The Sun and the Lion

"Get ready, let go!" In the cold winter, accompanied by a sharp whistle, the officer loudly gave orders to the surrounding soldiers. For a time, the explosions of gunpowder in the barrel came one after another.

After the end of the Kurita convened by Shabani Khan, the last days of 1498 were very quiet, and nothing major happened in the world to divert attention. This left the various courts speculating on the Uzbek Khan's next move. Turgut also dutifully handed this information back to Tabriz.

At this time, the musketeers on the exercise ground were organized into their respective centurions. Most of them lined up in three rows at the front of the military formation. There would also be a small number of musketeers deployed on both sides of the military formation. Camel guns were deployed later between the centurions.

Behind the queue of matchlocks and camel cannons were heavy infantry armed with cold weapons. Different from the almost unarmored archers, they wore chainmail and used scimitars and bucklers to fight against enemy infantry.

In addition to the musketeers, camel cannons and sword and shield soldiers, field artillery was deployed at the rear of the entire military formation. However, they could not fire during the exercise and could only stand in the position and watch the activities of their comrades.

The wax bullets fired from the breech-mounted revolving gun and matchlock gun swept across a large group of blue cavalry that was maneuvering towards them, and many riders were directly judged to be dismissed. Taking advantage of the enemy's cavalry formation being in disarray and out of touch with the infantry, the cavalry deployed on the flanks of the infantry quickly attacked, defeating the enemy in front of them, and then retreated to their starting position before the blue shooters counterattacked.

Seeing that their cavalry had been defeated, the blue infantry had to give up the attack and returned to the starting position to prepare for defense.

"Get ready, move forward!" The officers on the red side immediately organized their troops and began to counterattack.

At this time, Ibrahim, who was overlooking the whole place from the high platform of the exercise ground, turned his head and praised Kehobard beside him: "It is really right to hand over these two armies to you. I have begun to look forward to their performance on the battlefield. show."

"I dare not accept this. Your Majesty cultivates this land at all costs. Even if it were any other person, it could be done." Kehobard was very humble.

For the standing army, Ibrahim did spend a lot of money. The current model army and Ghulam can be said to have been formed after he and Kehobart discussed many times and allocated huge sums of money.

The establishment of the Model Army still remains at five infantry regiments and two cavalry regiments. Even if artillery, logistics personnel and engineers are included, the number is less than 10,000. Qulam was even smaller, with only three infantry regiments and one cavalry regiment.

Of course, Ibrahim would not be satisfied with this scale alone. He planned to continue to expand the standing army. According to the assumption, before the decisive battle with the Ottomans, the Model Army should be used for more than 20 infantry regiments and several cavalry regiments. Ghulam had At least 10 infantry regiments. Just looking at the number alone, it is already several times that of Yenicherry.

The larger model army has a wide range of soldiers. They mainly recruit soldiers from the mainstream society of the empire-that is, Muslims who make up the majority of the population. These poor farmers, herdsmen, miners, and miners who speak Persian or Azerbaijani. Craftsmen, the middle and lower classes, constitute the main body of the army.

The smaller Gulam was organized according to the Model Army after reorganization, but this army mainly recruited pagan soldiers, mainly Georgian, Armenian and other Caucasian Christians. In order to gather soldiers, Gerkin Khan and the Armenian Apostolic Church spent a lot of effort.

As shown in the exercise field, the infantry regiment is equipped with sword and shield soldiers, musketeers and camel cannons. Because of the emphasis on firepower, the musketeers account for four of the ten centurions of the entire regiment, and those who specialize in operating camel cannons are also divided into one centurion. Team.

The remaining five infantry centurions are all sword and shield soldiers, not equipped with weapons such as spears and two-handed swords. Their only task in the field is to defend their own shooters against enemy infantry. Also, during the siege, crawling over the ruins and fighting hand-to-hand with the defenders under the cover of musketeers' fire.

The cavalry did not operate in regiments like infantry on the battlefield, but were divided into hundreds of troops together with tribal cavalry to protect the flanks and rear of the infantry. For Ibrahim, who already had a strong cavalry unit, it was a waste of resources to equip infantry with spears to defend against cavalry attacks. His own cavalry was enough to engulf the enemy's cavalry like a wave.

In addition to the infantry and cavalry regiments, the entire legion also has directly affiliated troops, including field artillery and siege artillery, engineers, baggage corps, military police, etc.

And their training intensity is considered high in this era. They do a little exercise every day, starting from midday prayer to sunset. There is a gymnasium every week, where the entire army gathers together to train and compete. Those with excellent training results will also be rewarded on this day.

While the two were talking, the red side that was previously defending had turned from defense to offense and was approaching the blue side. Soon, the musketeers on both sides began to shoot at each other and engage in hand-to-hand combat. During this period, the defeated blue cavalry regained its strength, but was defeated by the powerful red cavalry and failed to save the battle.

The two people on the high platform knew that the outcome was decided, so they did not continue to focus on the training ground. Junior officers are gathering and gathering their troops for the review.

Ibrahim asked Kehobad: "My Sultan, now I am not worried about the combat performance of the troops, but war is not just about fighting. I want to ask your opinion about marching and logistics."

After all, Kehobard had no experience in leading an army alone, and Ibrahim was interested in him for putting him in charge of the construction of the new army. Although he had received traditional military education, his ideas did not seem to be that stubborn.

Now let’s ask about Kehobard. After all, the army has professional junior officers with clear division of labor. The officer group composed of sergeant major, quartermaster, military judge, chaplain, secretary, army doctor and military band is enough to make the general You don't have to deal with these chores personally, just perform decision-making and supervisory responsibilities.

He had no choice but to answer truthfully and tell everything he knew, and Ibrahim did not make things difficult for him.

"Your Majesty, the entire Model Army and Gulam Army have been assembled. Please review them."

The herald who came to notify them diverted their attention, and Ibrahim stepped off the platform, mounted his mount, and began to review.

It was Ibrahim's impromptu idea to ask the two forces to conduct exercises and inspect training in the winter. The Uzbek Khan's convening of the Kuritai can be said to be the biggest international news in Central Asia in the second half of the year.

If Shaibani plans to expand southward, he also plans to go eastward to stir up the troubled waters and see how good his firearms troops are.