I was the Queen of Persia

Page 79

A smug smile played on Sahinian's lips, but suddenly her beautiful eyes narrowed, and her voluptuous body revealed sharp, muscular lines. Her two strong thighs, like steel clamps, clamped down on Musayab's waist. With a swift movement, she flipped him over, pinning him beneath her, and her strong, steel-like hands instantly gripped his throat.

"Uh uh uh……"

Musayab's body stiffened, his face contorted with disbelief and terror, before he was overwhelmed by an intense feeling of suffocation, his face turning purplish-red, yet he couldn't open his mouth.

Click—crack—!

The sound of bones cracking rang out. Shahinian released his grip, and Musayab's head tilted to one side, his body slumped down, motionless.

"To spend a night of passion with a stunning beauty before dying is a fitting end." Sahimian glanced contemptuously at the corpse on the ground, then picked up his scimitar, and without putting on any clothes, got up and walked towards the outer tent.

Inside the main tent, the other "Persian dancers" were also entangled with several of the smaller leaders, engaging in tender yet deadly passion.

Sahimian charged into the tent with a knife, thus beginning the battle. The "Persian dancers" immediately transformed from alluring to fierce, using their powerful legs and arms to crush and kill the bandit leaders in front of them. They then seized weapons and engaged in a fierce battle.

The Musayab gang's camp was thrown into chaos in an instant.

Even without fighting in heavy armor, the Samanid female guards were still incredibly powerful. And when they dressed up as half-naked dancers and joined the battle, they added a lot of eroticism to the battlefield.

The war dancers twirled and swung their weapons with alluring grace, their sharp daggers gleaming coldly and deadly in the night, severing the throats of bandits and tearing apart the bodies of their henchmen. Blood splattered onto their lithe bodies, staining their bronze skin with crimson spots.

At the same time, shouts of killing could be heard outside the bandit camp.

It turned out that the Saman female warriors, still lurking in Piranshahr, had already rallied a considerable number of militia based on the intelligence they had gathered, and launched an attack. They commanded the militia in a fierce assault, breaking through the bandits' defenses and destroying the bandits' stronghold and camp.

With their leader Musayab and other key figures killed, Musayab's gang was unable to mount any significant resistance. Under attack from both inside and outside, the gang suffered heavy casualties and was routed.

After several hours of fierce fighting, most of the henchmen were killed, and the remaining ones knelt down and surrendered, thus ending Musayab's gang.

Sahimian recovered the loot stolen from the cave, and she ordered that part of the assets be used to appease the officials and people on the border, while the rest be used to send soldiers to the army.

She also freed the female slaves imprisoned in the cave and focused on winning over the captured Hamdan princess, Selim.

"God above! Who... are you?" Selim, witnessing the "Persian dancers'" astonishing killing record, became even more aware of Sahimian's extraordinary nature and tentatively asked.

"Are you willing to restore your country?" Sahini did not answer her question directly, but only smiled at her slightly, but the smile contained majesty.

“By Allah, it is a wish I will strive for my whole life… but… I don’t know who you are,” Selim said.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Sahinnian smiled. “I will take you to see my monarch.”

Selim hesitated, clenching her fists. She had lost everything and had no idea what her future or fate held. But she also knew that the Persian woman named Sahimian before her was the only force she could rely on at the moment.

After a fierce internal struggle, Selim finally agreed to Sahimian's conditions and went to meet the Persian monarch he had never met.

Shahini left some of her troops to stand by in Piranshahr and ordered them to train the local militia and strengthen border security. After all the arrangements were made, Shahini, accompanied by the Syrian princess, returned to Shahzani's camp to report.

……

Queen Shahzani's military camp in Azerbaijan Province.

Her Majesty the Queen recently met with envoys from several countries, including the Armenian Bagrat dynasty, Georgia, the Abkhazian Kingdom, and the Alan Kingdom.

Most of the kingdoms in the Caucasus region were Christian. For religious reasons, Shahzani specially adopted Christian etiquette when meeting with the envoys from various countries, and set up a temporary church in the camp, sending Nestorian Christian officers and soldiers accompanying the army to host and preside over the ceremony so that these Christians could pray.

Chapter 182 Funding the Syrian Restoration Army (1)

The mission of Armenia and other Christian kingdoms in the Caucasus to the Samanid dynasty served two purposes: first, to express friendly courtesy to this resurgent Persian-Islamic empire; and second, to test the strength and political attitude of this great Eastern power.

Shahzani guessed the purpose of their visit, so she warmly welcomed the Christian envoys and conveyed goodwill. Of course, Shahzani would not easily reveal her own political and military strengths to them.

At most, they could invite the other side to observe the military exercises of the various Samanid armies.

……

Sahini returned with news of the victory and introduced the rescued Princess Selim to Shahzani.

She secretly advised the Queen: "Winning over this Syrian princess and helping her restore Hamdan's regime can restrain the Caliph, the Rum, the Fatimids, and other forces on the flank, thereby relieving some of the pressure on the Samanid dynasty."

Shahzani highly praised the plan.

Despite their different religious sects and ethnic compositions, Iran and Syria, the Samanid dynasty and the Hamdan dynasty, can reach a consensus on their interests under the current political circumstances.

With the fall of the Hamdan dynasty, Princess Selim and her remaining forces sought to restore their kingdom, requiring the support of a powerful external regime. On the other hand, the Samanid dynasty was currently focused on consolidating the unity of Iran and had little influence over the distant Sham-Syria region, so it needed to support a relatively pro-Iranian force to counter Iran's enemies.

Both sides had their own needs, and they quickly reached an agreement.

More importantly, this plan can greatly improve Shahzani's "Arc of Resistance" strategic thinking and provide valuable combat experience for her elite Torchbearer brigade.

“Very well, I will take your advice, Shahini. Bring the princess of the Hamdan dynasty to an audience,” Shahzani said.

The female guard officer withdrew in response, and soon brought Selim into the military tent.

At first glance, Shahzani saw that the newcomer was a striking Sham-Levantine woman with a beautiful face and slender figure, like a cardamom from Aleppo and Damascus, but her eyes shone with a tenacious and indomitable light.

It was only then that Selim realized that she was meeting the legendary queen who had rebuilt the Samanid dynasty, and a feeling of admiration welled up in her heart. She quickly greeted Shahzani with the courtesy due to a nobleman.

“It is my honor, Your Majesty the Queen,” Selim said politely.

“No need for formalities, Your Highness, please have a seat.” Shahzani gestured for her to sit down.

After exchanging pleasantries among the Muslims, Shahzani got down to business. Since Salim only knew a little Persian and was not yet fluent enough to communicate, Shahzani used Arabic from the Sharm region throughout the conversation.

“Noble princess, it is truly regrettable that your country was destroyed by enemy invasion and betrayal by hypocrites within your own borders. I think you must have always longed to restore your homeland.”

“Yes. Just as you led the Samanid dynasty to revival, I also hope that my country can stand tall again.”

"That's a good belief, but how do you plan to restore your kingdom?"

"This... well, to be honest, Your Majesty, my mind is also blank. As you can see, I am penniless..."

Indeed, Selim currently has no soldiers, no food, and even her reputation and integrity were destroyed while she was in the hands of Musayab's gang. She only has the nominal title of Princess Hamdan. How can she possibly fulfill her grand dream?

Shahzani exploited this weakness: "I think it would be better if we could do this. I'll help you gather your scattered old troops, provide you with provisions and supplies, and you can train in actual combat under my protection. When the time is right, you can return to Sham to reclaim your territory. What do you think?"

“I, a destitute man from a fallen kingdom, am deeply grateful for your generous assistance. May God bless you with good fortune!” Selim kowtowed, “But…”

“But what?” Shahzani asked.

“As a sage once said, ‘A person in dire straits is like a counterfeit that everyone avoids at all costs; even if someone happens to acquire it, it will be disposed of as soon as possible.’ I do not understand why Your Majesty would be so generous to a person as down on his luck as me. I am filled with trepidation,” Selim said.

“Sometimes I sit on a saddle, sometimes I carry a saddle (like when fate is unkind),” Shahzani said half-jokingly. “It’s always good to make more friends. Who knows, one day when I fall on hard times, I might have to seek refuge in your court.”

She didn't discuss the complex geopolitical strategies, simply glossing over the topic.

Selim thanked the general again, and the chief officer in charge of internal affairs under General Shahzani summoned her and ordered her to arrange food and lodging for Selim, prepare clothing, grant her an official position and salary, and so on.

Through the coordination of local government officials, especially those in the border counties of Azerbaijan and Kurdistan, a large number of Syrians of the Shia Alawite faction came to join them. Clearly, most of them were remnants of the Hamdan dynasty.

Within a short period, Princess Selim had amassed over 3000 followers, with the rest likely on their way, enough to establish a sizable armed force. The Samanid dynasty allocated manpower and resources to train and fight under her command.

At this time, Shahzani was preparing to retake Zanjan. The troops participating in the siege had already reached the city walls and established numerous siege camps. Shahzani also incorporated Selim's Syrian Restoration Army into the fighting force and assigned her simple auxiliary siege tasks as a trial run.

The siege of Zanjan has begun.

