The Sun and the Lion

The last month of 1502 ended in the waves of the Indian Ocean. Vasco da Gama led a fleet laden with spices to return to Portugal, leaving only a small fleet commanded by the Sodre brothers as a defense force in Cochin.

After Zamorin learned that the main Portuguese force had left, he immediately organized an army to besiege Cochin and vowed to uproot this solid stronghold. However, the Sodre brothers, who were also responsible for blocking the Red Sea, ignored the pleas of the trading post and the monarch of Cochin and continued to guard the route to capture merchant ships. , only two captains were ashamed of such desperate behavior, and the crew members were left alone to help defend Cochin.

However, the fighting on the Malabar coast was too far away from Tabriz, and Ibrahim had to return his attention to his rule first.

Just at the beginning of the year, a report from Kabul was delivered to Ibrahim’s desk. When he opened it, he read: “The gangs in Kabulistan are openly causing chaos, looting villages, blocking roads, blaspheming faith, and committing all kinds of evil. . The rebels are now so powerful that they number ten thousand, and I cannot stop them. They can only survive in Kabul, Kandahar, Ghazni and other cities. I sincerely request your Majesty to quickly send out troops to put down the rebellion and maintain the order of justice."

Below it basically lists everything the Governor knows, including the strength and approximate location of the rebels before the letter was sent, and the five main tribes participating in the rebellion - the majority of which are Pashtuns and Hazaras.

Judging from the content of the letter, the governor is currently in a stalemate with the rebels. He relies on a small number of red heads, some locals who are still compliant, and city fortifications to ensure that Safavid rule does not collapse due to this sudden blow. He is still trying to maintain it. situation.

The sudden bad news suddenly disturbed the mood of the King of Kings. He did not expect that Afghanistan would suddenly explode. He may not care about how the tribesmen in the mountains live, but it is absolutely unacceptable that the land passage connecting India and Iran is cut off.

Ibrahim was very curious about why these tribes suddenly rebelled. The report did not state it, so he had to put this issue aside for the time being.

He immediately decided to strike hard at these rebels, and then summoned the Grand Emir and the Military Vizier non-stop to inquire about the current status of the army and military supplies.

"Your Majesty, I think we only need to mobilize a few thousand people to deal with these rebels." After reading Piribey's report, both of them believed that these tribesmen were only caught off guard to achieve these results, and at first glance This situation looks very scary. In fact, they haven't broken through any of the city walls yet.

Ibrahim nodded in agreement and planned to mobilize the standing army to fight: "Military Vizier, the military supplies stored next can be transferred to Herat, and the model army will be used as the standard."

Stimulated by last year's confrontation with the Ottomans, Ibrahim successively increased expenditures on the standing army. The most intuitive result was the expansion of the scale. The combat personnel of both legions reached five figures. The combined strength of Gulam's infantry and artillery was exactly 10,000, while that of the Model Army was 15,000.

The cavalry units originally belonging to these two legions were streamlined, and all the selected cavalry were classified as bow-wielders. Pious and experienced veterans were mixed with the best recruits, doubling their size.

This Guards, which was originally the same as the red-headed Guards, also underwent changes. Under Ibrahim's order, these cavalry received breech-mounted swivel guns and matchlock guns, and the length, caliber and weight of the matchlock barrels they were equipped with were all different. Larger than infantry equipment. The changes in equipment have made their functions more versatile, and Ibrahim also hopes that they can undertake any type of combat mission.

Of course, after they were equipped with firearms, the designation of bow holders became outdated. For this reason, he issued an edict to change their names. These six thousand elite soldiers were collectively called "Friends of the Shah", and he selected them from among them. Trusted and former guards formed the "Palace Guard" as a specialized team of soldiers responsible for various security tasks. The guards who originally provided duty to the palace in turns from each tribe were dismissed or absorbed.

Including the siege artillery and engineers who were independent and organized together, there were a total of 34.5,000 people registered on the roster to receive regular cash salaries.

Before the military vizier could ask questions, Ibrahim continued: "It's not a bad thing if you transfer ammunition and cash on this scale first, so that the soldiers can fire more shots and get more reward money."

The military vizier responded respectfully. Since the masters of this country were so optimistic, he seemed to have nothing to worry about.

Then the Great Emir reminded: "Your Majesty, although the enemies are all mobs, after all, Afghanistan is barren and rugged. To fight against these local gangs, a cautious and steady general should be appointed to avoid causing greater losses."

He searched in his mind for senior officers who could take on the task. In addition to several khans and governors, he first excluded Kehobad and Jacob, and Gaolaberi was in Samarkand. The only other things he could think of were The most important ones are Abdul Bey, who has moved to Fars, Sistan and Khorasan since the war, and Mihad Bey, who is newly loyal to him. Find bookstore www.zhaoshuyuan.com

"I remember that Abdul's military rank was one thousand, and I planned to mention his rank." After some thought, Ibrahim decided on the candidate for the general, but he suddenly changed the subject: "What do you think of Ismail?" What kind of Mirza are you?"

While he was still waiting for the two viziers to come to see him, he suddenly thought of Ismail, his biological brother whom he had raised for several years. Now he was almost sixteen, and he was just about to reach adulthood when the situation in the kingdom came to be. .

This war is a good step forward. If Ismail is not supported, then he can legitimately squeeze into the ranks of senior officers by virtue of his record in quelling the rebellion. With the blessing of his clan status, Ib. If there is any tough battle that Rahim is worried about, he can be sent to lead the troops to solve it.

Good luck to Safavid's future enemies.

The Great Emir probably knew what Ibrahim meant: "If I remember correctly, His Highness is already sixteen this year. He is very outstanding. No one of his age can compare with him. If you are willing, now is the time for him to use Hu You have fulfilled your gift of talent.”

"Okay." Ibrahim ordered easily: "Then let Ismail serve as deputy general and learn real war. This time I plan to draw four infantry regiments from the Model Army, and then from the Friends of Shah Drawing a regiment, combined with the local forces in Khorasan and Kabristan, should be enough to deal with those savages. This battle will not only repel the bandits who dare to go down the mountain to plunder, but also reshape the Iranian Shahr authority in their hearts.”

After discussing these details, Kamran drafted the complete edict and showed it to Ibrahim. The great emir finally resigned to him and left the palace with the written order now written and signed.