Michael Arno's heart skipped a beat, but he showed no unusual expression on his face, only smiling as he continued, "If the other representatives had disagreed with your proposal just now, what would you have done?"
"My old friend, the consulate's mercenary soldiers are still my men for now. If those people had truly opposed it collectively, then they probably wouldn't have left the meeting room today."
"Aren't you afraid of inciting public outrage?"
"I believe you would have stood on my side," Guney said seriously.
"Aren't you afraid I'd get hot-headed and oppose you?"
"Nothing is absolutely guaranteed to succeed. If you were truly that stubborn, then I would absolutely have failed."
"But I've never been that stubborn, and besides, we had already discussed this beforehand. You already knew about my contact with the Principality of Theodoro," Michael Arno laughed heartily.
"Hahaha, indeed. Let's not talk about that anymore. Have some wine; this is excellent vintage from the Champagne region of France." The two then shared a private, small-scale celebration, toasting each other.
The next day, the public representatives announced their meeting's decision to the city's residents. Due to the prior announcement, this decision did not cause much uproar; in fact, many people were already considering how to pay their allegiance.
On this very day, Kaffa City dispatched envoys by ship to deliver this message to Mangup.
It was a day and a half later when the envoys arrived at Mangup City. The welcoming officials did not dare to be negligent in the slightest, swiftly reporting the matter to the high-ranking officials of the Principality of Theodoro.
Upon learning of this, Alexius Gavras, who was currently meeting with envoys from Sugdaea, couldn't help but beam with joy and quickly arranged a meeting with the Kaffa envoys.
Thus, about half an hour later, the envoy from Kaffa City was shocked to find that the envoy from Sugdaea was also present. However, he tried his best to control his surprise and briefly and concisely stated his purpose.
Alexius, on the other hand, straightforwardly promised that he would definitely come to take over Kaffa, just as he had promised the envoy from Sugdaea. This decisive and firm commitment deeply moved the envoy: His Highness the Prince of the Principality was even brave enough to get involved in this mess for the Eastern Orthodox, knowing that their opponent would be Genoa, one of the maritime powers.
After a brief banquet, Alexius dispatched a squad of guards to escort the two envoys back to their cities. As soon as they left, he immediately began discussing how to dispatch troops with his key officials.
"As everyone knows, the situation is now completely clear. Both cities are entirely willing to submit to us, but there are still a few forces loyal to Genoa in the suburbs, and Genoa's Black Sea fleet can be deployed at any time to blockade us. Although we currently have the upper hand, this is entirely based on Genoa not having reacted yet," Alexius explained the current situation with a serious expression.
"But Your Majesty, our army has been ready for over half a month. Attacking such an unprepared opponent, it seems we will win no matter how you look at it," Patniko replied.
"The problem isn't winning or losing, but casualties," Alexius added with some concern. "Our main force must be reserved for fighting Genoa; it cannot be depleted by these small lords. Their fortresses are all troublesome things. Just like a mosquito, no matter how little blood it draws, it's still drawing blood."
"Father, we currently don't have any overt conflicts with Genoa, are we still operating in the shadows?" Manuel, who had been silent until now, suddenly asked.
"Yes, Manuel, do you have any thoughts?"
"Then let's dispatch troops now, catch them off guard, and eliminate those small lords who stand between us and the cities."
"Oh, is this in line with the etiquette of war?" Raus exclaimed in surprise.
"What's wrong with that? Didn't Theodore of Epirus ambush the Latin anti-emperor Pierre, severely damaging the prestige of the Latin anti-court and almost recapturing Constantinople to rebuild the Roman Empire? Father, we should also have such determination! Besides," Manuel then changed his tone, "we've already secretly taken care of the small lords willing to pledge allegiance to us, haven't we? As for the remaining small lords with unclear stances, given the current situation, aren't they all unstable factors? Moreover, no one would complain about having too many fiefdoms, right?
"As for an excuse, we can say that we were invited by His Excellency the Consul to help him suppress a rebellion or something similar."
Everyone considered it carefully, nodding in agreement. Alexius, who already had such thoughts, was even more convinced by his son's words, "Well said! Men, prepare the army and advance towards Kaffa!"
① In 1217, the newly crowned (but not yet enthroned in Constantinople) Latin Emperor Pierre II de Courtenay (Pierre of Courtenay) landed on the coast of Dula and proceeded to take up his post, but was ambushed in the mountains by the Despot of Epirus, Theodore Komnenos-Doukas. He was defeated and captured, and soon after died in the prisoner-of-war camp. Thus, the second emperor of the Latin Empire died without even formally taking office. Soon after, Theodore recaptured Thessaloniki from the leaderless Latin anti-court. Theodore temporarily became the most powerful claimant to the East Rome Empire at the time, until he was captured by the Nicaea Empire.