Mansur had no choice but to fire the arrow. Since his opponent was ready, he had to take control of the situation in Khorasan as quickly as possible and ascend to the position of Caliph. Only then would he have more strength to contend against Abdullah's forces and finally stabilize his throne.
First, he sent people to inform Abu Muslim and Ziyad of the core forces of the Caliph and have them immediately prepare their defenses against Nasser's army in the north. This was of utmost importance.
Even though Nasser's army was already several dozen li from Khorasan, they should have already received the news from the city. It wouldn't take long for them to return. Meanwhile, Abu Muslim's soldiers had already spent a great deal of time breaking camp, and they were already exhausted. If they galloped several dozen li to attack Nasser's army in the north, they would definitely be defeated. By the same logic, if Nasser's army returned after receiving the news, it would also exhaust the soldiers' strength. In this way, they were certain to be defeated by Abu Muslim. At this moment, whichever side attacked first would be forced into a passive position.
After sending people to inform Abu Muslim and Ziyad, Mansur dispatched several more groups of soldiers to wipe out all the forces Abdullah had left behind, leaving not a single one alive.
In the end, Mansur turned his gaze to the palace. He mobilized his most loyal personal guards and had them wear the clothes of Abdullah's troops before charging straight to the palace. They were unstoppable along the way, causing chaos in the palace.
The majority of the palace guards were Apo's trusted aides, but there were also quite a few who had joined Mansur. Without the support of these spies, Mansur's soldiers would not have been able to so easily break into the palace.
The battle in the palace was extremely intense, and there were quite a few soldiers loyal to Apo. How could they allow the rebels to harm their master? Protecting him with their lives was something they had to do.
The fierce fighting naturally alarmed the bedridden Apo. Trembling in fear, he asked the people at his side what was going on outside.
But when he turned his neck with great effort, he was shocked to find that all the servants around him had disappeared. When the palace was in chaos, why wouldn't these servants loyally serve the terminally ill Apos? They packed up their belongings and prepared to leave the palace. However, most of the servants didn't manage to escape. They were discovered by the soldiers on the way. No matter which side the soldiers belonged to, they wouldn't be polite to these servants. Moreover, after killing these escaping servants, they would be able to obtain a lot of valuables. Why not?
In this perilous situation, there was not even a single servant at his side. Apo suddenly felt that he was very pitiful.
There was an old saying that said, "Use money to control others. When you don't have money, others won't listen to you. Use power to control others. When you don't have power, others will leave you."
It sounded cruel, but it was the truth. Apo usually had great prestige, and no one dared to disobey him because he had power. But now, due to his serious illness, his power no longer belonged to him. Unknowingly, most of his people had chosen to follow Mansur and Abdullah. He was only left with an empty shell and a few trusted aides.
Apo grew more and more flustered and fearful as he listened to the screams outside. His breathing gradually quickened, and he fainted before he could catch his breath.
The soldiers sent by Mansur were not weak, but they followed Mansur's instructions. After fighting for a while, they pretended to be defeated and retreated. They fled the palace step by step. Coincidentally, Mansur arrived with a group of soldiers and defeated the army disguised as Abdullah's soldiers.
"Stop chasing. Let's enter the palace."
Of course, Mansur would not allow his own soldiers to attack his own. After putting on a show, he led his soldiers into the palace. At this time, the palace was already in chaos. There were bloody corpses everywhere, as well as many injured soldiers and palace servants.
Mansur naturally did not have the time to care about the injured soldiers and servants of the palace. He led his men and charged straight for Apos' residence in the name of protecting the Caliph.
"Sir, the Caliph has already left. He went to see Allah."
The subordinate who had entered the palace first reported the situation.
An imperceptible smugness flashed across the corner of Mansur's mouth as he loudly said, "Abdullah rebelled and sent his subordinates to kill the Caliph. I, Mansur, was a step too late to save the Caliph. I feel ashamed that I couldn't save him."
"Sir, please don't say that. You've already done your best."
His subordinates were all Mansur's trusted aides, so they naturally chose to say something nice.
Mansur nodded and said, "The Caliph has already passed away. The empire can't be without a ruler. Immediately invite everyone in the court and hold a meeting overnight to discuss the empire's grand plans."
"Yes, Sir."
The subordinates received the order and scattered to invite the officials of the court.
Now, apart from those who had fled, almost all of the ministers who supported Abdullah had been eliminated. The remaining ministers were either Mansur's trusted aides or neutral fence-sitters. Inviting them over to discuss the grand plan, needless to say, it was to discuss who should become the Caliph.
Right now, other than supporting Mansur to become the Caliph, was there a better choice? Of course not. The only path was to support Mansur.
Fifty li to the north, Abdullah and Nasser had already learned of what had happened in the city, and they were furious.
Their plan had completely failed. They had intended to use a small trick to get rid of Mansur, but they did not expect that Mansur was also a vicious and merciless character. He had actually taken action ahead of time.
Fortunately, Abdullah had held back before taking the risk and had taken away all of his main forces. Otherwise, he would have lost everything.
"Sir, what should we do now? Mansur started a coup and has turned against us."
"Sir, the army should launch a surprise attack and return to Royal City in one night."
A few of his subordinates said.
Abdullah shook his head and said, "There's no time. Mansur is no ordinary character. All of Royal City has probably fallen into his hands. If we try to rush back, we'll only be defeated by him. It seems like the best method is the second plan. The few of you go to the east while the rest come with me to the north. We'll recruit soldiers, gather supplies, and spread the news that Mansur has usurped the throne. Sooner or later, we'll drag Mansur down."
