In fact, the Kingdom of Georgia was not entirely indifferent to the Bosphorus's previous overtures and goodwill.
Although the Bagration Royal Family generally resented the Gavras Family for usurping the Komnenos family's rule over Trabzon, Alexander I and his descendants mostly admired Bosporus Caesar Manuel.
Nothing more, the young monarch's performance was indeed brilliant, not only significantly eliminating local forces to achieve admirable centralized despotism, but also repeatedly seizing large tracts of valuable land from heretics and infidels.
If he had such a descendant, then Georgia might, in his next generation, revive the glory of the 'Founder' David and Empress Tamar the Great.
However, admiration aside, as the King of Georgia, Alexander dared not risk close ties with the Bosphorus, whose future was currently uncertain.
Their Georgia was not like Constantinople, a decaying skeleton that would do anything to get aid; they had their own prudence and considerations.
The reason they had been lukewarm towards the Bosphorus envoy earlier was that they were currently focused on preparing defenses against the Black Sheep Dynasty, which was suspected to be invading in force, and diplomacy with the other party was not their top priority.
Furthermore, judging by the Bosphorus's willingness to repeatedly send envoys, both openly and secretly, to improve relations with their Georgia, this young Caesar should have no intention of being their enemy...
Should, he?
With this in mind, the Kingdom of Georgia maintained a consistently cool attitude towards the Bosphorus.
Even when they learned that the feudal lords within the country seemed to be actively colluding with the latter, King Alexander and Crown Prince Vakhtang strenuously maintained superficial stability, avoiding escalating the matter and giving the Turkmen Muslims to the south an opportunity.
The result was the lords' intensified demands—
"What a joke! Demanding that the Royal Family provide logistics, supplies, and military pay for the troops they contribute? Is this not an obligation as vassals? I refuse your unreasonable request!" In the early afternoon of early July, upon learning that local forces led by Atabeg Ivan II actually demanded the Royal Family itself pay for military provisions, Alexander I, who was in Agstafa and disturbed by the Shiite Turkmen, flew into a rage and flatly rejected his vassals' request.
He initially thought this was a common dispute between the central government and local authorities, but unexpectedly, the feudal lords, including Samtskhe, made a big fuss about it, even refusing to pay the monthly taxes due in mid-month.
Finally, Crown Prince Vakhtang, who was garrisoned in Tbilisi, instigated by his brother, personally led the Royal Monaspa heavy cavalry into the vassals' fiefs to collect taxes, which only made the situation more severe.
On the morning of July 20, 1437, the Georgian feudal lord forces, led by the Samtskhe Principality, seized the opportunity to launch a rebellion against King Alexander I, demanding greater autonomy.
After the noble coalition was suppressed by the Royal Army in Kars and showed signs of decline, they, in a panic and instigated by Ivan II of Samtskhe, jointly wrote to the neighboring Bosporus Caesar Manuel on the 25th, requesting him to join the noble army's side to "uphold justice" for them.
On the 31st of the same month, Bosporus Caesar Manuel Komnenos Gavras gladly accepted the invitation of the Atabeg of Samtskhe, and that afternoon personally led his army from the southern border town of Arkabi (Arkabi, historically modern Arhavi) to support the allied lords, intervening in Georgia's internal strife.
From then on, the Georgian Civil War escalated into a full-scale war between the Bosphorus Despotate and the Kingdom of Georgia.
"Why did it turn out like this...?" Alexander I, riding his warhorse and rushing back to the capital Tbilisi from the front line where he was confronting the Black Sheep, thought painfully after learning of the Bosphorus's intervention.
Despite the great enemy at hand, these feudal lords, who should have temporarily obeyed him, seemed to have collectively gone mad, uniting as if by prior agreement to rebel against him, and then, after encountering an unfavorable situation, immediately invited the Bosporus Caesar next door to assist.
This was too much of a coincidence; could it be that old Ivan II, after years of lying dormant, had become as cunning as the Greeks?
Even so, he, who had been king for so many years and was even called "the Great" by the people, was not an incompetent waste!
After recovering from a not-so-brief period of shock and anger, Alexander I began to analyze the situation:
From the current situation, the reason the feudal lords raised armies in rebellion was most likely due to a promise of support from the Bosphorus.
And for them to persuade the Bosphorus, they must have made grand promises of benefits.
And the promises these feudal lords could make, he, as king, could certainly also make.
Moreover, to attack a mountainous region like Georgia, it is generally difficult for an external force to achieve direct rule, so the other party certainly had no illusion of directly controlling the local area.
Therefore, if nothing unexpected happened, then it was very likely that what he needed to do was to reach a settlement with the Despot on the other side at the negotiating table.
Then the answer was obvious: as long as he first reached a consensus with the Bosphorus, as an outsider, to persuade the young Caesar to withdraw from this war.
Then, he would sweep away the rebels within the country in one fell swoop and end this unexpected war.
Believing he had found a way to break the deadlock, Alexander felt much more relaxed.
And when he returned to Tbilisi that evening, he immediately ordered a secret envoy to contact the Bosphorus to ascertain if they had any intention of negotiating for peace.
Thus, the war, for a time, took a somewhat strange turn: on the front lines in the Georgian mountains, both sides temporarily maintained an unchanging stalemate; while in the rear, envoys sent by the King of Georgia quickly contacted the Bosporus Caesar and other high-ranking enemy officials, intending to discuss how to negotiate for peace.
Meanwhile, in the early morning of early August, Manuel, who was temporarily stationed in Batumi in Samtskhe, had just welcomed Serenus, who had returned from Tabriz as a special envoy.
"My heretic brother-in-law has no intention of responding, right?" The Caesar somewhat helplessly tried to confirm this.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Serenus bowed and said, "Although Sultan Jahan Shah was quite friendly when he received us, he had no intention of cooperating with us against the enemy.
Therefore, I also did not disclose our country's planned invasion of Georgia to him."
"Holy Father above, well done, Serenus," Manuel smiled and praised his meritorious subordinate.
Just as he was about to say something more, an attendant reported to him that the King of Georgia had sent an envoy.
After listening, Manuel pondered for a moment, gave instructions to receive the envoy, and casually informed his Chief Minister about Georgia's intention to negotiate for peace.
"Then, Your Majesty, should we consider negotiating for peace with Georgia?" Serenus asked cautiously after hearing this.
"Why should we consider it?" Manuel retorted with a sneer, "If our army were to be easily persuaded to retreat, as the other side thinks, wouldn't the Bosphorus have mobilized for nothing these past few months?
"Once an arrow is shot, there's no turning back. We've already made full preparations, so why should we stop?"