In early April, on the first morning back in Theodosia, after Manuel finished his routine duties in the Theodosia Palace, he took out the reform plan he had roughly drafted last year.
Reform was definitely necessary, but where should he start?
The three major areas of military, government, and economy were all extremely important.
Fortunately, the expulsion of the Genoese and their associated great noble families meant that Theodosia was now essentially a blank slate in the political sphere, allowing him to establish an effective system according to his needs.
In other words, for Manuel, Theodosia was currently the best testing ground.
After some deliberation, Manuel decided to start with the military sphere, as long as he firmly held the gun, he could always deal with whatever problems arose later.
Thinking of this, he dismissed his attendants, took out paper and pen, and began to write down the military aspects of the plan in detail.
"Naval command can only be decided by Mangup.
Although Theodosia is also a large, populous port, Father did not give it independent naval jurisdiction.
I can mobilize the navy, and Admiral Falero, my teacher, is also my person, but if I need to call upon them, I still have to go to Mangup, so I'll leave that aside for now."
Writing and thinking, after careful consideration, Manuel temporarily excluded the navy from his current military structure.
"Since that's the case, let's reorganize the army first.
"First, the Philaka Legion.
Due to the significant expansion of territory, Father allowed me in March to double the legion's size to 500 men.
He also continued to permit me to station the legion in Theodosia, and I am nominally the Legion Commander.
The legion's officers were personally promoted by me, and as the future Imperial Guard, they can be said to be the most direct of direct subordinates.
They can be considered a top priority.
"Next are the incorporated former city soldiers.
Although many were lost in the war, their organization and foundation still exist.
After adjustment and training, they will also be an army with good combat power.
And their commander seems to have died in the Kerch War last year, so I'll let Tukharovsky be the general of this army.
"Then there are the militias.
These can only be temporarily conscripted during wartime, as peasant militias are low-tier cannon fodder, and town militias are high-tier cannon fodder.
But it's not entirely impossible; as long as they participate in military training for a period each year, they are not incapable of fighting.
But Theodosia's finances now,"
Thinking of this, Manuel rubbed his forehead in frustration, "When I have money… it seems I don't necessarily need money,"
he smiled wickedly, "extorting the subjects is a good resolution, and I can do that once this military restructuring is more or less complete.
"Finally, there are the private soldiers of the small lords, and the mercenary soldiers they provide in wartime.
No matter how you look at it, they are not very reliable, but if they are all removed, it will probably cause them to overreact, and it will also be detrimental to future wars and daily defense against enemies.
But dealing with them is not troublesome, just restrict them."
For these small lords who rose to power relying on Theodoro, Manuel had already figured out how to handle them.
After he finished drafting these proposals, he immediately called Badars to summon several influential lords who were loyal to him, along with Tukharovsky and the Philaka Legion's adjutants, to organize his plans.
A few days later, after most of the work was done, he planned to gather everyone in the afternoon to formally finalize these drafts.
In the afternoon, Manuel gathered all the lords and generals under his jurisdiction in the palace hall, preparing to announce his simple decisions regarding the military system to them.
After a few polite remarks, Manuel began to seriously read out his designs for the military system: "Now I will announce several important drafts concerning the military system.
If any of you have dissatisfaction or doubts, please raise them on the spot.
Because if you do not have too many objections to these drafts, they will be prepared for immediate implementation starting today."
Seeing the Crown Prince so serious, everyone sat up straight and listened attentively.
Manuel cleared his throat and began to speak:
"First, the slogan of all legions, starting today, must include the word 'Loyalty,' and the object is me, and the Principality behind me.
"Secondly, I will establish a new Military Department.
Only I and the members of the new Military Department can participate in Theodosia's military affairs.
The generals whose names are about to be read are the members of the new Military Department:
"Dmitry Ivanovich Tukharovsky, Badars Gavras, Aidian Pibagul, Vladimir Zniev, Ioannis Seler, Michael Arno…"
Everyone present listened intently, but after Manuel finished reading the long list of names, many lords immediately became a little panicked, because the Crown Prince, apart from a few influential lords who were fiercely loyal to the Principality, did not mention any other lords.
Facing the chattering crowd below, Manuel waved his hand, signaling them to be quiet.
After the hall returned to silence, he smiled and added: "You don't have to be anxious.
The new Military Department is not a closed-off department.
As long as the requirements are met, I will not prevent entry."
"Meeting the requirements means obeying you like a dog obeys its master, right?" a hot-tempered small lord grumbled to himself.
But Manuel then said, "In addition, I will not deprive you of your military power as lords.
I will not interfere too much with private soldiers or anything else.
As long as the requirements are met, the small fortresses you previously built privately can also be retained."
The frowning brows of the small lords below relaxed slightly, but Manuel's next words made them furrow their brows again: "Of course, these are all conditional.
All lords, regardless of the size of their territory, unless there are special exceptions, shall not have more than 100 private soldiers.
Furthermore, unless authorized by me, no local lord shall build fortresses privately from now on.
Also, all lords are prohibited from instigating wars within the territory or annexing each other's land starting today.
Violators will be stripped of all their fiefs and titles, and sentenced to exile or banishment."
A single stone stirred up a thousand waves.
Many of the small lords in the hall almost exploded on the spot.
The entire palace hall almost turned into a marketplace.
Restricting the number of private soldiers, prohibiting wars of annexation, and stripping the right to build cities—how could Theodoro's style of rule be so different from those of Western Europe, no, even from Eastern European traditions!
This was more like the Greek-Roman tradition.
Some desperate small lords looked at the few more influential lords in the city, only to find that some, led by Michael Arno, directly stood up to express unconditional support, realizing then that Manuel had already communicated with them beforehand.
Some small lords could not swallow this.
A middle-aged, corpulent small lord, originally a suburban landowner, openly stood up and objected: "Your Royal Highness, this is a sacred power granted by God.
You have no right to deprive us of them."
Manuel smiled amiably, "What you said makes some sense.
What is your name?"
"Maurice Doller."
"Good, I remember you.
Oh, by the way, there's something I forgot to tell you.
I found a particularly good place for banishment.
Isn't the Kerch Isthmus area mostly uninhabited except for the Tatars?
And it's a desolate wilderness with inconvenient roads, perfect for exiling criminals and making them build roads there."
As Manuel spoke, the expression on his face became cold.
"Alright, men, seize him, strip him of his territory, and banish him to the Kerch Isthmus."
As he finished speaking, a team of stern mercenary soldiers directly dragged Doller from his seat in the hall and escorted him out of the palace.
It was then that everyone realized that the Crown Prince had no intention of negotiating.
He claimed to be discussing drafts, but in reality, he was finalizing decisions.
Most of the small lords simply swallowed their anger, after all, it wasn't as if their fiefs were being stripped, nor were they unable to maintain private soldiers, and the prohibition of annexation also prevented them from losing both their land and lives in senseless internal conflicts, which was even better news for those small lords who lacked military strength, so it seemed not entirely unacceptable.
Moreover, most of them had risen with the help of Theodoro's influence, their foundations were unstable, and they had no real power to resist the Crown Prince's decision.
Half an hour later, people gradually stood up to express their approval, showing their loyalty.
Seeing the unanimous agreement of everyone in the hall, Manuel smiled contentedly, "Very good, it seems everyone is very supportive of this.
Then the above decisions will take effect immediately starting today.
Alright, meeting adjourned."