The Sun and the Lion

After several days of marching, Ibrahim arrived in the city of Kunduz. All the strongholds along the way chose to submit directly under the pressure of the army. He only sent a small number of troops mixed with the surrender to guard Balkh City.

Before he arrived in Kunduz, he had sent a messenger to the siege camp near Kunduz to inform Piribey and Achibey, but the messenger who returned surprised him.

Ibrahim really did not expect that Pili could really capture the city of Kunduz on his own, which also made him very curious. In addition to the battle report, he also planned to summon the main and deputy generals to understand the battle after entering the city.

When Piri heard that Ibrahim was about to arrive, he quickly led his officers and a group of soldiers to wait near the bridge on the west side early.

Ibrahim was welcomed into the city and entered the castle with a group of senior officers. Piri then began to show him and contribute the spoils he had obtained - Kunduz city gate keys, treasury bills together with inventory reports and other government documents, as well as city redemption fees that local forces took the initiative to pay tribute to the Safavid army.

Kunduz is indeed not rich after more than ten years of hard work by Hus. This can be seen from the life-saving money that the citizens have scraped together.

"Is that all?" Ibrahim scratched his head and asked.

The reason for Ibrahim's question was simple. He could still understand that ordinary people could not pay the life-saving money. How could the gold and silver in the treasury of a big warlord be inferior to this life-saving money?

Upon hearing this, Pili thought that the King of Kings suspected him of pocketing the loot, and he quickly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, you don't need to doubt my loyalty. What I was like when I took over the city is what I am now."

Ibrahim, who was shocked by this operation, could only comfort him: "Pilibey, I don't doubt that you embezzled the loot. If what is recorded in this report is true, no matter who you are, it will be strange."

After speaking, Ibrahim threw the original booklet casually on the ground. The quartermaster's statistical report after the war was the document with practical significance.

"Also, why are there no horses in the castle stables? Does Hus always have no horses?" He looked through the report, but found that there were no horses, mules, camels or other beasts of burden registered in it.

Ibrahim, who noticed some clues, raised his head and looked at the two senior officers in charge of the matter: "Have you finished writing your battle report? If possible, leave it to me first."

Piri and Archie looked at each other, and then said that the battle report would appear on Ibrahim's desk about tomorrow.

"Okay, you can leave now." Ibrahim waved his hand for them to exit the room. He had another thing to deal with. The two had no choice but to bow and bow, and then exited the room.

After a brief inspection of the situation in Huslao's territory, the community leaders and guild leaders who took the initiative to defect were even conservative. In Herat, Kandahar, and Kabul he was able to find surrendered administrators to maintain the situation.

But here, not only were there a scant and messy archive of documents, but there were no usable surrender officials. That is to say, the local forces and their dislike of Huslao showed great cooperation after the arrival of Ibrahim, allowing him to temporarily appoint several officials and a small number of garrison troops to demonstrate his rule.

Fortunately, the palace that remained in Tabriz was carrying out the official selection process smoothly. A large number of bureaucrats with different backgrounds were employed to replace the demoted officials from the previous government who were deemed unqualified by the supervisory system, and also to establish an administrative system in the newly conquered territory. Machines provide ample talent pools.

In addition to establishing administrative structures in newly conquered areas, there was also the issue of military rank. The current official ranks of the Safavid Army are too simple and confusing. He plans to promulgate a new rank system when the war is over and rewards are given, but he is still thinking about the content of the system. The Mansabudar system is currently the main reference. object.

However, these are things after the current stage of the war is over, and it is best for him to focus on military operations first.

…………

A few days after Husband's hasty flight, he finally found reinforcements on the road to Hisar, and the two armies met in surprise.

"Dear Emil, why are you here?" Burke, who was leading the army, couldn't help asking as he looked at the embarrassed Husslao and the chaotic team behind him.

"How many reinforcements are there? Where is my brother?" Huslao asked rudely.

Burke, who didn't know what was going on, had to answer Huslao's question first: "Wali Sultan was still raising military supplies and coordinating troops in Hisar. He handed over the troops he had assembled to me and asked me to go to Kundu. We need reinforcements from soldiers. There are not many people here, only 500 companions, and the temporary recruitment can only be 3,000."

Hearing that these were the only reinforcements, Hu Si Lao almost fell off his horse: "Didn't I already explain the situation in the letter? Coming in batches like this is giving more heads to the enemy. I would rather come later. What I need is pinching." A group of powerful reinforcements, rather than a few scattered weak brigades. Find Shuyuan www.zhaｏshuyuan.com ”

After rebuking the reinforcements, Huslao ordered: "You don't need to rush to Kunduz now. Lead the way. I will withdraw to Kunduz now and send a messenger to inform my brother."

Seeing Huss's anxious look, Burke didn't dare to ask any more questions, so he had no choice but to carry out the order.

In terms of saving his life, Huslao did indeed have strong mobility. He was ready to run away in just one night. The castle stables and the horses and mules of the caravan in the city were all ransacked, and the most valuable belongings were also packed up.

If it weren't for the lack of time, the people in the city would be bleeding, and some Burkes would still regret not making a quick buck before leaving.

And thanks to Piri's strategy of not pursuing immediately, but just sending scouts to track, the army moved in very smoothly. But some Burkes suddenly fell into pessimism and defeatism, and secretly left the team during the chaotic march, intending to choose another Ming leader.

These deserters not only ran away with themselves, but some brave ones also took away some horses and mules carrying property while it was dark. This caused a lot of losses to Huslao, but he was unable to control the team at this time. These losses I can only admit it.

The Safavid scouts who followed also observed this phenomenon. They wished that their colleagues would cooperate at this time - even if there were only a few hundred people - to catch up and overwhelm the enemy.

But Pili did not send reinforcements until they witnessed the two teams meeting up, and the enemy troops began to separate their troops to search for and kill the scouts who were following them openly.

At the same time, the scouts also realized that they were chasing too far. They had lost contact with the army. If more time had passed, the superiors might have thought they were dead.

Without the need for reinforcements and horses to drive them, they consciously turned back before contacting the enemy cavalry. They had to return to the camp before the dry food and feed were exhausted.