What's going on?
Halfway through reading, Manuel was completely bewildered. Aren't the Mamluks still engaged in a controlled fight with the Ottomans, drawing off some of their forces? Even if Jaqmaq, as the Emir governing the Alexandria region, had leisure and spare time, it was too absurd for him to directly invite a Christian like Manuel to make a pilgrimage to Alexandria in the letter.
However, Manuel's questions were quickly answered, because in the latter half of the letter, Jaqmaq emphasized the current predicament of Alexandria under his rule and the potential demand for commercial trade. This was normal, as the ancient city had been almost completely abandoned after Peter I of Cyprus launched a Crusade in 1365 and burned Alexandria to the ground. Even after more than half a century, it had only recovered a little, and in official history, Alexandria would not fully regain its vitality until the Ottomans withdrew from Egypt. This was also a major reason why the current Mamluk Sultan Barsbay would grant the Alexandria region to Jaqmaq—to weaken the development potential of his powerful subordinate.
Returning to the content of the letter, besides this, the Emir also casually mentioned that there was a military academy under his management for training Mamluks, and as long as one paid a ducat and their identity was not sensitive, they could visit under the supervision of relevant personnel.
After understanding the other party's proposal, Manuel was suddenly relieved: so he wants to rely on personal connections and disclose some military secrets to attract sponsorship from foreign powers. It's essentially the same approach as his old friend Suleiman.
Thinking back to how his army could only barely negotiate a truce when fighting the Ottomans not long ago, Manuel finally made up his mind.
That evening, he made a note in his schedule for himself:
Once ready, I will go on a pilgrimage to Alexandria.
A few days later, in the morning, Manuel convened a Privy Council in the small office hall of the Trabzon Palace to summarize the achievements of the previous period and, at the same time, discuss the Autocratic State's next policy direction.
After exchanging and confirming most of the economic achievements with his cabinet members, he shifted the topic to related government affairs, "Speaking of which, during this period, I intend to secretly provide aid to the Karaman Beylik, lest Suleiman be unable to sustain himself economically and surrender to the Ottomans prematurely. What do you all think?"
Manuel's actions were related to the current economic recovery of Bosporus. He also needed to help his ally. It should be known that Manuel's instigation played a part in Suleiman continuing the war between Karaman and the Ottomans, and in essence, both of them understood that Bosporus and Karaman were, in a way, dependent on each other. If he didn't provide some money now and watched his close friend be consumed by the vast power of the Ottomans, it would be unjustifiable, both in terms of greater principles and minor details.
His cabinet members also mostly understood this and did not explicitly oppose the proposal. The real point of contention was: how much money should they send.
According to the bold ideas of Amiroutzes and Dungar, Bosporus, with a current monthly income of over 10,000 ducats, should allocate about 500 ducats in gold each month to aid Karaman, so that they would have the ability to raise mercenaries and withstand the pressure of the Ottoman army. But this was met with unanimous direct opposition from other cabinet members: Karaman had Mamluk's Levant troops and other small Beyliks, and militarily, they could hold out for a few months to even a year without problems. Allocating 1/20 of the monthly income for such a meaningless reason would be better spent on building Bosporus's own army.
Finally, after more than fifteen minutes of discussion, Manuel decided to compromise, sending Suleiman personally 750 ducats in war aid each quarter until the Karaman war ended. He hoped the other party would not betray his good intentions and spend the money on debauchery.
After resolving this issue, they continued to discuss the situation of the various Muslim states in Anatolia. Among them, new developments in Southwest Europe surprised them all, "It's so rare, the Kingdom of Hungary actually entered the war against the Ottomans." Upon mentioning this, Serenus couldn't help but exclaim on the spot.
"Who is the General of the Hungarian army?" Tukharovsky and other military Generals couldn't help but ask curiously. Someone who could lead a large army to harass the Ottoman border must be a renowned General.
"No, their General is named Hunyadi János, apparently a Transylvanian?"
"Tsk~" The Generals, hearing this unfamiliar name, immediately lost interest.
Only Manuel exclaimed in his heart, "'White Knight' Hunyadi!? Isn't it only 1436 now? It seems the Ottomans are doomed... No, it's probably just Sigismund thinking that the Ottomans were defeated by a small country like Bosporus, so he sent Hunyadi to test them out.
"And as far as I know, Hunyadi should not have gone to Bohemia to learn Hussite wagon tactics yet. Alas, it seems this future famous General will probably be severely beaten by the Ottomans this time." Thinking of this, Manuel no longer held out hope for the Hungarian offensive and instead continued to shift the topic to domestic and foreign affairs.
After discussing the next economic and infrastructure development plans, the Privy Council turned to miscellaneous items before concluding.
"Caesar, not long ago, the former Trabzon throne claimant Alexander Komnenos died suddenly in the monastery. Although this person was your opponent, he was still your cousin and a member of the Komnenos family. Regarding the funeral, I believe it should not be treated lightly."
Alexander Komnenos, Manuel narrowed his eyes, concealing the dark look that had come into them. Speaking of which, the aconite wine that caused his sudden death was something he had secretly ordered Badars to covertly swap through the dark department. Forget it, anyway, now only he, Badars, and his other cousin David know the inside story of Alexander's death. Even if it seems suspicious, it should be kept a secret within his generation.
"Just bury him normally, at royal standards." After realizing this, Manuel waved his hand, giving this instruction. After all, the Komnenos family was nominally his co-ruling family in Pontus, so he still had to give them due respect.
Soon, in less than fifteen minutes, the remaining matters were also resolved. Finally, Caesar stood up from the main seat and announced:
"That concludes today's meeting. I will now announce a few of my resolutions before we adjourn."
"One, Badars, find a way to contact the former people of the Aydin Beylik. If possible, try to find the descendants of Giunio Bey."
"Yes, Caesar."
"Two, in a few days, I will also restore the personal freedom of the Muslim scholar Aksham-Sadin. At that time, Serenus, remember to come and record it with me for filing."
"Yes, Caesar."