The Sun and the Lion

Although it is a secondary front, Selim still pays enough attention to the old base. The reinforcements and defenders who came to Trabzon with "Mustache" Muhammad Agha totaled nearly 10,000 people. In his opinion, it was ready to try. Take the initiative to attack the enemy besieging the city.

Muhammad Agha's task was not only to defend the city of Trabzon. Selim had divided his troops and had his own strategic considerations. The task was actually more difficult.

The coastal plain where Trabzon is located is very narrow. The city extends from the coast to the hillside and is divided into upper and lower areas according to height. The port is located in the lower city, while the castle and palace are located high up. Outside the walls on the east and west sides are natural rivers that flow into the sea. Coupled with the terrain obstruction, Heraclius's blockade of all sides of Trabizon was actually fragile, and it was difficult for various ministries to support each other.

Faced with this city that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, Fatih Sultan mobilized more than 100,000 troops and hundreds of warships of various colors to force the Komnenos dynasty to surrender and surrender to the city. Looking out from the high castle, it is easy to see that the Safavid army that has arrived at Trabzon City does not have sufficient troops, nor does it have the means to effectively cut off water transportation. The defenders cannot starve to death by siege alone.

At the same time, the Caucasian army under Heraclius lacked the heavy artillery that could cause enough damage to the city wall and the engineers and sappers who could dig tunnels. Therefore, after launching several failed attacks in Toutiedi, he stopped sending troops to launch assaults on the city wall, leaving only The artillery and musketeers concentrated in the main camp on the east side continued to shoot at the city fortifications and defenders.

"The Roma ships are coming. The fleet seems to have hundreds of ships, many of which are warships." Heraclius solemnly announced the bad news to the ministers under his tent.

Everyone knew that the army had few artillery, the sea was vast, and there were no ships available at the ports of Poti and Batumi. It was impossible to prevent the Ottoman navy from delivering reinforcements and supplies to the defenders in the city. Organizing such a large fleet at the same time was beyond the ability of the surrounding local governors, which could indicate that the chaos in the Ottoman power center was over.

If this is the case, wouldn’t Trabzon City never be conquered? This setback made some generals present begin to take a pessimistic view of the war situation.

Since neither a strong attack nor a long-term siege was feasible, and it was difficult to withdraw the troops without permission, he could only change his mind - show the enemy weakness and try to lure the defenders in the city out of the city to fight in the field.

He first sorted out the existing troops in his hands. Those gathered in the main camp were undoubtedly the best. The newly recruited Gulam troops and the horse infantry directly under him were supplemented by some well-equipped levies and the commander on the east side. After setting up camp, there were nearly 10,000 people after deducting the losses from previous attacks.

Although no messengers have been sent to inquire, the partial division that surrounded and cut off communication on the other two sides was just a feint attack. Heraclius estimated that the losses would be slight. After subtracting the number of troops allocated, there should be six or seven thousand capable troops. .

Adding the two together, there are nearly 16,000 people in Trabzon.

In order to prevent leaks, he only asked the generals of all ministries to go back and take care of the troops and be ready to go to war at any time. He left his secretary, staff, and close associates to plan his ideas.

"Your Majesty the Governor, maybe we can negotiate with the Roma people in the city to show cowardice. Today, their fleet is loading and unloading goods at the port in a swaggering manner. This can be regarded as a demonstration. Taking this opportunity to make contact will not easily arouse suspicion, and then make them suspicious. Miscalculation,” suggested David, one of Heraclius’ lieutenants.

"This is a good idea. Negotiation, but what to talk about?" After thinking for a moment, Heraclius immediately ordered the secretary to prepare a draft letter: "The first letter is to test the situation by writing a letter of persuasion to surrender, and say that if the fight continues like this, it will be harmful to the two armies and the It is disadvantageous for the people of both countries, and since the Shah is in a strong position in the Roma hinterland, they will be isolated and helpless sooner or later, so it is better to make a gentleman's agreement that is beneficial to both parties."

Then he appointed David, who made the suggestion, and another confidant who could speak Turkic language to go to the city to negotiate with the garrison the next day as his representatives.

"I humbly accept my order." The two of them saluted respectfully.

…………

"Dear Mr. Aga, those Christians sent some people to negotiate with you, but I don't know what kind of trick they are playing."

At noon the next day, the officer responsible for guarding the city gate came to the main building of the castle in person to report to "Mustache" Muhammad. The sentry soon discovered several people waiting by the river. They held up long sticks tied with white sheets and repeatedly emphasized in Turkic that they had no hostility. The defenders who stopped their cars and did not shoot at the Georgians immediately stepped up to the plate. Report.

After listening to the report, Muhammad Agha nodded and replied: "Bring them all here first."

For fear of leaking the details of the city's defense, David and others were blindfolded and sent to the castle to a private room, where Muhammad Aga received them with an unfriendly expression.

"Let's be honest, what did your master send you to talk to me about?"

David bowed slightly and took out the letter: "Dear General, please look for Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com. This is what our Governor wants to talk to you about. It's all written down in it."

After receiving the letter, Muhammad Agha read it carefully. In it, Heraclius hoped to stop the hostility between the two armies, saying that in the current war between the two countries, Iran undoubtedly had the advantage, and even annihilating all his troops would only be a small victory. , unable to change the overall situation.

Heraclius cherished his soldiers, and the city defenders wanted to protect the people. It was better to recognize the situation as soon as possible and use all the money and food in the city as ransom money. After the ransom was paid, the two armies were in peace, the Georgians turned around and attacked other targets, and the defender gained credit for defending the city. Wouldn't it be nice to achieve a win-win situation?

"Hahahahaha." Mohamed Agha laughed at the end of the text: "What you want to say is interesting and makes sense. I agree with it. But it's not that I don't want to talk, it's just that the conditions are really difficult. , I hope you can reconsider the conditions."

He could guess Heraclius' current predicament of being unable to conquer Trebizond by his own military power alone, so he needed to negotiate instead of directly relying on force to crush him. Thinking about it this way, no matter how fierce the words in the letter were, they were just bluffs and would not scare him.

As for this Safavid army, a long-term siege will definitely lead to depletion of men and horses. In addition, there is not much food stored in the surrounding areas, and military supplies should rely heavily on transshipment. The transportation line happens to be near the sea, and receiving naval support can pose a threat to its logistics.

Mohammed Agha, who thought he had a chance to win, decided to take advantage of this opportunity and said coquettishly: "If you are still interested in negotiating, you can go to the gate of the upper city at night. My personal guards are guarding here, so there is no need to worry about leaking secrets. "

The peace envoys were sent away with gifts, and the two sides, both harboring evil intentions, prepared for "peace talks" with their own plans.