The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 18 Siege of Isfahan ([-])

After the Battle of Gulnabad, the Afghans rested for three full days before continuing towards Isfahan.Mahmud himself could not believe the outcome of this battle. He led his army in several circles around Gulnabad for fear of an ambush.In the end, there was nothing. The defeated Persians all fled back to Isfahan, but Mahmud still did not dare to pursue the defeated Persian army.

After careful reconnaissance, the Afghans entered the area south of the Chayand River on March 3, and successively occupied the Farahabad Palace Complex, the Julifah District and the Armenian District, and then looted the wealth of the Armenian wealthy businessmen and A large number of young women were taken away.

At this time, the stupid and meaningless quarrels in the Safavid court continued.Although many ministers tried their best to persuade the Shah to evacuate Isfahan and temporarily avoid the Afghan troops.However, the timid Shah was unwilling to take the risk of leaving Isfahan and made the worst decision to stay in the city and wait for help.

On March 3, Crown Prince Safi Mirza took the initiative to ask for orders from the Shah, wanting to lead people to break out of the encirclement and go to the northwest region to reorganize the army and fight again.However, this move aroused the suspicion of the Shah, who suspected that he had ulterior motives and intended to go out to stand on his own feet, and then deposed him as crown prince.

On March 3, the Grand Vizier of the Empire, Mohammad Quli Khan Shamru, suggested to the Shah that in order to be able to hold on to Isfahan for a long time and wait for the rescue of the governors of various provinces of the empire, it was urgent to move the people who were constantly pouring into the city into the city. Refugees and some original residents were evacuated, which could reduce the consumption of materials in the city.

However, the Shah rejected this constructive proposal.He believes that gathering more people in the city can provide sufficient civilian strength and strength for the defending troops, which will have positive significance in resisting the Afghan attack.

As time passed, the imperial government hardly made any active and effective military response, except for constantly sending messengers to surrounding provinces and local tribes to recruit troops from King Qin.When they saw Afghan rovers appearing sporadically outside the city, the defenders completely sealed all the gates of Isfahan and began a long and bloody siege.

Inayatullah Khawalazami raised a thin refugee high with a spear, and then threw him fiercely forward amid the cheers of the soldiers.

Hundreds of tribal warriors, riding majestic horses and wielding sharp scimitars, galloped back and forth among the fleeing refugees, trampling on them and reaping fresh lives one after another.

"Where is that fortress ahead?" Inayatullah Havarazami put away his spear and looked up at a fortress-like building in the distance, with a bit of heat in his eyes.

"No matter where it is, just go and overturn it!" A sturdy tribal warrior raised a scimitar and said nonchalantly: "Perhaps that building is a villa of a certain Persian nobleman. Let's go Break it open, kill the men inside, and steal their treasures and women!”

"Yes, kill him and steal everything inside!"

"..."

More and more Afghan tribal warriors noticed the building that looked like a fortress in front of them. The crowd suddenly became furious, with endless greed in their eyes. They didn't bother to chase and kill the fleeing refugees. They turned their horses and headed straight for it. Go in the direction it is.

Even the Shah's favorite palace, Farahabad Palace, was captured by us and used as the headquarters of the Chinese army. So, what castles and estates outside Isfahan can stop our attack? !

"What the hell, we're finally here!" On a hastily built watchtower, battalion commander Yan Shaowu murmured, holding binoculars with both hands and looking at the hundreds of Afghan cavalry rushing toward them in the distance.

After more than ten days of continuous reinforcement, the entire Qiguo Trading Station has turned into a small military fortress.A new solid wooden fence was built around the originally thin retaining wall and filled with a large amount of rammed earth to improve its protection and fire resistance.Outside the wooden fence, a trench was dug to prevent enemy troops from quickly advancing to the retaining wall.The trees for several kilometers around the trading station were cut down, leaving short tree stumps everywhere, denying the enemy any wood for building siege equipment.Even in order to create difficulties for the enemy's camp, the Qi people burned all the houses in several nearby villages, and completely filled up and destroyed all the wells and water sources.

