Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Abbas Mirza launched several more counterattacks, but with little success.

Shamir was still there, and even the number of Russian soldiers on the mountaintop was increasing.

"They also know how to protect the water source, but these soldiers are not good at fighting."

"Sir, what should we do next?"

"Control the high ground around Shiraz and bombard the city with artillery so that they will also know the consequences."

"What if we attack the mosque?"

“Gorchakov, that’s not a problem. I’ve got permission from the priests in Qom and it will be sent out ahead of schedule.”

Solovyov's point is quite simple: the current status of the Persian Shah is now highly questionable.

After the Russians redefined tax rates, resistance still existed, but it generally occurred in remote areas beyond the control of the Russian army.

The core area is relatively stable now.

Meanwhile, in the Persian Shah region, anti-tax uprisings were occurring around Shiraz, but because the Persian army was still stationed there, the resistance was merely a tickle.

After the Russian army arrived in Shiraz, the Persians in the area were different from those in the north. Because of Solovyov's appeasement policy after arriving in Tehran, there was not much trouble there.

The Persians in the south were still somewhat wary of the Russians, so there weren't many Persians providing intelligence in the area.

Another point is that there are almost no Christians here, so Solovyov certainly has no means of propaganda or intelligence.

Without any means of promotion, we had to create our own.

The purpose of bringing along Tatar archers was precisely for this reason.

He also hired people to make woodblock prints, and after the leaflets were printed, he ordered archers to fire arrows into the city.

The Persians hadn't seen this tactic in a long time; it was probably only during the reign of the terrifying Timur that so many Tatar cavalry were deployed.

The publicity effect was very obvious.

Now the Persians basically know that Solovyov is able to control these Tatars and is even considered merciful, not killing innocent people indiscriminately.

But what if he doesn't restrain these Tatars?

No one dared to gamble on this matter, and this time the elders of Qom did not stand on the Shah's side, but instead helped the infidels to persuade them to surrender.

The last time this scene appeared was during the battle between Muhammad Sultan, a goat from Khwarezm who loved sweets, and Genghis Khan.

In this situation, Abbas Mirza's only option if he didn't want to be surrounded was to leave Shiraz.

However, Solovyov brought a large number of Tatar cavalry, and once he retreated, he would be pursued and killed along the way, so the outcome would not be good.

After gathering his generals, Abbas Mirza went all out, ordering a small force to stay behind and defend the city while the main army withdrew from Shiraz overnight.

After the main force has retreated far enough, the garrison in the city can decide their own fate.

Although the Crown Prince has some ability and courage, it's not enough now.

If he had become the Shah long ago, he might not have been so brain-dead as to provoke the Russians twice, ultimately leading to Russia's invasion and the British's unwillingness to help them anymore.

A month had passed between the East India Company ships unloading the last batch of munitions at the southern port and Abbas Mirza's preparations for withdrawal.

Even with the delay in receiving news from the East India Company, they knew that the Persians had no chance this time.

It's better to cut your losses than to put all your eggs in one basket.

Some people just don't understand this principle.

Solovyov was outside the city. He was unaware that the enemy inside the city was about to retreat. It was only when a Tatar veteran rode up on horseback and broke into his tent that he was alerted.

"what happened?"

"Sir, it's a Tatar veteran who says he has an urgent military report."

"Let him in."

Solovyov still values ​​the opportunity. The battles have not been going well for the Russian army these past few days. Although they have destroyed several fortresses through tunnel blasting, further shrinking the area controlled by the Persian army, they do not have enough troops to surround the city. They will definitely leave it aside and let Abbas Mirza escape.

However, before the Persian prince decided to flee, Solovyov himself did not see any possibility of such an operation, and therefore he became somewhat complacent.

“Your Excellency Noyan, I am Esen Timur, a lowly old soldier from Kalmykia.”

"But your name is both Esen and Timur, so you must also be a Batel, right?"

