After leading his army into Adamakha, Manuel had his troops take over the city's defenses and, according to the original agreement, properly "protected" the Darhkans in the city. Well, it would be more accurate to say they were placed under house arrest.
But this was also within the expectations of these nobles who surrendered the city; rather, it would have been more incredible if Theodoro had tolerated them continuing to command troops. For them, who had in fact betrayed their Khan, their only demand was to survive the war intact and be sent back to the Golden Horde to continue being Darhkans.
With the Darhkans in such a state, the remaining thousands of Tatars in the city naturally had no intention of resisting. After all, the hardline magnates had all been drowned in the Black Sea yesterday, which also made it much easier for Theodoro to maintain order.
As for the handling of this city, Manuel's original plan was to plunder it after capturing it, then thoroughly scorch it, and quickly depart. However, the news of Giray leading his army south forced him to abandon this intention, as it would take a considerable amount of time to destroy the city so completely that it could not serve as a supply point. By then, he wasn't confident that he wouldn't be caught by Giray's six to seven thousand strong army during his withdrawal.
If it turned into an engagement battle again, he was quite worried it might once again become like the Battle of Keziyar last year.
In view of this, he decided to change his strategy and fight a battle he was confident in, in an attempt to wear down Giray's army. For this envisioned battle, he quickly ordered a scorched-earth policy, relying on dual sea and land supply and support, as well as the repaired city as a stronghold. Of course, the most important thing was—
"Quickly send this letter to the Golden Horde's camp. No matter what happens, you must inform their General, Emir Tenek, of the current situation. The survival of the Principality, our future, all depends on this one letter!" Before noon, Manuel, anxious as if his heart was on fire, wrote a letter requesting aid and personally entrusted its delivery to his most trusted aide, Aidian, instructing him to lead over 10 elite Filaka cavalry to deliver it to the Golden Horde's army camp, begging them for support.
What a joke, he currently only had four thousand elite soldiers under his command. Even if he could defeat Giray's main force, he would be severely crippled. He absolutely did not want to bear, nor could he afford, such losses.
As for immediately running away, that was even less feasible. He had sent this risky force precisely to completely shatter the Crimean Khanate's southern deployment in one fell swoop. For this, he had even captured the city of Adamakha. If he retreated now, Giray would not simply let it go and turn back to continue fighting the Golden Horde; instead, he would definitely continue to pursue Theodoro until they retreated back to the Crimean Peninsula. There were too many uncertainties during this period. What if Giray reorganized his southern forces during this time? What would he do then? Besides, after finally capturing this city, doing nothing would be too much of a waste of his time and energy.
Of course, if he truly couldn't win, he wouldn't fight to the death with Giray's army in this city. As mentioned before, the city of Adamakha developed from a fishing village; in other words, this city is coastal. Once the situation turned unfavorable, Manuel would immediately lead his army onto the transport ships anchored at sea and, relying on the absolute superiority of the Principality's navy, directly retreat to the Crimean Peninsula to defend.
"If the intelligence is correct, then Giray's army will probably arrive here in less than five days." After seeing Aidian and his men depart, Manuel began to ponder specific countermeasures, "Then, to achieve so much in such a short time, it will be very troublesome." Thinking of this, he couldn't help but get a headache.
Just as Manuel was urgently mobilizing military and civilian resources, Giray was, as he expected, leading his army south, attempting to crush the Theodoro Army and reclaim lost territory. If Giray truly led his more than seven thousand soldiers to clash head-on with the Theodoro Army, then Theodoro would indeed be in a very difficult position.
But as he was marching, a piece of news, unexpected by both sides, directly struck Giray.
"What did you say? Theodoro sent a detached force north from Phanagoria, attempting to seize our territory in Kuba?" After hearing this, Giray was greatly surprised. He truly hadn't expected Theodoro to be so audacious as to even split his forces to annoy him.
"Yes, Khan. And this detached force numbers over a thousand men, the information is confirmed and entirely true." The one reporting this was a Circassian slave soldier under his command who had converted to Islam and was named Chahir Saif al-Din Jakmak. Although he was already over forty, due to his resourcefulness and exceptional bravery, even Klier, the General of the Janissaries reinforcement army from the Ottoman, greatly admired him. According to the original plan, this slave soldier should have been sold to the Mamluk Sultan by the Khanate in the middle of last year, but due to the war, the trade route between the Mamluk and Crimea was cut off by Theodoro, and the Girey Family had no money to bribe the Venice Black Sea consul, so he and other slave soldiers were all taken under his command.
"Khan understands." Giray nodded, indicating he understood the matter. And after Jakmaq withdrew, he immediately sent for Klier.
Upon Klier's arrival, Giray eagerly asked, "General Klier, are there still enough Janissaries warriors under your command?"
"Thank you for your concern, Khan. There are still nearly a hundred men, enough to fight a few more battles," Klier bowed.
Giray heard the dissatisfaction in his words and could only laugh it off, promising that he would not be defeated. After all, this Janissaries reinforcement army was one of the few units under his command that could repeatedly win battles, so he had to treat this General well. After a quarter of an hour, after confirming that he was still willing to fight for the Khanate, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and informed him of the matter Jakmaq had just reported.
Klier sighed. This meant he had to divide his forces to campaign in Kuba. However, circumstances were stronger than personal will, and he could not object to anything. He could only continue to bow and declare, "Rest assured, Khan, the swords in my hand are wielded to drive out infidels."
After receiving his definitive reply, Giray felt a hint of joy, something he had rarely tasted these days. Subsequently, he assigned Klier nearly a thousand men to assist him in defeating the enemy and instructed him, "Just drive the enemy back into their territory, there's no need to make a big fuss over them. The war in the south is more important right now."
"As you command, Khan," Klier bowed in submission.
After leaving the camp, Klier called his Janissaries adjutant. After roughly relaying Giray Khan's order, he commanded him, "Tell all Janissaries warriors to pack all their belongings, especially those brought from the Sultanate. Don't leave anything behind."
"But General, aren't we going to help the Crimean Khanate deal with Theodoro's detached force in Kuba?" the adjutant asked, somewhat confused.
Klier merely leaned into his ear and quietly asked in return, "Do you think Crimea has a chance of winning?"
"General, this, this…" The adjutant was momentarily stunned by his words.
"Shh, don't make a sound," Klier merely smiled faintly, acting as if nothing had happened.