The Sun and the Lion

The bound Ahmed was forced to kneel before Ibrahim, and the rope around his neck forced him to look up at the victor looking down at him.

He did not expect that the person who defeated him looked like an ascetic, wearing a dark long-sleeved robe, the belt around his waist did not have any luxurious decoration, and the scabbard and handle were not inlaid with gems. Except for the long black feathers inserted diagonally on his turban as a symbol of identity and the riding boots on his feet, there are no other features that can distinguish him from the priests.

Ibrahim looked at Ahmed in front of him, recalling information about him in his mind.

The source of everything is Uzun Hassan, and both Ibrahim and Ahmed are grandchildren. Needless to say more about the Safavid family. Ahmed’s father is Ugulu, the eldest son of Uzun Hassan. He was once the governor of Shiraz. He participated in the Battle of Otluk Bailey and defeated Bayezid, who was still a prince at the time, launched an offensive. However, he rebelled against his father after the defeat of the battle and took refuge with the Ottoman Fatih, serving as the ruler of Sivas. Ahmed thus became Bayezid II's son-in-law.

However, although he was the Ottoman Damat (originally meaning groom, and when used as a title, its meaning was roughly equivalent to that of the prince-in-law), he did not choose to seek help from his father-in-law in order to secure his throne.

"My cousin, our first meeting was in this way." Ibrahim had a mocking smile on his face. In Ahmed's ears, his words were like a devil whispering in his ears. .

He looked at Ahmed, who was resisting resolutely, and Ibrahim smiled secretly in his heart. He knew that Ahmed was addicted to opium, and he wanted to see how long he could last without a confession.

Then he continued teasing: "You are the Ottoman Damat, right. So how much help did your father-in-law, the distinguished Padishah Bayezid, provide you?"

As soon as these words came out, Ahmed's mouth twitched. Since his rebellion, letters have been sent quickly from the Ottomans asking if he needs help from Kostantiniya. He declined.

He hoped that Osman would remain neutral in this war of succession, but news of Bayezid sending an envoy to Tabriz still reached Diyarbakır.

Thinking of this, Ahmed looked at Ibrahim again, and he suddenly suspected that his father-in-law and he were colluding with each other.

After some brainstorming, Ahmed fell into despair. He has lost all power, and it is impossible to survive by using his relationship with Osman.

Ibrahim, who observed Ahmed's emotional changes, felt very satisfied. It seemed that the King of Kings was going further and further down the road of pleasure.

However, he was not just looking for Ahmed for fun, but for another reason.

"You briefly occupied Tabriz, and you inherited everything in Rostam." Ibrahim then began to change the subject.

Ahmed just looked at Ibrahim: "So what exactly do you want to say? Aren't the treasury and armory there already owned by you?"

"Yes, so my focus is not here. There are some important prisoners in Rostam's prison, and they cannot disappear for no reason..."

"No, this has nothing to do with me." Ahmed shook his head, "I don't care which prisoners are held in Rostam, and it has nothing to do with me. When I entered Tabriz, the dungeons of the castle were not A living person.”

"Really?" Ibrahim fell into deep thought.

He wanted to inquire about the whereabouts of his mother Halima. Whether it is Ye Gubai or Rostam, when the three brothers are arrested, their mothers will be imprisoned together.

Although the previous prison robbery was successful, Ali was killed, and the pursuers captured Halimah after arriving in Ardabil. Under interrogation, Halimah did not tell where his son had gone, and no other information could be found out after that.

Unfortunately, Rostam is already a dead man.

Then Ahmed was taken away by the guards, and Ibrahim had to deal with more important matters.

"Your Majesty, the statistical results are out." Clerk Kamran handed a document to Ibrahim, and he immediately flipped through it.

The losses suffered by the Red Heads in this battle were not unacceptable, with less than 2,000 personnel lost. In comparison, Ahmed's cavalry was completely defeated, with nearly 7,000 registered heads alone. , there are more broken corpses on the battlefield.

However, the loss of horses was relatively large. In order to save the physical strength of the horses and ensure the mobility of the cavalry, Ibrahim did not provide armor for the mounts of his cavalry. This also led to an increase in the number of casualties of war horses. Although there were red-headed tribesmen who provided military supplies for the army, purchasing horses was still a large expense.

After talking about the losses and results, the next step is the capture. First of all, there are prisoners of war. These herdsmen who have lost their courage are now cleaning up the battlefield driven by the red heads.

There were relatively few seizures of weapons and armor. After all, this was a makeshift force. Moreover, if it weren't for the equipment gap between the two sides, the casualties wouldn't be so disparate.

Ibrahim glanced at the other things and put the documents down.

"It seems that this is Ahmed's family fortune. Diyarbakir's treasury and armory must be empty."

"Your Majesty, even if there is no loot in the warehouse, you can distribute it to the entire city. The merchants in the Bazaar, especially those engaged in currency exchange and lending, as well as the landowners living in the city, can no longer ask the entire city residents to pay A conversion tax..." Seeing that His Majesty was worried about money, Kamran decided to take the initiative to share his worries.

Hearing this suggestion, Ibrahim turned to look at Kamran, who was sorting out documents, and said jokingly: "Really? I thought you, a scholar, could give you some good suggestions, but in the end, you and those Turkmen warriors It’s no different.”

"Your Majesty, this is your duty." Hearing Ibrahim compare him to those vulgar red heads, Kamran's expression was a little stiff, but he did not dare to get angry, so he could only explain the matter gently. Revealed.

Ibrahim stroked the feathers decorated with jewels on his turban and thought seriously about how he could get more money. He can no longer devalue the currency - neither in terms of the stability of his rule nor the health of his economy. He has reduced the fineness of the currency to 50%. The merchants in Bazaar are more willing to trade in dinars or even Akche, and the money changers also treat these silver coins as money-losing goods.

Raising taxes is out of the question, the war-torn economy needs to be restored, and refugees are redeveloping abandoned settlements. Only loose taxes can provide this. If we impose heavy taxes, everything will be over.

Although his current financial situation is a balance of payments and a slight surplus. But no one thinks it’s too much money.

As a benevolent king, it is really not easy to make money.