The Sun and the Lion

Selim was not completely unprepared to face the Safavid's rapid offensive. After returning to Trabzon with the loot, he gathered the Sipaxi who had not assembled before. Yenicheri, Sipaxi, Karaman cavalry, mercenaries and speculators were all stationed in the military camp outside the city. According to rough statistics, Selim had more than 10,000 troops at his disposal.

After destroying Batumi and Poti, Selim has been waiting for the Safavid side's revenge. According to his guess, such a proud and noble monarch like Ibrahim would have to fight back even if it was just to maintain his prestige.

If Ibrahim had let it go, Selim could just use the heresy to highlight his reputation as a warrior.

When the news of the fall of Baybult and the siege of Gumishhane came, Selim knew that the opportunity had come. He immediately judged that the Safavid army's move was to cross the Pontus Mountains to Trab The path of the sect.

He immediately sent scouts to collect enemy information to confirm his judgment, and at the same time sent partial troops to ambush at the exit. After all, this was the only valley road that could pass the army. If the enemy wanted to threaten his rule, they could only take this road.

Until the news of the fall of Gumishhane came, Selim was fully focused on the next battle. After several days of preparation, the Ottoman army did a lot of work to cover up the ambush.

At the same time, he also knew the general size and composition of the Safavid army. Selim believed that such an army was just right, and he was sure to defeat it and earn more martial arts.

Heraclius was not completely carried away. After entering the mountain valley, he ordered to slow down the march, form a combat formation, and sent a large number of scouts to search for any areas where the army might be hidden.

Unfortunately, a group of Ottoman light cavalry in charge of reconnaissance accidentally ran into this group of Georgian scouts. The two sides had a cordial and friendly exchange. When Selim saw the scout who came to report carrying the head of the enemy cavalry, he first asked: " Have any enemies fled back?"

In fact, he knew that this question was meaningless. As long as traces of the enemy were discovered before the ambush, it would inevitably arouse vigilance. Having people flee back to report or killing everyone would make the enemy generals feel something was wrong.

After careful consideration, Selim decided to implement the original plan and let the partial division composed of irregular troops continue to ambush, while he led the main force to guard near the mountain pass and prepare to fight the enemy.

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"Your Majesty the Governor, after exiting the mountain pass in front of us, we will reach Trabzon to the west. We only need to march for one day."

Heraclius looked solemn. The encounters that the scouts encountered could really remind the Ottomans to be prepared. What he would face next would probably not be easy, but he would not and could not retreat.

Marching to the mountain pass, Heraclius's cavalry engaged the Ottoman scouts for several more rounds. This made him feel that the enemy was close at hand, and he was getting closer and closer to the Ottoman army.

"The general reported to the Governor that the scouts have discovered that the enemy troops have formed a formation at the mountain pass." The report from the subordinates confirmed Heraclius's newly hatched suspicion. He was then thankful to have entered the valley and asked the army to march cautiously.

Seeing that the enemy troops were adjusting their deployment to meet the challenge, Selim first ordered the artillery unit to fire.

Nearly twenty stone cannons roared and spit out black smoke, and the shells smashed into the Georgian army formation one by one. The main body of this Georgian army were conscripts from various places. They probably prepared their own weapons as required, but their actual quality varied. Heraclius pushed them to the front in the hope that they would resist the line and bear the full impact. and fire damage.

Before the panic of these Georgian conscripts spread, unusual noises came from the mountains on both sides of the valley road. The irregulars who had been hiding in the surrounding area rushed down the valley when they heard the sound of the cannon, and used all their strength to attack the Georgian flank.

"Your Majesty the Governor, the soldiers at the front have begun to waver, and there are gaps in the battle line." The herald returned from the front and promptly informed Heraclius of the battle situation ahead.

Heraclius looked gloomy: "This must be the enemy's most powerful trick, and this will never let the Roma succeed." After saying that, he ordered the elite soldiers holding the rear to attack.

