As soon as these words were uttered, the generals present were all startled.
"Directly march on Erzincan, Erzurum? Holy Mother above, Manuel, are you joking?!" It was David Komnenos, accompanying the army, who first voiced his objection. In his eyes, rashly advancing against the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty, whose on-paper strength was far superior to theirs, was simply suicidal. One must know that even the Empire of Trebizond, in its prime, dared not actively provoke the Turkmen on its borders, choosing instead to rely on mountainous terrain for defense and using marriage alliances to stabilize their leader, who was the predecessor of the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty and the chieftain of the White Sheep tribe, the strongest among the local Turkmen tribes.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Although Tukharovsky was not fond of David himself or the Komnenos family behind him, he also knew, "What if the bulk of the enemy forces are resting in Erzincan, and we rashly advance and run straight into them? Although the White Sheep Turkmens have been thoroughly defeated these two times, it cannot be denied that they are truly a valiant people."
"That's right, Manuel. In my humble opinion, it would be better to rest for about half a month, and then make plans after reinforcements have arrived." Suleiman, who was with the Bosporus Army, also echoed this sentiment. In his eyes, these White Sheep Turkmens to the north, who were of the same Turkic ethnicity as himself, were more barbaric and disorganized in their level of organization compared to the Beyliks of Asia Minor, but in terms of bravery, they were equally troublesome.
Manuel had anticipated their doubts and concerns. Therefore, he quickly responded, "Well said, but you must know that two consecutive defeats have dealt a considerable blow to those Turkmen. Even at the most conservative estimate, the White Sheep have lost at least 1,500 Turkmen warriors in these recent battles. For a tribal alliance like theirs, it would take more than a month of good rest to restore their original strength. In other words, since they chose to retreat back to their own territory, they will not have the ability to invade the frontier during this period."
"As for why I chose to march on Erzincan, it is not my rash idea either." Speaking of this, Manuel had Badars, who had been silent among the generals, hand him the intelligence gathered by the scouts. Then, in front of them, he briefly interpreted this intelligence, highlighting the key points, "'According to more than half a day of reconnaissance, the White Sheep Army's withdrawal direction should be southeast.' Southeast, if I'm not mistaken, that should be Erzurum, a city belonging to the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty."
His meaning was obvious: since the main White Sheep forces had retreated to Erzurum, the defenses of Erzincan would inevitably be weak for a short period. Given this, a rapid advance on Erzincan to seize the initiative was indeed an excellent plan.
But there were still some who had doubts, such as David, who always had other ideas, and he again raised an objection, "But Your Majesty, after several battles, we have also lost at least a thousand men, haven't we? Don't our troops need to be replenished?"
"I need to correct you on that point; we haven't lost nearly a thousand men. In the several battles this month, our army has indeed suffered over a thousand casualties, but it's 'casualties,' not 'deaths.' For example, a previous batch of lightly wounded soldiers who have recovered are now in Akçaabat, waiting for our army's recall.
"Moreover, the next batch of reinforcements should have already arrived there, right?" At this, Manuel's eyes suddenly narrowed.
The next batch of reinforcements he referred to included not only several hundred soldiers who had crossed the sea from Tauris, but also several hundred military servants and militiamen of varying quality presented to him by local lords to show their loyalty.
"Are we to rely on these people to capture the White Sheep's Erzincan?" David almost blurted out these words. But sensing Manuel's determination, after a brief deliberation, he could only reluctantly comply, half-believing.
Thus, the Bosporus's next marching plan was decided. And after a brief three-day rest in Kaysiskoy, the rested Bosporus Army then headed southwest towards Akçaabat, preparing for a formal advance to Erzincan, while also receiving the recovered wounded soldiers and reinforcements there.
At the same time, Ali and others, who had finally returned to Erzurum, began to count the number of Turkmen soldiers lost in the several battles this month. The final result almost made them faint.
"Nearly a thousand warriors were lost in Akçaabat; over seven hundred and fifty Ghazi Warriors were lost in Kaysiskoy. Plus the accompanying military servants, artisans who built siege engines, and one or two hundred people who went missing during the march. This, this..." Seeing this, Ali felt his hands tremble uncontrollably. Sheikh Hassan, Hamza, and his other generals had similar reactions, only Alexander, who had arrived early in Erzurum to await the results of the battle, breathed a sigh of relief with schadenfreude. Although terrain factors were mainly involved, even the always valiant White Sheep Turkmens had fought to such a state. So it was clear that it wasn't because he was too weak, but because the enemy was too strong. Given this, there was nothing shameful about his defeat.
However, his subtle thoughts did not show on his face, and the White Sheep royal family members beside him largely ignored him, discussing among themselves how to deal with the situation that lay ahead.
"Fourth Brother, what should we do now?" Sheikh turned his gaze to Ali, his eyes filled with worry.
"It's alright, we are different from those Christians. As the blade of Allah, our Turkic Ghazi Warriors will not collapse like the weak Romans after a few defeats," Ali reassured him, and also gave the next strategic direction, "Let's rest in Erzurum for a month or two first. Also, for now, don't let Father know about the war situation, lest he gets angry and leaves the still unstable Mardin to come to Diyarbakir or even Erzurum."
Saying this, wasn't it just fearing that his father would come to hold him accountable, leading to an unstable succession? Hamza almost blurted out these words.
A little further south of Erzurum, in the Mardin area, which had recently come under the rule of the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty, Sultan Kara Yuluk Osman of the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty sat in the local palace, coldly summoning the local Saracen lords. After a long time, satisfied that everything was in order, he waved his hand, dismissing them.
"Grandpa, they are..." Seeing those adults leave, a child of about ten years old darted out from behind him. The child had short black hair, wore a small white cap on his head, and a clean white short haftan, the attire of children. Although he was still young, his eyes, like those of his father and grandfather, already subtly revealed a profound and sharp demeanor.
Seeing the child come out, Kara's expression softened considerably. He had the eunuch lead him over, then smiled and actively hugged him, "Little Uzun, they are all infidels, and Grandpa is warning them. You'll understand when you grow up."