Mount and Blade Central Asia

There are a total of eight cannons placed here today, and most of the artillerymen responsible for firing them are novices going to the battlefield for the first time. If they don't take defensive measures, they are worried that they will not be able to spend their old age in peace.

With a deafening bang, an eight-kilogram stone bullet flew towards the gate of Urfa Castle under the propulsion of chemical energy.

On the city wall, hundreds of Black Sheep defenders, including Haidam, watched as the cannonball crashed into the wall of Urfa Castle with a loud bang. Soldiers who were closer could even feel the vibration caused by the stone bullet hitting the stone wall through the battlements.

Chapter 451: Charge into battle!

Although the barrage of bullets fired by the eight cannons in succession was not dense, it was a rare momentum in this era and in this land.

Both the defenders on the city wall and the attackers outside the city wall were shocked by the roar of the cannon and fell into silence for a moment. Many war horses that had not been trained in the artillery test field kept roaring, trying to break free from their masters' control and escape, and even knocked over several knights. The scene looked extremely chaotic for a while.

If Haidam and his soldiers saw this scene, perhaps they would regain some of their lost morale.

But it was obvious that they could not care about the chaos outside the field now. Unlike the godly gunner like Diobbia, the cannons he helped to calibrate had not undergone a second fine-tuning in the hands of those apprentices. The muzzles were facing different directions, and the shells fired also landed at different points due to the difference in the amount of powder.

One of the cannons "slipped" a ten-kilogram cannonball through the gap in the battlement into the corridor on the city wall. Because it scraped the edge of the battlement, the trajectory of the cannonball changed unpredictably.

The shell made a strange curve and hit two Black Sheep soldiers hiding together a few meters away. It knocked them off the city wall like a bowling ball.

Haidam didn't even want to look, he knew that the two soldiers were dead. He was only three meters away from the two soldiers and saw clearly that the shell first scraped off the first man's chin and then hit the second soldier's chest.

The fragile human body is as soft as catkins in front of such a weapon... Haidam felt a stinging pain on his cheek, reached out and pulled out a front tooth that was embedded in the flesh.

Haidam was conceited that he was a warrior who had seen the world. During the days when he followed the Black Sheep King, he had been hunted and attacked countless times, and he had also fought bloody battles, but he had never seen a scene like this.

He was afraid—

"Send me down quickly!" Haidam pulled his confidant and ordered loudly, completely ignoring the reactions of the soldiers around him who were watching him.

"Sir!" The confidant wanted to say something else, but Haidam no longer cared about that. He just crawled down the city wall, leaving the demoralized soldiers looking at each other in silence.

"Quickly send someone to Diyarbakir for help!" Haidam walked all the way into his mansion, ignoring the women who came to greet him just as he ignored the soldiers. He rushed straight into his bedroom and took out his token. "We can't hold on! They have too many artillery! We must ask for help!"

This was not the first time Haidam had seen cannons. He was not unfamiliar with this weapon in his military career, but today when so many cannons were used together, it still gave him a great shock.

"Sir, the soldiers need to boost their morale, otherwise we may not be able to wait until the reinforcements arrive." When the confidant followed Haidam down the city wall, he saw clearly that the faces of those tribesmen who originally belonged to Dimulati were not very happy.

"Capture fifty women from the castle and send them to the walls!" Haidam frowned. After his initial fear faded, he realized his previous actions were extremely unwise. "Tell them to hold out until reinforcements arrive. Everyone will get five sheep!"

Haidam's heart was bleeding as he made such a promise. Because there were 400 to 500 people on the city wall, this sentence just promised to give away 1,000 to 2,000 sheep. For a chief like Haidam, whose tribe did not have much spare money, it was a bit of a blow...

Chapter 452 Victory is at hand

Wars between cavalrymen were often brutal, as the relative speeds of the two sides were so high that even if the weapons did not hit each other, the collisions themselves would still cause significant damage.

The Mongols that Li Rufeng had come into contact with over the years were all valuable rangers. Even the great conqueror Timur would not let them do the work of shock cavalry. Now Badak showed Li Rufeng the deterrent power of shock cavalry on the battlefield.

