Mount and Blade Central Asia

But if those who divide the cake keep comparing themselves to other sharers, everyone will be stuck in a stalemate. Those who feel that their cake is not big enough will find that no matter how the cake is divided, their cake is smaller than others, because this is not a fair "competition". If they were strong enough, they would have already got the share they wanted when they first shared the cake.

So the problem lies with the Black Sheep King. He cannot restrain the ambitions of those who share the cake. This war is destined to have no end until one side completely collapses.

Thinking of this, Hussein felt physically and mentally exhausted, but he carefully kept this secret from the soldiers. He could not let them know the direction of the war because that would undermine their confidence.

Hussein knew he had another option, like... standing on the other side, but what was the point? Who could guarantee that the young Mongol shaman would do better than the Black Sheep King?

He has been loyal to the Black Sheep King for nearly ten years. He has witnessed the other party's decline and rise again. At least for a long time, the Black Sheep King was a perfect king. He is now... old.

Hussein also invested too much and lost too much in this process. Even if he just thought about changing boats and walking the same path again, the exhaustion would completely overwhelm Hussein.

There is no point. If you can't figure it out, just stop thinking. Hussein gave up thinking and was ready to offer himself as the final sacrifice to the once great king.

So the first war broke out between the two sides——

On May 12, 1409, Li Rufeng led his troops to a place five kilometers outside the city of Abu Zahir. At this distance, he could already see a corner of the city from his strategic map perspective.

His personal guards had already found the new base of the Black Sheep People. It was obvious that the Black Sheep People did not intend to fight an offensive and defensive battle with him in the city. Li Rufeng guessed that they had already known that he had a lot of cannons in his hands.

And to be honest, Abu Zahir's city defense is slightly stronger than Malikiye, but not much stronger. This city could not withstand Li Rufeng's artillery fire, so the Black Sheep people made the most correct choice. They wanted to fight a field battle with Li Rufeng.

In the view transmitted back by the personal guards, all the Black Sheep had mounted their horses, leaving all the baggage neatly in the camp, and were heading north along the Tigris River, intending to make a big circle and launch a surprise attack on the marching enemy from the side.

Judging from the enemy's reaction, Li Rufeng was certain that these black sheep people must have the help of black wizards. Obviously, they, like himself, also knew the enemy's movements.

This was a two-way transparent, head-on confrontation. Li Rufeng's army was massive, with a total strength of over 5,000 men, but only 2,500 of them could be considered elite, including the 500 men of the Golden Arrow Mercenary Group.

Facing the impact of 1,500 cavalrymen in this plain terrain, the remaining soldiers could not even guarantee that they would not collapse in the first round. The newly formed Armenian thousand-man team had always performed well in previous wars, but just looking at their ecological status in this land, Li Rufeng knew that they could not withstand the impact of these cavalrymen.

The commander of the Black Sheep made the most correct choice. They could not hold the city, and if they allowed Li Rufeng's army to enter the city, they would not be able to take it down, so abandoning the protection of the city wall was the best option.

It's strange that the right choice is right there, so obvious, but most officers can't make such a decision.

Chapter 537 The only chance

"Boss! The brothers said that the Mongols are setting up camp and they have discovered us. Just like what the black wizard said, these people are really weird..." The soldiers in helmets and armor behaved a little presumptuously in front of Hussein, but this was how they got along.

The person who spoke was a centurion beside Hussein. He was not tall, but as strong as a wooden block. The weapon he used was not the short-handled hammer commonly used by the Black Sheep People, but a battle axe with a very wide axe blade. It looked very intimidating, but it was not suitable for cavalry.

There is a popular saying on the battlefield, that is, the weirder the weapon, the faster you die. So when you see a soldier holding a weapon that should not appear in such an occasion appear in front of you, and he is also a veteran, then you have to be careful, because he must have some unique skills that have allowed him to survive until now.

Wumaili Birkin is such a person. He is known for his insidiousness and cunning on the battlefield, and his martial arts skills are quite good. If Hussein needs to kill a general and seize the flag, he will definitely give Wumaili first choice.

"What else did the dark wizard say?" Hussein asked absentmindedly while riding on his horse.

"He said there are about 3,000 Mongols, twice as many as us, and we can deal with them." Wumail said confidently without any fear in his tone.

