I was the Queen of Persia

Page 23

On the vast Shihanna Plain, two armies, one red and one brown, stood in formation facing each other, and the dust and sand they swirled exuded a chilling aura.

At noon, the sun was high in the sky, and the dazzling sunlight shining from south to north made the armor and helmets of the army gleam with a bright iron light.

The time to attack has come.

"clang--"

Shahzani drew his bull-headed warhammer, his gaze blazing as he pointed it at the Karakhanid central army, and said firmly, "Attack."

In an instant, thousands of boots and iron hooves trampled the hard sand, making a deafening sound, like an earthquake, and carrying clouds of dust, rushing towards the enemy in an orderly and determined manner.

The sounds of war drums, bugles, and suonas echoed across the plains.

……

Karakhanid Central Army.

The Subash special forces member stood beneath the nine-branched pine banner, watching the crimson legion sweep across the land opposite him, his brow furrowed with solemnity and ruthlessness. Behind him, hundreds of fully armored Ghulam guards stood ready, their expressions tense and vigilant.

"The Samanid army has launched an attack, and their formation is surprisingly large. How should we respond?" a lieutenant asked.

Subash immediately ordered, "Pass down the order: have the vanguard commander Musa Aybek lead 4 troops to intercept their attack, and then have the troops on both sides outflank them!"

The order was quickly relayed. The Karakhanid army also immediately began its intensive deployment and mobilization.

……

Horse archers formed a circular battle formation, galloping and exchanging fire; heavy cavalry formed an assault formation, preparing to strike the enemy lines with an iron onslaught; light cavalry patrolled the flanks of the heavy cavalry, assisting and coordinating the attack; and infantry followed closely behind the cavalry formation to prevent any separation between the different troop types.

The two armies clashed quickly, and the red and brown soldiers were already locked in a fierce battle.

While directing the attack, Shahzani moved the field command post according to the progress of the entire army. At this time, she led the palace guards to a high slope in the center of the battlefield to better observe the battle situation.

Looking around, the Karakhanid army was flanking and closing in in a crescent formation. Shahzani knew that he had to break through the Subash Special Forces' central army before they could completely encircle them.

She ordered Bahraim's left wing and Hoslu's right wing to focus all their efforts on resisting the enemy's flanking attacks. Meanwhile, her own central wing was to concentrate its superior forces to attack the enemy's center.

The fierce fighting continues.

Shahzani, however, vaguely sensed that the troops' advance seemed to have slowed down considerably.

"Sadar, enemy general Musa Aybek has deployed his troops at the front, and our vanguard's advance has been stalled!" a commander-in-chief reported.

"Oh, so we've encountered an obstacle after all?" Shahzani observed the direction the officer was pointing.

This Karakhanid general named Musa Aybek did indeed possess some skill. His troops were mainly composed of a large number of infantrymen recruited from towns and cities, who used weapons such as spears, shields, and bows and arrows.

These infantrymen, forming a defensive line, primarily came from cities and regions under the control of the Karakhanid Khanate, such as Balasagun, Baishuihu City, Uzgan, Osh, and Talas. They possessed a certain level of military skill and were not the pathetic cannon fodder of hastily conscripted militia. Their stable defensive formations could effectively withstand enemy attacks for a considerable period.

If the junior officers in charge of command also possess a certain level of control and coordination skills, then their defensive formation would likely be even stronger.

Shahzani then looked to the flanks. Although the troops of Bahraim and Hoslu had thwarted the enemy's attempt to encircle them from both sides, if the battle continued in this stalemate, they would probably be forced into a passive position sooner or later.

"No, we still need to adjust our tactics and break the deadlock," Shahzani thought to herself.

Although maintaining the status quo and launching a hard attack on the enemy's positions could eventually lead to progress, it would mean more casualties among officers and soldiers, which was unacceptable to Shahzani.

One of her military tenets was to achieve the greatest results at the lowest cost.

She immediately ordered the troops charging into the enemy lines to regroup, and at the same time, she deployed the light and heavy cavalry units of the central army to the flanks of the army.

The new tactical plan was quickly issued.