"Yes, Your Excellency Noyan."

"Speak, what's going on?"

"The Persians wanted to run away; their horses and camels were moving, and the camels sounded like they were carrying heavy loads."

"So they're going to run away?"

“Your Excellency, this is the perfect opportunity to pursue us.”

"But we can't let Shiraz go, and the only way to pursue them is with the cavalry. Go back and pass arrows to the leaders, and tell them to take their bravest battalions and follow the Persians to ambush them, but don't get too caught up in the fighting, just harass them. I'm an infantryman, not a cavalry commander, and although I ride horses often, I'm not that skilled."

"But you are also a wise and brave Noyan, and we all know that you are very good at mobilizing troops."

"Alright then, you go back now. I will also send another Kuban Cossack to go with you. The goal is to rout the enemy, not to annihilate them on the spot. A stubborn enemy will cause us great losses."

"Yes, Your Excellency Noyan."

Solovyov was also sorting out his thoughts. This was definitely the case. Since the Persians wanted to run away, he would accompany them to the end.

The opportunity for a decisive battle has arrived. If the Persians had fled a few days later, the Kazakh cavalry and the Transoxiana conscripts who came from Central Asia to help would have arrived. At that time, there would have been an opportunity to completely encircle and annihilate the last Persian army within the city.

It has to be said that this is Abbas Mirza's last chance to escape.

While deploying troops, Solovyov also ordered the infantry and artillery to continue their fierce attack on Shiraz, and to prepare to blow up the tunnels that had been dug into the city walls.

The profits in Shiraz are not as plentiful as in Tehran or Isfahan.

He had never been interested in looting; however, if the Persians had controlled Baghdad, he might have been interested in intimidating the citizens of Baghdad.

As for the pursuing cavalry, Solovyov hadn't expected that he now had over 20,000 mobile cavalry, all of them fast-moving light cavalry, which would be most useful in a pursuit. "I hope they have a smooth journey."

"My lord, the Persians are about to flee, so we must take Shiraz."

“But the Shah of Persia is also on the run. Even though we have annihilated the Persian prince’s army, the Shah is still running, and we can’t catch up with him.”

"My lord, the Shah might also run to the island, then we won't be able to catch them."

"Huh? You think that Shah really would run off to an island like the Muhammad Sultan I told you about? Bahrain is already a semi-protectorate of the British, and there aren't many islands they can go to in the Indian Ocean."

Solovyov even considered Socotra, an island constantly surrounded by storms and rich in spices.

If he runs too far, even with his good relationship with the Sultan of Oman, he might not be able to catch up. Moreover, the Sultan of Oman is only obligated to protect his maritime supply lines. If this Shah runs to the edge of his territory, Solovyov is not confident because of the existence of desert tribes.

Therefore, his first consideration was how to capture Prince Abbas Mirza's army, and then he would search for the Shah.

What he didn't know was that Shah was indeed on an island at that moment.

Kish Island is considered a jewel in the Persian Gulf. In the past, only a few hundred people lived there, but now the Persian Shah and his court are there.

Having come this far, it's fortunate that the Russian fleet wasn't operating in the Persian Gulf at the time, allowing him to catch his breath.

However, coming here makes travel to and from the mainland less convenient, with only a small boat from the Shah regularly going to the coast to gather information.

"What has become of me now, God? Are you going to abandon me?"

"Your Majesty, God has not abandoned you."

That being said, everyone in the Persian court knew that the elders of Qom had sided with the pagans this time. This terrible devil, Satan's representative on earth, did not use bloodshed and terror, but rather sweet words and "seduction," which made the elders lose their minds. The Persian people were also unwilling to add the title of Shah to the name of Hutubai.

He was already in such dire straits, and given Shah's consistently unhealthy diet, his physical condition appeared to be extremely poor.

If a modern doctor saw him, he would probably think that he was on the verge of a stroke triggered by diabetes caused by overeating, and in that case, there would probably be no hope.

