The Sun and the Lion

Selim, who was still unaware that Yunus Pasha had been defeated and captured, spent more than ten days adding soldiers and supplies scavenged from the northwest corner of Asia Minor into the army, and then marched to Ankara as planned.

At this moment, the Ottoman army swelled, but Selim did not blindly pursue overwhelming the enemy in numbers. Many volunteers who he considered unusable were singled out of the army to avoid wasting supplies.

The "eunuch" Sinan Pasha who was responsible for commanding the front army spread out scouts and marched carefully, fearing that the entire army would be ambushed. Since Ibrahim was not sure which way Selim would come, he simply placed sentinels on all the main roads leading to the west and north where the army could move.

The appearance of the Ottoman scouts attracted the attention of the red-headed sentries, who immediately dispatched to intercept and kill Selim in order to blind him. Small-scale battles between the two armies occurred many times while the two armies were still tens of kilometers apart. Each had its own victory or defeat. Several groups of Ottoman scouts were raided and wiped out, and other survivors were able to escape with injuries.

Sinan Pasha soon discovered that something was wrong. He first truthfully reported the damage of the scouts to Padishah at the rear of the team. At the same time, he organized a group of scouts to carefully investigate the situation in Ankara to confirm his inner suspicion.

After a day of waiting, the scouts sent to investigate returned successfully. The officers who led the team reported to the Pasha in detail what they had discovered - they did not find any friendly troops in the area around Ankara, and they could not even find bones or traces of battle. And we also saw the continuous fortifications surrounding the city and the camps that were obviously not friendly forces.

"A large army has gathered. This should be the location of the Shah of Persia..." Sinan Pasha, who realized that his suspicion came true, wrote down the information, and then sent people to the central army to report all the military information to Selim.

The herald galloped to Selim on horseback: "Dear Padisha, Sinan Pasha has an urgent military intelligence officer to report to you!"

Selim immediately learned from him the real situation around Ankara, the most important of which was that there were heavy troops surrounding Ankara. He very much agreed with Sinan Pasha's guess.

Sinan Pasha's scouts also estimated the size of the army based on the size of the camp, the number of tents and military flags, etc. The final estimate was not much different from the information Selim had obtained through spies before the war.

At the military meeting after setting up camp, he instructed Sinan Pasha to describe in detail everything he had detected to the senior officers present. The rest of the meeting was based on the fact that "the Shah of Persia personally led an army to besiege Ankara." Be understood by all participants.

In fact, this is a pre-war mobilization meeting to prepare everyone mentally. Due to insufficient preparation, financial constraints, and the hinterland of Asia Minor being ravaged by thieves and foreign enemies, the army's logistics was actually very fragile, and unexpected strategic maneuvers were not feasible. If you don't retreat, you can only go over and set up your formation and fight Ibrahim in a majestic formation.

It is impossible to retreat directly without fighting. After all, everyone still has confidence in the Ottoman army. The lords of all Timal fiefs have provided soldiers and horses as required, and Kapikulu has not yet fallen into disrepair. Is it certain that Bayezi will be like that? Is it Germany's mistake instead of replicating the great victory against Uzun Hasan?

Moreover, there are the defenders of Ankara City who can help contain it. In order to maintain the blockade, it is impossible for Ibrahim to mobilize all his troops to block the reinforcements. Thousands or even tens of thousands of people must be left behind. In this way, the numerical disadvantage is reduced.

Since there is a way to survive, there is no need to commit suicide.

The news that the Safavid army was besieging Ankara spread throughout the army from Selim's camp. All the Ottoman soldiers and military personnel knew that they were about to face a big war, and many were eager to fight for Bogazi. Due to the heretical status of Ibrahim and the Safavid Order, Selim invited a few soldiers before officially sending out troops. The highly respected Mufti issued a fatwa, labeling all Shiites as Kafir—even stating that they were the “worst infidels” and would not escape death even if they converted to the right path—in this way, What Selim was conducting was a holy war against the invaders, which had legitimacy at both secular and religious levels.

Without waiting for the superiors to clean up, the soldiers and officers at the lower level were actively preparing for war. They once again maintained the equipment on hand before going into battle. Everyone was fully equipped and energetic, ready to go into battle.

…………

The Ottoman army under the command of Selim was marching towards Ankara in a mighty manner. The movement of the march was quickly reported by the scouts monitoring the road. After many rounds of investigation, it was basically determined that this large army was what Ibrahim had expected. The main Ottoman force in the war, and the one who can command the overwhelming army at present is undoubtedly Padishah himself.

"Previous intelligence obtained from prisoner torture has now been confirmed. The Roma are indeed coming towards Ankara, and according to the scouts, the enemy should already know the existence of our army. Find Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com "

Knowing that the war was approaching, Ibrahim first asked the quartermaster to count the military reserves in the current camp and submit them to him, and asked the participating generals to discuss how to fight.

The terrain on the outskirts of Ankara can generally be said to be flat, and the scattered hills and rivers are not insurmountable chasms, so cavalry operations will not be much hindered. In addition, everyone was convinced that I had the advantage, so the Khan and the generals expressed that they could take the initiative and rely on large-scale cavalry assaults to defeat the Ottoman army.

Ibrahim did not agree to this simple and crude battle plan. He just deployed the various units according to the routine first, and then adapted to the situation when the time came.

The commanders of the standing army and the auxiliary army also suggested: "Perhaps the main force of the army can be faced with the enemy in front, and then a small force can be sent to detour to block the supply channels and retreat routes of the Roma. In addition, artillery can be used to continuously bombard the enemy position. This can force the enemy. They took the initiative to run into the field fortifications built by our army, and were shot one by one by guns and artillery like prey. When the enemy troops were defeated, the cavalry came forward to chase and kill the fleeing enemies."

After the meeting, the quartermaster reported on the current reserve situation of various military supplies. At present, there are no problems whether it is grain, ammunition, or cash, especially since the next batch of supplies from the mainland is expected to arrive soon.

Officers were ordered to notify the soldiers of each battalion of the enemy's approach, and the quartermaster was responsible for paying extra pay to the entire army and increasing daily rations. Except for the scouts who went out for reconnaissance, the horsemen who announced to Ankara that the siege was still there, and the sentries who patrolled and guarded, everyone's task in the next few days was to eat well and sleep well, and be in the best condition to face the war.

"The soldiers in Persia already know the news of the coming of the Turkish Sultan, and everyone is preparing for the next war. In a few days at most, I can witness how this war will affect the fate of the republic."