Thanks to the high-quality war horses provided by the Mughal tribe to Badak, under the command of Barak, his cavalry seized the gap after the Black Sheep people threw their javelins. The sudden acceleration allowed these shock cavalry to seize the opportunity before the Black Sheep people completed their turn.

In that instant alone, dozens of people fell off their horses. Given the density of Bardock's cavalry, anyone who fell off their horses could basically be declared dead.

This is the result of human evolution over thousands of years, killing their own kind in a more efficient way. From the current perspective, cavalry is the undisputed king of the battlefield.

Even though Li Rufeng had seen many of the Mongol knights' superb archery and amazing riding skills, he was still surprised by the dominance of the shock cavalry on the battlefield. Those cavalry completely ignored their own casualties and plowed through the Black Sheep People's phalanx in the most brutal way.

After losing unified command, the scattered Black Sheep Cavalry were completely unable to put up a strong resistance. More than one-third of the cavalry centuries that ventured out to attack the artillery positions fell in just a few breaths, and most of the remaining people fled in all directions. Only less than a hundred people fled back to Urfa Castle in panic.

Most of these cavalrymen were subordinates of the late Dimurati. They were dissatisfied with Haidam's order to send them out of the city to die, and after suffering heavy losses, they naturally made the choice.

Even though those who escaped would most likely have to endure the wrath of the Black Sheep King, they were unwilling to lose their lives here in vain.

Deep down, the Black Sheep people were still afraid of the Mongols under Timur. If it weren't for the cruel rule of Prince Miransha that made it unbearable for them over the years, the Black Sheep King Karl Yusuf might not have had the chance to make a comeback.

Finally, with the help of the archers on the city wall, the cavalry under Bardock brought back the few captured Black Sheep People and other spoils.

Although there were dozens of casualties, the soldiers' morale was high. It was obvious that proving their bravery on the battlefield once again was like a homecoming ceremony for them.

The results of the battle were brilliant, but Li Rufeng saw clearly that if it were not for Bardock's perfect command, those cavalrymen would never have been able to "capture" those Black Sheep People so easily.

All of this was based on Bardock's sufficient understanding of both sides. He understood the Black Sheep's tactical habits, knew how fast their horses could run, and even knew the reaction speed of their command chain.

At the same time, Bardock skillfully controlled the rhythm of his own cavalry, accurately controlled every link with flags, and issued the most appropriate orders at the most appropriate time.

All of this combined ultimately led to the Black Sheep's fate of failure.

This was the first time that Li Rufeng truly witnessed the command art of this era. Bardock was equivalent to taking care of all the work from logistics to staff, to on-site command, and even killing the enemy on the front line.

Obviously, the officers who were able to stay in Smyrna to serve as garrison for the Khanate had absolute strength. In comparison, Qinggelinayan seemed like an amateur.

Habasit may be able to do as well as Bardock in some aspects, but he is far behind in overall command and overall view.

Li Rufeng clapped his hands lightly, paying tribute to Bardock's brilliant command. "You decide the rewards after the battle."

This was a gift from Li Rufeng to Badak. After all, according to the tradition of the Khanate, the first reward for each war should be decided by the person with the highest status.

"I will definitely bring you victory." Bardock bowed slightly to Li Rufeng on horseback with a smile on his face. The feeling of having someone supporting him again made this centurion who had been trying his best to keep the troops together feel safe again.

In contrast, the Black Sheep people inside Urfa Castle were caught in a dilemma.

First of all, the troops under Li Rufeng did not completely surround Urfa Castle. He even only prepared his troops in the direction of the main gate of the castle, as if he was going to break in through the main gate.

This put Haidam in a very embarrassing situation. Because of Dimurati's death, most of the defenders in the castle had no intention of fighting. On the one hand, they did not trust Haidam. On the other hand, with the death of Dimurati himself and a large number of powerful figures in the tribe, many people had evil intentions and were anxious to go back to fight for power and profit.