Shahzani first used her troop formations to advance along the front line, engaging Musa Aybek's troop formations head-on and wearing them down. At the same time, large numbers of Khorasan heavy cavalry and Dehgan cavalry deployed on both flanks quickly outflanked and attacked, constantly tearing apart the relatively weak flanks of Musa Aybek's army.

On the macro battlefield, didn't your Karakhanid army want to use flanking maneuvers to trap me? Fine, on the local front, I'll use the same tactics against you, and we'll see whose army has the stronger execution capability.

It was clear that Shahzani's troops were superior. In particular, the newly unlocked talent [Ardashir's Martial Arts] had effectively enhanced the control, command, and adaptability of the junior officers, greatly benefiting the entire army.

Shahzani's cavalry charged and tore at the enemy from both sides, while the infantry in formation at the front advanced steadily, with no gaps between the ranks.

After an hour of fierce fighting, Musa Aybek's army gradually collapsed.

Chapter 48 The Battle of Shihanna (3)

Under Shahzani's relentless three-pronged attack, Musa Aybek's army finally suffered a significant collapse.

The Karakhanid soldiers broke away from their ranks and retreated hastily, their formations colliding and jostling each other, severely weakening their discipline.

"Damn cowards! Go back! You have disgraced the bravery of the Turkic warriors! You have disgraced the name of Avrashiyab!" Musa Aybek was furious. He brandished his scimitar and slashed at the deserters, forcibly maintaining order in the army formation.

However, his military might was already at its last gasp.

Shahzani had already discovered this Karakhanid general. She knew very well that if this vanguard commander were killed or captured alive, the morale of the Karakhanid army would suffer an even heavier blow.

"Palace guards, heed my command!" she shouted, brandishing her bull-headed warhammer. "Charge with me and kill that Turan (Turkic) leader!"

"Charge! Hu Da protects us! The glory of Iran shines upon us!" Immediately following was the steely charge of the female guards of the Samanid court.

Seeing this, Musa Aybek also let out an angry battle cry, and then led his Ghulam personal guards to meet Shahzani's attack.

The sounds of even more intense fighting and killing continued unabated.

Shahzani, wielding her bull-headed warhammer, charged into the Karakhanid army like Rustam charging into the White Demon's lair. She fought her way through, unstoppable, quickly felling many Karakhanid cavalry. Soon she reached Musa Aybek.

Musa Aybek was no ordinary man either. He raised his armor-piercing scimitar and fought back fiercely, cutting down several palace guards while also blocking several deadly attacks from Shahzani.

But he was ultimately slightly inferior.

Shahzani's cavalry charged forward, launching a fierce attack. With a muffled thud, Musa Aybek's helmet instantly collapsed, and he fell heavily off his horse.

“Crack—!”

Shahzani beheaded Musa Aybek and nailed his head to the spear flag, guiding the ever-victorious Saman army to continue their charge.

Karakhanid Central Army.

Subash, watching his routed troops retreating step by step, was utterly shocked. He had never imagined that his most valiant vanguard commander would be no match for Shahzani's Saman army.

He knew very well that once Shahzani defeated Musa Aybek's army, his next target would be his own troops.

His anxiety was at its peak; large beads of sweat rolled down from his helmet, and his warhorse seemed to sense its master's agitation, constantly rearing up and neighing.

"No! We can't let these Persians succeed, or what will become of the dignity of our Turkic warriors? I still have the elite Ghulam private army at my disposal, let them turn the tide!"

Although Subash was quite shocked by the fighting performance of the Saman army, the remaining military spirit in his bones still kept him fighting.

So he gritted his teeth, brandished his sword, and ordered all the central army troops to press forward and withstand Shahzani's offensive.

The iron cavalry charged fiercely, steel weapons clashed and collided, and the soldiers' fierce battle cries echoed throughout the battlefield.

Shahzani commanded the Central Army Corps, steadily suppressing the Subash Special Service's central force. Despite having the advantage and high morale, the enemy was, after all, the personal guard of their commander-in-chief, making the battle quite arduous. She understood that against such a still-strong and stubbornly resisting opponent, she should prioritize a steady and step-by-step strategy, rather than being too hasty in seeking victory.

at this time.

