After a moment of surprise at the enemy's peculiar abbreviation, Manuel quickly recovered.
It was not uncommon in non-Western European regions for vassals to exaggerate the rank and power of their liege, especially since Islamic countries were quite vague in naming national ranks; for example, the Mamluk Sultanate was more of a colloquial term used by Mediterranean countries, as legally, the Mamluk group still had an Abbasid Caliph above them.
As for Kandar's abbreviation of Ottoman (Latin: Ottomanicum Imperium) to 'OP', although it made Caesar extremely uncomfortable, Manuel quickly realized that this was merely a hallucination caused by his own miscellaneous knowledge from his previous life.
Suppressing his indescribable feelings, the young Caesar turned to ponder what his enemies were up to.
"It's July," he mused, stroking his chin. "It's been almost four months since both sides officially went to war, hasn't it? Speaking of which, at the time I only intended to fight for three months as a test; if the estimated time was up and we were still at war, I would swiftly retreat and achieve unconditional peace with these two Tukish Beys."
"But now Sinop is right in front of us. Based on our army's siege efficiency, if we persist for another two or three months, we should be able to enter Kandar's capital and end this war that should never have happened."
"But the Ottoman are about to intervene..."
At this thought, Manuel felt a headache coming on.
Given the current strength of Bosporus, clashing with the Ottoman would undoubtedly be a dead end.
At this stage, there was no need for him to confront the Ottoman army; his only real objective was to quickly capture Alexander Komnenos, his cousin who constantly caused him trouble, and bring him back to Pontus for a family reunion with John IV Komnenos.
After a day and night of struggle, Manuel finally decided to be greedy this one time and continue the war until Kandar was forced out or Alexander was captured alive.
As Manuel made the decision to continue the war, in Niğde, a southeastern border town of the Karaman Beylik, a group of unknown, armed Turkmen arrived at the outskirts of the border, causing a huge commotion.
After an afternoon of unrest, it even attracted the attention of the Karaman garrison officer stationed there.
"Hey, for Allah's sake, quiet down!" the Karaman officer, who thought he had merely encountered another group of displaced people and rushed over upon hearing the news, was quite displeased with these ill-mannered co-religionists.
However, forced by the situation that only someone like him could handle, he frowned and approached the border, with only a few attendants, to get closer to these unknown Turkmen.
Watching the Karaman Turkmen officer approach them, the group of Turkmen gathered at the border, whose origins were unknown, suddenly fell silent, and the atmosphere instantly became quite strange.
"W-what's going on?" The border officer, who thought he had just encountered a common group of displaced people, was completely bewildered.
Before he finished speaking, several strong warriors suddenly emerged from the group of "displaced people", wielding long Turkish scimitars, and charged directly at the officer.
With lightning speed, they performed a decapitation on the bewildered unfortunate.
Of course, his few attendants were no exception; less than three seconds later, they all followed their leader.
After confirming that the officer and his attendants were dead, these hundred-plus Turkmen did not, like bandits, loot their belongings and then disperse.
Instead, they seized the opportunity to infiltrate the poorly defended city of Niğde under the cover of night, directly capturing all the forces and officials left there by Konya, and then opened the city gates to welcome certain arrivals.
These Turkmen were a brave force assembled by Suleiman, composed of former subordinates and mercenaries, though they possessed little else besides their courage.
Nevertheless, they had now completely captured Niğde, a town that was once quite prosperous under the Sultanate of Rum.
Although it had declined into an ordinary border town due to historical wars, its significance to Karaman remained.
As for why this still important border town was so poorly defended at this time, one would have to ask the current Karaman Bey, Ibrahim II.
Besides its reduced importance due to long-term decline, the more crucial reason was that to support Ibrahim II's campaign against the Ottoman, large numbers of troops were drawn from all over Karaman to assist their monarch, leaving even border towns with sparse defenses.
Had it not been for the historical timeline in Manuel's previous life, where the Mamluk and their vassals showed little interest in the barren lands of Karaman, Ibrahim II would have long been overthrown.
Back to the main topic.
The next day, the residents of Niğde were astonished to find a familiar yet strange group of people holding a parade in the city center, claiming that Suleiman Karamanoglu, son of the former Karaman Bey Bengi Ali, and his subordinates had taken over the town.
They also proclaimed that the current Bey, Ibrahim II, was an incompetent usurper, and that Bey Suleiman would now reclaim his birthright and depose his useless uncle.
However, Suleiman himself was not in Niğde at this time, but was leading his father's former troops and forces from the Dulkadir and Ramadanids Beyliks to attack Ereğli, another important fortress town located in the Taurus Mountains.
It not only held great military significance but was also one of the former capitals of the Karaman Beylik.
For Suleiman, taking it meant that he truly had the strength to make the Mamluks and the various Turkmen tribes of the Karaman Bey consider supporting him in his struggle against his uncle.
Under normal circumstances, Suleiman, due to his limited strength, would not have been able to quickly capture Ereğli, no matter how many surprise attacks he launched.
But now, Ibrahim II's main forces were all confronting the Ottoman in the Hamid area, leaving the rear a hollow shell.
Therefore, after a siege of nearly 5 days, the weary defenders finally surrendered to this usurping rebel army, handing over the city.
And as Suleiman conquered Ereğli, news that greatly encouraged him also arrived from various parts of the eastern Karaman border: Niğde had been captured by a surprise attack overnight, and Silifke had fallen three days earlier under the siege supported by Posadas, the guest general sent to him by his close friend.
Including the various tribes and warlords who had successively pledged allegiance to him during this period, Suleiman should now control nearly ten percent of Karaman's territory.
Of course, he knew very well that once his uncle recovered, things would not be so smooth.
But even so, Suleiman was fearless; the most difficult period of exile was over, and now was the time for his return!
The news of Suleiman's alliance with Ramadanids and Dulkadir to launch a coup quickly reached Ibrahim II, who was stationed in Hamid, within a week.
Upon hearing this, the Karaman Bey was completely stunned.
To preserve his throne, he had no choice but to send an envoy to make peace with Murad.
Ultimately, after agreeing to the condition that the Ottoman would not station elite legions in Hamid, Ibrahim II swiftly returned to his capital to quickly suppress his nephew.
Murad II, having inexplicably resolved the Karaman issue, felt relieved.
The Ottoman Sultan, who had already moved to Brusa, immediately shifted his attention to the southern shores of the Black Sea, and the day after reaching an agreement with the Karaman Bey, he sent the young Chandler Pasha as an envoy to deliver an ultimatum to Bosporus, who was besieging his vassal.
The content of this ultimatum was simple: it demanded that the Gavras Dynasty completely withdraw from Asia Minor.