"Can you guarantee that he is telling the truth?" Hussein asked again. He did not trust those dark wizards, never had. After knowing what happened in Mosul, he distrusted them even more, so he took some preventive measures against the dark wizards in his team.

"Don't worry, boss. Those wizards are just plotting and playing tricks. When it comes to the real situation, they are all a bunch of women. I am sure he is telling the truth!" When Wu Mail said this, he smiled a little grimly and wiped the blood off his armor with his fingers.

"Don't go too far. We still need him alive until the end of the war." Hussein didn't want to know what his men had done to the dark wizard. He only knew that the dark wizard deserved it.

Ever since the black wizard tried to threaten him and asked him to hand over his soldiers as sacrifices to the so-called wind god, Hussein knew that they could not cooperate and this time they were just taking advantage of the situation.

"I understand. I have to go back and tell the doctor again. I'll go right away." Wu Mail pulled the reins and rode away, probably because he was afraid that he would run too slowly and would be too late.

"Witchcraft, magic... Bah!" Hussein smiled with some satisfaction. Those black wizards were like ghosts with bared fangs and claws. They looked scary, but once they saw blood, they were nothing. Yes, they were nothing.

As long as you chop off their hands, bend out their eyes, and have someone watch them all the time to prevent them from muttering curses, they will pose no greater threat than the farmers on the roadside.

"Let Habad and his men separate from us in Pruza Village, make a circle, and wait for us to take action first, so that he can find a chance to rush in." Hussein ordered. This order was cruel because it meant that Aziz's men had to attack the camp with a complete infantry formation head-on, and those Mongols had a lot of crossbowmen.

Hubbard was the most talented centurion under his command. Although he was a centurion in name, most of the time he did the work of a thousand-man commander. Currently, he was commanding a full six hundred men. Hussein didn't know how many of these six hundred men would survive in the end, but he had to show enough threat.

Otherwise, the Mongols would simply allow him to harass them and force their troops into the city.

Under normal circumstances, Hussein would first let some people act as bait, and constantly harass the enemy in units of a hundred men, and then look for opportunities to use his superior forces to eat up the enemy's separated forces in small bites, eating as much as he could.

He would not block the enemy's way like a stone. If he wanted to enter the city, let him enter. The projection could slowly erode the Mongolian logistics lines, because he knew that there was not much food and grass in Abu Zahir, and the city could not supply the logistics of such an army.

At that time, these Mongols will face the choice of whether to starve themselves to death first or to starve other people in the factory to death first. Hussein believes that these Mongols will not make the wrong choice, so a tragedy will eventually occur in the city of Abu Zahir, and the good reputation of the Mongols that has allowed them to advance smoothly will be ruined.

But he couldn't do that now, because that damn Mongol shaman was just like those dark wizards. He could see where he was and what was behind the mountain. All tactical deceptions became meaningless.

The war turned into a monotonous and cruel head-on confrontation, a meat grinder. Whoever's flesh and blood were worn out first would be the loser, and the Mongols, who had more people, clearly had the advantage.

"Tell Hubbard... don't be frugal and let the brothers drink more before they set off." Hussein felt his throat a little dry when he gave this order. He had given such orders several times in the past few years, and everyone under him knew what it meant.

So the soldier in charge of delivering the message also remained silent, but no one raised any objections, including Hubbard, who was about to be sent to die. He rode over on horseback to ask Hussein for a bag of good wine, and then set off in such a free and easy manner.

Hussein was a smart man, and he also knew that Hubbard was a smart man. He just didn't know how much Hubbard knew about the war, but judging from his carefree look, he should know as much as he did.

They are all small figures in this war, unable to change anything and can only accept their fate.

After Hubbard and his companions left, Hussein drank the rest of the wine and saved the last sip for his scimitar. Washed by the wine, the blade flashed with a chilling light. It was a good sword, but it was not enough on the battlefield.

It was so sharp that Hussein was reluctant to use it to cut armor, and those targets on the battlefield who were not wearing armor were not worthy of Hussein's attack, so he usually used a lance, which was seized from the people in the river. The wood was ironwood, the spear head was fine iron, and there was a bunch of very exquisite tassels to prevent blood from flowing down the spear shaft to his hands.

