Looking at the Seljuk troops passing by in formation, a sudden strong sense of frustration came to Seljuk Sultan Bakiyaruk who was watching the army.
Because compared to his father, even the Seljuk army at the end of the imperial civil war was in disgrace. Most of the soldiers only had a war horse and a set of cloth, with axes and spears in their hands. Even though
He was wearing armor, and the armor was already rusty.
The Turkic nobles and chiefs who were supposed to be the elite of the Seljuk army were also in poor condition. Many of them even wore old armor left by their fathers, and many more wore simplified armor—that is, only one set of breastplates.
Moreover, they also lacked followers. In the past, even the smallest nobles and chieftains had one or two fully armed companions to serve as followers, but now most of them are gone.
As for the Persians and Arabs who were used as cannon fodder, because they had escaped several fierce battles, the equipment and condition of these locals were actually much better than those of the Turks.
This made the Sultan very worried. Although the Seljuks were filled with Persian bureaucrats, the only people they could really rely on were the Turks. He knew very well that if they had to choose, they would probably still want the Caliph in Baghdad.
This is a manifestation of the decline of the empire. Over the years, the empire has been deteriorating day by day. Many courtiers and chiefs began to whisper and discuss whether the young sultan was cursed, which led to the decline of the empire.
For Bakiyaruk, the current situation facing the Seljuk Empire can be said to be extremely bad, and the situation has been heading in a bad direction.
Since the death of his father Malik Shah, the empire has experienced the rise of powerful officials, fratricide and invasion by foreign enemies. Round after round of disasters have devastated the empire, making it more and more tired.
The emirs in the west are still ignoring the Sudan. As for the east, the local lords are also ready to take action. Although they are still under control now, God knows what the future will be like.
Nowadays, what he, the Seljuk Sultan, really controls is Persia and Khorasan. As for the two rivers, due to the weakening of the empire over the years and the impact from Monomakh, many Turkic lords and officials in the two rivers lost their
The local people came to power, and the influence of the Abbasid Caliphate began to increase. This former puppet began to compete with the power of the Seljuk Sultan.
However, the caliph named Mustazr obviously did not want to overthrow the Seljuk Sultan. He did not make any radical measures, but only restored power cautiously and cautiously. Most of the time, he appealed to Muslim.
.The Lins fought against the pagans coming from the West.
But this seemed to be a greater threat to Baki Yaluk, because the caliph obviously planned to accumulate strength so that he could expel the Turks at once.
And just when Baki Yaluk was thinking about whether to break up and teach the Caliph a lesson and restore the Turkic power in Baghdad, two things happened.
One is relatively far from the empire, as the emirs of Syria encountered a comprehensive siege from the Crusaders, while the other is very close to the empire, as Monomakh has captured Mosul and is approaching Baghdad.
The combination of these two events has had a very strong impact in the Islamic world. People regard this as an all-out war between Christians and Muslims. Many people feel that their religion has been greatly threatened. In this way,
Under the circumstances, many jihadists began to spontaneously gather in Baghdad. No matter what, they must first protect the center of the Islamic world.
Caliph Mustazr took the opportunity to issue Jihad's order and expressed that he would persist in Baghdad until the last moment.
Against the background of the all-out Christian offensive, this declaration had a huge impact even in the Islamic world, which was already in ruins, and the caliphate's reputation also greatly increased.
Baki Yaluk is very dissatisfied with all this. If the script continues like this, the caliphate will escape their control sooner or later. This is unacceptable to Baki Yaluk, but even so, he must go to aid Baghdad.
The legitimacy of the Seljuk Sultan's status comes from the Abbasid Caliphate, which is the protection that the Turks can provide to the Islamic world. If Baghdad is not protected and Baghdad is completely lost, countless careerists and fanatical believers will have to
Take action.
Therefore, reluctantly, Bakiyaruk could only summon the Seljuq army to defend his caliphate, so that he was relieved that at least after this trip, the Turks could regain part of their power in Baghdad.
Just thinking that he was facing Monomach, Bakiyaluk felt that he had no confidence. He had seen Monomach's power with his own eyes. He had always been frustrated by this guy, and this time he could do it.
Defeat him?
To be honest, Bakyaruk didn't know, but what he had to do was to be done, and he couldn't escape it no matter what.
