The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 24 Struggling
August 1722, 8, Isfahan.

The Imperial Shah, Sultan Hussein, once again rejected the Afghans' request for negotiations outside the city, stating that he would rather die than surrender and would hold on to Isfahan until the end.

The reason why the Shah is so stubborn is not because of the dignity and honor of an emperor, but because he still has extravagant hope and a belief in his heart that the army of Qin kings from all over the country will soon arrive and will save him and the entire Isfahan from danger. middle.

His third son, Prince Tahmasp, was reorganizing his troops in Qazvin, the old capital of the empire, and was constantly contacting the provincial governors in various places who were still willing to be loyal to the Shah; Malik Mah, the governor of Thun and Tabas in the northeast, Hamoud Sistani is also gathering tribal armed forces in the Khorasan region and will soon arrive in Isfahan to attack the Afghans besieging the city.

At the end of June, the Bakhtiari tribe assembled a force of 6 people and planned to escort a large amount of food and other supplies into the city of Isfahan.Although, after a fierce battle with the Afghans, they were repulsed and all the supplies were taken away and burned.But this undoubtedly gave the Shah unlimited confidence. There are still countless tribes and provincial governors loyal to the empire and the Shah everywhere, who are doing their best to rescue Isfahan.

As long as you stick to it for a while, you will definitely be able to see the moonlight and the clouds will clear.Although Isfahan is on the verge of collapse, the Afghans outside the city must not be much better off.They had besieged Kerman for six months without success, and finally left in despair.Now, they are facing Isfahan, which has a larger city, more population, and more tightly defended city, and they will definitely retreat in the end.

Isfahan has been experiencing a widespread famine since mid-June. Even the princes, nobles and wealthy merchants in the city began to eat horse meat, while the poor searched for cats, dogs and any food that could provide food and clothing. .

By early August, the famine reached its peak. More and more people were dying of hunger and disease, and despair spread throughout the city.

The city was once full of trees, but now many of them have been cut down and their leaves and bark sold by weight.The roots were also eaten as food, and boiled leather boots and belts were common fare for a long time.

It is said that cannibalism has occurred in some neighborhoods in the city.The streets were littered with starved corpses, some of which had their legs sawed off at night.Those separated children can never return to their parents because they are most likely kidnapped and eaten by people who have gone crazy with hunger.

As time went by, more and more bodies piled up on the streets, and the dead could not be buried. Thousands of people died in the hopeless flight.Coins no longer have value, the only thing of value is food.

Muhammad Hassan clutched the small piece of hard horse meat in his hand and couldn't help but sigh secretly. Then, he looked at Huo Jilin with hope and begged: "Can you give me more? There are three children at home." ... They haven't eaten in a long time."

"Hassan, it's not that I don't want to give you more." Huo Jilin said with a wry smile: "I don't have much food in the Daqi Legation. I'm afraid you don't know that our minister can only eat a little more every day. It’s a meal, and it’s very thin porridge and rice. It’s just a little bit of horse meat, which we bought at a high price of more than 300 yuan half a month ago.”

"But..." Muhammad Hassan still refused to give up. He looked at Huo Jilin helplessly and begged: "But such a small amount of dried meat cannot sustain the lives of our family of five. Please think of a way to ask for more for me. A little food. Even a few handfuls of brown rice! You don’t know, but it took me a long time to rush to the embassy from home, and I was almost killed by the hungry people on the street. Have mercy on me and give me more. Food. Didn’t you say before that I am one of your own people from Qi State?”

"Hassan..." Huo Jilin leaned against a column and said feebly: "Hassan, no matter before or now, we have always regarded you as one of our own. More than a month ago, the whole city fell into During the famine, weren't we providing you with precious food? However, at this time, the embassy really has no extra food. The only rice and white flour we have left are the ministers who went there in person in the name of our Qi government. The palace begged the Shah for it. Do you know how humiliating this is for a diplomat?"

With that said, Huo Jilin took off a cowhide belt from his trousers and hung it around Muhammad Hassan's neck. Then he patted his shoulder and staggered back to the embassy.

"Thank you, my brother. ...The true God will bless you!" Muhammad Hassan grabbed the belt tightly in his hand and shouted to Huo Jilin.

