Mount and Blade Central Asia

Muheya lowered his head humbly, shook his head firmly, and said that he had never heard of this name. From that day on, he became the most determined member of the Timurid faction.

Such a defection allowed Muhayya's status to rise rapidly with Timur's support. After all, the biggest reason that prevented an imam from taking charge of a mosque was that there were too many imams and too few mosques. Timur's way of solving this problem was simple and crude. He built new mosques in major cities and built religious schools on a large scale to train more religious students who worshipped him.

If the great conqueror had lived another ten years, no, even five years, as the top students of those religious academies graduated and gradually took up key positions, perhaps the faces in the portraits of Allah would now all be Timur's faces. Unfortunately, he didn't, but left behind a mess and died in a dashing manner in the Khanate's largest foreign expedition.

This put Muhaya, who had defected most decisively, in an awkward position. Almost as soon as Timur's death sentence was confirmed, he was kicked out of the river and came to a remote place like Malikiye.

If the war between the two heirs had not yet been decided and the Order did not want to be known for purging Timur's faction, Muhaya would have died without knowing the truth.

But now the sect has seized the opportunity. As a Kafir who inherited the mantle of the old shaman, Li Rufeng is undoubtedly a qualified whetstone. Whether Muhaya is willing or not, the jihadist warriors recruited from all over the place are ready to eradicate the Kafir.

If Muha'ya had chosen to retreat in this jihad, or had not shown piety enough, his enemies would have died without even having to do anything themselves.

If Muhayya wins, there will be one less kafir in the world, and the cult can find another opportunity to deal with him later. If he loses, there will be one less zindiq (Note 1) in the world, and the cult will be invincible and win.

Chapter 522 In the Name of Allah

Li Rufeng looked at the "mortals" in the tent who were trying to get a little mercy from him with a scrutinizing eye. He did not think these people were lowly, nor did he think they were fence-sitters. This was a choice they made out of helplessness for the sake of survival.

Throughout human history, there may be no place where wars break out more frequently than in Central Asia. They are located in the center of the entire Eurasian continent. The Kingdom of Macedonia, Rome, Persia, Arabia, Mongolia, Timur, etc. Those powerful civilizations that rose locally and powerful conquerors from the outside world appeared one after another. The bloodlines that did not learn the survival of the fittest had long been cut off.

But this does not mean that Li Rufeng will release his kindness so easily. He can spread his reputation of kindness throughout the world, but he cannot let this reputation gradually turn into weakness.

After all, strictly speaking, Malikiya was a city conquered by the Khanate. The great conqueror mercifully spared this city. Many nobles and important people in this city witnessed this scene. However, when the Black Sheep Army approached, they gave up their positions without hesitation.

Now, when Li Rufeng, who still nominally represented the orthodox Khanate, arrived with his army, the Great Mosque in the city showed resistance.

The person in front of him and the family they represent are trying to shirk all responsibilities. They don't want to bear any costs or offend any party. It is obvious that they have made plans to be a fence-sitter next time.

Nothing is that easy in the world. Li Rufeng swept his eyes over these people one by one, and no one dared to look him in the eye.

"My army will be stationed outside the city until tomorrow morning. When I enter the city, if my army encounters any attack, I will excommunicate the city in accordance with the tradition of the great conqueror." Li Rufeng conveyed his final decision to these people, and then with a wave of his hand, the guards behind him began to drive people away.

The messengers looked as sad as if their parents had died, but Li Rufeng didn't care. These people didn't want to be branded as having attacked a mosque. Did he want Li Rufeng to take the blame?

The news soon reached Malikiye. Some shrewd businessmen immediately packed up their belongings, gave up their mansions in Malikiye, and planned to leave this troubled place.

But this city had long been within the scope of Li Rufeng's strategic map, and any movement in the city could not escape his eyes. He could accept these merchants choosing to leave, but he could not accept these merchants negotiating with him again and leaving after he drew the line.

The choice of this group of businessmen is a slap in Li Rufeng's face. They have no fear of Li Rufeng. This is the negative effect of the widespread spread of the name of kindness. There will always be some people who try to challenge Li Rufeng's bottom line.

"Kill them all, leaving no one alive, and throw their heads back into the city." Li Rufeng waved his hand, and the Mongolian cavalry, who had been driven crazy for a long time, immediately scattered under the leadership of their personal guards, and indiscriminately hunted the merchants who left the city outside the city.

Soon, heads filled with terror and despair were thrown back into the city by the cavalry over the not-so-high wall. From Li Rufeng's strategic perspective, such intimidation was obviously very effective.

