After the Russian army withdrew to the west bank of the Ural River, they immediately pulled up a long defensive line on the bank, and they set up artillery on the shore and aimed at the few remaining pontoon bridges that had not been destroyed, so that the Xia army could not pass. Stings

The actions of the Russian army all fell into Fu Xinghua's eyes, and he couldn't help but sneer on his face, and said to the adjutant general beside him: "The Russians are really scared by us, since they want to defend the Ural River, let them guard here, and we will attack from other places."

"Where are you going to attack from?" Deputy General Zhang Pu asked, his voice fell, and he looked at the mountain range looming in the clouds in the distance, although he did not speak, but the look on his face was enough to make people see his thoughts.

"The Ural Mountains are a good line of attack, but the Russians will definitely think of it, so we have to plan a second line of attack." As he spoke, Fu Xinghua's gaze turned to the south, and the others followed his movements, but there was obviously no way to see the Caspian Sea directly from here, all they saw was the flat plain on the east coast.

"You mean to attack from the West Sea?" Zhang Pu guessed his thoughts and asked.

Fu Xinghua nodded, and he said: "The Russians' water power in the West Sea is almost zero, and as far as I know, they have no relevant experience in water combat, so we can cross the West Sea and land in the rear of the Russian army, of course, considering that we don't have enough ships in the West Sea, we can only carry a small number of soldiers and horses by water."

Daniel Zhang on the side took over the conversation, and he said angrily: "Anxibo, while the cold winter has not yet arrived, prepare to cross the mountain range, once the cold winter comes, our soldiers are likely to be blocked in the cold."

Fu Xinghua affirmed Daniel Zhang's reminder, and he immediately began to formulate a more rigorous battle plan. Stings

In order to prevent the Russian army from detecting their intentions, he would still leave a large number of soldiers and horses on the east bank of the Ural River to contain the Russian army, and he entrusted Daniel Zhang as the main general who crossed the Ural Mountains, in addition to the Anxi army under his command, there were also Korean, Burmese and Japanese brigades that were good at mountain walking, with a total of nearly 50,000 people.

On the waterway side, the ships on the coast of the West Sea had already been collected and used by the Southern Expeditionary Army before, so they could only find as many fish as possible that had been caught in the net, and sent someone to discuss with Mu Zhongliang if they could borrow some ships from him.

Speaking of the Southern Expeditionary Army, we have to mention the battle of the Southern Expedition, Tan Wen and Mu Zhongliang's plan was very successful, Tan Wen feigned a fierce attack from the front, and restrained the attention of a large number of Persian troops, Mu Zhongliang took the opportunity to take the waterway to forcibly land behind the Persian defense line.

By the time the Persian army reacted, the Xia army had already appeared behind them, and there were enemies in front and behind, and the morale of the Persian army was suddenly affected, and then under the front and rear attacks of the Xia army, the huge defense line collapsed.

The Persian army's defense line was the most important thing to defend the entire Caspian coastal plain, and after the defense line was torn apart, the endless plain almost became a horse farm for the Xia army, and the Xia cavalry brigade roared and rushed across the plain, strangling any backward Persian rout.

In just a few days after the defense line was torn apart, the Xia army rushed to Golgan, the capital of Golestan, and it turned out that the city's will to resist was not strong, after the Xia army fired a few cannons as a threat, on the fifth day of the fifth month of May, the defenders of Golcan took the initiative to open the city and surrender, and Golestan immediately fell into the hands of the Xia army.

In addition to the city of Golgan, tens of thousands of Persian troops on the defensive line also became prisoners of the Xia army, and the Xia army only left some soldiers and horses to guard them, and then continued to march west through Gorgan under the leadership of Tan Wen and Mu Zhongliang. Stings

In the face of the menacing Xia army, the Persian army that was defeated one after another did not dare to resist, and it took only more than half a month for the Xia army to completely take the plain on the south shore of the Caspian Sea, but their footsteps were immediately blocked at the western end of the plain, Rasht.

To the west of Rasht were the rolling hills of the highlands, and to the south were blocked by long mountain ranges, and if the Xia army wanted to continue its advance, they would have to cross it to the west or south at the risk of not being familiar with the land.

