The Sun and the Lion

"The Lord is with you, Your Majesty the Prince..."

By the time Ismail was ordered to arrive in Tbilisi, it was already the early winter of 1509. He temporarily arranged for his subordinates to raise and transport military supplies, check the armaments of each tribe according to the register, and made a special trip to deal with the issue of Georgia.

At this time in the governor's palace, Heraclius and a group of local officials who greeted him were as formal as guests. After greeting according to etiquette, there was an awkward silence. They bowed their heads as if they were being taken to a court of justice and waited for the verdict that was bound to come.

Ismail was amused by the anxious look of these Georgian nobles in front of him. He crossed his arms and glanced at everyone: "But Huda does not protect you. Why, is this place going to be transformed into a execution ground? But Your Majesty still If we haven’t issued an edict to punish you, we will have to resign and surrender one by one.”

Without waiting for anyone to reply, Ismail asked Heraclius: "You haven't handed over the battle report of the follow-up retaliation action to Diwan. Now tell me about the follow-up development."

"Yes, Your Highness." Heraclius took a step forward and bowed down to report everything that had happened previously to this important member of the clan.

There is not much to say about the follow-up military operations. The Kurdish cavalry under Ustaji Khan tried their best to avoid fighting with the Ottoman army. On this premise, they launched attacks on settlements without city wall protection and raided caravans to plunder them. Property, land attacks continued intermittently until winter.

The Governor of Georgia launched his efforts from the sea. Since Iran's efforts to build a navy were all concentrated in the Persian Gulf, all he could do was to recruit civilian ships in the two ports to carry soldiers to harass Trabzon's shipping.

The fleet's waiting offshore the port really frightened the Ottoman merchants, who asked Selim to deal with the recent damage to the sea and land trade routes as soon as possible.

The messenger from Trabzon successfully brought a fleet to reinforce Trabzon. There was no fighting between the two parties. The improvised Safavid fleet was worried about the patrol of the Ottoman fleet and quickly lifted the blockade. Heraclius did not Organize another maritime operation.

"Well..." After listening to the whole content, Ismail commented sharply: "It's just that you don't have a qualified fleet and sailors, but why don't the other soldiers under your command fight on land? Is your jurisdiction different from that one? Don’t Prince Selim’s jurisdictions border each other? Coward!”

Faced with this serious accusation, Heraclius had to urgently defend himself and said: "Your Highness, the situation is by no means as bad and serious as you imagined..."

"Hmph, you don't have to explain so much. The emperor plans to give you another chance. Now it depends on whether you can grasp it." Ismail then asked his entourage to loudly announce the decision to deal with these derelict Georgian officers and summarized it. Ichiban said - cut the salary and keep the job, and make meritorious service for the crime.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Heraclius, who learned that he had temporarily escaped death, continued to lower his posture towards the visitor.

Ismail, who was disdainful of these Zimi officers, had no interest in continuing to export malice. He was sent to solve the problem. Before ending the first meeting, Ismail asked Heraclius to report in detail the status of the Georgian army and review it tomorrow. Tbilisi garrison.

Finally, as if thinking of something, Mirza gave one last warning: "Neither His Majesty nor Huda will tolerate egregious fraud." Then he left the mansion.

…………

Since Georgia declined and fell into division, its armed forces have declined with the collapse of its economy and royal power. Just looking at the scale, the troops Heraclius could muster from all over the country were far less than those of Queen Tamara three hundred years ago. .

Moreover, he is only a governor appointed by Iran, not the legal king of Georgia. The income collected from various places every year must be handed over to Isfahan in proportion, and the limited reserved part can be used to perform his duties.

Despite this, Ismail still saw a large elite cavalry during the review. These wealthy horse-riding warriors who were all wearing armor attracted his attention. If such a cavalry unit was under his command, then the border of the Caucasus This is not the case.

But apart from these cavalry, the Governor of Georgia had no troops that he could use. The infantry and light cavalry were the same as local troops, with varying levels of skill, but in general they were not as unbearable as originally imagined.

Ismail only commented on the local cavalry units that interested him most, and after returning to the study room of the governor's palace with Heraclius, he first explained Diwan's plan - to form a new high-level standing army on the spot.

The Ghulam Caucasus Corps, tentatively based in Tbilisi - the main force stationed in Gyeonggi Province was accordingly renamed the Ghulam Guards Corps - will have five regiments of combat troops, also with firearms units. Lord. Their salary expenses, etc. are completely paid by Diwan, and the commander of the legion is appointed by the King of Kings with reference to the advice of the Grand Emir.

Heraclius was inspired by the promised reinforcements, and he immediately enthusiastically expressed his willingness to actively help recruit troops and raise military supplies. Find Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan． com

"Your tasks are more than that. You must improve the organization and deployment of your army and stockpile military supplies for the next war. This is related to whether you can gain more attention through military merit."

According to Ibrahim's expectations, a large-scale partial division should be organized in the Transcaucasus direction to advance westward along the coast to cope with the main force that penetrates deep into the hinterland of Asia Minor and expand the results of the war. If the war goes unfavorably, the main force can be reinforced to carry out the next battle. Reduce disadvantages in combat.

Knowing the role he needed to play in the plan of the King of Kings, Chirac had some ideas. He asked Ismail: "Your Royal Highness, in this case, I dare to ask for Almighty Will there be an increase in funding for Georgia, and when will the first members of the Ghulam Corps arrive?”

"I can't talk about financial matters, but I don't think you have too high expectations for this. If you don't have money, you can go elsewhere to increase income and reduce expenses. Are you a dervish who comes to beg for food?" Ismail was speechless. As a mature man, The military and political leaders should learn to make their own money.

"Okay, okay." Heraclius had already targeted those compatriots who survived the Safavid conquest - the small and medium-sized Georgian nobles, so that they could provide more taxes and soldiers.

He decided not to rely on the remaining "vassals" to obtain the required force. Only the troops directly under the governor had the ability and willingness to go abroad to fight. These troops could be gulam, personal soldiers, or mercenary armed forces. , in short, can accept the governor's dispatch at any time.

After determining the idea, Heraclius briefly stated his thoughts. After listening, Ismail also emphasized the need to pay attention to the equipment and training of soldiers.

If nothing else, Mirza’s work in Georgia has come to an end.