One point needs to be clarified: the camp by the river was not fake; the Theodoro Army did indeed rest there for a morning, and those stoves and supplies were left behind at that time.
However, they did not stay long, but quickly retreated to the upper and middle reaches of the Obitochna River after eating lunch, awaiting their Highness's next command.
Just after the Theodoro Army left, Manuel immediately sent people to secretly contact the spies within the Crimean Army.
That's right, because Crimea had been infiltrated like a sieve by Theodoro's intelligence department, they could even contact the spies within the Crimean Army through more complicated means.
After contacting the spies, Manuel confidently led his army to secretly ambush on the highlands of the upper and middle reaches, waiting for the Crimean Army to fall into their trap.
It must be said, the Tatars were fast; after Manuel set up the trap, they happily jumped into it in less than two days.
Of course, it wasn't that no one in the Crimean Army was unaware of this suspicious situation; for example, Balin tried to dissuade Shilin.
However, due to Shilin's stubbornness, coupled with the interference of the spies within the army, the advice of those led by Balin all ended in failure.
Finally, they all gave up trying, 'He said he could win, so let's just obey him,' Balin thought after giving up.
The result was the scene that unfolded now.
After realizing he had fallen into a trap, Shilin, after shouting that sentence, quickly reorganized military discipline to resist the approaching Theodoro Army.
But the Tatar soldiers, still fighting over 'spoils,' were unwilling to give up the resources they had obtained so easily; it was not that easy for an army that had just fallen into chaos to reorganize again, not to mention that this Crimean Army was cobbled together by various tribes for profit, and in the face of an adverse situation, it was difficult to quickly restore its previous organization.
Therefore, Shilin could only watch helplessly as Theodoro's land and naval forces approached, feeling extremely panicked, he no longer cared about many things, and quickly swallowed his pride, sending his personal guards to find Balin and other tribal chiefs Darhkans, promising to concede his own interests, and begging them to help him restore order to resist the approaching enemy.
Since Shilin had conceded so much, Balin temporarily put aside the animosity between the two tribes, prioritizing the overall situation, and began to seriously gather his tribal soldiers, preparing for battle.
However, most of the other small tribal chiefs did not have such awareness; thinking of how the Shirin Tribe had previously ridden roughshod over them, they felt a wave of disgust, and seeing that they could now make the Shirin Tribe suffer completely, they certainly would not cooperate seriously.
Just as Shilin was trying his best to gather the Crimean Army's limited cohesion, Theodoro's land army had already arrived at the downstream river mouth, and the navy had also arrived within the range of the cannons loaded on its ships.
Manuel, who commanded the entire army, didn't care which tribe the Crimean Army belonged to; in his eyes, all these Tatars were the same.
Therefore, after the entire army was ready, he ordered the gunners to prepare, then looked at the still chaotic Crimean Army, and smiled gently: 'Aim, prepare, fire!'
As cannon fire echoed from the land, Theodoro's navy also continuously shelled the Crimean Army's position, as previously instructed, unleashing a barrage of bombardment.
Bombarded by Theodoro's cannons in such a manner, even the most oblivious Crimean soldiers finally understood the predicament they were in.
Knowing they were surrounded by infidels, their first reaction was to charge on horseback and slash and kill.
But looking at the overwhelming sea of enemies, plus their own forces all squeezed onto the sandbar, and having to cross the tidal river mouth to reach the mainland, they couldn't help but feel disheartened, and their morale dropped significantly.
And in Theodoro's position, although the enemy showed no sign of stopping their resistance, Manuel was not in a hurry.
He calmly ordered the army's archers and musketeers to also step forward, to cooperate with the cannons, not seeking precision, but only aiming to fire all their gunpowder arrows and bolts at the enemy.
Under the saturated attack of Theodoro's various long-range weapons, the already low-morale and disorganized Crimean Army finally showed signs of collapse in less than half an hour.
More and more Tatar soldiers tried to cross the river to escape or surrender, but many were dealt with by their own Darhkans according to military law, shot or bombed to death by the bewildered enemy, or directly trampled and drowned while crossing the river.
Now, only the Tatar soldiers of the Shirin Tribe and Balin Tribe could barely resist.
Although at an absolute disadvantage, these soldiers, personally supervised by their tribal chiefs, still tried their best to utilize their equestrian archery skills, firing arrow after arrow at their enemies.
'Hold on a little longer, warriors! As soon as the tide recedes, we can leave the sandbar and reach the steppe,' Shilin tried his best to comfort his Tatar warriors.
'That's right, as long as we can fight on horseback, then everything will...' Balin also consoled them in the same way.
Their intentions were not unnoticed; for example, Manuel, who was riding on horseback commanding the army, seeing the enemy's desperate resistance and their efforts to move towards the mainland, quickly understood what they were trying to do.
'Trying to break through after the tide recedes? A plan very much in line with the Tatar character.
But even a stream less than calf-deep can drown people.'
After thinking it over, he immediately ordered the army's spearmen to the front, while strengthening the protection of the crossbowmen, artillerymen, and musketeers, also preparing to spear down Tatar cavalry attempting to break through.
The time for the tide to recede finally arrived, it was just before evening.
Shilin, finally seeing hope, eagerly seized the opportunity, ignoring Balin who had resisted with him until now, and rushed to lead his tribal soldiers towards the mainland to break through.
After confirming that the enemy soldiers were attempting to break through, Manuel, feeling that victory was within his grasp, also became a bit carried away.
He now wanted to personally kill Tatar soldiers.
This made him can't help but shout to the army: 'Soldiers, the infidels are now before us, I command you...'
Before he could finish, his mouth was covered by three generals who sensed something was wrong, 'Your Highness, please reconsider,' Aidian whispered in horror, trying to dissuade him.
Manuel then calmed his somewhat dizzy impulse and continued to command from the central army.
Fortunately, Theodoro's military deployment did not suffer any mishaps due to this small interlude.
Ismail Shilin, leading his weary and toiling soldiers, finally returned to the mainland, only to discover in terror that Theodoro's armored spearmen and pikemen had been waiting by the river for a long time.
He momentarily tried to throw down his weapons and surrender, but a sharp-eyed Theodoro soldier used a spear to unhorse him, and he was subsequently trampled to dust by the chaotic army.
The Shirin Tribe's soldiers also mostly fell into chaos due to the death of their chief, and died from the Theodoro Army's indiscriminate stabbing and killing.
And Balin, whom he had deliberately left behind, witnessed his tragic fate and decisively and swiftly chose to lead his people to surrender, thus saving his own life, which was quite ironic.
The battle finally ended by nightfall.
Except for a very small number—less than 10 people—of soldiers and Darhkans who escaped the chaos, everyone else was either killed, wounded, or captured.
In other words, the Crimean Khanate's more than four thousand garrison troops left in the south were completely annihilated.