At this time, Tan Wen and Mu Zhongliang had their first strategic differences, and Marquis Tan Wen learned from his captives that if he crossed the mountains to the south, he would be able to drive all the way to Isfa, the capital of the Persian Empire

Empress Han insisted on taking the enemy's capital directly to end the war once and for all.

However, Mu Zhongliang believed that the Persians must have laid heavy troops around the capital, and it would only be a dead end for the Persians to go deep alone, and they should continue to advance westward and capture Tabriz, the former capital of Persia, in order to break the morale of the Persian army and cut off the connection between the north and south of Persia.

While the two sides were arguing and disagreeing, the next step of the Xia army's next move was marked by a few uninvited guests—Azerbaijani aristocrats from the northwestern region of the Persian Empire, who were ambitious to separate Azerbaijan from the Persian Empire.

Before the arrival of the Xia army, they pinned their hopes on Russia and the Ottoman Empire, hoping to get the support of these two huge empires, but Russia and the Persian Empire had a common enemy, and relations were rapidly warming, and it was obviously impossible to help them.

The Ottoman Empire, on the other hand, focused its attention on the pagans of Europe in the west, and was ambitious to continue to expand westward, spreading the Green Religion to most of Europa, and had no intention of supporting such a small border country. Stings

Now that the Xia army has arrived, they naturally turn to the strong Xia army.

Facing the Azerbaijani nobles who came to seek support, Tan Wen and Mu Zhongliang did not respond immediately, while appeasing these nobles and telling them to wait for news, they sent people to report the matter to Mu Tianbo and wait for Mu Tianbo's reply.

On Mu Tianbo's side, after the Battle of Mashhad, the main strength of the Persian army was greatly reduced, and there was no way to counterattack the Xia army for a while, so the Xia army had enough time to digest the occupied city of Mashhad.

Mu Tianbo did not give up this excellent opportunity to attack, and after leaving a small number of garrison troops, he continued to lead the army deep into the Persian plateau, intending to kill the Persian capital Isfahan before the Persian army completed its assembly and settle the war.

Although the Xia army did not know much about the situation in Persia, there were many Persian captives who were greedy for life and afraid of death, and under the coercion and temptation of the Xia army, they did not hesitate to choose to betray the country and become the leader of the Xia army.

Under their leadership, the Xia army drove straight in, with the might of a great victory, and everywhere the Persian towns they went, they were so frightened that they took the initiative to open the city and surrender.

In just a few months, the Xia army took the Bilkand region and invaded the eastern gateway of Isfahan, the Aldakan region, the Xia army's marching speed far exceeded the expectations of the Persian monarchs, after learning that the Xia army had conquered the Ardacan region, the young Suleiman I Shah was greatly frightened, and did not care about the prosperity of Isfahan, and prepared to temporarily move westward to avoid the Xia army. Stings

No one condemned Suleiman I for his idea of escaping, for everyone in the court council had the same idea, and even before they could run away, some of the city's wealthy and nobles, who had been informed of the news in advance, had already begun to pack their bags and flee from Isfahan.

On June 1, with the capture of Ardakan by the Xia army, Suleiman I hurriedly ordered a council meeting, and he announced the decision to move west to the palace ministers and eunuchs, demanding that preparations for the westward move be completed within five days and evacuate to Qazvin for refuge.

Qazvin, the former capital of the Safavid Dynasty, is located more than 100 kilometers northwest of Tehran, of course, Tehran was still a famous village at this time, and it was not even protected by walls.

After Suleiman I announced the order to move westward, the entire city of Isfahan was suddenly in an atmosphere of chickens and dogs, and the news was leaked to the people from nowhere, and the entire streets and alleys knew about their monarch's plan to escape.

Therefore, the people also moved with their families and wanted to flee the city, the law and order in the city deteriorated rapidly, and all kinds of burning things sprung up one after another, but the defenders in the city no longer had the heart to maintain order, and they also followed the pace of the Shah, packed their bags and prepared to run.

Perhaps because the threat of the Xia army was so close that they did not dare to linger, it really took only five days for the Persian monarchs to reluctantly pack their things, flee from Isfahan amid the spurning of the people, and flee to the northwest.

