I was the Queen of Persia

Page 84

“By God, this silence is unsettling,” said a young Hamdan militiaman. “It’s as if something terrible is lurking in the darkness.”

“Don’t scare yourself.” Another slightly older militiaman rolled his eyes at him. “There are no ghouls (ghosts in Middle Eastern legends) here, nor are there Mustafa soldiers.”

"Stop talking," the garrison officer on horseback reminded them. "Patrol diligently and remain vigilant. Although we are not on the front lines, we must maintain a high level of alert, especially since we are guarding a considerable amount of food supplies."

Just saying.

In the dark alley next door, a faint metallic scraping sound suddenly came from. The alert garrison officer noticed this inconspicuous anomaly and immediately ordered his soldiers to be on alert.

But then, a cold glint appeared from the darkness, and with a "whoosh," a sharp weapon pierced the garrison officer's forehead. He fell heavily from his horse, his headband stained crimson with blood, a stark contrast against the night.

Before the astonished militiamen could react, several dark figures leaped down from the rooftops on both sides. In an instant, a flash of cold light and a splatter of blood ensued, and four militiamen fell into pools of blood, without any chance to fight back.

After a while.

"Oh no! The warehouse is on fire!"

"Quick! Put out the fire!"

Before long, the small town was engulfed in flames, amidst chaos and screams.

……

In Hamdan's controlled territory, such assassinations and acts of sabotage suddenly increased. The targets were mostly small towns with limited garrisons and low walls. Yet, these attacks still caused considerable panic, much to Selim's concern.

Inside Selim's marching tent.

"Your Highness, the garrison commander of Muteva was assassinated last night, and more than ten soldiers also died."

"Your Highness, the same thing happened in Musa Taksim last night; the city's grain warehouses were burned down."

……

Hamdan's officials reported the situation to Selim with grave expressions.

Selim looked at the documents presented by the officials, lost in thought.

“Your Highness,” an older courtier said, “the current situation makes it difficult to sustain our current tactics. I think it would be better to disperse our troops back to the various cities, allowing them to defend their cities and then launch a counterattack when the opportunity arises.”

“That’s not a good idea.” Selim shook his head. “Mustafa has a large force, and we can only barely hold off their offensive if we gather together. If we scatter and defend our cities, we will eventually be defeated one by one.”

“But if we do this, Mustafa’s lackeys will be able to carry out assassinations and sabotages all over the place, and we will be even less able to guarantee the safety of the local areas.” The old courtier sighed helplessly.

"Alas, God help us!" Selim said helplessly. "I just hope we can lure the enemy in as soon as possible, strike hard at these Mustafa's lackeys, and restore peace to the border."

at this time.

A scout dressed in Arab-Bedouin armor hurriedly lifted the tent flap and said in a panic, "Your Highness, something terrible has happened! The Kurdish tribal forces on our flank have mutinied! They are launching a fierce attack on us and plundering our supply camp!"

"What?!" All the Hamdan generals present were shocked by this news.

"These two-faced Kurds! I knew they would betray us at the last minute!" A Hamdan officer clenched his fist in anger.

“Your Highness, look at this…” The old courtier looked at Selim, whose face was ashen.

“It’s too late.” Selim’s forehead was sweating with tension, but he quickly regained some composure. “Immediately issue an order to the entire army to assemble and retreat!”

Chapter 195 God-like Rescue

The camp of the "Arc of Resistance" allied forces.

The Amid Kurdish army, which suddenly launched a rebellion, swept across Selim's vulnerable flank like locusts.

In the pitch-black night, firelight flickered, people and horses galloped about, and the cacophony of shouts and helpless cries for help plunged the battle formation into utter chaos.

Selim's forces were caught off guard by the sudden defection of the Kurdish tribal forces on his flank.

"Form ranks! Take cover behind the palisade! Archers, prepare!" Hamdan's commanders shouted.

Despite the sudden attack, these Syrian soldiers, having already received initial training from the Iranian Torchbearer Brigade, did not immediately fall into a desperate situation of frontal collapse. Instead, they reacted quickly and tenaciously formed ranks to counterattack.

