Mount and Blade Central Asia

The Black Sheep People are doing the same thing. Even now, there are still small cavalry units of the Black Sheep People active near Diyarbakir, ready to tear apart any team that is not large enough in number.

Only Li Rufeng, that damn Mongolian shaman, used some kind of evil magic to make the scattered cavalry of the Black Sheep People who tried to cross the display and infiltrate the area south of Mardin City suffer heavy losses.

It took Murad Jalaluddin a full week to realize how cunning the enemy he was facing was, and by then he had already lost nearly three hundred men scattered across the Mongol territory.

"Master Wizard, we need more help. That Mongolian shaman must have used their evil magic to find our whereabouts." Geraldine suppressed his dissatisfaction with the black wizard in front of him and spoke in a negotiating tone.

With the sudden death of the dark wizard Didyal who was originally stationed in the city of Batman, the Dark Wizard Council, which had been plotting something in Mosul, finally realized the threat of these Mongols, or to be more direct, began to realize the threat of the Mongolian shaman.

Because most of these dark wizards are outsiders and don't know much about the forces that practice miracles in this land, they have never heard of the legends about the Tengri Shamans. They only know of the existence of the Eagle of Order.

It was not until they finally realized that almost all the members of parliament who had recently come into contact with Li Rufeng had died a violent death that someone suggested that the Mongolian shaman might be the agent of some ancient religion.

The dark wizard now standing in front of Geraldine came here to investigate this matter, but this dark-skinned "pure" dark wizard named Nasser did not come here voluntarily.

The parliament's plan in Mosul is nearing its end. As a dark wizard who participated in the entire process, Nasser has done almost all the dirty work. In the end, he was kicked out before sharing the fruits of his labor. Naturally, he is full of resentment.

But this is as it should be. If a dark wizard can only perform the selfish act, then a group of dark wizards will become like a werewolf, and everyone's identity card is a murderer, and they all kill indiscriminately when it gets dark.

Intrigue and deception were commonplace, and poisoning and assassination were even more commonplace. Nasser himself had killed two of his companions before he secured his position in parliament. Unfortunately, he made a mistake in the end and was outmaneuvered by other competitors. He lost all his strength and was no longer eligible to share in the fruits of his labor.

If the Black Sheep King had not happened to need help from the parliament, Nasser's best outcome would have been a quick death.

"Well, we have probably demonstrated too much miraculous power in front of you, so that everyone now thinks they are experts in this field." Nasser responded to Geraldine's question with a series of noises without any hesitation.

Geraldine's face flushed instantly, but he finally swallowed his anger.

This is probably a compulsory course for every Black Sheep general. They and the black wizards probably all have to go through a process from fear to disgust, and then from disgust to fear.

Chapter 512: Sword Pointing at Mosul

With the addition of the Golden Arrow Mercenary Group, Li Rufeng has more soldiers under his command to fight sieges. If the Armenian thousand-man team that is being reorganized is included, he can put together a full two and a half thousand-man infantry teams.

Among them, the most powerful and most effective ones are naturally the several centuries of infantry commanded by Bardock. After all, they are the elite veterans who followed the Great Conqueror to "conquer the world" back then. Li Rufeng intends to let Bardock reorganize a complete thousand-man team based on those centuries, but it is obvious that both the quality of the troops and the number of grassroots officers are not enough, at least not in a short period of time.

In fact, Bardock has not even filled the vacancies under his command until now. As the elite troops stationed overseas, most of Bardock's soldiers are from the rich Central Asia region. They have a strong fighting will, but at the same time they are very xenophobic.

This greatly limited Bardock's recruitment efficiency. He had to consider morale, and most of the soldiers lost in this battle were infantry. Li Rufeng's Transoxiana and Mongol people, who met Bardock's requirements in terms of blood and geographical location, would obviously not "sink" into serving as infantrymen...

So it was not until Marcelino went out and brought back three or four hundred Armenians from the nearby Armenian settlement to form his own thousand-man team that Badak was able to barely fill the gap in his army.

He finally persuaded the leader of the Transoxiana people, Karim Ansarifard, to forcibly recruit enough Transoxiana people to supplement Badak's army. Compared with the Mughals' obsession with horses, the Transoxiana people were accustomed to settled life after all, and they were more able to adapt to the various rules of infantry.

