After Matrega was controlled by the Theodoro Army, Manuel began to oversee the restoration of order in the city and the elimination of the retreating Genoese soldiers who were prone to becoming bandits.
About a week later, Manuel, who was temporarily stationed in Matrega, met with Pietro Lando, the designated Kaffa Consul for the Republic of Venice. It was clear that he regretted not having seized the opportunity earlier, as his future jurisdiction might have more than doubled otherwise.
After exchanging pleasantries and using a series of circular arguments to dismiss Lando's aspirations for Matrega, Manuel kindly reminded him, "Your Excellency Lando, instead of dwelling on an impossible situation here, you should first go and take Tana. I'm rather worried that if the Governor's Office learns that the Genoese strongholds in the Black Sea have not all been eliminated yet, they might replace you in a fit of anger."
After being enlightened by Manuel, Lando finally gave up on claiming Matrega and left to besiege Tana. But just as he was about to exit, he heard Manuel muttering to himself, "Thanks to Professor Falero's reminder, otherwise, I might have suffered a great loss."
Upon hearing his muttering, a chilling glint flashed in Lando's eyes. "Members of the Falero family, it seems they are not to be trusted, no matter what." He decided to report this matter to the Governor's Office and let His Excellency the Governor decide.
Soon, in less than half a month, Tana finally fell because troops and armaments could only be dispatched from Chios and Galata, and supplies could not be obtained through Moldavia. With this, all Genoese colonies in the Black Sea were lost.
Due to the urgency of the war, news of the situation quickly reached Genoa. The furious Governor, backed by the council, planned to raise another seven to eight thousand mercenaries to counterattack the Black Sea, but he was tied up by other countries that had long sought to challenge Genoa: Upon learning of Genoa's defeat, the Duke of Milan's Visconti family began to spend money to raise an army, intending to strengthen their control over Genoa with the cooperation of the Milanese faction within Genoa; the mountain people of Corsica, freed by the war, also began to launch multiple revolts against Genoese rule; their old rival, Venice, took advantage of the war to hit Genoa's trade routes relentlessly; even the Ottoman began to eye Chios and its surrounding areas.
Finally, in mid-February, after the Genoese navy was defeated in a large-scale naval battle with Venice in the Eastern Aegean Sea, the Genoese council decided to negotiate for peace to cut their losses and took the opportunity to oust the pro-Milanese Governor.
The date for the peace talks was set for noon in early March 1429, in Mangup City. The Genoese envoys for the peace talks included a local council member and Paolo Grimaldi, the Kaffa Consul who had been temporarily detained earlier. The Venetian envoy was the future Kaffa Consul, Pietro Lando, while Theodoro's representative was Gregory Guney, dispatched by Manuel and Alexius.
Seeing Guney, Grimaldi, who had been under house arrest for some time, was shocked to see Guney standing with Theodoro. He immediately trembled all over and asked, "Your Excellency Guney, why are you on Theodoro's side? Did they force you?"
Guney, however, feigned ignorance and chuckled, "Your Excellency Grimaldi, what are you talking about? I don't seem to understand." He then quickly added, "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, I have always been His Highness the Prince's subordinate."
Grimaldi finally understood what was happening. His slightly aged face became distorted from the contortion of his facial muscles, and his expression looked as if he might burst into tears at any moment, almost making the Venetians and Theodoro burst into laughter.
By evening, both sides finally concluded the protracted peace talks. Genoa recognized the Principality of Theodoro's occupation of Kaffa, and additionally ceded Matrega to Theodoro and Tana to the Republic of Venice. Furthermore, Genoa would pay a total of 7,000 Genovino in reparations to redeem captured Genoese nobles and soldiers and compensate the victors. Of these 7,000 Genovino, Theodoro received 3,000, and Venice received 4,000.
At Manuel's strong insistence, after the war, the former Genoese colonies would all revert to their ancient or Greek names: Kaffa was renamed Theodosia, Kerch was renamed Panticapaeum, Taman was renamed Tmutarakan, and Matrega was renamed Phanagoria.
Incidentally, after the war, the Genoese began to fight Milan for their independent status and eventually won. Alberto Merlo, who returned to Corsica, contended with his brother's widow for fiefdoms and titles. Paolo Grimaldi, due to this matter, not only lost the war but also almost implicated his family. These are all stories for another time.
After the peace talks concluded and the dejected Genoese were escorted away, Manuel, who had not yet attended the victory celebration, suddenly received a summons from his father, requesting an urgent visit to Alexius's palace.
When Manuel arrived, he found Alexius and Pietro Lando had been waiting in the room for a long time, which made him a little awkward, but he quickly thickeneed his skin and took his rightful seat.
After Lando's explanation, Manuel understood why they had been waiting for him: the Venetians wanted to pay a high price for the blueprints of the firearms used by Theodoro in this war.
"We are willing to waive all debts Theodoro owes us, transfer 3,000 of the reparations paid by Genoa to you, and relinquish all commercial privileges in the Principality that we demanded in our previous secret agreement."
"Is this the will of the Governor's Office?" Alexius asked with a frown.
"Yes, Your Highness the Prince, this is the will of the Governor's Office, not mine. For this, I am willing to sign a written agreement on behalf of the Republic of Venice, clearly stating our terms and gains," Lando said, waving his hand.
Manuel quickly made a judgment. When Alexius called him out of the room, Manuel advised, "Father, we should agree to him."
"But, my child, if Venice uses the new firearms, we will not have a military advantage when dealing with them in the future," Alexius said worriedly.
"Father, they only asked for new firearms, they didn't specify which model, did they?" Manuel said with a cunning smile, "For example, the first prototype, which is the Mangup Arquebus. As for the improved version, we should keep it for ourselves. Let the Venetians figure out its practical application on their own."
A foxy smile also appeared on Alexius's face. "You speak well, my child."
Soon, the Prince and his son returned to the room and readily agreed to the terms proposed by Venice, and presented the manufacturing blueprints for the Mangup Arquebus the next day. Both sides thus achieved a win-win transaction.
After the war was resolved, the Principality of Theodoro began to deal with the narrow strip of land from Theodosia to Panticapaeum, which it had previously occupied under the pretext of demanding military passage. This area was named the Kerch Isthmus by Manuel, based on his geographical knowledge from his previous life. Logically, this area should have been returned to Haji Giray after the war, but Manuel shrewdly found loopholes in the secret agreement and the peace treaty with Genoa: My military passage was requested from Dawlat Berdi, what does that have to do with you, Haji Giray? Our previous secret agreement stated that it would be based on the currently occupied areas, so it's perfectly reasonable for us to continue occupying the Kerch Isthmus. Moreover, Genoa's peace treaty also stated that they recognized Theodoro's occupation of all of Theodosia, and all of Theodosia naturally includes the passage between Kaffa and Kerch seized by the Tatars. This is Theodosia, so you Tatars should be the ones to get out, shouldn't you?
Honestly, Haji Giray was greatly angered when he heard such a request from Theodoro. "How preposterous?! If they say so, wouldn't His Eminence the Caliph in Cairo have to make the Mamluk Sultan return the land of Canaan to the Jewish people so they can establish their so-called Promised Land of Israel? Absurd!"
But several Emirs under him reminded him, "Your Highness, Ulugh Muhammad is still in Tyn, it's not beneficial to make enemies at this time. Such a rotten piece of land, it's no big deal to lose it. Please reconsider, Your Highness." Understanding the priorities, he eventually calmed down and was forced to acknowledge Theodoro's occupation of the Isthmus in writing.
Thus, by the end of March 1429, the Principality of Theodoro successfully doubled its territory, becoming a significant power in the Black Sea region.