The Sun and the Lion

Compared with the birth of a prince, the matter of Ismail marrying a young wife was much more private. Only some nobles who were close to the two brothers were invited to attend the banquet in the prince's residence. Commoners and foreigners in the capital were only invited to attend the banquet. Hear.

The happy time is always short-lived, and people quickly return to normal life, as do the nobles and bureaucrats.

Without waiting for the return of the envoys to Edirne and Cairo, Ibrahim held a meeting in the Grand Palace. All military and political dignitaries were present to listen to the orders of the King of Kings.

"Blessed by Huda, it is really peaceful for our country now." Ibrahim used his long whip to draw an arc on the map from north to east and then south, corresponding to the current borders of Iran in the three directions. No one Raise objections.

Looking to the north, the most important thing that cannot be ignored after crossing the Syr Darya River is the Kazakh Khanate. The person currently sitting on the throne of Khan is still Barandu Black Khan, but in fact the balance of power within the Khanate has changed. Cousin Hasimu's population and troops were far greater than that of the Great Khan, and his right to speak on government affairs increased accordingly. Balandu's reputation is greater than his real name, and Hasim is already a real and anonymous Khan. The power struggle between the two sides looks like it will be very fierce.

Before the division of the Supreme Power ended, Ibrahim believed that the Kazakh Khanate would not be able to mobilize its forces to fight externally. And although Transoxiana and Khwarezm were more profitable, it was clear that the Safavid military might was able to thwart military adventures, especially the garrison strengthened by gold mining.

Generally speaking, the current Safavid-Kazakh relations are very delicate, and the Khanate is relatively satisfied with the status quo and unable to change it. The exchange of caravans also brought economic benefits to Kazakhstan, and Ibrahim did not deliberately prevent Kazakhs from benefiting from the trade network. The handicraft products produced in Khorasan and the cities in the river have no competitors north of the Syr Darya River. Livestock, livestock products, precious furs, slaves and other goods from the grasslands flow south into the river. The city of Bukhara has become the center of Central Asia. Population trade center.

Moreover, a large number of Central Asian businessmen, acting as tribute envoys, ventured across the river to cross the Western Regions and enter the Ming Dynasty. Especially after Ibrahim wiped out all the descendants of Timur, Guleghani was no longer a political figure. After the entity existed, the "envoy" of the Consort Kingdom actually resumed paying tribute. The mission was larger and the visits were more frequent. Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty, which lacked interest in the northwest direction, was ignorant of the current situation in Central and West Asia, so that the bazaar in Samarkand had some more Chinese goods.

The governor of Hezhong mentioned in his report that the caravan that paid taxes for him pretended to be a foreign tribute envoy. Ibrahim did not comment on this act of forging the official identity of the previous dynasty or foreign country, but only ordered that pretending to be an official of his own dynasty was not allowed. .

"The Kazakhs are not permanent friends, but they are also not current enemies. At present, we only need to let the two governors do a good job in border defense and trade. It is more feasible to annex the Nogai tribe than to go south to the river." Ibrahim concluded his views on views on the northeastern border, but Foreign Vizier Assad put forward his thoughts at this time: "Your Majesty, I think that maybe the Roma will win over the Kazakhs through diplomacy, although I don't know yet how much they will offer and what they can do. The two Khans cannot be convinced, but any potential danger should not be ignored."

While Assad was briefly describing his thoughts, Ibrahim followed the vizier's train of thought and looked at the map. Kaffa under the Ottoman rule was indeed connected to Astrakhan through trade routes, crossing the Volga River and then passing through. The Nogai people's pastures can enter the Kazakh pens and instigate the owners of the pens to go out and seize more livestock.

Along the way, Ottoman envoys could have disguised themselves as merchants to contact the tribes north of the Syr Darya, just as diplomats from Tabriz could have disguised themselves as dervishes and strutted across Ottoman territory to contact Venetian officials on the Greek coast.

"You may have a point, but the Kazakhs are still unable to capture Hezhong and Khwarezm, no matter whether Balanduhei is in power or Hasim usurps the throne." Ibrahim ended his relationship with Assad. discussion and shift attention in other directions.

The east of Shahr of Iran is mainly the Indian subcontinent, and the south is bordered by the Persian Sea. The situation in these two directions does not need to be introduced. The Indus River Basin and maritime trade routes that continue to bring wealth to Diwan are safe now and in the future. of.

At this time, everyone at the meeting knew where the focus of the King of Kings lies. On the western border, there are two powerful neighbors - the Ottomans and the Mamluks, as well as the smaller Bey kingdoms of Durkadir and Ramazan. .

"Do you think that, between Roma and Egypt, which country is more powerful, has a larger military, and poses a greater threat to our country?"

At this time, it is really difficult to compare who is stronger or weaker between the two countries. As far as the most superficial record is concerned, the Ottomans and Mamluks won each other in Adana. In the end, Cairo retained the buffer state of Ramazan.

Specific internal information can only be analyzed and judged based on the intelligence collected by the consul. Find it at Shuyuan www. zhaoshuyuan.com Each vizier expressed his views from different angles. They could guess that the King of Kings was planning to expand westward, and then they began to dissuade him not to start a war rashly.

"This is not a decision I made on a whim, and I have no intention of gathering troops for war now. But starting from today, Dewan will start planning and preparing for war. This is the most important task. As for the enemy country I want to attack, It is Roma, not Egypt, which holds the Holy Land and the false caliphate hostage." Ibrahim revealed his next target, and such a clear attitude made the senior officers present eager to try.

Seeing that the monarch did not blindly think that he was invincible, the civil servants, although not as enthusiastic as the generals, still actively devoted themselves to the great cause of conquest by the King of Kings.

Ibrahim first chose a city from the west as his rear area. Although Baghdad and Tabriz could accommodate and obtain more military supplies, he finally chose Diyarbakır, which was closer to the border, to station troops and store grain. The military town he built also has considerable storage capacity. When the war breaks out, he himself will go here first to unify the main force.

Such a huge war preparation requires a trustworthy person to take charge, which not only involves transporting materials and checking storage, but also ensuring that soldiers and horses recruited from all over the country can arrive at the designated location on time to assemble.

"Mirza's ability is obvious to all. Mirza will supervise these war preparations. After the meeting, I will issue a formal edict to authorize it. You must cooperate with him to complete the work." Ibrahim decided to All these tasks were packaged up and a temporary position was set up for Ismail, who was still very idle.

Ismail accepted the appointment directly and readily: "Thanks to His Majesty's love, I will definitely complete your mission perfectly."