Of course, it could also be because the people of the Riverlands aren't as skilled riders, and their bow legs aren't as severe, so they wouldn't be completely rooted to the ground...

In short, when the time came to April 20, Li Rufeng led the troops gathered in the city of Mardin and finally prepared to go on another expedition.

Mirzan worked hard and finally sorted out the logistical supply problems. He prepared enough food and fodder for each unit and allocated a sufficient number of herdsmen to drive the livestock behind the main army to facilitate the replenishment of meat and milk.

This kind of thing was previously done by Li Rufeng and his senior officers, or to be more precise, by Qinggelinayan and Badak.

But now Qinggelinayan himself is still in a state of recuperation. Dangertai's actions not only made his idealism fall to the bottom, but also made him lose his past sharpness.

Badak was busy dealing with various wartime issues. On the one hand, Mirzan had to adjust to his new position with a learning attitude, and on the other hand, he had to coordinate with Aleppo on the transportation and confirmation of various materials.

Li Rufeng almost watched Mirzan become thinner and thinner. He was not a strong Mongol to begin with, and now he looked even more pitiful. When his eyes suddenly widened, he looked like a larger Gollum in The Lord of the Rings.

"You can only work if you know how to rest. If you can't coordinate well, I will transfer you back to manage the caravan." Li Rufeng was afraid that Milzan would die suddenly in office, so he forced him to rest for a few days.

Compared with the Black Sheep People, their logistical preparations are much better. After all, Aleppo is a functioning commercial hub city that has not been affected by the war, and it also directly controls the port of Alexandria. As long as Mr. Li has not spent all the money in his pocket, various supplies from the Mediterranean will continue to flow in.

The Black Sheep people can only continue to consume their own resources and exploit those ethnic groups that have already surrendered. Although they control several port cities on the Caspian Sea in the north, it is not that Li Rufeng looks down on the trade volume of the Caspian Sea. Among that circle of trading countries, there is no one who does not fight, and how many of them can provide grain for bulk trade?

Chapter 513 Qamishli

On April 15, 1409, the army officially set out. With the return of Mongke, the arrival of the Golden Arrow Mercenary Corps, and the newly established Armenian Infantry Squadron of 1,000 men, Li Rufeng once again gathered a full 4,000 troops under his command this time.

This does not include the garrison left in the city of Mardin and the cavalry team that is tying down the Black Sheep People near Batman. Although Li Rufeng's territory has more than doubled, he has no way to turn these lands into his own strengths before the end of the war.

Therefore, the huge army with a total size of more than 8,000 scattered people has begun to make rich men like Master Li feel pressured.

If it weren't for the fact that last year was a bumper year for the Kingdom of Castile and the city-states of the Apennine Peninsula, the price of grain would have been reasonable. Now, Mr. Li would no longer be able to buy grain.

In contrast, although the three reclamation militias established by Li Rufeng years ago have been working diligently and the season this year is also good, the final total grain output is still unknown.

Li Rufeng estimated that it would take him another year to restore this once fertile land to its former glory of decades ago.

Now, in addition to the food purchased from outside, the food eaten by the army is mainly cattle and sheep. Whether the Mughals admit it or not, as the power of the Khanate declines from this land, they are unable to support such a large number of livestock.

Whether it's sheep or horses, the herds of both the Mongol and Transoxiana peoples have been shrinking year by year in recent years. This is not because the grass on the grasslands is not fertile, but because their numbers are small and the demand is not as high. In addition, more and more young and middle-aged men are being conscripted to fight...

Li Rufeng had long been instilling in his tribe and people the idea of ​​treating other ethnic groups well, because he knew that he could not, like the great conquerors, leave this land and the people and things attached to it completely to the Mongols to ravage. As long as he wanted to strengthen himself, he had to gradually teach the Mongols to retreat.

Although he did not issue direct orders, it was obvious that the tribal chiefs had realized this early on. Some enlightened and rational people silently accepted this fact, while others felt that this was a mistake made by Li Rufeng and that he had been making small moves in secret.

The fact that Baoledebagen was able to escape successfully with Dangertai was a test to those opponents, and Li Rufeng responded strongly.

At the moment, the war against the Black Sheep People is undoubtedly a shot of coolant, temporarily easing the potential conflicts between Li Rufeng and the Mongols under his command. The continuous victories have satisfied most of the Mongols.

The flocks of sheep driven by the herdsmen accompanying the army are an example. As usual, Li Rufeng will move with the army this time. Their primary target is the Qamishli area, a relatively prosperous agricultural town located more than 50 kilometers southeast of Mardin city.

According to the reconnaissance of the scouts and the intelligence brought by the traveling caravans, there are no Qara Qoyunlu garrisons in Qamishli. The main local residents are Kurds and Assyrians, and there are some Armenian talent gathering places in the surrounding areas.

The Kurds currently dominate Qamishli, but the Assyrians and Armenians, who are also Christians, have formed an alliance and conflicts often break out between the two sides.

They had no stance on the ongoing war. If they had to say, they would probably be more inclined to Li Rufeng's side, because in name Li Rufeng still represented the will of the great conqueror.

During the reign of the Great Conqueror, the financial contributions and manpower required of Qamishli were far less than those required by the Black Sheep.

Chapter 514 Peaceful Takeover

"Saladin Muhet, I remember you. I knew your father." One of the three Qamishli representatives, also Kurds, stepped forward and introduced himself. "I'm Ainsli. My tribe once had an intermarriage with yours. We exchanged five men and women of marriageable age, but you were still young at the time."

As Ainsley said this, he glanced provocatively at the Assyrian representative.

But the other party did not react at all. He just humbly spread his hands and bowed to Li Rufeng, his posture as graceful as a dancer: "Respected Shaman, Odishao Moses, your humble servant."

Only the Armenian representative who was caught temporarily seemed a little dull. He was temporarily caught by Odishao Moses so that he could join him in targeting Ainsley at the critical moment.

As for the representatives who can truly represent the local Armenian ethnic group, they probably don’t know at this time that the Mongolian army has arrived in Qamishli again. Most of those Armenian settlements are very xenophobic and will only trade with the outside world when necessary.

"Uh...uh...I am Am, the donkey. Some people, some people call me that, master..." The Armenian representative, who looked like an honest farmer, felt trembling as if he would collapse to the ground in the next second.

"Why are you trembling? Just speak when I ask you, and don't say anything when I don't ask you." Marcelino was a captain now after all. He felt that such a tribesman was a bit embarrassing for them, so he scolded him in a low voice.

As expected, this time, the donkey, Am, collapsed to the ground and wailed like an animal being whipped: "I know... Master!"

Marcelino sighed, stepped forward and pulled the man up: "You've never fought in the tribe?"

"No, sir... they didn't call me... they said I couldn't keep up with the queue..." Donkey Am seemed to have found his backbone, half of his body weight was pressed on Marcelino's hand, and one hand was still tightly grasping his sleeve.

Donkey Am's grip was quite strong. A strong man like Marcelino struggled a few times but couldn't get out. He could only let him hold him like that.

"You all know the situation. We're at war with the Black Sheep. They betrayed the Khanate and must pay the price." Li Rufeng looked at the three representatives, carefully considering his words. "Tell me everything you know about the Black Sheep. I also want to know how much money you've provided to them over the past few years."

When they heard the first question, Ainsley and Audishao were still relatively calm, but the second question made them cautious. After all, no one knew what the Mongolian shaman in front of them was thinking.

When the great conqueror conquered this land, he treated the lords of various places with a completely arbitrary attitude. When he was in a good mood, he would restore the defeated lord to his original position and let him rule his former land.

And when the mood is bad, the surrendered lord may be sent to the gallows for having provided assistance to the enemies of the great conqueror.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hold you responsible. When the war is over, the Black Sheep People will have to pay compensation for the losses they caused to various parts of the Khanate." Li Rufeng waved his hand, signaling them not to be nervous.

In this way, Li Rufeng hinted in advance to the "lords" of these newly occupied areas that he was not fighting to completely wipe out the Black Sheep People. When the war was over, the Black Sheep People would still exist as a regional force.

As for whether these people can understand his hints, that is another story. However, Li Rufeng believes that those who can maintain the stability of their territory in a war zone are all top talents. Even if they don’t understand it today, they will be able to figure it out tomorrow.

And when they figured out why the Black Sheep forces still existed after the war, they would naturally realize the deep meaning behind Li Rufeng's words.

Mr. Li sent troops not to quell the rebellion on behalf of the Khanate, but to re-conquer.