The original owner of the spear was a very warlike knight from the Riverlands. Unfortunately, he didn't realize until his death that his armor was too dazzling, so dazzling on the battlefield that Hussein knew at a glance that he was an important figure and specially sent six archers to approach him from three directions. The encounter caused the brave warrior to fall forever on the battlefield.

Hussein now hopes that the Mongolian shaman is also a rookie on the battlefield and will dress himself up so that he can be discovered at a glance. After all, that is their only chance.

Chapter 538 Arrangement of Troops

Just as Hou Saiying thought, Li Rufeng saw clearly that they divided their troops into two groups in front of a small village, and actually tried to encircle his army from the left and right sides with 1,500 people.

Even if the enemy were all elite troops, Li Rufeng felt that these Black Sheep people were too numerous. Their numbers were not enough, especially the 600 people who were divided and planned to launch a surprise attack on his right wing. As long as his infantry formation was deployed normally, a mere 600 people would not be able to break through his formation.

Moreover, the casualties they incurred for this tactic were too heavy. Li Rufeng didn't understand why these Black Sheep people were fighting so hard. If their tactical goals were not achieved, half of them would probably die.

If they achieved their tactical goal, an estimated 90% of their troops would be killed or wounded, and the only result would be temporary chaos in Li Rufeng's team.

Unless, they want to use their lives to pave a direct path to themselves, they want to use a decapitation tactic to directly deal with themselves. As long as he dies, the war will naturally end with the victory of the Black Sheep.

Li Rufeng was very sure that no one in his camp could replace him.

Qinggelinayan is too old and in poor health. Mongke has a chance, but he does not have enough prestige. Habashibuhua is not capable enough and does not have the ambition. Huluchirjia is too reckless. Without Li Rufeng, he is just a tribal warrior.

And there is Parisa, but unfortunately she is a woman. Even though she is the granddaughter of the great conqueror and the sister of Sultan Khalil, it will not work. Without her own support, she will be questioned even if she serves as the governor of a small city.

So Li Rufeng couldn't die. He felt that it was somewhat hypocritical that he had thought so much before reaching this result, because he was very sure that even if he had a suitable heir, he would rather give up and would never fight for victory at the cost of his own death.

It may not sound great, but the fact is that Li Rufeng feels that his life is more important than anyone else's, so -

"Marcelino, have your men line up on the right wing, 600 cavalrymen. I will have Diobbia's artillery support you, but you need to buy him enough time." Li Rufeng gave his orders, and then he placed the thousand-man team newly recruited from Malikye on the left wing, facing the direction of the invading enemy.

He did not trust the loyalty and fighting capacity of these people for the time being, so Li Rufeng only regarded them as a barrier. They originally had 1,500 people, but 500 of them were left in Malikiya as garrison.

Marcelino did not question Li Rufeng's order. He led his people to the right wing and began to form a battle line, forming a counterattack formation. Compared with the Mongols' advantage in cavalry archery, the Black Sheep People were more equipped with shock cavalry, which were equipped with basic armor.

According to the Black Sheep people's custom, the six hundred people should be divided into three waves to attack, with a distance of one hundred meters between waves, to create as much chaos as possible and give others opportunities.

Diobbia needed at least forty minutes of preparation time. They needed to take the cannon out of the carriage and temporarily assemble and secure the gun carriage.

That's right, in the process of constantly accompanying the cavalry, Diobia and his old brothers finally realized that it was too stupid to pile up a slope of appropriate height before each firing, and then constantly adjust the thickness of the slope, because those new recruits could not grasp the size well. This kind of work had to be done by Diobia and his old brothers themselves.

Driven by laziness, Diobbia and his gang finally came up with a better way to completely free themselves from earthwork. They made a wooden frame with metal fixings for the cannon.

This simple gun mount is constantly being improved, but it has greatly reduced the workload of artillerymen. Li Rufeng appreciates their subjective initiative very much, so after the first proof of the usefulness of this gun mount, Li Rufeng rewarded Diobbia with a large sum of money.

Now, it's time to verify whether Diobbia's new gadget can be effective against moving targets. Theoretically, if these cannons are loaded with grape eggs, they can pose a threat to cavalry groups at a close enough distance.

However, this close enough distance refers to a distance of ten to twenty meters. Even if the time for lighting the fuse in advance is taken into account, it may only give the gunner responsible for ignition about ten seconds.

