The Sun and the Lion

Alvand was led by the bowmen to the prison where Ali was once imprisoned. Because of his noble background, he was arranged to stay in a luxurious single suite, although according to Ibrahim's arrangement, he could not stay there for one night.

The master of Shiraz had long lost the spirit he had when he went on the expedition. The defeat and betrayal gave him a heavy blow. He was slumped on the ground like mud, his head hanging down, almost forming a right angle with his spine, his eyes were dull, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Ibrahim walked through the dark and cold corridor, his boots stepping on the stone tiles that had not been cleaned for a long time, and the dust was raised slightly. Following the guard who led the way, he arrived at Alvand's door.

The iron door of the deluxe single suite was opened. It may have been rusty due to neglect of maintenance, and the sound of the door opening was a bit heartbreaking. The noise also alarmed the person inside the house. He raised his head with difficulty, looked at the ever-widening crack in the door, and observed the visitor through the light coming from the window and the door.

"Oh, my dear cousin, long time no see..." Ibrahim looked at the loser in front of him with an elusive smile, and his tone showed the condescension of the winner and the sarcasm towards him - he also specially He drawled himself and lowered his volume.

Alvand, who felt that he had no hope, was firm: "Come on, as the winner, you naturally have the right to dispose of your spoils. Come on, I am ready to accept your orders calmly."

"No, maybe, I'm not here to take your life. You have lost everything - your army, your territory, your vassals, and your harem, wives and concubines - because you have lost everything, you have also lost A threat." Ibrahim approached Alvand and tried to convince him, or so it seemed.

"Then what are you doing here? You're not just here to taunt me." From Alvand's words, there seemed to be no emotional fluctuations and he was very calm.

And a bow wielder walked behind Alvand.

"You can understand it this way. At the same time, I am here to supervise the execution of the death penalty."

As soon as he finished speaking, the bowstring tightened around Alvand's neck. He struggled hard, his expression painful. But several big men held him down, and no matter how hard a piece of sugar cane was pushed, it couldn't hold up to the horse.

A few minutes passed, and there was no movement from him.

After the bowstring was loosened, a shocking mark was left on Alvand's neck. Then the bow wielder skillfully cut along the traces with a knife, just like cutting off the head.

The head fell to the ground, and the blood dripped onto the dust on the ground, forming a small blood puddle.

Just as Ibrahim was watching his subordinates dispose of the corpse, a herald rushed in: "Your Majesty, General Gaolaberi is back."

"Yes." After hearing the news, Ibrahim left the cell and went to the city gate to greet him.

After walking out of the prison, through the streets, and out of the city gate, Ibrahim rode to Alvand's camp. This is not only a temporary place for the surrendered troops, it was also chosen as a temporary residence by Gaolaberry. It also assumed the role of guarding prisoners of war and supervising the surrendered troops.

Walking into the big tent, Ibrahim found that several senior officers had been gathering together for a long time, and they didn't know what they were talking about.

Seeing Ibrahim coming in, several people took the initiative to stand up and salute - in addition to Gaolaberi and Hussein, there was also Muhammad, the leader of the Talish tribe, and a man who claimed to be a guard of Gharaman Lubeg.

The Talish tribe is also a Turkmen tribe active in Azerbaijan. It mainly gathers in the city of Halhal, about 70 kilometers southeast of Ardabil. Although not very powerful, his leader Muhammad married Ibrahim's aunt, established a relationship with the Safavid family, married his sister to Hussein, and formed an alliance with the Shamru tribe. in law. Relying on this relationship, Muhammad once tried to compete for the position of Lalay - meaning guardian and mentor - of Ibrahim and Ismail after Haidar's death, but failed.

But even so, the Talish tribe did not give up the struggle for power. As he is related by marriage to the Safavid family and the Shamru tribe, his status within the religious order cannot be underestimated. He also did not forget to strengthen his sense of presence. Not long ago, he also established a relationship with Gaola Beili and actively provided him with manpower and livestock for supplementary troops and transportation. He hoped to be able to work with this man from the Qajia tribe. Befriend the Emir.

The Garamanlu tribe is a powerful tribe operating in eastern Asia Minor. The current leader Bayram is the same generation as Ibrahim. In order to strengthen the connection with this tribe, Haidar gave his eldest daughter, Ibrahim, His sister married him.

Although the two leaders did not personally lead troops to join the war like other tribes, they have been busy with their own affairs in the past two years. But they still tried their best to provide a lot of soldiers for Ibrahim.

"Dear uncle, long time no see. How are your health? How is the development of the tribe?" Ibrahim first took the initiative to say hello to Muhammad. He had a lot of affection for this uncle. In his past life in exile, He indeed gave a lot of help to the Order, and for this he also received suppression from Rostam.

"I didn't expect it. I haven't seen you for so long. Ibrahim is now so old and his status has become more prominent. If Haidar were still alive, he would definitely be proud of you, right, Hussein." Muhammad He stepped forward and patted Ibrahim on the shoulder carelessly, sighing.

Hussein also smiled and nodded. After all, he is Ibrahim's mentor. If someone praises Ibrahim's actions in recent years, he will be among them.

Ibrahim was not so enthusiastic towards the unfamiliar guard, and talked to him completely with the etiquette and attitude of receiving an envoy.

"Dear Your Majesty, my master hopes to help you in the next offensive against Diyarbakir." The guard did not mince words and directly discussed business with Ibrahim. Search for books www.zhaoshuyuan.com

To put it simply, Bayram got into entanglements with several small countries in eastern Asia Minor over grazing rights when Ibrahim first launched his army, and then had another confrontation with the Ottoman beys over tax resistance. But now that he has finally dealt with these problems, he also wants to participate in this war and get a share of the pie.

"Of course, I welcome everyone who is willing to help me. That makes sense in pushing allies away."

After receiving the answer, the guard immediately said goodbye to Ibrahim, then mounted his horse and returned to his master.

Soon after, Gaolaberi and Hussein also had to deal with their own military affairs and left the big tent.

"Ibrahim, my good nephew." Seeing that there were only two people left in the tent, Muhammad spoke. "Some things are not suitable to be discussed in public, so I am sorry to take up your time."

"Huh?" Ibrahim expressed his doubts, and then promised: "Uncle, what do you need? I will help if I can."

"I have a younger son named Kaihobad, who is your cousin. He fought bravely in the army of the Emir of Gholabari, and I heard he was wounded." Muhammad first explained the situation.

"Do you want me to transfer him to a safe position?" Ibrahim thought silently in his heart.

"I think that with his bravery and military exploits, although he is very low-key, he can definitely go one step further, such as becoming your personal guard. Regarding his military exploits, it is written in the battle report of the Emir of Golabery, and he is also very fond of it. Kaihobad fully approves of it." Muhammad Beg made his request and then waited for Ibrahim's response.

"I will remember your request." After Ibrahim thought for a while, he did not agree directly. He planned to deal with this strange cousin after finishing the current affairs.