Mount and Blade Central Asia

After all, in this land, if you want to have the final say without military power, you are totally dreaming. Maybe someone has thought about doing so, but the consequences will definitely not be good.

Even when Timur was still in power, the civil officials of the Central Diwan were all part-time emirs of Transoxiana. They either had their own fiefdoms or directly controlled the army in the city.

Muzaffar was actually the first generation of real kingdom officials trained by Timur. In order to minimize the influence from large families, he mainly selected people from the second sons or even illegitimate sons of small and medium-sized families who had no inheritance rights.

But obviously even Timur did not have the energy to promote such reforms. One only needs to look at Muzaffar, who was almost thirty years old and still working in a border post, to know how much resistance there was behind this.

Fortunately, Li Rufeng does not have so many shackles for the time being, so he has been consciously establishing the tradition of civilian governance, and has been promoting the professionalization of the army and the systematization of officers.

It’s a pity that Li Rufeng’s rise to power was too short, he had too few talented people under him, and his foundation was insufficient. Apart from adjusting the organizational structure of the army, he could not accomplish many goals.

Although Master Li has many ideas in the military industry, as of today, there are only a few qualified blacksmith shops in the blacksmith district he built in Aleppo that can produce qualified products.

Not to mention upgrading the soldiers' weapons and armor, just repairing the old ones and forging enough arrowheads was enough to keep the blacksmiths and apprentices busy day and night, all the way until the harvest season...

However, the good news is that after this period of hard work, the horseshoes of the cavalry under Li Rufeng have been repaired, and the situation of military equipment being abandoned due to the civil unrest in the Khanate has been reversed.

It can be said that the two thousand soldiers under Master Li's command have barely entered a state of war and can deal with a full-scale war at any time.

Chapter 406: Inheritance Experience

When the territory and people under Li Rufeng's rule were thriving, Bao Rizhebu felt like an outsider.

Ever since the battle with the Taierbahe tribe, Bao Rizhebu has never stood up again. A man without a leg on the grassland is like a castrated horse, except that a castrated horse can still be ridden, while a man without a leg is as good as dead except for being able to breathe.

But Shaman Rufeng took great efforts to rescue him, so Bao Rizhebu would not commit suicide again after he came to his senses.

At first, he thought that Li Rufeng asked him to be an instructor for new recruits to teach archers how to shoot arrows, and it was just a casual remark. He never expected that what Li Rufeng said was true.

During this period, Bao Rizhebu has been teaching the militiamen how to use bows and arrows, which is not an easy job.

When he was in the tribe, Bao Rizhebu always felt that things like riding and archery were like eating and drinking water. They were the kind of skills you would learn as you lived. Those who didn't know how to do them would most likely die halfway and never grow up.

After entering the city, Bao Rizhebu discovered that there were people who didn't know how to eat or drink...

"When drawing the bow, if the string hand is unstable, use your front hand to help push the bow arm forward. You are novices, so don't think about hitting the center of the bull's eye. First, stabilize the arrow with the bow drawn, and then aim." Bao Rizhebu sat in a simple wheelchair and was pushed by a student. He inspected every militiaman who was holding a bow and explaining the essentials of archery in a calm tone.

He has passed his initial period of irritability and gradually become calm, otherwise he would have been angry to death.

Bao Rizhebu never thought in his life that the people in the city were so stupid. Now he knew why they always won when facing these people.

"Breathing is very important. Maintain your breathing rhythm and don't use brute force." Bao Rizhebu calmly watched as at least half of the people released the bowstrings before stabilizing the bows due to lack of strength, causing the arrows to fly away without knowing where to go.

"It's time to take a break and move to the next group." Bao Rizhebu sighed, thinking that as a disabled person, he was just right to teach this group of "disabled people" who were even worse than himself.

"How is your recovery?" Bao Rizhebu turned around and saw Li Rufeng standing at the entrance of the training ground, looking at him with a smile.

Bao Rizhebu's respect for Li Rufeng came from the heart. Otherwise, when the accident happened in the Taierbahe tribe, he would not have subconsciously thrown himself on Li Rufeng and used his body to block the trampling of the horses' hooves.

He had never seen anyone like Li Rufeng before. He learned their language in just a few months and could even have a pleasant conversation with the old shaman. Bao Rizhebu had never seen the old shaman talking with anyone all night before. Before Li Rufeng appeared, the old shaman always sat alone under the night sky, as if he was talking to the stars in the sky.

At the same time, he also possesses amazing medical skills, and can even pull people like himself back from the brink of death... Of course, at this point, Bao Rizhebu actually really hopes that Li Rufeng is not that powerful.

As a Mongol and a warrior, Bao Rizhebu could fully accept the outcome of dying on the battlefield, but when his courage subsided, he was still somewhat glad that he had survived tenaciously.

Bao Rizhebu, who had lost one leg, could no longer ride a horse. This was definitely the cruelest punishment for a Mongolian who had been with horses since childhood and almost grew up on horseback.

For this reason, he left his people and everything he was once familiar with, moved from Li Rufeng's tribe to the city of Aleppo, and became an outcast living in the city.

Li Rufeng took good care of him, and Bao Rizhebu soon discovered that he now had much more disposable assets than when he was still healthy. He knew that this was a gift from Li Rufeng, but he still felt unworthy of it.

He felt that any young man in the tribe would protect the shaman in the tribe without hesitation, just like him.

So, in order to make up for this favor, Bao Rizhebu accepted the new job assigned to him by Li Rufeng, teaching these city dwellers how to use bows and arrows. However, the pain this job brought Bao Rizhebu was almost as painful as the pain of losing a limb...

"Everything is fine, sir." Bao Rizhebu smiled and tried to stand up from the wheelchair, but was pushed back by Li Rufeng who was walking quickly towards him.

"You're my savior. Our relationship shouldn't be limited by status." Li Rufeng half-knelt down and looked Bao Rizhebu in the eye. "So you have to tell me the truth. How is your recovery? Does your wound hurt in rainy or snowy weather?"

Bao Rizhebu felt Li Rufeng's sincerity in his eyes, and a blush appeared on his originally dark face. At this moment, he felt that his leg was worth it.

"When it rains, the wound does feel a little painful. It's not the flesh that hurts, it's the bones." Bao Rizhebu said honestly, and then hurriedly explained, "But these are just small things. Just bear with it and it will pass."

Li Rufeng patted Bao Rizhebu's shoulder vigorously. He would never forget the scene at that time. Bao Rizhebu pressed him under him, and all he could hear was the sound of horse hooves hitting the ground. If Bao Rizhebu had not risked his life to protect him, he might have been the one sitting in the wheelchair today.

"I've said before that archery is a skill. A sharpshooter like you can still be effective even when you're not on the battlefield," Li Rufeng said, looking at Bao Rizhebu seriously. "I wasn't exaggerating. In this area, talent is more important than hard work. You should be very clear about that."

Hearing Li Rufeng's words, Bao Rizhebu showed a proud smile at the corner of his mouth, because what Shaman Rufeng said was right, talent is more important than hard work in this field.

Otherwise, there would be no difference in archery skills among children who grew up in the same tribe. He is the gifted child. In the same learning environment, he always learns faster than others and shoots more accurately than others.

Bao Rizhebu also found several good talents among this group of militiamen, which is why he has been able to stick to this position until now.

But Li Rufeng's expectations for Bao Rizhebu go beyond that. He hopes that Bao Rizhebu can select talented people from across the army, train them, and record his experiences in the form of text or even images, so that they can be passed down as experience.

To this end, Li Rufeng brought the painter Ostad Mahmoud this time. His way of persuading the painter was also very simple. He promised to teach the other party how to outline the muscles of the human body through sketching.

