Mount and Blade Central Asia

After all, this is free food and drinks, and they are reluctant to eat and drink like this in their own territory.

Helferson sat obediently in his seat, looking at Mustafa while using his peripheral vision to grab his share of food on the table.

In this regard, Helfison, who was born a mountain bandit, is much better than those mountain lords. Even if he only uses one hand and one eye to pay attention to the food on the table, no one can snatch it away from him.

Helfeson easily blocked the fork thrust by the neighboring lord with his dagger. After finishing the boiled quail, he took the pigeon from the newly served game pigeon stew and put it on his plate with satisfaction, ignoring the gaze of the slightly inferior lord the whole time.

"Enough! I say enough! If you continue like this, I will no longer provide you with military rations!" Mustanfa, who was angry and humiliated, finally realized that he had no respect from these mountain lords at all.

So far, he has spent a lot of the Urartu family's military expenses, but the threat from the Hengyang people has not ended, but has become more and more serious.

According to the intelligence Mustafa obtained, the total number of Black Sheep troops gathered near Van City may have exceeded 4,500, and the number is still increasing.

All Armenian settlements near the city of Erzurum have been looted by the Black Sheep People in recent days. They suffered heavy losses and the prestige of the Urartu family was greatly damaged.

Mustafa couldn't even be sure whether these mountain lords were really here to help or just to watch the fun. Except for the one whose identity issue had not been completely resolved and Helfeson who often went out to fight against the Black Sheep People, the others were too lazy to even move.

But no matter how much Mustafa talked, none of the mountain lords below were fools. They came to help, not to fill the hole.

Unless the Urartu family goes out as the main force to fight the Black Sheep People, they will never be the first to take action.

Mustafa knew that if he didn't pay a price, he wouldn't be able to inspire the fighting spirit of these mountain lords, so he could only bite the bullet and say, "The day after tomorrow morning we will send out 1,500 soldiers..."

“Shhh!!!”

The mountain lords immediately booed Mustafa, obviously dissatisfied with the number of troops he sent.

The Urartu family could mobilize about 3,000 soldiers, which was actually a huge force among the Armenians.

But this time the mountain lords have gathered a larger number of soldiers. It is definitely impossible for them to use this small number of people to lead the mountain lords to fight against the Black Sheep People.

Mustafa, who was unable to continue to maintain order, could only look at Helfison with a pleading look. Before today, he had implicitly told Helfison that if he was willing to stand up and support him, the Urartu family would be willing to support Helfison in seizing the title of the Shabira family.

Alps had received instructions from Hiltberg in advance that unless the Urartu family was willing to contribute two-thirds of their total military strength and promised not to demand any benefits in this war, he must not stand up and support the Urartu family.

Although the city of Erzurum is very important to the Armenians, it is ultimately a city outside the mountain lord system. If Helfeson wants to seize the title of the Shabila family, he will ultimately still need the recognition of other mountain lords.

Seeing that Helfeson had no reaction, Mustafa could only sigh and then shouted again: "Okay! Two thousand people! I will send two thousand soldiers as the vanguard to take Van City directly!"

"Yeah! It should have been done long ago! Mustafa! Old man!" This time the mountain lords cheered with satisfaction, began to clink glasses with each other, and spilled the precious wine everywhere.

"You also have to promise not to ask for any benefits other than your existing ones. We have come from afar, not to help you for free, nor to be sent away just to eat some food from the Urartu family." Helfesen stood up and coughed a few times, and the scene suddenly became quiet.

During this period, Helfeson's reputation on the battlefield was much higher than that of Mustafa, who was squatting in the city and dared not move.

In addition, Helferson announced to the outside world that he had connections with the Mongols, and that he actually had a group of Mongolian cavalry serving under his command, so he was very powerful.

Mustafa stared at Helfesen. He certainly didn't want to get nothing from this war, especially when they had the possibility of capturing the city of Van.

The Urartu family had accumulated a lot of wealth over the years. Taking advantage of the civil unrest in Korea following the death of the great conqueror, they had purchased several cannons from the Genoese through the Black Sea trade with the Empire of Trebzon.

That was their trump card and also their biggest trump card to conquer the city of Fan.

Mustafa naturally did not want to gain nothing from this war. After all, he took the greatest risk and put in the most effort.

But looking at the mountain lords with stars shining in their eyes, Mustafa finally compromised. He had to express enough goodwill to these mountain lords on behalf of the Urartu family in exchange for the willingness of these mountain lords to support him in the future as they did today.

Thinking of this, Mustafa looked at Helferson meaningfully. He could make concessions, but he couldn't leave all the benefits to the other party.

