"Your Majesty, is our next target Cappadocia, the Levant, or the Aemos Peninsula?" On an afternoon after the Venetian War concluded and Aegean Sea trade resumed, Justinian Serenus, Manuel III's Prime Minister, respectfully asked his Basileus.
Manuel, seated on his throne, stroked his scepter and the throne, then pondered for a moment before saying:
"Bulgaria."
His reasons for this choice were related to the current situation of all parties—
After Manuel's old friend, Mamluk Sultan Yusuf Jaqmaq, died in February 1453, his son, Mansur al-Din Suleiman ibn Yusuf Jaqmaq, inherited the Sultanate. However, the young Sultan was, as expected, overthrown in June according to Mamluk custom by Emir Sayfal-Din Inal, the commander-in-chief appointed by his father during his lifetime. After being deposed by the Caliph and the Qadis, Suleiman Jaqmaq was placed under house arrest in Alexandria, and Sayfal-Din Inal, at 73 years old, became the Malik of Egypt and the Levant, taking the regnal name Ashraf. It is worth mentioning that upon learning of Mansur Suleiman's house arrest, Manuel specifically had the Dark Division in Egypt assist the navy in rescuing his old friend's son from Alexandria to pave the way for his future strategic plans.
After the new Mamluk Sultan Ashraf Sayfal-Din Inal came to power, he immediately overturned Jaqmaq's foreign policy of cooperation with the Romans, instead fully targeting the Roman Empire. After the Venetian War broke out, he even sent troops, instigated by the Latins, to attempt a landing in Tekke from Cyprus. Fortunately, Halil Aydin, who was stationed there, intercepted them several times, preventing them from significantly impacting the overall war.
As for Karaman, his friend Suleiman was still in his prime. Although reclaiming Rum and Konya was very tempting in Manuel's eyes, now was not the time, neither publicly nor privately.
In contrast, the situation in the northern Aemos Peninsula was in chaos due to the strong influence of the Carpathians. Since the Regent of Hungary, "White Knight" Hunyadi János, died in Hungary in 1456, his two young and talented sons, Laszlo and Matthias, had been deeply embroiled in the complex political situation of the Kingdom of Hungary. On November 23, 1457, Laszlo V's sudden death in Prague further exacerbated this situation. He was preparing to marry Princess Magdalena, daughter of King Charles VII of France, but unexpectedly succumbed to a plague.
Although Tarnovo and Vidin, ruled by Bulgarian Tsar Fruzhin Shishman, who was supported by the Hunyadi family, were small, they had always been a stubborn problem in the Empire's eyes. Despite Manuel's previous forced forbearance due to pressure from Hungary, since their backer was now preoccupied, he was ready to make a bold move.
Incidentally, Manuel also formed a marriage alliance with King Charles VII of France. His eldest son, Theodore, married Charles VII's daughter, Margaret of Valois, who died young in actual history but survived here due to the butterfly effect triggered by Manuel and became his daughter-in-law.
"What is more urgent now is the reconquest of the Moesia region." Saying this, Manuel called out his Foreign Affairs Director, Georgia Mana, and asked, "What did the King of West Frank say?" The King of West Frank he referred to was, of course, his in-law, King Charles VII of France.
"The King of Frank secretly informed us that they will take over the city-state of Genoa this year, and they will tacitly approve our demands in the Eastern Mediterranean out of respect for being fellow believers of the Holy Father," Mana understood and bowed in response.
"Good!" Manuel nodded with a smile. Since Genoa had been taken care of in advance, now was the best time for him to completely eliminate the Bulgarian Tsardom!
In early May 1458, less than half a month after the Roman Empire recovered the Aegean Sea islands under Genoese control, it declared war on the Bulgarian Tsardom. At this time, without a backer, Bulgaria could only rely on its own perseverance to resist the Roman army's advance.
In July 1458, all coastal areas of the Bulgarian Tsardom changed hands;
In October 1458, the Roman army captured Shumen Fortress;
In December 1458, at the persuasion of the Bulgarians, out of fear of a domino effect, Albania, Serbia, and Wallachia chose to support Bulgaria to varying degrees, and the scale of the war in the Aemos Peninsula further expanded;
In January 1459, the Autocratic State of Epirus and the Principality of Moldavia chose to join the Roman Empire's camp;
In late January 1459, the Roman Empire dispatched field troops from western Asia Minor into Europe;
In mid-April 1459, the armies of seven nations engaged in a chaotic battle in Tarnovo. Halfway through the war, the Albanian army, led by Despot Skanderbeg George Kastrioti, defected to the Roman army, causing the Bulgarian side to collapse;
On May 1, 1459, the Roman army captured Tarnovo;
In August 1459, the Bulgarian controlled area was reduced to only the Vidin region;
In September 1459, the Principality of Wallachia, after ceding Southern Dobruja and Vâlcov to the Roman Empire and the Principality of Moldavia, defected to the Roman Empire;
In mid-September 1459, King Stefan Thomas of Bosnia, supported by the Hungarians, attempted to mediate between the two sides;
Thomas's mediation failed, but he successfully saved the Serbians, at the cost of prohibiting the Serbian Despotate from ever again opposing the Roman Empire;
On January 5, 1460, the Roman army entered Vidin. Fruzhin Shishman, the first and last Tsar of the Third Bulgarian Tsardom, went into exile in Transylvania. The Bulgarian Tsardom, which had been restored for less than 15 years, thus perished, and the Roman Empire henceforth recovered the Moesia region.
After the war, the Autocratic State of Epirus became an imperial vassal, and the Tocco family collectively converted to orthodox, officially becoming part of the imperial nobility; Albania signed a permanent alliance with the Empire, beginning to be directly influenced by the Empire.