The Sun and the Lion

Kutahiya was turning into ruins. The citizens who had previously chosen Kaicheng to surrender had no regrets to take. The rebels Ghazi, who was carrying a knife, set fires everywhere in the city, and drove all the old and weak who were not needed by the rebels to the mosque and other places where they could. There were no survivors in the houses that were destroyed by fire in large buildings that accommodated many people.

All the supplies that could be taken away were loaded into trucks and prepared to be transported away. The rebels were already very proficient in the relevant business and ensured that the Ottoman army chasing here would not obtain any supplies.

While the city was being destroyed, Shahkulu was planning a turnaround route. His ultimate goal was to move his team to a city close to the Safavid border, such as Sivas, to at least establish a stable relationship with Ustaji Khan. connect.

From the map, the shortest way to Sivas is via Eskisehir, passing through Ankara and Amasya. However, this road is not easy to follow. Now Gaomen has not confirmed who will take over as the governor of Anatolia. However, the Grand Vizier in Bursa has begun to integrate these resources. The problem of local troops being leaderless has actually been solved. .

After passing through Ankara, there is also Ahmed who is guarding Amasya. The rebels currently do not understand his military strength, so they have to be lenient to the enemy. If Shahzad wanted to intercept the movement of the rebels, it would obviously waste a lot of time, not to mention that the Grand Vizier leading the army was a supporter of the prince.

Shahkulu chose to take a long detour and went south to Karaman Province, passing through Konya and Kayseri to reach the chaotic Ottoman border. The prince-governor of Karaman, Shehin Shah, was alone. Apart from the loyalty of the Karamanians and his alliance with his brother Selim, he had no supporters in the imperial officialdom, nor was he favored by the Padishah. The military power in hand must be limited, and there is no contact between Sheikh Shah and the Grand Vizier on weekdays. The coordination and cooperation between the two parties lacking contact will definitely not be as smooth as with Ahmed, who is familiar with them.

In addition, several Sanjaks in the south had been ravaged by the rebels before, and there were no local organized troops. The interception force that the Ottomans could deploy along this route would only become weaker.

"We all obey you, dear Caliph."

Shahkuru relied on this well-founded analysis and religious authority to convince the leaders of various ministries, but he also added and deleted some details, such as dispersing the march and dividing the large army into several small troops of only a few thousand people to take different routes. the way.

"No, the enemy cannot disperse at present. Communication is not smooth in the mountains. The various troops cannot respond to each other in time when encountering situations. The powerful enemy that was originally able to fight can only take a detour. By then, the Roma will be able to deal with it one by one. Us," Havachi objected vehemently.

In addition to these military risks, he was also worried that spreading the team would weaken his and Shahkulu's control over the troops. Forces that could not be trusted to fight independently without his vision were not considered.

The march plan was finalized in this way, but when the meeting was over, a scout stumbled into the camp: "Caliph, Bey, it's bad, the Roma cavalry is coming!"

After opening the door curtain and walking out of the camp, the camp was in chaos, and the soldiers were spontaneously armed and assembled. Looking around, a camp on the periphery has been penetrated by a group of people. Since each unit does not have its own military flag, the identity of the attacked unit can only be confirmed by its position.

Havac breathed a sigh of relief first. It was just a cannon fodder unit, with only swords, shields and coarse cloth robes to cover the body. The soldiers were basically ordinary poor men who had been kidnapped.

"Now we should immediately organize cavalry and archers to counterattack. There are not many enemies coming, and they are not the main force of the Roma!" A leader with keen observation suddenly made a suggestion, and his plan was immediately adopted.

The horsemen who gathered around the camp to stand by and protect their leaders quickly pounced on the retreating Ottoman cavalry after receiving the order. However, these irregular cavalry were obviously not easy to catch. They were already good at surprise attacks and were not forced into a desperate situation by the rebel cavalry. , just leaving behind more than ten people who were shot down by arrows, they successfully left the battlefield. After chasing for several miles, the rebel horsemen had no choice but to return to the camp.

"What's going on? The Roma are moving so fast?" The appearance of the Ottoman cavalry was beyond everyone's expectations. It was less than a week before "Eunuch" Ali Pasha landed in Bursa.

At present, we can only make wild guesses. They failed to capture any valuable prisoners, and it was obvious that they couldn't find anything out from the lowest level soldiers. Everyone only knew that this was a partial force coming to attack, but was the main Ottoman force hidden behind the partial force?

After some anxious discussions, the only consensus everyone could reach at the combat meeting was—Quick Run!

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This group of Ottoman cavalry who suddenly appeared and attacked the rebel camp are now using the cover of night to rest and recuperate in a mountain village not far from Kutahya, looking for Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan. com They were small in size, with less than a thousand riders, and it was obvious that they would not be able to defeat the large rebel army consisting of tens of thousands of people.

A few red-headed scouts followed here, and also took advantage of the cover of night to silently note down the enemy's temporary campsites, preparing to provide effective guidance to their comrades.

The Grand Vizier cherished time since arriving in Bursa. He was worried that all the rebels would escape because of his slow movements, so he first organized a group of irregular cavalry as the vanguard to quickly attack Kutahiya, collecting enemy troops at the same time. Detailed intelligence must be obtained, and they must find ways to delay the rebel movements so that the army that has not yet set off can catch up with and destroy the rebels.

Due to the disorganization of the rebel army in Kutahya, the number of patrols and sentinels arranged by various ministries was not only small, but also extremely slack, allowing the Ottoman scouts to conduct reconnaissance and raids smoothly.

The rebel army burned the city of Kutahiya before fleeing and swept away the remaining grain stocks of the surrounding rural residents like locusts. The remaining food stocks were also known to the Ottoman scouts and reported together as important intelligence.

"The rogues are still staying where they are?" Hearing that the forward troops were engaged in a small-scale battle, "Eunuch" Ali Pasha was sure that Shahkullu would run away soon. This painless attack was no different. Warn the opponent that the enemy is coming.

The Grand Vizier did not rebuke the frontline commander for this, but decided to add more force: "The war situation has changed. Now more troops need to be invested to restrict the movement of the rebels. How many Ajinki cavalry can be organized to fight at the moment?"

The staff on the side immediately gave the result: "Your Excellency, our army still has about 4,000 irregular cavalry, and a group of local troops that have just been gathered need to rest and reorganize."

"Okay, no need to wait any longer, let them attack immediately."

At the same time, the main force assembled in Bursa has been prepared. After all the irregular cavalry have set off, the Grand Vizier personally led the elite heavenly troops to pursue the rogue bandits.