"Give the order: divide my army into two routes. One route will consist of 600 Janissaries and 1,500 auxiliary soldiers; all the rest will be assigned to the other route. I will personally lead the former to pursue the enemy along the coastline; the latter will be led by you to support the Janik people." That night, Özil decisively made the decision to divide his forces.
The latter group he spoke of was naturally entrusted to the Lieutenant General (deputy generals)Surround (surrounding) him.
Thus, the Bosporus's enemy directly adopted a very classic strategy of dividing their forces, with the elite pursuing the most probable location of the enemy's core, while the remaining troops went to other battlefronts to support allies and prevent the adverse outcome of being pushed back by the enemy.
And just as Muhammad Özil was making the tactical arrangements described above, Bosporus Caesar Manuel was in the suburbs of Giresun, discussing with his subordinates what tactics the enemy would adopt next.
"So, Caesar, how much longer do we need to lure the other side? You know, if the front line is stretched, our forces might not be able to bear it first." Knowing that his Caesar was still trying to stretch the front line to lure the enemy deeper, Tukharovsky couldn't help but speak directly, expressing his concerns.
"It won't be much longer," Manuel quickly explained to the generals present, "Probably until the Giresun area is enough. Although, at that time, we will need to borrow the strength of the navy." At this point, he turned to look at his naval governor, Falero, and the naval admiral sent by Venice, Antonio Dido.
Dido felt somewhat dissatisfied with the Black Sea Consul's order to obey the plan of this young Roman monarch and to cooperate with the Falero family, who had renounced their Venetian citizenship.
However, when he remembered that this was his first chance to atone for his sins, assigned to him by the Venetian Senate, he had to rein in his emotions and sincerely promised to do his best to help his allies.
However, Falero, as a member of the Bosporus Imperial Council, appeared much more at ease.
Regarding the military order issued by his monarch and student, this former Venetian stated that he would certainly comply.
In this way, after some minor adjustments to the original strategic plan to better adapt it to the upcoming situation, the Bosporus's night meeting also came to an end.
The two sides were about to face a decisive battle soon, although for them, it was somewhat unexpected.
The next morning, after seeing off his deputy general who was leading 150 men and other miscellaneous troops to support other fronts, Özil Pasha eagerly counted his available forces.
After confirming that all soldiers were present and in high spirits, he wasted no more time and immediately led them on horseback to battle, heading towards the heavily fortified town of Giresun, currently controlled by the Bosporus.
At the same time, the Roman taxi soldiers, under the cover of the low hills and forests, had quietly approached the poorly defended hinterland of Janik.
But Özil was unaware of this, and even if he knew, he probably wouldn't be too troubled.
In his eyes, it would at most mean Janik Bey Emir was pushed back a few miles again, then rescued by the troops he sent, and subsequently, the battle situation would be reversed.
Unfortunately, he underestimated the other side's resolve and misjudged their true intentions.
Meanwhile, along the Black Sea coastline, under the fierce assault of Özil's valiant Janissaries, they quickly reached the coastal area of Bosporus's Giresun by noon that day.
Although, in fact, they didn't encounter any decent resistance.
Özil arbitrarily believed that this was because the enemy had completely feared the reputation of their Janissaries, collapsing without even a fight, and could only run to the forest and sea to bully ordinary Turk troops of similar skill.
"I wonder how splendid the expressions of these Romans will be if they encounter the 150 Janissaries I sent there," he thought, and his beard even quivered with excitement.
The only thing that could slightly dampen his spirits were the ships coming and going on the sea.
As far as the eye could see, the Black Sea was full of Christian ships; although currently, it had no impact on his war, the feeling of being completely blocked from naval control always made the Pasha feel somewhat subtle.
It was here that this elite unit first encountered the enemy they were destined to face.
Upon noticing unfamiliar red-clad soldiers coming to investigate, the taxi soldiers garrisoning Giresun immediately reported the matter.
Afterward, they received a direct order from their Caesar: defend with all their might, and retreat only if necessary.
The Bosporus soldiers, who had been somewhat resentful due to the retreat orders of the past few days, finally found an outlet to vent their emotions.
When Özil Pasha seized the Giresun beachhead and began to lead his elite force to occupy the high ground, this unit finally met the Bosporus Army's head-on blow.
The first to attack the outer wall of Giresun were the ordinary Turkmen nomads under Özil, who were regarded as cannon fodder.
After a certain amount of incitement, enticement, and brainwashing, these nomadic militiamen, full of Islamic ideas and temporarily conscripted by the Janissaries on the march, were mostly unarmored, often rushing forward with just a rusty polearm or knife.
These imprudent and reckless individuals were naturally easily dealt with by the defenders, but the time they bought was enough for the sappers brought by Özil to rush to the city walls and begin construction.
Just as these sappers were actively preparing to set up siege works below the city, intending to hit the outer wall with black powder earthenware pots similar to those often used by the Kapikulu Corps, the Bosporus defenders, under the command of their Caesar, had already brought out several small cannons onto the city walls.
As Özil, who was stationed on horseback in the distance, looked on in confusion, the other side directly fired countless smoky stone cannonballs at his proactive sappers, and the strong taxi soldiers also threw several medium-sized earthenware pots filled with sugary, high-quality gunpowder, blowing all these aggressive sappers to death below the city.
How could these Romans use firearms more flexibly than their Ottomans?
Watching his subordinates being blown to pieces, Özil was truly shocked for a moment.
As a high-ranking Pasha, he was naturally no stranger to firearms, but this was the first time he had encountered cannons and grenades that could unleash such power.
It seems that such a heavily fortified town with walls is indeed not so easy to conquer, the Pasha immediately realized this after confirming that he and his most elite Janissaries were standing outside the enemy's firing range.
If the commanding general were a greenhorn, or if the terrain of this region were dominated by mountains and highlands, this force would probably have fought to the death for the city.
But Özil Pasha, seasoned by numerous battles, quickly understood the most optimal solution on the surface.
After spending an afternoon under the outer wall, he immediately ordered his troops to bypass the city, thereby attempting a surprise attack on the Pontus hinterland, hoping to crush the enemy's political and economic center in one fell swoop.