While Manuel dispatched troops to reinforce the West Armenian border defenses and secretly contacted the sons of the former White Sheep Sultan Ali, the 150-man unit he sent to Constantinople to defend his in-laws also successfully arrived in the city in the morning and was formally received by Basileus John VIII.
Facing the General of this unit, John VIII frowned slightly: "Why does he look like a Turk?"
For this reason, after the reception, the Emperor specifically summoned the General to the estate outside Blachernae Palace, and after a long roundabout conversation, he casually asked, "By the way, are you a Turk, sir?"
The General merely smiled peacefully and affirmed, "Yes, Your Majesty Basileus. I, Adian, am indeed a Turk." However, Adian immediately added, "But ever since I received Caesar's grace in my youth, I have always been a devout Christian. The only similarity I have with the Ottoman Turks is probably just this innate Turkic face."
After listening to Adian's self-declaration, John VIII's subtle suspicion dissipated. After crossing him off his mental list of people to guard against, the Emperor casually asked, "Then, as a devout Eastern Orthodox, for the sake of Allah, please work together during this time."
"Um, Your Majesty," Adian reminded, a little embarrassed to hear the Basileus's words, "I don't believe in Eastern Orthodox; I am a convert..."
"?"
"Still, pay attention to this person," John VIII silently hesitated, adding Adian's name back to his mental list of people to guard against, and at the same time, he became even more puzzled by his Brother-in-law's actions: "Will it really be okay to heavily rely on a foreign General who believes in heresy?"
If John VIII knew that among the 150 men his Brother-in-law sent to help him this time, 25 were Filakas soldiers who believed in the heretical convert sect, he would probably leap up in shock on the spot.
Moreover, if Manuel knew that his Brother-in-law had such doubts, he would probably burst out laughing in his heart: although the main blame for introducing pagan foreign Turks back then should fall on Kantakouzenos, did the Palaiologos family bear no responsibility at all for their incompetent performance at the time? Where did he get the confidence to doubt him so much?
However, Manuel did not know about this, and some time later, while managing the economy and reorganizing his troops, he received responses from the sons of the former White Sheep Sultan Ali, as he had expected.
"Reporting, Your Majesty, the descendants and forces left by the former Sultan Ali are all willing to accept our proposal to oppose the current Sultan Hamza, and they all promise that after taking power, they will be willing to establish a perpetual friendly alliance with our country and never invade our borders." The Chief Minister of the Autocratic State specially came to Trabzon Palace this morning to report this matter to his Caesar.
"Words like 'perpetual friendly alliance' are just for show. These Turks, once they consolidate their positions, will probably turn hostile faster than flipping a book page." Manuel expressed utter disdain for the seemingly solemn promises of the White Sheep Turkmen.
Despite saying this, to temporarily stabilize the border, he still had Serenus continue to narrate the White Sheep's response.
After making appropriate approvals to each of Ali's sons' requests, properly arranging the main matters, and having his civil officials record them, the Chief Minister finally mentioned a small request from a White Sheep royal family member.
"Your Majesty, the Ali lineage has stated that to solidify the alliance between both parties and verify their positions, they hope that Uzun Hasan, the second son of the former Sultan, will marry a Roman noblewoman of sufficiently high status."
Hearing this, Manuel stopped writing and stared at Serenus in front of him with particular seriousness, "Are the White Sheep Turkmen firm in their stance?"
"They are more persistent about this than we imagined. After all, for the past century, they have had the habit of intermarrying with the Komnenos family, who originally ruled Trabzon," the Chief Minister replied, bowing his head.
"Is that so?" Did the Komnenos family leave a landmine for him? With this thought, Caesar cautiously asked, "If I remember correctly, is Uzun Hasan, the son of the White Sheep Sultan Ali, still unmarried?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After confirming this, Manuel immediately lowered his head and fell into thought. A moment later, he proposed an excellent idea, "How about this, I will choose a day to visit my Komnenos cousins and discuss with them whether they are willing to marry a Komnenos family girl to Uzun Hasan to maintain peace between the two countries."
As he spoke, he thought of a suitable candidate in his mind: if he remembered correctly, Theodora, the daughter of his cousin John IV Megas Komnenos, whom he had deposed, was a very suitable candidate now. And in official history, Uzun Hasan's legitimate wife was also her.
He wondered if, with his actions, a ruler distantly related to him would still emerge from the Persian plateau in the future. With such a mischievous thought, Manuel's lips couldn't help but curve upwards at an imperceptible angle.
As for why he didn't marry off his own daughter, Justiana, what a joke! The White Sheep Dynasty had a piece of West Armenia bitten off by him, and whether it could maintain its independence without being swallowed by the Black Sheep Dynasty was hard to say. Was it not enough that he was willing to accept their terms and send the old Pontus royal family to intermarry? And even if she were to marry, his dear daughter, little Justiana, would definitely have to marry a powerful monarch of the same lineage. As for marrying uncivilized pagans, such matters could be handled by relatives or family members.
"As you command, Your Majesty." Serenus was not surprised that Caesar would not send his own daughter to marry. As a minister who had witnessed the little princess grow up, he knew that although Caesar had not always been with the eldest princess as she grew up due to circumstances, his care and affection as a father for his children were not diminished in the slightest.
Just as Manuel's subordinates were ordered to discuss the marriage candidate with the Komnenos family, Ottoman Sultan Murad II, who should have been leading a campaign against the Kingdom of Hungary, was in Edirne Palace, anxious about his eldest and beloved sons, who had suffered without cause.
After autumn this year, Southwestern Europe experienced a brief and sudden drop in temperature. Although this cold snap quickly passed, the Sultan's eldest son, Ahmed, and beloved son, Sultan Aladdin Ali, contracted typhoid fever. The former had suffered from a related illness two or three years prior, and although he recovered, he was left with a chronic condition; the latter was struck down by the low temperature, to the point where he was now paralyzed in bed, his consciousness blurred.
To cure these two sons, whom he valued most, Murad would almost give anything he could. At this moment, the powerful Sultan was even prostrating himself before his sons' sickbeds, constantly praying devoutly to Allah, begging for a miracle from God.