"As expected," after a cruel interrogation of the captured Tatar Sheikh Abdu, Manuel obtained the intelligence he wanted to confirm. "I was wondering why the Tatars in this group of rebels were given such high positions, and why there were even infidels, whom illiterate old farmers should have resented. Now it's confirmed: because there really were external forces involved!"
Just as he concluded, according to the interrogation results, in December last year, when the peasant rebellion first broke out, it was indeed nothing more than an ordinary anti-tax riot. If nothing unexpected happened, the Bosporus garrison in Tauris would have been enough to deal with them. However, due to the strategy of the peasant faction leader Peter, coupled with his rapid recruitment of runaway Rus' serfs in Tauris, the s6uppression forces under Patniko, who commanded the garrison at the time, suffered several defeats. After witnessing the achievements of the peasant army, the remnants of the former Crimean Khanate within the Golden Horde seemed to find an entry point to subvert North Tauris and the tributary governorates under Bosporus rule. They began to secretly contact the peasant army at the end of last year, sending a small number of guest warriors across the Sea of Azov or the steppes to support them, and instigating the dissatisfied Tatars within Bosporus to rekindle their rebellion, coordinating with the peasant rebels' actions.
And this Tatar leader, named Sheikh Abdu, was the leader sent by the Tatar tribes from outside to interfere with Bosporus. According to his and his accomplices' original plan, once the peasant army was about to be defeated, he had to return immediately. But to cover for his accomplices, he deliberately delayed his return.
Then there was no time.
Under Caesar Manuel's combination of soft and hard tactics, the rebel-occupied areas quickly changed hands in less than half a month. Just as Sheikh was falling into the same desperate situation as his Christian accomplices, a message claiming to be from his "hometown" was conveyed to him, promising to have found a way out for him and offering various credible proofs.
After that, as happened in the decisive battle not long ago, Sheikh Abdu fled to the "way out" provided in the message, and was then directly captured alive by the Tatar ambush Manuel had arranged there. Because this message was actually forged by Caesar's secret department at his instruction.
"Since things have come to this, Caesar, what should be done with those captured Tatar crescent worshipers?" After his monarch expressed his indignation, Badars, the Commander of the Guard who also served as confidential secretary, bowed to show that he was ready to receive his next instructions.
"We have already obtained the information we wanted. These people are probably also crippled from the interrogation, right?" After confirming this with his subordinate, Manuel nodded casually, "Alright, prepare to dispose of all of them. For the leader, make sure he's half-dead, cut off his tongue, and escort him to Bangkok Pu."
"It's just a pity that those unruly commoners died directly on the battlefield. They got off too easily. Oh well, expose all their bodies and display their heads in public."
"Yes, Caesar, loyalty!"
Thus, at noon on the third day after the rebellion was quelled, the only captured rebel leader, Sheikh Abdu, was escorted in a bloody state to the center of Bangkok Pu. His tongue had already been cut off, and he was stripped of all his clothes while half-dead. The executioner then publicly dismembered his broken limbs, throwing them to the onlookers, and then skillfully cut off his head, impaling it on a long wooden pole for public display, announcing the completion of the execution.
While the citizens of Bangkok Pu cheered at this bloody scene, their monarch was not "sharing the joy with the people." Instead, he was holed up in the local temporary palace, working to bring the rebellion to a close.
Upon confirming that there were indeed external forces involved, Manuel's first reaction was indignation. However, after his anger, he also realized that it would be difficult for him to launch an effective counterattack this time: there was not just one Tatar lord interfering in Tauris, but nearly a dozen. If he were to launch a counterattack that would truly hurt them, he estimated it would take a lot of effort. Moreover, Bosporus was still nominally a tributary of the Golden Horde, and these tribes were within the Golden Horde's territory…
"Enough is enough. Can't these infidels give a person some peace of mind?" Due to the priority of the Autocratic State's recovery, Caesar sighed helplessly, giving up on direct retaliation against these presumptuous Tatar tribes. But he was not without options; at least before the Golden Horde collapsed, he could use this to extort this now merely nominal suzerain, squeezing out its last value before its disintegration.
After considering this part, he turned to ponder economic issues. Since he had an important task to do this afternoon, he only planned to think about this briefly.
Previously, to deal with the Ottoman war, Bosporus had to maintain considerable military spending. The Autocratic State had thus incurred a debt of an unmentionable amount. Although Venice, the major creditor, provided low-interest loans to win him over, a loan is still a loan. If he had the same insight as other monarchs of Eastern Mediterranean countries, he could have sold commercial privileges cleanly. But based on his knowledge from his previous life and his current observations, he directly and decisively rejected this option.
"If there hadn't been a tax exemption order to quell the rebellion, we might have been able to hold on longer," Manuel closed his eyes, thinking of this. "But now… it seems we can only try to rebuild the Black Sea trade route, and a bank must also be put on the agenda. If these attempts all fail," thinking of the consequences, he couldn't help but smile bitterly with a hint of fear, "Then we'll just invalidate family credibility and everything else, and declare bankruptcy directly."
After considering this, Manuel reopened his eyes and recalled his schedule for the day. "Time's up. That's enough for now. Later, I will personally witness the birth of a new social class."
That afternoon, half an hour before dusk, Bosporus Caesar Manuel arrived at the outskirts of Bangkok Pu. Accompanied by his generals and the remaining cabinet members, he prepared to meet several exiled Rus' leaders whom he had persuaded to surrender. Although the loyalty of these former Rus' serfs might be questionable, Manuel keenly grasped their needs and decided to use them to counterbalance the Tatars on these lands.
Soon, these Rus' leaders, escorted by Bosporus soldiers, arrived at the designated time. They all wore long beards, Circassian short robes (черкеска), and felt caps, facing the monarch of this land with utmost respect and trepidation.
Caesar Manuel showed no displeasure at their humble demeanor. Instead, he adopted an approachable posture and offered kind words of comfort. After a brief but thorough negotiation, these Rus' officially pledged their allegiance to him. After the archbishop's prayer, Manuel drew his sword, extended it towards them, and bestowed upon them the new title he had already conceived: "Then, from today onwards, you shall be called—
"Cossacks (Каза́ки / Κοζάκος / Cossack)."