"You all have truly tormented me…"
In mid-March 1438, in the morning, Ulugh Muhammad, a member of the Golden Horde and one of the Tatar princes, then 33 years old, listened to the request of the Bulgarians of Kazan. After a moment of thought, he accepted their proposal with a bitter smile. He had already been expelled from Crimea, and if he didn't seize this opportunity, he feared he would be completely lost to the river of history…
A few days later, Muhammad Khan, the Golden Horde in Sarai Khan's palace, received an incredible message: Prince Ulugh Muhammad, supported by the Volga Bulgarians in the Kazan region, announced the establishment of the Kazan Khanate, declaring independence from Jochi Ulus.
"Good, good," Muhammad Khan's veins bulged on his forehead, and the letter in his left hand was crumpled into a ball. "These rebels."
"If the Volga Bulgarians want to kneel again, then let them come!"
Over a week later—
"This is the full extent of my conquest of Georgia." On a late March morning, Bosporus Caesar Manuel, back in the Grand Palace of Trabzon, was in the small council chamber, finishing sharing the general course of his expedition to Georgia with his Chief Minister, Justinian Seresnus. After hearing the Caesar's account, Serenus finally put down his pen.
"You don't need to record it in such detail, do you?" Seeing his subordinate's excited expression, the Caesar, who thought he was making an archive backup, couldn't help but feel a little helpless.
"Holy Father above, this is for Your Majesty," Serenus replied solemnly on the spot.
The young Caesar almost shouted "Ha!" to question him on the spot. But he ultimately suppressed the urge, convincing himself in his mind not to dwell on such minor matters.
"Alright, the matters concerning Georgia and even the Caucasus are concluded. Now, let me see what my esteemed cabinet has accomplished during my expedition. Bring it up quickly; I can't wait." Saying this, Manuel clapped his hands, half-jokingly preparing to receive the relevant government reports from the Chief Minister.
"But Your Majesty, when you campaigned in the Caucasus this time, didn't both Bangkok Pu and Trabzon send reports to you monthly, as you requested?" Because Georgia directly bordered Bosporus, Manuel had requested his cabinet to submit internal affairs briefings to him monthly while he was fighting in the Caucasus before the war. Therefore, Serenus was quite puzzled by this now.
"It's simple," Manuel explained seriously, "It's for confirmation. Moreover, during my time in Georgia, because I was directly facing battle, I didn't always have time to read your reports in detail. Basically, I only had the peace of mind to review the briefings after settling in Tbilisi and stabilizing the situation.
"So, to confirm the situation, a re-examination is always necessary."
After hearing the Caesar's explanation, the Chief Minister no longer delayed but diligently presented the two quarterly briefings since the Caesar's eastern expedition to Georgia. Manuel took them and began to read them carefully.
According to the briefing, during his absence from his direct territories, the Black Sea trade, which he had personally established, increasingly showed its vitality, leading to stable and positive economic development for Bosporus. For example, the newly issued bonds under the name of the Autocratic State not only sold well but were also repaid in full, principal and interest, further strengthening the credit of the Autocratic State.
It seems next time I can consider selling bonds abroad, Manuel thought, stroking his short beard.
After planting this idea in his mind, he turned to other sections. The rest were largely consistent with what he had skimmed in Tbilisi, mostly positive news, stable borders, and completed repairs of new buildings and roads, and so on.
It was so normal it was almost boring, but this was what a normally developing country looked like. Just as he was about to finish the last page with this thought, a seemingly ordinary piece of content caught his attention.
"After the implementation of the three-field system, terraced animal husbandry has developed well. Taking the industries in New Caesarea as an example… concentrated poultry farms consume discarded straw, and the manure fertilizer enhances soil fertility… As of January this year… output value doubled." Reading this, Manuel smiled, "Interesting."
If the report was accurate, this chicken farm should be a family business of the Gavras Family. And he quite admired this method of farming: after all, he didn't seem to have given proper guidance to the animal husbandry industry yet.
"Chicken farm?" Thinking of this, Manuel immediately became a little interested and emphasized the point, then pointed to it and began to discuss it with his subordinate.
"Yes, Your Majesty, chicken farm." Seeing the Caesar's enthusiastic expression, the Chief Minister, who had some free time because things were handled in an orderly manner, also responded in sync with his monarch.
"Has this farming method been attempted to be promoted to farmers nationwide?" he asked speculatively.
"To my knowledge, not yet, Your Majesty."
"Then it must be promoted," the Caesar instructed with a wave of his hand. "Although Anatolia is not as barren as imagined on the other side of the strait, developing agriculture in the plateau mountains is still a bit difficult. With such a good method, how can it not be promoted sooner?
"If possible, I would also like to try to buy a crown with the money from selling eggs," he added, half-joking to his subordinate at the end of his speech.
"As Your Majesty commands." After replying solemnly, Serenus casually quipped, "But why exchange eggs for a crown? Is the Black Sea's commercial tax too low?" ①
But Manuel ignored the Chief Minister's remark and, after some thought, had a sudden idea to name it, "Since that's the case, how about I bestow a name upon this chicken farm?"
"That is natural, Your Majesty, after all, this is also due to your keen insight," the Chief Minister respectfully agreed.
"Let's call this chicken farm Casland," the satisfied Caesar declared with a grand gesture, coining a new word for it.
"Although it blends the Gothic words for 'castle' and 'moon,' Your Majesty, you've completely original a new word on the spot, haven't you? And is there any historical allusion here?" Having been with Manuel for many years, Serenus had also picked up a smattering of Gothic.
"Don't mind such details," the Caesar said, half-jokingly spreading his hands, casually brushing over topics like names.
After discussing these economic matters, Manuel felt much more relaxed. Just as his Chief Minister was about to rise and take his leave, one of the Caesar's guards rushed in, handing an urgent message to his monarch.
A minute or two later, after reading the message, Manuel couldn't help but burst into laughter, "Hahahahaha, good, good, the Kazan Khanate has declared independence from the Golden Horde!"
Then, he ordered Serenus, who had been waiting quietly by his side since just now,
"Serenus, there's no need to prepare this year's tribute for Sarai."