The Samanid army deployed a variety of war machines, including gravity catapults, siege ladders, and rocket chariots. The collapse of the city walls exposed a huge breach, allowing the Samanid siege force to advance in formation. The defending Bai Yi troops were clearly outmatched and retreated steadily after a fierce battle.

Princess Selim led the Syrian Restoration Army into battle.

She herself only knew some simple sword skills, and her physique was far from robust, making it difficult for her to wear heavy armor and charge into battle like battlefield goddesses such as Shahzani and Sahini.

However, her strength and determination were enough to enable her to command the army and soldiers, and she was also ruthless in dealing with the Bai Yi people, who were also Shia Muslims.

Under her command, Syrian infantry assisted Saman's army in breaking through the defenses of the Bai Yi army and fulfilling their duties.

Zanjani fell into the hands of the Samanid dynasty.

The Saman army rewarded the officers and soldiers who participated in the battle, and also praised Selim's troops, rewarding the Syrian soldiers who had performed meritorious service with good food, money and good clothes to encourage their courage.

Chapter 183 Funding the Syrian Restoration Army (2)

Upon entering Zanjan, Shahzani, protected by Shahr's guards, received the adoration of the city's inhabitants. Meanwhile, the various Samanid armies, according to their established ranks, occupied government offices, communities, and mosques, taking over local grassroots governance.

Selim and many Syrians were fascinated by the grandeur of the Persian city.

Although Zanjan is just an ordinary little town, insignificant compared to the magnificent cities of Bukhara, Samarkand, Tus, Nishapur, and Isfahan, its towering Persian vaulted arches, massive domes, and intricate symmetrical Persian patterns exude a sense of solemnity befitting a centralized emperor, quite different from the decorations and layouts of other cities in the Sharm region.

Thanks to the conscription by the Samanid government, more Shia Syrians were sent to Serim's ranks, including former army officers and soldiers, farmers, tribal warriors, town artisans, Shia clerics, and others. Their arrival also increased the size of the Zionist army, bringing its strength to over 6000.

In the Battle of Zanjan, Shahzani was fairly satisfied with Selim's performance, but she knew that the Syrians were only experiencing war for the first time and needed more experience to develop into a fully capable fighting force. Moreover, their military strength, organization, training, and faith all needed to be improved; otherwise, they would not be able to accomplish their grand ambitions with their current weak forces.

One day, Shahzani summoned Selim, and the two discussed matters of political and military affairs.

“Your Highness, what do you think is most important for a battle-hardened army?” Shahzani suddenly asked.

"On the battlefield, the only way to defeat the enemy is to have more troops and better weapons," Selim replied without hesitation.

“No, no, no, that’s not how it is.” Shahzani shook her head with a smile. “The foundation of a victorious army’s victory often lies in its ‘mind’.”

Seeing Selim's still puzzled expression, Shahzani decided to let her experience it for herself.

At this moment, the male and female warriors in the Samanian army were holding a gathering and prayer meeting under the guidance of Khorami clerics accompanying the troops. This phenomenon is quite common in the armies of Islamic regimes. However, the Samanian army's accompanying missionary groups were quite different.

The biggest difference lies in the degree of organization. Few other Islamic countries have such a strict vertical clerical system as Iran, with clear hierarchical levels, well-defined powers, smooth communication, and a perfect integration of religious and political authority.

Under the influence of religious beliefs, the Saman soldiers were all brave, disciplined, and fearless of sacrifice. Some of the more steadfast warriors even regarded martyrdom as the noblest path to their end.

After all, Iran has established a relatively complete tradition of theocracy since the time of Ardashir Babak of the Sasanian dynasty, and has largely followed the habit of theocracy for centuries (although it was sometimes more secularized, it was ultimately theocracy in essence).

Integrating religion with the Persian "Shubi" ideology would undoubtedly be more conducive to enhancing cohesion.

These phenomena are indeed incredible for the coastal region of Sham, where commercial traditions are stronger and secularization is relatively higher.

But Shahzani still smiled and said, "What you see is only the surface."

Shahzani pointed out that the most crucial element for an army to unleash greater fighting power is its ideology. For example, her regime and army were guided by the Khorami school of Islam, a new religious sect formed after her vigorous Persianization reforms.

Selim adhered to the Alawite sect of Shia Islam, a sect shared by most of the former upper-class nobles of the Hamdan dynasty. For Selim and others, the doctrines of Khorami were clearly a form of "heresy."

In particular, within Horamitic doctrine, women are granted greater power to participate in political, military, and religious affairs, and can be on par with men in many areas, and even slightly surpass them in some areas.

This was an unimaginable situation for other Islamic sects at the time.

Shahzani didn't care: "Whether it's a 'heretic' or not is not important. What's important is that it benefits the country and the people. For that, you can simply compile your own scripture to arm the minds of your warriors. Throughout history, the development of various religions has followed this principle. The orthodox sect is not a 'good sect,' but a sect that is useful to the country and the people is. Muhammad rose to power and founded Islam based on the same logic, right?"