Of course, if he really married Parisa and had a solid foundation, and the two heirs who were fighting fiercely had not yet decided the winner, the situation would change in an instant.

Chapter 515: 'The spoils'

"Master, is there anything you'd like to eat? Our chickpea stew is very famous here, and passing merchants are happy to buy a portion... We also have roasted figs with black tea, and... and date palm bread, and..." The girl, who looked like she had just grown out of her childhood, tried hard to recall the words the nanny had taught her last night. To prevent forgetting, she even wrote them down on her palm...

But obviously, Li Rufeng, who had been alone on the battlefield for more than a month, did not show any mercy to the girl last night and worked very hard. The words on the girl's palm had long been wet and blurred by sweat.

"Just give me whatever you have." Li Rufeng patted the girl's butt and let her put on her clothes by herself. Obviously, the girl had been awake for a while, but without his order, she didn't dare to make any other moves.

Her fear of him was genuine. In this land, there was nothing that was associated with the Mongols that did not scare other ethnic groups. This title was sometimes very useful, but sometimes it had the opposite effect.

As expected, the girl jumped up almost immediately with a look of relief and ran towards her clothes. However, her face turned pale as soon as she stood up and she almost fell again. However, she still endured the pain in her lower body, stood up straight, and walked towards her clothes with the most elegant posture possible.

As a Kurdish girl who has been taught in a monastery, she has known since childhood that one day she would have such a fate, but she has never thought about fighting against it.

The tribe sent her to a monastery with enough supplies to support a warrior, so that she could receive a unique education from a young age, learn to read and write, and have enough food to eat twice a day, just so that she could accept this fate calmly when it came.

She didn't even need to fight for anything for the tribe in her own destiny. She was a gift in herself. Her mere existence, her beauty and charm were enough for the tribe.

There were six girls like her. When the Black Sheep came a few years ago, two sisters were given to the Black Sheep generals, and now it was her turn. She was the most beautiful of all the sisters, so she knew that this man who spoke slowly and calmly must have an army far more powerful than the Black Sheep.

The only thing that made the girl a little regretful was that the man had never asked her name. She had a very nice name - Glen Erlin, which means beautiful flower in Kurdish. Only baby girls born in the midsummer when flowers are in full bloom and whose mothers are famous for their beauty among the surrounding tribes will be given this name.

Glen Erlin had been proud of her name since she was young, and she also knew that if the man she served didn't even ask her name, it meant that to that man, she was no different from any other object in the tent, like a knife or a chair, so...

Glen Erlin used up all her strength and all the courage she had in her first half of life to turn around and look at Li Rufeng. Her big eyes flickered as if she was about to shed tears, but the words on her lips were changed by the man's calm gaze: "Master, is there anything else you need me to prepare?"

"There's still hot water." Li Rufeng opened his mouth and subconsciously wanted to call out Satuya's name, but then he realized that he didn't know the lovely girl's name. He immediately asked, "What's your name? I drank too much last night and forgot."

"Glen Erlin, sir, it means beautiful flowers." Glen Erlin smiled with relief. She knew that she had not introduced her name last night. Because she was too shy, she took off all her clothes and got into Li Rufeng's bed. At that time, Li Rufeng was still drinking and talking with Ainsley, Saladin and others in another tent.

Glen Erlin, who walked out of the tent to look for her, was not discouraged by Li Rufeng's neglect. She just breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that she had completed a difficult task. She was taught to obey her master, but also taught to show her own personality in obedience.

A woman with personality is still different from others even if she is a slave. But if she loses her personality, she is just a piece of meat and will soon be forgotten by men.

Chapter 516 New Followers

In terms of physical age, Li Rufeng, who was still in the vigorous stage, finally couldn't resist the charm of the Persian dancer. He enjoyed himself before breakfast. After all, as Sarah said, he really couldn't let go last night because he felt pity for the girl.

Moreover, Li Rufeng had to admit that war was the most direct way to change a person. After seeing so many deaths, especially so many deaths caused by one's own orders, a person's view of the world and everything else would always change.

In order to maintain her charming dancing posture, Sarah never relaxes her training like a warrior. Her slender waist is covered by a thin layer of fat, and her abdominal muscles are quite beautiful.

The most wonderful thing is that the abdominal muscles and mermaid line outline will only appear faintly when the beauty tightens her core, and then disappear in a flash, almost making people addicted.