So when deafening cannon fire sounded again from the direction of the city gate, and the city gate was hit by two stone bullets, and a crack appeared in the middle of the heavy bolt, the few remaining warriors under Dimulati stood up, gathered the bewildered soldiers, and asked Haidam to let them go.

"Otherwise, we will fight here tonight." The leading man, wearing armor and accompanied by a dozen soldiers, threatened Haidam with a stern face.

What little dignity Haidam had left was gone after he fled from the city wall.

These soldiers from other tribes did not respect him in the first place, and now the look they gave Haidam was full of contempt.

"The order to garrison this castle was issued by the Black Sheep King himself. Even if we have to die, we will die here." Haidam could only cling to his last lifeline.

That is the majesty of the Black Sheep King.

As a former king, after more than ten years of sleeping on straw and eating bitter food, he finally led the Black Sheep People out of the quagmire of Timur's brutal rule. Karl Yusuf has amazing prestige among the Black Sheep People and even the entire Turkmen community.

Chapter 453 Hiltberg's Adventure

After Li Rufeng officially declared war on the Black Sheep People, Hiltberg in the Armenian land did not waste time. He reached an agreement with the ruler of Erzurum. Erzurum and the Armenian forces behind it officially sent an envoy delegation to Aleppo.

He himself had a natural liking for these Armenians who shared the same faith, but in his contacts over the past few days, Hiltberg had determined that these Armenians were simply incapable of maintaining an independent stance on this land.

However, Hiltberg's journey did not end in Erzurum. He left all the other guards sent by Li Rufeng here to deal with the remaining issues, and then continued north alone.

The task assigned to him by Li Rufeng was to unite the Armenian forces in the north. Obviously, the city of Erzurum alone could not fully represent the Armenian forces.

Hiltberg was a man of duty; it was instinctive to him, for in days gone by, if he had not developed this habit, he would have died long ago.

In addition to the mission assigned to him by Li Rufeng, he also shoulders the expectations of Sultan Khalil, so Hiltberg himself also wants to know whether there are still supporters of Sultan Khalil in this land.

Without the "hindrance" of the Mongols, Hiltberg easily integrated into the local "circle" with the same beliefs and a standard Crusader face.

Of course, those were small villages along the way, and the mountain folks hiding in the mountains were still wary and even malicious towards loners like him, but fortunately, Hiltberg himself was a very good warrior, and those who wanted to attack him finally got the opportunity to confess to God himself.

Moreover, Hiltberg's presence was less noticeable in the castles and towns protected by local lords.

He also found out what he wanted in these places. Obviously, for most Armenian lords who still owned land, it didn't matter who was the ruler of the land.

Most of the local lords recognized the great conqueror's extensive rule over the surrounding areas, but it was undeniable that after the rise of the Black Sheep Peoples severed the connection between this land and Samarkand, life without paying taxes was not bad.

However, the growing ambition of the Black Sheep People made many local lords wary, and no one wanted a new overlord to suddenly appear over their heads.

Most of the Armenian territory is in the mountains, and Erzurum is one of the few cities controlled by the Armenians. This has weakened the military advantage of the Black Sheep People to a certain extent. But on the other hand, the Mongols and Timur have proved twice that in the face of absolute power, terrain advantage is a joke.

As the saying goes, poor mountains and bad waters produce unruly people. Under the oppression of many pagan rulers, Armenians with different religious beliefs have developed an extremely conservative attitude towards life, which makes the people living here more resilient and stubborn.

"We don't welcome outsiders here!" Outside another mountain village Hiltberg passed by, an indifferent guard standing behind a wooden wall coldly rejected his attempt to trade food. "You can continue forward in this direction. Before sunset, you will reach Bonnar. The people there will sell you food and water."

"But you have to be careful of your life along the way. Heferson and his gang are hiding in the forest and watching you." The guard sneered and then issued the final expulsion order.

Chapter 454 I Want to Join

Hiltberg was lucky, as he met a group of very talkative robbers. He had been tied up for less than an hour when he learned from the conversation between the robbers that their plan today was to kidnap a minor noble who was passing by and was about to collect taxes on his way to the village he had visited before.

