Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

"A letter from Sudan requesting aid?"

Solovyov couldn't believe his ears, but considering that although the Ottoman Empire still controlled the southeastern Mediterranean, Mehmed Ali Pasha was already an independent power.

The local warlord who originally sent hostages to Constantinople has now become too powerful to control after he purged the Mamluks and cultivated his own forces, as war between the Syrian Ottoman Empire and Egypt is inevitable.

As for the war, it was still within Palestinian territory at this time. After passing through Gaza, the Egyptian army advanced along the coastline toward Galilee, and further ahead lay Lebanon and Syria.

The Ottoman army had just been severely damaged by the Russian army and was even considered to be under-armed.

At this time, the Egyptian army entered the eastern Mediterranean region, and it was as if they were entering an empty field.

Moreover, if the Egyptians did not invade Syria and threaten northwards, the European powers might not be able to control them.

Egypt's actions may actually benefit them in their access to the Middle East, especially for Britain and France.

France already had ties with Egypt, while Britain had long coveted the heartland of the Ottoman Empire.

The more chaotic the better, even for Russia.

However, Solovyov always had his own ideas, and he believed that if the Ottoman Empire fell into chaos, it would be detrimental to his overall strategy.

Therefore, he wanted to intervene.

However, St. Petersburg and Isfahan are too far apart, and it would be inappropriate for Russian troops to cross the border into the heart of the Ottoman Empire.

This is especially inappropriate when there is no mobilization order.

After all, there was still the Tsar above them, and the Russian court was bound to have some complaints about those who were fighting abroad.

It was only because the Solovyovs were so special to Nikolai and his wife and their children that they would have caused trouble.

Solovyov also recalled that when Marshal Suvorov was attacked by slander, Paul did not believe it, but it almost caused a regret.

Therefore, his main objective was to march south, defeat Abbas Mirza, the Persian prince near Shiraz, and completely sweep away the southern part of the Persian Empire before discussing the question of how Persia should be classified.

If it had been ruled by Russia, the speed of the conquest would probably have been ridiculously fast.

If it were up to Solovyov, he might just introduce a bizarre theocratic regime as an ally of Russia.

At least while these great Ayatollahs and their disciples are alive, southern Russia will be relatively stable. At the same time, due to the special nature of Shia Islam, they will not listen to any of their neighbors, including Russia. This may seem amusing, but it makes a lot of sense.

At the same time, not buying into it is actually a favorable situation.

Solovyov was well aware of this; he left Qom because the armistice was ending and to deal with potential troubles on both sides.

The Russian army has now entered Shiraz, solely to end the war there.

The Persians had built fortifications and had extensive defensive works outside the city, clearly intending to fight a decisive battle.

The crown prince was quite confident; he planned to use his superior forces to wear down Solovyov.

Even if the Persian side suffered greater losses, and the Russian army faced supply difficulties and excessive consumption, they would have no choice but to return to Isfahan.

This time, someone finally came up with the right strategy; the Ottoman Empire used the same method every time it fought the Russian army.

However, Solovyov's operations back then kept the line of control between the two sides in the Danube River basin, so entering the Thrace region and occupying Constantinople were all done in speedrun mode.

The Turkish army intended to wear down the enemy at several fortresses, but Dibich did not give them the opportunity.

Solovyov is now facing a formidable trap set by the Persians.

Breaking through an impenetrable fortress requires patience, as well as sufficient personal strength.

"Sir, what should we do now?"

"In places like this, cavalry is of little use. We can't use cavalry to storm those fortresses. The only thing we can do is to increase artillery fire and take down every single fortress. For the core fortresses, we should use explosives, but we also need to be careful about the geological structure of Shiraz. Is the soil loose enough?"

"My lord, it is quite suitable for digging."

"We have never used tunnel blasting in our fight against the Persians."

To this end, a group of Cossack volunteers used horses to transport necessary supplies to the underground fortifications after the engineers began construction.