It was just that Sarah Xiaxi's perfectly balanced flattery and her slender, powerful limbs easily reminded Li Rufeng of some not-so-good memories. The last time he saw such a perfect woman was in Urfa Castle...

Although it was just a fleeting glimpse of the "beauty cake", the beauty transformed by the believer of the Dark Pink Wind still left a very deep impression on Master Li, so much so that when Sarah Xia Xi showed such charm, Master Li almost softened due to PTSD.

Fortunately, he had a good physical foundation. After traveling through time, he joined the army. He went to bed early and got up early every day instead of staying up late. He also took active and passive exercises every day. He could shoot a strong bow twenty-one times in a row and wield a two-handed sword weighing three or four pounds. In the end, he saved a bit of Mr. Li's face.

But even so, Sarah Xia Xi was still keenly aware of the man's hesitation at that moment, but the smart woman knew that she shouldn't ask such a stupid question at this time.

She just cleaned up the mess gently, while secretly wondering what she had done wrong. Was it because of her makeup or... her posture?

It couldn't be that the shaman in front of him saw through his origins?

In fact, Li Rufeng was now frowning as he looked at the woman who was working hard, wondering about her background.

Just after the two of them had made love, Li Rufeng's system suddenly marked a special golden title on the woman's head - "Long Dagger", followed by a gray-white name, Sarah Xia Xi.

Damn, this woman is actually a ruthless person with a title? You know, under Li Rufeng, only Muzaffar has the title of "Hunter Falcon". No one else has ever had a title.

Li Rufeng knew that Haishaer must have a title, and judging by his exaggerated combat power, it might be an awesome title that had never appeared in the original system of Mount & Blade. In fact, even if one day Haishaer really came to his senses and decided to follow Master Li, Li Rufeng would not be surprised if the title of "Dragon" appeared above his head.

He guessed that these titles first required the corresponding people to meet the minimum requirements for obtaining the title in various skills before they would be recognized by the system, but the woman in front of him?

If it weren't for the fact that Sarah's initial relationship with him was as high as 66 points, Master Li really wouldn't dare let her clean up the little brother like this...

Li Rufeng vaguely remembered that the title "Long Dagger" had bonuses in several skill areas, including one-handed weapon skills, long-pole weapons, throwing, running, reconnaissance, and gangster habits. It was not low and was considered a second-rate title in the original game.

Chapter 517 The Next Target

Strictly speaking, it was only by continuing eastward from Qamishli that Li Rufeng entered the most essential area of ​​the Mesopotamian Plain.

The two major rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, have carved out a vast and humid plain in their middle and lower reaches from north to south. This is one of the birthplaces of human civilization.

Especially the area between the two river basins was once a godsend for the rise of countless civilizations. Unfortunately, due to the continuous decline in water flow, the place that once gave birth to civilization has gradually lost its glory.

But even so, this place is still fertile compared to most of the land in the world. Now it is mid-April and the temperature has begun to rise gradually, even reaching nearly 30 degrees at noon.

When the iron hooves of war horses trample over the turned land, it will emit a unique smell. Anyone who has been to the countryside and farmed there will know that this place is very suitable for growing crops as soon as they smell it.

Perhaps it is a unique sentiment of Oriental people. Li Rufeng prefers this kind of land to the ranch because this kind of land can support more people, and population represents productivity and the driving force of civilization.

It's a pity that it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Such land is still not fertile land for most farmers in this area, so Li Rufeng could hardly see any signs of large-scale planting when he looked around.

After continuous wars, this land has become sparsely populated. Farmers who are willing to support themselves by farming have long gone to find places with more fertile land to live their own lives.

A thousand years ago, the Romans and the Persians fought a fierce war in this place of Qamishli, but at that time it was still called Nisibis.

The Persians failed to capture Nisibis for a long time, and finally dug a canal to divert the Megadonius River. The river water broke through the walls of Nisibis and drowned the soldiers and civilians in the city.

As a result, one night later, the Romans used the ruins in the city to rebuild the city wall and blocked the gap. The story ended with the victory of the Romans and became another legend of that thousand-year empire.

And today the river that was once called the Magdonius and is now called the Dzeka has forgotten its former peoples, the Romans and the Persians, and it has become a new problem for the Mongols.