Manuel's humiliating defeat had become the biggest topic in Theodoro's military and political circles these past few days. Regarding this, Andres Raus, the Principality's Chief Secretary, who always prided himself as Prince Alexius's closest confidant, even openly stated at the military meeting held in Mangup that morning: "To lose a skirmish so badly, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince must have lost all face."
"You talk about military commanders, look at how many military commanders the Principality has replaced now, what's the use? It's just changing the soup, not the medicine! Who does Haji Giray have under him? Elite and skilled Tatar cavalry. Who do we have under us? Old farmers and city dwellers. Who can lead them? What is the current level of the Theodoro Army? Only a few can barely lead a fight, and they still lost. Even someone of His Royal Highness's level is leading an army; can he lead? He doesn't have the ability, do you understand? If we keep losing, we'll lose to the Tatars, after the Tatars, we'll lose to Genoa, after Genoa, we'll lose to old farmers, and after that, there'll be no one left to lose to…"
However, several people who had personally followed Manuel's policies until now were quite dissatisfied with this. For example, Patniko retorted without mercy: "From another perspective, without His Royal Highness, where would we have Theodosia and Phanagoria now? And thanks to His Royal Highness, we became the earliest force to prepare for war against the Crimean Khanate…"
Raus: "Oh, thank goodness! Our Principality's foundation is only mediocre, and we haven't laid a good groundwork these past few years. Can you guarantee me that if His Royal Highness continues this way, we will win the crucial battle against the Tatars? I advise everyone present to be more pragmatic; don't always think about expansion. First, understand the concepts of development and diplomacy, and our areas of expertise. For instance, His Royal Highness was quite good at siege warfare before. Why let him go out of the city and wander around, only to lose everything in a skirmish?
"Perhaps now we should let His Royal Highness rest for a while and let other members of the royal family in the Principality handle things, such as His Majesty or Isaac…"
"The emphasis is on the last one, isn't it, Raus? Are you plotting treason?"
"Ha? Everything I do is for the benefit of the Principality, His Majesty, and His Royal Highness. This is slander, slander!"
"Ah? I think you have strange ideas. I'll bring you, traitor, to justice right now!"
Then, this military meeting of the Theodoro Principality devolved into an unrestricted fighting competition.
Sitting in the center, Alexius looked at the chaotic scene and couldn't help but sigh softly: "It was just one skirmish we lost, why has our Theodoro become like this?" As he sighed, a decision slowly formed in his heart.
As for the person involved, Manuel, the Crown Prince of Theodoro? He was currently lying on his bed in his Theodosia palace, his eyes hollow, engaging in an incessant, beast-like act with his wife, Barbara.
It wasn't until the afternoon that he slowly got dressed and walked out of the room, preparing to deal with daily affairs. But his entire state at this moment was like a walking corpse.
Seeing His Royal Highness in such a state, Badars and Tukharovsky, who were at the door of the room, were anxious and didn't know how to console him. Afterwards, they ran into Vladimir, who was coming to report, and quickly pulled him aside to discuss how to reignite Manuel's passion.
"His Royal Highness's condition is very dangerous," Badars worried.
"Indeed. Oh, by the way, Vladimir, Aidian is a general in the same Philaka Legion as you and also experienced the defeat at Keziyar with His Royal Highness. Why don't you call him over and let him comfort and enlighten His Royal Highness?" Tukharovsky suggested.
"Him? Don't even mention it. After returning that day, he's been constantly pouring himself wine. When asked, he just says he's ashamed of His Royal Highness and so many Philaka brothers, then continues to pour himself wine," Vladimir said with a look of distress.
"This… isn't there also a brave warrior His Royal Highness promoted these past few days, named Posadas? Although he's a commoner, he should also be able to…" Badars pondered for a moment before suggesting.
"Good heavens, after returning that day, as his former superior, I went to visit him, but he just kept muttering 'Failed, failed, failed…' with lifeless eyes," Tukharovsky said, tapping his forehead in frustration.
"According to the survivors, they encountered Janissaries. No, are Janissaries really that terrifying?" Badars grumbled discontentedly. Then he was surprised to find the other two looking at him with strange expressions. "What? Did I say something wrong?" Badars was utterly confused.
"If you don't find them terrifying, you can confront them directly," Tukharovsky said coldly. "A friend of my father's personally experienced the disastrous defeat of the Nicopolis Crusaders back then. I can say unequivocally that for us Christians, the Janissaries are the strongest enemy of our era." He spread his hands, indicating that he was not speaking idly.
"What about that friend of your father's?" Badars asked curiously.
"He was 'honored' to be executed by direct order of the then Ottoman Sultan Bayezid, as a Crusader prisoner of war," Tukharovsky said calmly.
Then the atmosphere among the three of them fell into a dead silence.
"So what do we do now?" the three of them wondered.
While the three of them were discussing intensely, Manuel, in the room, had just emerged from his dazed state and was in a state of self-doubt. "Why did a skirmish result in the annihilation of the entire army? Is it just because the opponent had Janissaries? And my micro-management? No, shouldn't I have just led the army to retreat then? At least I could have saved the majority?
"Why could just a small contingent of Janissaries defeat our army like this? System? Numbers? Quality? Do victories achieved by walking a tightrope count as true victories? Are the victories I've achieved all along nothing in the face of truly strong enemies? But this was just a small squad of Janissaries. Anyway, it seems to boil down to not being able to defeat the Ottomans. Should I just focus on the present? Can one generation's efforts truly overcome an enemy's hundred years of development? Should I not have any ambition to revive Rome at all?
"What should I do next?"
After a long period of such contemplation, he numbly left his seat, looked outside the door, and thought: "Should I go outside and look around, as a lord?"