N-A-A Page 56
Page 56
"With a swift stroke, the demon was decapitated."
……
Inspired and encouraged by the Queen, the Saman warriors seemed to have all their fatigue swept away, and their bodies were once again filled with strength. They shouted war slogans and pounded violently on the city gate.
Finally, with a loud bang, the heavy city gate was smashed open, and the Ghaznavid soldiers who were holding back the gate were scattered by the powerful impact.
"Forward!" Shahzani shouted, leading the charge into the fray.
"Speak!" a female soldier from Shaher grabbed an enemy soldier. "Where is your leader, Rajana?!"
“She…she just escaped back to the castle…” the Ghazni soldier stammered, pointing in a direction.
Seeing this, Shahzani immediately waved her hand to the squad of female guards: "Come with me!"
They rushed into the room of the mansion.
Shahzani kicked open the door with a bang and saw a female general standing in front of her: she was wearing the armor of a Ghaznik Nikolai officer and her helmet was adorned with a magnificent peacock feather.
"You are Rajana?" Shahzani pointed her warhammer, her beautiful eyes sharp.
Thinking that since the opponent was a high-ranking female general, there would inevitably be a fierce battle, she was prepared for a fierce fight.
But who knows.
"Your Majesty, the Queen, who is brave and invincible! Please forgive my lowly life!" The woman in front of him knelt down on the ground with a thud.
Chapter 124 Rajana's Trick
“Rajana, weren’t you resisting quite resolutely? Why are you surrendering before even engaging in battle?” Shahzani asked in a deep voice, still in a fighting stance.
She couldn't figure out what the enemy female general was up to, so it was wise to remain vigilant to guard against any sudden schemes or tricks.
"Your Majesty, I am not General Rajana!" the woman before her cried, kneeling, the hem of her wide armor drooping.
"Oh? Then who are you?" Shahzani's face remained gloomy.
"Your Majesty, I am a slave girl in the palace. General Rajana ordered me to put on her armor and dress in my clothes, and to dress up as her. I... I dared not disobey." The woman before him knelt on the ground, trembling like a leaf.
"Is this true?"
"It's true! Absolutely true!"
"Hmm... I see." Shahzani nodded, circling the woman and scrutinizing her warily for a while.
The female guards behind her were also armed and in combat stances, ready to respond to any emergencies.
suddenly.
Shahzani stopped in her tracks, pointed her warhammer, and glared angrily at them: "You're lying! Do you think such a despicable trick can fool a brave and resourceful Iranian warrior?!"
Her voice suddenly rose, becoming as loud as a lioness's roar, as if it would tear the dome of the house off.
"Ah! Your Majesty, with your wisdom and compassion, how could this servant dare to conceal the truth? Your Majesty, please judge with your impartiality and mercy!"
Splash splash splash splash—
The woman was so frightened that she became incoherent. She crawled to the queen's armored boots and desperately kowtowed and kissed the ground. Warm liquid gushed out from under her armored skirt and crotch, and the room was immediately filled with the smell of urine.
"What a disgrace to us women," several Saman female soldiers muttered involuntarily upon seeing the disheveled scene.
"Enough! Strip her of her armor and take her away!" Shahzani waved impatiently at the soldiers on either side.
Two Nassak military policemen immediately stepped forward and swiftly stripped off the woman's heavy armor and uniform, leaving her only in a pair of briefs to cover her private parts. A slender, untouched body was revealed to Shahzani.
“It seems she is indeed not Rajana,” Shahzani finally concluded.
First, the real Rajana wouldn't be so thin and frail that she couldn't support such a magnificent suit of armor; second, the real Rajana wouldn't be so cowardly and afraid of death.
It seems the real Rajana had already used a clever trick—a substitution to save the king—and escaped in disguise. Wasn't there a brief period of chaos during the fall of the city? Perhaps this Ghaznavid general used that brief moment to flee.
He ordered his soldiers to retreat and resist in the inner city, while secretly devising a plan to buy time for his own escape—a brilliant strategy of feigning weakness.
Nassak picked up the blanket, wrapped the female slave tightly around her body, then carried her on his back to the female prisoner-of-war camp behind the army.
The Saman soldiers searched the room again and found that Rajana had fled in a hurry and had not had time to take most of her jewelry, clothes and personal belongings with her.
A Samanian female soldier also found many private items in the hidden compartment of the alcove, including erotic picture books, objects for her own amusement, and love poems written to her by her suitors.
One of the letters was written to her by Mahmud, the ruler of Ghazneh, and it contained extensive details of their romantic affair, the explicitness of which even exceeded Shahzani's expectations. The other letters were written to her by Ghazneh court poets and officials.
Shahzani couldn't help but quip with amusement: "It seems this woman is quite a 'figure' in the Ghazni court."
