"Your Majesty, do you mean…?" Looking at the furious Sultan, Rom Pasha couldn't help but feel a little scared, subconsciously moving a few steps back.
But very quickly, Murad II, who was in front of him, reined in his aura and continued to reassure his subordinates with the same calm demeanor as before, "Simply put, the Romans must have concentrated their main forces in the Four Towns to achieve such an effect. Since that is the case, it is necessary for our army to quickly gather and deliver a fatal blow to their main force while it is still there. All right, that's about it. Prepare to send people to gather all the other troops. We must seize the opportunity they have set up for us."
"Yes, Sultan." Rom Pasha respectfully expressed his obedience and submission to his monarch's explanation. As soon as he received the order, he immediately, according to the Sultan's will, sent people to contact the other three divisions, ordering them to immediately rush to the Four Towns to rendezvous.
Four or five hours later, the other three divisions of the Ottoman army quickly put aside their progress and rushed to meet their Sultan. Faced with the Sultan's personal order, they had no intention of disobeying, and led their troops without delay or hesitation. At this time, Murad had already led his four thousand most elite troops, waiting for them on the outskirts of the Four Towns.
"You're not too late." Murad was somewhat satisfied with the reaction of his subordinates. Then, he waved his hand, sending his orderlies to meet them, and at the same time, ordering them to cooperate with him in the encirclement of the Bosporus main force.
This time, I must capture the main force of these Romans from the north of the Black Sea and utterly crush them! Murad thought to himself.
But after nearly an hour, he vaguely felt that something was wrong. During this hour of encirclement, although the Ottoman army did indeed press the defenders as he had expected, he did not encounter any strong resistance. On the contrary, although the defenders could hold them off with their fortifications, this soft resistance only made Murad feel bewildered and uneasy.
Just as he was pondering where things went wrong, a battle report from the rear brought him back to his senses.
"What a joke, our camp in Samsun was taken?!" Murad was stunned. He had been raided? The camp in Samsun held a lot of the Ottoman army's military equipment, supplies, and provisions. He had also left over a thousand men to guard it, so it should not have fallen so easily. Could it be the enemy's main force…
Considering this, and after repeatedly confirming that the intelligence was true, the Sultan was startled, and immediately gathered all the generals present, turning their direction to rush back to Samsun to capture this force, which was very likely the main force of the Bosporus.
But what made his blood boil again was that when he led his troops back to the outskirts of Samsun, he found that this unknown enemy force had once again retreated completely, leaving behind almost no survivors and a thoroughly plundered camp.
"These Romans, damn them, damn you!" Rom Pasha exclaimed, looking at the mess. Murad II appeared to be barely calm, but his hands were visibly trembling. Clearly, the Bosporus's disgusting tactics had truly opened his eyes.
But as a monarch who had experienced many battles and won countless victories, Murad still keenly caught some clues for a breakthrough. "The camp was so thoroughly destroyed, so by common sense, these Romans would definitely slow down their march due to transporting the plundered spoils. And their camp could only be in the east. Since that's the case, then they must be there next!" Thinking of this, Murad's eyes were once again filled with sharpness, "Allah above, the whole army follow me!"
Whether it was abundant experience or extraordinary talent, Murad often won battles on the battlefield. If nothing unexpected happened, his pursuit this time would still be perfectly successful.
"But unfortunately, Murad, I anticipated your anticipation." Manuel stood on the deck of the sailing warship, smugly looking at the Ottoman who seemed to have just begun their pursuit on the shore.
He had long anticipated that the enemy would pursue by land as would be normal, so he had sent light cavalry ahead to quickly contact the navy anchored in Ordu to come and rendezvous. In the twilight and night, under the cover of darkness, it was not difficult for the Bosporus navy to sail short distances near the coast without arousing enemy suspicion. Furthermore, with the Bosporus coastline currently blockaded by the Ottoman fleet, Murad would certainly not immediately think that the Bosporus had retreated by sea.
"Even so, Your Majesty, we still didn't gain much from this raid." Looking at the triumphant Caesar, Dungar still didn't quite understand. To ensure they wouldn't be caught by the Ottoman army when boarding the ships, they hadn't taken all the captured spoils, but instead sank most of them into the Black Sea. So the Bosporus Army didn't get much direct gain this time.
"What do you mean 'didn't'," Manuel turned his head and chuckled, "Murad's disturbed state of mind is the greatest gain. Even if Murad II could still face us calmly, his soldiers would make some noisy complaints."
"When will we be able to defeat these Turks?" Dungar, standing behind him, muttered somewhat indignantly.
"If Serenus returns with the results we want, then in winter." Caesar only gave an ambiguous reply to this.
"Is that so?" Dungar murmured, somewhat confused.
While the Bosporus Army returned to camp perfectly, the Ottoman army searched the entire occupied front line but found no trace of the Bosporus Romans. During this time, Murad even wanted to break into the Bosporus occupied territory to search, but fearing a trap, he ultimately held back his blade and returned to Samsun, frustrated. This time, after considering various factors, he finally decided to establish the new camp within the city.
"These Romans are truly disgusting," Murad finally couldn't help but curse a few times when discussing the enemy's tactics during the daily summary meeting held in an empty room at night.
His subordinates heard these words. Most of the generals deliberately ignored them, but a newly promoted Slavic general couldn't control himself and weakly asked the Sultan on the spot: "Your Majesty, we won't lose, will we…?"
"Shaking military morale. Guards, throw him out." At the Sultan's subordinate's command, several Janissaries officers stepped forward and immediately threw the general out the window.
"Rest assured, gentlemen," Murad didn't even look at the man, but instead turned his back to his generals, a confident smile forced onto his face,
"We will win."