When Ang Lee heard that Apos was gravely ill and was about to die, he couldn't help but rejoice! This formidable hero of a generation was going to die soon. This was definitely good news that would make people happy.
Ang Lee knew a little about the internal affairs of the Abbasid Caliphate. He knew that after Apos's death, Apos's younger brother, Mansur, and Apos's uncle, Abdullah, would be at odds with each other. In the end, Mansur, with the help of his valiant general, Abu Muslim, defeated his political enemy, his uncle Abdullah, and became the second Caliph of the Apus dynasty.
The process of this struggle was bound to be extremely cruel. In this situation, if Ang Lee represented the Tang dynasty and intervened in the internal struggle of the Abbasid Caliphate, would history have a different ending?
Regardless of which direction history would take, Ang Lee had made up his mind to intervene in the internal struggle of the Abbasid Caliphate, complicating the internal struggle and thus weakening the overall strength of the empire. If he could break it apart, that would be even better.
Mansur had inherited his brother's cruelty, and he was a very scheming scoundrel. Moreover, he had the support of his valiant general, Abu Muslim, so he naturally held the upper hand in the internal struggle. And if Ang Lee wanted to intervene in the internal struggle of the Abbasid Caliphate, he would have to support the weaker Abdullah.
Of course, in order to prevent Mansur and Abdullah from being xenophobic, Ang Lee had to be extremely cautious when it came to the Aden issue. If the two of them worked together to resist the Tang dynasty, that would be rather bad. Although the Tang dynasty's soldiers could defeat them, they would be criticized on moral grounds. It was better to let them fight among themselves.
"Apos is gravely ill and will probably pass away very soon. At present, in the Abbasid Caliphate, Mansur and Abdullah's contributions are about the same. Only the two of them have the right to succeed the position of Caliph. It seems that Mansur has a better chance of succeeding. After all, he's Apos's younger brother."
A Tang dynasty civil official said.
Ang Lee nodded. "You're right. Mansur is indeed the most qualified to succeed the position of Caliph. However, this official has heard that his uncle, Abdullah, has always coveted the position of Caliph. He probably won't give in so easily, and might even start to struggle for power."
"If the Abbasid Caliphate enters a struggle for power, it will be very advantageous for us to seize Aden."
A military general said with an excited expression. Who wouldn't be excited to have a chance to perform meritorious service?
Ang Lee shook his head. "No, we can't be so direct. If we forcefully seize Aden, it will definitely arouse the disgust of the Abbasid Caliphate's upper echelons. At that time, they might unite to resist us. That would be terrible. We should wait for the right time. After Mansur and Abdullah break off their relationship, Abdullah will be in a weak position.
That would be more effective. "Ang Lee had already thought of the specific situation. Abdullah was in a weak position and was about to lose his life. If the Tang dynasty, represented by Ang Lee, suddenly extended an olive branch and mercifully made a few small requests, such as ceding a small piece of land to Aden, Abdullah would have no reason to refuse. It was very likely that he would agree to the Tang dynasty's request in order to make a comeback.
In this way, things would become lively. Mansur and Abdullah would become the two tyrants of this region. The remnants of the Abbasid Caliphate would still be there, and the various small factions would also have their own armed forces. Moreover, they would oppose the Abbasid Caliphate and the Abbasid Caliphate. When the time came, it would be impossible for them not to become a pot of porridge. Just like in the future, the entire Arab world would become a pot of porridge.
"Assistant Minister Li, then how long do we have to wait? We are determined to take Aden, and we can't even be sure when Apos will die. If we have to wait for them to fight amongst themselves, we'll have to wait for a very long time! "
A general was eager to make a contribution and spoke up.
His subordinate's words made sense. Apos's sudden illness was two or three years earlier than in history. As for the struggle for power between Mansur and Abdullah, would it also happen much earlier? Ang Lee really wasn't sure. What if they weren't in a hurry to start fighting? Would they have to wait forever?
