Let's turn the clock back to over a week ago—
"...In short, it's like this: due to our country's poor relations with Genoa, the Genoese cannot open Galata for our fleet to pass. However, thanks to our good relations with the Venetians and the Ottoman's tacit compromise with Venice, we can theoretically allow a few of our ships to pass under their name."
"But would the Venetians be willing to let our ships use their name?" Serenus frowned, pondering in confusion.
"A few ships are fine, and that problem has already been solved," Manuel smiled confidently, pulling out a reply from the Venetian side as if by magic. Most importantly, the letter was signed not by Venice's colony in the Black Sea, Tana, but by its homeland.
"Your Majesty, how did you... manage this?" Seeing this letter personally approved by high-ranking Venetian officials, his Prime Minister was dumbfounded on the spot.
"Well, ducats make the world go round." Thinking of the large sum of gold coins he had spent, Manuel instinctively felt a pang in his chest. "Let's continue discussing how to contact Constantinople. Oh, right, the Admiral of the Navy will also be coming by later, remember to stay a while longer."
Turning the clock back to the present—
Although Constantine had no idea how these few ships from Bosporus had sailed to Kalamata Port in the Peloponnese Peninsula, he had no choice but to grit his teeth, board the ship, and continue. His Brother-in-law, Manuel, was very good at reading the atmosphere and did not ask many questions. Instead, he smiled reassuringly and chatted idly with him. However, he did not notice that during this time, this small Bosporus fleet had not changed its flag, but continued to fly its yellow-backed pure black double-headed eagle banner.
After sailing for less than three more days, the fleet encountered several Ottoman ships patrolling the Sea of Marmara in the morning. It was clear that the Ottoman blockade of the Sea of Marmara was significantly relaxed in the morning. Therefore, Manuel immediately decided to pass directly and anchor these ships in the Golden Horn.
However, to the surprise and anger of everyone on board, when the leading Bosporus ship attempted to sail towards the Golden Horn, an Ottoman patrol ship immediately fired upon it. Fortunately, the Bosporus sailors were experienced, and the ship was small, allowing it to quickly and flexibly raise its sails and turn around, thus preventing the crew from suffering the same fate as John VIII and others.
After the ship retreated sheepishly to the main ship carrying Caesar Manuel and passenger Constantine, Constantine, standing on the deck, asked his Brother-in-law with anxiety and worry, "Holy Father above, these are all Ottoman warships, how will you get past them, Brother-in-law?" Politically astute, he immediately realized that if they missed this morning's opportunity, what awaited them would surely be endless wrangling with the Ottoman, and the variables would only increase.
Manuel, standing beside him, felt the same way. After some thought, the Caesar chose the most counter-intuitive but also the most effective solution—
He quickly smiled warmly, then ordered the sailors, "Fire! Fire at the Ottoman ships!"
Shortly after he spoke, bursts of cannon fire echoed across the Sea of Marmara. Several Ottoman ships blocking their path were caught off guard and hit. These ships, originally recruited from Turk pirates, lacked discipline and, believing they were under a large-scale attack from enemy warships, fled in disarray on the spot.
Manuel did not order a pursuit. Instead, after giving the order to sail into the Golden Horn amidst the chaos, he very gracefully asked his already dumbfounded Brother-in-law, Constantine, if he was injured.
"No, Brother-in-law," Constantine asked Manuel with surprise, "Aren't you afraid of Ottoman retaliation?"
"Retaliation?" Manuel tilted his head, thought carefully, and replied with a smile, "It's fine, trust me, Brother-in-law, the Turks wouldn't dare." He dared to do this because he was sure that Murad II, given the tense standoff with Hungary on the western front, would not risk provoking Bosporus, which had close ties with Venice and was not so easy to deal with. After hearing this reply, Constantine, after carefully considering the current situation, had to force himself to calm down.
Thus, in early January 1441, the Bosporus fleet, carrying Moria Despotate Constantine and his confidants, seized the opportunity to sail into the Golden Horn of Constantinople. However, after entering the city through a small gate, they did not rush to reveal their identities, but secretly sent people to contact Empress Helena in Blachernae Palace.
Meanwhile, Helena was feeling fortunate that she had once again stabilized the situation for another day by persuading her youngest son, Dimitrios, to leave. Just as she was troubled by the future fate of the Empire and her sons, the secret envoy from her son, Constantine, made her feel as clear and comfortable as if she had drunk sweet nectar.
"Long time no see, Sfrantzis, and the one next to you, is that Serenus? I've heard Constantine mention you; you're currently serving under Bosporus, aren't you?" Inside Blachernae Palace, the white-haired Empress Dowager, dressed in a pallium, politely and secretly received these two envoys representing her son and son-in-law, greeted them, and then frankly stated her position, "Let Constantine ascend to the throne that rightfully belongs to him. It's just that this child Dimitrios's faction now controls some of the defenders, which might be a bit troublesome. I hope he pays more attention to that."
"Your Highness," seeing this situation, Serenus seized the opportunity to suggest, as per the Caesar's instruction, "I have a plan: didn't Bosporus leave a small contingent outside Constantinople for the Empire? As long as you agree, they will surely be willing to enter the city and deal with Dimitrios and his faction."
"But the true command of this force should always be in the hands of Caesar Manuel, shouldn't it? Why does it need my consent?" Empress Helena narrowed her eyes cautiously. After John VIII's unexpected death, she and Adian, the commander of that force, had tacitly avoided contact until Serenus, representing Manuel, made this suggestion. Clearly, knowing Manuel's past, she did not believe her son-in-law was a rigid person who strictly adhered to etiquette.
In response, Serenus, acting as his Caesar's spokesman, bowed slightly and dispelled the Empress Dowager's suspicions with a single sentence, "Because His Majesty does not wish to see his ally fall into chaos that it should not, and he knows what a reliable ally should do."
Thus, on the evening of the next day, with the tacit approval of his mother-in-law and Brother-in-law, Manuel secretly ordered Adian to lead that force into the city to deal with his constantly troublesome Brother-in-law, Dimitrios, and his faction. After quickly clearing these troubles, on January 15, 1441, Constantine was formally crowned Emperor in the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, becoming the 10th Emperor of the Palaiologos Dynasty of the Roman Empire, Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos.