Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 320 Erzurum, a river of blood!
The testimony can be transliterated as Shahadah, also known as the Islamic Statement.

In the Islamic faith, testimony is the dividing line between belief and disbelief.

According to most Islamic jurists, whoever verbally recites the testimony is a Muslim and will have corresponding Sharia implementation.

In the Abu Hamzah Sumari prayer, Imam Sajjad believes that even if one only recites the testimony verbally, even if one does not acknowledge it in one's heart, it is enough to protect a person from harm.

It can be said that testimony is so important that it is enough to clearly distinguish between friends and enemies.

But at the same time, the threshold is so low that it is enough for many people to mix in and enhance its momentum.

When all the participants recited Gellis' testimony together, they achieved an effect similar to the blood oath in ancient China.

"I bear witness that there is no god but Allah. And I bear witness that Qairis is the servant and messenger of Allah!"

"He is Elsa's younger brother. He died for Elsa a thousand years ago. He knows secrets that we don't know. Now he will lead us to build a new ark!"

“That ark is the newborn kingdom, it belongs to the people, it will rise from the ashes, like a new dawn that will surely come and illuminate all nations.”

After everyone finished reciting in unison, they looked at each other with much more affectionate eyes.

In other words, from now on, they are in the same boat.

Before the current crisis in Rom Sultanate is resolved, everyone present here will prosper together and suffer together, and no one has any way out.

Only under Garys' leadership could they perhaps find a way out and survive safely.

Many times, such a ceremony is indeed necessary. No matter how urgent the time is, this kind of behavior to boost morale and change concepts must be done.

Of course, after completing this step, Gailis did not immediately lead the people in the camp to attack the Sultan's residence.

Instead, he simply described his future plans to them so that they could understand Garys's ideas.

First of all, it should be emphasized that the Turks present here still enjoy the right to graze on this land.

This is the inseparable interest of the Turkic tribes. At the same time, the grasslands must be redivided, and the migration route that is most in line with the truth must be planned to the greatest extent possible according to the knowledge of God.

Secondly, each tribe will begin to establish settlements, thereby reducing the various troubles of nomadic life.

Gellis will draw doctors, builders, farmers... a series of technical personnel from Antioch to help these tribes complete the construction of settlements.

It is not only necessary to increase the output of farmland, but also to ensure that livestock are productive and the number of herds of each tribe can be doubled.

Once the settlements are established, a grassroots autonomous structure will be established based on the religious system and in line with Muslim traditions.

In Jerusalem, there are already many jurists who originally belonged to the Hanafi school. Now they have recognized the status of Gairis and can be sent here to build new mosques.

In addition, at a high level, judicial and political powers must be separated to facilitate the management of non-Muslim religious believers in the new country.

Ultimately, according to Gelis's goal, a new country with separation of church and state, tolerance of religion, protection of private property, and encouragement of production reforms is to be built near Erzurum.

Since the state would no longer be subject to the authority of the Sultan of Rum, the rights of tax farmers would be abolished locally.

Overall, both the tax rate and the number of personnel drafted for service will be reduced compared to before.

It can benefit the entire ruling area of ​​the former Sartuki Bey Dynasty.

Although this future would theoretically slightly undermine the privileges of the Turkic tribes present, in the face of a life-and-death crisis, their priority is still their own survival.

Moreover, the technical assistance promised by Gellis, as well as the regular trade exchanges, can make up for the tribe's own losses.

Then, during the period of developing productivity, the Turkic tribes faced a shortage of supplies and had to go out to plunder.

Garys also gave an answer.

As Jerusalem is currently facing a war crisis, it is currently competing with Egypt.

Therefore, the Kingdom of Jerusalem could provide a large number of mercenary positions.

After listening to Garys' description, the faces of the representatives of various Turkic tribes present all looked much better.

If before, Garys only showed them the chance to survive, then now Garys told them how good their life could be in the future.