The city's nobles and dignitaries almost immediately recalled the terror of the Mongols. They faced a difficult decision: should they side with the imam in the mosque and fight the Mongols to the bitter end? Or should they follow the shaman's "goodwill" and risk the world's condemnation by attacking the mosque and executing the mujahideen within?

Faced with this choice, even Li Rufeng felt a headache for them. In the end, between the 4,000 Mongolian soldiers and hundreds of holy warriors, most of the smart people made a rational choice.

From a strategic perspective, Li Rufeng saw that before dark, the nobles and big businessmen gradually gathered their private soldiers together, and then they executed some "dissenters" first. But even so, there were still a few believers who were devout enough to bring the conditions offered by the Mongols and the nobles' final choice into the mosque.

It was obvious that the devout people stationed in the mosque could not tolerate such an offense at all. After obtaining the permission of the Imam, these devout warriors immediately marched out of the mosque, intending to be the first to clear out this city that was no longer Islamic.

The nobles and merchants, who had realized that their plan had been exposed, had assembled an army of nearly a thousand people and approached the mosque. The two sides met less than 500 meters away from the mosque.

Because the streets in the city were not wide enough, the soldiers on the noble side were divided into three parts and approached the mosque from three streets. The distance between the streets was not far, and it was within the range where a shout could be heard. In fact, they did so.

The main reason is that these people don't trust each other and dare not really divide their forces. They are all afraid that the other party will hide and let them be the first to be exposed.

In comparison, those devout jihadists are much purer. They don't care who the enemy is or how many enemies there are. They just want to kill them happily and glorify the name of Allah.

The result was that the soldiers of the nobles were defeated as soon as the two sides came into contact. Although they had nearly twice the number of the enemy, the width of the street restricted the deployment of the troops. The soldiers in the back had no idea what was happening in front. They only knew that the soldiers in front kept screaming and retreating, and then soon joined the retreat.

The retreat turned into a rout, and the rout turned into a stampede. Li Rufeng was so incompetent that he shook his head and had no intention of watching any further.

Now Mr. Li can start to eliminate the unstable factors in the city, but not as an executioner who kills monks and destroys Buddhism, but as a liberator who restores the stability of the city. Looking at the world from a political standpoint alone, the world is so dirty.

When the few scattered guards on the city gate saw the Mongolian army approaching the city wall, they turned around without any hesitation and disappeared into the city.

The agile scouts climbed over the low walls on both sides of the city wall and opened the city gate from the inside. Entering the city was the Armenian thousand-man team led by Marcelino. They were basically recruited from village units and organized into hundred-man teams. They cooperated with each other tacitly and it was easier for them to maintain morale in street fighting.

More importantly, having these Armenians attack the mosque was a perfect match. Li Rufeng could almost see the morale +3 message above their heads...

"Lord Muheya, the armies of those unbelievers collapsed at the first blow! We are unstoppable!" The armored warrior said excitedly in front of Muheya, his face flushed like a drunk.

"God's warriors are naturally far superior to unbelievers." Muheya said calmly, holding a beautifully covered Quran in his hand and flipping through it. It turned out that the page on which he saw the following words:

“If there were a Qur’an that could move mountains or split the earth or make the dead speak, [they would not believe in it]; otherwise, everything is due to Allah alone; do those who believe not know it?”

Muhayya was well-versed in the Quran, so he naturally knew the second half of this sentence: "Had Allah willed, He would have guided all mankind; but those who disbelieve will continue to suffer the plague for their deeds and for those around them until Allah's promise comes. Indeed, Allah does not fail to fulfill his promise." (Note 1)

The original meaning of this sentence cannot be understood in this way of breaking it in the middle. The focus lies in the last sentence, but Allah does not break his promise.

But at this time, Muheya was already in a state of panic. He was shouting "Long live Allah, the greatest holy warrior leader of Allah" and thinking about the huge Mongolian army outside the city. But in his mind, there was only the first half of the sentence -

“[They will not believe it], for all things are due to Allah alone. Do not those who believe know it?”

The irony is that the leader of the holy warriors in front of him, this believer, obviously knew it. He seemed to be convinced that he could easily defeat those unbelievers, and naturally he could also defeat the Mongols outside the city.

After all, he has now been possessed by the power of God, and his whole being has been sublimated!

Muheya smelled the scent of poppy emanating from the other person, and felt a little dazed. He could only bite his tongue secretly, smile bitterly, and respond to the jihadist in front of him with those words from the Koran that were often used to boost morale.

