The Sun and the Lion

The city of Shiraz has been put on alert, with groups of soldiers patrolling the streets and a curfew imposed. Until the threat is lifted, the city walled area is like an island in the ocean.

According to the plan, the red heads spread out and ravaged the countryside around Fars, creating a large number of refugees who flocked to Shiraz to attack their defense lines, and made a small fortune by looting.

Now these refugees are gathering under the city wall, hoping to get leniency from the masters and allow them to take refuge inside the city wall.

Looking at the refugees who were like boiling water under the city wall, the officer was a little impatient: "Let those untouchables be quiet!"

The deafening drums and trumpets tortured the refugees' eardrums, but they did not retreat. When the city gate opened, everyone thought it was a hope of survival, but when groups of armored cavalry and infantry came out, and then looked at the archers on the city walls and towers, no matter how stupid they were, they could understand what would happen next. .

These cavalrymen held riding whips and rushed straight into the crowd, whipping them viciously. The refugees screamed in pain one after another, and some people kept falling down due to being whipped and trampled, leaving only weak moans.

The rabble is quickly dispersed, and fear will prevent them from trying the option again for a long time.

In the castle, the emirs and civil servants were discussing how to deal with the refugees outside the city.

"Emirs, please allow me to offend, but we cannot leave the refugees outside the city alone." A senior bureaucrat suggested to his current master and other colleagues: "They should be allowed to enter behind the city walls."

"Hey, when did the respected Vizier care about the people so much? In that case, how about reducing taxes for the civilians in the city?" A military attaché mocked him after hearing his suggestion.

The civil servant was not angry. He asked slowly: "What do you think will happen if we leave those refugees at the door?"

"Nothing will happen. They will leave on their own, just like rats." The military attache who mocked him said disdainfully.

"But even humble rats can spread the plague that kills an entire city." He replied vehemently, and then explained: "If we ignore them and close the door tightly, we will kill them. Push it to those Qizilbash!”

Everyone noticed the change in his tone and focused their attention to listen to how he justified his theory.

"You all know how much treasury there is in the city. It can barely cope with the horse bandits who come to raid. But if they are allowed to recruit these refugees as cannon fodder, arrows, hot oil, How many rolling stones can fall on them? These are all money, and what happens to be the most lacking in the treasury is dinars."

"In that case, don't we have the money to help them?" the city lord of Shiraz said.

"Which is the lesser of two powers that harm each other. Those refugees include not only farmers, but also various craftsmen. Although these rural craftsmen do not have superb skills, they assist the red heads in building camps, manufacturing and operating siege engines, There is no problem with transporting baggage.”

Of course, there will definitely not be any technical talents among these refugees. The craftsmen were either slaughtered when the villages were burned or captured by the red heads. They did not have the option of exile to Shiraz.

"In that case, these refugees are of great benefit to them, so why not kill them all but let them in?" the military attachés asked in confusion.

"No time." The city lord of Shiraz answered this question for the civil servants.

"And they don't come to the city for free. They also have to work to survive. We can also use them at will to help us defend the city. This way the citizens don't have to go out, and we can win their favor." Added one last assist.

Seeing that the reasons were sufficient and the city lord seemed to support this idea, the military attaches had no choice but to agree: "We will mobilize the cavalry in time to maintain order."

"very good."

In the afternoon, the city gate opened again, and groups of cavalry came out of the city and came to the refugees. Their arrival once again caused a commotion in the crowd.

"What do you want to do? Are you going to drive us all away?" A few hot-blooded refugees couldn't stand this anger and went to Shuyuan www. zhaoshuyuａan.com shouted directly at these unkind comers.

"Don't be so nervous, people of Huda." The priests in charge of relief began to come forward to comfort these refugees, and achieved certain results.

After the priests talked the talk and distributed some food, some refugees followed them into the city. This move inspired almost everyone. As long as they can live, no one wants to die.

Looking at the cavalry on both sides, these refugees shrank their necks and had no choice but to walk slowly and obediently. The scene did not become chaotic.

The priests quickly placed them in almshouses, but they were soon assigned to military camps to serve as coolies for various armies.

The day after all the refugees were admitted into the city, the red heads arrived just in time. They appeared in the sight of the sentry at the top of the city, and then set up camp in a swaggering manner.

Dada and Abdul read the last letter sent by the spy in the city - it was impossible for him to maintain a stable secret communication after the siege officially began. In 1522, Jewish spies in Rhodes Island were ordered to deliver messages to the Ottoman Padishah outside the city. But Safavid spies lurking in Shiraz have other tasks and cannot risk their lives.

In the letter, the spy wrote: "They placed all the refugees in almshouses, but this is just a cover. They (refugees placed in almshouses) will soon disappear and become slaves of the garrison in the city. .”

Then he "suggested": "It is no longer possible to gather the infiltrated soldiers to capture the city gate and cooperate with the outside world. We will incite hostility among the refugees, lead the soldiers to riot, and then take advantage of the chaos to create a breach of the city for the general." Opportunity."

In this case, they can only wait for good news.