"Your Highness! The enemy at the north gate of the camp has been repelled! Break out through there quickly!"

The female soldiers of the "Sham Scorpion Army," who served as the princess's guards, loyally protected Selim, covering the princess's retreat.

Although they were elite guards, their equipment was not sophisticated due to financial constraints: most of the female soldiers wore cheap Arabic-style robes and cloth armor, sandals common in the Sham-Syria region, and many even fought barefoot.

But the gleaming scimitars in their hands and the powerful crossbows that fired sharp arrows still instilled fear in many enemies.

Just then, Idris's Christian militia and Zayedi's Yazidi tribal army also rushed to the scene to help and reinforce the troops.

The three forces worked together to barely hold off the initial offensive of the rebel army, but the number of enemy troops continued to increase. More seriously, the rebels cut off the Selim tribe's connection with the Sahinian Holy Fire Brigade at the front.

"Your Highness, if we continue to stalemate, we will inevitably suffer even greater losses, and we may even face the danger of total annihilation. The only way now is to break through and retreat," Hamdan's officers earnestly advised.

“But…” Selim looked into the distance. She knew that if she rashly withdrew her troops, Sahinian, who was still on the front line responsible for luring the enemy deep into her territory, would inevitably become an isolated force trapped in a jar.

But considering her own situation, she shook her head helplessly. After a difficult decision, she finally ordered a retreat with tears in her eyes.

……

At this time, Shahini's Iranian Holy Fire Brigade, while feigning a retreat, launched a brilliant counterattack near Sinn, killing over a hundred of the Caliph's vanguard and forcing them to retreat several Farsahs.

Right now, Sahini is directing his soldiers to quickly clear the battlefield, mainly to collect rations and other supplies.

"Rustam's warriors! Time is of the essence. Mustafa's hounds will be back soon. We must get out of here before them!" Shahinian shouted orders from his high vantage point.

At that moment, a cavalryman from the Sacred Torch Brigade came running from a distance, his face showing anxiety.

"Sadar, a very bad situation! Amid's Kurdish tribal army has rebelled, Princess Selim has been attacked and forced to retreat!" The soldier reported this sudden battle situation.

"What unfortunate news! It seems we underestimated the enemy's plot." Sahimian frowned, knowing that with Selim's retreat, she would be left isolated and helpless.

"So what should our army do now?" another female officer from the Torch Relay Brigade asked. "Abandon the tactical maneuver and retreat to a safe area? Or try our best to rendezvous with Princess Selim's troops?"

“It’s too late. Even if we retreat now, we’re vulnerable to being surrounded by the enemy.” Shahinian rolled her beautiful black eyes, then turned to the soldiers, “Assemble the troops! Flank south and advance towards the territory of the Caliphate!”

The alluring and seductive woman, while sharing a bed with numerous Confucian scholars and strategists from China, indirectly learned the ancient military wisdom of that great Eastern power. At this time, she decided to use one of the Thirty-Six Stratagems of China—"Besieging Wei to Rescue Zhao."

Some of the female officers and soldiers of the Torch Relay Brigade, although they did not yet understand the order, knew that as long as they followed the tactics set by their leader, they would immediately obey and carry them out.

The crimson cavalry quickly prepared, bypassed the Caliph's army, and galloped towards the Caliphate, raising clouds of dust.

……

The following day, in Ibn Tabuk, a small border town of the Caliphate.

This small town is not far from Samara and serves as an outpost satellite city. However, the city walls are low and the garrison is quite small—after all, most of the soldiers have been conscripted to the "jihad."

Sahimian lay in wait in a concealed area, observing carefully for a long time. Finally, when night fell and the defenses were at their weakest, he led his troops in a surprise attack.

The more than two hundred Caliph's soldiers defending the city never dreamed that the Persians would appear in front of the city like divine soldiers, launching several rounds of meaningless "suicide" counter-charges, and all of them died under the Persians' axes, hammers and arrows.

