The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 253 The Rise of the “Persian Sword”

The Safavid Empire of Persia is located in the central and western regions of Asia. It is the intersection of the ancient Silk Road. It is known as the "Eurasian Land Bridge" and is an important hub of transportation and trade between the East and the West. Therefore, its strategic position is of great importance.

This huge empire was geographically vast, bordering Central Asia to the north, India to the east, the Arabian Peninsula and the Strait of Hormuz to the south, and the Persian Gulf to the west. It was the most critical link for Qi to manage and maintain hegemony in the Indian Ocean.

In the twentieth year of peace (1724), in order to further control this ancient empire and ensure that this key link would not be omitted, the Afghans invaded Isfahan and captured the imperial Shah Sultan Hussein. When the Safavid dynasty was about to be destroyed, at the request of the successor Abbas III for troops, he assembled more than navy and army troops, traveled thousands of miles to land in Persia, and very "enthusiastically" helped him put down the Afghan rebellion.

After nearly a year of war, the brutal Afghan rebels were finally driven out of the empire and soon dispersed into the mountains of Afghanistan, restoring the rule of the Safavid dynasty.

By the 1725st year of Taiping (), the Russian Empire, a powerful neighbor to the north, took advantage of the civil strife in Persia and invaded the Caucasus region in an attempt to achieve the conquest that Peter I failed to complete.

The Qi army with its lofty "internationalist spirit" could not bear to be tired after quelling the Afghan rebels, and resolutely led the Persian army to face the invading Russian army.

After two years of tug-of-war, the Russian-Polish coalition severely defeated the invading Russian army and counterattacked into Russia, forcing the other side to sign the "Russian-Polish Peace Treaty" at the cost of giving up all occupied Caucasus territory. Stabilized the security of the northeastern border area of ​​the Persian Safavid Empire.

Due to the complex ethnic and religious issues in the area, and the empire's urgent need to pacify the various separatist forces within the territory and achieve political unification in the true sense of the empire, the Qi-Persian coalition did not stay too long in the Caucasus until the peace treaty was signed. After that, they quickly withdrew their troops and returned to the interior.

Before leaving, the coalition forces established and restored several affiliated kingdoms in the Caucasus, including the Kingdom of Baku, the Kingdom of Kakheti, the Kingdom of Irissutan, and the Kingdom of Katli, and continued to serve as a buffer zone between the empire and Russia.

After the interpreter finished translating the words, Wen Shouyan, senior staff officer of the Qi Army's Military Staff Corps in Persia and Colonel Zhaoxin (Colonel), immediately drew a large circle in the northeastern region of Persia with the baton in his hand.

After getting all this done, it was already mid-April 1731. It was mid-spring and everything was flourishing, and the many separatist forces in Persia seemed to be like the weeds that kept growing upwards, showing their ferocious faces again, starting a new era. They are engaged in secret wars in order to annex more local forces, develop and expand their own territory, and try to have more say in the future political structure of the empire.

As soon as Wen Shouyan finished speaking, all the Persian generals present could not help but show shocked expressions.

"What's even more troublesome is that after the empire's Prince Tahmasp, who was trying to rebel against the Shah of the puppet empire, was unable to gain a foothold in Mazandaran, he was beguiled by his subordinates and ran to the Khorasan area, and soon he Joined forces with Nadir. In the name of the Shah of the Empire, they attacked everywhere and expanded their territory. Just when our coalition launched the Battle of Kula River and defeated the Russian army, Nadir led troops to invade Herat. Today's Herat Province in Afghanistan), defeated the local Abdali people and surrendered countless people, thus further strengthening Nadir's strength."

In order to enable this nomadic force to fight against Russia, the coalition not only handed over a large number of Russian weapons captured on the battlefield to them, but also spared no effort to provide them with financial and material support to fully enhance the strength of the Torgut Ministry and serve as a good A strategic outpost of the Safavid dynasty of Persia.

The imperial capital, Isfahan, towers into the clouds. The towers on the city wall that cover the sky are scattered in an orderly manner. The imperial city covered with green trees shows its majesty and grandeur.

"Don't doubt that the Abdali people will serve Nadir. According to the news from Baluzhi and Kandahar, although Nadir's conquest did not completely defeat or subdue the Abdali people, these local tribes The armed forces are obviously a group of shrewd people who are very knowledgeable about current affairs. They have chosen to surrender and are willing to form an alliance with Nadir. In addition to wanting to rely on a strong man to fight against their old enemies, the Gilzai people, they do not rule out taking advantage of the current chaos in the entire region. situation, and seek great wealth for his people.”

