The Sun and the Lion

After several days of marching, Gaolaberi led the red heads to the gates of Baghdad. Seeing the invasion of a powerful enemy, the local separatist forces quickly negotiated and assembled a coalition with different ideas to fight against the Safavid army.

"They are just a bunch of rabble! They just add slaves to our tribe." Gaolaberi did not take this army seriously. He handed the empty cup back to his guards, then drew out the Sheshier scimitar, Point forward.

"Warriors of Huda! Let us move forward under His gaze and protection and slaughter the white sheep in front of us!"

"Huda Akbar!"

"Long live the Sheikh!"

When the trumpet sound representing the order to attack spread throughout the military formation, the red heads shouted slogans, and the shouts that suddenly broke out were like thunder. The Aries cavalry on the opposite side felt a little panicked when they heard the opponent's high-morale war cry, but the officers had no good solution.

In the blink of an eye, the red heads rushed towards the enemy on horseback. The light cavalry wearing only light leather armor quickly gathered on the two wings, stretched the battle line, and formed a crescent formation with the heavy cavalry in the middle of the formation.

And the Aries cavalry will not wait for death, they will not be outdone and charge forward. However, compared to the red heads, their cooperation was zero. The scattered and chaotic team looked like a group of bandits going to the grass valley.

Life-threatening arrows struck from the side, and many Aries riders were shot off their horses.

Soon, the opposing cavalry collided with each other. Dust flew up, flesh and blood flew everywhere, the horses neighed, and the sound of killing shook the sky.

One of the centurions charged the hardest. They were like "ice picks" inserted into the frontal lobe, constantly stirring the "prefrontal lobe" composed of Aries riders. Their armors were stained with flesh and blood and were no longer vivid, but this was the best deterrent to the frightened riders. They fled in a hurry when they saw these bloody men.

The Aries riders were far inferior to these Qizilbashis in terms of equipment and combat skills. The chicken blood they fought with ignorance and passion quickly cooled down, and their morale bottomed out.

Gaolaberi, who was observing the battlefield, was not surprised by this. The sultans who could organize elite armies no longer existed. The troops that local forces could muster were not only small in quantity, but also in quality.

In less than half an hour, the flock of white sheep dispersed like birds and beasts.

Military judges and quartermasters quickly organized manpower to clean the battlefield, count the spoils of war, and register military merits.

However, although the centurion Kaihobard of the centurion made a great contribution, after all, these Aries riders also ran fast, and there were fewer heads that could be recorded. The rewards that the entire Centurion could get were meager if divided equally, and the officers could not be promoted.

However, their brave performance was noticed by the military judge and Gaolaberi.

Just as the battlefield was being cleaned, the city gates of Baghdad opened without any suspense, and a group of representatives sent by the powerful and prominent families in the city dedicated themselves to the city. In order to ensure their own safety, the powerful people in the city took the initiative to collect a sum of money to pay for the redemption of the city, converted to Shiaism, and began to expel the Sunni clergy.

This seems to be a characteristic of feudal landowners all over the world. After all, the real estate, which is the source of wealth and status, cannot be moved. When a new owner comes, they will either abandon everything and flee, or they will grovel in order to keep the real estate.

"General, the treasury plus the city redemption fee, there are two dinars in total, and the total of all kinds of silver coins is about forty tumans, but the quality is different, the specific value can only be known when it is melted into our country's silver coins. The food and grass are enough for our army to consume for two months. Other spoils include armor, weapons, and prisoners of war..." After counting the spoils, the quartermaster reported to Gaolaberi all the gains of the army after entering the city.

"I know." Gaolaberi was delighted. Although Baghdad lost its glory after being destroyed by Mongolia, it is still a big city. With the support of this fertile land and the traveling caravans, the local dignitaries still accumulated a lot of wealth.

Then, with the polishing of his staff, a beautiful battle report was placed in front of Gaolaberi.

This was his first time leading an army independently, and he had to handle all military affairs. But looking at the staff who were responsible for reducing the workload of the general, Gaolaberi felt relieved in his heart. For the red-headed emirs with low cultural level, handling military affairs like Ibrahim was a very painful thing. Without the help of staff, this army of ten thousand people would have to fall apart.

With these staff, all the work of finding books and dealing with texts can be left to these literati. The general only needs to listen to reports and then make decisions based on the information he has.

It can be said that Gaolaberi has accepted these settings. In addition to convenience, it is also because he is not a warlord and this army is not his property, so there is no need to decentralize power.

"Very good, that's it." After his staff read the battle report, Gaolaberi immediately summoned a messenger and sent it to Diyarbakır.

"General, His Excellency Assad would like to see you."

A scholar wearing a long robe and a white turban entered the tent. Assad looked at Gaolaberi sitting at the desk, bowed, and then greeted him politely: "May Huda bless you with good health and good military fortune, general."

"I also wish you good health and good career. No need to be polite, please sit down." Facing Ibrahim's appointed partner, Gaolaberi did not put on any airs.

The soldiers served fermented grape juice, and Gaolaberi asked: "Why are you here?"

"General, how long do you think it will take for the situation in Baghdad to settle down?" Assad asked.

"An Ding, do you want me to immediately send troops to fight against the Musasa Order?" Gaolaberi took a sip and guessed the other party's intention.

"Although His Majesty wants me to force the Musasa Order to surrender, its strength is quite impressive. If we don't defeat it first and show our strength, I'm afraid no matter how many envoys we send, it will be useless."

"But now I really can't spare too many troops. The general cavalry has gone out to control the countryside. Except for suppressing the ones in the city, there are only two or three regiments that can be sent out. Besides, they have just experienced a big battle and need to rest and recuperate."

"In this case, we can only slow down for a while." Assad sighed and then left.