"I hope your true god can send me a delicious meal right away..." Huo Jilin murmured as he walked: "These bastard Afghans actually made me experience such a tragic disaster. Famine! When I get the chance, I will kill you all..."
-
Compared with the city of Isfahan where you can still find some branches and grass seeds from time to time to barely breathe, then the Qiguo Trading Station located outside the city can be said to be in a dangerous situation of running out of ammunition and food.

Although, since the Afghans arrived in Isfahan in March, the entire trading station immediately entered a state of military control, and all food and supplies were rationed.But more than five months have passed. No matter how streamlined or saved, the food in the business station has been rapidly reduced at a speed visible to the naked eye.

By July, food reserves had dropped to a minimum level, and they were about to run out of food.Therefore, under the order of Yan Shaowu, the battalion commander of the Army's [-]rd Mixed Battalion and Xuangjie Colonel (Major), the food rations required by all non-combatants in the trading station were reduced to one meal a day, and the food rations were still available on clear basis. Mainly bottomless porridge or noodle soup.The more than two hundred officers and soldiers who were relied on as the backbone of the defense could only enjoy the treatment of barely having enough to eat.The cute cats, dogs and other personal pets in the shopping mall have already entered the hearts of everyone.Even the hundreds of camels and horses used as means of return transport were slaughtered to maintain the ration supply of the trading station.

The cunning Afghans were stationed far away in the east and west directions of the trading station, monitoring the movements of the Qi people day and night.At the slightest sign of trouble, they would immediately mount their horses and prepare for a cavalry charge, ready to deal the most resolute blow to the Qi people who were in danger out of the city.

They knew that the people of Qi had sharp weapons, so they easily launched an active attack without getting close to the trading station.But as long as they dare to rush out, the Afghans don't mind giving them a classic lesson in cavalry encircling and killing infantry.

The Afghans believe that such a small trading station must have limited reserves of food and other daily necessities. As long as they wait patiently outside, the Qi people in the trading station will sooner or later run out of ammunition and food and be forced to surrender to them.

It is said that the people of Qi have accumulated a lot of gold and silver supplies in the trading station, and their wealth is no less than that of the Armenians in Julifa District who they looted.

"No matter how much gold and silver we accumulate in our trading station, as a Sistanite, how much can you ultimately get from Mahmoud?" Latif Saidar nervously translated the words of Cai Dezhao, the manager of the trading station. To the Afghan general opposite, "As long as you are willing to provide us with food, we will buy it at five times the normal price."

After hearing this, Abdul Hakim ignored Latif Saidar, but looked at the Qi man up and down. Although the other party tried to maintain a calm expression, the sweat continued to seep out on his forehead. And the constant swallowing of saliva still fully exposed his nervousness and fear.

"If I don't agree to your request, what will you do next?" Abdul Hakim asked with a smile.

"We can't do anything but continue to hold on to the trading station until we consume all the food. During this period, we may starve to death many people." Cai Dezhao paused and said softly: "But so far, you have , there is still no certainty that Isfahan can be captured, and soldiers and horses from all over Persia are still arriving in a steady stream. Although you have repelled several waves of reinforcements, as long as you lose once, the offensive and defensive momentum will be inevitable Switch, you will most likely have to retreat to Kandahar, back to that barren and desolate place, waiting for the retaliatory attack of the Persian army. In the end, what can you get? You are not Gilzai people. In the eyes of Mahmud, you belong to the absolute The fringe forces probably don’t have the highest priority when it comes to wealth distribution, right?”

"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Abdul Hakim immediately narrowed his eyes slightly and stared fiercely at the Qi man who spoke nonsense.

For a moment, the air in the big tent was frozen to the extreme.

"Haha..." Abdul Hakim burst out laughing, then turned around and sat down on the couch, looked up at Cai Dezhao, and asked sinisterly: "If I didn't guess, you should They also sent people to Baradar in the west to carry out the same lobbying activities, right?”

"..." After Cai Dezhao listened to the translation by Latif Saidar next to him, he did not answer, but just looked at Abdul Hakim quietly.

"Well..." Abdul Hakim sat on the couch with his legs crossed and a greedy look in his eyes, "I can provide you with food. But the price must be ten times the market price. Let’s calculate.”

"can."

"In addition, to show your sincerity, you will first send five thousand Tuman silver coins tonight (1 Tuman is approximately equal to 2.7 taels of silver)."

"……it is good."

(End of this chapter)