The Sun and the Lion

After the war, Ibrahim took charge of the winner's exclusive battlefield cleaning work. The surrounding Indians were coerced to help dispose of the corpses. This was the most important task. Summer is approaching, and if these mountains of corpses are not handled properly, there will be a large-scale plague.

According to the captured officers, the Sultan of Delhi prepared more than 80,000 people for this battle, including 40,000 cavalry, 40,000 infantry and elephant soldiers. According to post-war statistics, Delhi was killed directly on the battlefield. There were nearly 20,000 soldiers, and there were also a large number of captured soldiers. Only less than half of them successfully escaped. It is very doubtful whether the Sultan of Delhi could reorganize an army capable of resisting the invaders.

"So what if the number of people is as large as the stars in the sky, in the end the corpse will be exposed under our sword." Ibrahim was quite satisfied with the outcome of the battle, and the Safavid army's losses in this battle were considered acceptable—— The total number of dead and wounded red heads was only about 4,000 to 5,000, and hundreds of musketeers were wounded by arrows, but not fatally.

"Your Majesty, I failed to capture the Sultan of India and offer it to you. Please punish me." Ismail led his troops back to Ibrahim later after the battle, regretting that he failed to capture the Sultan of Delhi. .

"Don't say that. I haven't had time to reward you for defeating the enemy's elite, taking the lead in breaking through the camp, and capturing a group of Indian emirs." Ibrahim said he didn't care. Without the army, the Sultan of Delhi was just a worthless person. It's a useless addition. There can't be a loyal minister who can defend Agra with broken troops and militia.

While the army was cleaning the battlefield, sorting out the spoils and resting, Ibrahim sent Romuru Khan to lead the vanguard south to Delhi. He also took advantage of this free time to stick with his brother and Tajiru, who was accompanying him in the tent. She was like a maid for the two of them, bringing them wine and snacks, and also helping to clear the table and set up the chessboard.

The army stayed outside Karnal for several days, and all the corpses were buried or burned. The heads of all the Delhi soldiers were built into the temple in a unique and original way. The most numerous ones on the lower floor were the heads of the soldiers. The higher up the tower, the higher the level of the original owner.

After the quartermaster counted and valued the loot, it was packed and shipped. All the valuables were transported back to Lahore by the Afghan cavalry first. Food, grass and baggage and other large military items were carried with the army. Sikandar Khan's generosity towards his troops Now it benefits Ibrahim.

Ibrahim knew that these were just a drop in the bucket of Hindustan's wealth, and he immediately led his army to Delhi. Ramlu Khan, who happened to be the vanguard to receive Delhi, wrote at this time to report: "To Your Majesty, the city of Delhi has not resisted. I have taken control of the place. The enemy soldiers captured on the way and the important figures in the city have been taken into the dungeon." The treasury is intact and safe."

He circulated this letter to everyone in the tent, and everyone was encouraged. The entire army arrived at the gates of Delhi in just one day. Ibrahim was respectfully invited into the city to view his trophies.

Ibrahim first occupied the castle hall in Delhi to hold a ceremony and announced to the senior officers present: "Through our concerted efforts, the Sultan of Hindustan has lost his authority. As the conqueror of Delhi, I should take over the control of Hindustan." ownership. From today on, I am the Padishah of all India, and all Indian princes should bow to me."

Of course, this ceremony was just for Ibrahim to enjoy himself. Even if the various rulers of India did not come to Delhi to pay tribute to him, he would not trouble them.

Since then, the most important thing is that although Sikandar Khan completed the renovation of Agra about a year ago and moved the capital here, Delhi is still the largest city under his rule, and the treasury here has not been completely transferred to Agra, the wealth stored inside is still considerable.

In the warehouse, Ibrahim took out a silver coin from the box where the cash was stored and played with it. The coin looked to be in good quality, with very clear Persian inscriptions on both sides, and the name and title of the person who ordered the casting on the front. ——Sikandar Khan Lodhi, Sultan of Hindustan, with the Shahada on the reverse.

It's just that these high-quality Indian coins will, without exception, be recast into silver coins minted and issued by the Safavid officials after being transported back to Iran.

After leaving the treasury, he immediately summoned the quartermaster and financial officer in the palace room: "Please count all the gold and silver, and then count the pack animals, craftsmen and artists that can be requisitioned in the city."

Ibrahim has no intention of annexing Delhi this time. In order to maximize profits, destructive plunder is inevitable. However, he does not intend to fall out immediately. Instead, he first controls the treasury and the city's transportation capacity and follows the plan step by step. Step by step to ensure that there will be no unexpected resistance when the knife is finally performed.

At the beginning, the Safavid army would only requisition all the animal power and manpower in the city and surrounding rural areas to transport all the property in the treasuries of Delhi and Agra - including gold, silver, coins, gems, textiles, etc. - to Lahore. Er, officials in Lahore will continue to extend the transportation line to Kabul. Find Shuyuanwww. zhaoshuyuan． com until the camels carrying the loot arrived in Herat.

Moreover, the treasury controlled by the Safavid Army included granaries. He thought of a very unscrupulous method - ordering the army to arrest and search all grain merchants in the city, control all grain in Delhi, and send troops to block internal and external transportation.

In this way, there is no need to send soldiers to go from house to house to rob. You only need to raise the price of food to drain the citizens' property. If there are large households with food, they can directly break in and plunder.

At the same time, the King of Kings who was sitting in Delhi decided to immediately lead Ismail with a mixed force of red heads and friends of the Shah to control Agra to ensure that these spoils would not fall into the hands of others.

After arranging tasks for his ministers, Ibrahim began to tour the city leisurely. He visited various religious buildings in Delhi, including mosques and Hindu temples. The famous Delhi Iron Pillar is located in the mosque building in the south of Delhi. among the group.

Since he could not understand the inscriptions on the iron pillars, Ibrahim just looked at them as a novelty. After all, in an agricultural society - especially in the Gupta Dynasty more than a thousand years ago - it was quite rare to have such a large pure iron pillar. .

On the way back to the castle, Ibrahim was also blocked by the citizens of Delhi. Representatives of the public opinion petitioned the conqueror to lower the price of food: "Your Majesty, you have become the owner of Delhi. You can show your compassion to the world by caring for your subjects." How merciful is Allah.”

Ibrahim did not talk nonsense to these "troublesome people" and directly ordered the guards to suppress them. Within a few minutes, the streets of Delhi were clear enough for him to return to the fortress.

After waiting for a few days, Ismail's reply was delivered to Ibrahim. In the letter, Mirza stated that the capture of Agra would be effortless and that the palace and treasury of Agra contained more property than that of Delhi. , a simple summary is: "Brother, our family is rich."