"You are not qualified to negotiate with me! Helfeson...Knight." Mustafa had a strange tone, and after a pause, he emphasized Helfeson's identity.

Mustafa's words reminded several mountain lords who had daily dealings with the Shabira family of Edorad Shalabi's previous accusation against Helferson's identity. They immediately nodded and began to support Mustafa.

Chapter 607 Aries' Failure

"Lord Osman, we should continue our offensive against Batman City." Moises, a thin man with a serious expression, said to the Aries King from his horseback. "The Black Sheep in the city are already very tired. As long as we make a little more effort..."

"The soldiers have suffered heavy casualties. Let's retreat first." King Aries sighed, not wanting to continue consuming his tribe in this siege.

"Lord Osman! The Black Sheep People are under greater pressure than us! They are about to collapse!" Moises did not want to give up this opportunity.

This was the closest they had come to capturing Batman in recent months.

"You should know that the Black Sheep have already begun withdrawing from the eastern border. If we fail to capture them this time, they'll soon be waiting for reinforcements!" Moises suppressed his anger and advised the White Sheep King, "Your ally, Lord Rufeng, has been advancing triumphantly and has already captured Mosul. If we fail to gain an inch..."

"This is not our war, Moises. We must conserve our strength." The Aries King said nonchalantly, and then waved his hand to let his guards give the order to retreat.

Moises sighed deeply. He didn't know how many promises he had made this time to make the chiefs and soldiers of those tribes willing to attack fiercely regardless of casualties. What should he use to motivate them next time?

Although, as the White Sheep King said, this is not their war, but a counterattack by the former members of the Timurid Khanate against the Black Sheep, but...

This war was originally started because the Black Sheep people planned to completely wipe out the Aries people. If the Black Sheep people catch their breath, won’t they do it again?

Moises sighed as he looked at the Aries King, who had gained weight due to a life of luxury in recent years. He had no way of opposing Lord Osman's orders, and it was also hard to say that it was a bad thing to have a king who was willing to cherish the lives of his people.

But more often than not, Moises felt that the king was frightened by the bloody conquest wars of the Great Conqueror. Although the Aries were only vassal troops assisting the Great Conqueror at the time, they had also experienced several head-on bloody battles.

King Aries had six sons in total, three of whom were adults and died in those wars, leaving only three underage children alive.

From then on, the Aries King became much less aggressive in the war itself, and he could even tolerate minor offenses from the tribal chiefs.

"Lord Osman, what if the shaman questions why we are stopping?" Moises finally tried.

"Isn't the war over yet? Aren't we still working hard?" The Aries King said with a smile, "We just didn't take down Batman, but we did attack Batman."

"I understand your concerns, Moises. But as the King of the Aries Tribe, I've learned only one lesson over the years: don't stand out too much in other people's wars, or you'll be assigned missions far beyond your capabilities." The Aries King patted Moises' shoulder. "We're just small fry. We should put aside our ambitions and focus on preserving what we already have."

Looking at the city of Batman in the distance, the Aries King also sighed. How much did those black sheep people pay for their so-called dignity?

Their tribes were once spread all over the grassland, and their flags covered the sky. For a century, the White Sheep Tribe could only survive in the desolate land far away from the Black Sheep Tribe's sphere of influence.

And now?

The tribes that spread across the grasslands have begun to wither. Almost all the adult men are on the border, preparing for endless wars. The blood shed by the Black Sheep People almost makes up for all the grass eaten by the livestock they have raised over the years.

The flags that once covered the sky can now only be seen in cities and fortresses near the border areas. The deeper you go into their territory, the more empty it becomes. It is even common to ride for several days without finding a single Black Sheep Tribe flag.

What's the point? King Aries shrugged his shoulders and announced that he would slaughter sheep and cattle tonight to reward those brave soldiers.

Zhuo Gelu, the governor of the Black Sheep people on the city wall, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the White Sheep people withdrawing their troops. He finally survived another day.

At this time, including him, there were less than 500 soldiers in Batman who could continue to fight. The urban area behind the city wall was full of wounded soldiers and corpses piled up like mountains.

If the hatred between the Black Sheep and the White Sheep was not so deep and no one was willing to surrender, I am afraid that the city of Batman would have been lost long ago.

The only good news came from the court of Tabriz through the black wizard. The Black Sheep King promised him that reinforcements would arrive in Batman within five days.

But he concealed this news from the soldiers. He was unwilling to be trapped in Batman City and be blocked by these Aries people in the city.

