The struggle of the reborn prince

After the prosperity of the Abbasid dynasty, the historical law of prosperity and decline began again, and the rulers began to enjoy luxury.During the reign of Caliph al-Mansour, a new capital was built on the west bank of the Tigris River in Baghdad.The construction of the new capital used more than 480 people, took four years, and cost more than [-] million dirhams, which shows that it spared no expense.

New Baghdad is a circular city, so it is called "Tuan City".It has a diameter of five miles and is divided into three layers: the outer city, the inner city and the imperial city, and has three walls.The imperial city is located in the center of the whole city, with the Forbidden City as the center, and the city walls form three concentric circles.Each of the city walls has four gates at equal distances, and four streets stretch from the central area to the gates, shaped like the spokes of a wheel.There are palaces, official residences, mosques, libraries, gardens, etc. in the Forbidden City.After that, camps, mansions and mosques were built for Huang Tai on the east bank of the river. The east and west banks of the river were connected by pontoon bridges, forming a city that spanned both sides of the Tigris River.

The Great Song Expeditionary Army entered by land and water, deployed the troops on both sides of the Tigris River, and launched a pincer offensive against Baghdad.They first launched an attack on the east of the river, sweeping away its castles. With the experience of attacking the castle of Grand Duke Fikia, and with the support of powerful naval guns, the battle went smoothly.It took only one day and night to capture the strongest Taicheng Castle, which caused a great shock. People fled or surrendered from the castle to avoid being bloodbathed.

After occupying the east bank of the river, in order to prevent the people in the main city from escaping along the river, Cheng Xishou ordered two iron cables to be pulled up and down the city to block the river, and sent ships to patrol along the river, and deployed troops on the bank. Those who escaped by boat could not escape the encirclement.It turns out that this precaution was necessary.The ministers in Chaos City wanted to take the opportunity to escape by water, and they sent warships to break through the checkpoints set by the expeditionary force on the river.But in front of the warships of the Song Army, their actions quickly failed. The warships were sunk and the soldiers were wiped out.People fled back to the city in embarrassment.

As the castles around the city of Baghdad were breached one by one, Mawei, who was in charge of the land attack, ordered the accompanying army and captured prisoners to cut down trees and demolish houses and build a wooden fence along the main city, surrounded the city and closed all Passage, the army camped three miles outside the city.

At first, Fatah, the caliph of the Seljuk Empire, sent envoys to boast in front of the Song army.It was a cooked duck, but the mouth was hard.He was not prepared for the war at all, that is, he did not mobilize the army, nor strengthen the city defenses. Seeing the fierce attack of the Song army, all the roads out of the city were blocked.Now he panicked, completely desperate, and knew that he could no longer escape from the hands of the Orientals.

At this time, although the main force of the city is Sultan Sanjar, there are only [-] court Gulam as the main force of the city, and now they can only temporarily recruit [-] city defenders from the city to defend the city.This army was very competitive and repelled a siege attack from the west. The victory made Fatah forget about it.Thinking that there is nothing terrible about Easterners, claiming that their rights are bestowed by Allah, whoever opposes me is against Allah, this is treason and will be punished by Allah.

But as soon as Fatah's words came out, the enemy army began to attack the city again, and it became more and more violent.What surprised and frightened the defenders in particular was the black iron bumps, and they wondered why those guys under the city were flashing with fire.After a loud noise, human body stumps will fly all over the sky above Baghdad, and human beings can fly?

Hearing that the battle outside the city was fierce, Fatah was frightened out of his wits and sat down on the ground.From all kinds of pride to depression, there is a blank in the head, and there is no master.He hurriedly asked the ministers for advice, and everyone gave him an idea that he needed to bribe the enemy with generous gifts.He also enlightened him and said: The treasures accumulated are to preserve honor and make people happy.A large quantity of treasure should be prepared, carried by a thousand camels and a thousand Arabian horses, to the commander of the Orientals and his men.Plead guilty to them, pray for them on festivals, and agree to the terms of trade with the Easterners.

The great caliph felt that it was a bit painful to give the treasures he had accumulated for generations to the enemy, but the enemy had already approached the city and could not be tough, so he sent a grand priest to go out of the city to ask for peace.And the patriarch is obviously spoiled by others, so it’s okay to have a bad attitude, and he doesn’t talk much, claiming that if he offends the Caliph, something unfortunate will happen:

The horses will die, and the soldiers will get sick; the sun will not rise, and the world will fall into boundless darkness; will die of starvation; and then those who command this war will die first in the year.

What the patriarch said was terrifying, but he forgot that the people he was facing were from the far east. Their beliefs were completely different from here, and they didn't even know who their gods were, especially the Great Song Expeditionary Army. The god of the heart is the emperor.As a result, after the Grand Priest announced the prophecy, there was only a burst of laughter, and in exchange for a meal of military sticks, everyone wanted to see what would happen if the envoy of God was beaten up!

