Mount and Blade Central Asia

"He actually got the antidote!" Said's face immediately showed an ecstatic expression. He waved his hand and ordered, "Hurry and open the city gate and let Safaweed in!"

"Wait!" Said thought for a moment and immediately stopped the guard who was about to leave. "Don't open the city gate yet. Let Safavid boil the medicine outside. Let the sick soldiers go out of the city in batches to take the medicine and stay there to see the effect!"

Said al-Had was able to stand out among the emirs of Syria and become the master of Damascus. Naturally, he is not a mediocre person. In fact, he is a very capable ruler. Otherwise, he would not have been able to control his power in such a severe epidemic.

"Yes, sir!" The guard turned and left, going directly to inform the sick soldiers to prepare to leave the city.

Said Hader himself disguised himself, secretly left the city and met with Safavid in advance.

Chapter 393 The Black Sheep's Movement

In this war-torn land, the biggest wish of ordinary people living here is to live a peaceful life for a period of time. Li Rufeng is the same, because Aleppo's business is booming.

Although Li Rufeng had been implementing a commercial tax-free policy in the city of Aleppo and had not gained any benefits from it, the caravans of merchants passing by still injected great vitality into the city.

There is a saying in the East that wealth should be shared among the people. Those foreign merchants needed to obtain food, clothing, housing and transportation from the city residents of Aleppo. So although Li Rufeng did not directly gain money, the residents living in the city became rich because of it.

And the residents who gradually become more well-off will further give back to the entire city.

Since the plague war, Aleppo has remained in a peaceful state until today. Moreover, due to Li Rufeng's intervention, resources have been exchanged in a more harmonious way between urban residents, rural residents and nomads in the entire area.

Although some bloody incidents occurred during this process, compared with previous years, even the Mughals, who had always been in a dominant position, had to admit that this method benefited them more and their lives were better.

All civilizations throughout history have repeatedly verified one thing: business is a more efficient activity than war.

Li Rufeng even optimistically predicted that if everything goes well, this prosperous scene will continue until April or May.

But obviously things did not go as planned. On January 11, Li Rufeng was awakened early in the morning by an urgent military intelligence report.

"Lord Rufeng, our scouts discovered that a thousand-man team of the Black Sheep entered Urfa Castle two days ago." Veteran General Habashibuhua stood in the reception room with a serious face. The moment he saw Li Rufeng, he immediately reported the intelligence he had received.

During this period, Habashibuhua's work focus was on training new recruits. He actually gained some weight, and the originally messy white hair on his head gradually turned black, making him look energetic.

He was not too old to begin with. The reason why he looked a little old before was entirely because of the hardships of nomadic life. In addition, he suddenly left the battlefield and was frustrated in life, so he seemed taciturn.

Now, as Li Rufeng's power gradually expands, although Habashibuhua has left his position as a front-line officer, the increasingly large military system still needs veterans like him to mediate.

In fact, it was not just him. In the past few years, all the veterans who were injured on the battlefield in Li Rufeng's army were re-hired by Li Rufeng with high salaries to serve as instructors and staff officers.

Although many of Li Rufeng's veterans could not even be called regular troops at the time, and could only be described as experienced nomadic cavalry, Li Rufeng still tried his best to properly place them in the military system.

On the one hand, it was because his military strength expanded too quickly and he urgently needed to ensure his voice in the army. On the other hand, it was also for the propaganda effect of buying a horse's bones for a huge sum of money.

In this era, there are few support policies specifically for veterans and disabled soldiers. Li Rufeng's actions can be regarded as indirectly ensuring the combat effectiveness of the army.

Even in the long run, Li Rufeng would rather break up the Bardock Thousand-Man Squad and mix it into other troops in order to weaken the original influence of the Bardock Thousand-Man Squad. However, the number of soldiers under Li Rufeng's command is not large enough. Even if the Bardock Thousand-Man Squad is broken up, they still have the advantage in numbers. If not handled properly, it may have the opposite effect, so he can only give up for the time being.

