The Sun and the Lion

The matchlock gun was aimed at the crowd approaching the castle like a tide. The small cannon deployed on the city wall fired first. After waiting for a few breaths and receiving the officer's order, the soldier holding the musket pressed the trigger and ignited the primer in the medicine pool.

The lethality and deterrence brought by gunpowder successfully frightened the old haters from the mountains, and the "devil's flame" became the intuitive name of the mountain people.

The first attack ended hastily, and Yahya was very helpless about this. He could not ask the mountain people to be as well-informed as travelers, and could only try his best to eliminate the panic caused by unknown things.

"That is not a supernatural power given by Allah or the devil, but a product of alchemy..." In other words, the Imam tried to use his authority to explain to ordinary soldiers that the weapons in the hands of the enemy are essentially the same as swords and bows. A man-made thing, not a gift from God. After a public speech and repeated preaching by the tribal leader, the general finally stabilized his mind.

However, the powerful power of gunpowder weapons is still engraved in people's minds. The officers expressed concerns about organizing another attack: "The enemy's weapons are so powerful that even if they are wearing heavy armor, it is still difficult to protect their lives. The siege officers may not be worried about it. eliminate."

"If you think that you have to wait until perfection before doing it, then nothing will be accomplished. Our army does not have the ability to siege for a long time, and can only rely on making huge sacrifices to win before food runs out. The Ghazis who died in the battle will rest in peace, and their souls Return to heaven and enjoy peace and tranquility, and God bless them with glory." Yahya insisted on the original plan, hoping to continue military operations by plundering food reserves and fight against reinforcements without any worries.

Religious enthusiasm and war interests once again mobilized the Yemeni soldiers to attack the city. Rapid fire with firearms failed to push them back. The naval infantry, who were just happy for a while, had to draw their swords and fight hand-to-hand with the enemies who climbed up the wall. After a bloody battle, they were defeated. They forced a retreat and the defensive pressure increased sharply.

This is just the end of the beginning. If the troops under Imam's command can maintain today's momentum, the defenders of Sana'a Castle will probably be exhausted before the siege forces run out of food and retreat or reinforcements arrive.

In a desperate situation, the defenders could only rely on collective prayers to seek God's mercy and continue to persevere, hoping that the war situation would turn around in their favor.

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On the other side, the first messenger sent by Bashar arrived in Aden through many obstacles and reported to the governor in detail the hardships in Sana'a and what he saw and encountered on the way.

"I understand, you go down and rest first." After listening to the report, the governor of Yemen looked solemn. The situation in the interior had deteriorated beyond his expectation. The Imam of the Zaide faction was actually able to take the initiative to attack, and when transportation was cut off, The current Sana'a garrison can be regarded as completely wiped out, or a miracle happened - they successfully broke out.

However, the report sent to Diwan had already been sent, and he could not recall it and resend it, so he had to ask the secretary to write another report to update the Shah on the latest facts in Yemen and request more financial and military support from the central government.

Safavid's presence in Yemen is entirely based on the navy. The only officers under the governor who can be considered knowledgeable about land warfare are the commanders of the naval infantry. If they want to go deep into the interior to fight against the Zayedi Imam, it is obviously not enough. use. The previous success in capturing Sanaa was due to too much luck. His talent was not so bright that he was familiar with naval warfare and administrative affairs and was also very proficient in land warfare.

But the governor still wanted to make a difference. He planned to find another way, but he didn't know where to start. To this end, he planned to ask the locals for help.

The tribal leaders who had adapted to the new situation and submitted to Iran's rule were invited to the governor's residence for a banquet. The governor and the guests ate and talked about the current tense situation. They were not talking about life and death in the disaster-stricken areas. All the old ministers of the Tahir Dynasty were invited. Eliminating the elimination and fighting the Zaide heresy are the topics that everyone is most concerned about.

"Sana'a was attacked. The Imam of the Zayed sect chose this moment to attack. It has to be said that he chose a good time." The governor explained his proposal. In short, he hoped that the tribes could A quota of soldiers was provided, and in return, the collaborators were able to divide the official positions in various parts of the interior.

In fact, the governor wanted to formally incorporate the Yemeni tribal armed forces into the ranks of the auxiliary cavalry. To this end, he had already applied for the corresponding positions to Diwan in his report. Before receiving approval, he planned to rely on local finance to expand the team. stand up.

Seeing that the governor spent real money to do things, all the leaders were very cooperative and said that their respective tribes had young men who were willing to find a future in the war for the recruiting officers to choose at will. In addition, they could also provide more mercenaries for Iran. Master service.

The governor of Yemen who received support immediately began to organize an army. He first drew people from the navy. The "Red Sea Guardians" who went to demonstrate in Jeddah, Aqaba, Suez and other ports have returned. Together with the warships originally deployed in Aden, since there is currently no naval battle to fight, he plans to mobilize the personnel on them. Combat ashore, including nearly all naval infantry and some sailors.

Nasir expressed dissatisfaction with the transfer of his sailors: "If all the crew members are transferred, the fleet will not be able to handle any emergencies and will not be able to perform patrols and other tasks normally."

After coordination, a number was finally set that was acceptable to both of them.

With the sailors ashore and the fortress garrisons pulled out from Aden and Mocha, it would not be a problem to dispatch hundreds or even nearly a thousand musketeers in field battles.

In his opinion, thousands of tribal armed forces supported by hundreds of firearms are quite powerful forces in Yemen. If the manpower is still insufficient and reinforcements cannot be waited for, he still has a way - buy it!

After all, the Tianfang world has a long history of using black slaves. It is easy to get some strong slaves to receive military training and organize them into an army. The only problem is that the Swahili coast is still under the control of Portugal. The hostile relationship between the two sides has temporarily hindered the human trade. .

Another important task after the issue of soldiers is to raise military supplies. The governor of Yemen does not need to worry about this. Foreign transportation and local procurement can be satisfied. This matter is directly left to the subordinate officials to handle.

The castle barracks in Aden were first cleared to accommodate the sailors ashore. The naval infantry and sailors gathered from various ships still needed to undergo collective training for a period of time. Their previous training content was mainly to deal with gang warfare, and at most they could handle surprise attacks. The melee at the port was the first time they fought in formation on land.

At the same time, the recruitment of troops from various tribes was also proceeding in an orderly manner. While waiting for the various tribes to gather, the governor of Yemen planned to use some conspiracy to add weight to the balance. The suggestions of his staff coincided with his ideas.