After Manuel finished laughing, he turned his attention back to matters concerning the Kingdom of Hungary.
Now that Ulaslo I and Hunyadi were winning repeatedly, it was time for Pope Eugene IV to mediate between the two factions in Hungary.
At that time, the Crusaders, who could truly overturn the Eastern Europe situation, would appear across the Danube.
Thinking of this, Caesar leaned back, then summoned his Foreign Affairs Director and Prime Minister, deciding to continue maintaining close contact with the Catholic forces.
At the same time, he did not neglect his alliance with his in-laws, the Palaiologos family, and would continue to strengthen his correspondence with John VIII and Constantine.
Just like that, another early winter arrived.
With November, Bosporus continued to maintain a rare prosperity and stability throughout Asia Minor, with Autocratic State roads connecting all directions, and several orthodox churches and primary schools initially completed and rising from the ground.
On the Tauris Peninsula, the city of Simferopol, built by Caesar, including its suburbs, already had tens of thousands of inhabitants, and given its crucial central location, it had become an indispensable medium-sized city on the Tauris Peninsula.
Additionally, under Caesar's combination of benevolence and might, large-scale resistance from the Crescent Sect in the Autocratic State had largely subsided: urban residents were forced to accept the status quo, and village folk were largely unaffected except for having no new mosques to pray in, while the unruly tribesmen, after several fruitless attempts, simply turned to raid towns within Ottoman territory with Caesar's support and guidance.
Furthermore, in terms of finance, Bosporus Bank's new project of issuing bonds abroad also achieved unexpected success with external forces.
The Latins who chose to speculate and buy Bosporus national bonds not only recovered their principal but also earned a profit.
Thanks to this, many Latins in Italy began to slowly promote Bosporus's bond project.
If this continued, it was expected that in the future, many families from commercial Republics would be lured by the reputation of Bosporus bonds and make large purchases.
At the beginning of the month, after the Prime Minister, dressed in leather and cotton clothes, reported the above matters and briefly reported on the Autocratic State's booming economy, he couldn't help but exclaim: "Ah, Caesar, looking at it this way, our country is simply steaming..."
"Ahem," Manuel, seeing this, quickly interrupted Serenus's heartfelt emotion and swiftly changed the subject, "Alright, alright, Serenus, let's put economics aside for now and talk about something else."
"For example, the marriage alliance with the White Sheep Dynasty."
Speaking of this, Caesar, as if by magic, pulled out a letter from under the table, sent by the sons of the former White Sheep Sultan Ali.
He showed his Prime Minister Uzun Hasan's letter, the content of which was brief and concise, roughly stating that this faction, with Bosporus's support, had completed its armament and preparations and was about to raise the banner of rebellion against the current Sultan Hamza by the end of this year.
At the end of the letter, Uzun Hasan himself incidentally complained, requesting the Bosphorus Caesar to fulfill his promise as soon as possible and finalize the marriage alliance.
After he finished reading, Caesar couldn't help but laugh: "Serenus, do you think Uzun Hasan is serious?"
"Caesar, regarding cooperative partners, I believe one should not go back on their word..."
"I'm not talking about that; concerning reputation, I still have some face to save."
Manuel waved his hand, indicating that he wasn't talking about that aspect, "My point is, look at that paragraph at the end of the letter, it's completely consistent with his age."
Thinking that Uzun Hasan, who later became a great ruler in history, was now behaving so immaturely, and considering that he was only 17 this year, the smile on his face became even more pronounced.
Watching Caesar laugh heartily, Serenus, looking utterly bewildered, mentioned, "Caesar, as far as I know, you were also quite... in your youth."
Before he could finish, he saw his esteemed Caesar's face change instantly, and in surprise, he quickly changed the subject, "Uh, Caesar, my meaning is, there's no need to quibble with a young person."
"That's also good."
So the topic immediately shifted back to the marriage alliance with the White Sheep family.
"So Caesar, have you settled things with Megas Komnenos?" Halfway through the conversation, Serenus brought up this topic.
"It's settled; now it's up to my cousins to decide on the candidate."
With that, Manuel turned his gaze to the church where the former Trabzon Basileus John IV was under house arrest—
"Is my cousin so insistent?" Inside the Hagia Sophia church in Trabzon, the imprisoned John IV's hands trembled slightly, "My little daughter Theodora is still an infant."
Although he had discussed this matter several times with Manuel himself and other Komnenos family members, John was still considering if there was any room for maneuver.
"Brother, the situation isn't that serious yet," David, as the nominal co-ruler of Trabzon, having boasted when negotiating with Manuel, had no choice but to explain at length, "It's not about sending her for marriage immediately, but rather getting engaged first to stabilize the White Sheep side.
As long as Pontus becomes strong, what need will there be to fulfill the agreement then?"
Half a week later, in Mush, a city of the White Sheep Dynasty—
"That's roughly it, the Bosporus Romans have promised to send Theodora, the daughter of the former Emperor John IV, for marriage when she comes of age.
My dear brother, blessed by Allah, are you satisfied with this?"
Jahangir, the eldest son of the former Sultan, turned his gaze to his younger brother, Uzun Hasan, wanting to see his reaction.
To his surprise, his young brother merely bowed slightly, indicating acceptance of this outcome.
His black eyes were filled with a calm, as if he had long expected it, which made Jahangir uncomfortably surprised.
"Although it's a bit presumptuous to ask, but Allah is above, Hasan, that remark you insisted on adding to the end of your letter, it wasn't intentional, was it?"
"Let Allah judge that matter."
To his elder brother's probing, Uzun Hasan merely brushed it off with a vague statement.
Just as everything was progressing in an orderly fashion, the Ottoman finally responded to the close interactions between the Romans.
As November arrived, several Ottoman warships or warships hired by the Ottoman patrolled the Sea of Marmara, as if to deter the Romans of Constantinople, warning them not to act rashly.
The crucial and unfortunate thing was that at this critical juncture, a dilemma was placed before Basileus John VIII.