Long, long after, when someone happened to ask Manuel III, who was about to officially ascend the Basileus's throne, how he viewed Saint Joan of Arc, he fell silent, much to the questioner's surprise.
After a long pause, Manuel III looked towards the outdoors and said to the person with genuine regret, "She was a very great person, far more remarkable than someone like me. I truly wish I could have met that great young woman, if it were possible, if I had been a Caesar or Basileus then.
"But unfortunately, what's past is past, and what couldn't be done ultimately couldn't be done. Perhaps, this is fate." By the end, he even let out a bitter laugh.
But this was a long time later. Although the news of Joan of Arc truly being executed by fire by England was a big story in Western Europe and even all of Europe, it had no impact on the Eastern European Great Plains at the moment, and it would take at least a quarter to half a year for the news to reach here.
So, on the Eastern European Great Plains, the most prominent focus remained the war with the Crimean Khanate.
And just as Joan of Arc was being executed by fire, the news of Henichesk's fall to Theodoro gradually came to the attention of the noble officials of the Crimean Khanate stationed in Adamakha.
As the old saying goes, paper cannot wrap fire. After realizing that several exaktors dispatched from Adamakha to Henichesk had been out of contact for a considerable time, the high-ranking officials of the Crimean Khanate, vaguely sensing something amiss, anxiously sent several scouts to Henichesk to gather local intelligence.
After a few scouts finally escaped back to Adamakha and informed the noble officials of what they had seen and heard, these Tatar nobles felt the fire of humiliation burning on their faces.
"This is a provocation! Theodoro Principality is playing with fire, do they really think I cannot crush them?" Isma'il ibn Beijin Xilin Darhkan, the current tribal chief of the Shirin, and the eldest son of the former tribal chief, Beijin Xilin, who was also the Vizier of the Crimean Khanate, angrily pounded the table and roared.
"Calm down, Shirin Darhkan, our main purpose here is to maintain the stability of the southern borders of the Khanate," Mustafa Balin Darhkan calmly reminded him.
"Is Balin Darhkan referring to us just watching those lawless Kafir Christians encroach on our pasture lands?"
"No, don't be so hasty," Balin felt cold sweat pouring down his face.
"I'm hasty? This is clearly a normal reaction, isn't it? Balin Darhkan, you haven't been bought off by the Kafir's ducats, have you?"
"Ha? What a joke! Even the Republic of Venice couldn't afford enough ducats to buy me! I warn you, Shirin Darhkan, slandering a colleague is treason."
"You can actually be bought by ducats? You're not loyal! Unlike me, my loyalty is beyond reproach, no currency can buy me."
"Allah above, are you messing with me?"
"What, don't believe me? Then let's do it the Tatar way?!"
"Alright, you little brat, now let me show you how useless a good-for-nothing like you, who rose to power by relying on your deceased father, is in front of a military-merit noble like me."
At this point, both men were quite agitated, even leaping from their seats, ready to hold an unrestricted fighting competition in the middle of the meeting.
Seeing the two about to come to blows, the other Tatar dignitaries in the meeting almost lost their composure on the spot. However, for the sake of the bigger picture, one of them, a respected elder, still stepped forward to dissuade them: "That's enough, we are guarding the southern part of the Khanate to maintain its territorial security. I urge both of you to prioritize the overall situation and not let such trivial matters spoil your mood."
"Fine."
"Indeed."
After their words, realizing they had made a spectacle of themselves, the two, to avoid further embarrassment in front of everyone, had no choice but to follow the elder dignitary's advice, each giving themselves and the other a way to back down.
It was no wonder the two of them argued. After Beijin Xilin, the former chief of the Shirin, who held a high position and power within the Crimean Khanate, died in a trap set by Theodoro, the Shirin began to show signs of decline. And after Hussein Shirin of the Shirin was martyred for Bakhchysarai, the Shirin's influence suffered another significant blow.
This allowed other tribes within the Crimean Khanate to see an opportunity to rise. Tribes like the Muzars Tribe and the Balin Tribe, which combined were previously no match for the Shirin, both saw a chance to ascend and eagerly sought to expand their influence. This naturally led to hostility from the still-influential Shirin. Thus, at this meeting, the already strained atmosphere between the two tribal leaders became the fuse for their mutual arguments.
After the two calmed down, and after discussions among most of the Tatar dignitaries, a counterattack plan that was acceptable to all parties was finally devised: after a few weeks of preparation, they would gather most of the forces in the southern Khanate and march directly to Henichesk, to give those arrogant Christians a small Crimean Tatar-style lesson.
After the decision was made, Adamakha began to deviate from its usual state of the past few months, systematically conducting a series of military exercises to defeat Theodoro's incursions and harassment in one fell swoop.
Of course, due to the Crimean Khanate's leaky security measures, Manuel learned of Adamakha's intentions from the intelligence department shortly after the Tatars made their decision.
"Are they still going to delay the fight? They neither want to advance quickly to win, nor do they want to make peace and feign compliance with us. These Tatars are truly thorough centrists." After repeatedly confirming the authenticity of the matter, Manuel couldn't help but burst into laughter alone in his room.
"I know how to deal with this neither-here-nor-there strategy. They want to be at full strength before fighting us? Then I'll make sure they can never reach full strength."