The Sun and the Lion

In this attack, none of the Safavid troops died, and only dozens of people were injured. The trumpet of victory was heard in Ankara. The red heads who participated in the battle cut off their heads and stuck them on their rifles to demonstrate to the sentries, intimidating the defenders. Afterwards, return to the camp.

Yunus Pasha, who was escorted back to the camp, was personally received by Ibrahim. He first asked the guards to untie the pasha, pretended to be friendly and greeted the defeated general, and then began to test his attitude towards Selim in subtle ways. , intending to persuade him to surrender.

Yunus Pasha was not a die-hard supporter of Selim, but just a senior bureaucrat who drifted with the crowd. Ibrahim first bluntly asked him to serve under the Sultan of Rum and convert to the right path, which made him look embarrassed. Expressing refusal: "Dear Shah, although the foreign minister was defeated and captured, my loyalty will not be shaken by the sword."

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the tent looked at Yunus Pasha angrily, waiting for Ibrahim to signal that they would allow them to gather together to condemn and even insult, threaten and intimidate the other party.

Although the Pasha is a fence-sitter, he has not wavered enough to give up his faith at will. Moreover, anyone with a discerning eye can see that Murad is just a plaything used by Ibrahim to control Anatolia. Considering the supreme state and personal career, it is undoubtedly best for a more capable monarch to take over. It is really unconsidered to rashly take sides prematurely when the war situation is still unclear.

The rejected King of Kings continued to maintain a pleasant appearance and did not allow the attendant to say unpleasant words or make new demands to embarrass the other party. He just called the guards to take Yunus Pasha down to entertain him, and asked a senior officer of suitable status to take him to visit various ministries in the siege camp to see what a "powerful army that shook the world" was.

"Foreign Minister, thank you for your kindness." He was pressed down and knelt down, and he was escorted out of the camp tent.

Ibrahim then summoned the interrogator: "How was the trial?"

Not only Yunus Pasha was captured by Ismail, but also many soldiers and officers. Except for Yunus Pasha, who was treated with courtesy, the rest were detained separately, and the soldiers were used as Coolies and officers were interrogated.

The interrogator, who acted as a voyeur, handed over the confession documents of each captured officer: "Your Majesty, the results are all here. It cannot be ruled out that there is something hidden."

Ibrahim took the record and looked through it and said, "Okay, let's continue with the interrogation and report back when the time comes."

Looking at the confession of the captured officer, he grasped the key point - this Ottoman army was a branch division, and the order he received was to follow the retreating Safavid army to Ankara. As for the more important information such as when Selim set off and which route he took, no information is known at all.

"How does Selim know that I am going to Ankara, or is he coming to Ankara to integrate all the troops to fight me? Or is he simply using this as a bait to attract my attention? But Ismail chased and killed the defeated troops. After several miles, we did not encounter another ambush or supporting enemy army. Can we rule out that Selim will not come from the west?" Ibrahim kept this in mind, recalled the terrain around Ankara that he had personally investigated before, and guessed The direction Selim might be coming from.

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The siege of the city was carried out in an orderly manner. The trenches, parapets, and forts that besieged Ankara gradually took shape. Musketeers and artillerymen were already deployed on high platforms to shoot at the city wall defenders from a high position. The continuous pressure was exerted so that the Ottoman soldiers could not lift their heads.

The first thing Yunus Pasha saw was Ibrahim's emphasis on firearms troops. Previously, he only knew that the Shahkulu rebels relied on fire blunderbuss and light artillery to ambush and kill the "eunuch" Ali Pasha who underestimated the enemy's advance. Now when he saw it in the Iranian military camp, the number and specifications of the firearms could be said to be insignificant.

"Your Excellency Yunus, I heard that your new army has always been strong and strong. I wonder how our army's artillery and musketry compare with your country's." Jacob, the commander of the Gulam Army who accompanied the visit, said provocatively. asked.

"It's still a little inferior to our country, but there are just more people." Yunus replied casually, not interested in talking. In fact, he saw that these shooters in uniforms were all skillful and fired calmly rather than aimlessly. At least they had been trained for a long time. He would like to see more details, but as a prisoner of war, there is no chance of close observation, and this military information will definitely not be sent to Padisha, so it can only rot in his own mind.

"What are you saying? On the battlefield, isn't it the case that many guns are better than few, and big guns are better than small guns? Let's stay on the battlefield to see whether the shooting is accurate or not." Jacob thought Yunus is just being tough.

He thought about it carefully and found out that the Safavids had a lot of weapons and weapons, and the cavalry were all elite - at least the ones he saw fighting against were very strong - with excellent combat skills and excellent armor and staff. Thinking about it this way, Selim might actually be defeated here.

Just at this time, a group of sentry riders returning from an outing passed by. It seemed that the riders returning from hunting had severed human heads hanging on their saddles. They were looking for Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com and there were also captives who had been tied up and captured alive. It looked like they were Intercepted and killed the small group trying to leave the city.

Yunus Pasha, who knew that Ibrahim wanted to scare him with the help of more soldiers, tried his best to remain silent. When he was taken back to a separate tent to rest, a dervish came to persuade him to convert to Shiism. Analysis Ibrahim's shortcomings annoyed him, but he remained silent throughout.

Seeing that neither persuasion, analysis of pros and cons, nor threats and intimidation could move the prisoners in front of him, the dervish who came to harass him had no choice but to leave angrily and report truthfully to Ibrahim.

After eating and drinking well in the tent for several days, Ibrahim summoned him again to the camp tent for a talk.

The King of Kings still had a kind face. After several days of interrogation, repeated rounds of torture and prisoner's dilemma, all the information that could be learned from the middle-level officers was squeezed out. Next, it was Yunus Pasha's turn. .

But as soon as he entered the account, the guards on both sides immediately took it down according to the holy order: "I have given you many opportunities in the past few days, but you are really unwilling to be this honored guest, so I can only adjust it for you. Become a prisoner."

Then he began to interrogate: "I know you definitely don't know what Selim is thinking. Apart from anything else, I heard that Gaomen claimed to have gathered 150,000 troops in Kostantiniya. I also heard that I raised an army of 200,000, how about you help me find out how much water there is in it?"

Yunus Pasha, who knew that he could not refuse this time, still spoke: "One hundred and fifty thousand, two hundred thousand, these are the troops and horses you can bring out. In my opinion, with Rumelia alone, the high sect can gather We only have 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers and horses, no more..."

The sword-wielding vizier was forced by the threat to reveal all the inside information he knew about the Ottoman military. Together with the information he had previously discovered, Ibrahim had a good idea of ​​Selim's current strength.