Having seized Ibn Tabuk, Shahinian declared the abolition of the heavy taxes and zakkah imposed on the Caliph's officials, opened the armory of the Caliph's barracks, distributed weapons to the local people, and encouraged them to establish an autonomous government, launch an uprising, and resist the brutal rule of Caliph Mustafa.

Using the same tactics, Shahini occupied several towns near Samara (many of which had no city walls and only a few isolated outposts). In each place she occupied, she used her eloquent tongue to denounce the Caliph's atrocities and incite armed uprisings among the local people.

Even if persuasion fails, it doesn't matter; these Iranian female warriors also possess the weapon of beauty. Through seduction and enticement, they can lure people into a world of pleasure, and no one can escape such temptation.

She was certainly not genuinely helping the local people; she simply intended to disrupt the situation and derail the Caliph's "jihad."

Thus, under Shahinian's plan, a large-scale armed uprising broke out on the northern border of the Caliphate, and grew larger and larger like a snowball, eventually besieging Samara, a major northern city of the Caliphate.

……

Meanwhile, in Basra, a port city in the southern part of the Caliphate.

Shahzani unexpectedly crossed the Karun and Shatt al-Arab rivers, arriving in this "Pearl of the Persian Gulf" as if by divine intervention.

The crimson Iranian army is at the gates of Basra.

"The Persian Queen!" cried the Caliph's soldiers guarding the city. "Warning! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"Warriors of Basra!" Shahzani shouted, facing the city walls, "Mustafa is cruel and tyrannical, and has distorted the doctrine. You have been misled for far too long! Lay down your weapons and turn away from darkness to light!"

"Don't be delusional!" roared the Caliph's officer guarding the city. "We are the most devout defenders of the faith! We will defend His Majesty the Caliph's city to the death!"

“Very well, just as you wish.” Shahzani gave a seductive, cold laugh. “Go and confess your deeds to Allah!”

He then waved the command flag and ordered an attack on the city.

The Samanian female soldiers fired a volley of fire for cover, while the accompanying Chinese engineering battalion quickly deployed explosives under the city gate. Then, with a deafening roar, a large gap was blasted open in the city gate.

Along with the city gate shattering and exploding, so too did the will of the Caliph's garrison. Most of them were extremely devout, superstitious, ignorant, and uncouth Bedouin nomads who had never even seen gunpowder, a scientific achievement. The loud explosion of the explosives terrified them, and they thought it was the wrath of Allah.

As a result, the fervor of "fearless" was instantly swept away, and everyone fled in fear, abandoning the city.

As it turned out, the siege was even easier than Shahzani had anticipated. Saman advanced his army in formation, sweeping through the city with unstoppable momentum, and captured the entire city in less than a day, achieving victory.

Chapter 195.5 A lull in the battle: Persian female warriors recount their experiences.

After easily capturing Basra, Shahzani ordered the establishment of encampments in the easily defensible areas surrounding the city to rest and recuperate, and to establish a supply line connecting to Iran's Khuzestan province to ensure a stable supply of reinforcements.

The Caliphate's army was clearly stunned. On the one hand, they were intimidated by the Saman army's gunpowder weapons, and on the other hand, most of their main forces were engaged in the encirclement and suppression of the "Arc of Resistance" coalition in Jagira, leaving their armed forces in the south with very little deployment.

In the following days, the Caliph's army did not launch a counterattack. Shahzani commanded the Saman soldiers to train during the day and be on high alert at night, but what they got in return was one peaceful day after another.

As the sun sets and night deepens, the darkness deepens.

Several soldiers from the Samanid army, having finished their training and patrol duties for the day, returned to their camp and sat in small groups on the carpet to rest. The days without fighting were incredibly boring, and since they came from different units and didn't know each other well, they decided to pass the time by sharing their stories.

As the publicly elected leader, a commander of a thousand women in the Shahr Heavy Cavalry Guard, he first recounted his own history:

“My hometown is Salahash, Khorasan Province. My father was a blacksmith who had retired from the army and was skilled in the forging of armor. He was also a wealthy landowner in Dehgan. My mother was the daughter of a local copyist. Although I am a girl, I have learned a lot of skills under the guidance of my parents’ example. I have loved war and history since I was a child. I have read ancient Iranian epics and the famous works of scholars such as Narsahish and Ibn Khurdazbih.”