He knew very well that the other party probably had some secret instructions, such as giving him a hard blow at the right time to ensure his death.

But fortunately, he still had some stock of this group's favorite "spices", so he should be able to deal with this crisis for the time being. Muheya used the excitement brought by Jihad to temporarily dispel the other party's desire to kill him.

As for now, it depends on whether the Mongols outside the city will rush into the mosque first, or whether the jihadist in front of him will recover from the excitement brought by the poppies first.

Muheya, who has studied scriptures for many years and has experienced many ups and downs, is mentally prepared to face death, so he just kneels calmly in his usual place of worship, quietly waiting for the arrival of his final fate.

He was not afraid of death, nor did he resist death. He just didn't want to die in vain. He was the most famous member of the secular wing of the Sufi Savi Order. His death might represent the temporary demise of the secularization of religious power.

But Muheya, this will eventually be the general trend. His death only postpones this node for a period of time. Future generations will eventually walk on the right path.

“In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, guide us to the straight path, the path of those whom You have helped, not of those who incur Your anger, nor of those who are misguided.”

Chapter 523 Attack on the Mosque

As Li Rufeng's army officially entered Malikiya, the city had already fallen into his hands. However, this time he would not show goodwill so easily and share the power to manage the city with the city's former vested interest groups.

He has already released too much goodwill, and now he has to let people know that even Buddha can have the wrath of thunder. Moreover, compared with Qamishli near Mardin, Malikiya is larger in scale and is also an important link on the trade route.

In this era, completely controlling every city, town and village requires a strong bureaucratic system and talent pool. Li Rufeng simply cannot do this, so focusing on the big and letting go of the small is his only option.

He must also take control of Mosul, and let the three cities of Mosul, Malikiye and Mardin form a stable commercial corridor in this chaotic land.

At that time, as long as he can firmly control this trade route and ensure that no one else can cross the line to harass him, the merchants will naturally bring their wealth into Li Rufeng's pocket.

At this time, the battle situation in the city of Malikiya had become tense. With the attack of the jihadists, the nobles' private soldiers finally established a defense line again in a small square with the support of two centuries pouring out of the castle.

A large number of defeated soldiers were reorganized by nobles who wore armor and went into battle in person. Archers equipped with crossbows shot from a high position on a temporary platform, and the cheap crossbow arrows easily killed the devout believers.

Facts have proved that no matter how fanatical the faith is, it cannot be transformed into solid armor, at least not now. The morale of the jihadists quickly began to decline. What's worse is that as the sun sets and night falls, many people can no longer see the road clearly.

The flames flickering in the breeze looked more like monsters in strange tales and were completely unable to provide sufficient lighting.

As the news of the Mongols' entry into the city gradually spread, the mujahideen finally decided to retreat to the mosque. In this era, all religious buildings had to be sturdy for military purposes. After a city fell, its temples, churches, castles and other buildings could often hold out for a while.

The arrival of night also had an impact on Li Rufeng's army, but the situation at this time was that Li Rufeng's army had an advantage in numbers and their morale was high.

In addition, Master Li has maintained a considerable level of supplies until now, and has never treated these soldiers badly in terms of food. No matter what nationality the soldiers are, as long as they serve under Li Rufeng, they can always share a large bowl of meat from the Mongolian soup pot when night falls.

The flocks of sheep driven by the herdsmen accompanying the army were precisely to solve the supply difficulties. Thanks to the fact that Li Rufeng's marching speed was not fast and the places he passed through were mostly lands with abundant water and grass, the livestock that migrated along the way did not lose too much weight and their meat production rate was quite good.

This has alleviated the night blindness of Armenians to a certain extent. After all, the main reason why most people in this era suffer from night blindness is poor nutrition and lack of vitamins.

Meat made up for the former. Most Armenian soldiers had even gained several pounds during their service, and the latter was also supplemented by eating green leafy vegetables and animal offal.

In addition, Marcelino selected a group of soldiers with normal vision at night to serve as the vanguard to lead the others forward, so the Armenian infantry column still maintained a good formation.

For hundreds of years, these Armenians have been fighting against invasions from nomadic peoples with infantry against cavalry, and have developed the tactical habit of forming tight formations. At this time, the most important thing is order and obedience. It doesn't matter if you can't see, just follow the officers' slogans.

Chapter 524: Bombing the Mosque

War is cruel, especially when religious factors are involved.

Many of the people who attacked the mosque were Muslims. For an ordinary Muslim, it is difficult to judge his attitude towards faith based on whether he is pious or not.

