The lead bullet Manuel fired didn't strike Carlo Merlo's brow as he expected, but rather his left chest. Regardless, at least the General of the Genoese Army, the Golden Knight Carlo Dominus Merlo, had been killed by him on the spot.
Without their General, the leaderless Genoese Army completely collapsed. Furthermore, their navy was no match for Venice, completely cutting off their retreat. Many mercenaries even surrendered without a fight, no matter who they surrendered to.
By the afternoon of Christmas, the victor had been decided. The combined forces of Theodoro and Venice achieved a great victory, beheading and capturing approximately 6,000 Genoese at the cost of over 3,000 casualties. Most high-ranking Genoese officers were either killed or captured. Only Alberto Merlo managed to retreat with nearly a thousand men to Olstyn, while a few ships carrying Gattuso escaped to Tana.
In other words, after this battle, Genoa's military power in the Black Sea region was essentially paralyzed.
But it wasn't over yet. On that same afternoon, after the dust of battle settled, Alexius ordered Falero to lead the Principality's navy. Taking advantage of the Genoese naval defeat, he blockaded the Kerch Strait. The keen Manuel, upon learning that Matrega's officer had been captured, requested from Venice that the authority to detain this person be transferred to the Theodoro Principality, promising his personal safety.
Initially, Pietro Lando, who had rushed to Mangup, was unwilling to agree. But Manuel quickly, on behalf of Theodoro, offered a condition he couldn't refuse: the Principality would grant him and his family's merchants extensive tax-exempt privileges within Theodoro's territory.
Seeing this, Pietro Lando stated that the Republic's interests were not entirely his and his family's interests. He then immediately handed over Matrega's officer, the Vice Consul Leonardo Spinola, to Theodoro.
While Manuel was engaged in diplomatic negotiations with Lando, Patniko was commanding the army in a siege. When Manuel brought Spinola to Kerch, which was five days after the Christmas decisive battle, the internally and externally troubled Alberto Merlo, leading his remaining troops, surrendered the Olstyn fortress. The Genoese military presence completely withdrew from the Crimean Peninsula.
On the third day of Theodoro's siege of Olstyn, the Adyghe Principality, having received word from Theodoro, led their tribesmen to begin besieging Matrega. However, due to their backward equipment and tactics, they were even pushed back into their own territory by the remaining Genoese army. This, however, helped Theodoro divert the enemy's attention. After taking Olstyn, Manuel quickly used the naval blockade to 'smuggle' 3,000 troops in a bathtub—no, he transported 3,000 troops by transport ship to the Taman Peninsula on the opposite shore.
One of the most important fortresses on the Taman Peninsula is Taman Fortress, very close to Kerch. Besides Eastern Orthodox Greeks, its main residents also include many Circassians and Rus' people who share the orthodox faith. At this time, the few remaining Genoese defenders were all pursuing the Adyghe Principality, so there were fewer than 500 Genoese defenders in this rather important fortress, with only a double-digit number of Catholic Ligurian soldiers.
After Manuel led his army there, he raised the banner of the orthodox faith, enticing the Eastern Orthodox people in the city to side with him under the guise of "saving lost compatriots" and "expelling heretical oppressors." It must be said that his persuasion was very effective. Seeing that Genoa's power was already waning and that their opponent shared the same culture and orthodox faith, within a few hours, the defenders quickly captured or cut down the stubbornly resisting Catholic soldiers and offered the fortress to the Theodoro Army.
With the fall of Taman Fortress, Matrega's gates were wide open, so to speak. The Theodoro Army then quickly advanced eastward, securing a large area of land from Taman to Vityazevo for the Principality within five days in early January 1429, forcing the Genoese army, which was aggressively attacking the Adyghe, to return and defend. By the end of early January, when the Theodoro Army surrounded Matrega, they regretfully discovered that the Genoese defenders were already standing in formation on the city walls.
But Manuel, with his keen eye, noticed that while the enemy's defense appeared well-organized, the defensive line was not tight, and the defenders' formation was rather scattered. Based on experience, he believed this group of defenders likely had little will to resist.
Even so, he still didn't want to incur too many casualties to take the city.
At this point, it was the Vice Consul's turn to play his part. A cunning smile appeared on Manuel's face.
On the first night of the siege of Matrega, Manuel had the Vice Consul of Matrega's partition, Spinola, brought over. When Spinola was pushed into the chair opposite him, Manuel, with a warm smile, persuaded him:
"Your Excellency Spinola, I hope you can do a small favor for me..."
"Are you asking me to persuade the defenders to surrender? Your Excellency, although I am a prisoner, I cannot casually do something that would disgrace a nobleman's demeanor." Spinola, though trembling, flatly refused.
Manuel sneered inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged. "At this point, do you still believe you will win? Do you think the defenders should die for an impossible victory? Just for your honor, isn't that too selfish? In my opinion, that is what disgraces a nobleman's status."
Spinola understood the other party's attitude, but he still stubbornly refused, "If I were to do such a thing, when I return to Genoa proper, I would be held accountable by the homeland. Please understand."
Manuel looked at the middle-aged man before him with a hint of emotion, feeling a touch of sentiment. But in less than a second, he composed himself and said to his guards, "Call those four over."
What was he trying to do? Spinola's nerves instantly tightened, and he warned, "Your Excellency, although I am a prisoner, according to our previous agreement, you cannot kill me..."
"Who said I was going to kill you?" Manuel laughed. At this moment, the four large men, dressed in very little cloth, also arrived. He then pointed at the four large men who had previously presided over Doria's interrogation and said, with a straight face, "These four, their preferences are quite special. Hmm, yes, it's exactly as you guessed, their sexual proclivities are not quite the same as ordinary people's. And their methods are exquisite, their skills extraordinary, and they have unspeakable secret weapons that will surely bring you infinite pleasure."
Looking at these four gay men, Spinola felt goosebumps all over him. He quickly cried out, "Your Excellency, Your Excellency, don't do this, don't do this! I agree, I agree!"
The next day, Spinola, escorted by several soldiers, arrived at the city gate. With a dejected expression, he issued the order to abandon the defense of the city to the city gate guards. The guards, recognizing their officer, seeing that defeat was inevitable and with their officer taking responsibility, subdued a few hardliners, opened the city gates, and allowed Theodoro's army into Matrega.
After Manuel entered the city, facing the welcoming crowd arranged along the streets, he couldn't help but wave his right hand and shout, "From now on, the master of Matrega is no longer Genoa, but us, Theodoro!"