After Li Yanliang saluted the battalion commander Yan Shaowu, he stood at the table in an upright posture and waited for the commander's lecture.

"Take a break." Yan Shaowu waved his hand and said with a smile, "Sit down and talk." ”

"Yes, sir." Li Yanliang agreed, and sat on a chair, his back straight, his hands on his knees, and his eyes leveled at the chief.

"Relax, Captain Li." Yan Shaowu said with a smile: "You don't need to be so nervous, we're just chatting casually now." ”

"Yes, sir." Li Yanliang relaxed his back a little and looked at Yan Shaowu with a gentle face.

Li Yanliang, born in the sixteenth year of Shaoning (1702), is a native of Daxing. In the sixteenth year of Taiping (1720), he graduated from the Daxing Army School, and his grades were rated as first; In the seventeenth year of Taiping, after the completion of the officer probationary period in the Kaihua Governorate (Java Island), he was assessed as excellent and was officially awarded the rank of lieutenant (second lieutenant). Yan Shaowu looked at Li Yanliang with a hint of appreciation on his face, "Since January last year, you have been assigned to the second company and one platoon of the third mixed battalion of my 106th regiment as a platoon commander. ”

"Chief Xie praised, but he didn't dare to be a lowly officer."

"No, you deserve it!" Yan Shaowu said: "If you hadn't made a bold suggestion the day before yesterday to buy grain directly from the Afghans besieging our department, then most of our nearly 500 people in the entire trading station would have starved to death." In the end, whether it is the merchant station or the more than 200 officers and men of our unit, the fate will be extremely miserable and humiliating. ”

"Sir, I just had the idea of giving it a try, but my thinking was not mature, and I wasn't sure if this method was feasible at that time." Li Yanliang said modestly: "If it weren't for the chief and several staff officers and the treasurers and principals in the merchant station to brainstorm and make joint suggestions, and make careful plans and deductions, they would not have contributed to this matter and let those Afghans cooperate in selling food to us." ”

"Why do the men in our army need to be so twisted, it's your credit, and you have received it generously." Yan Shaowu was quite satisfied with Li Yanliang's attitude, not only was he smart and clever, but he also knew the general situation, was not greedy for merit, and was a good seedling worth cultivating.

"After this battle is over, I will give you credit to the upper peak, so that you can get the rewards and promotions you deserve. By the way, how did you come up with the idea of buying food directly from the Afghans? You know, they are our enemies, and selling food to us is an act of capitalism. ”

"Sir, when I was a young man, I heard a merchant neighbor talk about the case of the Ming Dynasty on the mainland. At that time, Jiannu was in turmoil in Liaodong, and their own production was not abundant, so they could not support them to continue fighting. However, they were able to rely on the looted gold and silver to buy a large amount of grain, iron, gunpowder and other strategic materials from the Jin merchants, which provided effective support for their development and growth. And the Afghans besieging us are not monolithic, they all have their own interests to consider, and they may not do their best for that Mahmoud. Therefore, the lowly position felt that it was possible to make use of it. ”

"Yes, if you can draw inferences from one case and apply what you have learned, you already have the necessary military qualities for an excellent officer." Yan Shaowu nodded, with a bit of appreciation in his eyes, "Work hard, in the future, your future should be limitless!" ”

"Praise Sir Xie!" Affirmed by the chief, Li Yanliang was inexplicably excited.

"There's one thing, though, that I think needs to warn you about." Yan Shaowu paused, and then said earnestly: "In the future, don't get too close to that Persian princess. In my Daqi, although there is no such thing as a family, but with my ordinary identity, the princess of a country, it is also an unattainable goal. ”

"......" Li Yanliang looked at his chief in amazement, his face turned red, and he wanted to say a few words, but he didn't know how to speak for a while.

"In order to gain the support of our Qi country, that prince Abbas intends to dedicate that princess to the royal family." Yan Shaowu said expressionlessly: "So, if you have any thoughts in your heart, just leave it at that." Mencius has clouds, young people admire their parents, lustful people admire young Ai, if there is a wife, they admire their wives, and they admire Jun. You are young, but when you see my fair lady, you will be kind, I can understand. But I am a good man, after making contributions, why don't I have what the lady of Mu Ai wants? ”

"Sir, the lowly position is ......, the lowly position has been recorded." After Li Yanliang heard this, he suddenly felt a wordless loss in his heart, and nodded mechanically.

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September 19, on the outskirts of Isfahan, Farahabad Palace.

