After this brief explanation to Badars, Manuel rushed non-stop to the adjacent room to preside over a military meeting that would determine the strategic direction.
About fifteen minutes later, after looking around and confirming that all relevant personnel were present, he tapped the table a few times, and after a brief collective prayer, declared the meeting open.
After briefly commending his generals, Manuel outlined the results and losses of the Battle of Bayburt, then highlighted the current situation: "Three days ago, by the grace of Allah, our army decisively defeated the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty's West Armenian forces at Bayburt.
As previously stated, our army indeed achieved a great victory in this battle, annihilating and capturing over two thousand five hundred infidels, and most of their camp followers also fell into our hands."
"But according to reliable information, the force we faced in this battle was not the main army of the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty." This sudden turn immediately brought a solemn atmosphere to the meeting, and even a few who had been more relaxed straightened their postures.
Manuel now looked around at them with a serious expression, trying to gauge their attitudes and opinions.
However… "This information seems a bit too explosive for them?" Looking at his subordinates, whose attitudes had become serious and earnest, Manuel felt a strange sense of difficulty.
But he quickly dismissed this irrelevant emotion and continued to inform them of the relevant intelligence he possessed: "Furthermore, the remnants of the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty's West Armenian forces are currently concentrated in Erzurum.
If nothing unexpected happens, the military strength there will be extremely weak before their main force arrives."
At this point, Manuel finally raised the core question of this military meeting: "So, in your esteemed opinions, should we advance on Erzurum?"
This direct question quickly divided the generals present into two factions: one believed that now was the best time to advance on Erzurum, occupy all of West Armenia, and force the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty to surrender; the other believed that they should not continue to advance rashly, but instead must rely on the currently occupied cities for defense, to prevent being pushed back by the enemy.
Dungar, who held the former view, loudly proclaimed his opinion: "Gentlemen, the situation we face now cannot be resolved by simply holding our ground.
Moreover, didn't we achieve such battle results and gain strategic initiative precisely because we advanced boldly under His Majesty's leadership and won the support of the Christians? If we only defend, wouldn't that be abandoning our own advantages?"
Tukharovsky, his superior, had a different view at this time: "Sir Dungar, I suggest you temporarily rein in your Crusader-like enthusiasm.
Do you know how severe our army's losses were in this victory? This was only a portion of the White Sheep Turkmens' West Armenian forces.
If they gather their main forces from Diyarbakir and even Kurdistan, do we truly have the confidence to win?"
As their discussion grew more intense, some within the faction advocating for advancing on Erzurum even boldly suggested taking the opportunity to directly occupy the entire West Armenia region, including Mush and Bayezid, which were still far away.
"Your Majesty," Posadas, holding this view, directly "advised" Manuel, who was seated at the head, "Why don't we take them by surprise, lead our troops to cut through West Armenia, liberate all the Christians in the area, and let Your Majesty's glory shine from Tauris to Greater Armenia!"
Hearing his speech, Manuel felt a cringeworthy sensation, a mix of wanting to laugh and cry. Although it was hard to admit, he had indeed gained the upper hand through the quality of his soldiers and strategic planning.
If it came to a direct confrontation of national strength, Bosporus, which had not yet firmly established itself in Asia Minor, would probably be beaten back into hiding north of the Pontic Mountains by a reactive Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty.
Furthermore, if there hadn't been local Armenians guiding them during this period, Bosporus's actions, almost penetrating into the Anatolia Plateau, would have been tantamount to suicide.
Therefore, he very wisely ignored Posadas's warlike suggestion, and instead seriously considered the arguments of both sides.
Frankly, Manuel really did not want to encounter the main force of the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty.
Because in such a situation, regardless of victory or defeat, he would lose many elite, battle-hardened soldiers. But it was also not a good idea to continue to shrink within the occupied territories; if he adopted a defensive stance, he felt that even if the White Sheep did not launch a full-scale attack, they would have many ways to harass him.
For example, allowing various tribes to frequently harass the area irregularly could greatly damage local production.
Although his original intention in capturing parts of West Armenia was for it to serve as a barrier for the Trabzon region, just such a measure of allowing harassment could give him a splitting headache.
It was possible that the local Armenians, unable to bear the constant harassment, might even turn on him to seek mercy from the Turks…
It was better to end the entanglement with the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty as soon as possible.
To this end, after careful consideration, Manuel finally, after listening to both sides' arguments again, chose to advance on Erzurum to force a peace with the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty.
Once this strategy was decided, the military meeting concluded.
However, on his way back to rest, the more he thought about it, the more dangerous it seemed: "Constantly launching one blood-letting battle after another to try and force the enemy into peace.
Why does that sound so familiar? And the enemy's national strength still seems far superior to my own…"
As soon as this sense of déjà vu came to mind, a chill ran down Manuel's spine, and then he thought of an existence that might broaden his perspective.
"Perhaps I can get inspiration from that person to break this deadlock." Thinking this, he immediately ordered his attendant to summon Badars and have him accompany him to the room where someone was being held under house arrest.
Half an hour later, in a simply decorated yet comfortable room, Ali Bey, the heir to the Aq Qoyunlu Dynasty, was praying with a scripture in hand, attended by several Muslim servants.
If an uninformed person saw him, it would probably be difficult to associate him with the word "prisoner of war."
As Ali finished his prayer, a knock on the door came from outside the room. "Please come in, guests of Allah." Anyway, even if he didn't agree, the other party would certainly enter.
The visitors were none other than Manuel and his Commander of the Guard, Badars.
Upon seeing this enemy, who was much younger than himself but had defeated his own great army, Ali couldn't help but feel both anger and admiration.
"So, what is the reason for Your Excellency to visit me, a captive, today?" Ali remembered that his identity had been confirmed the day after his capture, and he had been transferred to this room for house arrest and preferential treatment, even receiving personal inquiries from the opposing monarch, which made him wary.
"Nothing," Manuel said with a smile, "Roughly speaking, Your Excellency is also a distant cousin of mine, isn't he? ①"
"I'm truly fed up with this Greek," Ali frowned slightly, but quickly relaxed, "No matter what conditions you use to tempt me, I will not go against the will of Allah, betray my family, or my true faith."
Seeing the other party's righteous and stern demeanor, Manuel felt a little awkward, and half-changed the subject, half-seriously asked: "No, no, no, I am just a little curious about the White Sheep royal family, led by Your Excellency.
To be honest, since I came to Asia Minor, you Ghazi have been the most troublesome existence for me. And after I achieved victory at Bayburt through the blessing of my adoptive father, I am very curious about what kind of person could achieve such a feat."
Looking at the other party's half-serious, half-teasing attitude, Ali gave a wry smile, "Person? Compared to my father, I am nothing at all.
Perhaps my smartest child, when grown, could handle such a situation better than I."
"Child? The smartest child?" His father referred to White Sheep Sultan Kara Osman, Manuel knew that.
But "the smartest child"? He couldn't help but become curious, "May I ask the child's name? This is purely out of my insignificant curiosity."
Seeing the other party's confusion, Ali, with some pride and deep affection, uttered the name of his most cherished child,
"Uzun Hasan."