After these Ottoman spies were either killed or captured, the survivors led the dead or alive spies back to report.
Because the Latin youth, who claimed to be from the Medici Family, had presented his family crest as proof of identity, and because he had mentioned knowing Dungar, the current Army Commander of Bosporus Pontus, the Philaka Soldiers also brought this Latin with them to verify his claims.
At this moment, Caesar was pondering over a personal letter he was writing to his Brother-in-law, Constantine XI.
As he expected, Constantine had already learned of the unrest his younger brother had caused in Constantinople earlier, and had written to Manuel, asking him to quickly resolve the matter.
Due to the limitations of communication, Basileus was still unaware of his brother's tragic defeat and death, and in his letter, he subtly hinted to his Brother-in-law, hoping he would spare his younger brother's life for the sake of their kinship.
This posed a huge problem for Manuel; how could he spare someone who was already dead?
Moreover, it wasn't that he didn't want to spare him, but the martial and spirited citizens of Constantinople had already done away with Dimitrios, so he couldn't possibly go against public opinion and arrest the citizens, could he?
Just as he was troubled by this, news of the spies' capture arrived.
This made Manuel genuinely happy.
After tasking the Commander of the Guard with interrogating the surviving spies, he summoned the Philaka officers who had distinguished themselves in this matter.
After promoting him and his subordinates on the spot as a reward, the officer informed him about encountering someone from the Medici Family again.
After listening to him, Caesar nodded slightly, "I understand.
Tell him that I will summon him later these days.
Before that, I will inform Army Commander Labol of his arrival."
After temporarily concluding this matter, Manuel also learned of the enemy's true identities and infiltration duration later that day, based on the spies' confessions.
"These spies are all Ottoman soldiers from Devshirme, and the leader, John, who is Yahya, is even a Janissary.
A group of elites, it's a good thing they weren't wearing armor when they were captured."
Reading the confessions, Manuel's smile gradually turned cold as he sat in the small office of the Municipal Council, "The one who has been undercover the longest has been in Constantinople for about ten years, taking over from his predecessor.
To deceive people, they specifically chose Latins, Slavs, and Greeks.
Good heavens, Murad is truly an overly cautious Sultan.
"Fortunately, all the main personnel in the Ottoman intelligence network in Constantinople were either arrested or died in the process.
Murad II truly went to great lengths to prevent me from crossing the strait.
It's a good thing Dimitrios was completely incompetent, otherwise the Ottoman might actually have succeeded."
Besides his lingering fear, this part of the confession was also one of the few things that made Manuel happy.
After pondering for a moment, Manuel finally drafted an edict for the public execution of these spies.
Incidentally, as for why he was currently in the Municipal Council and not residing in the Grand Palace, it was mainly due to concerns about causing dissatisfaction and backlash from others.
To avoid any criticism from his ally, his Brother-in-law, Constantine XI, and his subordinates, Manuel cautiously refrained from directly interfering with the specific administrative affairs within Constantinople, instead entrusting them to Lucas Notaras, the Imperial Chancellor, and others to continue managing them.
He merely presented himself as a maintainer of order, to show that he had no ambition to instigate civil war during such a critical time.
The use of "drafted" instead of "issued" earlier was also for the same reasons.
The only matter that drew some discussion was Manuel's public assertion that he was protecting the Empress Dowager, allowing his mother-in-law, Helena, to remain in Blachernae Palace, thus keeping her away from the "disturbances" of politics.
Of course, while being far from the trivialities of political affairs, the old Empress Dowager also found it difficult to directly interfere with matters within Constantinople.
Not everyone was pleased with his restraint.
For example, his taxi soldiers, who were not of Roman origin.
If these soldiers had any affection for Constantinople, it was more for religious reasons than cultural ones, so they hoped Caesar would take control of the city immediately.
And some members of the Palaiologos family and their supporters also harbored suspicions about him, but due to the current situation of a formidable enemy, they had to suppress their doubts.
Manuel naturally saw their dissatisfaction.
In response, he chose to use his prestige and diplomatic credibility to suppress these discordant voices, doing his best to direct everyone's focus toward the war with the Ottoman.
The next morning, after being publicly humiliated and subjected to "treatment" comparable to that of Andronikos I before his death, the Ottoman spies were officially hanged in the center of Constantinople.
Their bodies were dismembered as a warning, and their heads, after several embalming procedures, were sent along with Manuel's personal letter to Constantine XI, as a consolation for Dimitrios's accidental death.
After sending the letter, Manuel could finally prioritize the war with the Ottoman.
Therefore, he finally had time to thoroughly analyze the battle reports that his Chancellor Seresnus had submitted these days.
The current situation was that on the Aemos Peninsula, the main Ottoman force led by Murad II and the Crusaders had experienced both victories and defeats, with neither side able to gain a complete advantage on the battlefield, so Ottoman-controlled Rumelia was still barely functioning administratively.
On the Asia Minor, after being decisively defeated multiple times by the Bosporus Army, the Ottoman were unable to organize an effective counterattack in the short term, and even in the peninsula's interior, due to food shortages and flagging morale, Ottoman administrative rule had almost collapsed, with Turk bandits and tribes returning to their old ways everywhere.
Unfortunately, the Frank, led by the Knights Hospitaller, and the Aydin army, after parting ways, lacked the ability to penetrate further inland and could only advance slowly.
It seemed that to defeat the Ottoman, they would have to start from Rumelia.
Clarifying this point, Manuel noticed the latest movements of the Crusaders.
"The Catholic Crusaders went east?"
Manuel's heart skipped a beat when he unexpectedly learned of this.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Chancellor Seresnus confirmed beside him, "Evidently, our allies' target is Edirne, the Ottoman capital.
Due to the presence of Emos Mountains, they decided to bypass it and attack Edirne from the coastal plain to the south."
"If that's the case, they must pass through a coastal town?"
Manuel, vaguely guessing the Crusaders' destination, held a faint glimmer of hope and looked gravely at the map in front of him.
"Yes, Your Majesty, they plan to go around through the eastern coast of Bulgaria," his Chancellor said, pointing to a coastal city on the map, "Clearly, Your Majesty, their next destination should be —"
At this moment, the two, ruler and subject, simultaneously spoke the name of the city:
"Varna."