The Sun and the Lion

Under Ibrahim's arrangement, Banshi's troops returned together with the looted loot in the winter. The population and property plundered in Anatolia could not be compared with the loot obtained in India, but the mountainous roads were barren and rugged. Add a lot of trouble.

The bloated team spent a month and a half traveling from Ankara across the peninsula, across the Taurus Mountains to Diyarbakir, and then south to Mosul on the Tigris River. There are waterways connecting from here to Basra, and it is more convenient to transport loot down the river than to transport supplies upstream from south to north.

The auxiliary cavalry from Turan and Afghanistan were the first batch to be disbanded. After dividing the spoils on the spot in Diyarbakir, receiving reward money and pension money from their fellow villagers, they returned eastward to their hometowns.

Most of the remaining troops that have not been disbanded are scattered in the Nineveh Plains centered on Mosul. Because Ibrahim is worried that something might happen, this deployment can return to Asia Minor as quickly as possible to deal with the emergency. condition.

The news of Ankara's victory arrived one step ahead of the King of Kings. The image of the living "Iskandar" and "Genghis Khan" was once again strengthened. Without official orders, various Shiite communities under Safavid rule took the lead. Create your own celebration to commemorate this feat.

When he arrived in Baghdad, he found that the streets had been decorated, and many devout believers, under the guidance of priests, spontaneously held religious gatherings to praise him and perform outrageous deifications. Let the King of kings feel fully the passion of these fanatical subjects for him.

The civil servants and priests who stayed in Isfahan breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure of maintaining the army since the expedition also fell on their shoulders. Ibrahim had not reported to the rear regularly before, but now they learned that the overall situation had been decided. The military expenditures on the books are no longer dazzling, and the work pressure of purchasing and transporting materials is not so extreme.

However, the emperor came down the river and stopped in Baghdad. The King of Kings and Diwan resumed a stable correspondence. When he learned that everything was fine, he only ordered them to be ready to receive the letter. It has not yet been determined when the spoils of war will be returned to the capital. As for the people captured from Asia Minor, he planned to resettle them locally in various cities in Iraq. The work would naturally be handled by Iraqi bureaucrats.

Fortunately, most of the captives are craftsmen and other technical personnel, and there is no need to bother to resettle them in rural settlements. Mosul, Erbil, Baghdad, Basra and other cities have government-run workshops or workshops belonging to royal merchants, and they can be directly Let them arrange to receive slave labor.

When the Grand Vizier reported that all was well, he also conveyed the good news from Ahsan, and the naval commander personally came to Isfahan with important news and captures. The navy was not idle when the King of Kings was conquering east and west. In the past year, Ehsan was based in Goa to prepare for the offensive against Portugal and to coordinate relations with Indian allies.

The fully prepared Iranian navy finally wanted to deal with the Frankish threat on the ocean once and for all. A mighty fleet set off from Goa and rushed to the port of Colombo with the wind. The Hindu monarchs of the states on the Malabar coast and the island of Ceylon gathered together. Tens of thousands of troops surrounded the fortress from the land, and the two armies advanced by land and water to attack Albuquerque.

The intelligence provided by the traitors allowed the Safavid army to fully understand the operating mechanism of the Portuguese colonial empire. To this end, it was necessary to detach a fleet to the Swahili coast to intercept the spice fleet that departed from Lisbon every year in order to completely cut it off. Colombo’s connection with homeland. The squadron heading to East Africa will also find ways to survey the hydrological conditions of various city-state ports to compare with the previous data in hand. These more accurate data will become the basis for continued activities in the region in the future.

Such overwhelming force overwhelmed Colombo. The Portuguese resisted for several weeks and were unable to continue fighting. The Iranian-Indian coalition successfully penetrated the defense line and entered the city after paying a huge price, lifting the defenders' ability to resist. Thousands of Portuguese soldiers, businessmen, missionaries, as well as high-ranking officials such as the Governor-General were captured. As the only Portuguese stronghold in India today, the Colombo fortress was rich in firearms, gunpowder, gold and silver, spices and jewelry.

"This is really an unexpected surprise." The Navy's subjective initiative this time can be said to be exactly what it wanted. Ibrahim plans to wait until all matters in Asia Minor are settled, and after returning to Isfahan, he will reward all naval officers and soldiers. , and met the Portuguese governor by the way.

"Congratulations to your majesty, congratulations to your majesty for your victory over all enemies. You are the only winner in the world who has been blessed by Huda's grace. You are a great man from heaven, the invincible sun!"

After receiving the good news, Ibrahim was naturally announced to the public. The compliments from the dignitaries and priests greatly benefited Ibrahim. He said "humbly": "Oh, I am very ashamed. I just did some small work." .”

After properly distributing the favor to Baghdad, Ibrahim continued to communicate with Konya through messengers to learn about the latest developments of the situation.

The establishment and expansion of Safavid rule in Anatolia was equally successful, and Ibrahim's policies for the Roma undoubtedly inspired resistance - in the form of Sunni clerics and the Sipas of fiefdoms. The original master is the main force. Due to the strong religious overtones of the Safavid invaders, the rebels also used religion as a banner to rally and unite people. For a time, Sunni rebels were active from Izmir to Sivas, and vendettas in the name of religion were repeatedly staged.

The red-headed rebels mobilized and organized by Shahkulu ran around, chasing heretical rebels everywhere, and wiped out most of the conspicuous heretical armed forces in one winter. However, after several rounds of turmoil, Anatolia is now full of blood, order has collapsed, small battles continue, bandits are rampant, and production is in ruins, but for now he only needs to obey.

Kill all those who have the courage to oppose Murad's "rule", and there should be no major civil strife in the future. When the situation stabilizes, production and population will recover, and the cost of eradicating hidden dangers will only be to take over the coastal areas. The regional schedule was delayed by several months.

It's just that something went wrong when things got to this point.

"Your Majesty, urgent report from Konya."

Ibrahim, who originally thought that the rebellion was suppressed somewhere, saw this content when browsing: "A fleet belonging to Christians was anchored in the port of Izmir, and Frank pagans violently took it from the hands of the locals. After entering the port area, the citizens who were unable to resist opened the door and invited our troops to enter the city to expel the heretics..."

"Ah?" Ibrahim was confused. Where did the Christian fleet come from in the Aegean Sea? Who is so bold as to take advantage of the tiger's mouth? It can't be...

He set his sights on Rhode Island.