"Huh?"
Although Badars was basically unconditionally obedient to his respected Caesar and endlessly overthought his decisions, this time his Caesar's fantastical idea finally burned out his brain.
"Holy Mother above, Caesar, could you, explain it again?" It was a while before he managed to speak, trying to get a personal explanation from his Caesar.
"This shouldn't be something difficult to understand, should it?" Manuel felt a bit helpless at the question from his loyal subordinate. However, to help him understand, he still earnestly explained the reason for his intended action, "First, one must understand this: can these Islam Turks truly live peacefully under our Christian rule? Obviously not, right?"
"Caesar speaks truly."
"Mm. Badars, if it were you, would you persecute infidels on a large scale at this time?"
Facing his monarch's rhetorical question, the Commander of the Guard paused, then shook his head like a rattle-drum, "Certainly not, Caesar, especially since these Turks are not easy to deal with."
"That's right," Caesar was very satisfied with his subordinate's answer, "Since I've only just become the ruler of Pontus, acting too quickly now would only be counterproductive. But for a while, I can't determine which infidels will hinder my governance and which harbor hidden disloyalty."
"So, I need to borrow something to judge which Turks are law-abiding citizens I can temporarily feel at ease with. Conveniently, Islam doctrines contain many criteria that allow me to make such judgments."
At this, Caesar's face showed an inscrutable smile, "For example, the Muslim iconoclastic doctrine."
"So that's it!?"
As if seeing the surprise in Badars' eyes, Manuel immediately smiled with satisfaction, "Yes, because of the existence of such absurd doctrines, things like drawing portraits of their prophet are extremely taboo. Alas, the founder of a great religion, yet not even a single portrait of himself has been passed down; how tragic is that."
"But Caesar, didn't we Romans also have an iconoclastic movement? And we learned it from the Muslims. Do we have the right to say that about them?"
"Is it interesting for you to quibble so much?"
Ordered by his Caesar in such a way, Badars immediately stood at attention, lowered his head, and dared not answer a single word. Manuel also immediately realized his earlier lapse, quickly adjusted his expression, and waved his hand lightly, indicating that he did not care about the Commander of the Guard's previous remark. After a few light coughs, he continued to forcibly steer the conversation back, "Besides, history has already proven that the iconoclasts were all good-for-nothings whose brains were filled with infidel scriptures."
"Back to the main topic, so I need to use a small trick like painting portraits of their 'faceless prophet'—a move that teeters on the edge of their religious red line—to test whether they are willing to submit to the rule of us Christians. If they are willing to accept it or don't care at all, then that's for the best. But if they truly rebel over such a trivial matter, then I can only 'regrettably' and 'reluctantly' slaughter them. After all, Muslims who cannot even tolerate such small matters are not worthy of being my subjects."
"If they don't want to be my subjects, then they can all just die." When saying this last sentence, Manuel did not grit his teeth, but was extremely calm, calm to the point of being chilling.
At this, his Commander of the Guard and confidential secretary immediately knelt on one knee, speaking very quickly as he pleaded, "I'm sorry, Caesar, but please don't say such terrifying things in such an incredibly calm tone."
Manuel was a little dumbfounded by his confidant's words, and immediately returned to his original expression, concluding half-jokingly, "Don't worry. In a word, this is just a compliance test for the Turkmen crescent worshipers currently under my rule."
"But Caesar, I don't think things will be that simple…"
The next afternoon, Caesar Manuel issued an edict to commission several portraits of the crescent worshiper prophet for the Islam residential areas. His action quickly drew the attention of Christian nobles in those areas and nearby. Although the probability was questionable, out of potential concern for their properties being attacked by Muslims, they still made great efforts to persuade David Komnenos, the Despot of Trabzon, to seek the reason for the decree from Manuel.
So, on the morning of the day after the edict was issued, the two cousins met for a long-awaited small gathering on the terrace of Trabzon Palace.
"So, this is your purpose, Caesar Manuel?" After hearing his cousin and liege's explanation, David couldn't help but stroke the armrest of his chair, lost in thought. After a while, he somewhat hesitantly voiced the nobles' concerns, "I see, Caesar speaks truly. However, those fellow noble lords will probably still find it hard to accept such a muddying of the waters, and those fanatical Muslims, seeing us so desecrate their faith, will likely cause trouble."
"If those lords are truly afraid of the Turks destroying their estates and mansions, then I'll send troops in advance?" Manuel half-seriously, half-jokingly proposed a solution, and also subtly teased the infidels.
"As for the Muslims? I specifically had someone paint portraits of their prophet for them; they should thank me."
"It is indeed a good method, worthy of Caesar," Facing his cousin who immediately proposed a solution, David couldn't help but be quite impressed, "You truly possess astonishing wisdom that others can hardly aspire to."
"'Astonishing wisdom'? What kind of devilish thing is that? Can you not use 'astonishing' to describe me? It sounds wrong no matter how I hear it…"
And so, that topic ended. Afterward, David took the opportunity to discuss many aspects of Pontus's current situation with Manuel. And Manuel, in turn, gained a better understanding of the true situation in Asia Minor under his rule, allowing him to adjust his upcoming policies.
Meanwhile, in Morea on the Peloponnese Peninsula—
Inside the city of Corinth, Serenus, who had just finished reciting his marriage vows before the local priests, looked towards the Black Sea, as if remembering something.
However, he turned his head and saw his new wife, Skarantegna, gently stroking her long, black, straight hair, waiting for him with a smiling face. Therefore, after merely muttering "Pontus?" in his heart, he temporarily cast his concerns aside with little care, hurried forward, and fully immersed himself in and completed the first and last wedding of his life.