The Sun and the Lion

Selim chose a march route away from the Iranian border. The private army heading south from Trabzon first arrived in Sivas, and then headed south to Elbistan.

The march on the way made him very angry. He regarded the ubiquitous Shiite population in eastern Asia Minor as potential collaborators, and believed that he would always be in such an unequal situation in terms of investigation, but currently there was no such thing. Better to deal with residents of other jurisdictions.

Selim originally planned another march route - to advance from Erzincan into Safavid territory, go south to approach Diyarbakır as if he was going to attack its capital, mobilize the enemy troops to return to defense, and then pass through Marati. Asia went westward into the territory of Durkadir.

But let alone this waste of time, he couldn't figure out how many soldiers and horses in the hinterland of Iran could be used for defense. He couldn't confirm whether this move could achieve the desired effect, and it was likely to escalate the war situation. Trabzon's strength alone It is difficult to have the military resources to fight Iran as a whole.

The fast-moving Ottoman army entered the territory of Durkadir in just two weeks. Scouts from both sides had already begun to make contact. In frequent outpost battles, the two armies victorious and defeated each other.

Since all the roads he traveled were rugged mountain roads, Selim was particularly prepared for possible ambush. Not only did he send extra scouts for reconnaissance, he also divided his army into equal parts to coordinate with each other, and surrounded the mules and horse baggage on the inside to ensure safety. Its safe.

Fortunately, there were no dangers along the way. The reports Selim received were that his scouts were attacked by enemy cavalry or successfully drove them away. He did not detect any clues about an ambush.

It wasn't until they entered the wide valley where Elbistan was located that the Ottoman army, which thought it was safe, relaxed a little and set up camp before resting.

"It seems that the Persians are planning to wait for work and rely on the city walls and trenches to carry out stubborn resistance." Selim, who analyzed the current situation, was a little anxious at the moment. In order to ensure the marching speed, the artillery did not accompany the main force. Even if the siege position was built, it would have to wait for several days. day.

At this moment, only reliable officers such as him and Arslan and the commander of the Janissary regiment were the only ones in the camp to discuss the next battle. At this time, the Ottoman army, which did not want to and could not rely on hunger to force the defenders to surrender, wanted a quick victory.

Mustafa, the commander of the Yenicherry Army, thought of a damaging move: "Your Highness, if you publicly curse and insult the heretical faith and monarch, can it provoke the Persians to go out of the city to fight with our army? I heard that these red hats admire their monarch. He even goes so far as to regard him as a prophet or even a god.”

Arslan, who was temporarily responsible for handling military affairs, interjected: "Currently, our army has sufficient food and grass, and none of the neighboring Sanjak beys hinders our army's operations. We can wait until the artillery arrives and try to ambush the enemy troops who want to reinforce. .”

Regarding these non-conflicting plans, Selim said that he wanted them all. After all, he went south under the banner of jihad. Wouldn't it fit his purpose to scold him harshly outside the city?

The Ottoman army, which had rested for the night, moved forward again, causing farmers and herdsmen in the surrounding countryside to flee to the city walls to seek shelter, and sent news of the arrival of foreign troops. In the afternoon, the guards on the city wall saw the Ottoman flag.

…………

"Your Excellency, Selim is very cautious. After breaking into our territory, he sent out scouts to search for any possible ambush points. Our army has never been able to seize any opportunity to attack the Roma."

After Bozkurt freed up enough space in the city for the Safavid army, all the red-headed and Kurdish cavalry moved into the city walls, and the senior officers moved into the most magnificent towers.

Ustaji Khan said calmly: "In that case, let's just wait for work and fight him outside the city. Have the scouts found out how many people this Roma army has?"

The lieutenant general replied: "Your Excellency, the scouts counted the military flags and the number of tents in their camps. Combined with what the believers saw along the way, the number was approximately between 4,000 and 5,000. Among them, the military flag of Jenichery can be identified."

This made Ustaji Khan pay attention: "How many legions are coming?"

Having been in charge of border affairs for a long time, he knows more about the Ottoman information. In border areas, especially areas where princes serve as governors, some Yeniceri will be deployed, but most of the troops will still be stationed in Kostantinye to obey at any time. Padishah's Dispatch.

At the same time, Yenicheri's "Otta" - the so-called regiment - is not the same as the Safavid regiment. Safawi's regiment was transformed from a thousand-man regiment. Whether it was a horse army or an infantry army, the number of soldiers was rated at one thousand, and the commander was still called a thousand-man commander. The size of a Yenicherry regiment is generally between one hundred and five hundred people, and at most it will not exceed one thousand people. This leads to different numbers of companies under different legions and different strengths.

"The general is incompetent. The Roma cavalry is very cunning. It is difficult for the scouts to identify the specific composition of the enemy army." The deputy general apologized to Ustaji Khan.

At this time, the herald walked into the room quickly and out of breath. After saluting, he reported to him: "Your Majesty the Governor, the sentry has discovered traces of the Roma people, and there are also a large number of refugees who want to take refuge in the city."

Ustaji Khan wanted to drive away these refugees who intended to enter the city, and the material reserves that should belong to the reinforcements should not be consumed by these redundant and irrelevant civilians. For this reason, he immediately rushed to the palace and asked to see Bey.

"Your Majesty the Governor, are the Ottomans coming?" Bozkurt became so nervous that he omitted the greeting.

Ustaji Khan nodded: "Yes, the Roma army is here, and it has probably ravaged the surrounding countryside. There are refugees at the city gate, and the guards on guard on the top of the tower can see their military flags."

He then emphasized the issue of refugee processing and hoped that Bey would make an immediate decision.

"We cannot allow my subjects to be massacred by the Ottoman army. They should all enter the city and receive shelter." Sensing Ustaji Khan's opposition, he continued: "Aren't you sure you can defeat them in the field battle below the city? Or are you? Say God will approve of allowing compatriots to be massacred by foreign enemies?”

"No, what if Roma sneaks into the refugee team and enters the city? That's what I'm worried about." Ustaji Khan apologized for himself.

"Alas." Bozkurt waved his hand helplessly and assured the governor: "Just because I agree with the refugees taking refuge in the city does not mean leaving it alone. I know you are not willing to get involved in our internal affairs and work hard to resettle these refugees. These tasks are natural. We will be responsible for it ourselves and will never cause any trouble to you or the reinforcements."

Seeing this, the governor who still had not received a satisfactory answer decided not to continue to pester: "Okay, then I will go back and arrange the city defense affairs. Just wait for the good news to come."