Chapter 394: War breaks out again

The Black Sheep's military strength did not appear out of thin air. The reason they had the spare capacity to mobilize a team of a thousand people to go to Urfa Castle was because a preliminary cooperation agreement was reached between the Black Sheep King Karl Yusuf and Shah Rukh.

The dispute over the Khanate's Sultanate throne had reached its peak. Shah Rukh had quelled the rebellion in his fiefdom and assembled a large army.

But in fact, Shah Rukh did not have an advantage in military strength, because the army controlled by Khalil, who occupied Samarkand, was the elite vanguard that Timur used to expedition to the Ming Dynasty. Khalil was also supported by several powerful vassals of Samarkand, and they each had their own army.

Although Shah Rukh won over many neutral Mongolian princes, religious leaders and local dignitaries, these veterans who had seen many disputes would never easily place a bet before the outcome was decided.

Therefore, it was difficult for Shah Rukh to obtain sufficient military support in Transoxiana, so he had to turn to another direction and gain more support from the many emirs in the later Iranian region.

In order to ease the threat posed by these emirs in the West and to avoid being attacked from both sides, Shah Rukh risked the world's condemnation and started secret negotiations with the Black Sheep.

Shah Rukh promised that if he became the new master of the Khanate, he would be willing to recognize the legal status of the Black Sheep in the existing areas and restrain his vassals from conflicting with the Black Sheep.

Like his father Timur, Shah Rukh was not that interested in lands outside of his core territories.

As a prince who grew up with Timur, Shah Rukh was already in his early forties, but in his memory, he had hardly ever had a peaceful day.

Like Timur's other relatively capable descendants, Shah Rukh was either fighting or on his way to fight every day in recent years. Even if he was not expanding the territory and invading other countries, rebellions were always brewing across the vast territory of the Khanate.

Shah Rukh was fed up with wars, especially those in the Mesopotamian Plain and Anatolia, which were too far away from the Khanate's ruling core, and the gains from each war were not proportional to the cost.

As a sign of sincerity in the negotiations between the two sides, Shah Rukh transferred one-third of the emirs in the Iranian regions who were willing to be loyal to him to the vicinity of Herat to ease the pressure of the border confrontation with the Black Sheep Peoples.

This is why the Qara ...

Although they managed to defeat the army of Miran Shah, within the Khanate, the military action of Grand Prince Miran Shah could not even be considered a regular military plan. It was more like another act of tyranny by the furious Grand Prince Miran Shah in private.

When there was an opportunity to reach a peace agreement with the successor of the Timurid Khanate, Karl Yusuf seized the opportunity and took the opportunity to transfer part of the army back to the southwest to guard against the real threat at this stage.

The enemy that the Black Sheep King mentioned is not Li Rufeng at the moment. Li Rufeng is wearing a Mamluk skin on his head. Like the Timurid Khanate, the Black Sheep King also does not want to provoke the Mamluks.

Karl Yusuf's real target was the Aq Qoyunlu tribe, the tribe led by Kara Osman.

Chapter 395: Stay at Home, Allies Come from Heaven

In fact, Hiltberg was already ready to set off and head to his next stop, entering the traditional Armenian mountains to contact the Armenian lords.

This task was easy for Hiltberg because he is still a devout Christian to this day, and in the Armenian mountains, those tenacious Armenians still maintain their beliefs and have not been assimilated.

When he was first captured and brought to the Timurid Empire, Hiltberg grazed sheep on this land for a while. He came into contact with the Armenian mountain people. Because of the same religious beliefs, the Armenians were also relatively gentle towards Hiltberg.

Although Hiltberg was currently carrying the mission of the alien lord Li Rufeng and Khalil, the heir of the King of Inner Asia, he still had a sense of homecoming towards the place he was about to visit.

In the quiet of some nights, Hillsteger also wondered if he was homesick and whether he should take this opportunity to return to his hometown.

But when he wakes up in the morning, Hiltberg is brought back to reality.

He was a knight. He chose to leave his hometown in order to make a name for himself. However, fate always likes to play tricks on people. What was left to Hiltberg was defeat and capture.