With the death of the great conqueror and the rise of the Black Sheep People, this land originally ruled by the father and son of the Milansha King became a truly free land. The noble lords ruled their own territories according to the dividing lines since ancient times, and collected food, leather and other physical goods to increase their own property.

The Armenians living in the mountains became free people in the true sense. They did not pay taxes to anyone and rarely left the mountains. But it was obvious that as long as there was a noble lord in this land, he would never allow any creature that did not pay taxes to exist on the land given to him by God.

So naturally, conflicts broke out between the two. The nobles quickly formed a larger army, and most of the mountain people also united together to carry out armed resistance to taxation.

The group of robbers who kidnapped Hiltberg was one of them, and the name of their leader was exactly Hefferson, whom the guard had mentioned before.

"I've been waiting here for four hours, Hefferson. I guess your informant has deceived you. Caius has no intention of leaving his castle today!" A sturdy man wearing simple leather armor, carrying a bow and arrow, with hair and beard so lush that they look like a wild man, said in a vague tone, "We are wasting our time!"

The man's voice was so peculiar that Hiltberg wondered if his tongue had been cut off.

"Calm down, Barris. Anger won't solve any problems. I'm just like you. I received the news and am waiting here for an opportunity." Hefferson said slowly. She was thin, with dry yellow hair, and her eyes were dark and she looked very tired. It was obvious that she hadn't had a good night's sleep for a long time.

He recognized the archer who had "captured" him. Hiltberg had been observing him. In his opinion, if this group of bandits were not led by this man, they would be a group of scattered sand. They might scatter after getting his warhorse and other property.

However, this man named Heferson not only calmed these people down so that they wouldn't think about their belongings for the time being, but he also directed this group of scum to set up a trap on both sides of the forest road.

"I want Caius! I want him today! I'm going to pull out his intestines and use them as a rope to hang him!" The bear-like Barris made a gesture of strangling someone with his hands while speaking. Hiltberg noticed that when he did this, the several robbers around him subconsciously moved away.

Heffelsen ignored the angry Barris and turned to sit across from Hilterberg, his sword still in hand. "Does our mysterious guest have anything else to say? This sword is very sharp. Although it doesn't have any jewels that will make you smile, it is still an expensive weapon. Mercenaries don't have such fine things."

"And that horse, it's a Mongolian war horse, so you'd better tell me the truth, who are you?" Heferson frowned, his tone revealing a hint of impatience. He felt that the identity of the man in front of him was a bit too special, and it would be better to kill him to save trouble.

Chapter 455 Recapture of Urfa Castle

Half of the defenders of Urfa Castle fled, and now there are only less than a thousand demoralized Black Sheep Men, mainly cavalry, left in the castle.

The fragile city gate had completely collapsed. Now the Black Sheep people used the remains of the long gate and some scraps of wood to build a simple roadblock at the city gate. Through the huge gap, Li Rufeng's soldiers could clearly see the weeping faces of the defenders in the castle.

Diobiya's nose was high in the air. Although he had never fought such a prosperous battle in his life, he was very arrogant.

Over two days, each of the eight cannons fired an average of eighteen times, firing a total of 144 stone bullets, which made the entire side of Urfa Castle facing the gate full of potholes.

Now the Black Sheep have learned their lesson. As soon as the defenders on the city wall see people entering the artillery position, they will automatically leave their defensive positions. Even if the officers break the whip, the soldiers will not come back.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this siege, which was supposed to be very brutal, had begun to turn to Li Rufeng's side. The Black Sheep people in the castle were just struggling to survive. No one would be surprised if they raised the white flag before lunch.

Even the battle-hardened Bardock and Habasibuka had not expected that the cannons used together would be so powerful that they could destroy a castle without any chance of resistance.

But as the saying goes, a cannon shot is worth a thousand taels of gold. Although the victory was brilliant, the financial support behind it was Li Rufeng's spending like water.

Because these eight cannons are the inventory of the cannon foundry, although they have been preliminarily screened according to Li Rufeng's needs, their calibers are still large and small. However, based on the average usage, each cannon consumes about ten kilograms of gunpowder per firing.

