About three days later, Manuel was quietly enjoying his fiancée's lap pillow in the palace's office. He lay on a down sofa, his head resting on Barbara's lap, looking utterly relaxed.
Barbara's expression was slightly shy, her cheeks a faint crimson, yet she didn't actively push him away. Instead, she half-heartedly allowed him.
This was one of the things Manuel had always wanted to do. When he proposed it, he initially thought she would refuse, but to his surprise, she agreed, saying, "Just this once, okay?" Then came the scene described above. As the lap pillow time lengthened, the two gradually felt a subtle atmosphere.
In this ambiguous atmosphere, Manuel felt something ignite within him. "Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to do it before marriage," the thought suddenly popped into his mind.
But just as their intimacy grew, a knock came from outside. Manuel had no choice but to immediately snap back to reality, sit up, separate from Barbara, and take his proper seat. He sat upright and said, "Come in."
The arrivals were several high-ranking generals under his command. They had come at Manuel's summons, as he had prepared something practical for them.
Upon their arrival, Manuel first dismissed Barbara and other irrelevant personnel, then called the generals before him. After they approached him, he immediately stood up and unfurled a large demonstration chart he had prepared earlier, beginning to discuss new battle formations with them.
First, a quick note: previously, due to Manuel's decrees, improved economic conditions, and its excellent practical value, the 500 active soldiers of the Philaka Legion stationed in Theodosia had already been fully equipped with firearms. Additionally, more than one-fifth of the city's garrison soldiers were also equipped with firearms. In short, the Theodosia Army's firearms had reached a certain scale. However, as the number of firearm-wielding soldiers increased, Manuel believed that the specific military tactics and the status of musketeers within the army needed further improvement. At the very least, they had to ensure they could fight effectively when encountering formidable Tatar cavalry on the Great Steppe.
For this, Manuel proposed improvements: increasing the proportion of artillery support in the rear. At the same time, while the Philaka Legion would continue to use its original cross-fire tactics, the other militia and city garrison forces would adopt direct line-formation combat tactics—or, as he would put it in his previous life, a medieval version of "line-up and shoot."
The specifics were simple: the back ranks would reload, the front ranks would fire, and those firing would reload in place. If a front-rank soldier died, a back-rank soldier would immediately step up. That was it. It sounds crude, doesn't it? But because musketeers were a new type of soldier in the Theodoro Army, and indeed in the world at large, the firearm proficiency of most soldiers was not commendable. While the Philaka soldiers, being elites, had higher proficiency and could maintain cross-fire tactics, other soldiers were not as capable. Given this, it was better to let them use simpler tactics that did not require high proficiency, which would also be more convenient.
As for changes in battle formations, there weren't as many compared to the original. It was simply a matter of strengthening specialization, eliminating strange unit types like shield-spearmen, which seemed odd from any perspective in this era. Furthermore, regarding gunpowder, Manuel drafted a type of fixed ammunition: gunpowder and the projectile were entirely wrapped in a long, small, hard paper tube. Only one bullet was fired at a time. When used, one would bite open the paper tube, pour some gunpowder into the rear of the musket, then insert the paper tube into the barrel before firing, rather than separately loading the lead shot and gunpowder as before.
And for artillery, Manuel designed a cost-effective but reasonably effective cannonball: several spherical stone, iron, or lead shot packed inside a large iron cylinder, fired by a cannon. According to his concept, many iron balls would be bound together with iron hoops, then loaded into a thin iron cylinder. Upon firing, the cylinder would burst, and the stone, lead, or iron shot inside would scatter over a large area, undoubtedly causing significant damage. It would be perfect for engaging lightly armored light cavalry.
He decided to use the name from his previous life for this type of cannonball, calling it grapeshot. He explained to the generals that when strung together, these cannonballs resembled grapes. "At least they look delicious, don't they?" Manuel said.
Additionally, Manuel decided to cultivate a small, elite standing force of fully armored heavy cavalry to deal with potential troublesome enemy infantry and light cavalry. It should be known that heavy cavalry was equivalent to medieval tanks; without heavy cavalry, achieving victory in open-field battles was extremely difficult. Moreover, while Theodoro had new firearms, others did not. So, wouldn't cultivating a heavy cavalry unit be an extra good card against the enemy? Manuel also had a bit of personal bias: Rome could not be without its Holy Armored Knights, just as the West could not be without Jerusalem.
After deliberation and discussion, everyone ultimately agreed to set the number of this heavy cavalry unit at 50, and to place it under the Philaka Legion.
Afterwards, they discussed various other matters, such as how to curb the fierce Tatar cavalry in the Great Steppe region, how to lure enemies to charge up hills and across rivers, and how to maximize the power of their own firearms and artillery. As they discussed animatedly, it was already dusk. Seeing that it was getting late, Manuel could only wave his hand, dismissing everyone.
When the generals had left and Manuel slumped tiredly into his chair, he realized that he hadn't directly interacted with the rank-and-file soldiers for some time. This quickly put him on alert: at such a crucial juncture, military laxity was a grave mistake. Thinking this, he decided to regularly set aside time to directly train the soldiers under his command, especially the Philaka Legion, which he had personally cultivated.
"But there are still four major areas—taxation, land, official, and legal systems—that haven't been dealt with," Manuel thought, a shiver running down his spine. "Once all of these are handled, I must compile a legal code to organize the reforms and their results from this period. It's truly a headache." He gently tapped his forehead, complaining.
The next day, Manuel re-announced his new schedule plan to the high-ranking officials. Upon learning of His Highness's decision, the officials had no major objections. In their view, as long as it didn't hinder efficiency or create problems, supporting the Crown Prince was only natural.
While Manuel and others were preparing for the city and potential warfare in Theodosia, Haji Giray had already swept across the Don River basin, annexed the small principality of Muhammad in Kuba, and returned to Northern Crimea, where an unexpected new guest awaited him.