Chapter 102: The Turks Get the Muskets The Persian Empire Begins to Attack

This part of Persia is a plague of disasters. Throughout its history, many empires have been founded, flourished, and declined. From the Elamite and Median periods to the Achaemenid dynasty, the Hellenistic period, the Arshak dynasty, the Sassanid dynasty, the Caliphate, the Mongol rule, the Timurid Empire until the Safavid dynasty now, the rise and fall of each empire has brought countless bloody sacrifices. The history of empires is made of blood.

If it had not encountered the sudden revival of the Ming Dynasty, the current Safavid Abbasid Emperor would have revived the majesty of the Persian Empire and pushed the Persian Empire to another **, he should have recovered a large amount of lost territory and brought the Persian state to its full strength.

But he met Zhang Zhimu of the Ming Dynasty, and everything changed. No matter how wise and courageous the Abbasid Emperor was, it would not help.

To say that this Abbasid Emperor is really extraordinary, his determination to fight the Ming army was definitely not impulsive, but felt that there was a reasonable excuse to send troops. He was waiting for such an opportunity, and he couldn't give it up so easily.

The current Persian Empire is an empire founded by the Turkmen, and when the Abbasids ascended the throne, it was at a time of internal and external troubles, and the internal Turkmen tribal leaders were unruly; External Ottoman Empire and Yue, two powerful neighbors (Uzbeks), constantly invaded the country. After the accession of Abbasid I, he used political means to consolidate his power and carried out major reforms.

He changed the army into two parts, one was to develop the Persian army from an old army with a tribal atmosphere to a new army with muskets, copper cannons and other equipment, with more than 10,000 artillery members, becoming the main force of the Persian army; On the other hand, the "imperial power" changed the situation in which the "Red Hat Army" was dominant, absorbing a large number of Caucasus nationalities into the army, the Turkmen nobility no longer had privileges, and all officers and soldiers were under the full control of the emperor. Like other West Asian nations, the Abbasids developed an elite Guard, which was directly subordinate to the emperor himself. The standing army was absolutely loyal to the king. Among them, the cavalry was mainly composed of proselytizing prisoners of war from Georgia, Armenia and other places and their descendants, called the guram (slaves) of the royal family.

In fact, the Turkmen "Red Riding Hood Army" was also the mainstay of the creation and expansion of the Safavid Empire. After the Red Hats assisted the Persian rulers in establishing the Safavid Dynasty, the contradictions between them and the rulers were also very prominent, and even the rulers were held hostage by these Red Hats. The Abbasids were able to use their political wisdom to successfully complete the political and military reforms, and they were indeed not idle.

Although the Persian Empire was not at its peak at this time, the Abbasid Great, who was full of soldiers, was holding a sharp sword and wanted to try the edge, and the Ming army stretched his neck in front of him, and he would not let go of such a good opportunity.

In the eyes of Abbasid the Great, the moon was someone else's (Uzbek) land should be his own, but the Ming army suddenly occupied the moon and someone else, and the army also overwhelmed the borders of Persia, Abbasid the Great was first angry, and then overjoyed, because he found an excellent reason to send troops.

The Persian Empire was always at war, and the army was very professional and very combative. While mobilizing troops, they did a lot of intelligence gathering work. They knew that the fighting power of the Ming army could not be underestimated if they could defeat the fierce Yue (Uzbek) tribal army in such a short period of time. Later, the Persians learned from intelligence that the Ming army's firearms were very powerful, and the use of surprise tactics, as well as the cooperation of the Mongol cavalry, was the reason for the rapid defeat of Yue Ji and others.

Abbasid knew a lot about firearms, he spent a lot of gold and silver to arm his army, and he was also very confident in his artillery. In his opinion, the Ming army had an advantage in firearms, and it would not be much stronger than his own more than 10,000 artillery, and they still felt that it was because of the Mongolian cavalry's participation in the battle, which had a fatal blow to Yue and others. They all know that the Mongolian iron cavalry is too powerful, and after so many years, they have not come out of the shadow of the Mongols, which greatly magnifies the role of the Mongolian cavalry.

In order to deal with the Mongol cavalry, they made a lot of preparations, which also delayed their time to launch an attack on the Ming army.

A large group of Ottoman men and horses, with a long caravan of camels and horses, crossed the border of the Persian Empire and came to their military camp in Ningde, where they came to receive muskets. However, the caravans of the Ottoman Empire, transporting gold and silver, stopped within the borders of the Persian Empire and did not come out.

The great treasurer who was waiting for them here understood very much, because the amount of gold and silver they brought was too large, and it could even be related to the fate of the Ottoman Empire, and they did not dare to come directly to the barracks of the kiln people.

The big shopkeeper discussed this matter with Ning De and Li Kui, and before Ning De could speak, Li Kui smiled and said: "Lao Tzu is a bandit and bandit, and he is afraid of being hacked in all the mountains, so he came up with a solution. ”

"Huh! And here's it, tell me about it! Ning De was also amused by Li Kui's words.

