The commerce in Aden City was becoming more and more prosperous, and its population was also increasing. Its prosperity was not affected by the change of dynasties and wars in the Arabian Empire at all. Aden City's fastest development was in the last few years, when the industrialization of the Tang Empire led to the rapid development of maritime trade. The influx of merchants from the Tang Empire made Aden City an important port city in the southern part of the Arabian Empire.
However, the Suez Canal didn't exist yet, so the strategic value of the Red Sea was greatly reduced. If this famous canal could be opened, then both the Red Sea and Aden City would become a very important city, at least a hundred times more important than it was now.
At this moment, all of the merchants in Aden City were busy doing business, and all of the citizens were leisurely strolling through the streets. The tense atmosphere before a war was about to break out, and the soldiers guarding the city weren't all that different from before. At most, the number of soldiers on the city walls had doubled, and there were more resources on the city walls. However, the situation inside the city didn't seem to have changed much.
This was where City Lord Altik had made his decision. He knew very well that neither Osman in the northwest nor Ziyad in the northeast would be stupid enough to attack Aden City. The difference in power between the two sides wasn't very large, and whoever attacked first would force Aden City into the enemy's camp, which would be very disadvantageous to them. Furthermore, there were merchants who represented the interests of both sides in this battle. Once the flames of war broke out, these people would also suffer.
Furthermore, business was what Altik valued the most. If he mobilized the entire city, it would create a tense atmosphere of war. In that case, the business atmosphere would be diluted, and many merchants would choose to leave Aden City. If there weren't enough people, the business in Aden City would decline, and they would have a hard time. Therefore, he had to create a strong business atmosphere so that the citizens and merchants could stay in Aden City with peace of mind.
On the surface, the atmosphere of war in Aden City didn't appear to be one, but that didn't mean that Altik wasn't prepared. He didn't set up many defenses, but he secretly stationed spies and plain-clothed soldiers on all of the major roads in the city. A seemingly inconspicuous house on the street could have 100 elite soldiers stationed there. If someone were to cause trouble nearby, these 100 soldiers would immediately rush out to maintain order and prevent chaos in the city.
There were also many secret preparations near the city walls and the port. A battleship that only had three to five soldiers could have 50 to 60 soldiers hidden in its cabins. There weren't many more soldiers on the city walls than usual, but there were even more soldiers resting and chatting on the parapet walls. If an enemy were to attack, they would be ready to fight at any time. There were also many soldiers stationed in the warehouses below the city walls.
In short, the seemingly defenseless Aden City was actually well-fortified. Furthermore, the defenses were quite tight, and it wasn't any weaker than those heavily fortified cities with soldiers all over the streets.
City Lord Altik was an old man who was about 50 years old. He had a standard Arabian face, and there wasn't anything special about him. If he were to change his clothes and walk into the crowd, he would be quickly drowned out by the crowd.
However, Altik's clothes were very expensive, and were different from the clothes of ordinary merchants and citizens. It was easy to tell that he was of noble status at a glance.
Altik's right-hand men stood on either side of him. Most of them were Shi 'ites, and only a few of them were leaders of other small sects.
They were standing on top of the tallest building in the city. This building was usually guarded by soldiers to observe every movement in the city and ensure the safety of the city. At the same time, because the building was so tall, they could even see outside the city.
In peacetime, such a tall building could be used for sightseeing, and every visitor could bring in income for the sightseeing tower.
However, in this period, such a tall tower was the guarantee of the city's safety. It could not be used for tourists. If this tourist was an enemy spy, after entering the tower, wouldn't he be able to have a panoramic view of the entire city? In that case, it would be a great disadvantage for the defending side.
As the city lord of Aden City, Altik naturally had the right to go to the sightseeing tower, especially in the past few months. He had often taken his right-hand men to the sightseeing tower.
Altik didn't go to the sightseeing tower to enjoy the scenery. He had long passed the age of appreciating the scenery. Instead, he went to the sightseeing tower to observe the movements of the entire city and make his own judgment.
"Can you see it? Some merchant ships are coming in and out, but they haven't unloaded or loaded any goods. The people on those ships are definitely not merchants. I wonder who they are! "
The merchant ships that Altik saw were the advance party of the Tang dynasty.
"City Lord, should we detain them for inspection?"
One of his subordinates asked.
Altik shrugged and shook his head. "Forget it! Since we're already sure that they're not normal merchants, what's the point of searching them? It won't do us any good to fall out with them. If they want to plant spies in the city, they have a hundred ways to do so. Just let them be! "
The cunning Altik had already seen through everything. Although he was very angry at the Apus dynasty for going back on their word, and he wholeheartedly supported Ali's descendants to become the Caliph, his Shi 'ite sect and many other small sects controlled very few cities. Their strength was far inferior to the Apus dynasty's, and it would be difficult for them to win if they fought head-on.
Although the expedition general of the Umayyad Dynasty, Osman, had recently extended an olive branch to him and expressed his willingness to fight against the new Apus dynasty together, in Altik's eyes, the Umayyad Dynasty and the Abbasid Dynasty were jackals of the same tribe. They were all rebels who usurped the throne and were not worthy of his trust.
However, given the current situation, Altik did not dare to provoke Osman too much. Instead, he feigned civility with Osman and even instigated a confrontation between Osman and Ziyad so that he could reap the benefits.
Altik was cunning enough, but Ziyad and Osman were also old foxes who had been on the battlefield for a long time. They had long passed the age of being impulsive. Therefore, no matter how Altik instigated or expressed his stance, they would not make a move. Altik was not in a hurry either. At worst, they could just slowly drag it out. After all, he had plenty of time to play with these two.