Hiltberg was well aware that he had accompanied Suleiman as a squire during the siege of Constantinople, and it was no secret to many European knights who traveled with him.

They had faced each other on the city walls and below them, and no one could accuse him of changing his stance because he chose to live over honor. Hiltberg had already been defeated.

He didn't dare to think about what kind of accusations he would face if he returned to his hometown. He was afraid that even his family would not choose to stand on his side.

As soon as he thought of this, Hiltberg temporarily gave up the idea of ​​going home. He wanted to stand out in this land and become a true nobleman. He had paid so much and it was impossible for him to give up like this.

But apparently the sudden conflict between the two sheep interrupted Hiltberg's journey north.

"It is with great humility that I turn to your master for help. I cannot defeat the Black Sheep people on my own." The Aries King Kara Osman spoke sincerely, but as an experienced diplomat, Hiltberg could see that he did not need help as much as he seemed.

It was obvious that the Aries King had prepared for the attack on the Black Sheep people, or in other words, the conflict between the two sides was also within the Aries King's expectations.

"Your army assembled very quickly, and your warriors are valiant. As for the Lord's will, I'm afraid I can only answer you after I return." Hilterberg wouldn't be lulled into forgetting his duties by a few kind words. He spoke directly and frankly, "But the Lord has given me the task of continuing north to visit the lords of the old Armenian lands. I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little longer for the Lord's reply."

Hiltberg called Li Rufeng "My Lord" without any psychological burden. All the funds he had received before were provided by Li Rufeng, and the accompanying soldiers around him were also sent by Li Rufeng.

In contrast, when he left Samarkand, Sultan Khalil did not even provide him with guards. Even before he could leave the city, Hiltberg had to find a way to bribe the soldiers at the city gate.

Aries King Kara Osman originally planned to send his own envoy during this period, or to go to Aleppo in person.

Chapter 396 Suppressing Bandits

When the two sheep tribes clashed, Master Li Rufeng was leading his personal guards and three hundred-man teams out of the city of Aleppo.

Just as he said before, one must first stabilize the country before fighting against foreign enemies. Recently, due to the prosperous business in Aleppo, the surrounding bandits have become prosperous again. He plans to go out and teach these people a lesson.

According to the intelligence brought back by the scouts some time ago, Li Rufeng has already grasped the lairs of six bandit gangs. Using regular troops to bully these armed peasants, or at most the defeated soldiers who have had some military service experience, is somewhat overkill.

But Li Rufeng just likes this kind of war where the strong bully the weak. If possible, he hopes that every war he fights will be such a comparison of the strong and the weak.

In order to train his troops, this time Li Rufeng also mobilized militia from nearby gathering points and villages according to the locations of the bandits' lairs to cooperate in suppressing the bandits.

The people following Li Rufeng now include Huluchirga and Avid. The former leads a century-man Mongol cavalry, while the latter leads a century-man Aleppo city defense infantry.

As for the entire expedition plan and sequence, it was planned by Yihabashibuhua, Badak, and several other experienced officers. They would not go with the team, so all possible contingency plans needed to be made in advance.

This was something they had never experienced before. Li Rufeng was intentionally training these people's advisory capabilities, and the young people in charge of learning were the ones Li Rufeng really cared about.

They might be more able to accept this kind of warfare. Due to the limitations of the times, the modern staff of later generations was destined to be impossible to replicate. Even if they had a military force like the Mongolian cavalry that was good at rapid rotation, it would be difficult for the staff far in the rear to obtain effective first-hand information.

Ultimately, war tests the first reactions of frontline generals based on their talents and experience, but this move can at least ensure that these experienced officers can view local wars from a higher perspective, and also allow reserve officers to more intuitively understand the factors behind the war, killing two birds with one stone.

Of course, for Huluchirjia at this time, this was just another ordinary bandit suppression mission. Before Li Rufeng took over, he had always been in charge of the bandit suppression work near the city of Aleppo.