Life is life, faith is faith. Only those fanatics who dedicate everything to religion can put everything aside and devote themselves to it without regard for their own safety. But now, for these soldiers who are driven towards the mosque, the weapons in their hands and the responsibilities on their shoulders are what they depend on for survival.

It was not easy to turn around and bravely say no to the nobles behind him. What really tested people's hearts was the consequences of enduring them. The nobles who were forced into a desperate situation had given up all their illusions. The blades in their hands were stained with the blood of the pious. All the brave men had their heads chopped off and became examples to warn others.

No one dared to look back, no one dared to question. The Mongolian army was just outside the city. Perhaps the black flag of death had already been raised. As long as they dared to choose faith, at this time tomorrow, everyone's head would be cast into a Jingguan and neatly placed outside the city, watching their former hometown turn into ruins.

This is how the nobles warned them, this is how the officers threatened them with cold faces, and the Mongols' past guaranteed all of this.

They can really do such a thing, and they will not feel any burden... In this way, the ones standing in the way of the devout believers are the jihadists. No one invited them to come to this city, but they came uninvited and are going to drag everyone to death!

If they were so pious, why didn't they go to Samarkand? Why didn't they demonstrate their piety while the great conqueror was still alive? Why did they have to endure all this?

Under the pressure of fear and pressure, the soldiers holding weapons gradually became angry. They were unwilling to die like this. They wanted to fight for their own survival, even if it meant trampling on the sacred temple!

"Charge!" The soldiers rushed to the mosque one after another. This time, the nobles no longer had to worry about someone not working hard. The Mongolian army was following behind them, and no one could escape death.

And now they don't have to worry about night falling and the soldiers losing their sight of the road. Those fanatical jihadists set fire to the nearby residential areas before retreating into the mosque. The raging fire illuminated half of the night sky. The wailing of people in the flames seemed like a catalyst, making the attacking soldiers give up the last concern in their hearts.

This city is their city, and those jihadists have no mercy and no scruples. The houses burned in the flames are their houses, and the people wailing may be their relatives. A few officers with some wealth who live nearby can no longer suppress their worries and try to give up their duties to protect their families.

But they were also chopped to the ground by the red-eyed nobles behind them, and their heads were raised high on spears. No soldier could leave the battlefield until the war that determined the fate of the noble lords was over.

Even in the face of death, the high and low values ​​of all lives have already been marked with a price.

Li Rufeng rode his horse, following the nobles a few hundred meters behind, watching everything happen with complicated eyes.

He is the Lord of Aleppo, the leader of the Mughals, the chosen shaman of Eternal Heaven, and in the eyes of others, he is also the governor of the western frontier of the Timurid Khanate. His identities and titles are becoming more and more numerous and famous over time.

But underneath all this, Li Rufeng is still the traveler who came from the real civilized world. He may never be able to truly adapt to all this and turn a blind eye to it all.

In fact, even in his era, everything that happened on this land tonight is still happening, and it is even bloodier and more cruel because of the progress of the times and the improvement of the killing efficiency of the human army.

It was precisely because of this that Li Rufeng felt much more deeply than anyone else. He seemed to be listening to the sounds of fighting that had been echoing in this land for a thousand years and were destined to continue echoing, as well as the wails of the dying. All of this was like a nightmare, accompanied by smoke from the fire, forming a huge and terrifying skull-shaped cloud over Malikie, silently mocking the traverser's pitiful compassion and ambition.

Li Rufeng looked up at the sky, unable to even tell whether it was a fleeting coincidence, his own hallucination, or the magical creation of the Scarlet Wind. All he could do was to try his best to ensure that the city would have a window of recuperation for more than ten years after everything settled.

Maybe this would make up for something, but... maybe he wouldn't care about it anymore by then.

The soldiers of Malikiye have approached the gate of the mosque. Compared with the ridiculous city walls of Malikiye itself, the walls of this mosque are strong and tall.

Those nobles got a dozen ladders from somewhere, and the bravest and most loyal private soldiers took the initiative to take the lead, carrying the ladders and rushing towards the wall of the mosque. The nobles in charge of command knew very well that the soldiers under their command were useless and they only had one or two real chances. If they failed to attack, as their morale declined, these soldiers would immediately flee again.

The jihadists in the mosque had also made preparations for defense. Many of these jihadists were warriors known for their bravery and were skilled in archery and horse riding. At this time, they were shooting at the blinded disbelievers with bows and arrows behind the wall in the light of the fire, without showing any mercy.