"Oh, by the way, the reason why we pay so much attention to Nader is that besides the fact that he occupies the vast Khorasan region, connects Afghanistan and the Bukhara Khanate, and has a growing trend of development, there is another more important reason. That is, Nadir has a standing army that he spent a lot of money to maintain. A rough estimate is that his core army numbers between 15,000 and 20,000. They are well-trained and powerful, and their strength cannot be underestimated. "

On April 4, in the Ali Gap Palace on the west side of Imam Square, in a spacious hall on the second floor, more than 13 senior generals of the Imperial Guard and the Imperial New Army were sitting upright with serious expressions, listening to a speech. A Qi officer explained the empire's next military arrangements.

At the same time, in order to contain the Russian Empire and prevent it from invading south again, the coalition forces used force and economic temptation to force the Torgut tribe entrenched in the Volga River Basin to change their stance and defect to Qi and Persia.

After more than five years of recovery, the city that was severely damaged by Afghan rebels has once again glowed with new glory and has once again become the highest power center of the empire. The issuance of edicts affects the lives of tens of millions of people of all ethnic groups within the territory. destiny.

"However, things did not go as expected. The Russians took advantage of the civil strife in the empire to invade the Caucasus region with troops, forcing our coalition forces to abandon their original combat plan, rush thousands of miles to help, and move into the Caucasus to attack the incoming Russian army. Just before our coalition forces When he was entangled with the Russian army in the Caucasus and had no time to worry about anything else, Nadir took the opportunity to become powerful. In a few years, he defeated the governor of Khorasan Malik Mahmoud and the Turkmen tribe leader Arakhver. Di, Jellal tribe leader Tahmasp Khan Jellal and many other local powerful factions finally captured Mashhad and occupied almost all of Khorasan."

Over the years, under the training of Qi State, the empire has only formed a new army of more than 20,000 troops. The remaining tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry are all temporarily recruited from various provinces and local tribes according to war needs. Come.

Is that wrong? A local warlord leader actually maintained a standing army of tens of thousands!
What the hell is this amazing feat that a separatist force can accomplish.

“After our Qibo coalition forces defeated the Afghan rebels and recaptured Isfahan, they pursued the rebels all the way to the vicinity of Kandahar, and together with our Qi army and the Karat Khanate army that attacked from the Indian direction, they once again severely damaged the Afghan rebels. To prevent it from threatening the empire, our coalition forces should have taken advantage of the situation and sent troops into the Khorasan region to restore local governance order, rebuild the local political structure, and bring the region under the central authority."

"Currently, the largest separatist force in the empire is Nader (namely Nader Shah, the Persian sword) entrenched in the northeastern Khorasan region. For the long-term stability of the empire, it must be conquered as quickly as possible. Or be eliminated.”

"The leader of Abdali gave many valuable gifts to Nader and the pseudo-Shah Tahmasp II, and also received many honorary titles and grants from each other. Many Abdali people entered the tower directly A large number of Persian-speaking tribesmen moved directly to the surrounding areas of Mashhad to show their loyalty. Led by the Abdalis, a large number of brave and capable Afghan tribal cavalry joined Na. Dill's cavalry troops quickly expanded the size of his army."

Pushing forward tens or hundreds of years, most of the Safavid dynasty's armies, except for the imperial guards and a small number of elite garrisons, were standing armies. Most of the troops also temporarily recruited young people and tribes to join the army, and they were allowed to rob The spoils of war will be disbanded and returned to the provincial villages, towns and tribal territories after the war is over.

After all, to maintain a large-scale standing army, you must pay attractive military salaries to ensure that the army maintains its due combat effectiveness. Food, clothing, ordnance, ammunition, and various spare parts must be provided to replace damaged or lost equipment. They also need to be equipped with packhorse livestock to transport people and equipment over long distances in the mountains of the Persian plateau. If it is cavalry, it also needs to provide high-quality and strong horses that can support soldiers and weapons in battle.

After all the expenses, raising a large-scale army will definitely cost a lot of money.

Not to mention, in an era when firearms are gradually becoming more popular, the cost of building and equipping a fully firearms army is endless!
Although the Khorasan region has a large population and abundant products, it is still quite difficult to raise a standing army of tens of thousands. How did Nadir do it?
Could it be that the Qi people deliberately exaggerated Nadir's strength in order to attract the empire's attention and increase the purchase of their military supplies?
The tens of thousands of Russian troops were defeated by us. Many small countries and tribal forces in the Caucasus also crouched under the power of the empire. The Ottoman Empire next door was also deterred by the imperial army - of course, there was also the diplomatic mediation of the Qi people. After gradually withdrawing from the western border areas, the once rebellious Arabs took the initiative to express their loyalty to Isfahan. Many governors and warlords of the separatist parties presented their surrender to the imperial Shah and recognized the authority of the central government.

In just a few years, after expelling the Afghan rebels, the empire quickly put down the separatist rebellion launched by the vast provinces and tribal armed forces in the south and west of the empire, re-established a crumbling empire, and avoided the fate of the country and its people.