The Russian artillery fire on the surface was also very effective in suppressing the Persian forces. Several outer gun emplacements were quickly silenced, allowing the Russians to use infantry to cover infantry guns as they approached these gun emplacements from their surface positions, further suppressing the infantry with firepower.

The Persians were finding it increasingly difficult to retaliate; they were completely suppressed and even had to abandon several forward positions that had been repeatedly bombarded by artillery fire.

With the technological gap in weaponry, the individual bravery of the Persians became less of a threat.

Solovyov had not yet formed any Persian-major army at this time. He was not as ambitious as Alexander the Great. Although he respected the local customs and religious beliefs, he did not intend to form a Persian army so quickly.

In the future, when it comes to campaigning in India, training a group of Persian infantry and cavalry regiments might be useful, as they are clearly more adapted to these places than the Russians.

Thanks to strict epidemic prevention measures, such as those implemented during the current weather, the Russian military and soldiers have been able to prevent an outbreak of the plague.

Meanwhile, the Persians were still in a stable emotional state because there had been no outbreak of disease.

If cholera were to break out at this time, it would likely have disastrous consequences for both sides, but the side with more people would be more complicated.

It must be said that the trade routes were the most vulnerable to cholera during this pandemic, and one of the important reasons why cholera could thrive was the land system of the Mughal Empire and the colonial rule of the British.

Even the Ganges River can't withstand such scourge. The Ganges water itself is a major source of dysentery and cholera, which is also a result of human actions.

Prior to this, during the height of the Mughal Empire, plagues were not particularly severe in India because the local system had not yet collapsed.

After that, India remained in this state; even the most powerful and omnipotent immortal could not solve the problem.

But once the Indians are isolated at home, the Ganges' self-purification function will be able to take effect.

Solovyov personally oversaw the epidemic prevention measures, and since the Persians had no light infantry capable of harassing the Russian army, they were able to strictly implement the epidemic prevention measures.

But if the water supply to Shiraz is cut off, the situation will be dire. Once the water source is cut off, the Persians will surely be defeated.

When Solovyov captured the fortress, he had already sent Gorchakov and his staff to investigate the water sources around Shiraz. Before the siege was completed, they had already identified several water sources in the outer area.

The water supply in Shiraz comes partly from natural rainfall, partly from mountain springs and nearby rivers, and partly from karez wells.

However, many karez wells were located outside the city, and the water was brought into the city through underground channels, unlike the elevated aqueducts of the Romans.

"If we can capture these important water sources, we will win this battle."

"Sir, what should we do?"

"We need the leaders of the Chechen and Dagestan volunteer forces to come here."

Solovyov knew that using these light infantrymen was the most appropriate option at this time.

"My lord, are you summoning us at this time because we're about to start a major battle?"

"Shamir, how many men do you have under your command?"

"There are 600 people, all of them the bravest mountain folk."

“I’m giving you a tough task: Dagestan volunteers must capture the Suleimania spring, which is halfway up the mountain. Once you control it, you’ll cut off the water supply to the Persians in the city, and we’ll win this battle.”

“Sir, we trust you too. When you went to the mountains, we knew you were a man of your word. Those elders who are well-versed in the teachings all say that if you were to study the Quran, you would probably become an outstanding mullah.”

"That's just flattery. I only know a lot about religion. The important thing is to respect beliefs and customs. When you get to the top of the mountain, you can rest assured that I will send a 2000-man Cossack detachment to cover you, and a detachment of Tatar cavalry will patrol the area."

“My lord, although your faith is different from ours, if we fight against that Shah of Persia, a person who is not devout to God, we will be closer to the Garden of Heaven.”

Good heavens, Shamir is treating this battle like a jihadist war. Ghazi Mohammed stayed in Tehran; I wonder what he would think if he knew Shamir said that.

Of course, Solovyov wasn't sending Shamir to his death; it was simply that this group of mountain people was best suited for battle in this situation.

When the fighting broke out, Solovyov's stereotypes about Muslim warriors were further reinforced.