Selim ultimately lacked such a profound and broad perspective on the times, and under Shahzani's incessant "information bombardment" and incitement, he eventually accepted her logic.

Shahzani then led Selim on a tour of the daily lives of the Saman soldiers, which helped the Syrian princess gain even more insights.

Unlike other feudal armies, the Iranian Saman army trained by Shahzani was generally disciplined and orderly, never harming the people, and there were no known cases of wanton looting and massacres after the war.

Selim witnessed firsthand that after the city fell, a Samanian female cavalryman took a sheep from a local farmer without permission. When discovered, she was severely flogged by the Nassak officer in charge of enforcement, receiving no fewer than dozens of blows to the soles of her feet. The entire unit was then ordered to take this as a warning.

More importantly, the Samanid army used most of the spoils of war, except for a symbolic portion, for people's livelihood and public welfare. For example, they repaired city walls, renovated mosques, bazaars, bathhouses, irrigation facilities, expanded communities, etc., or used them as public assets for the army. These actions easily won the hearts of the people.

Having witnessed the splendor of the Saman army, Selim gained a clearer vision for the development of his own people.

She organized her more than 6000 men into six regiments, each with an Alawite priest as their spiritual advisor. She then selected 100 highly skilled, intelligent, brave, and devout Alawite girls to form a unit called the "Scorpions of Sham." This unit served as both her slave guard and her core force.

Shahzani was very satisfied and continued to allocate supplies, and sent officers and soldiers of the "Holy Fire Brigade" such as Shahini to garrison the area and train these Hamdan restoration troops according to local conditions.

The Sham region and Iran have different environments and resources, so it is impossible for the Sham region to establish a well-organized heavy cavalry group like Iran, nor can it support a large-scale combat corps for a long period of time.

Shahzani did not want Selim to copy it exactly, but the basic logic for building an army was roughly the same. As long as Selim grasped the logic and supplemented it with the actual national conditions, he would not have to worry about not being able to achieve victory.

Chapter 184 Battle of Ra'ibah - Tehran (1)

Winter of 1004 AD, the month of Azhar in the Persian calendar.

After several battles, Bai Yi's military strength had been greatly depleted. Shahzani then planned to annihilate Bai Yi's army and the main force of the Caliphate's army entrenched in the Rai-Tehran-Waramin area, in order to completely seize the initiative on the battlefield.

Shahzani's main force advanced eastward from Azerbaijan Province, reaching the outskirts of Qazvin; the Khoslu-Tahmina group moved westward from Semnan; and the Bahram group moved northward from Yazd, sweeping through the important towns of Isfahan and Kashan along the way, and reaching the holy city of Qom.

The three Samanian armies advanced in separate columns to encircle and surround the White-Israeli coalition forces in the Ra'i-Tehran region, setting the stage for a decisive battle that would determine the fate of the nation.

Shahzani's troops first marched to Qazvin, a crucial gateway to Rai Tehran Waram and an important military stronghold. However, faced with the Queen's Legion's superior military strength and weaponry, this isolated town was destined to hold out for only a short time.

Shahzani ordered his soldiers to set up a siege camp, but deliberately left a breach on the east side of the city.

The Samanid army transported timber from the nearby Alborz Mountains (Gazvin is located on the plains in front of the mountains), mobilized the people of nearby villages to participate in the transportation, and then the ordnance craftsmen of the Chinese engineering battalion began to build rocket tanks and other weapons, and launched an offensive step by step.

A dazzling fire dragon illuminated the sky, and violent explosions and bursts of fire rose and fell. The horn players on the camel's backs blew the suona and beat the war drums, while the command flags conveyed the signals for changes in the offensive and defensive formations.

Bai Yi's army could not withstand the attack. After two days and two nights of fighting, they abandoned the city and broke out through the east gate, retreating towards Rai and Tehran.

Shahzani did not rush to pursue the fleeing enemy, but instead ordered the entire army to rest briefly in Qazvin, acquire supplies, and consolidate power before setting off again.

At the same time, she assigned a special mission to the Hamdan Restoration Army under Selim's command:

"Between Qazvin and Rai, there is a military outpost called Nasrzad. Although the outpost is not heavily garrisoned, it is located right on a major transportation route, which could easily cause trouble for our troop deployment. You should immediately lead your troops to take this outpost and clear the obstacles."

This move was intended to further hone the Syrians' combat capabilities. Of course, Shahzani still had doubts about whether the Syrians could complete combat missions independently, so he also sent Shahini'an to lead the Torch Relay Brigade to provide support nearby.