These well-trained warriors wearing helmets and whips quickly filled the gaps opened by shelling and the Ottomans. Their neat formation forced the irregular troops to retreat. Therefore, those who are unwilling to retreat will be horrified to find that there is no trace of his comrades behind him, and the enemy's swords, guns, swords and halberds are coming towards him from the front and sides. With just one blow, they will be knocked to the ground.

Selim, who was observing the battle situation, saw that the Georgians at the front were quickly wavering and planned to increase their efforts to expand the results. The Sipaxi and Karaman cavalry deployed on both wings followed the sound of the trumpet and entered the battlefield to join the ranks of attacking the enemy's formation.

The elite warriors who had been reinforced at the forefront were able to withstand the onslaught after repelling the irregulars. These elite warriors, whom the nobles spent a lot of money to support, did not collapse after all, but allowed the Ottoman cavalry to be deeply embedded in the military formation.

"The Lord is with us, kill all the Roma in front of us!" the Georgian soldiers roared to maintain their morale, and continued to squeeze into the gap, trying to squeeze the Ottomans out of the formation.

Seeing that the cavalry could not penetrate the enemy's formation at one time, Selim did not intend to let the Sipashi and Karaman people continue to mince meat, and quickly arranged for his own soldiers with Yenicheri as the core to take over.

The main force fighting the Georgians was suddenly replaced by Jenicheli. The retreating Ottoman cavalry rested for a while and then went back to the battlefield to peel Heraclius's onions. The artillery no longer skimped on firepower, and another round of stone bullets fell into the Georgian army's formation.

The Georgian military formation could not withstand such heavy pressure and had to retreat continuously. Seeing that its own side was gradually gaining the advantage, the morale of the Ottoman army was boosted: "God and His Highness Selim are above, and under His watchfulness and blessing, His Highness will defeat all these enemies." Sent to hell!”

The morale-boosted Ottoman army tightly entangled the Georgians who wanted to retreat. At this time, Heraclius only had a team of cavalry with him. Seeing this as a hope for a comeback, he immediately ordered: "The entire army retreats and all the belongings on the baggage vehicles are removed." Spread it on the ground, spread it all on the ground!”

Only the cavalry still beside him were able to perform this task. While they retreated with Heraclius, they threw a large amount of previously looted property on the ground.

The irregular troops who were chasing with Yanicheli were immediately recruited. They stopped and started collecting property scattered on the ground. Fortunately, Selim was generous and managed the army strictly, so only the temporarily recruited soldiers and bandits were recruited. Find Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan .com Neither the soldiers nor Sipaxi paid attention to these unowned properties scattered on the ground.

However, the bad behavior of the irregulars seriously hindered the smooth flow of the road. Many pursuing troops were very embarrassed. Some Yenicheri and Sipashi even clashed with the irregulars who were picking up trophies over the passage.

When this news reached Selim's ears, he was very angry. He slapped his thigh hard with his right hand holding the riding crop, then raised it and pointed forward: "Any act of collecting trophies before the end of the battle is against military orders. You don't need to have any worries, you can deal with them directly. If these criminals dare to hinder the soldiers from fighting, just kill them directly."

Selim's cold and decisive orders were immediately implemented. Yanichery and Sipashi raised their butcher's knives high against these irregular troops. These groups of soldiers and bandits blocking the road were attacked by iron fists and were directly killed, making it difficult to hinder friendly forces. pursuit.

According to Heraclius's original estimate, he originally thought that this operation could hinder the Ottoman army for a period of time, allowing him to reorganize his troops and make a comeback. However, the Ottomans retreated much faster than he expected, and he had to continue to retreat with his soldiers.

From the northernmost to the southernmost part of the valley, countless Georgian soldiers were killed, captured or disappeared during the retreat and pursuit. There was no longer any possibility of being gathered by Heraclius. These nobles who originally shouted "Kill all the Roma" and the sergeants were all succumbed to the fear brought by the Ottoman sword.

"Run, run, run."

Various negative emotions quickly occupied Bagration's heart. After all, he was a royal branch promoted to rule his compatriots because of his loyalty, not the Roman Basileus of the same name.

In the end, Chirac had a sudden change of heart and simply gave up any efforts to gather the defeated troops, and quickly left the battlefield eastward under the escort of his own soldiers.