The Sun and the Lion

The siege battle in the next few days was just like the first two days. After a week of strong attacks, both sides accumulated a lot of casualties. Although the losses of the Guregani army were only a little over a thousand men, the majority of them were not cannon fodder, but the companions of Huslao and various Burkes.

However, what Huslao was most worried about was not the casualties of his accompanying soldiers, but the reinforcements.

He sent an order for reinforcements to Hisar a few days before the start of the assault, but after all this time, he still received no response.

He believed that there must be something unusual about Hisar's failure to have a reinforcement force arrive in Kunduz for such a long time. Thinking of this, Hu Si Lao did not doubt his brother's loyalty, but it was wrong not to even send a messenger.

Thinking of this, he wanted to send a messenger to Hisar again to urge Vali to send troops. He hurriedly called his cronies and planned to instruct this matter.

But Burke looked panicked when he walked in, which made Huslao doubtful: "Why are you so flustered? What happened? Tell me quickly."

"Emir, the scout you sent to Balkh has returned, but..." The confidant looked embarrassed.

"But what's wrong? I don't like guessing riddles, please tell me." Huslao was dissatisfied with his subordinate's hesitation, and his anger suddenly rose, and his hand unconsciously moved closer to the scabbard.

Seeing that his master was about to get angry, Burke, a close confidant, hurriedly defended: "I have only just learned the news, and I only have a partial understanding of the intelligence described by the scout. I suggest that you call the scout himself to give you a dictation."

"Where is he now, how is he, and what is he doing?" Hu Si Lao asked.

"He is resting now. When he came back, both men and horses were exhausted, and the scout was injured, and there were signs of torture on his body..."

"Being tortured?" Hu Si Lao frowned. It seemed that the scout had been captured by the enemy. In this case, he should be careful about what the scout said. After all, he has been captured before. Who knows whether he is a warrior who escaped from prison or a chess piece deliberately released by the enemy?

The scout was quickly brought to Hus Lao. As soon as he saw the emir, he knelt down tremblingly: "Master... I failed to carry out your order..."

Hu Si Lao asked impatiently: "What happened? Tell me everything you saw and heard. I want to know everything."

The scouts gave Husslaus an opening lightning strike: "Sir, the city of Balkh has been breached."

"What?" Whether it was Huslao or Burke, the nobles present were shocked when they heard the news.

"Why is Balkh gone? Tell me in detail!" Daihuslao, a close aide on the side, asked the scout.

The scout slowed down before continuing: "I did not see the fall of Balkh with my own eyes. I met the enemy on the road to Balkh and was captured. Most of the people who were with me were tortured to death. I was the only one who survived. Come down."

Huslao asked: "How far is that army from here?"

"Emil, please wait until he finishes speaking."

The scout continued: "At first, their interrogators simply asked me about my identity, and then they began to torture me without continuing the interrogation. They also asked me to watch their huge army during the march. The interrogators did not let me go until one day ago. He passed me by and told me to go back to Kunduz to spread fear, and then gave me some dry food and picked a skinny horse, which I spent a day and a night on before returning."

Hearing this, Burke, a close confidant on the side, made some calculations: "Emil, if what the scout said is true, then the enemy is probably only two or three days away from here."

This conclusion made Hu Si Lao feel thunderstruck. An army that could quickly break the city would only need at most three days to reach the city. He no longer knew how to face it.

He first looked at the scout meaningfully: "You go back and rest first." Then he ordered the herald: "Go and summon the Burkes to the hall. I have important matters to discuss with them!"

…………

In the siege camp the next day, Piri, who was alone in the castle room, was a little frustrated. The successive weeks of strong attacks caused thousands of casualties to the Safavid army, but the enemy's defense line did not waver at all, and there was no sign of collapse. .

He was already shaken at this time, and perhaps he should not continue to attack forcefully. This would be a waste of the lives of the soldiers. The best plan is to wait for His Majesty's army to arrive before attacking the city.

"General, the scout has an emergency to report to you." The soldier outside suddenly knocked on the door and sent a message, interrupting his thoughts.

Piri, who had recovered from his own world, replied: "Let him in."

The scout walked in and saluted: "General, I'm sorry to disturb your rest, but there is an emergency now. One of my team members claimed that the enemy had made a big move. The city gate was wide open and a large group of people were marching north."

"What are they going to do?" Piri was confused and had to summon the officers to discuss this emergency.

The scout officers told everyone present the information they had detected in detail during the meeting. Pili, Aqi, and other captains talked about it, but they couldn't guess the enemy. What is the army going to do?

Piri planned to take this opportunity to launch an attack on Kunduz: "No matter what the enemy plans to do by mobilizing so many troops out of the city, the city defense must be empty. We will take advantage of the opportunity to launch a surprise attack now, and we will definitely be able to break into the city!"

Some people suspected that Huslao wanted to deceive, but were refuted: "For the defenders, holding on to the city wall is the best way. If an elite raid is sent, there is no need to send such a large force. What's more, according to the observations of the scouts, they are completely Just wanted to escape.”

"Escape? This is even more nonsense. You first said that the enemy could rely on the city wall to defend, and then you speculated that the enemy could escape. Isn't this inconsistent?"

Piri quickly stopped the argument among his officers: "Well, all this is just speculation. Why don't we conduct a tentative attack first."

To everyone's surprise, the situation developed exactly as Pili expected, and even worse. The city's defense force was almost exhausted, and the Safavid army was almost unimpeded in climbing the city walls or controlling the streets.

"The enemy really fled and abandoned this city? Why is this? It shouldn't be." After receiving the good news, Pili's mood suddenly changed from depression to doubt, and then joy. He originally thought that there was no hope of attacking the target independently. It fell into my hands inexplicably.

After the officers learned that the enemy troops were really fleeing, they sent heralds to convey pursuit requests. They believed that the enemy troops had not gone far at this time and could quickly expand their victory.

Piri thought about it and decided to send scouts to follow Huslao, while he himself was going to enter the castle in Kunduz to direct the reception work.