When they went to war, they truly forgot that they had no chance of survival.

Although Shamir had been with Solovyov for a long time, he also knew that they had to advance stealthily. When they got within 200 meters, the soldiers were all silent.

Solovyov thought the special training had been very effective, but then a shout of "God is great!" rang out, and the 600 Dagestan mountain warriors joined in, slinging their rifles over their backs and brandishing their scimitars as they charged forward.

However, Solovyov reinforced their personal equipment, giving them pistols. So when some of them reached the hillside, they faced Persian soldiers wielding scimitars and spears, who fired a rapid burst of fire from seven paces away before they began to fight with knives.

It was dawn, and Solovyov could barely make out the movements of the Shamir camp through his binoculars.

The fierce Caucasian mountain people displayed their unparalleled talent in fighting and brawling. They drove away the Persian army stationed at the water source with minimal losses and even took a bunch of heads.
These "half-orcs" are really fierce in battle.

Solovyov was also glad that he had used appeasement to win them over, but the premise was that he, as a heretic, actually understood some basic religious teachings, which was why they trusted him.

Shamir's planting of the Dagestan volunteer battalion's holy war flag on the mountaintop has already caused great panic among the Persians in the city.

Abbas Mirza knew that if he could reclaim the Sulaymaniyah springs, he would have a stable water source.

Without water, it would be a disaster in the Middle East.

Therefore, the Persian army quickly organized a counterattack, but their chanting of "God is the greatest" was not very effective.

Solovyov's research revealed that well-trained elite warriors do indeed have a surge in combat power when in a state of "God is great".

This is why Heraclius couldn't defeat Khalid, why the Sassanid Persians were simply wiped out by the Arabs, and why the elite warriors who had just adopted this faith were all incredibly powerful desert Gundams.

However, if conscripts and ordinary civilians are used to implement "God is the greatest," at best they will be a disorganized mess that is easily defeated, and at worst they will be sent to heaven by a counterattack.

Both the Qing army and the Russian army had encountered this situation, and the Qing army was even more "compassionate".
Shamir's unit was elite, so the effect was excellent.

Despite the Persians' counterattacks, they continued to retaliate with rifles and matchlock guns.

Even the Caucasian hunters who came up later brought the cannons up to the mountainside.

Under such circumstances, it was impossible for the Persian army to launch a counterattack.

As long as there are still shells, the Russian army is invincible on this position.

Shamir Khan's light infantry used the latest Russian-made rifles. They knew that their weapons were designed by Solovyov, but each of them had added decorations to the rifles, and even engraved Hadith on them.

This can be considered a traditional Caucasian enchanting method, also used by Armenian forbidden spellcasters.

"Sir, what should we do now?"

"Send the Yerevan Grenadier Regiment up there."

Although this regiment is nominally based in Armenia and recruits mostly Christians from the Caucasus Mountains, its history is similar to that of the Moscow Grenadier Regiment. Both regiments were established in the same year and are veteran Russian infantry regiments.

However, like the Suzdal Regiment, they spent most of their time fighting in the south. Throughout the Napoleonic Wars, they were in the Caucasus and missed many battles.

But now, their chance to make a difference has arrived.

Solovyov kept joking that the Armenian priests' attire made them look like "forbidden spellcasters." Before the grenadiers set off, they sprinkled holy water on them and gave them various blessings, which filled the soldiers with power.

God has a side job, but today, since both sides are calling, His services are clearly more favorable to the Russian side, because their rituals are compliant and more devout.

The Dagestan mountain people were fearless in the face of death. If it weren't for Shamir's strict orders from Solovyov—that they must not attack rashly after seizing the water source and must obey orders—they would probably have charged even more fiercely ahead.

When the Armenian grenadiers from Yerevan came up, their ranks were even more orderly, with priests even singing hymns behind them.

That was it; the Persians couldn't hold out any longer, and their counterattack was repelled.

The fate of Shiraz can probably be decided now. (End of Chapter)