Daming Military Empire

Chapter 523

Tabriz is the old capital of the Persian Safavid Empire. It is here that Ismail I founded the Persian Safavid Empire. It was also the economic and political center of the Persian Safavid Empire. .

However, because Tabriz was too close to the Ottoman Empire and faced the threat of war almost all the time, Tahmasp I, the successor of Ismail I, had to move the capital to Qazvin. The center became an important frontier defense against the invasion of the Ottoman Empire.

This time, Tabriz was attacked by the Ottoman Empire again. What is different from the past is that this time the Ottoman Empire was like going crazy. It assembled an army of 20 and surrounded Tabriz. Take Tabriz and wipe out the defenders.

The Prime Minister of the Persian Safavid Empire panicked. Not only did he mobilize 5 troops from various defenders for emergency reinforcements, but he also sent someone to ask for help from Sultan, the Minister of Military Affairs who was stationed on the eastern border, hoping that he could mobilize some troops to come. Break the siege of Tabriz.

However, Sultan told him that the Ming army already had more than 30 soldiers, and the Eastern Front needed support. It was impossible to deploy troops to support Tabriz!
How can such a crisis be resolved?
Taqi had no other choice, he knew that both the Ming Empire and the Ottoman Empire were for the Eurasian Railway, if His Majesty Safi had agreed to the Ming Empire's railway transit, nothing would happen.

However, he also understood the difficulties of His Majesty Safavid. The allies of the Safavid Empire in Persia, whether they were Britain or the Netherlands, were enemies of the Ming Empire.

You must know that the Persian Safavid Empire not only relies on the support of the United Kingdom militarily, but also relies on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands economically. If the United Kingdom and the Netherlands turn their backs, they will definitely not have a good life.

Therefore, His Majesty Safi has always adopted delaying tactics during his reign, using the excuse of negotiation to politely reject the request of the Ming Empire.

After he came to power, he also did not dare to agree to the request of the Ming Empire easily, because he was also afraid that Yinghe and Holland would turn against each other.

What he never expected was that Britain and the Netherlands did not turn their backs, but the Ming Empire turned their backs. Not only did they press down heavily on the Eastern Front, but they also united with the Ottoman Empire to launch an attack on the Western Front.

There are 50 troops on both sides, which is beyond the limit that the Persian Safavid Empire can bear.

He could only send someone to seek help from England and the Netherlands while praying:
Don’t be too crazy about the Ottoman Empire, it’s fine if you can’t attack Tabriz for a while, after all, the casualties of the siege are not ordinary;
The Ming Empire shouldn't launch an attack easily, after all, there are 20 imperial troops stationed there, if they really want to fight, even if they win, they will have to pay a heavy price.

His prayers had no effect. After Suleiman led his army to attack for a few days, he found that Tabriz was indeed a bit difficult to conquer. He simply surrounded it and stopped fighting. When he arrived at Abad, which was not far away, he still refused to leave. Anyway, His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had said that it was fine if he didn't want to fight.

If you want him to withdraw, there is no way. Others don't know the combat power of the Ming Empire's regular army. Doesn't he know that? The Persian Safavid Empire can't stand it.

It is impossible for Hou Shilu to stay there without moving. The emperor ordered him to solve the South Asian problem as soon as possible and occupy the narrow area between Kandahar and the Ottoman Empire to facilitate the construction of the Eurasian Railway.

Therefore, after the First Corps of the Expeditionary Army and the Zhongyong Army arrived in Kandahar, he called Qin Yiming and Yang Zhong to discuss specific tactics.

In the spacious conference room of the former Governor-General's Mansion in Kandahar, Hou Shilu sat in the main seat, Qin Yiming and Yang Zhong sat on the left and right respectively, and the three discussed around the map of the Persian Safavid Empire on the table.

Hou Shilu first introduced the general situation, and then pointed out the area that the emperor requested to occupy on the map. After Qin Yiming and Yang Zhong had a careful understanding for a while, he continued: "The most troublesome thing now is the 20 Persian Safawis in the west of the city. The imperial army, although we can use our superiority in weapons and numbers to defeat or even wipe it out, this will definitely cause a lot of casualties, which is extremely unfavorable for the subsequent battle situation. After all, there are still four to five thousand miles to the Ottoman Empire Far away, we have to fight all the way there, and we have to send people to garrison in the middle. There are not enough personnel, and if there are too many casualties, we can’t fight.”

Hou Shilu is the kind of old-fashioned general who likes to fight steadily and is not good at making surprise troops. Qin Yiming and Yang Zhong are different. They are very young and their brains are relatively more flexible.

Four or five thousand miles, hit the past!

It's scary to think about it. It's four to five thousand miles. It takes more than ten days to run it on horseback, and it takes two to three months to walk it. What's more, they subconsciously reject this tactic.

Qin Yiming first asked: "General Hou, how can we transport the food, grass and supplies over such a long distance?"

Hou Shilu said confidently: "We can follow the tactics adopted by the emperor and Taifu Sun Chengzong in the north, and advance while repairing the railway. Anyway, the Eurasian railway will be repaired sooner or later. I believe the emperor will definitely agree."

Wouldn't this take longer? Yang Zhong couldn't help but suggested: "General Hou, why don't we change our tactics and assume the posture of attacking their imperial capital Isfahan, forcing them to sign a contract and cede the land in the middle to our Ming Dynasty?" ?”

Hou Shilu really hadn't considered this tactic, and he couldn't help asking in surprise: "Is this possible? They will agree to cede the land?"

Yang Zhong said with confidence: "The last general studied the general history of the Persian Safavid Empire on the way here, and found that they had several precedents of cede land for peace, like their most famous Abbas the Great once cede A large piece of land was given to the Ottoman Empire in exchange for respite. Moreover, most of the area from here to the middle of the Ottoman Empire was snatched from the Yuejibe Khanate. It should not be difficult for them to give up .”

When Hou Shilu heard this, he hesitated and said: "There is such a thing, maybe you can think about it, General Qin, what do you think?"

Of course Qin Yiming is in favor of forced landing tactics. If we want to build the railway slowly, we don’t know how long it will take. He nodded and said: "I think Weihan’s tactics are very good. It saves time and troops. Isn’t the emperor Say let’s fix South Asia as quickly as possible, I think that’s the fastest way.”

This is indeed much faster, because Isfahan is more than 2000 miles away from Kandahar, and the distance is at least half that distance. Besides, if the Persian Safavid Empire really has the tradition of cede territory for peace, then there is no need to fight Isfa Han and they will come to ask for peace. After all, if Isfahan is really hit, it will be a war of destroying the country. No wonder they are not afraid!
The emperor did not clearly stipulate that Qin Yiming and Yang Zhong must listen to him. Maybe he wanted him to listen to their suggestions. One of them is the emperor's second uncle and the other is the emperor's most important young general. Can't afford to offend.

Besides, the tactics they proposed are indeed much faster than the tactics they proposed, which is in line with the emperor's will to resolve the South Asian issue as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, Hou Shilu nodded heavily and said: "Okay, then, as General Yang said, we will force Isfahan and the Persian Safavid Empire to cede territory for peace!"

(End of this chapter)