One hundred and forty-four shots consumed nearly 1.5 tons of gunpowder. Based on the average price Li Rufeng paid for gunpowder during that period, this 1.5 tons of gunpowder was equivalent to 1.5 kilograms of gold... (Note 1)

After a simple conversion, Li Rufeng suddenly discovered that he seemed to have made some profit.

After all, compared to traditional siege methods, it may take several weeks to capture Urfa Castle, and there will be hundreds of casualties. The money spent on logistical supplies and post-war pensions alone is far more than this price.

What's more, this is a war, and time is money. This sentence does not apply in war because the time cost is often far greater than the money cost.

So Master Li happily gave bonuses to all the artillerymen, including Diobia, as a reward for their high efficiency in this battle.

In order to save time further, after gaining an absolute advantage, Li Rufeng wrote a letter to Haidam of Urfa Castle, and asked his sharpshooters to shoot arrows into the castle at night.

As an old neighbor, Li Rufeng had naturally already found out about the situation in Urfa Castle. Although he was not familiar with Haidam, he was definitely not unfamiliar with him. For example, Li Rufeng knew very well that with Haidam's qualifications, a mere Urfa Castle was a bit too stingy.

The Black Sheep King might have other plans for Haidam's future, but because of Li Rufeng's intervention, these plans are no longer valid. There are only two paths before Haidam:

He could either die as a hero in this castle and become a legend among the other black sheep.

Otherwise, Haidam will have to reconsider his loyalty to the Black Sheep King.

If Li Rufeng were in this situation, he would definitely choose the latter, especially since he had already let that part of the castle defenders escape yesterday.

So in the letter, Li Rufeng explained the pros and cons to Haidam. He did not expect Haidam to pledge allegiance to him immediately. Li Rufeng said very sincerely that his strength was not strong enough at the moment and he could not make such a capable person like him feel safe. This was not his fault.

But at the same time, the Black Sheep King did not show that he was stronger than himself. In order to quickly win over other Black Sheep tribes, the Black Sheep King advanced too much benefit, so that even a loyal follower like Haidam had to give in to those speculators.

Li Rufeng felt sorry that Haidam's loyalty could not be realized. He admired these loyal people the most, so he was willing to give Haidam a decent opportunity to retreat.

This was not an escape, but a strategic shift. After all, with his involvement in the war, the entire situation of the war had changed. Even if Haidam and his loyal soldiers all died here, it would not change anything.

So he might as well preserve his strength and temporarily give up this insignificant castle. If the Black Sheep King is really so wise, he should be very clear that the defeat in this battle is not due to Haidam.

Li Rufeng concluded his letter by saying that war is always cruel and many people will die. If possible, he would rather loyal people like Haidam survive to the end. In this way, when the two sides fight at the last moment, they may be able to follow the example of the ancient sages and fight a gentlemanly battle.

Chapter 456 Wolf cub!

The fact that Li Rufeng captured Urfa Castle was just a trivial matter in the current war situation. Further north, the Black Sheep and White Sheep had already fought two bloody battles outside Diyarbakir, with hundreds of casualties on each side.

Thanks to his spies who were controlled by black magic, the Black Sheep King Carl Yusuf learned about the fall of Urfa Castle almost on the same day. He smashed a very expensive glass wine glass and overturned several tables.

The Black Sheep King knew very well that he was temporarily unable to fight two such enemies in the southwest at the same time. Once he invested too much energy in these two enemies, the emirs of the Iranian region of the Khanate, who were already ready to make moves, would most likely seize the opportunity to seize those "unowned" lands.

In the face of those visible interests, it is a question whether Shah Rukh's face is of any use. At least Karl Yusuf himself feels that it is difficult to restrain the chiefs under the same circumstances.

This is the reason why he is in his current predicament.

Through the information brought back by the spies, the King of the Night roughly estimated the number of troops available to Li Rufeng, and accidentally discovered that it had become a "huge" force whose military strength was almost inferior to that of the Aries.

The Black Sheep King didn't know how big Li Rufeng's ambition was. He only knew that he had to shake the already precarious eastern defense line again and withdraw some soldiers to let go of Martin City and other cities further behind.