"At that time, we used horses and camels, and we sent people to check each other's horses, and we saw that each party sent a horse until it was finished. It's that the other party has the heart to eat black, and at most he will eat a donkey! Li Kui said.

"Hmmm! It's a good idea! Ning De nodded approvingly.

The shopkeeper said, "I'm afraid this won't work!" That's more than 5,000 robberies, and there are so many bullets, when will this be exchanged? ”

Ning De said angrily when he heard this: "You little rabbit cub, how did Mr. Lu get you to be such a fool?" Can't the brain turn around? Shall we give them a thousand muskets at a time and wait for them to bring in the gold and silver for the next batch?"

In fact, it's not that the big shopkeeper doesn't turn around, Ning De dares to make such a decision, he doesn't dare. Even if he lost the goods of a horse pack, he did not dare to risk it. The big shopkeeper asked, "General Ning, what if they swallow our goods?" ”

"They don't dare!" Li Kui interjected, "They don't dare to offend us, they are even more afraid that we will support the Russian Empire." ”

Although the big shopkeeper is very shrewd in business, he can't have the same big vision as Ning De and Li Kui, and he said repeatedly: "This is the best!" That's the best! ”

Through communication, both parties agreed to this approach. However, the envoy led by the Ottoman Empire did not agree to make a deal immediately, he wanted to wait for the training of the young Ottoman officers they had brought with him, and then leave with his weapons. They were not worried about the gold and silver being placed in Persia, and the Persian Empire did not dare to be thieves against them, in fact, they did not reveal that they were carrying a large amount of gold and silver. Because they had chartered a few inns in the border towns of Persia, just to be more secluded.

Ningde first made a request to the envoy of the Ottoman Empire, and the sultan of their empire sent a letter to the emperor of the Persian Empire, saying that our Ming Dynasty has no intention of being an enemy of the Persian Empire, and asks for friendship! If the Persian Empire has any conditions, it can be raised.

The envoys of the Ottoman Empire agreed to this, he knew that this was a matter of moving his mouth, and he helped the Ming Dynasty to do this, and it would be easier to speak when he asked the Ming Dynasty in the future. Therefore, he immediately sent men back and asked the Sultan to send an envoy to the Persian Empire to persuade him to make peace.

The young Ottoman officers, who had been trained for a week at the Ningde barracks, could only be regarded as having mastered the use of muskets and some basic tactics. Some of these officers had fought with the Russians, and they knew how the Russians used this musket. When these officers saw these muskets for the first time, their eyes lit up, as soldiers, they knew the power of this thing, and the powerful Ottoman legions were defeated on this thing.

A week later, the two sides began to hand over the gold and silver cargo. Large quantities of grain have already been brought in.

Ningde has already prepared a lot of cars, and the gold and silver are sealed immediately after the counting, and several people check the sealing and loading. After loading, the car convoy was immediately transported away under the escort of a battalion of troops. Both Ning De and Li Kui knew that the gold and silver were a very big burden, and only by transporting them back to the kiln could they be regarded as unburdened.

I don't know if the Ottoman Sultan sent someone to the Persian Empire to bring a message to Ningde, but the Persians continue to transfer heavy troops on the border, and Ningde and they already feel threatened. Jiang Jian had already transferred three planes, as well as artillery trucks and automobile soldiers to Ningde. Through aerial reconnaissance, it has been discovered that the Persian Empire's army has been deployed, and there is a possibility of war at any time.

Ningde had no choice but to ask the Ottoman envoys to leave Persia as soon as possible.

As the Ottoman convoy was advancing, it was stopped by the Persian army on the grounds that the officers who had come to their camp for training in Ningde were armed with muskets. The Persian Empire did not allow them to carry weapons on the territory of Persia.

The Ottoman envoys felt that the Persians could not be blamed for this, and that no one wanted the soldiers of other armies to carry weapons and act in their own country. The envoy told the young officers to put away their weapons, but the Persian army did not allow them, and they wanted to confiscate the muskets.

Now these Ottoman officers are gone, they have just been trained in the use of muskets, they know the power of the weapons in their hands, and they want to rush through by force. However, the Ottoman envoys knew that they could not do it brutely, and that there were a large number of Persian troops gathered here, and they could not escape with such a large convoy. But the envoys did not want to leave the muskets to the Persians. There was no way, so the envoy had to offer to meet the Persian commander when the stalemate was deadlocked. When he saw the commander, the commander, who had always been deeply sorry for the detention of the envoys last time, immediately agreed to let them go.

The envoy said to the commander: "As an old friend, I thank you and once again advise you not to go to war with the Ming army. They don't want to go to war with you either. We just wanted to buy *** for the Ming army this time, and when our powerful imperial army fought against the Russians, it suffered a big loss from these muskets. You don't have muskets like them, and you are no match for the Ming army at all! ”

The commander said: "Thank you for your outspokenness! Our imperial army also had its own firearms. Whether we fight or not, we will obey our great Abbasid Emperor. ”

The Ottoman envoys could not say more, and it was more important than anything else to be able to bring back the muskets that would matter to the fate of the Ottoman Empire. Being able to leave the Persian Empire with a musket, the Ottoman envoy knew that he had done a great job for the Ottoman Empire.

