The Sun and the Lion

The negotiations immediately broke down, and when the news of the Sultan's rejection came, Ahsan knew that he had screwed up. He failed to force the most powerful person on the southern shore of the Persian Gulf to surrender. He could only rely on slowly encroaching or even asking for reinforcements to build up. control.

In this way, Qatif lost its meaning to him, and he immediately ordered the sailors to search the entire city, kill all the old and weak, and capture men and women of appropriate age. in the hope of repaying the King of kings for any reproach he may have incurred by turning over rich booty.

The pirates were experienced and were able to scrape three feet of the ground in the shortest time. Even the hidden cellars were dug out. In just a few days of tense confrontation, they completed the work of transferring the loot and preparing for arson.

"In the name of Allah..."

Everyone outside the city watched the thick smoke rising within the city wall, silently watching the atrocities taking place in the city, and watching the gangsters who caused all this leave.

It was not until the fire was extinguished that the Sultan entered the city with his personal guards, symbolically announcing that he had recovered the city from the invaders, although there were only single digits of survivors in this oasis.

After reading the battle report, Ibrahim felt a little complicated. When Ahsan proposed that there was no need for the palace to allocate additional resources, he was quite tempted and looked forward to whether the governor could successfully achieve the promised results for him.

So when the battle report was delivered to the hunting ground, he directly put aside the preparations for organizing the next autumn hunt and began to read the latest news and battle reports about the situation in the Persian Gulf.

After reading it carefully, Ibrahim's first feeling was that it was very honest. The governor did not directly conceal the facts, nor did he use rhetoric to make detours. Instead, he openly admitted the failure and offered additional loot to ask for forgiveness.

"Tsk." Ibrahim put the battle report back on the desk, thinking about the next direction of the situation in the Persian Gulf.

At present, Safavid has only swallowed the fat piece of Bahrain Island, and has not included Qatar, Oman and various minor ports in its established targets.

Bahrain Island is of great value to Ibrahim. Most of the island is sandy land, and only the north, centered on Manama, has soil and water sources that can develop agriculture. However, its specialty product - pearls - is very valuable. It supports countless divers and merchants. According to the estimates of the royal merchants, the total trade profits of Bahrain Island alone can add hundreds of thousands of silver coins to the national treasury every year. , if the output of all the Persian Gulf coasts is added up, the profits they can generate can make the world's richest monarch tempted.

In addition to pearls, this place is also one of the academic centers of Shia, able to cultivate enough Ulema to consolidate Shia in the mainland and further enhance the prestige of the King of Kings in the religious world.

The next step was clear. Ibrahim planned to gather his troops to crush the city of Hofuf. He only needed to eliminate this dynasty so that the oases in the interior could not threaten the security of the port.

For this reason, he plans to gather troops in Basra. The number is not large, about two to three thousand people, plus the pirates under Ahsan's command, it should be enough to capture the Hassa Oasis.

As for the command of the red-headed team, Ibrahim had to think hard. Originally, he wanted to let the cavalry team be commanded by Ahsan, but this would cause many problems.

According to the battle report, the main force of the fleet is resting in Manama, Bahrain Island, while the newly assembled troops are in Basra. It will be very troublesome to coordinate the transport ships to transport the cavalry, and the supply pressure will be much greater.

Secondly, the governor was a pirate and had no experience in commanding cavalry. Ibrahim was very worried that he would make an operational mistake and lose his precious Turkmen Superman, and this was related to the next hidden danger.

As we all know, red heads are very rebellious. It is difficult for them to accept military chiefs other than Sheikhs and tribal nobles. If they are sent to a general who is not a red head, the chief officer must be careful to maintain a relationship with the red head officer. It is directly related. Disobedience and mutiny are both very likely to occur.

After a period of tangle, Ibrahim decided... not to send the red heads. He had other options - the standing army resting in Tabriz, and the Georgian army he had never dispatched.

"Prepare your horses, I'm going to the Model Army's camp." Ibrahim stood up, tidied his clothes, and told his attendants to get ready for the trip.

The sudden visit of the King of Kings caught Kehobard, who was inspecting the military drills, off guard. He quickly ran to the door of the military camp to greet him: "It is an honor for Your Majesty to come to inspect the military camp. Please forgive me for the sudden incident."

Ibrahim nodded, and then followed Kehobad deep into the military camp, inspecting the training situation with him. Frank, the instructor responsible for teaching firearms operation, was very enthusiastic when he saw the donor coming, and he flattered Shah for his generosity.

"The soldiers who can hand over their firearms shooting skills to me without reservation will be worthy of the salary given to you." He publicly recognized their work achievements and ordered an additional quarter of salary as a reward.

He then used the matchlock to shoot at the shooting range with great interest. The attendant brought him a custom-made musket that was like a work of art from the saddle bag. Compared with the long-trained musketeers, the King of Kings' shooting skills were very unfamiliar, but Everyone present complimented him on his shooting performance.

After going around in circles, everyone finally arrived at the big tent in the military camp, but this time it was not Kehobard who was giving orders from the main seat. This time, standing across from the desk, he asked, "Does your Majesty have any new orders for you when you come here this time?"

He actually had something to do and wanted to find an opportunity to report to the King of Kings. This inspection was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity. However, thinking that Ibrahim had other important matters, he chose to let the King of Kings issue the order to him first.

"Yes." Ibrahim signaled his attendants to unfold the map and take out the battle report, and then pointed at the southern shore of the Persian Gulf with his riding crop: "An enemy who disobeyed the king appeared here again. Judging from the battle report of the governor of the Persian Gulf Islands, he alone It is difficult to defeat this enemy with a fleet."

"What do you mean... you want to mobilize troops from the Model Army or Gulam to reinforce?" Kehobard's eyes lit up and he looked for Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan. comｍThe King of Kings wants to mobilize the standing army to fight alone, then he and his officers do not have to share military merits with the red head.

"This is not a strong enemy. I only plan to dispatch three regiments to Basra to prepare for battle. You will go back later to pick two commanders with cavalry and one commander with infantry, as well as the generals who will command these troops."

Kehobard was about to recommend some outstanding mid-level officers to Ibrahim. He quickly seized the opportunity: "Your Majesty, regarding the general responsible for this war, I have a recommendation right now."

He was actually somewhat unable to handle the work of two legions at the same time, especially since Gulam recruited Caucasian Christians. Religious and cultural barriers made him somewhat repulsive about directly managing the Gulam Corps.

Fortunately, after a long period of training and previous wars, Kehobard found some outstanding officers who he thought could shoulder important tasks. He immediately promoted one of them as a deputy to help him manage the Gulams.

After some introductions, an Armenian dressed as an officer walked into the tent and respectfully saluted the King of Kings: "The last general, Jacob, has an audience with Your Majesty."

"Jacob, I remember you, can I leave this task to you?" Ibrahim looked at Jacob and Kehobard.

Kehobard nodded to Jacob, and the Armenian replied: "As long as it is a task assigned by the master, the servant must perform it no matter what."

"Very good. I hope to receive good news from you as soon as possible. Someone will hand over the letter of appointment to you tomorrow. You must carefully identify the three captains who will work with you tonight."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Jacob's determination and confidence impressed everyone present.