Zhuo Gelu knew that if reinforcements could be sent to support him and his men at this time, it must be because the Black Sheep King had abandoned his defense line on the eastern border.

The land they had fought bloody battles for a few years ago to gain from the Timurid Khanate is probably gone now. The warriors who died in the battle and the wise men who sacrificed suddenly became meaningless.

Such a blow made Zhuo Gelu feel as if he had been defeated. Even if he could defend the city of Batman, what would it matter? After seeing the glory of the peak, who could tolerate living in the mud?

"We'll set out on our chariots tonight and attack the Aries camp!" Zhuo Gelu said ruthlessly, turning around and ordering his few remaining confidants, "The Aries' cowardly king is right there. Select all the warriors who still have the courage to fight and follow me. Open the city gates three hours after sunset. This will be our final charge!"

So, after nightfall, while the Aries people who were singing and dancing outside the city of Batman were completely unaware, a group of Black Sheep cavalry, numbering only 200, quietly left the city and headed straight for the Aries camp!

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" The Aries sentry shot flares into the sky madly and shouted on horseback, but he was soon shot dead on horseback by the Black Sheep.

The Aries camp was only 800 meters away from Batman City. They never thought that the Black Sheep had the courage to come out of the city to attack them under such a disadvantageous situation, so they were caught off guard and the camp was in chaos.

During the day, they had almost completely defeated the Black Sheep people and occupied the city. However, when night fell, they were ambushed by the Black Sheep people again. This disparity was difficult for the Aries people to accept.

So some people wanted to mount their horses and fight back, some planned to retreat first, regroup and then fight back, and some were simply scared and fled on horseback without a care in the world.

Aries King Kara Osman rode his horse with a grim face, surrounded by his guards, moving slowly out of the camp to prevent himself from being dispersed by the fleeing soldiers.

Moises was guarding the Aries King. He was also one of the few Aries generals who did not drink tonight.

Unfortunately, despite Moises's constant shouting, it had little effect in calming the soldiers down.

Moises knew that the number of Black Sheep people who attacked the camp at night must be small. As long as he could organize an effective interception, perhaps those Black Sheep people could be completely defeated.

"Lord Osman, you must stand up. Your guards are our only hope!" Moises hesitated for a moment, then whispered to the Aries King, "As long as your guards can..."

"How dare you! You're putting Lord Osman's life at risk!" A chieftain of a small tribe who had always been at odds with Moises retorted loudly, "Sir, we must retreat and regroup. Perhaps reinforcements from the Black Sheep have arrived. We can't take any chances!"

"It's impossible that their reinforcements have arrived. Our spies didn't find any trace!" Moises looked at the fire in the camp and felt a lump in his chest.

Aries King Osman thought seriously for a few seconds, and finally shook his head at Moises: "We really can't take any risks. Let's retreat first. We will come back soon."

Moises nodded silently, and the breath in his chest seemed to have completely dissipated. He looked back at the Black Sheep Flag standing tall on the wall of Batman. For some reason, he had a feeling that he might never be able to capture that city again.

...

Li Rufeng only learned about the Aries people's crushing defeat outside the city of Batman three days later. He stood in front of the makeshift sand table, frowning and watching for 10 minutes without understanding why the Aries people suffered such a terrible defeat.

According to the news from the front line, the Aries people even retreated all the way back to Diyarbakir before they regrouped and gained a foothold.

Mirzan, who he had left in Mardin to defend against the Black Sheep, had also sent word that the White Sheep had suffered heavy losses this time. Of the over 3,000 men who had been routed on the front line, half had simply fled, and the Black Sheep who had attacked them at night were probably only a few hundred strong...

If everything goes well, perhaps in a month the Aries King will be able to gather an army of similar size to fight the Black Sheep again, but before that, the pressure from the Black Sheep in the southwest will be almost gone.

The garrison Li Rufeng left in Mardin City was more than enough for defense, but was not enough to face the Black Sheep People directly. Moreover, Mirzan was not a brave and warlike Mongolian general, but he was good at managing the economy.

In the few months since Li Rufeng handed over the city of Mardin to him, the economy of his city of Mardin has flourished, and he has also developed his own caravan by having merchants take over the logistics and transportation tasks.

"Waste!" Li Rufeng lost his temper, a rare occurrence, and threw the flags representing the Aries symbol all over the sand table.

What kind of idiot teammate would be defeated by an enemy of only 200? Are they Italians?

Moreover, the two sides had originally agreed to send 4,000 troops each to wipe out the Black Sheep people. Why were there 1,000 less people for no reason?

Also, why have we reached Mosul and even captured Erbil Castle, but the Aries are still standing still?

