The capital of the Ottomans is already close to Greece, so it is naturally impossible to go there immediately. You have to take a boat in the Mediterranean.
The next stop for the mission is the port city of Sohar.
Hundreds of years later, this place belonged to Oman, but now it belongs to Jabrid.
At its peak, the Jabrid dynasty was able to control the entire Arabian coast, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and parts of Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Before the fall of the dynasty, three brothers were in power, ruling Oman, the north coast of Oman, Bahrain and surrounding areas respectively. At this time, the Portuguese came, with strong ships and powerful guns, and they were invincible, and the dynasty quickly disintegrated.
Now divided into many tribes, one branch of the royal family continues to rule a small number of areas. The only major territories left are the UAE and the northwest coast of Oman.
The navy that once dominated the Arabian coast also degenerated into large and small pirates with the collapse of the dynasty.
At this moment, King Saif I of Oman is using his prestige to recruit these pirates.
Last year, Oman and Portugal fought a war off the coast of Muscat. Two Omani warships were captured by Portugal, and more than ten other warships were severely damaged.
If you are determined to develop your navy, recruiting nearby pirates is naturally a shortcut.
The Chinese fleet sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz, and a group of pirates watched from a distance, jealous but afraid to take action.
"Are these pirates or which country's navy?"
Fan Chao held up the telescope and always felt that the other party had evil intentions.
But it may be that I am overthinking it. If it is a navy of a certain country, it is normal for it to be vigilant in offshore waters.
Fan Chao put away the telescope and said to the adjutant: "Send a signal and let each ship prepare. If any abnormality is found, fire immediately!
As the envoy fleet continued to advance, the pirate ships retreated further and further, and finally retreated to Sohar Port, which was the target of the Chinese mission's visit.
The pirates were also surprised. This was a pirate den. Could it be that the other party was coming to destroy them?
The pirate ships fled the port in droves, and some pirates disembarked and ran to the city to report to the ruler.
The ruler's name is Zaid ibn Zamir, and he is a descendant of the Jabrid dynasty. Those pirates outside can be said to be his navy, or it has nothing to do with it.
Hearing that a fleet was approaching, Zaid shouted in fright: "Gather all the troops, send people immediately, and call the warriors from each tribe here!"
There are only three hundred cavalry in this city, and the rest are all infantry, and there are not even musketeers.
About 40 minutes later, the port tax collector came to report: "Master, there is a fleet of envoys from China outside, and they request to enter the city to visit the master.'
An Arab businessman also arrived at the same time. He explained to Zaid: "China is located in the far east and is a very powerful country. The silk worn by the Persian nobles comes from there. They just came from Persia and heard that
He was said to be warmly received by the emperor and was a trustworthy messenger of peace.
"I understand, please invite the Chinese envoy to enter the city." Zaid finally felt relieved.
After the merchants and tax officials left, the pirate leader who fled into the city suddenly said: "If the silk comes from China, then there are countless treasures on these ships. We can lure their army to the city and capture the leader of the army.
Force those ships to surrender.
Zaid was moved by such a bold and bad idea.
The core area controlled by this guy only has one port city and several surrounding tribes. The rest of the territory only obeys him in name, and usually has to team up with pirates to make money.
In a word, poor and crazy!
Lu Tianxiang and Zhang Ruifeng brought 2,000 soldiers ashore. When entering the city, they were only allowed to bring half of them in.
Originally, those pirates seemed very strange, and the members of the mission were always vigilant, but now they felt something was very wrong.
Zheng Dayong, commander of the emperor's bodyguard, had already served as regimental commander in the north before he was transferred back to Nanjing. He frowned and said: "We have two thousand soldiers coming ashore. Either let us all enter the city, or like the Persian emperor, only allow us
Bring two to three hundred soldiers into the city. No more, no less. Let us bring a thousand soldiers in and divide our army into two. What do you want to do?"
Shi Lang said: "Divide them and annihilate them."