“My father did not look down on me because I was a girl. On the contrary, he did his best to teach me military martial arts and knowledge of various weapons and equipment, and told me stories of ancient Iranian heroines such as Guldafarid, Guldia, and Ghushaspu. Under his tutelage, I was already a well-known female warrior by the age of twelve, and was even exceptionally allowed to enter the local Zurkhaneh martial arts school, which was previously only open to men.”

"The tragedy occurred when I was thirteen years old. That year (992 AD), the Karakhanid Khan, Harun Bughra Khan, invaded Bukhara, and at the same time, Khorasan Province was also embroiled in a chaotic war between various warlords and generals. A group of rebel troops plundered Salakhash. My father stepped forward and single-handedly took down several rebel soldiers, but ultimately fell due to being outnumbered. Oh! I will never forget that tragic scene! My mother was already lying in a pool of blood, and my father had been stabbed several times, but he left his horse to me and ordered me to run away quickly. I dared not disobey his words, and I knew that I could not save him on my own, so I could only wipe away my tears and ride away."

"I fled Sarahash and intended to head towards Sabzewar to seek refuge with some distant relatives and elders living there. On the way, I came to the village of Savalabad near Nishapur, where I happened to encounter a Samanid army stationed there. At that time, I had run out of money and had nowhere else to go, so I resolutely decided to join the army. When the commander of the unit saw that I was a girl, he was initially hesitant, but when he saw that I had killed the vicious wolf that was threatening the area on my own and demonstrated my strength and courage, he immediately put aside his original prejudice and decisively accepted me as a soldier under his command."

"Later I learned that this commander was none other than the renowned General Rustam Zaman. I followed him in countless battles, fighting bravely and rising through the ranks until I joined Her Majesty the Queen's ranks, continuing to fight for the nation's revitalization. In Shihanna, on the Zhalman Plain, in Bukhara, in Baishuihu City, and on the Jam Plain, I regarded martyrdom as my ultimate ideal, charging into battle on my armored warhorse. Because I had already established a reputation for bravery and skill in battle, General Rustam Zaman recommended me to Her Majesty the Queen. Thus, I had the honor of joining the Shahr Guard, and I am here today speaking with you all."

This concludes the story of the female officer from the Shaher Guard.

The second storyteller was a centurion in the heavy cavalry unit of Ha Tinh province. She said:

“My hometown is Ashruvans, a village near Bukhara, which was once famous for the grand military parades of the late Emperor Nasr (may he rest in peace!), but by the time I was young, its former glory had long since faded.”

“My parents were farmers in the village, and we only had a small amount of land. My father farmed, my mother spun and wove, and I helped with household chores, such as fetching water, cooking, feeding the livestock, and so on. In short, I did everything a farm girl should do. There were also several brothers and sisters in the family, and they all did different jobs. In those years, the Oghuz Turks frequently invaded Khwarazm and Transoxiana provinces. Although most of their attacks were repelled by the government troops, when they targeted villages without city walls, the government troops were somewhat out of reach. This was because the army's garrisons were generally far from the villages, and often the Oghuz Turks had already succeeded and fled before the troops could even assemble.”

"That morning, I got up early as usual, carrying a clay pot on my head and going barefoot to the village's public reservoir to fetch water, because those who went early could get more and better water. But then something unexpected happened. As I was passing a bend in the dirt road, two dark figures suddenly darted out of the grove of trees beside me. They were two Oghuz raiders. They snatched me onto their horses and rushed out of the village like the wind, heading northwest."

"At first I was terrified, but I quickly regained my composure. I thought they were stragglers from the Oghuz army, and they were heading north to join the main Oghuz force. So I had to get out of their control as soon as possible, because once I reached the territory of the Oghuz Yabghu Kingdom, I would inevitably become a slave, and it would not be easy to escape then."

