The Sun and the Lion

In Alvand's camp, most of the tents that should have stretched for several miles were missing. In the open space next to the big tent, the prisoners of war who had been stripped naked were squatting on the ground with their heads in their hands. Those who were too injured to stand had all been executed. The corpses were buried in the big pits dug by the prisoners of war, and the heads were collected after the military judges counted the military merits and built into the capital.

In the open space on the other side of the big tent, all the baggage was piled here. Arms, food and grass, gold and silver bars, military horses, packed tents, and even the dancers brought by Alvand were classified and placed. throughout.

Because they were too exhausted, most of the cavalrymen and senior officers, including Ibrahim, took off their iron armor. Their silk or linen tops were soaked with sweat and clung tightly to their master's upper body. Some red heads found it uncomfortable to wear wet clothes, so they simply took off their clothes and exposed their upper bodies to the waning sunlight. Looking at them from a distance, uninformed people thought they were some kind of barbarian tribe from the classical era.

At this moment, the city gate of Tabriz opened, and a team of riders who looked like hundreds of people came out. The scouts monitoring the city fortifications did not dare to neglect, and ran back to report the news to Ibrahim as soon as the city gate was opened.

"This is because the cowards in Tabriz feel that the sect has suffered heavy losses and can get some benefits from us? The mantis stalks the cicada, and the oriole is behind." Ibrahim just expressed his disdain to the leaders around him. Most of the leaders also held this view. They believed that Tabriz had high walls and strong walls and sufficient reserves to hold on until reinforcements arrived. There was no need to open the city and surrender.

In a short time, a team was formed to resist the enemy. The red heads were all holding bows and arrows, but the bow strings had not been drawn yet, and they were looking warily towards the direction where the enemy might come.

They were close, but the red heads did not receive the order and did not fire arrows. Hashayar only shot an arrow to test, and the arrow landed in front of the rider at the front and stuck diagonally in the ground. The rider immediately reined in his horse and stopped moving forward. Starting from the rider, the entire team stopped.

The number of this strange team did not seem to be large. Feeling strange, Ibrahim ordered it to be surrounded and kept shrinking the encirclement in an attempt to force the opponent to surrender. There was no resistance from the other party throughout the whole process, which deepened Ibrahim's doubts.

"Your Majesty, they don't look like they are here to fight us." Hashayar pointed at the riders in front and expressed his opinion.

When Ibrahim was about to send someone to ask questions, someone from the strange team took the initiative to come forward on horseback. Seeing someone approaching, the bow holders became vigilant, and more guards surrounded Ibrahim. The bows and arrows that had been put down in their hands were picked up again, and their eyes were directed at the person.

There were two people riding forward, and the leader was a middle-aged man. He was wearing expensive clothes and could not tell that he was wearing armor. The black beard on his chin went up from both sides and connected with the beard on his upper lip and sideburns along his thin face. The top of his forehead and the top of his head were wrapped in white. The turban covering and facial features give Ibrahim the feeling that he is a low-profile version of Saladin in "Kingdom of Heaven".

The rider behind Muhammad Zakaria is wearing iron armor, and the scimitar and bow and arrow at his waist prove that he is a guard. It can be seen from his weathered face that he is a veteran.

"Dear Sheikh of the Safavid Order, I am the Grand Vizier of the Aries Dynasty, Muhammad Zakaria Kujuj, serving the descendants of Uzun Hassan." The visitor was friendly at first. greeting, and then went on to introduce himself.

"Then what is the purpose of your coming here? Are you here to negotiate an armistice with me on behalf of your master Ahmed? Or are you negotiating with me on behalf of the city of Tabriz?" Ibrahim asked three questions in a row sentence.

"Your Majesty, I said that I serve the descendants of Uzun Hassan." Muhammad Zakaria just answered this sentence.

The people around him noticed the change in Muhammad's wording and looked at him with surprise, thinking that he was Turgut's spy. And Ibrahim recalled something in his mind, and then he remembered the unsigned letter, looking for Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com Then, Ibrahim asked: "Your Majesty? I remember you. The master was Rostam first, and then became Ahmed, and now seeing that the situation in Tabriz is critical, he has come to seek refuge with me again?”

Mohammad Zakaria, who was ridiculed by Ibrahim, did not show anger or embarrassment. It seemed that he did not think this was a shameful thing, and replied naturally: "Your Majesty, I am here for Uzun Ha In this regard, you are the same as Rostam and Ahmed, and I have no reason not to be loyal to you."

Everyone present was shocked by his shamelessness. Ibrahim's leaders and the bow holders all looked at him with more or less disdain, and the number of onlookers also increased significantly.

"Since you want to be loyal to me, what are you going to give me to show your sincerity?"

"An intact Tabriz, with well-stocked treasuries, arsenals and granaries, and a central government with complete archives and qualified bureaucrats." Muhammad Zakaria's bargaining chip was enough to defeat Ibrahim In addition to money, rations and equipment, the cult also needed qualified viziers and officials to assist Ibrahim in ruling the territory.

"Then how do you ensure that this city obeys me?"

"To be loyal to you is a unanimous decision, Your Majesty." Muhammad Zakaria saw Ibrahim's worry and replied with this beautiful statement, but he didn't know whether it was true or false.

"In that case." Ibrahim paused, turned to Hashayar and said: "You take the bowmen and follow this vizier into the city to take over the city gate and palace."

Muhammad Zakaria saw Ibrahim's distrust of him, and he planned to use actions to dispel the new master's suspicion of him. Without any complaints, he just led the bow-holders into Tabriz.