She heard the sound of Persian bugles guiding the attack coming from the left flank of the army. Looking back, she saw countless red Samanian banners rapidly converging on her side.

"She truly is my bravest and most valiant sister." Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

It turned out that Bahramu, who commanded the left wing of the army, had completely routed the opposing Karakhanid army. At this moment, she was reorganizing her troops and formations to support Shahzani's central offensive.

As a result, the central and left wings of the Saman army quickly converged, forming a pincer movement that directly exposed the weakest flank of the Karakhan's central army.

Steel hammers and battle axes shattered the heavy armor of the warriors, and spears, propelled by the force of charging warhorses, pierced through their bodies. The splattering blood stained the red robes of the Saman warriors even more crimson.

Despite being brave and skilled warriors, the central guards and Ghulam's personal guards of the Subash Special Service gradually lost their will to fight under the two-pronged attack of Shahzani Saman's army, and their casualties continued to rise.

Shahzani's fighting spirit intensified; she led her soldiers in a fiercer charge, constantly wielding her steel mace and reaping the lives of Karakhanid soldiers.

The Karakhanid central army gradually crumbled under this fierce offensive. Their well-organized battle formation quickly collapsed, and the soldiers scrambled to flee the battlefield. Meanwhile, Subash, the commander-in-chief, had already fled with several hundred of Ghulam's trusted guards.

The two Samanian armies joined forces.

"Well done, Bahramu. You truly rival the goddess of war in Guldaffard, crushing the enemy's flank in such a short time!"

Shahzani looked at the beautiful and valiant female warrior under her command with delight. She knew that without Bahramu's combined forces, it would have been difficult to break through the Karakhanid central army's defenses in such a short time.

That was a brilliantly fought battle!

"Oh, no, no, it's all thanks to the sisters' excellent tactical arrangements that Holmozd was able to grant us victory, haha."

Bahraim responded with a smile. At this moment, her respect for Shahzani undoubtedly grew even stronger.

After the two sisters boasted to each other for a while, they immediately reorganized their troops, deployed their battle formation, and prepared to reinforce the right-wing legion commanded by Hosslu.

Shahzani did not send his main force to relentlessly pursue the fleeing enemy troops, but instead dispatched some highly mobile cavalry units to chase them down and expand the gains.

……

Right flank of the battlefield.

The legion commanded by Hoslu was engaged in a fierce battle with the Karakhanid army on this side. The fighting was extremely intense, with the red and brown armies locked in a stalemate, unable to gain the upper hand. The battlefield was littered with corpses and rivers of blood.

Hossil had already been shot in the thigh with an arrow.

She was wearing a short, Persian-style heavy armor without a skirt. A sharp arrowhead struck her outside thigh, drawing blood. Fortunately, the strong flexibility of her woven military trousers prevented the arrow from penetrating too deeply, largely avoiding the injury caused by embedded barbs.

Despite being wounded, Hoslu, empowered by the strong will given to her by Shahzani, resolutely commanded her army, pressing forward relentlessly in an attempt to completely crush the remaining enemy forces.

Chapter 49 The Divine Physician Ibn Sina

The Samanid army, commanded by Hoslu, fought with remarkable determination; the remaining Karakhanid forces also resisted fiercely. Ironclad weapons clashed, warhorses galloped, arrows streaked across the sky, and blood stained the air amidst the swirling sandstorm.

Just as the battle had reached its climax, suddenly the sound of suonas and war drums filled the air from the flanks of the army, and countless Saman army battle flags were raised high in the sky as a massive reinforcement army rolled in.

It is clear that under Shahzani's command, the Central Army and the Left Wing Army have completed their redeployment and are now fully supporting the Right Wing Army, which is fighting a tough battle.

The situation in the battle has been completely reversed.

