After a series of negotiations, Basileus Constantine XI and the Roman Curia, represented by Cardinal Isidore, finally reached an agreement in mid-February. The main content of the agreement was that the church union would continue as it had during the lifetime of his brother, John VIII, neither increasing the uniformity of the Eastern and Western Churches nor overturning the existing state of union. In other words, it was to maintain the status quo.
When news of this reached Manuel, who had already returned to Trabzon, the Caesar merely smiled at Serenus beside him, indicating that the matter was unremarkable. Before formally preparing to continue dealing with the piled-up affairs, he couldn't help but recall the scene of negotiating with the Ottoman in Güzelyurt (Güzken), a coastal border city.
In fact, when Caesar first learned that the Ottoman wanted to negotiate with him, he was not as calm as he appeared. Fearing that he would be tricked by the Turk and placed under house arrest, or even die in a foreign land, he demanded to choose the negotiation location himself and secretly contacted the country's navy, disguised as merchant ships and patrolling the Black Sea, to approach the western coast of the Black Sea. It wasn't until the Ottoman side unexpectedly agreed to hold talks in Güzelyurt (Güzken) and the disguised navy could escort him back to the country, confirming that he had left himself enough retreat routes and could escape from the Ottoman's blades, that Manuel dared to boldly lead his subordinates to the meeting.
Upon arriving at the meeting site in the small town at night, Manuel was unexpectedly informed by the Ottoman that their Sultan had been waiting for a long time.
"Your country's envoy did not inform me of this in advance," Manuel said, not showing any flustered surprise on his face, but merely a brief, astonished smile, after unexpectedly encountering this Sultan, who was nine years his senior, again in such a setting.
"Oh, but Caesar, did you not expect this?" Murad II, who came to meet Manuel tonight, was dressed completely differently from his military attire on the battlefield last time. This time, the Sultan wore a dark gold kaftan robe woven from expensive silk, embroidered with a red crescent, and a yellow-white silk turban on his head. At that time, he was smiling, stroking his thick beard, and looking at the Bosphorus Caesar, who was also impeccably dressed and dignified. It was hard to imagine that just a few years ago, they were mortal enemies on the battlefield, fighting desperately on the Anatolia Plateau, wishing to see each other's corpses with their own eyes.
"Although I know that your country should not belittle any friendly nation, I did not expect Sultan to personally appear," Manuel frankly admitted in the face of this sudden situation, trying to find an opportunity to advance by retreating in the subsequent conversation. At the same time, he also secretly observed the composition of Murad II's entourage. It was not far from what he had guessed; the guards serving the Sultan were indeed clearly dressed Janissaries soldiers. In an instant, the Caesar's mind flashed with the various emergency escape plans he had prepared before coming.
Although he was unaware of Manuel's thoughts, Murad still said before the negotiations began to dispel the other party's doubts, "Caesar, I have indeed come with sincerity today, and Allah will attest to our intentions." After he finished speaking, the Grand Vizier in front of the Sultan, Çandarlı Halil Pasha the Younger, who had recently been appointed by the Sultan, bowed and gestured for the other party to be seated. Seeing this, Manuel, after less than half a second of thought, cautiously followed the Ottoman's lead and sat down, taking the meeting seriously.
This time, both sides got straight to the point without much preamble, and the first topic on the negotiation table was naturally Constantinople and its new owner.
"Caesar, do you know what you have done?" When this was mentioned, Halil Pasha, at the behest of his Sultan, deliberately raised his voice, attempting to intimidate the Roman in front of him.
But Manuel did not respond directly. After a brief, dismissive remark, "Perhaps I know, perhaps I don't," he signaled his Megaslogothetēs / Grand Secretary, Justinian Seresnus, to speak for him, rebutting the Grand Vizier, "His Majesty and we have only done what Romans should do."
"You interfered in the internal affairs of Constantinople!" Halil Pasha warned in a lowered tone.
"His Majesty is a relative of two emperors, and two Basileus have no objections. And don't think we don't know why Dimitrios was able to gather factions and recruit followers so quickly in Constantinople," Seresnus said with a cold laugh, spreading his hands.
"You actually let the navy bombard our fleet, which was on normal patrol in the Sea of Marmara."
"Ah, were they our merchant ships? Don't worry, His Majesty will certainly uphold justice after returning to the country."
"Stop playing dumb, Roman! Constantine, who was then a Despot, was on the ship, otherwise how could he have reached Constantinople so quickly!?"
"The Bosphorus Despotate is hearing about this for the first time."
"Then how did you appear in Constantinople!?"
"His Majesty brought us to visit relatives. Since when did the Ottoman have the right to blockade the Black Sea?"
At this point, the relatively inexperienced Halil Pasha was already red-faced with anger, while Serenus remained completely at ease, making Murad, who was observing from the side, secretly curse the thick skin of the Greek.
Therefore, Halil Pasha had to change his accusation, "You of Bosporus used the identity of the Venetians to travel through the Sea of Marmara."
"Then you should go find the Venetians," Seresnus retorted directly.
"But you violated our prohibition!"
"The Sea of Marmara is not only the Ottoman's waters. You Turk neither have a strong fleet nor control both sides of the coast, so this prohibition has no meaning at all."
"You Romans are too deceitful…"
"Bey Halil, that's enough." Murad finally couldn't listen anymore. After ordering the Grand Vizier to stand quietly aside, the Sultan turned to face Caesar Manuel, who had been observing everything just like him.
"Caesar, let's talk about serious matters. Do you really want to offend our country for the sake of your endangered in-laws?" At this point, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in the eyes of the Ottoman Sultan, who had been peaceful and elegant all night.
"Sultan, I have only done what I ought to do." Manuel, on the other hand, clasped his hands together, resting his chin on the back of his fingers, and replied with a composed expression. Because he indeed had a way to escape from there tonight, he did not intend to show weakness to Murad in terms of imposing presence.
Seeing that the veiled threats were not working, Murad had no choice but to rein in his anger. With the tense standoff with Hungary, he was not yet confident of taking down the well-developed Bosphorus Autocratic State in one fell swoop. However, he also believed that, given the Autocratic State's inability to compete with the Sultanate in national strength, the other party also lacked the courage to become a complete enemy.
"Then, Caesar, let's discuss how our two countries should get along from now on…"
After a long night, the Ottoman and Bosphorus sides finally reached a public consensus: their borders would maintain "eternal peace," and they would have limited openness to each other (although neither actually had enough administrative power to seal the borders); the Ottoman would abandon its blockade of the Sea of Marmara, while the Bosphorus would not interfere with the Ottoman's normal commercial activities along the coast; furthermore, the Bosphorus would not continue to conscript orthodox refugees fleeing from the Ottoman, and the Ottoman would not interfere with the Autocratic State's handling of Muslim within its territory.
All in all, it was a compromise that was tasteless to eat and a shame to discard. It neither had a foundation of many years of stable implementation nor could it prevent the two sides' private machinations.
"Your Majesty, are you thinking of that night in Güzelyurt (Güzken)?" Serenus couldn't help but ask curiously, looking at the pensive Caesar.
Just as Manuel was about to say something, the urgent request for an audience from Megaslogothetēs / Grand Secretary John Anagnostes interrupted him. After hastily summoning the elder, the first words from this important minister of the Autocratic State made the monarch and his subjects present tense, "Your Majesty, an plague has broken out in Pontus, it's the holy fire disease!"