"Your Majesty, news has come from the north that Abdul-Majid has raised an army of 30,000 Turks, Persians, Kurds, and Celestials. They were expected to arrive at the city in ten days. Elder Issam Sharaf bowed respectfully to Muktafi. He was one of the few elders in Baghdad who sided with the caliphate.

In the past, there seemed to be no shortage of elders like him. However, now, at such a critical juncture, there are very few elders who still support him so firmly.

Over time, I have seen the hearts of the people, and I know the loyal ministers. Muktafi's heart is nothing more than that!

"There are already a thousand warriors in the city who have answered His Majesty's call, plus the old guards and the civilian army that supported His Majesty, plus the warriors recruited by General Nur al-Din from Sheila, and the men recruited by General Hakim in Vasit, we have a total of 6,000 men......"

Speaking of this, Issam Sharaf's expression couldn't help but dim, the disparity between friend and foe was too great. Especially with the huge city of Baghdad and a number of Seljuk 'lackeys', the final outcome of this war was almost predictable.

Abd al-Majid's army of 30,000 was dominated by cavalry units, but there was no shortage of infantry groups of all kinds. Muktafi's army, on the other hand, was almost entirely infantry.

And the city of Baghdad is just too big. From the time the city was founded, Baghdad has been growing in size. And the huge size of the city will bring great trouble to the distribution of troops of the defenders, as has already been said above.

Muktafi smiled indifferently, how could he not understand Issam Sharaf's worries? As early as the moment he was determined to stand tall in the banner of resistance, he had already thought of a perfect solution - throwing the pot.

The two-kilometer radius of the regimental city of Baghdad and the huge western district of the city were all thrown to Abdul Majid. Don't want it!

Then concentrate all the defensive forces in the narrow and easy to defend East City.

In this way, the undefensible walls and the population of the city that could not participate in the battle were lost to the Seljuks by Muktafi, and the Tigris River, which flowed through the center of the city, became a barrier to defend the defenders. If all the bridges over the river are removed, the eastern part of Baghdad can become his fortress. If it weren't for the lack of time, he would have even mobilized his men to reinforce the walls there. Because of time, Muktafi was only able to gather artisans to make technical weapons such as ballistas!

It's still an unexpected decision for countless people!

When Muqtafi, under the protection of the Su guards, took his wife and children out of the Caliphate's palace, which was built 380 years ago and has an indoor area of 3,344 square meters. The Golden Gate Palace, also known as the Green Dome Palace, has a green dome that is 40 meters high and can be clearly seen within a radius of several kilometers.

When entering the eastern city through the bridge over the Tigris River, the nobles and elders in the western city who had already secretly communicated with the Seljuks were panicked.

Even the caliph himself did not think of this trick, let alone others.

Subsequently, Nur al-Din and Hakim led the army to loot grain and grass and some military supplies in the Xicheng District, recruited all kinds of craftsmen, and built equipment in the strictly controlled Dongcheng District.

Muktafi unabashedly tore off the mask of moderation, and rumors spread throughout Baghdad.

It's just a pity that the city of Baghdad is no longer the city of Baghdad of the Abbasids. The caliphate's authority has risen in the past two years, but it is not enough for countless people to risk their lives to join him.

When Abdul-Majid received the news, he quickly ordered the cavalry to rush to Baghdad, and the arrival of the Seljuk army was two days ahead of schedule.

They were able to occupy the western part of the city and set up camp directly in the city - alas, the unstoppable Abbasids, the founder of the city, Mansur, known as the "victor", deliberately left a huge central enclosure in the center of Baghdad, and the Caliph's palace was located in the center of the enclosure. In addition to the royal palace, the enclosure contained the official residence of the caliph's heirs, the residences of other royal family members and servants, the kitchen of the caliphate, the barracks of the Horse Guards, and the offices of other government agencies. A large area in the center of the enclosure consists of only two buildings: the Great Celestial Temple and the Caliph's Golden Gate Palace, two of the most elaborately restored buildings in the city, archetypal of the celestial world, symbolizing the combination of secular power and spiritual authority. No one other than the caliph was allowed to ride a horse in this central area, even if his uncle was suffering from gout, and he was not allowed to enjoy special treatment on the grounds of ill health.

Although the Seljuks and the Bouweich before them trampled on this rule, in the end it was a qualification that belonged directly to the high nobility. But now, all the 'lowly' inferior people can ride horses and gallop through the central park, plundering the property or materials they can find, and collecting materials to make engineering equipment.

In the eastern city of Baghdad, which is separated by a river, Muktafi gritted his teeth as he watched.

He took out all the stocks in his arsenal to arm the army, and used his faith to inspire his subordinates to fight for it. Finally, it was solemnly promised that all soldiers who were wounded in the battle would be subsidized with 5 dinars. And three gold dinars are roughly equal to two Byzantine gold coins. In other words, one gold dinar can only be exchanged for one and a half Chinese silver coins. This shows how impoverished Muktafi is.

Not to mention the battle under the city of Baghdad, let's just say that Song Qing and the others, who were far away in Port Homos, after hearing about the changes in Baghdad, everyone looked at each other, and all that was left in their hearts was MMP!

I never imagined it, I never imagined that Baghdad was going to sing cool.

There is a kind of food rush in his heart, but he also wants Yang Mi to immediately lead the fleet to approach Cape Oman and the Strait of Hormuz to contain the Seljuk naval fleet.

Otherwise, to allow this naval army to kill Sivat, or even up the two rivers, would be like adding a handful of dirt to Muktafi's grave, lest he die completely.

"Tell me, how nice it would be if the big army that came to help could arrive at this moment."

Song Qing sighed in his heart, they had already received a letter here, and the next batch of reinforcements could reach as many as 10,000 people. I don't know what the purpose of this army is.

And now, the emperor's thinking is really not bad, with Muktafi, their army has a lot to do.

If Muktafi brazenly raised the banner of resistance after the reinforcements arrived, it would be easy to shake the Seljuk dominance in the Fertile Crescent.

It's a pity that the reinforcements haven't come yet.