The Sun and the Lion

The suppression lasted for several days, and countless people died tragically under the knife. Under such horrific measures, all the resisters had to cease their activities and wait for the siege of the city by the Imam King's army.

Bashar, who had temporarily calmed down the situation in the city, was already struggling and exhausted. He wanted to break out and return to Aden, but there were not enough horses in the castle stables for the entire army, and the current situation outside the city was unknown, so he acted rashly Likely to be easily preyed upon.

Without waiting for the first person to return, another courier rode southward on a fast horse. At the same time, a group of naval infantry with better footwork who acted as scouts left the city to monitor the road for early warning. According to the interrogation of the spies, the Zaide army was likely to attack immediately. The troops came to the city.

Facing the siege, he checked the castle's reserves again. Food was now not the most scarce material for the garrison. Gunpowder and projectiles could not be replenished on the spot. The castle did not have aqueducts or independent water storage facilities. There were only a few small wells to satisfy the hundreds of defenders. military water needs. All in all, the castle has become a ruling center integrated into the city, rather than a fortress that can be defended independently.

Just when Bashar was doing his best to prepare for defense, Yahya let everyone's pigeons go. Imam's warriors did not come from the sky as the supporters in the city thought. They waited for another week. Only then did the scouts sent by Zaid's army reach near the city wall of Sana'a.

"Their movements are really slow. If it's a few more weeks at night, we will be the only living people inside the city walls." The centurion mocked the opponent's marching speed unscrupulously. If calculated this way, they would not even be able to return to Aden on their legs. Being caught up.

In fact, being late was not Yahya's deliberate plan. Recruiting tribal armed forces itself was a time-consuming task, so much so that it took longer than he expected, and the internal and external combat arrangements were forced to give up.

The only thing that can comfort him is that his troops are much stronger than Bashar's, and he is well prepared for the siege. Other than that, he can only hope that isolation and helplessness can destroy the fighting will of the garrison.

As the Yemeni army troops arrived one by one and began to set up camp outside the city, the extra days of clearing the country had to be stopped, and all naval infantry retreated into the city.

Bashar directly gave up the defense of the outer wall, drove the citizens to destroy and block several city gates, and then started digging trenches around the castle, demolishing houses and collecting supplies. If there was not enough fuel, he would even set fire to the city.

Yahya, who was looking at Sana'a again, was methodically directing his troops to prepare for the city's third change of hands.

"Dear Imam, when shall we begin our siege?"

The sheikhs who participated in the war asked Yahya, who had just returned from reconnaissance. The atmosphere in the Yemeni army was very impetuous. Everyone knew that the enemy army was very weak, and neither the soldiers nor the leaders were willing to stay at the city for a long time.

"Things are very abnormal. I just took a look around." Yahya took the leather water bag and took a sip of water before continuing: "I did not see sentries patrolling the city. I guess the enemy did not deploy too many guards on the city wall. First of all, the reason is that our troops are limited, and if the battle situation goes too smoothly for us, it may play into the enemy's hands. They may have some ulterior plot hidden within the city walls. "

Then he waved his hand to dispel everyone's doubts: "You can't see through the trick just by looking at it. Tomorrow we can organize several teams of warriors to climb the city from different directions to see what the heretics are planning."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

At this time, the number of Zaide warriors gathered under the city of Sana'a has reached 10,000, and due to sufficient advance preparations, they can immediately take out a large number of long ladders and other simple siege equipment to use to climb the city, instead of being trapped in a situation where they have soldiers but cannot enter. Dilemma.

The all-out attack by the Yemeni army went very smoothly, and there was no resistance at all on the city walls.

For the citizens of Sana'a, this moment can be regarded as one of the best moments in their lives, or one that can be eliminated. The news of King Imam's army entering the city was spread widely, and a large number of workers helped clear the obstacles blocking the city gate to facilitate the entry and exit of the army.

After the obstacles were cleared, the engineers accompanying the army immediately began to assess the condition of the city gate and direct workers to repair or demolish it according to the specific situation.

After a day's work, the road was cleared for the large group of people to pass. Yahya rode into the ruins of Sana'a City. The desolate scenery in front of him really made him unhappy.

"Dear Imam, the enemies did not escape. They stayed in the castle waiting for our army to attack."

Although everything was going well, reports from frontline officers reminded him that the war was not over yet, and that re-establishing rule in Sana'a and continuing the fighting had to go at the same time.

The Imam first met with local public opinion representatives, who took the initiative to donate the few remaining supplies to the Imam's army, hoping that he could eliminate Bashar entrenched in the castle.

This was the first time he learned in detail what the Safavid garrison was doing. He immediately condemned the enemy for their cruelty and comforted him: "I am here. Your sacrifices are valuable and the blood was not shed in vain."

Then he used the topic to make the experience of Sanaa widely publicized in order to build consensus and unify thinking: "This is why I insist on continuing to fight against the heretics. They invade our homeland without restraint and trample on everything. Yemeni Muslims There is no peace with the invaders, and if anyone advises me to lay down my weapons, I will repeat the horrors here."

The excitement in the city could not be concealed from those who were interested. Bashar did not need to send people out to investigate to know that Zaid had sent in. He immediately ordered: "Unless the enemy forces attack the city in a large scale, muskets and artillery are not allowed to fire on their own. shooting."

Waiting for a change, he wanted to bet that the Imam would eventually run out of food and retreat. The supplies required by both sides were not of the same order of magnitude. Last year had not been smooth sailing, and he did not believe that the Zaide faction had enough food to supply a long-term siege.

Of course, the premise is that the naval infantry can resist the enemy's continuous attack with fortifications. If the defense line is easily broken through, the follow-up will be a fantasy.

The big exam is coming soon, and under the moonlight, the sentries on duty can already see the Zaide faction workers filling the rubble and earthwork into the temporarily dug trench outside the castle.

At the request of his subordinates, Bashar agreed to shoot at civilians. Due to the scarcity of gunpowder, the archers had to use arrows left by their previous owners to deal with unarmored targets such as civilians.

Due to the hasty construction, the temporary trenches could not match the width or depth of serious fortifications. The arrows did not delay the progress too much, and the roads for soldiers to pass were still filled in by civilians.

The breech-mounted swivel guns and heavy matchlock guns were quickly set up on the stacked walls to prepare for the enemy. The climax of the battle was about to come.