This technique is enough to drive the painter who is obsessed with painting into a frenzy.

Chapter 407 The Black Sheep King’s Troubles

Li Rufeng planned to record not only Bao Rizhebu's archery skills, but also the techniques of riding, sword and shield, spear, etc. in words and pictures. Just like the military book written by Qi Jiguang, he also planned to compile a formal military system book.

It just doesn't need to be that complicated. Qi Jiguang's "Jixiao Xinshu" was for educated military officers to read. Even Li Rufeng, a Chinese, could hardly understand it, let alone this group of smart people who couldn't even count one, two, or three.

He only needed this book to allow literate officers to know how to train soldiers, how to command the ten or one hundred men under his command, and how to understand the formation.

After personally fighting in several battles, Li Rufeng finally understood that command talent must be acquired at the cost of human lives.

Those with high talent will use fewer lives, those with low talent will waste more lives, and those without talent... those without talent will usually waste their own lives after just a few uses.

Li Rufeng asked his officers to select a group of qualified scouts and send them to the north to cross the Tianshui River to spy on the Black Sheep People's military intelligence.

He didn't expect these scouts to capture cities, but at least he had to act as if he was watching them, saying, "I, Li, am watching you. Don't show any flaws," and try his best to disgust the Black Sheep people.

Now the offense and defense have been reversed between the two sides. Before, Li Rufeng was afraid that the Black Sheep would wipe him out, but now the Black Sheep are worried that Li Rufeng will come and cause trouble.

It is an indisputable fact that in this small piece of land of the Fertile Crescent, it is impossible for the Black Sheep King to destroy the White Sheep Tribe without the order of Master Li.

Unless they can first deal with the threat from the Khanate's border, or make a big move to abandon the newly occupied territories and maintain the core defense line near Tabriz.

But no one can spit out the benefits they have swallowed, not even a tyrant like Karl Yusuf.

At this time in Tabriz, Karl Yusuf was indeed troubled by this matter.

As a ruler who experienced many ups and downs, Karl Yusuf undoubtedly had great political wisdom and personal ambition, and enjoyed a very high prestige among the people.

Such a person could naturally see that although the Black Sheep people had managed to regain their independence and swallowed up their former suzerain, Jalaliyir, and became prosperous again, they were still a small player compared to the Timurid Khanate.

Karl Yusuf did have the idea of ​​giving up a large area of ​​land to artificially establish a buffer zone between himself and the Timurid Khanate.

But even he couldn't do it. There is a saying that goes, although the country is big, there is no land without an owner. Karl Yusuf couldn't let his vassals give up the land they had already obtained.

The reason why he was able to fight again and again despite repeated defeats was that, in addition to relying on the secret support of the Mamluks, he mainly relied on the support of the leaders of the Black Sheep Tribes. It was impossible for him to dig the Great Wall himself.

At the moment, Carl Yusuf is indeed facing the embarrassing situation of being unable to get rid of the powerful forces. The reason why those tribal leaders who are loyal to him are so loyal is that before destroying the country, he relied on black magic to obtain the loyalty of these families.

During the years that Timur occupied his territory, even if some of the tribal leaders were killed and their families were destroyed, as long as their bloodline was inherited, the heirs still had to be loyal to their oath and not betray.

However, the loyalty required by this black magic is mutual: the minister shall not betray the king, and the king shall not betray the minister. As Carl Yusuf has gained a firm foothold and intends to push the Black Sheep Tribe to a higher level, its backlash came.

The nine black sheep tribes back then have now become the nine kings. None of them is easy to deal with. Their arrogance and domineering behavior make Carl Yusuf occasionally have the illusion that he is working for them.

Carl Yusuf's relationship with black magic dates back more than twenty years, when he was just a prince.

At that time, a black wizard named Ali Hassan appeared beside him and used black magic to help him stand out from many princes and become the later Black Sheep King.

Ali Hassan's request for return was simple. He asked Karl Yusuf to allow him to spread the faith of the Blue Wind in his territory after he came to power.