"Your Majesty the Shah, shall we send troops to pursue them?" a Nassak military police officer asked.
“Hmm.” Shahzani thought for a moment and then instructed, “You will dispatch six teams, three to search within the city and three to search outside the city.”
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The law enforcement officer acknowledged the order and left.
But Shahzani knew that the cunning enemy general had already fled far away, and sending troops to pursue her would probably be futile. There would be plenty of opportunities for direct confrontation with Ghazni's army in the future.
The most important task at present is to consolidate control over Hain City.
……
After the Saman army took control of Hain, they took over the facilities according to their troop organization. Officials and clergy who were willing to support the Saman regime continued to serve in their posts, while some experienced officers and clerks were ordered to stay behind to assist in consolidating their rule.
To Shahzani's surprise, her Khorami faction had already gained considerable influence in the city.
A rough estimate suggests there were at least a dozen Horamitic mission sites where large crowds gathered to listen to sermons by Horamitic priests. Even many influential clergy members converted to Horamiticism.
Through its mobilization system, the new regime quickly gathered a large amount of manpower and resources, which, in addition to consolidating its occupation, also provided the Saman army with necessary food and arms supplies.
Although she only took a short break in Hayon, an uneasy feeling lingered in Shahzani's mind.
After all, Herat has already been captured, and Mahmoud is likely continuing his advance into the heart of Khorasan. Even if Khorshid and Nasita unite, they will probably face a fierce battle against Mahmoud's massive army.
As he was pondering this, a Nassak messenger carrying encrypted documents rushed into the government office in Hayne.
"Your Majesty the Shah, General Khorshid has sent an urgent battle report." The messenger presented the Samarkand document.
Shahzani quickly took it and looked at it.
The worst outcome still came—Holshid and Nasida were defeated by Mahmoud in a place called Hajacharan, suffering heavy losses.
The battle's overview was also clearly written by Halshid:
They were proceeding methodically, arranging their troops and engaging in battle, but unexpectedly, at the crucial moment of the battle, a large number of elephant troops suddenly rushed in from the troops that Mahmoud had deployed behind the hills on the flank.
Caught off guard by this sudden attack, and lacking experience and supplies to deal with elephant troops, the two were thrown into chaos, resulting in many soldiers being trampled to death by the war elephants.
Fortunately, they were both experienced generals, so they quickly rallied their troops and fought a retreat, ultimately preserving some of their strength and preventing a devastating defeat.
Currently, they are leading their remaining forces in a retreat towards Jam. Due to the encirclement and interception by the Ghaznavid army, their situation is extremely dire, and they urgently hope to reunite with Her Majesty the Queen in time.
……
The crisis forced Shahzani to make a decision as soon as possible.
"We can't just stand by and watch them fail! Now that Hayin City has been captured and our worries have been eliminated, we should immediately lead our troops to reinforce them!" Shahzani thought to herself.
He then ordered the main force to immediately prepare and set off for Jam in the northeast.
Chapter 125 Mahmoud's Victory Celebration
On the battlefield of Hajacharan, wrecked cavalrymen and torn armor littered the land, their blood staining the brownish-yellow earth.
The triumphant Ghaznavid army trampled over the corpses scattered on the ground, and the massive war elephant army, carrying its elephants, trampled deep pits in the ravaged battlefield.
Mahmud Ghazni, riding a tall horse, sat firmly in the army, surrounded by the imposing and magnificent Ghulam guards.
"We salute you, Your Majesty the Great Sultan, and congratulate Your Majesty on your victory in the battle." As the horse rode by, Ghaznavid officers and nobles bowed and paid their respects.
"Heroic Ghaznavid warriors!"
Mahmud looked back at his army: "We have defeated the Samanids. But! This is only a minor victory! The Samanid Persians still rule many rich cities, and their queen has a large army at her disposal! Therefore, we must continue our conquests and bring Khorasan and Transoxiana back under the rule of our great empire!"
"His Majesty the Sultan is blessed with boundless fortune!"
"His Majesty the Sultan is invincible!"
The Ghaznavid army erupted in cheers and applause.
Mahmoud nodded and looked at the troops on his left: "Deraman and Khalaj Turks. You charged ahead fearlessly in this battle and made outstanding contributions. I will reward you handsomely!"
He then rewarded the Deraman and Haraj soldiers with spoils worth 1000 dirhams each. Their officers and commanders received even more precious treasures and magnificent robes symbolizing honor.
Mahmoud's face darkened, and he looked at the troops on his right: "Arabs, Indians. You've performed poorly in the battle, and the Samanid army almost breached your lines!..."
Next, of course, came a series of questions and accusations.
