The surrounding officials sighed when they saw this, and as before, found a physician to give Grimaldi another bloodletting therapy: due to the continuous bad luck in recent days, the Consul's fainting and bloodletting had become a daily routine.
After a while, Grimaldi, pale from the bloodletting, slowly woke up and tremblingly continued to ask, "What are the specific losses?"
"Eight galleys were involved; Elvin's timely withdrawal meant only five were lost, and one was rendered unserviceable. However, the cog fleet suffered heavy losses, with nearly eighty percent of the four-masted cogs either sunk or abandoned. Of the army that was deployed, approximately 1,800 men who landed were completely annihilated, while of the nearly 1,200 still on board, 700 were successfully rescued. Additionally, the cannons, horses, and supplies carried on the ships were mostly lost. Antonio Meazza is presumed to have been killed, as well as those sailors from the mainland…" Before Elvin could finish, Grimaldi fainted again.
While the senior officials of Kaffa in Cheleki were wailing, Manuel, who had arrived at Meganom Cape, was reviewing and tallying the gains and losses of this battle with Aidian and Falero.
In the land battle, nearly a thousand of the over 1,800 Kaffa Consul soldiers who rashly landed were captured, while the rest died from trampling, crushing, and attacks by the Theodoro Army. More than half of the dead were soldiers dispatched by Genoa. In the naval battle, although they could not accurately determine the enemy's specific losses due to the cover of night, based on the large number of shipwrecks floating on the sea in the morning, they had sunk at least a dozen enemy ships.
These were the enemy's casualties. As for their own casualties, it cannot be said that the losses were heavy, and it can even be said that they were almost unscathed. Thanks to the ridiculous military discipline of the Kaffa Consul Army, the Theodoro Army, which deployed over 2,000 ground troops this time, suffered only over 250 casualties. The navy, apart from one four-masted cog warship that sank due to a counterattack and friendly fire, and four others that were temporarily incapacitated, suffered no further losses. As for the gains, although most of the enemy's supplies either sank to the bottom of the sea with their ships or were damaged in the chaos and Theodoro's attack, some usable items were still captured, such as armor from the dead and cannons that had not yet been submerged...
Although the casualties were within an acceptable range, Manuel began to worry about another matter. That was the first use of the matchlock guns.
Indeed, the sound of saltpeter, sulfur, and gunpowder burning on land last night was actually produced by matchlock guns, and this was the first time Manuel's matchlock guns were put into actual combat. However, the specific effect was not very ideal. A total of 50 matchlock guns were tested last night. Although musketeers had an advantage over crossbows in penetrating armor, frequent firing and a simple structure could easily lead to barrel explosions. For example, some impatient soldiers tried to fire continuously, but due to not controlling the interval well, the barrel exploded on the fourth shot. There were more than ten such guns damaged by barrel explosions.
It seems that the firearms currently in use still need further improvement, Manuel thought with a headache.
Due to the relatively small scale of this battle, they quickly gathered what needed to be gathered and escorted the captured prisoners and supplies back to Mangup. The prisoners awaited interrogation and enslavement unless they could prove their value.
Upon returning to Mangup, Alexius, upon learning of the great victory, was instantly overjoyed. "Good, good, good! Kaffa Consul must have completely lost its ability to counterattack now. After another week of preparation, we should advance on Cheleki!" The important officials at the meeting also echoed him, celebrating their success.
At this, Manuel scanned the expressions of the surrounding generals, and after a moment of contemplation, he spoke, much to his father's surprise, "No, Father, we should prepare to march on Cheleki City immediately."
The atmosphere suddenly became a little strange. Alexius said with some concern, "My child, don't be so hasty. Even if we have severely damaged the enemy, they may still have one to two thousand soldiers. If we are not well prepared, then attacking a fortified city with ample supplies and support from two major factions will only be a waste of effort."
"But if we don't press our advantage, then we will face Genoa itself. By then, they will use that as a bridgehead for a counterattack and regrouping. If we capture Cheleki City in time, then no matter how they counterattack later, they can only launch a naval invasion from Matrega. Moreover, their morale must be low now, and coupled with their ignorance of our secret agreement with the Tatars, they will likely focus their defenses on the coastline. Our army's rapid advance by land for a surprise attack is the best option."
His speech sparked a flurry of discussions among the crowd, and after serious consideration for half a minute, Alexius also agreed to the plan. "Good, Manuel, return to Kaffa immediately and gather the local army. I will also immediately prepare to summon the majority of the Principality's land forces. We will now, immediately, advance towards Cheleki City."
This decision ultimately received unanimous support from everyone, who all agreed to seize this opportune moment to expand their victory. Soon, Manuel took a detachment of troops and his deputy back to Kaffa, preparing for further offensives.
Inside the Cheleki City Hall, Grimaldi, having been bled again, finally awoke. He asked the officials around him somewhat helplessly, "What should we do now?"
There was no response, the hall was silent. After a long while, Gattuso and Spinola exchanged glances and said in unison, "Your Excellency, inform the mainland."
But Grimaldi was still hesitating; he stubbornly believed they hadn't lost yet. "Matrega and Tana still have food, right? Our navy still has the ability to defend itself, right? Theodoro wouldn't take such a huge risk to besiege our remaining cities, would they? We don't need to call the mainland for things we can solve ourselves. Gather a few more months of troops, and we can still counterattack! This is just a small mistake, we can still recover. Trust me, the Theodoro people wouldn't dare to fall out with us. The initiative is still in our hands. Although all of this has happened in less than a month! But this is the limit. Give Theodoro another month, what more can they do? They can't do more! Our war potential is stronger than theirs; if we counterattack, the advantage is on our side. But all of this requires everyone to be united. If we harbor ulterior motives, wouldn't that play right into the hands of those heretics? It's not over yet. Before everything settles, let's do our best to hold the last stronghold on the Crimean Peninsula.
"Hold firm, and there will be a way."