"City Lord, the two armies outside the city have not made any moves, but they have been stationed in the north and refuse to leave. This is so f * cking annoying."
A mercenary general was very displeased.
Regular soldiers had a sense of mission, and they were all fighting to protect their country. However, mercenaries were different. Mercenaries joined the army for money. They only joined the army for one purpose, and that was to earn a salary so that they could live a better life.
Therefore, mercenaries did not like to fight. Regardless of whether they were fighting or not, as mercenaries, they were paid. Fighting meant that people would die. If they did not fight, they could live a comfortable life and continue to receive their salary. How great was that!
There used to be an army in Aden. It was the army of the Umayyad Dynasty. However, in order to resist the new Apus Dynasty, most of the garrison troops were transferred away. Only a few dozen soldiers were left. Altik gathered a few hundred Shi 'ar soldiers and wiped out this small number of garrison troops.
After becoming the city lord, Altik was faced with a very big problem. The Shi 'ar soldiers under his command were too weak. They only had a few hundred men. Later, the Shi' ar soldiers in the nearby area also rushed over after hearing the news. Even so, they only had a little over a thousand men, which was not enough to protect the prosperous Aden City.
In order to solve this problem, Altik could only spend money to hire soldiers. Regardless of whether it was the bandit groups in the mountains, the pirate groups on the sea, the anti-imperial army from the neighboring countries, or even the brave and ruthless members of society, as long as they were willing to protect Aden City, Altik would accept them. He would also send a general to train and educate them. This was to prevent these mercenaries from causing trouble.
The reason why Artek could think of hiring mercenaries was naturally because there were a lot of merchants in Aden City, and the wealthier the people were, the more afraid of death they were. If they were asked to fork out some money to hire mercenaries to protect Aden City, they would naturally be willing to fork out some money. Thus, there was no pressure to hire mercenaries. As for discipline, as long as the soldiers were paid on time, there shouldn't be any problems.
Aden City was an open city, and there were countless restaurants and brothels in it. There were plenty of places for the mercenaries to vent their emotions. As long as their needs were satisfied, they would be able to vent their negative emotions, and there would be no reason for the mercenaries to cause trouble.
"News of Abo's serious illness has spread throughout the Khorasan. Even the citizens and merchants of Aden City have heard about it. It can't be fake, right?"
"I don't think so. Earlier today, our soldiers came back and reported that a hundred elite cavalrymen from Ziyad's camp left for the Khorasan. I think it has something to do with Abo's illness. This is the first time that so many elite cavalrymen have left Ziyad's camp in so many days. It's very unusual."
"There's a saying in the Tang dynasty that goes like this: evil will be repaid with evil. I don't know if you've heard of it, but Abo is a heartless person. He promised us that he would support Ali's descendants to ascend to the throne, but in the end, he used the support of the masses as an excuse to ascend to the throne. How detestable."
"That damned demon is finally going to die. Such a cruel and heartless person should die as soon as possible."
Everyone chimed in one after another.
Altik nodded. He looked out into the distance, and said, "Our people in the Khorasan have just returned, and they've confirmed that Abo is indeed seriously ill. It's a very serious illness, and I don't think he'll live for more than half a month."
"Oh, that's fantastic news! Abo is finally going to die. He's finally going to die. "
"This is great news worthy of celebration."
"When the news of Abo's death reaches us, we must celebrate."
"Yes, yes, we have to celebrate."
Everyone was very happy.
However, Altik's expression was not so optimistic. He was not sure whether Abo's illness was a good thing or a bad thing. In his opinion, even if Abo died, the Apus dynasty would have a new successor. It would be fine if the new successor was an idiot, but if the new successor was even more treacherous than Abo, then it would be even more difficult for them to support Ali's descendants to ascend to the throne.
In the cunning Altik's opinion, although Abo was vicious and cruel and killed those who opposed him everywhere, the consequence of his tyranny was that he incited all the other factions to resist. If they continued to resist, the Apus dynasty would be finished sooner or later.
Since ancient times, no dynasty had been able to rely solely on tyranny to stabilize the country. The Great Qin Empire of Hua Xia was a good example. The second generation had already perished.
What Altik was most afraid of was a successor who was even more vicious than Abo but appeared gentle on the surface. In that case, it would be even more difficult for the Shi 'a to support Ali's descendants.
The Umayyad Dynasty had been usurping the throne for hundreds of years. If the Apus dynasty continued to usurp the throne for hundreds of years, then when would it be Ali's descendants' turn to ascend to the throne?
The Shi 'a had united many factions to resist the tyrannical Umayyad Dynasty in order to overthrow the usurper and support Ali's descendants, who should have inherited the position of Caliph, to ascend to the throne. In the end, Abo had schemed to obtain the world, which made them very dissatisfied.
Since ancient times, military power had always been the most important and decisive force, and it was precisely because Abo's faction held the most military power that they succeeded in usurping the throne.
This was somewhat similar to Zhao Kuangyin of the Great Song Dynasty of Hua Xia. Old Zhao had said that he would assist the young emperor, but in the end, he played a trick of wearing a yellow robe and shamelessly became the emperor on the grounds that his subordinates forced him to become the emperor.
At the beginning of the rebellion against the Umayyad Dynasty, the Shi 'a naturally had many generals and had a certain amount of military power. However, Abo knew the importance of military power, so when fighting against the Umayyad Dynasty, he always promoted the generals of his faction and suppressed the generals of the other factions. In the end, almost all of the higher-ups in the army were generals of Abo's faction, which established the conditions for Abo to ascend to the throne of Caliph.
After staying in the sightseeing tower for two hours, Altik and his excited subordinates slowly left.
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