What is even more rare is that in the process of conquering local rebellions and resisting foreign invasions, the imperial army has been tempered. Both the generals leading the troops and the soldiers fighting have gradually regained the glory and confidence of the past empire. .

Not to mention, behind the empire, there stood a powerful Qi State, leading the imperial army from one victory to another, building up incomparable self-confidence.

Nadir is just a warlord separatist force entrenched in Khorasan and Afghanistan. Even if it is very powerful, it must be limited.

Could it be that he can be more powerful than the Russians?

When it comes to pacifying the separatist forces within the empire, the people of Qi generally rarely participate in it. At most, they send some staff officers and technical officers to assist the imperial army in combat.

After some training by military instructors from the Qi State, and equipped with a large number of weapons and equipment from the Qi State, the Imperial Guards and the Imperial New Army were more than one step stronger than the independent local armed forces in the battle.

At the end of a battle, often after a fierce artillery bombardment, the warlords on the opposite side are already in chaos. After several rounds of firing from the line of muskets, the enemy will be defeated, leaving their cavalry to chase them north and kill them wantonly.

Yes, although the provincial governors and local tribes took advantage of the civil strife in the empire to divide territories for self-defense and establish independent regimes, the armed forces they raised were still primitive and backward old-style armies, and their weapons were mostly spears. Mainly with bows and arrows, it emphasizes personal bravery and individual combat ability.

Although some arrogant warlords and tribal leaders have experienced the power of firearms, they always care about eating rather than fighting. They still laugh at soldiers equipped with firearms as weak automatic devices who can only shoot and reload collectively. and movement, everyone will just follow the line.

For centuries, the traditional battle mode in Central and Western Asia, including Persia, has been cavalry and archers. They have been slow to accept firearms with great reluctance, and even regarded firearms as a dirty invention, a weapon for the coward— -This is also an important reason why the Persians were repeatedly defeated by the Ottomans in the past hundred years.

However, since the Qi army landed in Persia, it defeated the Afghan rebels in a devastating battle, and soon helped the Safavid dynasty regain Isfahan, and chased the fleeing Afghan rebels all the way to Kandahar. Showing super combat effectiveness, the Persian army following behind was amazed.

Subsequently, under the step-by-step guidance of the Qi people, the imperial army selected its elite, organized and trained the new army, implemented full firearms equipment, and under the escort of the Qi army, they trained and participated in actual combat, and finally gradually grew up , becoming an important pillar of the empire's revival.

Nadir is just a slightly more powerful local warlord. With his relatively sophisticated equipment and advanced tactics, he can take advantage of the ignorant and backward Afghan tribal armed forces. But if they were to face the "battle-hardened" new imperial army, it would probably not be enough.

Well, since this person does not understand current affairs, refuses to surrender, and is unwilling to send the false Shah Tahmasp II to Isfahan, there is nothing to say. The army will go over and kill everyone. They rebelled and reduced their families to slavery, restoring imperial rule in the Khorasan region.

"When will the Persian army prepare to leave?"

After the strategic and intelligence briefing, Wen Shouyan quickly rushed to the headquarters of the Qi Garrison to report on the combat readiness of the Persian army.

After listening to the report, Shen Deyan, commander-in-chief of the Qi Army in Persia and Zhenguo General (Lieutenant General), nodded slightly and asked when the Persian army would march to the Khorasan area.

"General Gayedi plans to lead his troops and set off in half a month." Wen Shouyan immediately replied: "The Persians are preparing to dispatch five regiments of the new army and one battalion of artillery, plus the conscripted infantry and tribal cavalry. , the number of troops is about 20,000. General Gayedi is preparing to recruit another 10,000 troops in the Semnan and Khorasan areas. By then, the imperial army will reach Mashhad. There are about thirty-five thousand.”

"Are they sure they can defeat Nadir and then regain the Khorasan region?"

"General Gayedi himself is very confident. But..." Wen Shouyan hesitated, "However, I think they seem to underestimate the enemy a little, and everyone is very optimistic. According to the information we have received from various sources Nadir is not a complacent person. Although the firearms equipment rate in the army is not as high as that of the new Persian army, the number of firearms they possess is also very large. Moreover, they are not a traditional and backward tribal armed force in terms of military organization and tactics. Model. In just a few years, he can quickly rise and occupy the vast Khorasan region and northwest Afghanistan, which fully proves that this person is not an easy person. "

"Are you worried that this Persian military conquest will suffer heavy losses?"

"If you fail to cope in the battle formation, you may suffer defeat in the battle."

"What's your suggestion?"

"I suggest that our army troops stationed in Najafabad and Kerman should be prepared for emergencies in case of emergencies."

"You are not worried about the Persians losing on the battlefield!" Shen Deyan smiled, "I'm afraid you are sure that the Persians will suffer a disastrous defeat at the hands of that Nadir. Well, in that case, then draw up an order to let Troops are stationed in Najfabad and Kerman to prepare for emergencies."

(End of this chapter)