The Sun and the Lion

"Your Majesty, your spymaster requests an audience. He has been waiting for a long time." After being responsible for sending the nobles of the Qajar tribe out of the palace, the guard returned to report to Ibrahim.

The secret message from Herat reached Tabriz without incident. The spymaster had read it and the information contained in it was valuable.

"Where did the new news come from? Well, let him in first."

Turgut walked into the room and respectfully handed the letter to Ibrahim: "Your Majesty, the news from Herat, Hussin Baihara has responded."

Ibrahim took and opened the information that the spies had recorded in a hurry and with great nervousness. Thanks to Badi Zaman's cooperation, the spies who survived the manhunt were able to learn about Herat's military affairs and spread the information through his messengers.

Although Hussin Baihara ordered the city to be closed, temporarily prohibiting merchants and travelers from entering and exiting, transportation teams in and out of the city and messengers carrying official documents and letters from powerful people could still enter and exit.

Although Badi Zaman had a history of rebellion, the father and son reconciled on the surface, and he was able to return to officialdom and was sent to serve as governor of a poorer area near Herat, and served in both places. All have houses. After several years of peace, he also regained his own private army and other entourage.

And the spy who got on the line with him was kept in his own house, and others did not know the existence of this spy.

The secrecy work that Hussin Baihara thought he had done well was broken due to the filial piety of his eldest son.

The information written by the spy on the letter included Hussin Baihara's mobilization order, the armament situation in Herat, the appointment and dismissal of senior officers, etc. The current situation of the Guregani Army can be said to be a threat to Safaviddan. Become transparent.

While this information is plentiful and useful, Ibrahim is currently sitting on a carpet in his palace, and in a few months much of it will be out of date.

The information sent back by the spy did not contain the combat intention he most wanted to see. Currently, this thing is still brewing in Hussin Baihara's mind, and the senior officers still know nothing about the next combat matters.

After reading it, Ibrahim found that there was another piece of paper in the envelope, and he immediately took it out.

"This is?" Ibrahim scanned it quickly, and the signature at the bottom showed the identity of the person who corresponded with him privately.

This was the traitor's first letter. He did not convey any more important information in this letter, nor did he ask for anything from Ibrahim. Only the usual greetings and communication channels constituted the brief text.

The so-called contact method is to use his property outside the city of Herat as a base. His domestic slaves will go out of the city to carry intelligence on the pretext of inspecting on behalf of their master to bypass the city blockade. Riders outside the city will serve as messengers, using caravans and Travelers cover to deliver messages to Tabriz. The message from Tabriz was also sent to the manor first, and then sent to Badi Zaman by the house slave.

After reading it, Ibrahim dictated a reply, and the scribe recorded it and left the monogram of the King of Kings.

"Go and call the military vizier, the great emir and other khans and emirs to the meeting hall. I want to hold a military meeting. Turgut, you will also attend."

………………

In the Herat Castle, Hussin Baihara once again convened a meeting of his senior officers, and Badi Zaman also attended the meeting without exception.

After a week of preparations, the emir did his best to assemble a large army. There was sufficient cash and military supplies in the warehouse of Herat Castle, and there was no need to waste time waiting for taxes and military supplies collected from various places.

The governors of Mashhad and Merv, the two sons of the emir, Muhammad Musin and Abul Hassan, also prepared their own troops and prepared to join forces to reinforce Astaraba. Virtue.

During the torture of the Safavid merchants, the interrogators did not ask for any useful information. The merchants and travelers all said that when they set out, Ibrahim did not order mobilization to prepare for war.

But the emir didn't believe it. He didn't think Ibrahim would go to war with him without preparation. No army can triumph without preparation.

As soon as the envoy who had established a good relationship with him left, news of the attack on Astralabad was sent to Herat. This set of operations directly confused him.

If this was intentional on Ibrahim’s part, what was he doing? From the Safavid population stranded in Herat, there are no signs of large-scale war preparations in Tabriz - craftsmen are required to make weapons, armor, horseshoes and other military supplies, and the flour, baked naan and other food in the Bazaar will be Due to the large-scale procurement of the army, prices have increased to the point where supply exceeds demand, and civilians have been drafted to maintain the logistics of the army.

As for walking alone, this is unimaginable. Ibrahim is not a weak monarch who can be bullied. In the previous wars, the red heads also showed terrible loyalty to their Sheikh.

In other words, looking for Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com, he planned a border conflict without preparing for a war. This was probably a test.

Since Ibrahim is not preparing for a large-scale invasion, it would be better to teach the troops who invaded Astarabad a lesson.

After sorting out his thoughts, Hussin Baihara opened his mouth to explain his judgment and next battle plan to everyone.

"Father, if this is the case, then our opportunity has come." Buddy Zaman decided to give Emir some advice.

Emil was a little surprised, but he still allowed his estranged eldest son to speak: "But it doesn't matter."

"You think that the Safavid attack on Astarabad is just a partial army, then just let Mashhad and Merv deal with it. Our army can go straight into their hinterland and recover our ancestors Timur's inheritance." He made a bold proposal.

Without waiting for anyone to think or refute, he continued to add: "Three years ago, the Safavids were just a group of dervishes operating in Azerbaijan. In a short period of time, they occupied almost all the territories of the Aries Dynasty and forced the people to convert. Ye faction. This triggered many riots and even large-scale rebellions in various places. Although these were suppressed, the anger in the hearts of the conquered was difficult to extinguish. We can use Safavid's opportunity to establish a foothold to maintain stability, as long as we can Defeat Ibrahim once on the battlefield, and the kingdom of these dervishes will fall like Umar's castle."

When Badi mentioned the cause of Umar's death, some of the nobles present couldn't help but laugh. Only Hussin Baihara still looked serious: "Going deep into the enemy's heartland? The last person who tried to do this was He Rath’s former master, the Emir of Busain, died at the hands of Uzun Hassan.”

Emil's words stopped everyone's laughter.