As a pure Mongol, Huluchirga enjoyed this job very much. He was out almost twenty-five days every month, riding his warhorse, wielding his beloved saber and bow and arrow, to hunt down those rebellious people who dared to violate the order established by Lord Rufeng on his land.

But as a rough Mongolian warrior, Huluchirjia did lack some wisdom. He was a bit too reckless and rarely turned back, so many times those gangs of thieves would communicate with each other to avoid his pursuit.

In Habashibuhua's words, there is probably still a long way to go before Huluqierjia can be trained as a qualified military officer.

As for Avid, Li Rufeng mainly wanted to see his ability this time. He was born into a powerful hunter family nearby and was very familiar with the surrounding geographical environment. In addition, he was quite brave. Now he brought a team of 100 people to suppress the bandits. He was definitely returning home in glory and could beat anyone he wanted.

In addition, this time Parisa also went out with Li Rufeng to relax.

Although Li Rufeng didn't want to admit it, the fact was that even though Li Rufeng had made great progress in personal martial arts and riding skills in the previous period of time, Parisa was still a more powerful existence.

"This is my first time participating in such an operation." Parisa, dressed in military uniform, had a cheerful smile on her face and was obviously in a very good mood.

"I still remember when I was little, I went hunting with my grandfather. He gave me a pony, a red pony." Parisa smiled with a hint of happiness mixed with bitterness. "The pony stepped on a rabbit hunter's trap halfway and broke its leg..."

"Then he made me kill the pony myself as punishment for my poor riding skills and lack of observation, which prevented me from noticing the trap." Parisa sighed and said nothing more.

Update delayed...

I'm a bit stuck, I'm updating during the day, my sleep and rest schedule has been very disrupted these days

Chapter 397 Series Connection

The bald guy on horseback is named Raven. Strictly speaking, he should actually be considered a spy of the Black Sheep King, or to use a name that is more in line with Li Rufeng's understanding, he is a spy under the Black Sheep King.

The reason why the Black Sheep King was able to fight again and again after repeated defeats, was driven out of his homeland and wandered outside for more than ten years before returning again, and then was able to quickly raise an army and quickly restore his position was, on the one hand, naturally because he had a high personal prestige and was an extremely charismatic ruler, and on the other hand, because he never gave up his intelligence organization.

The reason why Carl Yusuf got involved with those black wizards who believed in the Blue Wind was because those black wizards had a way to allow him to contact his spies who stayed in the land of the Black Sheep People even though he was thousands of miles away, and to keep them loyal to them.

Raven is such a spy. He has a black sheep's head tattooed on his body, which symbolizes the glory of darkness. It is not only a proof of his identity, but also a contract that binds him.

From the first time the Qara ...

Because once he betrays the Black Sheep King, the tattoo on his body will cost him his life.

Raven had witnessed the fate of a traitor with his own eyes. The companion who chose to betray in order to save his own life and the lives of his family died of bleeding from all seven orifices before he could reveal any useful information. His death was extremely horrific and left a deep impression on people.

Therefore, Raven did not dare to have the slightest intention of betrayal. Even though he was a meritorious undercover agent under the iron-fisted rule of Timurid Khanate, and tremblingly provided countless intelligence to the Black Sheep King, and was kicked out to continue lurking near Aleppo when the Black Sheep Dynasty was revived again, he remained loyal.

Raven did not come here alone. When he was sent to this land by the Black Sheep King, he was accompanied by a dozen cavalrymen from the Black Sheep Tribe, who were considered the basic team for him to form a gang in this land.

With this group of Black Sheep Knights as their backbone, the bandit gang led by Raven was naturally the most powerful one in the nearby area. At the same time, he was well-informed and had a broad vision, and could only find the most worthy targets among the caravans. Therefore, he actually lived a good life during this period, and was also away from those weird black wizards.

If it weren't for the lord of Aleppo who suddenly launched an anti-bandit campaign, Raven even felt like he was living a retired life.