After thinking for a while, Ang Lee said, "Waiting for a while won't be a mistake. At the very least, we have to find a good reason to occupy Aden. Our Tang dynasty is a benevolent and righteous army. We can't just casually occupy a city. We have to take it one step at a time. Even if the Abbasid Caliphate doesn't start fighting amongst themselves, at the very least, the Shi 'a and other factions have already begun to rebel against the Abbasid Caliphate. The Abbasid Caliphate's retreating expeditionary army is also in the vicinity of Aden. All of this will give us a reason to occupy Aden. We just need to wait for the best opportunity."
Ang Lee's decision received everyone's approval. First, they had to understand the situation of the Abbasid Caliphate and then make the appropriate preparations. This was the best and most reliable method.
Since they weren't in a hurry to take over Aden City, there was no need for them to march so quickly. Due to the importance of Anzhu City, Li An left behind an army of soldiers, as well as many logistical ships and a small number of combat ships. As such, the main fleet that was going to Aden City this time was the smallest one they had ever sent.
All in all, there were only seventy to eighty ships, less than half of what Ang Lee had left with. However, almost all of these ships were the cream of the crop, advanced steam ships. As for the logistical ships that relied on manpower and sail power, they were all left behind in Anzhu. If they needed anything, they could just order it to be shipped over. In any case, Anzhu wasn't too far from Aden.
There were only twenty steam gunships this time, but this was already a very powerful force, enough to deal with all the threats of this era. In addition to the regular army, there were also various guards and special forces. In total, there were around five to six thousand soldiers. Together with the officials and logistical personnel, there were more than ten thousand people in total. On average, there were around one hundred people on each ship.
After the soldiers on the advance ship finished their report, they immediately returned to the advance ship and sped back to Aden. Ang Lee's main fleet continued to move slowly, enjoying the beautiful scenery of the sea as they moved.
This was the optimal speed for the steam gunships. Going too fast or too slow would consume too much energy. Only the slowest speed would consume the least amount of energy. Since they weren't in a hurry to reach Aden, they naturally had to use the optimal speed.
Not far to the northeast of Aden, the renowned Arabian general Ziyad was feeling very uneasy. He was very confident in his elite soldiers. Even though the white-clothed Arabian expeditionary army was several dozen li to the west, he was completely confident that he could defeat the returning elite soldiers. This was because his soldiers were even more elite, and their equipment and morale were superior to the white-clothed Arabian expeditionary army. Moreover, his own ability to command was not weak, so he had no need to fear the enemy army.
But now, the founding sovereign of the Arabian Empire, Apos, was gravely ill. The Imperial Court had sent back news that Apos's younger brother, Mansur, and Apos's uncle, Abdullah, had suddenly begun to have a major conflict. They were fighting both openly and covertly in the Imperial Court, causing the entire Imperial Court to be unable to function properly. The provisions allocated to him were beginning to be delayed, and if the situation continued to worsen, he and his army might not be able to receive their provisions.
As a renowned general, Ziyad was keenly aware of what would happen if an army didn't receive its provisions. Thus, he was naturally worried.
The Ottoman army of the white-clothed Arabia did not frighten him, nor did he care about the soldiers defending Aden. But the turmoil in the Imperial Court made him uneasy.
In the eyes of the proud Seiyad, the remnants of Aden, the remnants of Arabia in White, and the various rebel factions were simply trash that could not shake the mighty regime of Arabia in Black. The only thing that could shake the foundation of the empire was internal turmoil. If Arabia in Black began to break apart, all their previous efforts would have been for naught.
Even though Ziyad was somewhat distressed by the internal strife between Mansur and Abdullah, he was only one of Abu Muslim's generals. Although he was part of the upper echelon, he was not part of the core. This also meant that he had no ability to stop any of this. As a valiant general, there was nothing he could do about the internal strife in the ruling class of the Arabian Empire.
"General, I've returned."
