The Sun and the Lion

"Your Majesty, if we cross the river ahead, we will be not far from Kandahar." The guide wearing a black turban pointed to the river not far in front of him, and Ibrahim nodded.

However, Ibrahim was not the pioneer. The previous owners of Kandahar had already built bridges on the main roads, so there was no need for the King of Kings to bother building pontoons.

He and the bow-bearers stood in an open area on the river bank, waiting for other troops to cross the bridge first.

Ibrahim, who had been waiting for a long time and watched the last cart pass, whipped his horse and said, "It's our turn now, cross the bridge!"

It was not until dark that Ibrahim arrived at the planned camping site.

The terrain of Kandahar City is relatively flat, and it is very broad to the south and east, but to the west and north lies the northeast-southwest-oriented Arghandab River.

The main camp of the siege troops was located just between the mountain passes, with the river at its back, and most of the baggage was stored here. The Khans who arrived first followed their usual practice and specially left the middle position for Ibrahim and the bow-bearers to camp.

Ibrahim entered the siege camp, ordered the herald to convey the news of his arrival to the senior officers, and then led a small group of soldiers to high ground near Kandahar to observe the terrain.

…………

Since Piri Bey led the Afghan horsemen to march to Kandahar a few days ago, the siege of the city has officially begun.

Stationed in Kandahar was Ulugh Beg's son Miran Shah. When the scouts reported that a strange team was approaching, he immediately sent troops to intercept it. But Piribey chose to catch the opponent off guard. When Burke, who led the troops to intercept, thought that the meeting between the two sides was about to begin, Piribey shot him in the forehead with an arrow.

Burke was seriously injured and fell off his horse, which caused chaos to the Guregani cavalry who came. The Afghan horsemen took advantage of the situation and drove him back into the city.

Miran Shah was greatly shocked after receiving the news. He immediately gathered all his troops and planned to encircle and annihilate the Afghans outside the city. But he quickly gave up this idea, because Romru Khan and Talish Khan followed closely behind, and the sight of 30,000 red heads galloping outside Kandahar was something Miran Shah would never forget.

He had no choice but to take advantage of the fact that the Safavid army had not completely blocked traffic and sent his companions to Kabul with a request for help. The messenger left Kandahar through a side gate and was spotted by the red heads on patrol. However, the red heads did not stop him. They just chased him for a symbolic distance and then gave up.

At this time, Miran Shah did not know when the Emir's reinforcements would arrive. He could only try his best to use the resources in Kandahar City to consolidate the city's defense.

During this period, he sent small groups of cavalry out of the city many times to harass the engineers who were building fortifications about one kilometer away from the Kandahar city wall. However, the red heads had sufficient manpower and left no loopholes for the Guregani army to break through.

The one-kilometer starting position was arranged just right, and conventional crossbows and even matchlock guns could not reach it. However, siege equipment such as trebuchets lacked accuracy, and they were not too far away from the city wall. Miran Shah could only wait for the Safavid army to build their positions in an orderly manner.

"Mirza, what you are doing here now will only increase your anxiety." Burke, who was beside Miran Shah, advised.

Since those failed raids, the Safavid army's revenge followed one after another. The two Khan kings ordered the deployment of 400 capable cavalry to intimidate the defenders.

They waited for an opportunity to surprise the Guregani cavalry who were out of the city, then cut off their heads and threw them together with the heads of some surrounding civilians within sight of the defenders. They also boldly entered the range of crossbows and shot several defenders to death.

Miransha turned to look at the Burkes accompanying him: "You are right. We really can't do anything now. We can only wait for when father can send reinforcements..."

But one thing made him very strange. According to the scouts who left the city, they did not find any siege equipment. The sentries on duty at the top of the city did not report any news about the Safavid army collecting materials and manufacturing siege equipment. .

If you want to capture a strong city like Kandahar, you only need a lot more siege equipment. The noise caused by manufacturing and transporting such a large number of siege equipment cannot be hidden from the defenders.

Miransha thought for a while and couldn't come up with any clue, but just as he was about to leave the city and return to the castle, a letter was shot in by an arrow.

"Your Highness, be careful!" The companions on the side stopped in front of Miransha and Burke, but the arrow did not hit anyone and just landed on the top of the city.

The crossbowman made a gesture to shoot at the city, but the red head did not retreat as quickly as before, but watched when the defenders' attention turned to him. Find Shuyuan www. zhaoshuyuan.com Discovering the abnormality, Burke quickly stopped the crossbowmen.

The red head who shot the arrow into Kandahar shouted loudly: "Berk stationed in Kandahar, this arrow contains a letter from my lord Ibrahim to persuade you to surrender. Take it back and look at it carefully and consider it."

Miransha watched the red head leave after saying these words, and stretched out his hand to the companion beside him: "Bring that letter over here."

He took the letter, unfolded it, and read it quickly.

"To Mirza Mirza, stationed at Kandahar:

"I know that you are in doubt and panic at this time. This is human nature, and it is also the instinct that Huda gave to you and me. But after accepting what Huda gave you, you cannot escape the fate arranged by him. Outside Kandahar City The army is much larger and more elite than you think. Perhaps you have heard how Hussin Baihara, the emir of Herat, was defeated. Hussin Baihara had more than you at that time, and I What this brings is more powerful than the time when Hussin Baihara was defeated. If Huda also gave you additional sanity, then you should know exactly what to choose.

"I will only give you one chance. During the noon prayer tomorrow, I will negotiate with you in the north of the city. I hope you will not disappoint the omniscient and omnipotent Huda."

The signature at the bottom is Ibrahim's monogram.

After reading the letter, Miransha suddenly thought of something and said to himself: "Very good, very good. This is the good opportunity given to me by Allah."

"Your Highness..." The Burkes cast glances of concern and confusion at Miransha.

"The enemy is more powerful than we imagined, but this powerful power also made him lose himself and become arrogant." He then explained his idea to Burke: "He will be with me in the city at noon tomorrow. Diplomatic talks, it is obvious that this is the only opportunity for us to easily contact the enemy's leader..."