"I was plotting my escape when the opportunity came quickly. They lowered their guard because I was a girl. One of them went to scout ahead, leaving the other to nap under a tree. I took the chance to sharpen the ropes on a rock, drew the villain's sword, and beheaded him. Just then, the scout returned. Seeing his companion killed, he was both angry and terrified. He was about to draw his sword to strike me when I said, 'He was trying to sneak away with the spoils behind your back and take me with him. I resisted fiercely and accidentally killed him. Now that he's dead, am I not your spoils alone?' The Oghuz man thought I made sense, so he sheathed his sword, but he kept a closer eye on me. My hands and feet were tied behind my back, my eyes were blindfolded, and I was laid across the horse's back."

"As night fell, the Oghuz man fell fast asleep. I smelled the ashes of a dying campfire nearby, so I crept over quietly and, enduring excruciating pain, burned the ropes binding my hands and feet. The villain was still fast asleep when I grabbed his sword and killed him instantly. Fearing that other Oghuz men might suddenly appear, I quickly grabbed his sword, mounted his horse, and fled in a flash."

“The next morning, while I was still dreaming, I was awakened by the sound of rapid hoofbeats. Fearing that it was the Oghuz pursuers, I cautiously peeked out from the bushes where I was hiding. I saw that the person was a messenger from the government, but he was covered in blood and stumbled and fell off his horse. When I rushed over to check on him, he handed me a letter in his bag as he was dying, and instructed me that it was important military information and that I must deliver it to Damjavín. I realized that my chance to rise to prominence had come, that this was an opportunity given to me by God! So I took the letter and took over his messenger duties.”

"I rode my horse to Damgan, presented the letter, and recounted my harrowing experiences. The local garrison officer admired my courage and exceptionally recruited me into the army. Oh! You can imagine, a peasant girl who had been barefoot for years, wearing a majestic military uniform, boots, and armor for the first time, and receiving military pay every quarter—it was truly a stroke of good fortune bestowed by God! From then on, I fought continuously in the north and south, accumulating merits, until today when I speak with you all here."

At this point, the centurion of the heavy cavalry unit in Ha Tinh province finished telling his story.

Following that, the remaining female soldiers from Saman also shared their experiences.

Throughout this process, Shahzani listened quietly in a nearby military tent. She was quite gratified to hear about the various bizarre and tortuous journeys of her female soldiers as they rose through the ranks.

Chapter 196 Marching into the Iraqi Swamp

In mid-April of 1005 AD, in the Persian calendar month of Farvardin.

The situation in the Iraq-Jajra battlefield has deteriorated into a state of multi-party conflict:

In the south, the elite Samanid forces, personally led by Shahzani, captured Basra and surrounding cities; in the north, the "Arc of Resistance" coalition was still engaged in a struggle with the main force of the Caliph's army; meanwhile, the anti-Caliph uprising instigated by Shahini was spreading near Samara.

The battle is escalating to a fever pitch.

Basra, port city.

A forest of masts plys the harbor, their rows of triangular sails a sight to behold. Rugged sailors shout as they climb ashore and scramble, the cacophony of Arabic, Persian, and Hindustani blending together. Slaves of all skin colors are driven ashore amidst whippings and curses, while countless treasures are unloaded, transforming into a torrent of gold and silver that flows into the pockets of merchants.

As the most prosperous port on the Persian Gulf coast, Basra has long served as a key hub on the Maritime Silk Road and an important base for maritime military supply transport.

After occupying the city, Shahzani set about opening up supply routes with various Iranian ports in order to supply the front-line troops with weapons and supplies by water.

The Samanid fleet quickly arrived at the port and, under the command of the quartermasters, anchored in the designated dock area. They then opened the holds and unloaded their cargo, with bundles of provisions and weapons being transported to the troops.

"How long will this shipment of military supplies last?" Shahzani asked her senior staff officer, standing on the high platform and looking at the bustling docks.

"Your Majesty, our army started with five regiments. After the initial victory, another five regiments were successively dispatched to reinforce and join us. In addition, we have recruited farmers, grooms, laborers, porters, and other laborers in Basra, totaling more than 30,000 men. Based on this, our military supplies are sufficient for half a month's expenses," the staff wrote in a Samarkand document.