers helped me gain will be mine. By then, won't he have to obediently hand over the gold? After all, the object of my sworn allegiance is Vytautas himself, not the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.'
Regardless, both sides completed a seamless cooperation. Congratulations, congratulations.
Of course, many were still curious about their secret talks. Although Manuel had silenced those who were unaware with the generous results upon his return, Mana, who had been present throughout as a scribe, recording and witnessing the entire process, was deeply worried. He specifically found an opportunity to be alone with His Highness the Crown Prince and asked, 'Your Highness, this is too, too dangerous. His Highness the Prince is, after all, one of the few strong Princes in Theodoro's history. What you're doing carries too much risk, and the returns are probably not high. Why did you propose such terms?'
Manuel carefully checked to ensure no one could overhear their conversation before cautiously replying to Mana, 'I merely agreed to become a vassal of Grand Duke Vytautas; I never said I would usurp the throne.'
'Ah, this...' Mana pondered in confusion for a moment before realizing that his dear Highness had played a word game. 'Then isn't this... extortion...?'
'How can you say that? How can this be called extortion? In diplomacy, can it be called extortion? This approach should be called 'getting something for nothing,'' Manuel said with a smile, correcting his subordinate's wording.
'It sounds even worse,' Mana thought awkwardly to himself.
On the other side, on the way back to Vilnius, Razviy in the carriage asked his Duke a similar question, 'Duke, are we being too generous?'
'Razviy, who do you think is more trustworthy, the Eastern Orthodox or the muslims?'
'Neither is trustworthy. One is a lost heresy, the other is a shameful paganism.'
'Just make a comparison.'
'Your Highness, I do not believe the Greeks, who have historically engaged in Oriental intrigues, are trustworthy, nor do I believe those Tatar pagans who disregard benevolence and morality are trustworthy. Moreover, the Greeks have always been in cahoots with the Rus, and I worry...'
'The Greek Emperor has only Constantinople left. No matter how many schemes the remaining Greeks plot, they won't make waves. This Crown Prince of a small Principality, he has ability and cunning, but he will never escape my grasp. Razviy, you must understand that in the face of absolute power, any scheme, no matter how clever, will not cause any ripples.' At this point, Vytautas's eyes revealed a sharp, intimidating gaze, for his last words were not only explaining his actions but also subtly warning the Lithuanian nobles, led by the Razviy family: do not always use various excuses to interfere with his decisions.
'I will obey Your Highness's command.'
'That's good.' Vytautas's gaze returned to its peaceful state, which made everyone else in the carriage, except him, breathe a sigh of relief.
A few days later, both parties held another secret meeting, officially finalizing the specific arrangements.
'As soon as the domestic parliament approves this proposal, I will first dispatch 1,000 Eastern Orthodox Rus heavy infantry as vanguards under your command,' Vytautas added with a smile. 'Oh, by the way, I also specifically wrote a letter to Haji Giray. Please accept it; I believe you will certainly find it useful.' With that, Vytautas handed a handwritten letter of recommendation to Manuel.
Although Manuel knew that the other party's actions were largely due to self-interest, he still gratefully accepted it and sincerely thanked him. After all, in the early stages of establishment, every bit of funding was extremely precious.
'Thank you for the Duke's courtesy. Then, farewell.' With these words, both parties embraced each other and warmly kissed each other's cheeks before finally bidding a formal farewell.
'The rest are the Tatar Princes on the list,' On the return carriage, Manuel roughly flipped through the list, and his attention was mainly focused on one name on the list:
Haji Giray.