Upon learning that the Golden Horde had expelled Genoese merchants, His Excellency General Boccanegra flew into a rage, exclaiming, "Have these heretics and infidels conspired together?"
To be fair, they had. However, to be honest, there was much more to come that would raise his blood pressure.
When the Genoese fleet sailed into the Black Sea, attempting to seek temporary anchorage in Southern Bessarabia within the Principality of Moldavia for resupply, they were surprisingly denied entry by the other party, citing national security.
"We are willing to pay more. Go ask the Grand Prince for the reason," Carlo Merlo ordered the officials on the ship, frowning.
"General, this war is urgent; it's not advisable to waste time on such trivial matters," reminded Girolamo Brignole, the supervisor sent by the Genoese Council.
The army led by Carlo Merlo was primarily composed of mercenaries. To prevent these mercenaries from acting against the Republic's interests, the Genoese Council had specifically dispatched a high-ranking noble, who would absolutely follow domestic arrangements, to serve as supervisor, granting him immense power.
Carlo Merlo had some reservations about this, but since the supervisor had spoken, he had no choice but to abandon the plan of using money to persuade Moldavia to yield.
As for why the Grand Prince of Moldavia, Alexandru "the Good," was unwilling to allow the Genoese army to establish a supply point in his territory, it was at the persuasion of his second son, coupled with the Genoese's past record, that the matter ultimately came to nothing.
But the Grand Prince probably didn't know that the source of this suggestion was his daughter-in-law, "Ioannina of Mangup." The advice not to allow the Genoese to resupply in Moldavia also came from her constant whispering in her husband's ear, day and night. Ioannina's maiden name was Gavras; she was the wife of the Grand Prince's second son, Stefan Mushat, and also the eldest daughter of Alexius Gavras and the older sister of Manuel Gavras. Now, she was sitting in the city of Iași, enjoying her favorite cheesecake, closely monitoring the war between the two countries.
Of course, the Genoese were completely unaware of this, other than routinely reflecting on their military discipline, and then making no actual changes.
It was already May when the large Genoese army swaggered into Matrega. This season was mid-summer, and the mud on the Crimean Peninsula had mostly dried up. In other words, now was an excellent time for an offensive.
However, with Theodoro on high alert, the Genoese army made no further moves. For three consecutive days, aside from conflicts between reconnaissance ships, all parties remained safe, which greatly puzzled the Principality.
Just as the Principality was wondering what the Genoese were up to, the original garrison of Matrega was also curious about the matter.
"Brother, why don't we take the initiative? The season is suitable, and our naval and land forces completely overwhelm them in both quality and quantity. Although they have set up some fortifications during this period, how much defensive power can those built in less than two months have? We should..." advised Alberto Merlo, Carlo Merlo's younger brother and the military commander of the Kaffa Consul's jurisdiction.
"Alberto, how many times have you lost?" Carlo asked calmly, his eyelids slightly raised.
Alberto's face immediately turned grim. In February, he was entirely caught in the cycle of resistance, defeat, and fleeing with Grimaldi. If it weren't for his brother Carlo Merlo's desire to quickly gain control of the forces in Matrega and Tana, coupled with his consideration for family ties, he would probably have been placed under house arrest like that good-for-nothing Paolo Grimaldi.
Seeing his brother quiet down, Carlo slowly rose, unfurled the map he had been looking at, and smiled, "Gentlemen, there's no need to rush. I will certainly carry out the orders from home, but before that, we must clarify our advance plan, rather than blindly charging forward relying on superior armaments like headless flies." As he said this, he glared fiercely at his incompetent younger brother.
"In my opinion, the Principality of Theodoro will certainly be prepared in relevant areas to guard against our maritime invasion. Firstly, the Kerch area. According to previous intelligence, the local Tatar ruler actually granted them military passage rights and allowed them to build fortresses along the way. Furthermore, this area is mainly composed of plains, grasslands, and small hills, so they will certainly hold their ground in these sections. However, these fortresses were built in recent months, and their quality is questionable. If we attack with a certain force, they absolutely cannot hold them."
"But due to the foolish decisions of His Excellency the Consul and his subordinates, we don't even have a foothold on the peninsula," he continued, glaring fiercely at his idiotic younger brother again, "This means that if we launch a landing operation, we might be pushed back, although this possibility is very small."
"But a small possibility does not mean it doesn't exist. To avoid this situation, we can try to divide the landing troops into three teams: one team attacks the central area nominally belonging to the Tatars, one part attacks the narrow section led by Olstyn, and another team besieges Kerch. First, conduct a probe, then have one to two teams carry out a feint, while the remaining one to two teams will choose to break through at the weakest point they find." Subsequently, Merlo fully laid out his plan, making everyone present admire him: truly worthy of being the General called the "Golden Knight" by the Duke of Milan.
"Hmm, however, the Circassians and Eastern Orthodox in Matrega might hinder us, as well as the Adyghe Principality to the south, which has been hostile to us for a long time due to our slave trade. General, I think we should leave some troops to guard this place," Spinola cautiously reminded him.
Carlo Merlo frowned again, thinking how troublesome it was. If the Principality of Theodoro wasn't the primary enemy, he would really want to flatten the surrounding Circassian tribes first. "Very well, among the 6,000 soldiers I am leading this time, I will assign 500 to guard the city with Matrega's troops. The rest will attempt to land and besiege. There are another 2,000 men on the way; when they arrive, they should be able to help clean up the aftermath."
"Brother, are we advancing at night?"
"No, we attack during the day. If anything unexpected happens at night, it could become the grave of our army. During the day, in the sunlight, our visibility will be clearer, and our judgment of the enemy will also be sharper," Carlo said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Thus, the Genoese's operational plan in Matrega was finalized.
Three days later, in the early morning, nearly 20 Genoese warships approached the transit area between Kaffa and Kerch, controlled by Theodoro.