The Black Sheep People's riding and shooting skills are just not as good as the Mongols, not that they don't know how to ride and shoot. Diobia will definitely not put himself in danger, so those new recruits are destined to be tested this time.

As for the other side, Li Rufeng looked at the main force of the Black Sheep people who were getting closer and closer. That was an elite team of a thousand people. How much loss would his team suffer?

Li Rufeng had no doubt that Badak's thousand-man team was elite, but his cavalry numbered only 600, which was too small. Moreover, since he guessed that the enemy's target was him, he had to keep a trump card as insurance.

The regular cavalrymen under his command who once belonged to Qinggelinayan were all more professional soldiers, but they were just embellishments in the team. They needed to lead another 500 people to fight together, and these people were the "militia" in the tribe not long ago.

Although many of them have been preparing for war since childhood, they have never experienced such a test.

There are also those Kurds who have always been used as vassal troops. As a reward, Li Rufeng gave them enough weapons and armor, so that they now look at least like decent soldiers, more like soldiers than herdsmen in appearance, but can they withstand the impact of the Black Sheep People?

Perhaps sensing Li Rufeng's worry, or perhaps harboring a desire to challenge the Black Sheep, Saladin rode up to Li Rufeng and said, "Sir, please allow my men to lead the charge! We will prove with blood that we are no less capable than anyone else!"

Li Rufeng admired Saladin's enthusiasm, so he agreed to Saladin's request: "After the war, Abu Zahir will return to your tribe. Don't let me down."

"Unless I die, my lord!" Saladin said excitedly, and then reined in his horse and rushed back to his troops. Soon cheers broke out from the direction of the Kurds, as if they were facing not death, but happy events.

In Saladin's view, the Black Sheep were originally oppressed just like them, but they got a chance to defeat their masters and win back respect.

And now they have an opportunity. They have a thousand people, and the Black Sheep people on the opposite side also have a thousand people. As long as he can lead his army to defeat those Black Sheep people, it will prove that the Kurds are also worthy of respect and they deserve a better life.

So even if this road is paved with blood and lives, he will fight all the way to the end.

"Kurds! Let's go!" Saladin raised his scimitar high so that everyone could see him, and then the scimitar fell heavily, and the dense cavalry team set off in a somewhat chaotic formation.

After obtaining Li Rufeng's consent, the regular centurions who originally served under Qinggelinayan each led their own centurions and set off behind the Kurds.

They were all veterans and did not need an outsider like Li Rufeng to tell them how to deal with another group of cavalry. As long as the Kurds could withstand the most violent charge of the Black Sheep, these wolves on the grassland would tear the Black Sheep apart bit by bit and dismember them like real sheep.

In terms of numbers, Li Rufeng sent out about 1,600 cavalrymen to confront the main force of the Black Sheep People head-on, and he also kept a full 1,500 men by his side as a reserve.

If those Black Sheep people really have the confidence to break through such a thick formation, then Li Rufeng will have nothing to say. He will definitely be the first one to run away. His riding skill is only one level away from getting the 75-level expertise bonus. He doesn't believe that he can't run away... No, he doesn't believe that those Black Sheep people are so good at fighting.

Chapter 539 Deserve it

When Hussein once again inquired about the situation on the battlefield, the dark wizard, who had been almost cut into a stick, just grinned and said in a cursed tone, "What else do you want to know? You don't believe me anyway, so why are you asking?"

"I guess you fooled us about the number of people. There's no way those Mongols only have 3,000 of them," Hussein said calmly. "You want to fool us to death, right?"

The dark wizard used his remaining facial features to make a stunned expression, and asked angrily, "You know everything? When did it start? The information I gave you before has never deceived you. Why would you..."

"You guys who play with magic always think that those of us who hold swords and arrows are fools, but the fact is that no one is a fool. We just don't have the channels to contact you to obtain that knowledge." Hussein was enjoying this victory very much. It made him happier than if he had won another great victory on the battlefield.

"I bet you had a good childhood. Your parents had the money to let you learn to read, which gave you the opportunity to come into contact with all that bizarre knowledge?" Hussein teased. He ignored the dark wizard's reaction and continued, "I bet you've never experienced hunger in your life."

"I know! Do you think I haven't suffered? I once went without food for two whole days..." The dark wizard knew that he would not survive, but he did not want to admit defeat in these strange places, but his words only made Hussein laugh.

