The Sun and the Lion

April 1, 1496, early morning. The sentry on top of Diyarbakir City watched the red-headed men riding horses not far away, marching swaggering outside the city. The horses' hooves made the road dusty. The cavalry marched side by side according to their formation, riding their horses forward. Each red head is equipped with two horses. They only carry swords, bones and bows, as well as two quivers and water bags with 30 arrows each. The armor, spare bow strings and arrows used to save lives, dry food and other supplies were packed and placed on another horse.

There were not only red heads in this team, but also a baggage team, with mules carrying military supplies driven by civilian husbands, and army doctors and craftsmen marching in the middle of the team. Thanks to the dedicated officers at all levels, the military judge who led the military police patrol to maintain order in the team and the quartermaster responsible for driving these civilians made the team large and not chaotic, which put a lot of pressure on the sentries who were counting the number of people.

"Sir, the enemy's army is too huge. There are at least 20,000 or more people. They are all wearing armor and holding sharp swords. They seem to be able to break through the city wall..." He reported to the emir in charge of city defense in a hurry and panic.

"What do you look like in such a panic? Without the blessing of God, what will happen to the heretics, no matter how well-equipped they are? The traitors who have abandoned God are no match for the Sultan's army. If the Sultan can defeat the enemy once, he can defeat the enemy a second time. . You deliberately disturbed the morale of the army. What crime should you be punished for? Get down!" Under the emir's scolding, the panicked sentry collapsed immediately when he heard that he was going to be punished, and the emir's soldiers directly pulled him down.

The other officers present lowered their heads and did not dare to speak.

"Those herdsmen with red hats have nothing to be afraid of. Haven't you all read the good news about Sudan?" The emir looked at his somewhat depressed subordinates and sighed: "Your Majesty is already on his way back. This army The goal is to intercept the Sultan rather than attack us. After this team left, we immediately dispatched to clear out the scouts around the city, making a gesture that we would attack with His Majesty, so that the enemy could only separate Focus on guarding against this non-existent suspect."

"Your Excellency, you are wise." Seeing that they did not need to fight the enemy with the red hat, the officers quickly complimented Emil.

Ibrahim, who was leading the marching bowmen at the front of the team, did not know the plans of the enemies in the city. His focus was on defeating Ahmed. In order to grasp the latest and most accurate intelligence, he sent out a large number of scouts as before, but so far no trace of the enemy has been found.

Looking at the sun hanging in the sky slowly moving westward and climbing higher and higher, Ibrahim knew that noon was getting closer.

"Your Majesty, it's almost noon, and the troops need to camp and rest."

Looking at the city of Diyarbakir in the distance behind him, Ibrahim became more and more impatient. He couldn't wait to wipe out all those who stood in his way. But even so, people still have their limits, and even mechanical parts will wear out. Seeing that it was almost time for dinner, Ibrahim had no choice but to be patient and let the scouts find a suitable place to camp for the red heads to rest.

However, there are plains nearby and the terrain is not very undulating, so we might as well find a village to camp temporarily.

However, before he could dismount, a wounded scout saw Ibrahim after being inspected by the bow wielder. He quickly dismounted and saluted, and then panted and reported: "Ahmed's team is not far to the northwest. It doesn't take long to reach a village on horseback. I saw fences, tents, and sentries. The cart and his vulture."

"Very good, mark him down and reward him with 10 silver coins."

The scout who received the reward thanked him and left.

Ibrahim was in a dilemma. Should he eat first and then fight the enemy in the field, or should he eat after fighting? Undecided, Ibrahim decided to summon his officers at all levels to discuss the matter.

In another village, inside the big tent, a red-headed scout covered in blood and claiming to be an officer was dragged in.

Ahmed was leaning on the soft couch, smoking marijuana, enjoying the dual stimulation from the narcotics and the slave girl. Seeing that the enemy who claimed to surrender was dragged in by his own soldiers, he did not get up. He just put the hookah pipe aside, blew out the smoke, and then said: You can speak now. "

"Dear Lord Sultan, I want to congratulate you first." The captured scout first tried his best to put on a flattering smile on his face.

"Hahaha, interesting. It seems that you are very confident in what you can provide." Ahmed laughed a few times, and then returned to the topic again.

"Your Majesty, what you defeated at the river was just a partial army. This army was not even in Ibrahim's book." The scout first said nonsense, and then continued: "And I am from Ibrahim." Xin's army has 30 thousand captains, which is large in number and well-equipped. The mission of the scouts is to search for your traces. He is seeking a battle, and his target is you, Your Majesty."

Ahmed's expression did not change after hearing this. He just asked: "Is this all there is?" The soldiers on the side held their hands on the handles of their swords, waiting for Ahmed's order.

"No, Your Majesty, I just..." The scout looked hesitant, and the panic on his face was obvious.

"Oh, I thought Qizilbashi were all brave desperadoes, but it seems like they are nothing more than that. Find Shuyuan www.zhaｏshuyuan.comｍ" Ahmed, who thought he could see what the other party was thinking, mocked After a while, he gave me a sweet date: "As God witnesses, I can save your life and allow you to become my subject and be loyal to me. But I want you to abandon your original false beliefs and return to the path of true faith." Come up."

The scout looked grateful and hurriedly thanked him: "You are so kind and generous..."

Then, with Ahmed's permission, the scout approached Ahmed under the supervision of his soldiers and prepared to kiss his boots to express his submission.

Ahmed stood up and watched the other man crawl down like a dog. Then the scouts jumped up, first picked up the candlestick on the low table and threw it at Ahmed, and then used a small blade he had hidden - it should be a dagger or a fragment of a sword - as a dagger to slash at him. .

Ahmed first dodged the blow from the candlestick, and then used his slave girl to block the scout's blade. The concubine in gauze passed away without even letting out a scream.

The soldiers who reacted quickly stepped forward and chopped the scout into pulp, blending into the beautifully crafted colorful Persian carpet on the ground. But Ahmed just sat on the couch, he was no longer in the mood to smoke hookah.

"A bunch of lunatics, do they really think they are members of the Assassins?" Ahmed thought for the rest of his life.

"Ibrahim, a coward, knows that he can't defeat him openly on the battlefield, so he can only play some tricks. Oh, it was like this last time in Mosul, and it is like this now. Then I will do it when you are the least likely to do it. I will defeat you where I am good at it!" Although Ahmed did not know that during the Battle of Kosovo, the Serbian knights tried to reverse the situation by assassinating Murad I, this did not prevent him from strengthening his confidence.

After the scene was cleared, he quickly summoned senior military officers to discuss matters.