The Sun and the Lion

The bow holders found enough shackles ropes from the castle warehouse and dungeon, tied up all the heads of the thousand households and Master Bey, opened the castle gate, and escorted them to the street and walked out of the city.

The sight of high-ranking defenders being paraded through the streets extinguished many citizens' thoughts of continuing to resist. They rummaged through boxes and cabinets at home and scraped together all their cash, hoping to save their lives and freedom.

When the slow-moving escort team reached the city gate, the battle at the city wall was almost over. The corpses of the defenders were piled under the wall. The surrendered Guregani soldiers walked down the narrow stairs of the tower under the watchful eyes of the red heads, and then were escorted to the camp outside the city.

At the same time, Ibrahim, who received the good news, personally rode his horse to the south city gate. The originally crowded and chaotic city gate quickly opened a green channel for the red heads, and the bow-holders escorting the important figures were also exempted. Saved the pain of traffic jams.

"Your Majesty, the fighting on the southern sections of the city wall has generally ended, but the defenders on the northern and eastern walls are still resisting."

The officers responsible for the specific command of the siege heard that Ibrahim had arrived in person and hurried over to report the current battle situation.

Most of the Guregani soldiers were unaware of the news that the garrison's command center had been destroyed. Only a small section of the city wall in the south was destroyed by gunpowder. The only sections of the city wall and towers in the south that were surrounded by bow-wielders and attacked from both sides were 's defenders. Although the Safavid army gained freedom of entry and exit from the city of Mashhad, the remaining defenders still needed to be defeated and eliminated.

"In that case, go and support your comrades who are still fighting. Before the sun sets, I want to see you control every street in this city. All these surrendered troops will be handed over to the bow-wielders."

"Yes!" The officers who received the new order quickly led their respective troops towards the depths of the city.

After the officers left, the centurion who held the bow stepped forward and bowed to Ibrahim: "Your Majesty, I have fulfilled my mission and captured all the high-ranking officials in the city."

Pulled by the bow-wielding soldiers, these senior officers of Guregani were strung up in a long string and displayed to Ibrahim. The swords and other items that could prove their identity were displayed by several soldiers holding them above their heads with both hands.

"Your Majesty, do you want to summon the interrogator?" Hashayal on the side reminded him.

"Um."

While waiting for the interrogator to arrive, Ibrahim planned to inquire in person and then let professionals come in when he encountered a tough problem.

He started with Bey, who was the most luxuriously dressed: "Who are you?"

"I am the servant of Mirza Abul Hassan and am responsible for all military and government affairs in the city of Mashhad."

At Ibrahim's signal, the bow-bearer untied the ropes that bound him to the others, but the shackles remained.

"Mirza? Was the person stationed here originally a relative of Hussin Baihara? Tell me everything you know."

Bey, who fell to his knees, replied with a trembling voice: "Yes, my master, Mirza Abul Hassan, who is stationed in Mashhad, is the son of Amir Hussin Baihara. He died a week ago After receiving the order from the emir, he led the elite army stationed here and went to Astarabad together with his brother Mirza Muhammad Mohsin, who was stationed at Merv.”

"In other words, the elite who were supposed to be standing on the city wall are now in Astarabad?"

"I don't know. I don't know where Mirza's troops have marched. I just sent a messenger to try to ask for help before the siege. Now I don't even know if Mirza has received the message."

The bow holder on the side grabbed Bey by the collar and pulled him up. He raised his right hand as if to slap him.

Ibrahim signaled the bow holder to put down the bey and asked: "How much do you know about Herat? What actions does your emir take?"

"All I know is that the emir is preparing for war in Herat."

What Bey said is consistent with the intelligence just sent by Badi Zaman. Hussin Baihara is still preparing for war in Herat, and the assembled army shows no sign of setting off. I don’t know what the emir is waiting for. .

"Your Majesty, the interrogator has arrived."

A reminder interrupted Ibrahim who was thinking, and he turned around. A professional team with a full set of torture instruments was on standby.

"Wait a moment." Ibrahim looked at Bey: "Can you still guarantee that your soldiers can still obey your orders?"

Bey couldn't help but glance at the full set of torture instruments of the interrogator's team with his peripheral vision. Ibrahim, who noticed his little movements, didn't say anything, but just observed his reaction.

He swallowed hard, and the panic in his heart could be seen from the trembling of his Adam's apple. Ibrahim planned to apply more pressure. He turned his head and planned to give orders to the interrogator.

"Bang" Bey knocked his head heavily on the ground: "I am willing to order all the soldiers who are still resisting to surrender to you for you."

Ibrahim stepped forward and grabbed his collar, pulled him up, and then asked the guards to grab the rope that tied his hands and let him follow Ibrahim like an animal.

………………

"Several towers in the south have been lost! Work harder to drive these mad dogs off the city wall, and then rescue all our comrades!"

The sight of multiple towers with Safavid flags already planted caused anxiety among the Guregani army who continued to resist. All their officers could do was to maintain military morale so that their own troops could win in this struggle. , so that he could get away to recover the fallen city walls and towers.

I don’t know how long it took, but they repelled another attack from Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com. Thanks to the reinforcements from the red heads on the southern wall, the offensive became much more intense, but the defenders still held on with difficulty.

While they were still catching their breath, the bow bearers escorted the senior officers to a place where they could all see them. Originally they thought it was the old man who decided to show up in person to boost morale, but the shackles on their bodies and the red heads beside them reflected their true situation.

"Has the city been captured? Why did Bey and Elder Qianhu become prisoners? We are already alone?"

Countless negative thoughts flooded into the minds of the defenders, and the officers soon discovered that something was wrong with the troops.

"For the soldiers who are still fighting for Mashhad on the city walls, I am your bey. First of all, I sincerely pay tribute to your bravery in resisting the enemy. But as you can see, God no longer protects you. We, we have embraced the fate of failure. To this end, I give you the last order, which is also a sincere request, put down your sword, and do not bleed in vain for this unchangeable outcome."

As soon as these words came out, the resisting defenders became chaotic. Many exhausted soldiers immediately dropped their swords and armor and ran towards the red heads.

A centurion who planned to resist took up his bow, stood on the top of the tower, nocked an arrow and drew the bow, and aimed an arrow at Bey.

But he missed the shot, and the arrow flew over Bey's right shoulder and hit Ibrahim who was standing behind him watching the show. Feeling the sudden impact, he looked down and saw the arrow that had been deflected by the breastplate. The guards nearby were all angry because their master was attacked, and they planned to strike hard at Bey and the heads of thousands of households who were escorted here.

"It seems that there are still some disobedient people." Ibrahim looked at the small opening made by an arrow on his coat, feeling a little distressed.