Since Murad II had pulled all the city's defenders into the battle to defeat the Bosporus Army outside the capital before his death, Edirne, also known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis, was recaptured by the Romans on the morning of February 6th after a brief night of siege.
After the city fell, Manuel ordered the troops entering the city to observe military discipline, not to plunder citizens' property, not to arbitrarily damage buildings in the city, and certainly not to kill surrendered civilians.
At the same time, he also ordered the preparation of a grand surrender ceremony, ready to gloriously take over this great capital that had been lost to the Turks for 76 years.
Before entering the city, Manuel also roughly tallied his side's gains and losses in this battle: out of thirty thousand Ottoman soldiers, nearly fifteen thousand were killed, and about seventy-five hundred were taken prisoner; the Bosporus Army's casualties also amounted to nearly ten thousand; at the same time, several veteran generals on the Ottoman side, led by Kasim Pasha and Ishak Bey, died on the battlefield, while on the Bosporus Army's side, apart from Army Commander being disabled and Posadas, the commander of the Death Announcement Legion, temporarily falling into a coma due to severe injuries, the other high-ranking generals were largely unharmed.
A victory that would be forever etched in history, as it should be. But when Caesar learned of his side's casualties, the expression on his face darkened considerably.
According to his original plan, after such a great victory, he should have sent his subordinates to reclaim the northern region of Moesia and the Anatolian hinterland.
However, with such undeniable casualties, the strategic plan of leading the army back to Moesia and preemptively crushing the local Bulgarians' independence movement would likely have to be postponed for a long time.
"So be it, this is good too, it's a chance to recuperate." In the end, Caesar could only reluctantly choose to temporarily put the idea aside, preparing to honorably face the ceremony that was about to be prepared for him in the recaptured city.
When Caesar, draped in a purple-black cloak and wearing scale armor in the style of the old dynasty, rode his snow-white warhorse into the city, accompanied by the Filaka Legion and his personal guards, he was greeted mostly by the genuine welcome of the Romans within the city; driven by their simple emotions or self-interest, they wholeheartedly welcomed the return of Roman power.
There were also some false flatteries from vested interests; they harbored more suspicion, even dissatisfaction and resentment, towards this monarch who was now covered in glory, but were forced to hide their true feelings due to his current popular image.
During this time, Manuel also noticed the malice and resentment in the eyes of the Turk nobles gathered in the city.
Seeing them like this, Manuel felt no ripple in his heart, but rather a slight urge to laugh: they better glare a few more times, for in the future, they might not even be able to do so.
After receiving the respectful welcome and sincere congratulations from the local church bishops and public representatives in the city, Caesar, before the people could cheer in unison, spoke to them calmly but loudly:
"Holy Father above, everyone. I am pleased to see you here again, children of Christ, descendants of Romans and Greeks. Even after more than half a century of trials, you still exist in this city.
Some may have forgotten the past, but I firmly believe that more still remember our predecessors and our faith. May God bless all who are willing to wait, willing to trust the Empire and the future."
"Therefore, I hereby announce the exemption of taxes for the Christians residing in this city for the next two years, and from the third year until the end of this decade, only half of the taxes will be collected..."
After this, he also issued many other decrees beneficial to the orthodox Romans in this former capital of the Ottoman Sultanate.
At the same time, Caesar also specially and ceremoniously bestowed alternative names upon several legions under his command that had rendered outstanding service in the battle of Adrianople: the Third Pontus Legion led by Barbaro Talostos was named "Post Finem" (End Legion), and the legion led by Army Commander Dungar de Lapole, who could no longer fight on the battlefield due to his injuries, was also named "Mana" (Divine Power Legion) by Caesar due to its heavy casualties and distinguished achievements.
But Chancellor Seresnus, riding beside him, did not notice the latter details; instead, he remained immersed in the astonishment and dread of hearing Caesar's words just now: What exactly was his Caesar trying to do?
Although Caesar was a Roman, as the Bosporus Caesar, he was still considered a foreigner to the Empire at this moment; even if his former lord, Constantine XI, had fewer achievements than Caesar, and was currently trapped in Morea by the remaining Ottoman forces, he was still the Basileus of the Roman Empire.
Although the Chief Minister had long chosen to side with Caesar, he felt worried and uneasy about his monarch now openly revealing his intentions.
The Chancellor's momentary hesitation was inadvertently noticed by his Caesar, but after a few seconds of careful thought, Manuel ultimately decided to once again act as if nothing had happened.
After the entry ceremony concluded, Manuel, temporarily residing in the city hall, began to tally the captured Ottoman high-ranking officials from his subordinates.
To his regret, due to the swift spread of news about the Battle of Adrianople ending yesterday and the Bosporus Army's non-occupation, a large number of Ottoman high-ranking officials successfully escaped from the former capital of the Sultanate.
However, even so, due to the rapid progress of the war, a large number of mid-to-high-ranking Ottoman officials remained in the city.
Excluding some unlucky individuals who were lynched by citizens with their entire families for their atrocities before the Bosporus Army entered the city, the others fell under the control of Bosporus.
These powerful families, who had at this moment fallen from high status to captives, became excellent leverage in Manuel's hands.
"Let me see, the family of the Governor of Macedonia, most members of the Çandarlı family, whose status in the Ottoman Empire is second only to the royal family, Vlad and Dula, the heirs of Vlad II, the Grand Duke of Wallachia, and... hmm?"
Seeing a familiar name, Manuel couldn't help but smile nostalgically, "Aksham-Sadin, the Sunni jurist 'Gourani Molla,' after ten years, we are going to meet again."
"Your Majesty, are you going to deal with that person?" Seeing Caesar's inscrutable smile, his Commander of the Guard, Badars, scratched the back of his head and asked him.
Although ten years had passed, he still vividly remembered the unyielding attitude of that Muslim scholar at the time.
"What are you thinking?" Manuel patted the Commander of the Guard's shoulder helplessly.
Sometimes Caesar even wondered if his childhood friend's occasional outrageous remarks now were due to years of being subtly influenced by himself.
"Keep them well; these hostages are still of great use." Manuel stood up and stretched his back, "As for Aksham-Sadin, prepare him; I will see him in a while."