Zhang Ruifeng was undecided and looked at Lu Tianxiang: "Mother, do you want to enter the city?"
Lu Tianxiang did not answer immediately, but asked Zheng Dayong: "Commander Zheng is a warrior on the battlefield, do you have any suggestions?
Zheng Dayong said: "If you want to enter the city, you must first send someone back to the ship to report the news. Let the fleet be ready for battle. Unidentified ships at sea may launch an attack at any time. Send a thousand more navy ashore and stay outside the city.
The troops worked together to coordinate the attack. The empress and Ambassador Zhang stayed outside the city in case of any eventuality, and I took people in to investigate the situation.
If there is any abnormal movement in the city, immediately let the warships bombard the city wall, and the empress can command the army to attack.
Attack this city."
"This is too risky. What if the enemy has a fire command and the troops entering are ambushed by firearms? Why not go back to the ship immediately and only send a few envoys to the city to negotiate. For such a small country, a few envoys are enough."
After Lu Tianxiang went to sea, he couldn't let go and chose the safest method.
On the contrary, Zhang Ruifeng, who seemed to be calm and composed, was eager to make great achievements and said: "We have agreed to enter the city, but if we give up halfway, wouldn't we lose the face of the Celestial Empire? Let's do this. The empress will stay outside the city to provide support, and I will lead the soldiers into the city to check."
Lu Tianxiang felt that she didn't understand military affairs or diplomacy, so she should listen more to the opinions of others. She turned to look at the civil and military officials and found that they were all eager to try, so she had to swallow her objections.
The army of the Datong court has always been invincible, which made the civil and military officials all feel proud and "do not take this small country seriously at all."
Lu Tianxiang, who seems to be the most redundant, is actually the most normal one. Because she is worried that she will make a mistake, she always remembers to act with caution.
Two thousand soldiers were divided into two.
One thousand of the emperor's personal guards, fully armored, were ready to enter the city. One thousand of the navy's soldiers stayed outside the city to respond at any time.
When sending people back to the ship, several guards rode around the city to observe. They did not bring many war horses, but bought some in India along the way. Now there are thirty-two horses in total.
Although they are all arrogant and capable soldiers, when they really need to take risks, they are fully prepared.
Not long after, the sentry came back half way and reported the news: "There are only two forts in this city, both of which are pointed towards the port. Entering the city from the front, the troops entering the city will not be shelled, but the troops outside the city should move their positions."
Another sentry rider said: "There are several miles outside the city, and the terrain is unobstructed. It is difficult to set up an ambush. If there is an ambush, they must be inside the city."
After all the preparations were done, Zhang Ruifeng held his head high and carried a man with all his armor.
Thousands of soldiers entered the city.
There is only one earthen city here, and it is very dilapidated, with large holes in part of the city wall.
Although Zhang Ruifeng was worried, he was extremely excited. If the chief here kept his eyes open and really acted with evil intentions, he could lead his troops to destroy the country and achieve Ban Dingyuan's unparalleled achievements!
Lu Tianxiang watched them enter the city, always feeling that something was going to go wrong, but she didn't know how to stop it.
Zaid put on a suit of chain armor and was now standing on the wall of the earth city. Three hundred plate armor guards, two hundred fire guards, and five hundred heavy armor guards, a force with almost luxurious equipment, made this Arab chieftain tremble with fear, and at the same time
He was so greedy that his eyes turned red.
As long as these troops are lured into the city, they will be ambushed and killed by surprise.
After eating the troops entering the city, he then sent the cavalry to attack the troops outside the city. Even if he could not force the warships to surrender, grabbing so many armors and weapons was enough for him to form a powerful army, conquer the entire Arabian Peninsula, and restore the state of a hundred years ago.
The glory of our ancestors.
The city gate opened, and local officials carefully guided Zhang Ruifeng into the city.
Zhang Ruifeng glanced at the official's expression and knew it, and sneered: "Put down the armor."
