Just as Manuel finished reading the letter of introduction and pondered why someone from the Medici Family had come to the Black Sea, in Tana, the capital of Venice's Black Sea territory, Carlo de' Medici was preparing to pack his luggage at the request of Pietro Lando, to travel to Mangup, where he had recently docked.
"These Venetians sure know how to boss people around," Carlo de' Medici grumbled to himself. Thinking of this, he recalled his meeting the night before with Pietro Lando, the Venetian Consul to the Black Sea—
That evening, he had been summoned by Lando to the consulate room to discuss his next move.
"So, you want me to work for the Republic in Bosporus to benefit it?" Carlo summarized what the other party had just said.
"More or less," Lando nodded in agreement.
"Your Excellency Pietro, I am not a Venetian, am I? And I was recommended here by Paola for experience, not to be your subordinate, was I? Moreover, although Your Excellency constantly speaks of the Republic, would the Venetian Senate actually care about such a trivial matter?" Carlo felt somewhat speechless.
"Tsk, don't say that," Lando, who had extensive experience in trade, smiled slyly, "Your Excellency Carlo, to be able to serve Venice, even if only temporarily, is a blessing."
"Lord, who are you kidding?" Carlo scoffed inwardly, his expression almost failing to hold. He was, after all, a member of the Medici Family and quite familiar with such deceptive merchant rhetoric.
However, Lando ignored the young man's almost breaking expression and summarized on his own, "In short, to show your talent, you must have it. And it's still returning a favor, no matter where it is."
That's enough, Carlo complained inwardly, can't you just assign me to Tana? Mangup is an unfamiliar place. "Alright, alright, I'll go, I'll go." But in the end, Carlo was forced to agree to go to Bosporus to serve Venice. After all, his smooth journey from Florence to the Black Sea this time was thanks to Paola Lando's help. However, he specifically stated, "Let's be clear, I'll only stay there for three years at most."
"No problem, no problem, that's enough," Lando smiled and agreed to his additional condition.
After recalling these events, Carlo sighed slightly. In his eyes, he probably wouldn't be able to live the life he imagined in such a small coastal country on the Black Sea.
About half a month later, around mid-November, another delegation sent by Manuel finally arrived in Vilnius, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
After stating their intention to maintain good relations with Lithuania, King Sigismund of Lithuania received them with skepticism. Because not long ago, he had vaguely learned from Lithuania's informants in Sarai that Bosporus intended to be re-admitted as a tributary state of the Golden Horde. Although understandable given the circumstances, there was always a sense of being secretly betrayed.
"What exactly are these Greeks up to?" With this question in mind, that afternoon, King Sigismund personally received the Bosporus envoy Georgia Mana and other important figures in the royal palace.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, King Sigismund eagerly cut to the chase, "I heard that your country wants to return to the Golden Horde's system. Tell me, if that's the case, then why do you still want to improve relations with my country?"
Serenus and his group succeeded? Mana keenly caught this crucial piece of information from the other party's words, which made him genuinely rejoice.
However, he did not directly show this emotion on his face. Instead, with a calm expression, he explained, "Emperor Sigismund, please rest assured, this is merely a temporary measure. The one we truly admire is always Your Majesty."
"Really?"
"Of course."
King Sigismund wanted to loudly rebuke the other party's words, but considering it was a diplomatic occasion, he was at a loss for what to say and could only maintain his expression while staring at the other party.
Mana, at this point, quickly noticed the slight distrust shown by the other party and directly said, "Your Majesty might think that our turning back to the Golden Horde's system is an act of betrayal, but I can tell you with great certainty: it is not so.
"Although the Golden Horde is declining, its power still exists. If we completely break ties with it, in reality, besides openly siding with your country and providing a little insignificant help, there is no other use. Given this, why not use the opportunity of becoming its tributary again as a solid nail for you within the Golden Horde's system?
"Moreover, if our country completely parts ways with the Golden Horde, it will not only affect our development but also be detrimental to your country's penetration of these nomadic regimes. Please trust us, Your Majesty, regarding dealing with nomads, whether peacefully or by force, we have rich experience.
"And Your Majesty, please believe us, including our Emperor, will firmly stand with our co-religionist brothers. Compared to the elusive infidels, although our two countries' state religions are slightly different, under the threat of infidels, these are insignificant. Just as the scriptures say, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"①
After Mana's strong argument, King Sigismund's expression clearly softened a lot. Looking at the Bosporus envoy's confident demeanor, feeling that there might be an opportunity, he asked, "That makes some sense, but not much. For example, your previous Crown Prince, who is now the current monarch, promised to become our vassal. When will that promise be fulfilled?"
His question was exactly what the other party wanted. Mana, who had a plan ready, immediately responded, "That is precisely why we are here."
"Hmm?"
"There is no rule that a country can only have one suzerain."
"Ah?!" Two-timing, huh? King Sigismund almost burst out laughing on the spot.
Mana, however, put on an expression of clear conscience and explained, "It's not about directly honoring both countries as suzerains, but rather, we openly honor the Golden Horde as our suzerain, but in reality, we honor you as our suzerain. Recognizing the Golden Horde as a suzerain state is merely due to circumstances; honoring Your Majesty is what everyone desires."
Can't you make this fence-sitting behavior sound less appealing? King Sigismund really wanted to directly reject such an unreasonable request.
But the subsequent conditions Mana added made him change his previous view. "To show our sincerity, we are willing to offer a box of high-quality ducats and provide your country with any information about the Golden Horde at any time, while also deploying troops to guard the border between our two countries. Moreover, we honor Your Majesty as our suzerain, in other words, any command you issue to us can bypass that annoying parliament in your country and be implemented unilaterally."
Upon hearing this, King Sigismund immediately changed his previous view, "Bosporus is truly my loyal vassal."