But in the end, they still didn't dare to voice their conjecture in such a public setting, quickly changing the subject to avoid shaking morale.
"Let's continue discussing the next steps," Isaac suggested after a moment.
Everyone present nodded in agreement.
"Speaking of which, it seems the thousand-plus men from Phanagoria haven't fully arrived at Mangup yet, have they?" Isaac asked, bringing up a major concern he'd had since the uprising began.
"Hmm, before the uprising, to avoid alarming Emperor Alexius, we only secretly dispatched two hundred Phanagoria taxi soldiers to the peninsula. After the coup, because the opposing side controlled Theodosia and the Principality's navy, our remaining forces in Phanagoria had no way to be transferred to Mangup," Wolol explained.
Isaac and Raus were silenced by his explanation.
"What is this?" Isaac was so angry he wanted to curse.
He knew that although he currently controlled Mangup, he personally had little influence there, as the capital's management and construction were primarily handled by his father and elder brother.
This was also a major reason why he was nominally a Prince but was actually manipulated by Raus and others.
If Alexius hadn't been so unprepared for his younger son's side, and if Raus, who was familiar with Mangup's administration, hadn't been present, the rebels would have been completely unable to mobilize Mangup's various resources and institutions.
However, even if they managed to control Mangup, they dared not risk losing the Principality's capital by extensively conscripting city dwellers and farmers into the army.
Otherwise, if they ended up losing even the capital, they, who were not actually in an advantageous position, would completely lose all hope of a comeback.
Half an hour later, Raus boldly suggested, "In my humble opinion, we should strike now, while the other side hasn't yet reacted, and catch them off guard."
"Huh?" Isaac felt like his brain had broken.
Seeing the confused expressions of the others, Raus calmly explained his reasoning for the suggestion, "Prince Manuel has only just returned to the country, so their morale is surely unstable.
Why don't we seize this opportune moment to decisively defeat them? Our current advantage lies more in the information gap created by the timing of our uprising."
You know that too, the others cursed inwardly.
However, Raus ignored the growing murmurs in the meeting and continued to explain, "To achieve a quick victory, we must now mobilize those who have joined our cause.
Those with money should contribute money, and those with soldiers should contribute soldiers.
Believe me, as long as we gather close to 5,000 troops, defeating the enemy will be no problem!"
His rhetoric indeed fooled most people, but Isaac, who had personally been involved with the army for some time, wanted to argue.
Based on his intuition, he didn't believe that a ragtag army of noble private soldiers could defeat his brother's seasoned troops, let alone the Philaka Legion on the other side.
However, due to his current semi-puppet status, he ultimately had to swallow his words.
"In that case, so be it," Raus finally decided.
If Klier, a veteran of many battles, had been present, he would surely have angrily stopped them.
Unfortunately, he was currently dispatched to negotiate with the Tatars about combining forces.
And so, the rebels' reckless plan passed with little opposition.
Days later, in the city of Theodosia, Manuel, somewhat frustrated, reviewed with Badars the intelligence delays from the Dark Division regarding the Golden Horde.
"So, the main reason for the Dark Division's intelligence delay regarding the Golden Horde's change of power is that the rebels have a large number of Tatars, which allowed them to establish contact with Sarai first?" Manuel frowned.
"Yes, Your Highness.
The Tatars on the enemy's side have always had close ties with the Golden Horde, which allowed the rebels to seize the opportunity, exploit this information gap, and secretly contact the new Khan of the Golden Horde," Badars bowed, confirming Manuel's earlier assessment.
"Does our Dark Division not have Tatar informants?" Manuel asked, puzzled.
"We do, Your Highness.
But ultimately, our informants cannot compare to the information exchange among those Tatar nobles," Badars replied regretfully.
There are only useless spies, not real-time intelligence that cannot be uncovered, Manuel wanted to scold him like that.
But thinking of the conditions in the Middle Ages, he ultimately held back his words and comforted Badars.
After confirming Badars' departure, Manuel took out a military report from under the table that Posadas had presented to him last year, muttering to himself: "But so many different religions and cultures, and still such unruly Tatars!
Their presence within our borders is ultimately not a good thing."
"Some of the measures Posadas mentioned in this military report, though bold, might be worth a try?"
"But this, this is too... A person cannot, at least should not..."
Just as Manuel was pondering whether to put it into practice, Tukharovsky suddenly arrived outside the door, requesting an audience with him.
"Come in."
After Manuel spoke, Tukharovsky immediately entered the room and informed him of a major military situation on the western front.
"Huh? Has my brother lost his mind? Attacking us rashly, and even splitting his forces to attack Sugdaea? Have they gone crazy?" Manuel was momentarily incredulous.
"Yes, Your Highness, it is so.
At least the battle reports and the front lines confirm it."
"Numbers?"
"The total force should not exceed five thousand, but theoretically, there will be rebel reinforcements from other regions later."
"The numbers are a bit dangerous.
But what about the Golden Horde?"
"Indeed, four thousand men arrived from the Golden Horde yesterday, but they were all intercepted by Lithuanian hussars."
"The enemy forces from Phanagoria and to its east haven't been let through, have they?"
"No, Your Highness, the Black Sea is now blockaded by us.
Apart from Venetian and our own ships, virtually no one can pass through the peninsula's waters."
"Northern Crimea is currently to our advantage, right?"
"That's right, Your Highness.
Our garrison remaining at the Isthmus has already joined forces with the Lithuanian reinforcements and is currently retaking the Tatar rebel-occupied areas."
"Then why are they attacking us? Don't tell me they think we're completely unprepared just because I only returned last week?"
"It's not impossible, Your Highness."
Manuel felt his face about to crack.
"No, although Isaac is young, he was able to take Bakhtal-Akhtar with a detachment from Phanagoria, so he shouldn't be that incompetent.
How could he make such a foolish move? Is he rushing to surrender? Does he know how many people I can mobilize here? At least six thousand!
And the citizens trained monthly can also be converted into militia.
How dare he?
He must be deeply convinced of Theodosia's weakness, right?"
"Since he is so convinced of Theodosia's weakness, I will immediately shatter his illusion!
Prepare the troops for me.
I want to give these rebels a small military shock."