Ali Hassan had assured him that the Blue Wind belief was just a "little secret" among smart people. It would never spread to ordinary people and would not come into direct conflict with Islam.

He also said that the Azure Wind Faith is actually more like a mind game, just to facilitate the screening of those who have the potential to become wizards.

Karl Yusuf knew that Ali Hasa was not telling the truth, but faced with the temptation of the throne of the Black Sheep King, he agreed readily.

He knew that sooner or later he would regret agreeing to this request, but he didn't expect that day to come so soon.

Almost in the second year after Ali Hassan became Karl Yusuf's aide, his father Karl Muhammad passed away, and he became the new Black Sheep King without any suspense.

After taking office, Ali Hassan helped him establish the Qara ...

But just like other black magic performed by Ali Hassan, this unconditional loyalty also has side effects. In fact, almost all black magic is more like a devil's bargaining trick. When you get what you want from it, you always have to pay a price that you can't bear.

However, those spies who would never betray him cost Carl Yusuf the lives of a group of followers who were truly loyal to him. Compared to human nature, the Black Sheep King obviously believed more in the constraints brought by magical power.

But when he personally sent those loyal followers off, the sadness still made the Black Sheep King feel what it was like to be torn apart by a knife...

"Your Highness, two life lamps have just gone out. They are the two spies you sent to the vicinity of Aleppo." A waiter dressed in court attire walked up to Carl Yusuf and whispered, his tone full of caution and care.

There are too many legends about Carl Yusuf and the dark wizards. Every year, countless people disappear in the palace for various reasons, so that the attendants around him dare not even step out of line.

Hearing the word Aleppo, Karl Yusuf frowned. In fact, he was not willing to pay attention to the group of Mongols who had escaped. His number one enemy now was naturally the Timurids who were close at hand, followed by the Aries tribe.

But for some reason, the black wizards under his command kept on targeting the Mongolian shaman. Carl Yusuf had never seen those black wizards care so much about anyone or anything, so much so that even the Black Sheep King began to become curious about the shaman.

That's why he noticed the shaman, who had recently brought back a team of a thousand men from the Karaman people. This forced him to pay more attention to the other party's movements.

Because he was currently in the southern border area, he only had a mere 1,500 troops to mobilize, and most of them were third-line troops composed mainly of armed herdsmen...

Chapter 408 Waste Recycling

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Chapter 409 The Beast Returns

On January 30, 1409, the scouts sent by Li Rufeng crossed the Tianshui River and entered the territory controlled by the Black Sheep People.

Of course, the proud Mughals did not admit that this land was now ruled by the Black Sheep People. After all, a year ago, the Mughals were still riding horses and grazing freely on this fertile land.

Choosing a strategic retreat was the business of the bigwigs above, but for the Mongol cavalry below, they simply thought that the bigwigs above were weak and did not dare to fight.

If Qinggelinayan's reputation had not been high enough, if Shaman Li Rufeng had not taken the opportunity to occupy the city of Aleppo, which indeed made life better for the tribe, the Mongols would probably have long been dissatisfied with the current situation.

This was also the reason why Li Rufeng instigated Qinggelinayan to step forward. At that time, he was powerless and could not bear such responsibility at all.

Abelji was a personal guard under Li Rufeng. He was one of the scouts who crossed the Tianshui River this time and was directly under the command of Li Rufeng.

After crossing the Tianshui River, the scouts of a hundred people quickly split into small groups of twenty people. After saying goodbye to each of them, they galloped away in a random direction.

For Abelji, this was undoubtedly an opportunity. He was in an excited state and even riding for hundreds of miles could not calm him down. Most of the soldiers under his command were the same.

For the Mughals, a peaceful life without war is just a kind of rest, for the purpose of continuing the family line and honing martial arts. It is a temporary state. Only war is eternal and is the real life.

