The Sun and the Lion

Although the Mamluks' suspected interference in Yemen made Ibrahim very angry, he could not abandon his strategic determination because of this. Before making all preparations for war, he had to ease relations to deceive Kansu Gauri.

"I decided to increase the trade to Sharm again. It is best to restore the scale of trade to that before the attack on Roma or even during the war." Frequent exchanges of business travel are undoubtedly beneficial to espionage activities. In addition to investigating information in various regions and mapping out more recent developments, In addition to the accurate map, the Iranian consul in Aleppo can take the opportunity to infiltrate Sham, and with the help of Khail Bey, he can accurately bribe the emir who is not a direct lineage.

By deeply corroding the Mamluk administrative and military systems, a huge advantage could be gained at the outset of a war, and one could even try to instigate tax resistance before the war to exacerbate the enemy's financial disadvantage.

After rejecting Turgut, he began to send a letter to Hailbey through the foreign affairs department. The two countries were currently bounded by the Euphrates River. The content of the letter was that in the name of promoting commerce, the two parties would work together to renovate the new border river. The bridge facilitated the passage of merchants - and later armies - from both countries, a win-win business.

To show his sincerity, he even plans to fully renovate and expand the bridge with the largest traffic volume on the Euphrates River and rename it Friendship Bridge to commemorate the friendly relations between the two countries.

This naming in bad taste caused some repercussions in the court. Civil servants and generals who knew the inside story did not fully agree with this approach. Foreign Vizier Assad admonished: "Your Majesty, all the ministers are yours." Your cronies know your true goal, but there are still many people in the world who don’t know. Even if you can deceive for a while, it will be a huge constraint. If you can’t shift the blame for the war to Sultan Michel, it may damage your credibility and image. "

The ulema serving in the palace discussed possible changes in public opinion. The previous maintenance of friendly relations with the "Abbasid Caliphate" can be interpreted as a struggle strategy. Will maintaining the status quo be seen as weakness? And was mistakenly thought that in the future he might blatantly abandon his claim to the custody of the Holy Land and the position of "Successor of the Prophet"?

Ibrahim didn't think this matter could be serious. To be so concerned was to sacrifice the good for the sake of the bad. Wouldn't it be better for his followers to just follow him and get the next victory?

After this order spread in Isfahan, as the ulama expected, the mood of the people fluctuated. In addition to the clergy who swayed along the general line and expressed firm support and the big chess parties who believed that there must be some deep meaning, there were also Shia Fanatics took action to ask Ibrahim to take back his life. Crowds gathered in the streets chanted religious slogans, repeating: "Revenge, not reconciliation! Depose the false caliphate!" "Invincible! Abbasid Caliphate and Mamluk It's just a spider web! "Recover the Holy Land! Conquer the Nile!"

The fanatical religious sentiments that appear in the streets and squares are a spectacle. Even the minority groups who have long been accustomed to their Muslim neighbors are frightened by it - chaos is a breeding ground for atrocities, even if the opinion leaders who incite the masses are not aiming to persecute those around them. They are from a minority group. Even though the rights and interests of Qimi are protected by royal law, there will always be thugs who take advantage of troubled waters to extort or even rob them. As long as one person loses money out of fear to eliminate disaster, he will make a profit.

Fortunately, the situation did not develop further. It just stayed at the stage of talking and blocking traffic.

Nanak, who had returned from his westward journey, happened to be stopping in Isfahan at this time. Having already visited Mecca and Baghdad, he had a complicated view of the empire that ruled the Punjab. The new religion that wanted to expand needed to know more about the handheld Master of sharp blades.

Judging from the city appearance, this city is grand and prosperous. You can see specialties and ethnic groups from all over the world gathered here. There is even an Armenian quarter for Christians and a Jewish quarter in the old city. It looks quite tolerant and diverse. .

However, on a spiritual level, Ibrahim was not the Great Khan of Mongolia. The Safavids were founded on fanatical Shiite beliefs. Qizilbash was not an "Iranian nationalist" but "a follower of Ali". It is an identity that he is proud of, a fact that cannot be changed or concealed. Even if the Shah did issue orders to protect minority rights, successive victories continued to strengthen the religious identity of the court and society, which was key to his concern.

The master who originally wanted to test the attitude of the King of Kings by publicly preaching and debating in the capital gave up for the time being, and immediately packed up his luggage and returned to Lahore with the Indian caravan returning eastward, so as not to run into the guns of the fanatics. Returning to Punjab to cultivate the believer community is the right way. As long as the new faith develops to a point where it cannot be ignored or easily eliminated, and it does not directly confront the empire, its survival will not be a problem.

As a passing guru, he can just pack up and leave. Ibrahim needs to think about how to calm public opinion. After all, most of the people who question this approach are loyal followers, and he cannot directly suppress it with iron hoofs - although questioning is a problem in the discipline of the order. capital offense.

But there is no need for Shah to take the initiative to settle the matter. Due to his invincible and extremely high prestige, the dissenters immediately divided into different groups and began to quarrel with each other from the beginning. The believers who supported and worshiped him clearly had the upper hand, and the matter was resolved by itself.

The "hawkish" priests who spread opinions and exported their opinions among the people were quickly identified and collectively called into the palace to reprimand them. Whether they were dervishes or foreign ulema, they could only kneel down and bow their heads. Listen carefully to the "patient guidance" of the perfect teacher.

Although the iron fist did not hit their heads directly, the effect of the gag was real. Although the people were still discussing this "show of goodwill to the prey under an absolute advantage", it was limited to private discussions in a specific place.

…………

The public turmoil in Isfahan failed to have any impact. Both Uthman Padishah and Malik of Michel were busy with their own affairs.

With the help of Rumelia's wealth, Selim, who had recovered, officially began to plan to regain the lost territory. He temporarily stopped advancing into the hinterland of Europe. Hungary's surrender did not mean that Ottoman could establish a stable rule in Central Europe.

Ibrahim could infiltrate Rumelia, and Selim could also infiltrate Anatolia—although he did not have the religious network to mobilize believers to directly pull out a rebel army.

In addition, he also launched a tentative attack on the other side of the strait. With the support of the navy, several thousands of troops have crossed the sea and successfully captured many small and large settlements, but they were unable to hold on for a long time. They only looted some people and property before withdrawing. .

Successfully defeating the main force of Roma can certainly restore the decline, but it will also attract the attention of Safavid. Before Ibrahim's fist is tightly entangled by the Mamluks, any major progress made in Anatolia is Useless.

Another ship of aid was sent from the Golden Horn to Damietta, with Ottoman volunteers for the artillery on board to assist the Governor of Jeddah.