Upon receiving the plea for help from Mangup, Shilin, who was struggling on the Northern Crimea front, couldn't help but feel both angry and amused. "These Kafir, not only are they useless in a pinch, but they're also a constant hindrance. Forget it, I'll ask Balin Pasha how he sees it later." No sooner had he spoken than he quickly raised his scimitar to block an attack from a hussar.
At the same time, in the Tatar rebel's military tent, Mustafa Balin, after the messenger had left, sat calmly on his chair. After ensuring that only his absolutely trustworthy confidantes were around him, he contemptuously threw the plea for help onto the table. "Such things truly cannot succeed; fortunately, I never counted on them from the start." Having said that, he quickly picked up a pen and paper to write this confidential intelligence from the rebel side to the monarch he truly served, and in the letter, he inquired whether the long-prepared plan should be initiated.
Balin's letter quickly reached the hands of the person he truly served through the previously established secret channels. That night, after reading the letter, he nodded with great satisfaction. "The intelligence Balin provided is truly timely. Fortunately, I had foresight and brought him over to my side. Although it wouldn't have mattered if he hadn't come over, it would have just slowed things down a bit."
After this soliloquy, he quickly gave instructions to Balin, telling him to find every way to passively neglect the request for aid from Mangup. At the same time, upon receiving his reply, he was to immediately implement the predetermined plan, using any means to deal with Shilin, regardless of whether he lived or died. "It would be best if he were killed directly. But considering their previous relationship, I'll leave it to him." He thought helplessly after sending off the reply.
However, the rebels in Mangup were still unaware of such a major internal rift. After determining that peace talks and compromise were hopeless, they could only mobilize their remaining forces, preparing for war, which included the previously mentioned matter of contacting the Tatar rebels.
On the fifth day after the peace talks broke down, Isaac, with trembling fingers, asked Wolol, whom he had appointed to be in charge of military affairs: "How many men can we still mobilize now?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, fewer than five thousand." Wolol tried his best to keep his tone from sounding pessimistic.
"How could this be..." Isaac, whose nerves had been highly strung for the past few days, finally lost control and clasped his head, questioning.
"The great defeat of Raus Pasha earlier cost us two thousand men. Not only were the losses significant, but it also made those nobles who were originally on our side start to waver. Moreover, now not only can no more troops be squeezed from the noble lords, but the small farmers and citizens have also been mobilized to their limit. Your Majesty, if we exploit the small farmers, then Mangup will probably change hands the next day, no, that very night." Wolol somewhat incoherently briefly informed Isaac of the current situation.
Upon hearing this, Isaac clenched his hands, at a loss. After a long moment, he turned to Klier, who had also been entrusted with military duties, and changed the subject, asking him: "Klier Pasha, can those Janissaries under your command still be of assistance now?"
Klier really wanted to tell him no, but the high sunk cost forced him to swallow those words. He had deeply intervened in the Principality's internal affairs after defecting here last year, all to achieve his "atonement through merit" by exploiting the civil war in the Theodoro Principality. For this, he even deliberately cut off communication between himself and the Janissaries under his command and the Ottoman Sultanate, hoping not to be traced by Chandler Pasha before he succeeded.
But now, he could only sigh deeply in his heart. "A bunch of useless fellows, they want to rebel with this level of skill? I truly misjudged them." He scoffed inwardly, then regretted having gotten involved in this civil war.
Fortunately, he considered himself merely a guest general, so what if this side lost? At that time, he would just fight a bit of a fake battle, pretend to be in fierce combat, and then he could directly lead his men to surrender, gaining a good reputation in the process. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Well, if he knew that the other side was not unaware of him, and had already secretly planned how to deal with him, Klier might have considered it more carefully.
Yes, under the reconnaissance of the intelligence department, Manuel had known shortly before the civil war that the Janissary general who originally supported the Crimean Khanate and his soldiers had defected to his younger brother's side. After his initial anger was suppressed, he had roughly figured out how to deal with these audacious fellows.
However, this was about several weeks ago. After arranging the various battlefronts, one week after the peace talks broke down, Manuel, fully prepared, decided to personally lead over four thousand soldiers to recapture the Principality's capital, Mangup.
Due to the impact of the previous great victory at Sugdaea, coupled with Manuel's own reputation, he encountered no fierce resistance in the places he passed through. Or rather, the news of victory never ceased. Soon, in less than half a day, Manuel recaptured a large number of important coastal towns. Because the victory came too smoothly, that afternoon, he ordered a temporary rest and reorganization, hoping to face the upcoming decisive battle with full energy.
Manuel's repeated victories and constant reports of success quickly frightened the rebels still entrenched in Mangup. Out of fear and worry, and with no news of reinforcements from the north, Isaac forcibly ordered Wolol to lead the army, intending to strike and defeat the enemy before their forces could establish a firm footing. For this, he even made many empty promises to the nobles, citizens, and Klier, pledging various requests that he would never normally grant.
It was under these circumstances that the next morning, Manuel was surprised to encounter the main rebel force in the town of Karta. After less than fifteen minutes of bewilderment, he immediately ordered his soldiers to attack the rebels.
In this battle, both sides committed their main forces. Manuel's side had nearly four thousand men, and the rebel side also had roughly four thousand men. However, the quality gap between the two sides was quite obvious: Manuel's vanguard wore light but sturdy scale armor, both flanks were composed of a small number of light cavalry, the central army had a suitable number of musketeers and archers as support, and there were even 50 heavy cavalry serving as guards and reserves; the rebel side was much more meager, although their vanguard also wore light armor, the styles were particularly varied due to the diverse sources of their troops, and in the central and rear forces, there were even many tenant farmers and small farmers wearing thin shirts and carrying pitchforks and hoes.
How could such a force, with a large number of conscripted old farmers, defeat Manuel's army, which had been tempered by battle, was fully equipped, and had healthy troop types? Soon, under the crushing advantage of quality, in less than half an hour, the rebel morale completely collapsed, and most of the army scattered like birds and beasts, either fleeing in disarray or surrendering. Only Klier and his contingent of Janissary foreign aid continued to struggle, hoping to wait for the other side to actively persuade them to surrender.