The Sun and the Lion

This arrow completely cut off everyone's way of survival, but the defenders could no longer show their heroic side. More people had lost the will to resist the enemy and would rather jump off the city wall and fall to their death than face it again. The swords of the red heads.

Ibrahim turned his attention to the senior officers, whose faces were full of tension as they were bound.

"Take them down and hand them over to the interrogator."

Ibrahim waved his hand, and a few strong men dragged the prisoners down. He wanted to take over this Shiite holy place. In his vision, the city of Mashhad was an important fulcrum for the Safavid Empire in Central Asia.

The city of Mashhad has a long history, a large population and a prosperous economy. Its political, religious, economic and cultural status in the Khorasan region is very important. This is the burial place of the eighth Imam Ali Rida and the great poet Ferdowsi, a famous origin of Iranian turquoise, and an important node in the saffron trade.

When the city was destroyed, the streets were no longer bustling with the hustle and bustle of the past. Every household closed their doors and secretly observed the situation in the city through several gaps.

After confirming that the defenders had been completely annihilated, the first thing Ibrahim had to do was to restrain the military discipline of the troops and ask the red heads to prohibit private looting of Mashhad residents and the destruction of buildings. In order to prevent them from having time to cause sabotage, Ibrahim specially ordered the quartermaster to distribute double rewards on the spot using the cash stored in the baggage camp. The military judge then pronounces and enforces this order to restrain their behavior.

At the same time, he sent heralds with bow-wielders to inform the local leaders that if they were willing to be loyal to Ibrahim, then the Safavid army would be a group of reasonable fighters.

After issuing the order, Ibrahim set off for pilgrimage to the holy shrine and met with the local ulema.

Relying on the Imam's Holy Tomb, it attracts pilgrims every year to perform Hajj. With the funding of dignitaries who converted to Shiaism, the Holy Land has been renovated many times. Shaharul's Queen Gohashad funded it in 1418. The latest major construction effort was the construction of a magnificent mosque as an annex to the shrine.

The Ghoshad Mosque standing in front of Ibrahim has a magnificent and exquisite porch, a wide courtyard and hall, and luxurious decoration. The porch is covered with tiles for decoration, and the inscription on it was written by Shaharul's son Baisonghuo'er.

Ibrahim walked into the mosque, walked through the portico and entered the hall, where he performed evening prayers in accordance with the procedure to pay tribute to the Imam.

The tour group composed of ulema, businessmen, landowners, bureaucrats and other dignitaries had just finished visiting the Safavid Army's military camp and the capital. They were following the bow holders to the Ghoshad Mosque with uneasiness. Meet the new owner in the courtyard shrouded in moonlight.

They first saluted Ibrahim, then knelt down and begged him not to deprive them of their property and lives as a sign of obedience.

"I am the special envoy of the Imam and the messenger of Huda. To obey me is to obey Huda." Ibrahim said while observing the Ulama: "Huda is kind and magnanimous. Since you Now that you have repented and chosen to take the right path and correct your past mistakes, Huda will naturally not impose new punishments on you."

They complied, saying that it was their unshirkable responsibility and obligation to help Safavid establish a new order, and presented them with the keys to all city gates and treasuries.

………………

Throughout the night, most of the people, including Ibrahim, returned to the camp outside the city, except for the bow-bearers who went to take over the castle and city gates. In order to celebrate the victory, Ibrahim ordered the temporary lifting of various bans in the military camp. The quartermasters distributed drinks to the troops. Dancers, singers and prostitutes in the city were also attracted by silver coins to please the red heads.

For a time, the entire military camp fell into a carnival. The red heads took off their heavy armor and drank freely from wine glasses to all kinds of wine, date wine, beer, sherbet and other drinks.

Beside the bonfire that lit up the camp, there were dancers who used their dance moves to attract the victors, and there were also red heads who were drunk and wrestling.

Compared with the vulgarity outside the big tent, the nobles inside the tent are very refined. Everyone wears luxurious robes and uses exquisitely crafted tableware to enjoy delicacies cooked with precious ingredients. There were also beautiful little boys and girls serving various nobles.

Compared with the low-quality wine made from leftovers, the high-quality wine that appears in Ibrahim's cup is naturally high-quality wine from all over Iran. Tasting wine from various regions is also a major pastime for the nobles during banquets.

Taking the newly filled glass of wine from the little boy on the side, Ibrahim took a sip of the wine from Khorasan.

"Well, this wine is very fresh and delicious."

After taking a sip, Ibrahim's compliments rolled out of his mouth, and he drank the liquid in the glass.

One drink after another, I don’t know how much time passed, and I don’t know how many drinks I drank. When the banquet was over, Ibrahim had to support the little boy sitting next to him who was serving the wine with his hands before he could stand up unsteadily. .

"Your Majesty. Find Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com" The attendants on the side quickly helped Ibrahim, who was about to fall. Ibrahim raised his head with difficulty and looked at the guards on both sides: "Hel me to the small tent next to the big tent."

Ibrahim was not the only one who got drunk. Almost everyone became "carnival drunkards." The secretaries of the big tent recorded in writing the different scenes of the red-heads' carousing. Alcoholism, obscenity and other violations of military discipline The behavior filled the military camp overnight.

Ibrahim spent the whole morning calming down, and in the afternoon he changed his clothes before leading the army to hold an entry ceremony into the city. After breaking the city, the Safavid army did not massacre the city, but returned to the military camp in an orderly manner. The bow-wielders who entered the city only wanted to control the castle area.

The night-long celebration also allowed a lot of silver coins to be spent on goods and services provided by the Mashhad Bazaar, allowing traders in the city to make a small profit.

Therefore, the eyes of the people on both sides of the street were mixed, including hatred from the families of the defenders, admiration and appreciation from the Shia supporters for the Safavid army, as well as happiness for surviving the disaster and respect for the conquerors. Awe.

Marching slowly to the square, Ibrahim announced that he would sweep away the tyranny brought by Guleghani and bring fair rule to the people.

While the King of Kings was performing on the stage, the red-heads were ordered to seize the mosque's property and the property of the disobedient warriors who had accompanied Mirza on his expedition and dignitaries who had not come to see him the day before.

After taking Mashhad, Ibrahim did not plan to continue marching to Merv or Herat. Autumn was still more than a month away. After deducting the marching time, Ibrahim would wait until the Safavid army set up camp. The combat season is almost over.

The red heads were now well fed in Mashhad, and it would not be easy to persuade them to fight abroad during the non-combat season.