This is no longer just hope in a desperate situation, but a bright future is waiting for them.

As long as I can survive today, everything will be fine...

With Garys's actions, the morale of everyone in the conference room visibly increased.

Osman, one of the organizers of the meeting, also spoke up at this time to summarize: "Everyone, go back and prepare for the propaganda and mobilization! We don't have much time."

"I don't understand any other great principles. I only know that if we lose it's rebellion, and if we win it's liberation!"

"Yes!"

……

The current Sultan Suleiman II of Rum was breathing heavily, feeling panicked. He realized that he was in a dangerous situation.

As the son of Kilij Arslan II, Suleiman II has a much sharper sense of crisis than ordinary people.

After all, his father is too abstract.

Kilij Arslan II's achievements in his life were actually quite good. Not only did he seize a large tract of land from the Eastern Empire, he also reached a peace agreement with the Eastern Empire.

Because of this timeline, Barbarossa did not choose to cross Anatolia by land, and he also avoided the embarrassment of having his capital captured by Barbarossa.

However, due to certain family concepts, and the fact that Kilij Arslan II was suffering from paralysis and began to feel tired of life.

So he divided his kingdom among his eleven sons…

Then, a round of Anatolian Roma chicken-eating competition officially began, during which Kilij Arslan II himself became a victim of the power struggle.

In the end, Suleiman II won the chicken-eating competition and emerged from his brothers.

As the winner of the chicken-eating contest, Suleiman the Magnificent naturally has something extraordinary about him.

For example, he not only arranged a day and night shift system for the prison where Aladdin Bey was imprisoned, but also prepared people to patrol at different times and report the situation to him personally in secret.

Therefore, before dawn, he was awakened from his bed by his own attendant and informed of the inhumane massacre near the dungeon.

Suleiman II, who was still drowsy, woke up instantly when he heard the news of Aladdin's escape.

"You mean, those people are dead?!"

"Yes, yes, sir. All of them had their necks cut or their heads cut off. According to the investigation of the people around them, none of them heard any strange noises." "Then, how many people are there?"

"Eighteen people."

Suleiman II gasped. Eighteen people! Eighteen people! They just disappeared without a sound?

Then the person who was rescued was Aladdin Bey, the person he was most worried about.

It is conceivable that it won't take long before the Bey will organize the people in Erzurum to launch an attack on himself!

Even if they didn't come to attack directly, they could seize the city gate and let the Georgian troops outside the city enter.

What should we do now?

Even though the Sultan still has thousands of garrison troops at his disposal, he has the upper hand in the city.

On the contrary, since the city of Erzurum is the old nest of Aladdin Bey for generations, the relationship between him and Aladdin Bey is like fighting a wolf with a stick - he is afraid of both ends!

Thinking that he was in danger, Sultan Suleiman acted decisively and asked the attendant who brought the news to mobilize his guards to strengthen the defense of the Sultan's residence.

He then sent messengers to inform the emirs of some of his trustworthy troops in the city, asking them to immediately encircle and wipe out Aladdin Bey's direct troops.

He no longer cared whether the civil unrest in the city would provide the Georgians with an opportunity to attack the city, but was eager to nip the danger in the bud.

Not only that, after thinking for a long time, Sultan Suleiman decided to grit his teeth, hurriedly packed his things, asked his attendants to find ordinary people's clothes for him, and prepared to leave the city.

Now the Georgian troops were surrounded on three sides but one was missing, so they left the western part open and did not surround the city, deliberately letting the Turks in the city escape.

After all, the Georgians just wanted to take the city as soon as possible and had no intention of fighting to the death with the Turks here.

……

In the autumn, September, in the first half of the night in Erzurum, only gloomy clouds blocked the bright moon.

And when the dawn is about to come, it is the darkest and gloomiest moment before the dawn.

The drizzle fell on the city of Erzurum like needles and threads.