When the peace talks broke down, the city's generals began to persuade the Caliph to prepare for the war and recruit warriors to form an army.He also warned Fatah that if he did not take measures to repel the powerful enemy, the Eastern army would definitely break through the city, just like what they did in other castles, and rob them of all their money, regardless of whether they were rich or poor, they would become slaves. Men would rather die with honor on the battlefield.After receiving promises from the generals that they could disperse the enemy and hold the city, Fatah agreed to them to raise the army.

The city of Baghdad is known as the heart of the world. It is a big city as famous as Bianjing in the Song Dynasty. The city has a population of one million and there is no shortage of soldiers. In this critical moment, a large army was quickly mobilized.The generals are not afraid of death, but their caliph loves money very much. When he heard that the army had assembled and he should send money, Fatah was unwilling, and he did not mention the money.There was no money, the already assembled troops dispersed, and the generals were completely desperate, resigned to fate's mercy.

This is in line with the old saying that "people make money and birds die for food". If Fatah is willing to give up money, he will gather a powerful army. Even if he can't repel the Song army, as long as he persists for a while, the monsoon will come, and he is eager to return. Perhaps the Song Army would agree to the peace talks. Originally, they didn't want to overthrow the current regime.But he was so stingy with money that he put himself, the residents of the city, and even the country in danger.He didn't think about it, his life was about to die, what's the use of so much money.

A few days after the siege, a section of Baghdad’s outer city wall collapsed under constant artillery bombardment. Fatah, who was in a semi-shock state, thought of surrendering, but it was too late. The Song army quickly occupied the city wall and controlled the city defense. It marks that the city of Baghdad has fallen...

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"Marshal, please delay entering the city first!" When Cheng Xishou and Ma Wei were about to send troops into the city, the captain of the 'Pixiu' task force who had been silent all this time found them and stopped the expeditionary army's next military move.

"Chen... Chen Fucheng, Your Majesty has a purpose first. Your task force must not interfere with the military operations of our expeditionary force. What do you mean?" Cheng Xishou took the gold medal handed over by the captain of the Pixiu task force and realized that it was related to him. The person who stayed on a ship for half a year was named Chen Minggu, and he was the deputy prime minister of the Imperial City Intelligence Department. He was actually a general, and his military rank was one level lower than his own. He was on the same level as the deputy commander Ma Wei. He asked in surprise and surprise. road.

"Marshal, I have no intention of interfering in military affairs, I just ask for something!" Chen Gu said with a respectful military salute.

"Then why do you want to prevent us from entering the city?" Ma Wei also looked at this man up and down and asked. He had followed the emperor for many years in the army and was awarded the rank of general based on his military exploits. I have never seen or even heard of such a character in the army.

"This... can I take a step to talk about this!" Chen Gu hesitated and said.

"Chen Fucheng, if you have something to say, please tell me!" Cheng Xishou immediately understood, and he waved his hands to get everyone out of the tent.

"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief and Deputy Commander-in-Chief for your understanding!" Chen Gu still said very politely, "Your Majesty launched an expedition this time, do the two Commanders-in-Chief know why?"

"Isn't it to punish the Seljuk Empire for robbing and killing our Song Dynasty caravan, and to open up the sea trade route from Song Dynasty to Persia? Could it be that there are other intentions!" Cheng Xishou and Ma Wei looked at each other in surprise, and he said in a deep voice .

"What the commander said is true. This expedition is to open up trade routes, but there is another reason why it is inconvenient for Your Majesty to express it!" Chen Gu said in a low voice, "Persia has been a country for hundreds of years. Although it has undergone many changes, it is still a great country after all. , has a profound accumulation and has many merits, and His Majesty also yearns for it..."

"We understand this very well. The good things in the city will never be let go, and they will be brought back to His Majesty. I have traveled all over the world, so I still have this insight!" Before Chen Gu could finish speaking, Cheng Xishou said with a smile, his heart was dark It turned out that the emperor was worried that he would miss some treasures in the city, so he sent someone else to watch.

"No, no..." Chen Gu repeatedly waved his hands and said, "Why is Your Majesty worried about the Marshal's eyesight, but taking his property this time is only secondary, and what His Majesty wants is something else. The lowly position is to worry about the Marshal. The commander-in-chief hastily entered the city and destroyed it, so he hastily blocked it!"

"Oh, there is something more important than treasure in this city? It can't be that caliph!" Cheng Xishou thought for a while, but couldn't figure out what else in the city was worthy of His Majesty launching an expedition and sending people to fetch it...