"Don't be angry, Osman is a coward, haven't we known this for a long time?" Princess Parisa has been stationed in Aleppo since Li Rufeng started the expedition, and she knows more about the war of the Aries.

After Li Rufeng lifted the siege of Diyarbakir, the Aries King held a banquet for three days and three nights, while the Aries were still fighting with the Black Sheep on the front line.

The Aries King was obviously not interested in this war; he preferred peaceful days.

"If the Black Sheep people don't need to send troops to support Batman City, they will have a greater advantage near Van City. Those Armenians may not be able to withstand the pressure of the Black Sheep people." Li Rufeng suppressed his anger and focused his attention on the sand table again.

"We are short of troops. Continuing to send our troops north to fight against the Black Sheep People will easily lead to a gap in our defense line. If we let the Black Sheep People seize the opportunity, we will lose sight of the big picture." Li Rufeng briefly explained to Princess Parisa the troubles he was facing.

"The Iranians in the east may be forced to temporarily give up their suppression of the Qara ...

"My uncle is willing to reach an agreement with the Black Sheep?" Parisa's face was a little sad when she heard the news. "He has always had a bad relationship with my father, and now my brother has become his enemy..."

Princess Parisa, who grew up in an imperial family, naturally did not have much hope for family affection, but she still found it somewhat ironic that Shah Rukh was willing to give up the Khanate's influence in the western region in order to deal with his brother.

He would rather let outsiders benefit than deal with his nephew first.

Li Rufeng didn't know how to comfort Paresha. After all, he had never experienced anything like this before. He was an only child, and there was no throne to inherit in his family...

"Don't worry about me, I'm used to this kind of thing." Parisa quickly adjusted her mood and then asked, "How should we deal with new challenges?"

Li Rufeng liked the word "we" he used to describe their interests, which made him feel for the first time that he was not fighting alone.

"The good news is that Hiltberg is a very capable man. He helped the Armenians gather a force of over 5,000 men in Erzurum. At least we don't have to worry about the Armenians being defeated quickly."

Li Rufeng drew a circle around the place representing Erzurum and pointed it out to Parisa.

"The bad news is that these Armenians won't last long. If both sides remain deadlocked here, they'll quickly fall apart and retreat to their respective territories in the mountains." Li Rufeng sighed and said, "The Black Sheep are just like us. They're not interested in those mountainous areas."

Li Rufeng looked at the map, his eyes fixed on the circle representing Tabriz and fell into deep thought. The Black Sheep King was there, less than 400 kilometers away from the city of Mosul.

No matter how the Qara Qara Qara deployed their forces, they would definitely leave enough troops in Tabriz to guard against any attack.

That is the key to completely solving the problem of the Black Sheep People.

Chapter 608 The Second Surrender

The impact of Aries' sudden defeat is spreading.

Judging from the Black Sheep King's mood these days, Carl Yusuf's face is rosy and he looks much better. He looks younger, like he is four or five years old.

"Sir Abdul, the Aries are as weak as they once were, posing no threat at all, aren't they?" Karl Yusuf said to Abdul, looking at the latest news in his hand. "If it weren't for those damned Mongols interfering, we would have completely wiped them out long ago."

Abdul echoed the Black Sheep Man. Seeing that the other party was in a good mood, he felt that today was a good time to find an opportunity to tell the scandal of the Saidi family.

"Yes, those Aries people." Abdul said while shaking his head, as if mentioning this name was a joke.

"But we may also have some bad news, my king," Abdul said, choosing his words carefully. "I'm afraid that the young man the Sayidi family recommended to you earlier has disappointed you."

Abdul said this because he was actually very concerned about the face of the Black Sheep King, because Mushtaq Talib Saidi was originally admired by the Black Sheep King himself, so he was sent to Erbil Castle as the governor to gild his reputation.

That was the olive branch extended by the Black Sheep King in order to win over the Saidi family. Unfortunately, the young man disappointed them, and now both sides are embarrassed.

"Oh? Is it Mushtaq? What happened to him? Did he fail in the battlefield? Young people always need experience, so don't be too harsh on them." The Black Sheep King spoke with the tolerant attitude unique to an old man, with a smile still on his lips.

I realized that the Mongolian shaman was not easy to deal with, and the Iranians were not easy to deal with either. Naturally, life would be even more difficult for Erbil Castle, which was caught in the middle.

Fortunately, Erbil Castle is a fortified city. If the Khanate's defenders had not lost their determination to hold on, they would have had to pay a heavy price to capture Mosul's eastern barrier.

It's a pity that those dark wizards destroyed the city...