The only thing to worry about now is that there is not much gunpowder accumulated in the trading station to support several battles.If the enemy launches a continuous fierce attack regardless of casualties, the small amount of gunpowder may be quickly consumed.By then, if there are only more than 200 army officers and soldiers and less than 300 business clerks and employees, all equipped with cold weapons to fight, they may not be able to face the enemy forces swarming in from all directions.

In addition, because the trading station is located on the outskirts of Isfahan, due to the military ban of the Safavid dynasty, it is not allowed to possess heavy weapons such as artillery. As a result, the officers and soldiers trapped in the trading station also lost the heavy firepower they relied on. Support, this will be a great test for their defense.

However, the officers, soldiers and trading company personnel were still extremely optimistic about holding on to the trading station.Although the Afghans defeated and severely damaged the Persian army, they may not be able to capture Isfahan, a city with a population of several hundred thousand.In their view, once the Afghans suffer losses when attacking Isfahan and lose a certain amount of troops, they will inevitably withdraw and leave with the looted property.Otherwise, when King Qin's soldiers and horses from all over the empire arrive, the Persians may come to join forces inside and outside and annihilate them all under the city.

When more than 300 Afghan cavalrymen rushed to the trading station, they were surprised to see this building complex with a radius of only a few hundred meters, like a well-defended fortress.Most of the people standing on the protective wall on guard and defense have oriental faces, which are very different from traditional Persians.When they saw hundreds of sturdy Afghan cavalry approaching, they did not show any signs of panic. They looked at them so coldly, seemingly full of disdain and contempt.

"They are from Qi!" A well-informed tribal warrior shouted loudly: "...This must be a trading post for people from Qi!"

"Huh?... A native of Qi!" Following Mahmud, the leader of the Gilzai people, for several years of fighting in the north and south, especially entering the hinterland of Persia several times and raiding places, Inayatullah Khawalazami was naturally I know the people of Qi.Their merchants are active everywhere in Kerman, Yazd, Shiraz, Isfahan, Bandar Abbas Port and Bushehr Port.Even their base camp, Kandahar, has several cunning Qi businessmen and a larger number of Qi agents.

Their southwestern neighbor of the Gilzai people, the Karat Khanate, relied on the support of the Qi people and continued to expand to the north and west, trying to bring the entire Balu region under their jurisdiction, thereby establishing a unified and complete The Kingdom of Balu.If it weren't for the large desert Gobi separating the territory of the Gilzai people from the Balu people, a fierce armed conflict might have broken out with them long ago.

In addition, information feedback from various channels shows that the position held by the Qi people should be in support of the Persians. In order to obtain more trade benefits in the empire, they continued to import various advanced firearms to the Persians.Three years earlier (1719), they had captured Kerman almost without a fight and sacked the city.But last August, when they attacked Kerman again, they encountered fierce resistance from the local defenders.Because the Qi people provided the city with five or six powerful artillery pieces, they suffered a great loss when they besieged the city and lost many elite cavalry.

In the just-concluded Battle of Gulnabad, although the Afghans achieved an unprecedented victory, they annihilated more than [-] Persian troops.But in this battle, all the generals, including Mahmoud, the leader of the Girzai people, all called it a fluke.When they ignored the Arab cavalry raiding the rear camps and directly attacked the Persian front army with their entire army, they were bombarded by their artillery.Continuous rounds of shelling almost destroyed the courage of the cavalry to charge.

If the former army commander Amanullah Khan had not discovered that the entire artillery position was not supported by the Persian army and launched a determined assault, maybe the entire army would have turned around and fled under the continuous bombardment of artillery, thus losing the chance to defeat the Persians. .

After the cavalry swarmed into the artillery position, the Afghans suddenly discovered that their commander turned out to be a Qi national.When all the Persian artillerymen fled in panic, he upheld the honor of an officer and stayed at the artillery position. Holding a command knife, he fought with the incoming cavalry until the last moment.

Unexpectedly, these ranger troops, who were ordered to sweep the area outside Isfahan and isolate the connection between the inside and outside of the city, actually discovered the Qi people's trading station on the southeastern outskirts of Isfahan.

"Shout to the people of Qi, ask them to open the gate of the trading station, put down their weapons, and come out and surrender." Inayatullah Havarazami took a deep breath, with the pride of a winner in his tone, "Otherwise , when we fight in, no chickens or dogs will be left behind!"

(End of this chapter)