Now the pressure that Raven faces is not only from the lords who set out from Aleppo to suppress the bandits, but also from the Black Sheep King himself. Karl Yusuf's latest order is to require lurkers like him to find opportunities as much as possible to contain the Mongolian forces near Aleppo.

Because the Black Sheep people were ready to take action against the White Sheep tribe, and they obviously did not want the White Sheep tribe to join forces with these Mongols.

If possible, the Black Sheep King even hoped that these spies could find an opportunity to kill Li Rufeng directly. The ambitious Black Sheep King had already seen that Li Rufeng was a threat.

However, what the people above think is not important to the people below. For example, for Raven, assassinating Li Rufeng is not an option at all. He is not tired of living...

Although he is a spy, he has indeed been doing high-end intelligence work over the years and his personal skills are not bad. Of course, if you let him really go into the battlefield and fight those Mongols, it would be good if he can exchange one for one.

However, Raven was a guy who was very good at misleading people. He was very confident that he could persuade the bandits in the nearby area to cause trouble for the shaman. If he did not come out to suppress the bandits himself, Raven would not have this opportunity.

Even Raven had thought about it. If the opportunity was right, he would take the opportunity to kill Li Rufeng directly. With such an achievement, he should be able to go back and collect the reward, right?

"How many of you are there?" Umail touched the scar on his face. That was the mark left on his face by Saladin himself when he was expelled from the tribe. It represented shame, so when the man in front of him said that he wanted to deal with Li Rufeng, he was indeed a little tempted.

If that damn Mongol lord died, Saladin would have lost his biggest backer. He could simply return to the tribe, raise his arms, and hang the damn traitor in the tribe.

Of course, Umar is not a fool. He can't even beat Saladin, let alone the backers behind Saladin. The Mongols are too notorious for their viciousness. With such a small number of people, they are not enough to fill the gaps in the enemy's teeth. If the bald man in front of him wants him to be cannon fodder, then he should not leave today.

Thinking of this, Wu Mail gave the bald man in front of him a vicious look, with an unfriendly smile on his face.

"It doesn't matter how many people we have. What matters is that we can find someone to do this." Raven is a skilled angler. He wouldn't use a straight hook to fish, as that would be too disrespectful.

Wumaier carefully examined Raven's warhorse and equipment, and found that they were all high-end goods. With an idea in mind, he waved his hands to his men and told them to get out. "In that case, why don't you sit down and have a good talk?"

Raven's plan was simple, or rather, the plan that Raven told Umail was simple.

Li Rufeng rose too fast. Although he made the cake bigger, the benefits that this land could provide were limited after all. If Li Rufeng ate one more bite, someone would have to eat one less bite, or even have nothing to eat. So the more he ate now, the more people would go hungry. He had far more enemies than friends.

It’s just that the Mongolian scimitars are sharp enough that many people would rather starve than touch the tiger’s whiskers.

So Raven told Umail that he had a way to hire people from the Mamluks to act as knives. He only needed the bandits on the grassland to unite, pay the money together, and act as spies and bait. As long as Li Rufeng and his army were separated, he would just need to find an opportunity to attack them together.

"Those are Mongols, how can they be dealt with so easily?" Wumail's tone was a little evasive, and it was obvious that he had been tempted. He was struggling with how much money Raven meant by "joint payment"?

"How can anyone achieve great things without taking any risks?" Raven tempted. "Furthermore, this opportunity probably only comes once. If we miss it, we'll truly be left with nothing. Are you willing to accept that?"

Raven's words hit upon Umar's weakness. He was unwilling to leave and followed Saladin all the way, hoping to one day take back everything that belonged to him...

"How much does it cost?" Wu Mail asked, panting.

Chapter 398 Leading you into an urn

In fact, Raven is not short of money. The main reason he brought this group of bandits together is that he has been undercover for a long time and is accustomed to doing things in a smooth manner to prevent others from finding out his whereabouts.

On the contrary, it was a bit troublesome to hire people from the Mamluks. There was an epidemic in Damascus. Even if there were mercenaries available, they could not get through the blockade set up by the Mongols.