When Bakiyaruk was worrying about the future of the empire, under the famous Round City of Baghdad, Monomakh, the conqueror from the north, was looking at the city and sighing.
"God, this city is really magnificent. I never thought I would come face to face with such a magnificent city one day..."
As the capital of the Arab Empire, Baghdad has been built by dozens of generations of caliphs. This city is no less important than Constantinople, and today the caliphs are still the monarchs here. No matter how arrogant the Turkic tribes are, Baghdad
The authority remains unchanged.
"A huge city as difficult to conquer as Constantinople." Anton answered Monomach's words, "God knows when we can conquer it, and I heard that many fanatical pagans have entered the city recently.
Well, the next battle is probably not going to be easy."
"Whether it's easy to fight or not, it has little to do with us. After all, our goal from the beginning was not this round city."
Oleg continued, and he glanced at Anton unhappily. This guy really didn't know how to speak according to the occasion. As for Anton, he just shrugged, and then stood with Radko, who had always been taciturn.
Yes, the siege of the Round City of Baghdad was not about capturing the city from the beginning. The key lies in the various armies attracted by the city, such as the main force of the Seljuq Sultan. Monomakh has defeated them several times.
It's absolutely as good as this time.
However, he did not relax because of this, after all, the direction of the war was never easy to predict.
As long as the Seljuk Sultan's army is defeated outside Baghdad, the weak Abbasid Caliphate inside the city wall will naturally offer his loyalty, and it doesn't matter if he doesn't. Then he can just use starvation to solve the city, and destroy the city outside the city.
If the water conservancy facilities are destroyed, this huge city will soon run into problems.
For this reason, Monomakh summoned almost all his troops this time. The number of troops gathered under the city of Baghdad has reached 50,000, which is already the limit of his mobilization.
Since we want to attack the capital of the Islamic world, we naturally have to go big.
"Anton, Radko, go and complete your mission. I need to talk to my brother."
Monomakh suddenly said, and the two of them left here without saying anything, except that they took one last look at Oleg.
"Oleg, my brother, my kinsman, do you know why I want to attack Baghdad?"
Monomakh said faintly, with an indescribable melancholy in his tone. Oleg paused. He knew what Monomakh meant. He had already sensed some things, and then said what he said.
I thought, "I guess it has to be like this."
"Yes, it has to be so. Now I think back to when we first established our rule on this land. At that time, we only felt that all our actions were based on our own ideas. As a result, looking back now, it was because we were not
It is said that I am practicing my own will, but most of the time I am still being pushed.”
Monomacher's tone was full of bitterness. After recalling his military career in the south, his understanding of this fact became more and more profound and clear.
"Originally, our goal was just to earn a foundation here that would allow us to return to Russia, but in the end, we ended up building the Alexander Empire again. Tsk, at that time, I thought it was my own decision, but in the end
I found out that it was all the result of the people around us and our loyal subordinates adding fuel to the fire. So now I am stuck in the center of this whirlpool. I want to get out but find that I can’t get out. It’s all like gambling, hahaha.”
Oleg's answer to him was only silence. It's true that those who are obsessed with the authorities can see clearly. In fact, he had already seen through the whole thing in Trabzon. It was just inconvenient to say it. However, it would have no impact if he said it at that time. He was unconsciously slippery.
People who fall into the abyss will not notice that they are slipping into the abyss. Only when they are in the abyss can they suddenly wake up.
Seeing that Oleg didn't speak, Monomakh didn't say anything, but continued, "Looking back now, many things I did at that time were too rough. If not, we wouldn't be in such a predicament."
Silence, only silence followed, and there was still silence between the two Ruriks.
"No matter what, we must at least win next."
Monomach continued.
"Then what if we can't take it down? What if we lose?"
By some strange coincidence, Oleg said these words. It was not his style to ask such questions, but he finally asked them.
"If I am still alive at that time, then I will immediately gather all the troops that can be mustered at that time, and then attack north and attack Kiev. Even if I die, I will die on the way back home. Then Oleg, what will you do?
Come?"
Oleg did not speak, and upon seeing this, Monomakh also understood the choice of his relative. He did not comment on this, but continued to look at the Round City of Baghdad, thinking about the strategies and tactics that could be used next.