The next afternoon, Manuel, as he had previously stated in the Imperial Council, released the Muslim scholar Aksham-Sadin, who had been under his long-term restriction, and personally went to see him off.
It is worth emphasizing that during his stay in Trabzon, Aksham-Sadin was not only not ill-treated but also gained a little weight. Furthermore, his limited interactions with the Bosphorus Caesar and the city's residents over these days somewhat changed the Muslim scholar's perception of the infidel monarch, Manuel. Although he repeatedly stated that he would still not commit acts that blasphemed the teachings, he also said that discussing innocuous matters with Christians was not unacceptable.
"Speak, Manuel. You have not only refrained from harming me for trivial reasons these past days but have also set an example by keeping your promises and faith. Therefore, if it is something that does not violate the teachings of Allah, I am willing to serve you." Aksham-Sadin bowed slightly to Caesar. While it's hard to say how much genuine emotion was in his gesture, his willingness to adopt this posture showed that his preconceived notions about the man before him had changed to some extent.
"My requests are simple, only two," Manuel, pleased by this, cleared his throat and stated his demands. "First, use all the medical knowledge you have additionally acquired during this time to preserve the lives of the Ottoman Sultan Murad II's offspring. If you encounter situations beyond your individual capability, please contact renowned physicians you know.
"Second, treat the Sultan's fourth son, Muhammad, with as much kindness as you would your own child."
What an incredible request, Aksham-Sadin couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. Even if a scholar like him, who traveled extensively, had a prominent reputation, it was impossible for him to casually interact with the Ottoman royal family. Serenus, standing by, was even more puzzled. He couldn't understand why his Caesar would make such an incomprehensible request.
"Furthermore, our conversation this afternoon is also a secret between us. I hope you will swear not to reveal the contents of our discussion to anyone," Manuel emphasized at the end of the conversation.
"Naturally, Caesar."
After watching the Muslim scholar ride away on his donkey, Badars, who attended Caesar, and Serenus, who was asked to come along to record, exchanged glances for a moment. Thirty seconds later, Serenus finally whispered, asking his Caesar the reason for those strange requests, "Your Majesty, why did you make such requests to that Muslim scholar? Is it to secretly win over the Ottoman Sultan's fourth son through him? If so, why entrust it to that Muslim who is clearly not on our side?"
"Because it's not worth using covert resources for such an ethereal matter," Manuel gave a straightforward answer to his subordinate's doubts. "Inciting internal strife can only weaken the enemy, not truly defeat them. I am doing this merely out of a 'let's try' mentality, to add a bit of moral burden to this Muslim scholar."
"???"
This explanation only confused the two Autocratic State officials before him even more. What exactly did their Caesar mean? What did "let's try mentality" and "add a bit of moral burden" mean?
However, since Caesar did not discuss the topic further, they ultimately had to convince themselves with, "Caesar must have his reasons for doing this."
After resolving the matter and returning to the Imperial Palace, Manuel did not rest. On the contrary, after a brief rest with his eyes closed in a chair in the small office, he rose again and returned to his desk. After having a servant light the candles, he took out several drafts from the table, stroked his chin, and pondered them carefully. If anyone were to glimpse the contents of these drafts at this moment, they would likely be surprised: what was drawn on them were ideas for military uniforms and insignia.
Yes, times were different now. Bosporus was already an influential power, and certain minor details of its military system also needed to be improved and given attention.
One such item was the standardization of uniforms and insignia. Although military uniforms are to some extent inconspicuous, a unified military uniform style can actually boost morale. The strong nations with formidable military power mostly have unified uniforms and insignia for their elite main forces. The Ottoman Janissaries need no mention; during the prosperous period of the Eastern Roman Empire, the imperial guards or royal guards of the distant Eastern Dynasty, and even the heavy cavalry legions of the Kingdom of France today, all have unified uniform styles.
Bosporus already had a prototype in this regard. For example, the armor styles of the regular army, led by the Grand Company and the Philaka Legion, had already been implicitly unified. However, for the rank-and-file soldiers, their clothes after removing their armor were still too diverse.
In view of this, Manuel decided to improve this factor within Bosporus and personally design a set of beautiful and unified military uniforms and insignia for the officers and soldiers. The drafts he held in his hands were their initial designs.
A few days later, after careful drawing and repeated deliberation by Caesar, he finally settled on the uniform and insignia styles for the two most important standing army units:
The uniform for the Grand Company, the main force of the standing army, adopted a unified dark yellow style; its insignia adopted the flag of the Bosphorus Despotate, a pure black double-headed eagle on a yellow background, with one head looking north of the Black Sea and the other looking south of the Black Sea.
The uniform for the Philaka Legion adopted a unified light green style of the proselyte cross; its insignia adopted the Gavras Family crest, a red background inlaid with three connected yellow gemstones.
As an aside, what the Gavras crest actually symbolized was not very clear to Manuel's branch, the Vlachs, or even other Gavras branches in Pontus and Constantinople. He could only vaguely guess from the known documents that the three yellow gemstones referred to three outstanding figures in the Gavras Family's history who laid the foundation of the family's enterprise. If Manuel was not mistaken, the middle one should refer to the ancestor of all current Gavras, Theodore Gabras (Θεόδωρος Γαβρᾶς), the hero who single-handedly saved Pontus from the Romans.
Thus, the uniform and insignia styles for Bosporus's two most important standing army units were largely determined. As for others, such as the Tatar Cavalry Legion, Circassian Legion, and Cossack units, although nominally under the Grand Company, due to their strong independence, Manuel planned to design a unique set of uniforms and insignia for them later.