The Sun and the Lion

Just as these orders were issued, Shahkulu arrived in Ankara with a band of rebels. These friendly troops were warmly welcomed and properly accommodated. They were enthusiastic about fighting. After learning that they had missed the battle, they all beat their chests and enviously learned from the brothers who participated in the war how they had defeated the Ottoman army with Huda's blessing.

Shahkulu first apologized for the rebels' missing the battle during the interview, saying that the places along the western coast had not yet been pacified and that they could be used as the vanguard to defeat the dissenters.

"I didn't order you to rush to Ankara before the war. The incident happened suddenly and there was no pre-planning. It's normal that you can't get here to join the war." Ibrahim then asked about the situation in various places in the rear and various rebel units.

Shahkulu then said that wherever the rebels passed, they would absolutely obey the rule of the Holy One, and all hidden dangers had been physically eliminated by them. At the same time, he recommended several outstanding rebel officers, all of whom were beys from various tribes.

"good."

Ibrahim recognized Shahkulu's work results very much. It seemed that the caliph was indeed a reliable candidate and he had a rough plan on how to appoint him next.

When the question and answer was over, he directly ordered: "I have already studied and decided that you will be the Sheikh Islam of Roma."

This sudden turn of events surprised Shahkulu: "I am just a dervish preaching in Taikai, and I am not humble. How can I become the religious authority of a country?"

He can be sure that "Sheikh Islam" is not an honorary title here, but an actual position, which means that all the qadi appointments in various places in Roma are in his hands, and he can "advise" the Konya court on religious affairs. We also need to endorse the religious legitimacy of each policy.

"I have made my decision after careful consideration." Ibrahim looked at the dervish in front of him with determination, making him unable to refuse.

"I will obey the holy decree." Shahkulu had no choice but to recite two poems silently in his mind to calm down.

As military leaders, each bey can be appointed as the emir to guard various places. Havaci, who has always given Shahkulu many military suggestions and personally commanded the rebel army, was appointed as the grand emir of the Konya court. But as for who to appoint as Grand Vizier next, Ibrahim had no candidates in mind, and he couldn't just parachute one from Iran.

Forget it, let Murad make his own choice and let Shahkulu help review and check. Anyway, military power and religious affairs are not his final say. If he decentralizes power to the point where local affairs are completely handled by the emir and qadi of the area, with only a group of servants playing house with him in Konya, can he still make a difference?

The two decided on the appointment and removal of personnel in the Konya court during the conversation. After the clerk on the side recorded all the arrangements and drafted the edict, the topic ended. Ibrahim ended the interview, On to the next important thing.

Along with Shahkulu, there was also an official document that arrived after the battle, which was a battle report from Heraclius on the siege of Trabizon.

Only now did he know what happened to the partial division that was supposed to continue marching like a steamroller along the Black Sea coast. At the same time, he also had a clearer understanding of Selim's original layout.

"It turns out that Selim wants to move all the way to lift the siege of Trabzon first, and then go south to threaten the supply line between me and Diyarbakır, forcing me to return to defense to deal with this threat and buy him time and space. This way As a result, he could successfully mobilize the military power along the western coast of Asia Minor. Fortunately, Heraclius defeated this strategic attempt, and my retreat in Bursa created the illusion of retreating after running out of food..."

After deducing what he believed to be Selim's original plan like putting together a puzzle, Ibrahim turned his attention to the report.

However, Heraclius did not come to report his victory, but to apologize and ask for help. The Georgian army under his command, which lacked heavy artillery and engineers, could not attack the city of Trabzon which was supported by the navy. After winning the field battle, he tried to storm the city fortifications and was defeated again. , and after losing nearly a thousand troops, they had no choice but to retreat.

Then he could only pray to Shah to finish the decisive battle as soon as possible, and then use the power of victory to make the defenders lose their will to fight and break the city. The worst thing is to let the Shah personally grind the meat and seize the city. Of course, Heraclius did not question the musketry and artillery team and soldiers under his command, thinking that they could end the battle within a few days.

Just as the governor had worried, Ibrahim finally questioned his military ability, but the King of Kings still did not consider dismissing him directly. Heraclius did not make any mistakes except that he was a little bad at fighting. It's just that he doesn't need to lead the army personally in future battles. He can simply promote another Georgian noble or Commander Gulam to serve as the emir and take over the military power.

"Well..." Ibrahim stroked his beard a few times out of habit, and ordered the guards on his left and right: "Go and invite Mirza to the camp tent."

He also wanted to continue to sit in Ankara and send troops to deal with any problems. He planned to leave the task of uprooting Trabzon to Ismail and asked Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com to lead a team. The troops with complete infantry, cavalry and artillery support - or can be said to be "replacement", after all, Ismail would not obey Heraclius's orders - the Georgian army besieging the city.

Trabzon is Selim's lair that has been run for a long time. When the city is breached, all traces belonging to Selim will be cleaned up. This cleaning task naturally belongs to Ismail.

"My brother is worried, will this be considered as grabbing trophies?" Ismail suddenly reminded that although he looked down on these Georgian soldiers, possible discord in the army still had to be prevented.

Ibrahim, who did not think that Hirak's troops were domineering, was a little puzzled when asked: "The spoils of course belong to the soldiers who broke the city. Picking the fruits is nonsense. However, Hirak's army did not break the city in the first place. , there is also the hard work of sieging the city."

After the conversation with Ismail, Ibrahim always felt that he had nothing to do in Ankara, and it seemed that the situation had stabilized to the point where he could leave. The only reason to stay here is to wait for diplomatic feedback from the Ottoman side.

However, waiting was in vain. The high gate still did not pay attention to Ibrahim's request. In response to the execution of the pasha, Selim executed all the Iranians in prison and asked the messenger who brought the heads to Safawi's head was brought back with him.

The Ottomans' tough attitude was well conveyed. It seems that signing the peace treaty is now impossible. The Safavids have no other channels to know the inside story of the high gate and exert influence. They simply leave matters on the other side of the strait to dry and continue to maintain the trade blockade. .

Looking at the calendar, the combat season is coming to an end. It is very expensive to maintain the army in the hinterland of the occupied zone through a supply line across Anatolia. Now it is time to consider reorganizing the troops who have no other tasks.