As soon as Suleiman I fled, the order in the city became even worse, and it became a paradise for outlaws to revel, until the arrival of the Xia army two days later finally pacified the city

of chaos. Stings

Under the indifferent gaze of the Persian people, the Xia army swaggered into the city and quickly took control of the entire city, they first arrested those rebels and beheaded them, and returned the looted wealth, which immediately won the favor of many people, and even reduced the resistance of the people to the Xia army.

When Mu Tianbo entered the city, he was also surprised by the city's prosperity, although the population of Isfahan had lost a lot due to the war, its prosperity was quickly restored after the arrival of the Xia army.

The streets of Isfahan are paved with smooth stones, clean and tidy, countless houses are placed on both sides of the streets, the main road connected by the city gate can lead directly to the palace in the center of the city, in front of the palace is a huge and wide square, a fountain rises from the ground, in front of the fountain, the statue of the founding monarch of the Safavid Dynasty gallops on a horse, and the sword in his hand points to the west.

The city was also dotted with fountains, from which the Persians were able to obtain their domestic water, and spices that could be used almost as gold in Europe were everywhere as if they did not need money, and they would be shocked if the Europeans were allowed to come here.

With the arrival of the Xia army in Isfahan, the news quickly spread throughout the Persian plateau, causing great shock everywhere, and the disgrace of Suleiman I and the decline of royal prestige led many to have other thoughts.

In late June, as news spread, independence was declared in a number of places, and Lorestan in southwestern Qazvin was the first to declare independence, and the local Luri people elected the local emir Muttalib ibn Khalaf as monarch against the Safavid center, and sent emissaries to Isfahan to ask for a protectorate of the Xia dynasty.

After the independence of Lorestan was like a domino effect, the state of Mushashekh on the Persian Gulf also declared its independence from the Safavids, and the Kurds and Azerbaijanis also declared independence, and the western part of the Persian Empire suddenly became chaotic. Stings

When the bad news reached Suleiman I, the Shah was resting in the village of Tehran, and he was furious at this blatant betrayal, but he sadly found that there was nothing he could do about it, because the army he was able to mobilize was basically defeated by the Xia army, and he did not dare to send out the only army he had now.

The chaotic evolution of western Persia also aroused the covetousness of the Ottoman Empire, and the Pashas, who were sitting on the eastern frontier, sent troops to attack the western frontier of the Persian Empire without the permission of the central government, hoping to get a piece of the pie in this chaotic situation.

In the seventies of the 17th century, the Ottoman Empire was still one of the most powerful countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, and although this was only a voluntary action of the local Pasha, the almost empty garrison in western Persia was easily defeated by the local Ottoman army.

The Ottoman army then continued eastward, easily conquering the newly declared kingdom of Adalan Sheikh, mercilessly slaughtering its inhabitants and plundering vast amounts of wealth.

The actions of the Ottoman army not only caused panic among the people of western Persia, but also caused discontent among the top brass of the Xia army when the news reached Isfahan.

"It's really hateful, how dare you rob us of our results in the open, and commit such a heinous crime." Mu Zhong slapped his thigh with hatred and said to his father.

"Indeed, Lord Guogong, how can we watch Ao Yi be so arrogant and openly snatch our results, if we don't respond to this, I'm afraid that Ao Yi will kick his nose in the face." Cavalry Brigade Marshal Feng Zhengguang said equally indignantly. Stings

The other brigade commanders also looked dissatisfied, Mu Tianbo looked at their reactions, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "In this case, then send an envoy to negotiate with Aoyi, asking them to return the looted things and withdraw from Persia."

"Whoa!"

Everyone responded in unison.

Under Mu Tianbo's orders, an envoy of the Xia Dynasty, led by the surrendered Persians, rode westward on fast horses, and arrived seven days later in Kerman, the capital of independent Lorestan.

Kerman, at this time, was under siege by the local Ottoman army, and the Ottoman Pasha drove all the way to Kerman under the banner of suppressing the rebellion for the Persian government

Erman and quickly laid siege to the city.

Because of the atrocities of the Ottoman army in Adalan, the soldiers and civilians in the city resisted vigorously, hoping to get the support of the Xia army, in this case, the Xia envoy arrived at the Ottoman military camp outside the city, and after expressing his intentions, the Ottomans had to treat the envoy of the eastern power with caution, and invited him to the main tent in the military camp to meet the supreme commander.