"It's over, ancestors, Allah, it's truly over now…" Days later, Golden Horde Muhammad Khan, on the front lines fighting Kazan, learned of the defeat on the Don River banks and nearly fainted.
Ten thousand men—a thousand men of field troops plus logistical laborers—with less than one-fifth returning; he could feel with his eyes closed the terrifying situation that would unfold.
Indeed, just as the Golden Horde had anticipated, after the news spread of such a major force being annihilated on a large scale in the southern Great Plains, various factions began to bare their fangs at the declining Golden Horde: The Kazan Khanate, ruled by Ulugh Muhammad, seized this opportune moment to launch a series of counterattacks against the Golden Horde army on the battlefield, gradually forcing the enemy out of their controlled territory; Said Ahmad, the former Golden Horde from the Toqtamish lineage, began to vigorously incite his forces in the western part of the Khanate, hoping to gain higher prestige through his achievements in conquering Ruthenia to return to Sarai; King Sigismund of Lithuania, meanwhile, began to allow the Rus' people under his rule to infiltrate the Dnieper River banks; if he were not advanced in years and embroiled in a succession dispute with the Polish royal family, the Lithuanian army would soon, at his command, invade the Khanate; and Grand Duke Vasily II of the Grand Duchy of Moscow in the north became even more negligent in collecting tribute from the Tatars, while also deepening his control over other Rus' princes in the surrounding areas…
As for the instigator of all this, the mastermind who stepped on the gas pedal of the Golden Horde's decline, Caesar Manuel Komnenos Gavras of the Bosphorus Despotate, he had, aside from sending Posadas's troops to ravage the middle and upper reaches of the Don River, brought his main forces back to the Autocratic State early, steadily deepening his control over the occupied Sea of Azov coastal areas.
"So, Caesar, why didn't you personally make a trip to Sarai and uproot the Tatar foundation a few times?" After he returned to the emerging city of Simferopol, Serenus, the Chief Minister of the Autocratic State, immediately expressed his confusion to him.
"It's simple," Manuel, who had by now shed his military attire and was enjoying the refreshing late summer and early autumn air of the Black Sea coast, explained to his subordinate sitting beside him, while putting roasted squab into his mouth, "Because there's no need."
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"The decline or internal strife of the Tatars is good for us, but a complete collapse is not." Speaking of this, Caesar took a refined sip of wine, accompanying the pigeon meat in his mouth, "From the current situation, if the Khanate completely shatters because of us, then what will appear on the Great Plains will surely be more unrestrained, more chaotic and disorderly Tatar tribes.
"What will happen then? The barbaric and crude Tatars will act wantonly on the plains, and we won't even find an entity that can restrain them and thus be meaningful for negotiation; all we can do is rely on our military strength to defend against them.
"If the Bosporus only had the land north of the Black Sea, then this would be an opportunity, but it clearly isn't." At this, he deliberately paused, "Serenus, the Eastern European Great Plains and Asia Minor, where do you think I will choose?"
The Chief Minister bowed his head in silence, not saying a word. Clearly, he had fully understood Caesar's reasons for abandoning the campaign against Sarai.
Seeing that his subordinate had understood this point, Caesar did not waste any more words, but instead rose immediately after finishing lunch, "Alright, the time for casual lunch chatter is over. Posadas and his men have returned to report, and I will go receive them."
That afternoon, Manuel learned of their follow-up from Posadas, who had returned to the Autocratic State—
"No, did you really go to Sarai?" He almost lost his composure when he learned that after Posadas had plundered and burned the Tatar towns along the Don River, he had actually taken the risk to attack Sarai, the capital of the Golden Horde.
"Yes, Caesar," Posadas knelt on one knee, nervously informing his Caesar about the general outline of this expedition, "We were incompetent and had to turn back after only marching to the Volga River basin, only plundering a few pastures in the distant outskirts of Sarai, and failed to plant the eagle banner on the city walls. I ask for Caesar's punishment!"
It was a good thing he hadn't allocated a large amount of supplies to this force; otherwise, if he had truly been unexpectedly defeated, all his previous calculations would have come to naught.
At this moment, Manuel felt a mix of relief and lingering fear, and his gaze towards Posadas became even more complex.
After a long pause, Caesar finally gave his ultimate judgment, "For the Holy Father's sake, Staurakios Posadas, I forgive you for all other major and minor offenses in this operation, but as a commander, disobeying military orders without achieving anything must be punished. I shall strip you of your non-salary earnings for this season as a warning."
"Thank you, Caesar, for your loyalty!" Posadas immediately breathed a sigh of relief in his heart: Caesar had truly dealt with him leniently this time.
After receiving and personally commending the other officers and soldiers who had performed excellently in this battle, Manuel began to plan how to deal with the newly conquered remaining coastal areas of the Sea of Azov.
Although he had already brought all the Sea of Azov coast, except for Tana, under his control by force, due to the open and undefended terrain of the Great Plains and its vastness with sparse population, it was best for him to continue ruling these areas through governorates, relying on the cities and towns on the mainland to establish settlements, thereby radiating the influence of the Autocratic State everywhere.
After several private analyses and discussions on related matters with his cabinet and the governors of his three major governorates, Manuel finally made the following new administrative plan:
The Western Kyzyl-Yar Governorate was renamed the Kyzyl-Yar Governorate, removing the "Western" from its original name, and its eastern border was directly expanded to neighbor the Venetian Black Sea colony of Tana; the Kuban Governorate's name remained unchanged, but its northern border was directly expanded to near Tana, while a portion of the coastal territory originally belonging to southern Kuban was transferred to Phanagoria, expanding his direct control; the Yedishkul Governorate remained entirely as it was, with no changes.
After the land issues were resolved, he made some personnel changes: the positions of the other two orthodox Tatar governors remained unchanged, but Gregory Giunio, the Governor of Kuban, was promoted due to his outstanding achievements during his tenure, becoming the Pontus Minister of Finance, finally filling this long-vacant position with its first owner. As for the new Governor of Kuban, Manuel appointed the seasoned Regen, who had been acting discreetly for several years and was now working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to maintain stability.
Thus, as the Golden Horde began to fall into irreversible chaos, the Bosporus, on the contrary, continued to watch the fire from across the shore of the Black Sea in peace. However, Manuel was not in the mood to continue watching the Tatars' disgrace, but instead quickly prepared to go to the Apennine Peninsula—
"Get ready, next, we are going to Florence." Caesar said to his subordinates.