If there is any further stimulation, the situation will become very bad.

For example, Prince Abbas Mirza's army is currently being pursued by the Tatars.

The crown prince himself mounted his horse and urged the army to fight, displaying great bravery.

However, his long beard was too conspicuous, and he was also dressed in gorgeous clothes.

This led both the Cossacks and the Tatars to launch attacks on him, and both sides forgot the rule against prolonged battles.

This escalated into a chaotic battle, with the Tatars wanting to capture or kill the elegantly dressed Persian officials, and thus constantly raining arrows down on the area.

It was already 1830, and it was indeed rare for such a scene to still be playing out in Persia.

Abbas Mirza fought and retreated. He didn't have the same good fortune as Jalal ad-Din. Genghis Khan wanted to capture Jalal ad-Din alive, while there was a bounty on Abbas Mirza's head.

However, Jalal ad-Din's luck didn't end well; he was killed in the Kurdish mountains after the final rout.

Abbas Mirza had a relatively quick death. After his personal guards were scattered, he was caught in a melee with the Tatars. He was knocked off his horse by a Tatar officer, and how he died in the end is no longer important.

In short, he died.

Abbas Mirza never had the chance to sit on the Shah's throne in his lifetime, and died in battle on the road southeast of Shiraz to Abbas (Komburun).

After witnessing the death of the prince, the Persian ragtag troops dispersed, leaving only the prince's personal guards and the elite troops left behind by the Shah to put up a resistance for a while, but they were either killed or wounded in the end.

The battle was finally over. Prince Abbas's body was still intact, and the Tatars pulled it back on a cart to report their victory to Solovyov.

"Is this Prince Abbas Mirza?"

"Yes, sir. We couldn't bring him back alive for you, so we killed him and brought back his body intact for you to examine."

"He was a brave man, so let's bury him in Shiraz and have our engineers design a Persian-style tomb for him."

As for the news of Prince Abbas Mirza's death, when it reached Kish Island, the Shah himself could not bear the shock.

Although he still has many descendants, none of them are as capable as the crown prince.

He inherited his uncle's Shah throne as governor of Fars, but now he has lost even the territory he once ruled before ascending to the throne.

It seems that everything is over.

The Shah died that very night, and died quietly, and was buried on the island.

At this point, the Persian court had no choice but to let Muhammad Shah, the son of Abbas, succeed to the position of Shah. However, the coronation ceremony did not even include a throne for the Shah.

To save his life, the deceased Shah left his throne in Shiraz and did not bring it here.

Therefore, this throne also became Solovyov's spoils of war.

"What a magnificent throne, but it's useless. Send it back to Tehran. Also, we must report our victory to the Emperor; this letter must be delivered to St. Petersburg. Our remaining task is to continue south and control the coastline here."

Solovyov was very clear-headed; he wanted to control Persia. Now the clergy were on his side, and the peasants would not stage large-scale riots because of the reduced taxes.

The Persian king's palace has been cleaned up; the next step is to build the house according to his own vision.

Solovyov decided to convene a national assembly of Persia in Isfahan, not in Tehran.

Before that, he needed to head further south to eliminate the remaining enemies.

Then he learned of the Shah's death.

"He died at a really bad time; we couldn't even catch him."

"Sir, what should we do next?"

"Let's see what the new Shah is going to do. I actually hope these Turkmen run away. It's not good to have a hot potato in your hands. The local lords and the Khans in various places will all have thoughts of rebellion."

Once Solovyov made up his mind, he showed no intention of changing it.

As for the Persians, what would they likely use to rebel in the future?

Solovyov, however, would prefer a "landlord rebellion," which would make it easier for him to carry out his plan.

But the problem was that the British seemed to have come to their senses. Wellington, now Prime Minister, sent a letter to Nicholas asking how the Russian Tsar intended to deal with Persia. (End of Chapter)