"This, this isn't right…" After sending out a few messengers, the Turk general, facing the murderous enemy army, couldn't help but mumble in confusion.
Before he could react further, a lead bullet, sparking with fire, passed through his subordinate's taxi soldier formation and, quite coincidentally, struck him in the face.
With the death of this unfortunate fellow, the situation both inside and outside Erzurum was about to undergo a reversal.
Fortunately, the messengers he dispatched arrived at the main force in time, and the news of the Bosporus Army's counterattack from the city quickly reached Mahmoud's ears.
The Turk Bey, who had previously been unwilling to confront them due to the series of fresh and terrifying methods employed by these Romans, was first stunned, then somewhat fearfully ordered the entire army to close ranks and assume a defensive posture.
"Your Highness, something terrible has happened!" Just as Mahmoud's morale was rekindled and he was preparing to hold all enemies outside the city, another messenger rushed into the military camp, urgently wanting to inform their Bey of an urgent military situation.
"Speak!" The Bey had a premonition of ill omen.
"Yes, Your Highness." The messenger soldier quickly took a breath and then rapidly recounted a major military event that had just occurred, "The Roman army that just left the city has already attacked several of our units."
"What are the losses?" He frowned slightly, feeling that things were not looking good.
"Reporting to Your Highness," the messenger soldier reported in a panic, "If Allah has not blinded me, nearly half of our cavalry… are no longer able to fight."
Upon learning of the situation, the Bey, who was over thirty, was stunned for a while.
Afterwards, once his personal guards confirmed the man's words were accurate, Mahmoud began to weigh the pros and cons.
In less than a minute, having finished his deliberation, he decisively chose to follow his instincts, "Issue my military order: retreat! Retreat to Palantoken Mountain."
As Mahmoud's unit, having suffered over half its strength, retreated to the Palantoken Mountain area, the fallback plan Kara Osman had left to try and stop Bosporus was thus shattered by his enemy.
And during the White Sheep unit's retreat to Palantoken Mountain, Manuel even found an opportunity to dispatch Tatar cavalry, having Balin lead them to severely wound nearly a thousand enemy soldiers, dealing a heavy blow to the enemy.
The news of Bosporus's major counterattack quickly reached the White Sheep Sultan, who was leading his main force eastward.
The enraged old Sultan, upon hearing this, even wanted to lead his army back to retaliate against them.
But out of fear of developing a two-front war, he ultimately abandoned the idea.
But what should be done now?
He was astonished to find that these despicable Greeks had, unexpectedly, to some extent, gained the upper hand over them, leaving him completely unable to fathom their intentions.
A few days later, just as Kara Osman, on the march, was pondering how to simultaneously deal with enemies from the east and the north, Bosporus, having just achieved another minor victory, unexpectedly sent an envoy to request an audience with him, stating that he carried his monarch's intention for peace talks.
Kara Osman, who was quite troubled by this, was more than eager for the envoy's request, "Allah above, quickly, bring him in." The white-bearded White Sheep Sultan, after confirming the envoy's clear intentions, had his two sons, who were before him, come over, and then immediately invited the man into his tent.
The envoy sent by Bosporus this time was Suleiman Karamanoglu, who resided under Manuel.
This young Turk noble wore a gray-white caftan robe similar to his compatriots in Eastern Anatolia, a white silk turban on his head, and a thick but not long black beard on his rather handsome face.
Kara Osman's first impression of the envoy sent by the Romans was quite good, so much so that he intentionally exchanged pleasantries with the man for a moment.
However, being more focused on substance, he quickly asked, "You, Bosporus, need to negotiate for peace, right?"
"I believe Sultan needs it more than we do," Suleiman replied with a chuckle.
Kara Osman was first stunned, then nodded somewhat displeased, indicating his presumption.
However, unwilling to show weakness in the initial negotiations, he immediately asked another question he cared about greatly, attempting to tilt the negotiating scales in his favor, "Speaking of which, how did Bosporus know I was temporarily stationed here?
These days I have been leading my army eastward, and my movements should not have been tracked by you Romans."
"Regarding what Sultan mentioned," Suleiman replied with a smile, "it's actually because our army recently captured Bey Mahmoud, and from him, we learned of Your Majesty's marching direction."
Kara Osman's expression became somewhat subtle.
But Suleiman, as if he hadn't noticed, continued to speak eloquently, "Also, I am a Turk from Karaman, not a Roman."
"The Karaman Beylik and the Bosphorus Despotate have no basis for cooperation!" The old Sultan's deep dark pupils were filled with incredulity.
"Ah, I merely hail from Konya, not representing the current Karaman," Suleiman explained again, struggling slightly to maintain his composure.
The White Sheep Sultan opened his mouth as if to speak, wanting to ask something else, but quickly held back, returning to the main topic.
"Counting Mahmoud, this is the second son I've lost to you.
It seems my White Sheep will truly have no successor…"
"Sultan," Suleiman gently told him, "both Bey are safe and sound, and can return home smoothly at any time."
"Hmm…" A trace of joy and hesitation flashed in Kara Osman's eyes, then was immediately hidden.
But his expression was keenly captured by Suleiman, who sat opposite him.
"Indeed, this can be used as a bargaining chip; according to Turk tradition, the rest should go much smoother." He vaguely felt that this negotiation would surely yield the desired outcome.
The subsequent developments were as he had expected; although neither side explicitly stated anything, the White Sheep side was indeed much more patient.
Until they discussed the border issues after the ceasefire—
"Erzincan and Bayburt can be transferred to your monarch, but Erzurum cannot.
Unless your Caesar comes in person!" Kara Osman declared that he would not yield on this point.
"But Erzurum is currently in our hands," Suleiman "kindly" reminded him.
The old Sultan was momentarily speechless but quickly recovered, stubbornly refusing to let go of this point.
After this continued for over fifteen minutes, and a short break, Suleiman, feeling somewhat annoyed, quietly asked another important question:
"Sultan, please allow me to change the question.
Is Alexander Komnenos with Your Majesty?"
Kara Osman smiled confidently, "Of course.
Hamza, Sheikh Hassan, tell this guest where the Komnenos family is."
However, facing their old father's question, the eyes of Hamza and Sheikh Hassan became shifty.
After a while, Hamza was pushed forward and whispered the truth to his father.
Upon learning that they knew nothing of Alexander's whereabouts, Kara Osman's face immediately turned green with rage, and he nearly fainted on the spot.
After a considerable time, the old Sultan's tone softened, and he replied to Suleiman, who sat opposite him, "Regarding Erzurum, it's not impossible."