The Sun and the Lion

The road between Tabriz and Kostantiniya is long, and the exchange of diplomatic missions takes several months. During this tight gap, the two sides became an opportunity to continue fighting.

Heraclius, who had received the endorsement of the King of Kings, was no longer as cautious as before the memorial, and directly gathered all the forces he could mobilize in the Georgian province to penetrate deep into the Ottoman hinterland along the road at the southern foot of the Pontus Mountains.

The Safavid army passing through Erzurum continued to retaliate and loot the villages that paid taxes to the Ottomans. Death and ruins were everywhere wherever Heraclius went. The Bey who managed these jurisdictions was unable to resist and could only attack the control Pashas and princes from various provinces called for help.

Heraclius was in Baibult's castle taking inventory of the spoils and munitions he currently possessed. The city was caught off guard by the arrival of the army, and although Heraclius did not bring any artillery or siege equipment for the sake of marching speed, he quickly captured the city.

These Georgians had no favorable impressions of the pagans in the city, and their differences in language, culture, and religion turned them into the cruelest butchers of the locals. In just one day, Baibult was reduced to a military camp with only soldiers and slaves due to massacres and escapes.

"We must be quick." Heraclius looked at the map and pointed to the next target for his men - Gumishhane. "As long as we can capture this place, the road directly over the Pontus Mountains to Trabzon will be open to us. The bandit will definitely gather his troops to protect Trabzon. So..."

Trabzon did not directly block the exit of the mountain road. Heraclius made up his mind: "We can make him nervous for a while, and then walk back to Georgia along the coast with the loot."

After speaking, Heraclius glanced at the various officers participating in the meeting, asking them to add details of the plan or demonstrate the feasibility of the plan.

"Your Majesty the Governor, I dare to ask you how you want to deal with that Selim." A lord named George asked him, and Heraclius looked at him. He was one of the nobles who provided the most military power.

"Then it depends on whether he dares to catch up. It will be easier if he is a turtle in the city wall. If he dares to come out to chase, then give him a head-on blow." Heraclius said, with his right hand still clenched into a fist. Waved lightly.

As for the race against the Ottoman army that was chasing them? No need to think about this, no one dares to expect that the army returning with the spoils of war will march faster than the lightly-armed pursuing troops, unless they take the initiative to abandon the bloated baggage team.

"This Selim, I think, is just a money-grubber. He directly risked the war between the two countries and plundered the borders of other countries without permission. How dare such a person be released to serve? The army led by such a person will inevitably be robbed of property. We were tempted, and it happened that we plundered a lot of property." Heraclius meaningfully explained his plan to his subordinates.

However, the nobles believed that this would cause dissatisfaction among the soldiers: "If you cannot protect the property of your subordinates, it will damage your prestige in the military and cause many unnecessary losses and troubles."

Heraclius insisted that this was the best method: "If we can induce enemy soldiers to escape the control of officers, then we do not have to waste the blood of soldiers. For soldiers, victory should be the first priority. Is not it?"

"I hope you are right, Your Majesty the Governor." The lords could not argue with Heraclius, so they had to give in and agree.

…………

Ustaji Khan in Diyarbakir also convened his subordinates to discuss how to implement Ibrahim's order. He was not as radical as Heraclius. He knew more about the plans of Ottoman and Shah. He believed that it was not time to anger the Padishah. good time.

"Is the King of Kings so angry that he loses his mind? He actually asked me and that Bagration to drive into the hinterland of Roma. His Majesty clearly told me before that I could only be rescued through caravans and dervishes. Qizilbash, ruled by Bayezid, cannot directly send troops across the border. Is the palace ready to attack the Roma Padishah now? Or is it just because of the anger given by Huda?" The Khan fell. Bitter water, complaining about why Ibrahim suddenly abandoned his previous cautious plan.

Several close aides were also very helpless and could only console them: "Dear King Khan, the King of Kings just asks you to send troops to the Ottomans, but there are no regulations on how many people to send and what to do."

"Oh, that's easy to say." The staff member who had not spoken previously shook his head in denial.

Although the governors of border provinces in Kurdistan and Georgia are under the control of the military administration, the administration of justice is handled by Kadi, and the supervisory department is also independent, not to mention the spies under Turgut.

If he wanted to hide something as big as the palace, all he had to do was write a report from one of the qadi, the censorship officer, the spies, or the disgruntled junior officials. Find bookstore www.zhaosｈhuyuan.com

Ustaji Khan thought about it again and again, and had no choice but to bite the bullet and order: "Let's write a letter to contact the Kurdish tribes and fellow believers near the border, and take three thousand from them to ride around the Roma territory and rob You don’t have to hand over the loot you get, so it’s a lesson to the Roma people.”

"Sir, didn't the palace send some gunpowder and firearms not long ago? Maybe they can be used to finance..."

Ustaji Khan glared at the staff who made this suggestion: "No, absolutely not. Using firearms requires sufficient practice and a stable supply of gunpowder, both of which I cannot provide now. It is a waste to give these expensive weapons to the church members. ."

Although it is an open secret that the Safavids support the Shiites in Asia Minor, and it is normal to send some swords and armors or to meet the red heads who smuggle into the country, what is the purpose of suddenly sending firearms? Are you afraid that Bayezid will continue to exercise restraint?

The mission sent by the palace to Kostantiniya passed through his jurisdiction. Ustaji Khan did not know what diplomatic mission they shouldered, and thought that they were going to ease relations with the Ottomans.

This was also one of the reasons that caused trouble for Ustaji Khan. In his opinion, the King of Kings not only wanted the two governors to send troops to cause trouble, but also immediately sent envoys to ease relations with the other party.

If we want to teach the Roma a lesson, we should wait until we send troops to win a small victory. If we want to ease relations now, we should not expand the dispute.

The final plan was finalized in this way. Ustaji Khan did not mobilize the military strength of the entire province like Heraclius did, but only recruited irregular cavalry from the tribe to harass the Ottoman border.

In any case, both governors faithfully followed Ibrahim's orders and expanded the sudden border conflict.