"Sir, Royal City has just sent word that Abu Muslim and Ziyad have led their main forces to the north of Royal City and have blocked off our path back to Royal City."
A subordinate hastily ran over to report.
Abdullah said, "Did all of you see that? That scoundrel Mansur has long since made preparations. If we go back now, we'll only be running into Abu Muslim's blade. We can only take our time. "
"Sir, it's a good thing that the majority of our soldiers are from the north and east. No one misses the Khorasan, so we can calmly develop."
The subordinate rejoiced.
Abdullah sighed and said, "After scheming for so long, Mansur still managed to win the first step. However, we won't admit defeat. One day, we'll fight our way back."
"Sir is right. Since we can't return to Royal City, let's get some rest. Tomorrow morning, we'll hurry to the north and contend with Mansur as equals."
Nasser said.
Because Abu Muslim's army had not pursued, Abdullah's soldiers could rest for the night and then set out for their northern headquarters the next morning.
Unlike Abdullah's army, no one in Mansur's group had a chance to sleep, much less the ministers of the court.
Because Apos was dead, they had to hold a meeting overnight to discuss the Apus dynasty's hundred-year plan. This matter could not be delayed. It had to be decided as quickly as possible so that Mansur could rest easy.
The relevant personnel quickly arrived, and Mansur was very satisfied. With great sorrow, he announced Apos's death.
"Everyone, Abdullah started a rebellion. His men broke into the palace and killed our Caliph. This deranged fellow has already fled Royal City, but Allah will not forgive him. We will definitely exterminate him."
Mansur righteously declared.
"Abdullah's rebellion is a crime deserving of death."
"Now that the Caliph is dead, we should discuss the successor."
"Right, right, right! It's time for us to discuss the successor."
"Sir Mansur has the highest prestige, so the position of Caliph naturally belongs to Sir Mansur."
"That's right! We support Sir Mansur's ascension to the position of Caliph."
"Sir, there's no need to hesitate. We need you to lead the entire country."
His supporters spoke.
Mansur naturally couldn't immediately agree. At the very least, he had to humbly decline to display his modesty and prove that he had no ambition for high office.
"Sir, only you can lead us to prosperity. Please don't decline."
"If Sir doesn't have the right to inherit the position of Caliph, who else can?"
"Sir, please succeed as soon as possible and uphold justice for us, for the sake of the previous Caliph."
Mansur couldn't refuse the repeated pleas of his subordinates, so he could only put on a reluctant expression and say that he was only temporarily ascending to the position of Caliph. As long as an even more outstanding person appeared, he would definitely abdicate and allow an even more outstanding person to rule the country.
Thus, through the efforts of his supporters, Mansur succeeded in ascending to the position of Caliph of the Apus dynasty.
And the first thing Mansur did after ascending to the position was issue an order to suppress the rebels. He harshly criticized the rebel Abdullah and gave the important task of eliminating Abdullah to his subordinate, Great General Abu Muslim.
The army to suppress the rebels had to set out in a few days. This was Mansur's promise to all his subjects, and it seemed like the day of his triumphant return was right in front of them.
At this moment, all the heavy responsibility rested on Abu Muslim's shoulders. In order to complete Mansur's important mission as soon as possible, Abu Muslim wanted to take Ziyad with him. This way, his chances of success would be much higher.
As for Aden, there was no major movement for the time being. Moreover, if the Tang dynasty really did use force, Ziyad would only be sending himself to his death.
"General, the time given to us by the Caliph was far too short. How can we prepare everything in such a short time?"
Ziyad complained to Abu Muslim that Mansur didn't understand military affairs.
Abu Muslim chuckled and said, "How is it not enough? Dealing with trash like Nasser doesn't require much preparation. One month is enough. Ten days to set out, ten days to fight, and ten days to return. Thus, we have plenty of time."
"Finishing the battle in one month? General is being too optimistic! Nasser isn't that easy to deal with. "
Ziyad said.
In Ziyad's view, Abu Muslim was underestimating his foe too much. For him to think that he could defeat Abdullah in ten days was simply a joke.
Unless Abdullah decided to stop hiding and bring out his main force for a battle in the wilderness, how could he possibly defeat Abdullah in such a short amount of time?
Abu Muslim chuckled and said, "Ziyad, I was just joking. However, you must understand that this is a political war, and Abdullah's rebellion cannot be forgiven. Thus, the sooner we send out our soldiers, the more we can demonstrate the Caliph's resolve. This is extremely important. As for the problem of not having enough supplies, just leave it to the logistics department. Three days after we set out, the logistics department will be sending a steady stream of arrows and supplies to the north."
"General really believes that Abdullah is a rebel. How could a rebel transfer his main force and leave behind only a few soldiers? This is far too foolish."
Seiyad said in a low voice.
Abu Muslim was given a fright. He hurriedly looked around and whispered, "Seiyad, you're just a general. This isn't something you should be concerned about. In the future, don't say such things. Don't make trouble for yourself."
Ziyad nodded. "I only dare to speak carelessly in front of General, but I wouldn't speak carelessly in front of anyone else. However, the Caliph is vicious and merciless. After dealing with Abdullah, we might be next."
Abu Muslim was stunned. He turned to Ziyad and asked, "Ziyad, how could you think like this? How could you doubt the Caliph? "
Ziyad said, "General, Abdullah is the Caliph's uncle, and they share a bond of blood. When they attacked the Umayyad dynasty, they were the closest of comrades, and their relationship was extremely good. But now, for the sake of the Caliph's position, he doesn't even care about his family, killing so many people in one night. This is truly …"
"Enough, Ziyad, you're not allowed to say any more. It's getting late, so go back and rest! I didn't hear anything tonight. Goodbye. "
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