The Samanid army encircled and surrounded the Karakhanid forces from three directions, and with the advantage of its large troop concentration, it completely crushed the resistance of the remaining Karakhanid troops. Shahzani decisively issued the order to annihilate them, and the Samanid army, which fought with increasing ferocity, immediately surrounded the Karakhanid army, cutting off their retreat route to Shihanna, leaving only a narrow "escape exit" in the direction of the Gissar Mountains.

The remaining Karakhanid army completely collapsed, and the soldiers fled in panic. Large quantities of battle flags, supplies, weapons, tents, and dead and wounded soldiers were abandoned on the battlefield. Under the blood-red setting sun, the entire plain was in ruins.

Post-war statistics show that the Karakhanid army suffered 2 dead, 6 surrendered, and the rest of the soldiers scattered; while the Shahzani Saman army suffered fewer than 5000 casualties.

The 15-strong army of the Karakhanid Dynasty assembled on the Shihanna Plain has been annihilated. The Battle of Shihanna not only signifies that Shahzani has acquired the ability to conduct large-scale group operations and annihilate enemy heavy forces, but also declares that the usable troops in the southern provinces and counties of the Karakhanid regime have been annihilated or reorganized.

……

After the battle, the Samanid army collected supplies, cleared and packed up the corpses, and took over the cities and villages in their territory.

"That was a great victory, Hoslu! Oh, you're injured?" Shahzani rode up and looked surprised when he saw the bruises on her thigh.

"A mere minor injury, nothing to worry about! As a warrior of God and Iran, how could I fear bloodshed and sacrifice?" Hoslu said nonchalantly.

However, her pale face and the beads of sweat on her forehead indicated that her injuries were not minor.

Shahzani decisively ordered her to rest immediately and receive medical treatment, temporarily handing over her military duties to other officers. As the supreme commander of the army, Shahzani did not want to lose an important commander.

Hoslu casually claimed she could hold on, but was sternly reprimanded by Shahzani. Shahzani then immediately arranged for the army medics to treat her and provided her with a separate rest tent.

The medics acted swiftly. They carried Hoslu to the location on a stretcher, deftly cut the arrow shaft, cut open her trousers, removed the arrowhead with sterilized tweezers, cleaned up the blood clots, and applied medicine...

During a break from the military doctors' busy work.

Shahzani was also very uneasy, pacing back and forth outside the tent. As a commander well-versed in weaponry, she could tell that the arrow was very powerful, enough to damage arteries and bones.

At this time.

"Sardar, we have bad news to report." Several army doctors, covered in sweat, hurried out of the tent, their faces full of anxiety.

“Speak,” Shahzani gestured.

"General Hossil's injury has stopped, but her thigh may not be saved. There's nothing we can do about it; we can only rely on God's blessing!" the military doctor sighed.

"So badly injured?" Shahzani asked tentatively.

"After General Hosselu was shot, she continued to lead her troops into battle despite her injury, delaying the best time for treatment and thus aggravating her condition. Moreover, the archer who shot her was also a very skilled archer; the arrow had already torn through flesh and bone. If we had delayed any longer, even God might have been helpless!" the military doctor said with a heavy heart.

Shahzani felt uneasy upon hearing this. She knew that Hoslu was a brave and loyal subordinate who was also skilled in commanding troops. She did not want Hoslu to become a cripple like "Lame-Hau Timur".

Furthermore, she held a firm belief that she could find a way to help Hossloo overcome her difficulties.

Just then, a Zoroastrian medic in front of him suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

“Sadar, I’ve heard that the famous physician Ibn Sina is currently traveling in Shikhana. Perhaps we could ask him to come and treat us,” said the Zoroastrian military doctor.

This is undoubtedly excellent news.

As a prominent figure familiar with Iranian history, he naturally knew of Ibn Sina's great reputation.

Ibn Sina, also known as Avicenna, was the most accomplished Persian physician during the golden age of Islamic scholarship in the 9th to 12th centuries. Chronologically, Ibn Sina was only in his early twenties at this time, yet he was already a highly skilled healer.

Shahzani was delighted by this unexpected good news and immediately dispatched her soldiers into the city to find the physician. Of course, before they left, she repeatedly instructed her subordinates to respect these knowledgeable intellectuals.