With such constant advice from his confidants, Isaac was finally persuaded and decided to dispatch all 1,500 troops he had accumulated in Phanagoria over the past few months to attack cities, seize territory, and expand his jurisdiction.
However, Manuel, who was currently on the Eastern European Great Plains, did not know about his brother's little scheme. Even if he did, he couldn't do much about it, as he was currently marching east from Keziyar to quickly capture the city of Adamakha, round up the remaining high-ranking officials of the Crimean Khanate, completely paralyze the Khanate, and incidentally increase the Principality's leverage in the peace treaty.
Because Manuel and his troops were on a forced march this time, they arrived near Adamakha in the early morning just three days later.
To ensure his soldiers had enough combat power during the siege, Manuel did not order an attack immediately upon arrival. Instead, he first set up camp to allow the entire army to rest for a period, while also waiting for the main naval fleet to arrive, ensuring continued naval assistance during the siege.
As for the movement of the army, Manuel and the entire Theodoro Army neither wanted to conceal it nor could they. After all, a large force of four thousand troops could not be hidden from the city's defenders nearby, unless all the enemy soldiers were blind.
Facing the mighty approaching Theodoro Army, the city of Adamakha quickly fell into chaos. The remaining Tatar nobles in the city had no idea how to respond to the arrival of this considerable enemy force. Should they fight to the death? Should they hold fast? Or should they surrender directly?
It should be known that although Adamakha was the temporary capital of the Girey Family, their investment in its development here was far less than in Northern Crimea and its surrounding areas. For example, Adamakha's population, even including the surrounding suburban grasslands and pastures, did not exceed ten thousand; and its city walls and urban layout were not divided into inner and outer sections like Bakhchysarai. There was only a single stacked stone wall, accompanied by a few earthen and stone watchtowers. If it weren't for the salt production here, which allowed for some related industries to develop, no Tatars would have settled here. If it weren't for necessity, Giray would not have chosen this place, which was still a fishing village a decade and a half ago, to be the Khanate's temporary center.
Unfortunately, now the Crimean Khanate was about to lose even this small city, which could only be considered a stopgap.
Manuel didn't care what the Tatars in the city thought; in his eyes, this city had to be, and could only be, taken by him. As long as the defenders didn't surrender, they were all the same to him.
Therefore, in the afternoon, after confirming that the Principality's navy had all arrived and rendezvoused, and that the scorching sun in the sky was mostly obscured by white clouds, Manuel made a decisive decision, ordering both the land and naval forces to advance and begin the siege.
The first step of the siege was still the old rule: the land and naval artillery would continuously shell the city until several large holes were blasted into their fragile stone walls. As for those few watchtowers? They were all destroyed during the third round of bombardment that afternoon.
In contrast to Theodoro's aggressive offensive, the city's defenders could only fire arrows during the lulls in the enemy's artillery fire. But due to the disastrous defeat on the Obitochna River, the defenders could barely gather a few skilled archers now, and not many of their arrows hit the enemy. Even if some did, most were blocked by the infantry guarding the artillerists, making these Tatar defenders appear poor and powerless.
After dusk, Manuel ordered the first day's offensive to end, allowing his soldiers to rest well during the night to adjust their condition and prepare for the coming days of the siege. Of course, announcing a temporary halt to the offensive so early was also related to his judgment of the city's situation based on intelligence. "If I'm not mistaken, these Tatars should try to seek concessions next. Unless they still want to die for the Girey Family."
Just as he expected, looking at the energetic and well-ordered Theodoro Army outside the city, and the city walls that had been utterly destroyed in just one afternoon, the few remaining Darhkans in the city felt utterly panicked. Coupled with rumors of the enemy looting everywhere and doing whatever they pleased in the Crimea region, the idea of surrender gradually arose in their hearts.
But surrendering to infidels was, after all, too far beyond their original expectations. So when someone proposed this idea that night, most people still disagreed. After a night of wrangling and procrastination, they finally decided to wait one more day to see if there could be a turn for the better.
Unfortunately, there was none. The next morning, in addition to the routine artillery bombardment, the Theodoro Army also began sending several teams of warriors to attempt an assault. Although these few teams of Theodoro soldiers were barely held back by the Crimean defenders, the defending Darhkans discovered with great panic that they were already overwhelmed just by facing these small teams, totaling no more than a hundred men. And unlike their desperate resistance, Theodoro's assault teams all voluntarily retreated only when they realized they didn't have too much of an advantage for the moment, with casualties never exceeding ten men.
"This is a Greek conspiracy; they are bleeding us dry," a Tatar officer said, trembling in fear as he looked at his more than twenty dead and wounded subordinates. And this was the general reaction among the Crimean defenders.
This sentiment in the army quickly spread to the Darhkans. After confirming that they were completely no match for Theodoro and that this battle was doomed to failure, those who did not want a tragic end finally couldn't bear it and mostly chose to surrender.
Of course, not everyone in the city was willing to surrender, such as a very small number of die-hard supporters of the Girey Family, and a few Ulema who advocated against submitting to infidels. Towards these hardliners, the others showed great tacit agreement at this time. At night, these Darhkans, under the guise of discussing how to defend the city, summoned these hardliners, and then had their tribal warriors kill their colleagues and the jurists they had always admired. Their bodies were then thrown into the Black Sea to feed the fish.
After dealing with these hardliners, they quickly sent people to contact the commander of the Theodoro Army outside the city, Manuel.
Upon learning the purpose of the visitors, Manuel was both pleased and a little puzzled. "They couldn't hold on for just two days? When did the Tatars become so weak?"
Nonsense! With their main force completely annihilated and the enemy army at the city gates, who would want to pledge allegiance to the death for a fledgling regime with a bleak future?
Facing the defenders' tearful pleas for him to accept their surrender, Manuel was somewhat at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Finally, after an hour or two of detailed discussions, Manuel officially accepted the surrender of the Adamakha defenders on behalf of Theodoro.
Early the next morning, the Adamakha city gates were wide open as a sign of sincerity. Seeing this, Manuel, as per yesterday's agreement, led his four thousand Theodoro troops grandly into the city, formally accepting their surrender.
The last temporary capital city of the Crimean Khanate, Adamakha, thus fell into enemy hands.