The next morning, Tukharovsky, who came to the palace's council hall to report the details of the battle, was surprised to find Manuel looking dispirited and listless.
"Your Highness, are you, are you alright?" he asked with concern.
"I'm fine, just a minor issue.
Let's continue discussing the details of your capture of Bakhchysarai," Manuel said, waving his hand dismissively, indicating the matter was unimportant.
Since His Highness said so, it must not be a big deal.
Tukharovsky comforted himself in his heart, then put aside his prying thoughts and continued to report the details of capturing Bakhchysarai with a serious expression.
"Your ability to march and besiege is truly impressive," Manuel couldn't help but applaud him after listening to Tukharovsky's battle report, which made him feel a little overwhelmed.
"Your Highness overpraises me," he responded humbly, bowing his head in response to Manuel's applause.
However, Manuel did not stop praising him because of his words; instead, he discussed the aftermath of this war with him with even greater admiration.
After a brief discussion, a remark from Tukharovsky reminded him of another important matter: "Your Highness, there is something I believe you should be aware of."
"Speak."
"Regarding military discipline, although we managed to control the situation after capturing the city through mandatory orders and less than a hundred casualties, preventing soldiers from plundering Bakhchysarai, this is fine once or twice, but it is not a long-term solution.
If we encounter a difficult enemy that we expend great effort to overcome, then the soldiers, with their pent-up frustrations, will crave revenge.
And if such a desire for revenge exists, then even if Your Highness personally orders against looting, it might only backfire."
"Your Highness, forgive my audacity.
I surmise you dislike plundering cities, but under the current circumstances, the premise for us to maintain a no-looting policy is that we can take our target areas with minimal casualties, and at the same time, be invincible in attack and victorious in every battle.
Otherwise, forcing soldiers to maintain good military discipline even after a hard-won victory will only increase their dissatisfaction and resentment."
"You mean, even though the casualties from taking Bakhchysarai this time were not great, and the process was relatively easy, there were still soldiers planning to riot?" Manuel frowned as he spoke, his eyes becoming sharp.
"No, Your Highness.
Although there were indeed a handful of troublemakers stirring up emotions, they were promptly reported and dealt with by military law," Tukharovsky lowered his head, his heart pounding, because he had expressed his concerns out of worry, but now he was a little worried that he might get into trouble for his bold statement earlier.
Fortunately, his fears were unfounded, because Manuel, who was in front of him, merely sighed softly, tapped the table with his right index finger, and after pondering for a moment, replied: "General Tukharovsky, you have worked hard.
Rest assured, I will not mistreat these brave soldiers of the Principality; for the soldiers who participated in the siege of Bakhchysarai this time, their monthly military pay will be increased, and after Christmas, I will send someone to distribute rewards to the courageous among them.
However, as a general of an army, you must also accustom your soldiers to good military discipline.
As for troublemaking ruffians, it is best to suppress them before anything happens."
"Thank you for Your Highness's wise decision.
In the name of the Holy Father, I will strictly enforce military discipline," Tukharovsky bowed gratefully, saying, "Loyalty!"
Manuel, for his part, said it was nothing, telling him to relax, and then discussed his views on the Principality's current military situation, pointing out some problems he saw.
Manuel listened and evaluated carefully, after all, he had come to understand these days that in terms of military capability, Tukharovsky from Lithuania was stronger than him.
However, Manuel ultimately had other important matters to attend to, so after talking for a while, he tactfully dismissed Tukharovsky for the time being to quickly finish the day's pending tasks.
After watching Tukharovsky leave the room and swiftly completing his routine duties before noon, Manuel began to ponder the issue of military discipline.
In his previous life, he strongly disliked so-called asceticism and the praise of austerity, and had even argued with others about it both online and offline.
However, when he reincarnated into the 15th century, he then realized the difficulty of that spirit and began to yearn for the good customs he had seen and heard in his previous life.
"Alas, if only all my soldiers were brave and fearless Holy Warriors.
Look at the Turkic Ghazi warriors and the Tatar horse archers; their fanaticism makes one envious."
"No, that's not right.
If all my soldiers were fanatical Holy Warriors, then these fellows might prioritize obedience to doctrine over loyalty to me, and it would be difficult to command them if my prestige and ability were insufficient.
The three great Roman Catholic knightly orders, for example, are very good; they obey military orders, do not fear death, and maintain good military discipline."
"But I am a secular lord, and a Crown Prince who has not yet ascended to power.
Where would I get the charisma and ducats to establish a knightly order?
Especially one with strong combat power and deep roots, like a military order.
The three great knightly orders were initially just monastic orders protecting pilgrims."
"Ah, ah, ah, Uncle Warriors, I miss you.
Can you transmigrate to the Middle Ages and help me?
I promise to recite the Eight Disciplines to you every day…"
In the end, Manuel simply, well, went mad, alone in the room, speaking in a voice no one could hear.
Finally, when he calmed down, he decided to use the prestige gained from this war's victory to guide the Principality's army discipline towards the direction he desired, if he could ultimately achieve the victory he sought.
After deciding on the timing to address army discipline, Manuel shifted his focus to the governance of Northern Crimea.
Theodoro now controlled the entire Northern Crimea, and the Crimean Khanate should be busy contending with the Golden Horde army in the short term, with no time to move south again.
During this window of opportunity, he should also change his approach to governing Northern Crimea.
Previously, for expediency, the Principality of Theodoro had always implemented military control in Northern Crimea, unable to collect sufficient taxes or mobilize manpower from these lands.
Now, it was time to change that.
With this thought, Manuel took out paper and pen and slowly wrote down his governance strategy…