A subordinate dressed in the attire of an ordinary person walked into the tent.
Ziyad looked at his subordinate and weakly asked, "What did that old fox Altik say this time?"
"General, this old fellow said that Osman's soldiers are in the northwest and pose a massive threat to Aden. If General can wipe out Osman's soldiers, they will open the gates and welcome General into the city. If General cannot destroy Osman, then you do not have the ability to protect Aden, and they will have no choice but to recruit soldiers to protect themselves."
The subordinate truthfully reported.
Ziyad slammed the table and angrily said, "That damned old fox, I'll kill him sooner or later."
Ziyad naturally knew that this was just an excuse. Osman's soldiers had arrived even earlier than he had, and this was an army that had been on the battlefield for a long time. Although they had been defeated and fled in the end, their main force had not suffered too great of a loss. They were still an elite force that inspired fear in others, and they had relied on the surrounding terrain to establish a very stable defensive camp.
Although Seiyad's troops were rather elite, they were mainly heavy cavalry. Such elite troops had a huge advantage in a battle in the wilderness, but they didn't have much of an advantage when attacking cities and strongholds.
As a famous general, Ziyad naturally sent scouts to spy on Osman's army at all times, and he had a clear understanding of the situation in the Osman camp. From what he knew, the Osman camp's defenses were very tight, and it was not suitable for an attack. Even if he mobilized all of his soldiers, he would not be able to break through the Osman camp. Of course, if the Osman army broke camp and attacked, they would not be able to break through his defenses either. The two sides were in a stalemate.
In Ziyad's opinion, if he wanted to destroy the Osman army in the west, he would need at least five times the number of soldiers. Moreover, he could not force an attack. He would have to surround the Osman army from different directions and cut off their food supply. Only then could he defeat the Osman army. It was not an easy task.
As the lord of the city, it was impossible for Artek to not understand this point. Thus, by making such a request, it was obvious that he was deliberately making things difficult for Artek. He did not want to submit to the great Apos Dynasty smoothly.
Although he was furious and wanted nothing more than to kill Altik, Ziyad's soldiers would not be able to easily take down a fortified city. They might even suffer heavy casualties, or even suffer a crushing defeat. Thus, he could not easily take the risk. He could not let his soldiers die in vain.
His greatest hope was that the Imperial Court could send reinforcements so that they could use even more strength to destroy the Osman army in the west and wipe out those ignorant fools in Aden. Alas, his request for reinforcements had not been approved.
His superior, Abu Muslim, was not willing to send more soldiers to Ziyad. The reason was very clear. The situation in Khorasan was still uncertain, and he needed to leave more soldiers behind to stabilize the situation in Khorasan. Moreover, he firmly supported Mansur, so he did not have any extra soldiers to reinforce Ziyad. He wanted Ziyad to endure for a few more days.
Ziyad was extremely disappointed, but Abu Muslim was his superior, and he had no choice but to obey his superior's orders. Helplessly, he set up camp in the northeast of Aden. Moreover, he could only passively defend, which was very depressing.
"Deputy General, you are in charge of guarding the camp. I need to return to Khorasan."
Ziyad felt that Osman did not have the courage to attack him, and those fellows in Aden did not dare to attack him either. He was very reassured to let his experienced deputy general lead the army.
"General, isn't it a little inappropriate to go back without orders? What if the enemy attacks us …"
The deputy general said with concern.
As a deputy general, he had to dissuade Ziyad in this situation. This was his job, and he had the responsibility to do so.
"Shut up! My Lord Deputy General. "
Ziyad was in a terrible mood. He looked at his deputy general and sighed. "Something has happened in Khorasan, and I have to go back. The enemy does not have the courage to attack. It's not like you haven't fought before. Can't you handle it?"
"Oh, alright! Sir General, I understand. Please take more guards with you. "
The deputy general said.
Ziyad nodded. "One hundred soldiers and two hundred horses will be enough. I will leave immediately. Good luck, my deputy general."
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