However, he was also really worried about his friends in the Ming Dynasty, and he already knew for sure that the bloody battle between the Ming army and the Persian Empire could not be avoided.

When I heard that there was going to be a war with the Persian Empire, the most happy were the Mongols, and they came to the big tent in Ningde together.

Since they are already very familiar with Ningde, they are not polite when they see Ningde. One Wanhu said, "General Ning, when are we going to fight the Persians?" ”

Ning De felt angry and ridiculous, and asked rhetorically: "Who said that we were going to fight the Persians?" ”

"Huh? Why didn't you fight with the Persians? ”

"Hit! It's the Persians who are going to fight us, not us who are going to fight them! Ningde said deliberately.

"Hey! How can we let them beat us, we should go and beat them! Another Mongol didn't understand.

The Mongols are now allocated a lot of very good pastures, and Ningde originally wanted more Mongols to go back to grazing, and they also need to regain their vitality. However, the Mongols felt that they had gained more from the war, and that they came quickly. After several battles with Yue, that is, others, they were reluctant to leave home to graze after getting the sweetness. In fact, they prefer to live this bloody life.

However, in each month, that is, in the original city of others, some Mongols were left to cooperate with the Yaogang police, and some old and weak Mongols returned to their steppes, and now there are only more than 10,000 Mongol cavalry on the shore of the Caspian Sea.

The pastures here are very good, the grain is also sufficient, and the Mongolian cavalry horses are fat and strong. The Mongols had not fought for a long time, and they were all very uncomfortable, and when they heard that they were going to fight with the Persians, they could not bear it. In fact, there is another reason, that is, they are sure that they don't need to worry about losing money when they fight with the kiln people. They all know that it is impossible for the kiln people to be defeated. Moreover, the kiln gang people are very generous in fighting, and rarely compete with them for the spoils of war. This is also a very important cause.

Ning De, Li Kui, and Sun Chuanting, who rushed over, discussed, and they all felt that since the Persians had to fight, they should just beat them up and let them retreat, and if possible, take down the places along the Caspian Sea, as long as they did not attack Isfahan, the capital of the Persians, they would not cause too much panic to the Western countries. But the Persians must not dare to come back, otherwise there will be endless troubles.

Ningde also believed that since they were going to fight, they would attract the Persians to start a war on the shores of the Caspian Sea, because they had already built quite a few speedboats out of wood, which could maneuver quickly in the Caspian Sea and deliver quick strikes on targets on the shore.

Although both Ning De and Li Kui did not pay attention to the Persians, the photos taken by the plane reconnaissance showed that the Persians had a large number of artillery, which could not but arouse their attention.

Sun Chuanting also said: "Although the comparison between their artillery and ours is not very good, if they let so many artillery fire at us, it will be very lethal." We've got to get rid of their cannons first! ”

"Judging from the photos on the plane, their artillery is divided into several camps, and it is estimated that when the fight starts, they will be arranged in a line in front of the formation. We should take advantage of the fact that they are not as powerful as our artillery, and when their artillery moves within our range, we should destroy their artillery ourselves. Ningde said.

Li Kui said: "Jiang Zheng and their artillery truck have arrived, but Li Wei and their rocket artillery have not yet arrived." It would be nice if the rocket artillery came together. ”

Sun Chuanting said to Ning De: "Send a telegram to Jiang Ji again to ask, when will the rocket artillery arrive?" With rocket artillery, it will be easier for us to deal with the Persians! ”

Ningde said: "I asked, and they were washed away by floods on the road. The rocket artillery vehicles are all heavy-duty vehicles, and they dare not walk on the muddy roads, for fear that the cars will get stuck in the road. However, they are hurrying to pave the road with sand and gravel. Maybe they'll be able to get there before the war. As for the Persian artillery, we have to send the delta wing every day for close reconnaissance and keep abreast of their movements. ”

The Persian Empire's army gathered more than 300,000 troops, and after the artillery was transported across the desert to the front line, military preparations were completed.

When the Persian Empire's advance crossed the border, Ningde still commissioned a Persian merchant to bring them a letter, telling them that our Ming army did not want to be an enemy of the Persian Empire, and asked them to retreat to the Persian border.

Ningde's letter became a joke in the big tent of the Persian army. They thought that the army of the Persian Empire was pressing the border, and the Ming army was cowardly! Now the officers and soldiers of the Persian Empire are full of confidence, and they want to drive the Ming army out of Yuejifare, of course, they want to occupy the whole Yuejifare, and revive the majesty of the Persian Empire.

Little did they know that their arrogance would cost them so many of their lives here.

The Persian officers and soldiers who had come down from the Persian plateau suddenly moved rapidly and surrounded their large camp in Ningde from the north and southeast. Ningde and their camp were bordered by the Caspian Sea to the west, so that the Persians not only surrounded Ningde and them, but also cut off their communication with the outside world.

The Great War has begun!