For the small Qi State Trading Station, the Afghan Gilzai chief Mahmoud . Hotak actually didn't pay attention to it at all, what effect could a small stronghold of three or four hundred people play in the whole situation? Moreover, he also sent a full 2,000 tribal cavalry to keep a close watch on him, and he would definitely not make too many waves.

In his eyes, Isfahan is his most important target. The Shah of the Empire, the Empire's great ministers, and the wealth of the city are about to be in his pocket. Perhaps, with a bit of luck, he will be able to snatch the crown from the head of the Imperial Shah, put it on his own head, and establish a new dynasty belonging to the Gilzai people of Afghanistan.

According to the refugees who kept fleeing Isfahan, the city had been without food for three months, thousands of people were dying of hunger every day, and the city's defenders had long since weakened. If you launch a strong attack, you will definitely be able to storm the city. But Mahmoud exercised enough restraint to fear that if an attack was launched, a chaotic looting and killing would ensue, and no one knew better than him what his men were.

Mahmoud was very keen to acquire an intact city of Isfahan, with all its riches, as well as beautiful palaces, which could not be destroyed in the war.

However, when he received warning signals from the north and south directions, he couldn't help but doubt whether his decision was correct, and he would even face a situation where the bamboo basket would be empty.

"Did Thun and Malik, the governor of Tabas, really come to Isfahan with their troops?" Mahmoud was still in disbelief and asked again.

"Yes, Your Highness." Amanullah Khan, the former commander of the army, said with a solemn face: "Our scouts have captured several of Malik's emissaries northeast of Isfahan, and from their confessions, we know that Governor Malik is indeed approaching with more than 5,000 cavalry. It is expected that in five or six days it will be able to kill us in front of us. ”

The Khorasan cavalry under the command of Malik Mahmoud al-Sistani, the governor of Thun and Tabas, was no match for the stragglers of the Arabs, who had been fighting the Ballos in the southeast for many years, showing great fighting power, and on several occasions defeating the Abdali, another powerful tribe alongside their Girzai, and had always been the sharpest sword in the Safavid Empire.

Although the other side only came with more than 5,000 cavalry, if they had to fight with it, they were afraid that it would lose their already small number of troops, and maybe it would allow Isfahan, who was about to succeed, to take the opportunity to get out of trouble and break the siege.

"Your Royal Highness, I think Malik did not lead his troops to Isfahan until this time, and his purpose was probably not to serve the empire and fight to rescue Shah Sudan Hussein." Seeing Mahmood's hesitant expression, Nas Rula immediately stepped forward and reminded softly.

"Oh, my dear brother Lula, what do you think Malik is leading his troops to Isfahan for at this time?" Mahmud's heart moved, and he looked hopefully at the Zoroastrian (i.e., Zoroastrian) local leader Nas Lula.

"Either he wanted to take advantage of the situation and take advantage of the fire when we were losing the Persians, or he took the opportunity to come to the rescue of Isfahan with his troops to get more power and wealth from Shah Sudan Hussein."

"So how do we deal with it?"

"A few years ago, when Malik was conquering the Baluites and Abdali, he coveted the position of governor of Khorasan." Nas Lula smiled and said, "In that case, when he arrives in Isfahan, why don't we give him the whole of Khorasan and fulfill his wish to stand on his own." We can tell him unequivocally that Isfahan is on the verge of collapse, that the Safavid dynasty is about to fall, that the life of the imperial Shah will also be lost, and that His Royal Highness will become the new Shah of the empire, establishing a dynasty belonging to the Gilzai. As a Khorasan, Malik had no reason to be buried with the decaying and declining Safavid dynasty. Of course, we will give him more money and goods to soften his offensive resolve. I am confident that Malik will make a decision that is in his best interest. ”

"Great, dear Brother Lula." Mahmoud was overjoyed when he heard this, put his hands around Nas Lula's shoulders, and patted him on the back vigorously, "I will give you carte blanche on how to persuade Malik to withdraw from the army." You need to bribe Malik's belongings, albeit in the palace. As long as we can ensure that we take Isfahan without any hindrance, we can pay more. ”

"Yes, my master." Naas Lula stepped back, put his hand on his chest, and replied respectfully.

"Well, we already have a solution to the threat in the northeast." Mahmoud looked at several of the most trusted generals in the hall with an excited expression, and said, "Then, how will we deal with the Qi people who have been killed from the south?" ”