The Sun and the Lion

As the spring equinox approaches, Ismail has returned triumphantly from Trabzon, and the good news has been rushed to Baghdad. After the entire winter, the war in Asia Minor has been extinguished, and the remaining sparks seem to show no signs of rekindling. The only headache is the frequent attacks on the coast. Everyone is taking advantage of this chaos to fish in troubled waters. Ibrahim plans to move the trade location between the two countries from Aleppo to Izmir, so that Venice must help protect shipping in the Aegean Sea. Safety.

The troops who wintered in Diyarbakir and the victorious division led by Ismail were ordered to go south to Baghdad to meet the King of Kings, and then he personally led the entire army back to the capital in glory.

For the vizier of Diwan, the last wave of financial pressure of the war was about to come, and the edict required the rear to prepare enough property for rewards and celebrations. As for how much is enough? Of course the more the better.

Only the two river basins can be relieved of their heavy burdens. They do not need to transport food and wages for the army for the time being. If they want to make money, they will basically go to trade and India. In theory, Arab Iraq still needs to accept transfer payments.

And before leaving, he went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land and donated part of the loot here to strengthen his image as a devout believer.

The capital was welcoming not only the ministers who stayed at their posts, the priests and people who worshiped the monarch, the curious foreign business travelers, but also the foreign envoys who came to congratulate him.

The King of Kings, who entered the Grand Palace amidst the cheers of the people, began to preside over the rewards for the soldiers who participated in the battle. The senior officers who participated in the Battle of Ankara were all raised in rank and were given rewards that met the grade specifications. Those with the richest rewards were awarded first. It was Ismail and Ustaji Khan who defeated the enemy's two flanks in the battle and encircled them. Ismail had the highest military merit because he independently led the army to capture Trabzon. The three generals, Kayhobad, Jacob, and Salman, who led the infantry and artillery in repeated attacks but failed to completely defeat Yenicherry. Next, and further back are the other generals who did not independently unite the army during the Western Expedition. Officers, the first among them was Nur Ali, Ustaji Khan's lieutenant.

At the same time, the person who received the reward was Havaqi, who was in charge of Roma's military. At this time, Ibrahim had a general understanding of the ins and outs. The red-headed Bey, who had been separated from the main army, now had a formal official rank due to his achievements in the uprising, and was awarded a formal honor guard, although he was currently at the Konya court. Serve.

The situation of Heraclius, the governor of Georgia, was more complicated. After all, his performance and achievements were not outstanding. Even if he wanted to support him deliberately, he could not make it out of thin air. In the end, he had to say: "The Georgian Tibetan soldiers sacrificed a lot for the war and worked hard." Small."

On the one hand, the King of Kings allocates more money to the Georgian province to compensate for war expenses, and instructs Diwan to allocate more resources to the Caucasus in the next few years. He also took advantage of the incompetence in fighting to remove Heraclius's military power, and wanted to select a capable general from the Georgian nobles. If he continued to let it go, Zimiko would exclude himself from the palace officer corps.

After the generals, there are middle and low-level officers, ordinary soldiers and logistics officers. Those who are registered for outstanding performance will be promoted to positions and titles and will be rewarded with property according to regulations. Those who have no merit will be given normal war participation rewards according to their levels. The pensions and personal belongings of the war dead are sent to the tribes to which they belong, and the tribal leaders help distribute them. If they are settlers, they are sent to the settlement registered when they enlisted in the army.

The Royal Mint was ordered to produce a new batch of commemorative coins for this victory and distribute them to the soldiers participating in the war. Compared with the Goa Naval Battle commemorative coins, the Ankara Battle commemorative coins are more substantial and larger in size. The larger and thicker coin blanks make the artist's There is more room for play, and the patterns and edge inscriptions are clearer and more exquisite - the lion pierces the Ottoman crescent moon with a blade.

The important civil servants who maintained the operation of the empire received verbal praise, and the Grand Vizier was satisfied. Maintaining power without losing the king's favor was what he wanted.

The next step is to receive foreign guests. The main ones who come to congratulate are acquaintances - Bijapur in the Deccan of India, the Kazakh and Astrakhan Khanates on the Eurasian steppe, the Mamluk Sultanate, the Republic of Venice, etc.

The gifts brought by the Bijapur envoy were the most abundant, mainly gems from India and various rare animals for viewing, as well as refined cotton cloth using expensive dyes, luxuriously decorated stainless steel swords and other handicrafts and luxury goods wait.

Not only did they send gifts, but the Indian envoy also respectfully reported to Ibrahim the new situation in the country. The old Sultan Yusuf Khan had passed away, and the newly succeeded Ismail Shah was not yet 15 years old and had just been defeated with the help of the Queen Mother. The palace coup of the powerful ministers Kamal Khan and Ismail Khan and his son killed the vizier's entire family. Currently, his main job is to stabilize the situation in the DPRK, hoping to gain official recognition from the State to obtain new political chips.

"I will always stand on the side of my loyal servants and be the sword and shield of Ali's followers all over the world. Your Sultan does not need to worry." Ibrahim readily approved the succession of the throne of the vassal country and issued an edict to the whole world. The world said that Ismaili Shah of the Adil Dynasty was the orthodox monarch of Bijapur recognized by the Safavid Dynasty. It asked Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.comｍ and asked with concern whether more assistance is needed at present?

"Why do you need your Majesty to worry about such trivial matters in this country?" The envoy declined more help from the King of Kings and bowed to end the interview.

The subsequent congratulations from the Kazakh, Astrakhan and Mamluk envoys were nothing special. They followed the routine of saying a few auspicious words to please the King of Kings, then offering national gifts, and finally knelt down to perform a few grand salutes.

Ibrahim did have some discussions with the Mamluk envoy, and he shared the peace talks with the Crimean Khanate with the other party in a flamboyant manner, although the Tatar envoy had not yet conveyed Mingli Glei's attitude to Isfahan. But the presence of Prince Sadet still suppressed the Mamluk envoys.

"I say all this just because I want to give some preferential treatment to friendly countries. To be friends, we should reciprocate with courtesy. I know that your country is troubled by the shortage of slave importation. Can't I help you now?"

This piece of pie made the Mamluk envoy dizzy. The King of Kings proposed such favorable conditions for Cairo without any additional conditions. He wondered if there was any fraud in it: "I think, His Majesty the Sultan will surely understand your kindness."

The last person to meet was the Venetian envoy. A small delegation was sent from the mainland to travel thousands of miles to Isfahan. Ambassador Franco helped assist these colleagues from his hometown.

Venice considered itself the biggest beneficiary of the Ottoman defeat - not only was the Ottoman aggressive expansion permanently interrupted, but trade with Iran was no longer subject to the Mamluks.

Therefore, the mission will take the opportunity to please this ally and deepen bilateral trade relations. Among the national gifts he brought were not only various European handicrafts, but also a portrait of him by a trained artist.

Ibrahim's interest and the curiosity of the ministers were aroused. He wanted to see what he would look like in the oil portrait.