As the Bosporus mission embarked on its return journey, in the Anatolia hinterland, quite distant from their current location, a message from Europe, further exacerbating the Ottoman situation, reached Sultan Murad II, who was fiercely battling Karaman and other states on the Asia Minor front.
"The Serbians are colluding with the Kingdom of Hungary? Oh, I know… Hmm!? Hungary, by order of its King Sigismund, has dispatched seven thousand troops to raid our borders. Ah?" Seeing the latter part, the Sultan, who had originally intended to respond with "Serbia is just playing both sides as usual," was utterly stunned.
"No, is Hungary really attacking? Allah, what's in the minds of these Christians?" Murad felt completely bewildered this morning. He had never expected Hungary to intervene when he was routinely pressuring Serbia with the Rumelia Legion to completely suppress this orthodox vassal state.
Since two to three tenths of the Rumelia Legion, originally stationed in Southwest Europe, had been transferred to Asia Minor by him, he realized something was amiss and quickly inquired about the commander of this Hungarian army.
"Reporting to Sultan, the commander of the Magyar infidel army is named Hunyadi János, a trusted knight of King Sigismund, and it is said he is a Wallachian from Transylvania." The messenger from Edirne directly conveyed the main intelligence to his Sultan.
"Who?"
"Hunyadi János, he is…"
"I don't know him."
Murad coldly interrupted the messenger, who was about to repeat the explanation, and waved his hand, ordering, "Let Bey Mezid lead the seventy percent of the Rumelia Legion stationed in Rumelia to intercept these forgetful Christians." Bey Mezid was a Turkmen general highly regarded by Murad. If he achieved a great victory this time, the Sultan would have reason to bestow upon him the title of "Pasha."
"Yes, your will is the will of Allah!" The messenger immediately expressed compliance with the Sultan's instructions, recorded them in the document representing the Sultan's will, and after the Sultan personally signed it, he quickly rushed back to Edirne.
While new developments unfolded on the Ottoman border, far away in Bosporus, Manuel, after spending a day or two personally questioning witnesses and their relatives about Barbaro Taronites, had largely formed his own judgment.
However, before making a formal ruling, Caesar, in order to know the full picture, believed it was necessary for him to personally meet the parties involved in the Barbaro case.
So, that afternoon, Manuel, accompanied by two bodyguards led by Badars, personally went to the prison in the outer district of Trabzon to see the "culprits" who had caused such a commotion this time.
Due to his status, Caesar took a little over fifteen minutes to meet Barbaro, the protagonist of this incident.
At this moment, this descendant of Amytzantaros, though behind iron bars, sat leaning against the wall with his head bowed in the dim environment. But others could still see his rather robust and tall physique; a clear blood-red stain was visible in the center of a white cloth around his neck, clearly a mark left by self-inflicted injury; beneath a thick, disheveled black hair and a pair of brownish-brown eyes that subtly hinted at resentment and malice, was a hooked nose with a distinctly Turkmen appearance. Next to him was another cell, seemingly holding Barbaro's Rus accomplice in this incident.
Hearing the sound of a stranger, Barbaro was at a loss for how to react. After all, as far as he knew, both those who should visit and those who should interrogate had already come. At this point in time, who else would come to visit this descendant of Amytzantaros who had fallen to the bottom of society?
"Barbaro, lift your head, standing before you now is Caesar of the entire Autocratic State…" The jailer shouted at the prisoner, but his words were cut short by the monarch standing beside him, who interrupted him amicably.
Even so, the other party already knew the identity of the person who had arrived. For a moment, Barbaro was somewhat stunned. Because, logically, given his current status, he should immediately prostrate himself and bow before Caesar like other commoners; but on the other hand, he held some resentment towards the monarch, even though the other party was not a member of the Komnenos Dynasty who had caused his downfall.
Manuel could roughly guess some reasons for the prisoner's demeanor. Therefore, he did not adopt the tough stance he used with his opponents, but rather, uncharacteristically, waved his hand gently, indicating that the other party did not need to bother with such cumbersome etiquette for now.
Having received Caesar's leniency, Barbaro's first impression of this monarch he had never met was quite good. Furthermore, the other party then asked him to turn around and face him, gently inquiring about the current situation and experiences of the Amytzantaros led by him. This Taronites felt himself being moved. And upon learning that Caesar had even inquired about his family's situation and promised real improvement, Barbaro's slight prejudice against Caesar Manuel completely vanished.
Just as Manuel was about to leave, he noticed a disturbance coming from the adjacent cell. To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, Manuel had the jailer bring that person over. And that person, Barbaro's Rus accomplice, upon seeing him, immediately fell to his knees, his attitude respectful beyond measure.
"Who are you?" Looking at this corpulent but polite Rus, Manuel's curiosity was piqued again.
"Reporting to your Majesty, my humble name is Boris Semyonovich Vikinov Okinye." The rotund Rus somewhat fawningly presented his name to Caesar.
"Your Majesty, he is the Rus who assisted me this time. According to him, he is from distant Novgorod. Due to some unexpected reasons, he was plundered and enslaved by Tatars," Barbaro whispered, revealing some of his accomplice's background.
"How were Novgorod Rus plundered by Tatars? I remember the Grand Duchy of Novgorod, apart from the extreme northern wilderness, doesn't border the Tatars, does it?" Manuel's curiosity grew even stronger.
"To be honest, Your Majesty," Vikinov Okinye, as if poked in a sore spot, pursed his lips and revealed his past experiences with great reluctance, "I was originally a customs official in Neva, but because I opposed those Veche who usurped power and did not bribe them, I was dismissed last year. At that time, I heard the news that Tauris welcomed immigrants, so I brought my whole family to try our luck here. Who would have thought that we would encounter Tatar bandits on the way and be inexplicably taken as slaves…"
"So, for the sake of your family, you collaborated with Barbaro, hoping to use his identity as a descendant of Altzamtao to blow things up, hoping that the upper echelons would notice this matter and at the same time get you out, right?" Manuel, having guessed it, smiled and exposed Vikinov Okinye's thoughts on the spot, "From the results, your actions and ideas were very successful…" And Barbaro and Badars, who were standing by, were completely dumbfounded, not knowing that things would develop this way.
"Your Majesty, I know that daring to do so is… but I beg you, Your Majesty…" The Rus, who had been seen through, choked and knelt before Caesar on the spot, as if pleading for his understanding.