The Sun and the Lion

"You..." Seeing someone suddenly intruding, the secretary wanted to step forward, but was forced back by a sword. The back of the knife was pressed against his chest, and the pirate holding the knife kept pushing him back until he was forced into a corner.

The guards in the captain's room released their sword handles and stepped back after seeing the intruder clearly.

Looking at the silent vizier, the secretary asked the envoy and the intruding sailors: "Is this the negotiation you are talking about?"

"Pah! Pah!"

The sailors responded directly to the clerk with naked violence. The clerk, who was stunned by the sudden slap, continued to be violent and was punched in the abdomen and jaw one after another. The unconscious man was tied up and dragged out.

"Isn't it fun to watch your followers get knocked unconscious, vizier?"

When Waga Atta came back to his senses, two big men were already standing beside him, controlling him, and then being irresistibly taken out of the captain's room. He was dragged to the upper deck, then pushed like an animal into the boat and carried to Ahsan's flagship.

During the rough treatment, all the gold and silver jewelry on his body were confiscated, and only the pearls used as buttons survived.

The small boat continued to approach the flagship near the port pier. At this time, the Safavid sailors had taken control of the pier. All the guards who tried to resist had either turned into corpses and were randomly pushed into the sea after their belongings were plundered, or they were captured. He was escorted to the edge of the trestle and knelt down, waiting for the final processing.

Suddenly, a corpse with a face completely covered in blood and full of rotten flesh floated to the side of the boat, surprising the vizier.

The reason why Ahsan was able to discover that Waqa Atta was trying to cheat was thanks to the messenger who was not very intelligent. He first appeared in the port undisguised through the vizier's ship. However, the sailors at the port did not raise any suspicion at this time, but he was also very blind and could not recognize which side the sailors were from. He stopped on the mast of the ship. He didn't pay attention to the wrong flag being flown and the wreckage of the ship that hadn't been cleared yet.

In this way, the messenger generously ran to the gate of the castle and found that the castle area that had experienced shelling was full of ruins. Puzzled, he found a group of soldiers walking around here, identified themselves and made inquiries.

Then he was taken down as expected, and after seeing the torture device, he told everything he knew. However, to be on the safe side, he was still sentenced to death. It was not until he repeatedly told those things that the interrogator tentatively believed his confession.

Originally, according to Ibrahim's written order, the Safavids could retain the original palace on the premise of controlling Hormuz trade and garrisoning troops. In exchange for losing power, they could receive a sum of money from local customs revenue every year. An annuity with a fixed amount.

However, verbally and in private letters, the King of Kings stated that he did not want to spend money to maintain a useless vassal, and if there was a suitable excuse, he would get rid of this burden as soon as possible.

There is only so much wealth flowing through here every year. If one more person takes it, the King of Kings can only take a little less.

After getting the confession from the messenger, Ahsan knew that the opportunity had come. He immediately gathered his military strength, left a small team of troops to guard the port and the castle, and then personally led the fleet to the port of Hormuz.

The breech-mounted swivel gun mounted on the bow of the boat fired only one round of shelling with shotgun shells, and there were few living people in the port who dared to resist. They were unable to come up with any countermeasures, and the guards who were not killed by the shotguns were also killed by the sailors' crossbows.

Then the sailors quickly landed ashore and pursued the victory. They even reached the largest bazaar in the city before the breech-mounted swivel cannon was unloaded and placed on a cart. A dazzling array of spices, silks, pearls, gems, cloth and other commodities greeted the sailors. eye.

The city's guards could not stop these sailors, but the pirates' looting of property delayed their death.

After ensuring control of the port, Ahsan was free to arrest Waqa Atta, who could not escape. He had no interest in talking to the vizier. After receiving the report of the successful arrest from his subordinates, he directly locked him in the bottom cabin.

The chaos in the city lasted for a while before it subsided, even though Ahsan sent his own soldiers to the Bazaar to restore military discipline, killing several people and collecting some of the stolen goods. But the best opportunity to fight has slipped away quietly, and the officers and puppet Shah in the castle have learned what happened.

They didn't know what exactly the vizier had talked about with the invaders. They speculated that either the other party had betrayed his trust and arrested the powerful people in Hormuz under the guise of negotiation. After all, the Safavid envoy asked them to send officials of sufficient rank to board the ship for negotiations.

However, some officials believe that Waqa Atta has angered the other party in the negotiations. The Vizier has been in power for many years, and many people have become his political opponents either actively or passively. All the conspicuous opponents have been wiped out, and the remaining officials can only work in a low profile even if they are dissatisfied. They would rather believe that this military disaster was directed at the vizier, rather than Hormuz's wealth.

They couldn't guess exactly what happened, so they asked Shuyuan www. zhaoshuyuａ． com But the military is weak, so what if we guess correctly. For the first time, the Shah made a decision of his own will to his ministers in the hall - sending representatives to contact the other party to hand over the vizier and offer some property as apology and request for renegotiation.

…………

"interesting."

In the customs hall of the port, Ahsan received the envoy from the castle. He conveyed the palace's request to the governor and asked his entourage to display the property he brought to everyone present.

When he heard that the vizier's life was also included in the apology, he had already imagined many tragic conflicts between various factions in the palace. He had already planned to convey this news to Waqa Atta who was imprisoned in the cabin after the interview.

And he showed great sincerity in front of the envoy. He immediately put on a magnanimous attitude to appease the other party, saying that the misunderstanding that occurred at the negotiating table could be put aside, and he agreed to the other party's request for re-negotiation, and designated the customs as the representative between him and Shah. The place where Hyuk met.

The messenger quickly conveyed the good news back to the castle. The officials were optimistic about Ahsan's attitude, but they also expressed implicit concerns about the ability of Shah, who had been locked in a golden birdcage for a long time, to negotiate with the other party. Worry.

Shah himself simply agreed to this request. Anyway, I am a fish and meat, and others are a knife. The negotiation itself does not matter. He only needs to ensure that the etiquette will not go wrong.

However, a few days later, when the agreed date arrived, the Shah of Hormuz was kidnapped by the sailors who had prepared in advance. He and his harem were also stuffed into the cabin and prepared to be sent to Tabriz with the vizier. .

The bureaucrats who served the court were either imprisoned or surrendered to serve their new masters, and the city easily changed hands.