Zheng Dayong raised his hand and pulled it, like a helmet, and immediately lowered the retractable armor plate to protect his neck. The other soldiers also followed suit.
One party has evil intentions and wants to set up an ambush.
One party went deep into the tiger's den, intending to bloom from the city and directly occupy the earth city.
When they reached a certain crossroads, the official who was guiding them suddenly broke down and ran away.
Upon seeing this, Zheng Dayong shouted: "Stop advancing and form an array!"
"Swish, swish, swish!"
Arrows rained down everywhere, and archers were ambushed everywhere on the rooftops of the surrounding houses.
From the southeast and two directions, many infantrymen armed with scimitars and spears rushed forward. From the west, the rumble of horse hooves sounded, and hundreds of Arab cavalry rushed straight to the flanks of the Datong Army. An ordinary army might suddenly be ambushed and encounter enemies from three directions.
They had already fled towards the north where there were no enemies.
This was what Zaid had in mind, and he actually knew that the Datong army would be defeated and no matter how good the equipment was, it would not be able to withstand an ambush.
But the Datong army had already been mentally prepared, and let the rain of arrows hit them, making a constant clanging sound, but all of them were blocked by their armor.
On the outside of the formation, all heavily armored guards with spears stood, all raising their spears and pointing outwards.
On the other hand, these Arab infantry were so poor that they could only wear leather armor, and some did not even have leather armor. A group of infantry from the south came to attack. Facing the hedgehog-like formation of spears, they were already frightened and fearful even before they fought.
Spear versus spear.
The Datong Army cooperated tacitly, and the Arab soldiers fought on their own. Not to mention, the long spears of the Arab soldiers were unable to penetrate the armor of the Datong Army. But the Datong Army's spears could be said to be piercing the flesh.
Blood.
At the moment of the battle, the Arab soldiers showed signs of collapse.
Zaid personally led the cavalry and rushed towards the flank of the Datong Army. He believed in the power of the cavalry. The enemies in front of him were all infantry, and they would definitely be frightened and flee.
But in the face of the cavalry charge, the Datong army remained motionless, all waiting in place with their spears raised.
"Bang bang bang!"
The Huotong guards hiding in the formation finally opened fire.
What the hell?
Although Zaid did not have a musketeer, he knew what was going on with the matchlocks. With such a dense formation and hidden in the military formation, it was impossible for the matchlocks to be fired. Moreover, he had just observed that the enemy's musketeers were not firing at all.
There was no match rope laid.
The matchlock gun does need enough space, but the flintlock gun does not.
The Arab cavalry in the front row suddenly fell on their backs.
After finally getting close, facing the numerous spears, the war horses automatically chose to brake. Even smart horses are afraid of death and cannot charge directly at the spears or bayonets. This is also the main reason why the infantry's hollow formation can deal with the cavalry.
"kill!"
Three hundred plate-armored guards crossed the spear formation with their war hammers in hand.
The nearly collapsed Arab infantry subconsciously stabbed these monsters. Some of the plate-armored guards were knocked down and struggled to get up. They looked embarrassed but were actually uninjured.
More plate-armored guards stepped forward among countless spears, swinging their war hammers, one after another.
"Run!"
Seeing that the situation was not good, Zeid led his cavalry to flee, turned around and ran away in the narrow street. He could not even care about his wife, children and children. The enemies in front of him were too terrifying, so he had better escape from the city with his cavalry first.
Without any need for support from friendly forces outside the city, the Datong Army that entered the city had already achieved a decisive victory.
At this moment, a thousand navy soldiers were outside the east city, a thousand navy soldiers were outside the west city, and sentries were set up on all sides to observe the situation.
"woo woo woo woo!"
The sentinels in the north blew their horns.
Lu Tianxiang suddenly became energetic, raised his sword and shouted: "Follow me to kill the enemy!"
The imperial concubine, with only about twenty cavalry, went to chase and kill more than two hundred Arab cavalry.