It’s no wonder that Abelji has such thoughts, because their parents and grandparents all lived such a life.

Whenever a war began, the men would put on their armor, take out their well-maintained weapons, ride their best war horses, leave the tribe in groups of three or five, join their own hundred-man team, and become glorious warriors.

Those gathered around them at this time were all comrades who had gone through life and death together and were willing to trust each other with their backs. They faced life and death together, faced powerful enemies together, killed together, made money together, and played with women together. This was their real family.

It was after the war that the thousand-man tent was disbanded, and the warriors returned to the tribe with rich spoils, and their homes seemed a little strange. They often did not see their wives and children for several years, and did not even know whether the children were their own.

After all, this family is more like a responsibility and an obligation to them, a responsibility to continue the bloodline and an obligation to strengthen the tribe.

The men's blood, which had not yet cooled down in the war, would gradually calm down in the few months after returning home. By the time they began to adapt to this peaceful family life, their wives were no longer shy about calling their names, and their children were gradually becoming familiar with them, another call from the Khan or the Sultan would have reached the tribe.

This is the lifestyle passed down from generation to generation by Mongolian men. They have become accustomed to life on the battlefield, just like farmers are accustomed to sowing in spring and harvesting in autumn, except that they sow with bows and arrows and harvest with sabers.

Abelji rode on a tall horse, looking at his companions going away. He couldn't contain his excitement and shouted loudly before he gradually calmed himself down.

He was from the Taierbahe tribe and was one of Li Rufeng's earliest personal guards. For Abelji personally, becoming a personal guard of the shaman was more like an honor, but this honor actually changed the direction of his life.

Abelji felt that there was an inexplicable connection between himself and the shaman. He could always keenly perceive the will of the shaman, as if he could communicate directly with his own mind. The feeling was indescribable, and made people marvel at the power of Changshengtian.

Not only that, Abelji also knew that his fellow guards had the same mysterious feeling as himself, which further increased Li Rufeng's sacredness.

With the blessing of this power, Abelji felt that no matter who their enemy was, they would be able to achieve final victory. The Black Sheep People were not worth mentioning at all.

In several previous foreign wars, Abelji was not able to fight to his heart's content because of his status as a personal guard. Moreover, in Lord Rufeng's daily work, these personal guards also had to undertake a lot of clerical work that was not their responsibility, which gave many personal guards a headache.

So this time, when Abelji got the chance to go to the Black Sheep People's place and kill them, he would never let this opportunity go to waste.

Compared with the plans of other scout teams, Abelji's plan was much more radical. He planned to cross the city of Mardin and go directly to the vicinity of Morsu, or even go further and continue eastward towards Tabriz.

They fought their way here along this route, so they can certainly fight back now.

Abelji, who was running all the way, passed the Urfa Castle that day, and shot a few arrows at the city wall in a demonstration to provoke the defenders stationed on the castle, and then disappeared into the night in a swagger.

Compared with others, Abelji understood what Li Rufeng was thinking better. He knew that this action was not a secret one, but an open and aboveboard demonstration with a slight provocative connotation.

This was a test from Lord Rufeng to the Black Sheep People, to test whether the other side now had enough troops to start a war on three fronts.

If the Black Sheep choose to give in, it will prove that the Black Sheep King has not yet resolved the trouble on the eastern border.

Li Rufeng's power was too small and his reach was too short to obtain more intelligence from within the Khanate in the remote corner of Aleppo. He could only use this method to spy on the reaction of the Black Sheep People.

So Abelji can do whatever he wants as long as he is not afraid of death, and Abelji happens to be a warrior who is not afraid of death but is afraid of not fighting.

Abelji's troops rested that night less than forty miles east of Urfa. They directly occupied a small village, killed a dozen men who led the resistance, and then swept away the wealth of the village, enjoyed the most delicious food and the most beautiful women in the village. When they left early the next morning, they burned down their own place of residence, leaving the surviving villagers to cry in the firelight.