A few days later, after Theodoro and Golden Horde jointly tallied the casualties from both sides in the Battle of Adamakha, they were overjoyed by the fruitful results: Golden Horde lost just over five hundred cavalry, and Theodoro's losses were roughly the same, though if the previous siege losses were added, it would be close to a thousand men.
However, compared to the Crimean Khanate's losses, their side's numbers were small: according to the victors' calculations, the Crimean Khanate suffered at least close to six thousand casualties in the Battle of Adamakha.
In other words, the Crimean Khanate's military was now completely crippled.
"So, Haji Giray's Crimean Khanate should be completely annihilated now, right?" In the city of Adamakha, Manuel, emboldened by drink, asked Tenek, the commanding general of Golden Horde.
"Not yet, Lord Olubey. Giray still has the two major regions of Kuba and Azaraba to the east. While it won't be easy for him to make a comeback, he can still hold out until something happens to the Khanate," Tenek replied, sipping fermented grape juice.
"Oh?"
"Haha, Lord Olubey, you may not know, but within our Golden Horde territory, there is a Tatar prince named Little Muhammad. Recently, he has been using the influence from Astrakhan to oppose Khan in Sarai."
"It seems the Khanate isn't doing well either," Manuel remarked with a sigh.
"It's nothing. Rebellions and usurpations by Tatar princes are commonplace in our Golden Horde, but their scale is always controllable. Large-scale rebellions like that of the Crimean Khanate are merely an anomaly," Tenek explained, waving his hand.
Can a country that treats rebellion as commonplace last long, Manuel couldn't help but inwardly grumble. However, he couldn't say it directly, so he tactfully sought other topics.
Just as the two were drinking together in Adamakha, Giray had already led his remnants of defeated soldiers and generals, without stopping, to the Azaraba region. Only then did he have the energy to tally the losses from Adamakha.
After a rough count, Giray felt completely deflated. "It's over, completely over," he muttered. According to the preliminary count, the number of soldiers and generals who fled with him to the Azaraba region was at most no more than a thousand!
"Khan, do not worry. We still have the three major regions of eastern Tien, Azaraba, and Kuba. Moreover, Yedishkul and Kizlyar, occupied by Theodoro, are predominantly inhabited by our Tatars. Given time, we will surely be able to..." Seeing this, Jaqmaq tried to comfort him.
"Go find that Shilin boy for me. If I remember correctly, Beijin Xilin Vizier's second son, Muhammad Shirin, was personally appointed by me to manage Azaraba, wasn't he?" Giray didn't respond to him, but instead, with a grim face, changed the subject.
"Yes, Khan," Jaqmaq replied, and could only silently withdraw, sending someone to find Muhammad Shirin.
By the time Shirin arrived to see Giray, it was already late at night. Upon reaching the military camp, he immediately bowed and briefly described the local situation. As he spoke, Giray's expression became much calmer. After Shirin finished, Giray had someone bring a map, spread it on the table, and invited his remaining generals to speak freely and analyze the current situation.
Muzar understood and boldly pointed at the map with his finger, gesturing, "Now the Golden Horde army can surround us from the west and north, and Theodoro can attack us from the west, south, and by sea. Khan, although the important town of Cherkassk in Tien is still temporarily in our hands, the enemy is very likely to break through our defenses and invade the east. What's more, our eastern regions are not without enemies..."
"It doesn't matter, as long as General Klier attacks, everything will be fine," Giray said, sitting in the central chair, calmly drawing a circle with a short birch staff he held in his left hand.
This immediately made Shirin shiver, and Jaqmaq and Muzar, who had just learned of the Kuba situation, also became nervous. Although they initially exchanged glances for a moment, they ultimately dared not conceal anything.
"Khan..." Jaqmaq's face was covered in cold sweat from nervousness.
"General Klier, he, he..." Muzar's eyes were unfocused, and he stammered.
"General Klier, upon hearing of the Khanate's great defeat, immediately slaughtered the Tatar nobles under his command and defected to the Theodoro Army from Phanagoria," Shirin informed Girai Khan, trembling, of this terrible news.
Upon hearing this, Giray's figure quickly stooped, his once heroic face seemingly aged by more than ten years in an instant. After a moment, he uncontrollably and tremblingly tapped his table three times, then ordered: "Ali Muzar, Muhammad Shirin, Zahir Jaqmaq, the three of you stay."
The others, seeing this, knew it was an extraordinary time and left the central camp one after another. Only these three, designated by Giray, stood nervously before him, at a loss for words.
After confirming that everyone else had left, Giray finally couldn't help but begin to curse: "That was an order! I ordered that Klier fellow to attack! How could this Serbian swineherd, how dare he ignore my order?!"
Due to the generally poor soundproofing of the camp, Giray's loud curses were basically heard by every Tatar soldier and officer outside the central camp.
However, Giray, in his rage, paid no attention to such minor details. Instead, he continued to stand up from his chair and curse: "Where are the Kuba and Azaraba troops? Did no one stop him? Has it come to this? Are all the troops deceiving me, even our Giray Family's personal guards are no exception?!
"These incompetent wretches, every single one of them, are disloyal, unjust, unkind, impolite cowards! I raise these cowards, traitors, good-for-nothings..."
"Khan, this is a bit much. At least our Tatar warriors..." Muzar began to try and refute, but was mercilessly cut off by Giray's fury. "These generals are the dregs of our Crimean Tatars," he said, then violently slammed the birch staff he held in his left hand down, "They have no sense of honor whatsoever. They call themselves generals, but at best they're just uncultured tribal chiefs who know nothing but herding sheep and beating people!
"Allah above, look at what these so-called 'generals' have done over the past year or so? Charging headlong into the traps of the Tatar Isthmus, carelessly sacrificing the Khanate's southern defenses, treating betrayal as naturally as drinking water! Spawn of the devil, all they do is obstruct my plans of action, everything you do is holding me back!
"I should have purged all the incompetent nobles long ago, just as Olubey did in Theodosia!" Saying this, he sat back down in his chair, clenching his fists, and continued excitedly, "I was born in Lida, Lithuania, and only returned to my ancestral land for the first time seven years ago. But since establishing the Khanate and raising an army, I alone have single-handedly fought against the Golden Horde's army of tens of thousands!
"Traitors, what invincible Janissaries? That Serbian bastard has been deceiving and betraying me from the very beginning. This is an unforgivable betrayal to us Tatars. But all traitors shall repay for us with their blood; they shall drown in their own blood."
Several non-Tatar soldiers outside the camp suddenly burst into tears upon hearing this, causing their Tatar colleagues to quickly comfort them, "Calm down, calm down, Khan is definitely not talking about you."
Giray, oblivious to this inside the camp, sorrowfully turned his head to the other side, murmuring despondently, "All orders have been treated as thin air. With things like this, how can we ever lead the Khanate back to its former glory? It's over, this war is lost."
At this point, the three generals in the camp nervously adjusted their clothing, wiping away the cold sweat that had just broken out on their bodies.
Finally, Haji Giray raised his head, his eyes sharp and resolute, and ended his tirade with the most determined tone, "But if you think this means I will flee the Khanate, then you are mistaken. I would rather die by the blade. As for you, do whatever you wish..."