This was a characteristic of the Ghaznavid army; Mahmud was accustomed to building multi-ethnic forces.
In times of war, each nation will fight bravely for the honor of its own people; in times of peace, each nation will monitor and restrain each other, thereby strengthening the authority of the monarch.
As Persian scholars have concluded, armies of a single ethnicity should be avoided, as they only lead to intrigue and rebellion.
Of course, a multi-ethnic army does not mean the end of intrigue and rebellion. On the contrary, such an army structure puts the ruling group to a severe test of its leadership capabilities. If it encounters a weak monarch and a weak central government, it will only split and disintegrate more quickly.
Shahzani's army was certainly multi-ethnic, but her military philosophy differed from Mahmoud's. Of course, that's a story for another time, and we won't go into details here.
After the battle.
To reward the soldiers who fought bravely and to demonstrate his generosity, Mahmoud ordered a grand banquet to celebrate the victory.
When setting up camp, Mahmudud would move the units that had just been reprimanded to a slightly more distant location, while placing the units that had just been praised close to his side. This was his unique "camping philosophy," and he did this every time he stopped to set up camp.
In this battle, many Samanian female soldiers were captured, and Mahmud distributed these prisoners among the victorious soldiers. At this moment, the captured Samanian female soldiers were stripped of their heavy armor, uniforms, and boots, each left only in their briefs, standing barefoot on the open ground between the camps for the victorious Ghaznavids to choose from.
The captured Samanian female soldiers were well aware of their fate, so they simply remained numb and silent, refusing to utter a sound or cry out for mercy no matter how the other party whipped, provoked, or humiliated them.
"You cursed wretches! We have nothing to say about falling into your hands. Kill us or rape us, it's up to you. We, the righteous army of the Shah, will crush your heads!"
This is a true reflection of the inner thoughts of these Samanian female captives.
Of course, it shouldn't be assumed that only captured female soldiers faced this tragic fate; the situation for captured male soldiers was likely even more unspeakable. After all, ancient armies in Central Asia and the Middle East had long tacitly condoned the sodomy of prisoners.
In short, the victors of Ghaznavidy selected their "spoils" and returned to their respective camps satisfied.
Meanwhile, Mahmoud was holding a grand victory banquet in front of his largest military tent. Magnificent Persian carpets were laid out, and various delicacies and fine wines were served in succession.
The Ghaznavid generals and nobles, even though they were Muslims, were just like other dignitaries in the Persian cultural sphere, and were fond of the delicious fermented fruit juice.
Musicians played, clowns and dancers took turns performing, and the court poets improvised lyrical poems praising the king.
As cups clinked and glasses were exchanged, the atmosphere gradually reached its climax.
At that moment, a servant came to Mahmoud’s side and whispered, “Great Sultan, General Rajana, who was stationed in Hain, has returned and is now in your tent.”
"Oh, I understand," Mahmoud replied curtly, then told the dignitaries present that he had to leave for a moment.
Having said that, he walked with slightly unsteady steps toward his side tent.
As Rajana, covered in dust from her journey, lifted the curtain adorned with gold thread, she immediately knelt down, her face filled with fear and unease, her attitude extremely humble.
"You still have the nerve to come back..." Mahmoud exhaled, his breath reeking of alcohol. "You are to blame for the fall of Qushistan province!"
Rajana quickly scrambled forward a few steps, her voice alluring: "My greatest Sultan, your victory in Hajjacharan is worth a hundred defeats..."
As she spoke, her hand moved upwards, untying the king's gold belt and removing his lantern trousers and long underpants.
Mahmoud felt an intense, tingling sensation coming from below, like the rolling heat of the Thar Desert melting the ice of the Hindu Kush Mountains.
"Oh..." King Ghazni's anger vanished without a trace at this moment, replaced by unparalleled enjoyment.
Spit!
The sound of tearing cloth rang out frequently, and naked bodies were presented between the Sultan's legs.
Mahmoud's thick, strong hands lifted the woman's buttocks, the black moles beside her buttocks rubbing against his rough, calloused skin, while his imposing, massive sword ruthlessly and fiercely pierced in.
……
And at the same time.
Shahzani led his troops to the plains near Jam, where they joined forces with Nasida and Holshid.
“Your Majesty the Great Shah, we are guilty, please punish us!” The two female generals knelt before the Queen, earnestly requesting to bear the consequences of their crimes.
Shahzani simply told them to get up.
The Queen encouraged them, saying, "Defeats are inevitable in military campaigns. And you have made timely adjustments, mitigating considerable losses. Now, let us immediately combine our forces and prepare for battle; we must not slacken our efforts!"
"We obey your command, Your Majesty the Shah!" Both female warriors were deeply grateful and determined to seize victory and defend the Queen's honor.