The rain poured down with the cold air from the plateau, forming convection with the dry wind blowing from Mount Ararat in the distance, hitting people's faces and making pedestrians on the road shiver.

The damp fog poured into the arcades of the Grand Bazaar, swallowing up the frescoes of ancient saints on the walls in the night.

The city, once a Christian city, has now become the territory of the Turks.

Since the occupation of Erzurum by Sultan Suleiman II, the soldiers and civilians in the city have been like birds in a cage, with a complete curfew at night. However, tonight was unusual - the inner city gates that should have been closed were pushed open in the drizzle.

With a thunder, the rain got heavier.

Hundreds of heavily armored guards, who were originally Aladdin Bey's guards, filed into the city through the open gate. The sounds of armor colliding and boots stepping on water echoed in the streets.

This army is small in number, and there are as many as 3,000 Sudanese troops left in the city. However, tonight, with the opening of the inner city, the balance of victory and defeat is quietly tilting.

"Atabeg, thanks to your cooperation, the Sultan never thought that you would stand on our side!"

Osman, walking in the team, communicated with the person who opened the city gate under the protection of the soldiers beside him.

The affairs of the Sultanate of Rum are so complicated. You are in me and I am in you.

Aladdin Bey was imprisoned defenselessly because of the betrayal of his close ones. There were also many people with evil intentions around Sultan Suleiman.

After all, you have to know that Suleiman II fought his way out from among his ten brothers, and the troops under his command were a mixed bag.

With the collaboration of people like Gairis and Osman, a net much bigger than Suleiman had expected has been cast over him.

Atabeg didn't exchange pleasantries for too long. He just looked at the sky and whispered, "Let's move. The rain won't last long. We must make a quick decision."

Not only in the inner city, the gate was suddenly opened in another military camp.

A group of nobles and officials stationed here were enjoying a banquet.

Although the city is now surrounded by a large Georgian army, for many people, they just have to live one day at a time.

Even if you are going to die tomorrow, you can still sing, ride, and dance today, and live a life of drunkenness and dreams.

The curfew established by Sultan Suleiman is naturally a strong restraint for ordinary people, but it seems to be ineffective when facing the emirs, a group second only to the Sultan.

Especially in the second half of the night, when it is almost dawn, the Sultan is fast asleep and will not come out to check on them. This is the best time for them to relieve the stress in their hearts.

It was at this moment that the leading Emir toasted everyone on the field.

Outside the hall, a messenger suddenly rushed in.

Before the emir could explode, he heard the man shouting, "Emir Ilhaz! It's bad! It's bad! Aladdin Bey has escaped! Now the Sultan urgently orders you to organize people and start blocking the city streets!"

The wine glass in Ilhaz's hand trembled and his face turned pale.

It was at this time, in the darkness, weapons broke through the air, and screams mixed with the neighing of horses rang out!
Outside the house, blood was splattered all over the cobblestone streets, and many soldiers, riding horses and holding swords, rushed into the camp!

A bloody battle is breaking out.

Faced with this critical moment, Ilhaz was so panicked that he had no energy to organize the troops in his camp to resist the enemy's attack.

They had no way of telling how many people were attacking them, and naturally they had no ability to allocate manpower to impose martial law in the city of Erzurum.

And there is another location in the city.

After realizing that the emirs under his command were unreliable and Erzurum was Aladdin Bey's base.

Suleiman II abandoned the heavily guarded city lord's palace and turned around and began to move towards the west gate under the protection of dozens of his most trusted guards.

The sudden shouting and screaming in the distance confirmed his guess.

The kidnapping of Aladdin Bey was not an accident, but was premeditated.

Just when he was feeling lucky that he had dodged the attack.

As the city of Erzurum was about to become a river of blood, he saw a man in a robe standing at the crossroads at the end of the road, who seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

Behind that person, in the diffuse rain and fog, there seemed to be quite a few people standing there.

Obviously, Suleiman still had a bloody battle waiting for him before he could escape.

(End of this chapter)