Fortunately, although the possibility of being besieged was taken into consideration when the mosque was designed, its original intention of building it was not for war after all. There were not many shooting positions on the wall, and only a dozen people could shoot at the same time in each direction, so the rain of arrows was not dense.

The shield-holding soldiers of Malikiya were not defeated immediately, and the private soldiers sent out by the nobles were also equipped with metal armor. Under the heavy reward, they showed courage that was no less than that of the jihadists, and they set up ladders from places that were difficult for the jihadists to reach despite the rain of arrows.

Afterwards, the bravest group of people climbed up with their shields, while more soldiers gathered near the gate of the mosque, using a huge bolt taken from the gate of some noble's house as a battering ram, and bombarded the gate of the mosque again and again.

"Give them some help, ask those people at the door to move aside, and fire a few shots!" Li Rufeng looked at the artillerymen who were already in position and instructed his men.

This order was quickly conveyed to the nobles of Malikiya City, and they immediately executed it with the highest efficiency.

Chapter 525 Targeted

The mosque's defense was not enough in the face of gunpowder weapons. With several rounds of firing from a distance of less than 50 meters, the gate that originally looked very majestic collapsed like a rotten tree.

The only regret was that the soldiers led by the nobles had never seen a weapon like a cannon fired at such a close distance before, and coupled with the guilt brought about by attacking the mosque itself, they were frightened and caused a small-scale rout.

The fleeing soldiers thought they were being punished by God for attacking the mosque, but ironically, the jihadists defending the mosque were also frightened by the power of the artillery and fled into the mosque.

It is not a common scene that both sides fighting on the battlefield were defeated and started to flee at the same time, but it does fit the Mongols' stereotype of these vassal armies. So the Mongol cavalry around Li Rufeng laughed without hesitation, and then shot to death many soldiers who took the lead in fleeing with bows and arrows as if they were hunting.

Fortunately, the nobles still had enough "loyal and brave" private soldiers under their command. Under their pressure, the soldiers were finally reorganized. However, the best time for pursuit had been wasted. The jihadists relied on the main building of the mosque to organize a line of defense again.

But this time, most of the jihadists had been awakened from the excitement brought by the milk of poppy by the cannons. They knew very well that as long as those cannons were still there, the seemingly elegant and magnificent door was just a layer of paper and could be opened with a poke.

So these brave and highly motivated jihadists organized a death squad, crawled out of a secret tunnel in the mosque, and planned to launch a sneak attack from behind the noble army and burn those cannons in one fell swoop.

Unfortunately, they had not noticed in the chaos that behind those cowardly nobles was the Mongolian army, so as soon as this suicide squad of only 20 to 30 people appeared, they ran into the Armenian thousand-man team that was ready for battle.

Pagans faced pagans, and the two sides had a deep blood feud. They didn't need any orders at all. The Armenians surrounded them desperately. The jihadists were surrounded before they could even shout a slogan. Only a few who reacted quickly had the chance to drop their weapons and surrender, and then these people were brought to Li Rufeng.

"How many people are there inside?" Li Rufeng rode on his horse, looking down at the captives. He was very curious about these jihadists who came from afar. He wanted to know who they were and why they wanted to deal with him.

After all, even until now, Li Rufeng's reputation has only spread in the business circle, and he has not done anything excessive against Islam. If even someone like him who openly holds the official status of the Khanate is on the Islamic trial list, then this land will be full of hateful pagans and heretics.

Li Rufeng knew that the Ottomans had a large group of border nobles, all of whom were devout Christians. Whenever the Ottoman Empire had conflicts with its "inland" Christians, it would deploy that army and uproot every blade of grass that believed in Allah wherever it passed.

In Samarkand, there are mosques, churches, Zoroastrian temples, and even Taoist temples. When the old Sultan died, a group of clergy in the city beat their brains out.

"Bah! The dirty Kaffir will surely die... Ugh!" The other party might have drunk too much poppy milk, and it took him a while to recover from the immersive state. He opened his mouth and started to speak. As a result, Li Rufeng's personal guard grabbed his lower lip and cut off half of it. From now on, he had to tilt his head back to drink porridge.

Chapter 526 Let’s talk?

"Allahu Akbar!" With the roars of the jihadists, the demoralized army of the nobles was driven out of the mosque again and again, leaving everyone ashamed.

Part of the jihadists were forced into the mosque, while a small part retreated into the minaret, where they occupied high positions and aimed their bows and arrows at the nobles from above, even forming a situation of mutual protection.