"Two days! Two days?" Hussein laughed so hard he almost couldn't breathe before he said, "You know, when I was a kid, the tribe once went too far north and encountered a snowstorm in the winter..."

Hussein's tone suddenly became strange when he spoke here, and he made some meaningless sounds, as if something horrible was about to come out of his mouth. But he finally insisted and said, "The food in the tribe was only enough for everyone to eat for seventeen days, and the snow fell for four days. When the snow stopped, we were trapped there for a whole month, but I still survived."

"Tell me, how did I survive?" Hussein's tone made the dark wizard shudder.

"I'm not stupid, so I guessed a long time ago that you were waiting for a suitable opportunity to trick us. Those Mongols are your only chance, so I deliberately did not send scouts to investigate those Mongols. Tell me, why did I do this?" Hussein continued to ask.

"Because... you were afraid that those soldiers would be terrified and afraid and would refuse to fight if they knew the real number of Mongols. You used me..." the dark wizard answered in a dazed tone.

These people cut off his hands, he didn't collapse, these people dug out his eyes, he didn't collapse, but when he finally realized that the man in front of him was smarter than him, he collapsed.

The blue wind that the dark wizards believe in does not need fools, and he is a fool now. All his efforts over the years have become meaningless. At this moment, the wizard feels that the miraculous power of magic that has always favored him has dissipated.

"You... just kill me. I'm useless now." The dark wizard sighed and wilted, no longer having the tense demeanor he had before.

"Of course I will kill you, but not now." Hussein smiled and shook his head, and finally said, "And you know, the people under my command can only count to a hundred at most.

It doesn't matter to them whether there are three thousand or six thousand people. At least at first glance they can't see the difference. The one who really decides whether they dare to fight is me. If I tell them that they can fight, they will dare to fight. Do you understand?

Your little trick is meaningless and I don't care at all."

"Kill me! Bastard! Kill me!" The completely collapsed dark wizard shouted at Hussein loudly, but received no response.

The Azure Wind has never been magnanimous. It hates stupid people, and it is obvious that this former dark wizard is a stupid person. He feels that the punishment from the Azure Wind is coming.

"One, two, three, four... nineteen, twenty..." The dark wizard counted to ninety-nine with some fear, and then he fell into a daze. He didn't know what the next number was.

Just as Hussein said just now, most of his officers could not count to more than a hundred, and now before the Azure Wind took away his power, it wiped out his knowledge of numbers. No, not only that, it also took away a lot of other things.

Unlike those officers, the dark wizard still retained most of his knowledge framework, but there was nothing within the framework. His knowledge of numbers was only from zero to ninety-nine, and he was clearly aware of this.

This gap in perception made him feel as if a part of his brain suddenly started to itch, and the itch was so intense that he was willing to pay any price to insert a knife and rub it to relieve the itch.

But he couldn't do it, his hands had been chopped off long ago, and he could only madly press his face against the wooden frame that bound him and rub it hard. His strength was so great that the skin on his face soon peeled off along the wound.

He didn't stop there, but used the splinters on the wood to rub against his dermis, erasing his flesh and blood layer by layer, and then his bones, no! Bones!

The dark wizard realized that the skull would be a huge obstacle. With his strength, he might never be able to grind a large enough opening in the wood to expose his brain and rub it a few times to relieve the itch. This realization made him feel a little desperate.

But he still rubbed it hard, trying to use the pain to suppress the itch that made him feel uneasy from the bottom of his soul, and soon his understanding of the human body became blurred. The punishment that the blue wind gave him was not just in terms of numbers.

When everything is gone, what will be left in this body may just be a happy fool. The dark wizard cannot accept such an ending, and at the same time he cannot resist the itchy feeling, so he has to engrave this in his soon-to-be stupid brain before it is too late. He must do it!

...

What am I doing? Why am I here? Who am I? Oh, yeah, rub, tickle it, rub, rub! Hehe!

Hearing the dark wizard's series of silly laughs inside, the guard who was riding beside the carriage and was responsible for watching over him finally couldn't help but look up. Then, this veteran who had fought on the battlefield for many years was scared to death.

"Boss! Boss! You'd better come and take a look!"

"Don't worry about him, he deserves it." Hussein laughed heartily and then put the dark wizard behind him.

Chapter 540: Desperate Charge!