The Sun and the Lion

There was no need to interrogate the captured Burke. Ibrahim was certain that he was ordered by Miran Shah to take this opportunity to assassinate or kidnap him. Without too many procedures, his neck was wiped on the spot.

"Cut off his head and that of the other Guregani men and put them on the tips of their spears!" Ibrahim ordered sternly to the bow-holders. They were very familiar with doing this, and soon a group of riders holding lances with human heads came out alone and lined up in two lines.

Milan Shah, who was waiting at the north gate tower, was still looking out of the city anxiously. A few hundred meters away, he couldn't see clearly what was happening at the distant negotiation location.

After a while, he saw a group of riders galloping towards him.

"Muhammad Bek!" Miran Shah exclaimed when he recognized the human head stuck on the spear of the leading rider.

At this time, Miransha was losing the money. He directly lost Burke, who was known for his use of force. A fierce general could play a huge role in the narrow battlefield of city defense. And after this matter is exposed, he will definitely get a reputation as a treacherous person.

But he didn't have time to think so much. The demonstrators with bows had already arrived at the city, holding their heads high to show to all the defenders on the city.

"We can't let them show off their power and shoot!" Miransha quickly ordered the defenders on the side.

Seeing that the defenders had all their bows and crossbows, they could no longer continue their activities, so they had to retreat out of range and simply return to the camp.

…………

After a night of preparation, the mortars and field artillery were deployed to the predetermined positions. The artillerymen immediately loaded gunpowder and iron shells and prepared for firing.

The defenders at the top of the city also saw the enemy in the distance slowly pushing the large bronze pipe mounted on the artillery cart into the position. Having never seen firearms, they all gathered curiously at the top of the city to watch the artillery operations.

"What are you all doing here? Ah!" Burke, who is responsible for the defense here, found that everyone was deserting and couldn't help but reprimanded loudly.

"Master Burke, look, the enemy has no idea what they are doing. It's neither a trebuchet nor a ballista. What are those big pipes used for?" The sentry pointed to the artillery position in the distance.

Mr. Burke looked left and right but didn't see any clues: "There's nothing interesting about this. Even if you don't know what it is, as long as it's in the hands of the enemy, it can't be beneficial to us. Now, everyone, go back." Go to your posts, if I see you leaving your posts without permission again, I will take military action and report it to Mirza!"

The threats from their superiors successfully dispersed the soldiers who were still watching the excitement, and they had no choice but to return to their posts and continue on duty.

Just when they thought it was a tense but calm day, several loud bangs came from the artillery position.

Only one shell fired by the mortar fell on the city wall, causing some casualties. The others fell into the city wall. Residential buildings were damaged to varying degrees. The old, weak, women and children who were responsible for assisting the defenders were frightened into confusion. , for a moment they were neither advancing nor retreating, and it seemed likely to cause a stampede.

"This, what is this?"

Before the defenders could react, field artillery fired at the city walls. The battlements were shattered by the shells, and the flying masonry and human tissue gave onlookers a great psychological shock.

Ibrahim, who had just arrived at the artillery position, did not see the scene of their first round of firing. He had to ask the artillery officer on duty: "What was the result of the round of artillery fire just now?"

Commander Salman, who was dispatching artillery, didn't know how to report. He could only say: "Your Majesty, our army has just dealt a major blow to the enemy's morale. I have no way of knowing the specific results."

As soon as Salman finished speaking, the herald came to report that the artillery had been loaded and asked whether to continue the bombardment.

"If we keep shelling, how long do you think it will take to knock down the walls of Kandahar? I can wait a few weeks and let the enemy be enveloped in fear."

Upon hearing this order, Salman and the Italian gunner on the side looked at each other, and he quickly explained: "Your Majesty, not to mention how much gunpowder and shells the baggage train can transport every day, this artillery must dissipate heat. If it overheats It may cause the barrel to deform and eventually be scrapped.”

Seeing that Ibrahim's expression did not change, Salman quickly explained: "Your Majesty, although our army can only destroy the wall with these 6 mortars and 40 snake cannons, as long as the artillery firepower is concentrated on one point, even if it is Even the legendary walls of Babylon could not withstand such a bombardment.”

"Okay, then I'll do as you say. The most indispensable thing in a siege is time." Ibrahim couldn't think of any better way and could only agree to Salman's suggestion.

Then Salman told the herald: "Pass the order on. All artillery targets will be adjusted to the section of wall on the left side of the city gate. Excluding the cooling time, shelling will continue no matter day or night. No need to listen anymore." I order another fire to be lit until the city wall collapses!"

The herald quickly conveyed the order to each artillery position, and they immediately adjusted the direction and measured the range. Then, based on the ranging results, they used the experience gained at the training ground and a specially made bevel protractor to adjust the artillery elevation.

The gunners from Italy not only taught Persian artillery on the training ground, they also brought their fledgling ballistics knowledge to Iran, including the triangulation method used in distance measurement and auxiliary tools such as bevel protractors.

Many Italian manuscripts on ballistics and military engineering were translated into Persian for study by artillery and engineering officers.

Now, on the artillery position in front of the walls of Kandahar, it was time for them to put what they had learned to use.

Ibrahim only waited for less than ten minutes before the artillery roared one after another. The gunpowder gas pushed the shells out of the barrel. Most of the iron solid bullets fired this time hit the walls and towers. Only a few shells passed over the defenders. The head flew into the city.

After a few more shots, the artillery position fell into silence. The gunners did not rush to reload gunpowder and shells, but began to clean the gunpowder residue in the barrel and wipe grease on the barrel to ensure that it would not cool down too quickly. Cold shrinkage reduces barrel life.

At the same time, Ibrahim summoned military engineers and asked him to dispatch engineering troops to dig trenches and tunnels in preparation for the siege.

On the other side of the battlefield, several successive shellings alarmed the decision-makers in the castle. The morale of the defenders on the city walls dropped rapidly after seeing the lethality of the shells - the battlements and towers could no longer give them a sense of security.

The architect who went to assess the city's fortifications gave Milan Shah a bleak report: "If such attacks continue, this city wall made of bricks and stones may not last more than a week."