The Sun and the Lion

Several coins of different shapes were placed on the case of the Governor of Yemen. Based on the inscriptions on them, the issuers can be vaguely identified - they are all Imams of the Zayd sect of Yemen. The old coins were minted under the orders of the previous Imams. , the oldest has been in use for nearly a hundred years.

The latest coin was issued in the name of Imam Hassan, the only living imam of the table. As for Yahya, he had only been in power for a few years, and due to the urgent situation, he was unable to issue new currency in his own name.

"Master Governor, as you can see, there is no unity among the heretics today. There are two imams as the highest authority. As far as I know, there is no collaboration between Hassan and Yahya. I think We can start to win over the weak but more famous Hassan and divide the heretics from within so that Yahya cannot unite the tribes who believe in heresy and fight against our army without any constraints. "

In order to cooperate with the next military operation, the two are plotting how to divide the Zaid sect. The political ecology of the mountainous areas of Yemen is similar to Afghanistan - the terrain is broken and tribes are rampant. Divide and rule here and implement indirect rule are the best in Ibrahim's eyes. untie.

Compared with the recent rise of Yahya, Nasir Hassan has been an imam for 17 years so far and has profound qualifications. His father, Izz al-Din, was a quite strong and accomplished leader. Although he failed to eliminate other competitors and make himself the only imam in Yemen, he left a rich political legacy. Sang failed to inherit his father's political talents.

Compared with Izz al-Din and "warlord" Yahya, who are no different from Sudan, Hassan himself is more developed in the direction of a scholar. His theological and philosophical levels are not comparable to those of his competitors, and according to tradition Actively engage in charity and provide shelter for vulnerable groups.

However, in this era of great strife, swords are better than scriptures. His performance against the Tahir Dynasty was not outstanding and he failed to win the recognition of most Yemeni dignitaries. Even though the city of Sana'a was defeated and Mansour was captured and killed Nor did Hassan become the only imam, who felt threatened by Yahya's sudden rise.

"I understand what you mean, so who should be sent as envoy to this imam?" He said a question, but the governor of Yemen kept looking at the staff who were planning this matter with him.

In order to gain a future, the staff had the courage and believed that they were capable of taking on this task, but the problem did not lie in the selection of the messenger. He said awkwardly: "Your Excellency, this Imam has gone into hiding to protect himself. His whereabouts are unknown." It’s uncertain, sending an envoy is probably in vain.”

Fortunately, there are not all clues. Even if he cannot be found, there are always traces to know which tribes support Hassan. The tribes that cooperate with the governor of Yemen provide a lot of information, from which we can roughly infer which areas belong to Hassan. sphere of influence.

The distribution of his supporters is very fragmented, or the power structure in the mountainous area is fragmented. In the northernmost city of Saada, although it is Yahya's rear area, he only controls half of the city. Hassan and other supporters of the Imam's descendants divided up the remaining streets.

In the south, centered on Damar, is the land that Yahya has not yet touched, and Hassan's rule can be connected into one piece.

In this case, we can only contact the tribes that support Hassan first. Although the merchant ships transporting grain from India have not yet returned, the governor still squeezed out some from his reserves and sent the mission with sincerity for cooperation - unlike Yahya who tried his best to squeeze people's power, the new friends are the ones who truly care about their fellow Muslims. Everyone should know whose side to side with.

…………

The siege of Sana'a was not only known to the governor of Yemen, but Hassan, who was staying in an inconspicuous mosque somewhere, only learned about it a little later than outsiders. He was still surprised and surprised by Yahya's bold action. Treated with fear.

"He is really courageous. He took advantage of the chaos to provoke a powerful enemy and get angry." It is Hassan's basic habit to completely deny the legitimacy of political opponents. Especially in the year of great disaster, it is really too much to squeeze out military rations for combat. .

Do you really think that it is natural for you to have the authority of an imam when you are so wantonly squeezing people's power? This is gambling. Although it is Yahya who throws the dice in the end, Hassan believes that it is also related to his future - if his political opponents can suffer a major military defeat when they lose their hearts, then this big warlord will be finished. Yet?

Not knowing that Yahya and the Mamluks were already on the line, he naturally believed that this move was alienating his supporters. However, Hassan did not have the strength to prove that his desperate move was a failure, but it didn't matter, he couldn't defeat him, so in this world There is always someone who can beat him.

"Dear Imam, no one can judge the current situation more accurately than you, but I feel that you still need to think more carefully about doing things." The cronies who accompanied Hassan to discuss the current situation dissuaded the lord from making such a hasty decision. There are doubts about collusion with the Safavids, and the experience of the Sunnis along the coast has to be worrying.

Ibrahim's invincible reputation has indeed spread to Yemen, and everyone has heard about it, but the rapid collapse of the Tahir Dynasty really made everyone feel the pressure from the King of Kings - Shangao Shah. Far from the truth, it is just wishful thinking. The Yemenis are no longer safe spectators, and they might be about to be stepped on by the iron hooves of the conqueror.

"Then you mean, let me just watch like this?" Hassan expressed disappointment with the cautious attitude. He obviously still had chips in his hand, but if he didn't take a gamble when he saw the opportunity, wouldn't he lose a lot of money?

"It's better than this." The Sheikh of a tribe who had planned the plan early took the opportunity to suggest: "Follow the deal with the Ajam heretics, let them contribute to destroy Yahya, and let their influence go deep into the mountains, while you Stay hidden for now and don't be a valuable ally."

This unusual idea immediately attracted the attention of the participants: "What are you talking about? Are you going to completely cede Yemen to outsiders?"

Sheikh said mysteriously: "Yes and no. If the Imam is regarded by the heretics as an ally of no value and lacks weight, then they will naturally regard the entire Yemen as a trophy that can be disposed of at will after the war. Just at that time At this point, although the pseudo-Imam Yahya has been severely damaged, he will probably not be completely eliminated, and he can continue to contain the heretical energy. This is the time for you to raise your arms and call on the people to resist the oppression of the invaders and carry out jihad. With leadership in your hands, you are naturally the only supreme authority in Yemen and no one can challenge your position.”

This plan made Hassan's eyes light up: "This is what I want. You are really a genius. God bless me!"

He eagerly set about arranging the task and immediately sent a secret envoy to Aden to hold talks with the governor of Yemen, and the two parties rushed in both directions.