Mount and Blade Central Asia

"My name is Yixia...Sir, I am a local." Although the girl was trembling with nervousness, she still answered the question with a smile.

From this point of view, the old man is not bragging, he is indeed quite capable.

"That's her." Li Rufeng pointed at the tall girl and said to the old man.

"Thank you for your patronage. Three gold coins." The old man smiled and quoted a price that was obviously higher than the market price. However, considering that they had agreed to buy it at a premium, this price was considered quite reasonable.

When Li Rufeng took Yixia back to the shop through the alley and secret door again, Li Rufeng's personal guards had already directed the city guards, who were composed of Armenian soldiers, to complete the encirclement of the entire building complex.

Because the city guards have been in the habit of patrolling various market areas during this period, the merchants nearby have only slightly increased their vigilance. Li Rufeng's tacit attitude towards these smugglers has made many of them bolder.

"What should I call you? Next time I come here, I can't act like a stranger. This is not the way to treat a friend." Li Rufeng asked casually, focusing more on the strategic map perspective.

He wanted to try to find more areas with similar institutions. The street smarts of these people really opened his eyes. Who would have thought that there was a house within a house here?

"You can call me Kalavani." The old man smiled sincerely because of the gold coins in his hand.

But what he said was not sincere at all, because Kalawani itself means merchant and camel caravan in Arabic.

"Well, Kalavani, I told you I hope to be treated like a friend next time I come. It's a pity you didn't seize this opportunity." Li Rufeng nodded to Parisa, "You can start now, my princess."

"What princess?" Kalavani looked at Parisa in confusion.

Parisa used a clean straight punch to hit him in the face. The force was so strong that Li Rufeng worried that the skinny old man would be killed.

At the same time, the city guards hiding around also began to take action under the orders of the personal guards. The city guards who suddenly showed their weapons scared the merchants so much that they dared not even breathe.

Under normal circumstances, they should have escaped in different directions along various paths as they were experienced.

But from the perspective of the strategic map, Li Rufeng, who had already seen this area clearly, had ordered his personal guards to lead these city defense teams to block all possible exits from alleys and secret passages in advance.

The city guards who patrol this area on weekdays are basically soldiers from the Malikiyah City Regiment. These soldiers come from the petty bourgeoisie merchant class and are handicraftsmen. They have no signs of training themselves, but are very close to these smugglers.

If Li Rufeng had not transferred the Malikiye City League in time, some of the people would have gone home directly, and the others would have been sent to the recruit camp. It would not have been long before the smugglers in Mosul City would have fought with these petty citizen soldiers and completed the corruption of the new ruler's army.

Even so, Li Rufeng had no doubt that many soldiers from Malikiya who were allowed to return home had reached a tacit understanding with these smugglers during their garrison in Mosul and had negotiated many deals.

In comparison, the Armenians are much more honest. Armenian soldiers were either farmers who used to work on the land or laborers who did manual labor in the city. In addition, they have always been in a weak position in political status, and now they are extremely loyal to Li Rufeng.

It has essentially become the most important part of Li Rufeng's military system since the Mongols. To be honest, Li Rufeng originally thought that the Kurds, who are also a nomadic people and have followed him for a longer time, would be in this position.

It's a pity that there are many conflicts among the Kurdish tribes, and Saladin Muht, who is loyal to him, is not a very prestigious chief himself. He can only call on the Kurds to stand on his side within the Kurdish community to a limited extent.

Just as Li Rufeng expected, none of the slave traders he targeted escaped. All of them and the slaves they purchased were imprisoned.

"Sir, you don't have to take this risk yourself." Sarah Xiaxi took advantage of Parisa's comforting the young slave girl to whisper to Li Rufeng, "We can't be sure yet whether the Muqiyi sect will target you. After all, Badrani and I both have sensitive identities."

"I just came out to relax. You can't let me handle official business in the study every day. I am a king on horseback." Li Rufeng said jokingly. From the perspective of the strategic map, he saw that Parisa had returned. He gave Sarah a look, and the other party immediately understood and left.

His new intelligence chief was obviously a very delicate mind. He keenly sensed Li Rufeng's respect for Parisa. After the previous test, he would never do such provocative behavior again.

"I want to send them all home." Parisa said to Li Rufeng after returning, "They are all scared..."

Parisa was a princess after all, and she didn't understand the suffering of the people very well. She didn't know that for these girls who were sold by their families, going home was definitely not the best option.

There are only zero and countless times of selling, and their families will most likely sell these girls again.

"I think it's time for you to have your own maids, Princess." Li Rufeng said to Parisa with a smile, "That would be better for them."

Chapter 631 Surfaced

"Who is the buyer? Who is the contact person? Where are the slaves going to be shipped?" Badrani sat opposite Kalavani and asked for the umpteenth time.

Of course, this Qarawani has now revealed his real name. His name is Ulema Husseini. He is from Baghdad, but has lived in Mosul for twenty years.

"The buyer is a businessman in Baghdad. I don't know who he is, but the contact is a local named Judam. He's well-known in the port area, so it's easy to find him." The Ulema replied weakly, "The destination is Baghdad, and we're only responsible for shipping to Baghdad..."

Badrani didn't beat him or scold him, he just didn't let him sleep. This was the fastest way to destroy human will summarized by the Muqiyi sect.

Honestly, if the Ulema had known that this was the shitty thing they wanted to know, he would have answered it long ago. There was no need to torture his old bones. He still thought that his previous murder and robbery had been reported...

The Ulema felt wronged. You should have asked directly about such a small matter. What's the point of making people stay awake for two days and two nights?

"Slave trading isn't illegal, right?" Ulema asked cautiously. At his age, he really didn't have any ambitions. Even the toughest hero had to learn to compromise.

"Who is the buyer? Who is the contact person? Where are the slaves going to be shipped?" Badrani did not answer the Ulema's question, but asked the same question again.

"I've already said it, I swear to God, I'm not hiding anything, I've told you everything you want to know. There's no need to torture an old man like this, my friend! Be merciful!" A trace of fear flashed in the Ulema's eyes.

Although he had not received the interrogation training of the Muqi faction like Badrani, after a whole day and night of torture, he already knew very well what the other party was planning to do.

Today's Ulama would rather be whipped a few times or receive some other physical punishment to provide some sensory stimulation, otherwise the feeling of being repeatedly forcibly woken up on the edge of sleep is too despairing.

Ulema had trouble sleeping to begin with, and now he had dark circles under his eyes and a racing heartbeat, like a candle in the wind that could go out at any moment.

Badrani knew that Ulema Yashin was not lying, because several other merchants who also had slaves ready to be sold gave the same answer. These merchants had no sense of confidentiality and no obligation to keep secrets for their customers.

He simply wanted to leave a deep impression on these slave traders. After all, they would have many opportunities to interact with each other in Mosul in the future.

"Judging from the situation, that's probably all they know." Badrani said to Sarah Shahi after leaving the interrogation room, "Has Judam been caught?"

"Not yet, but soon. He can't run away." A hint of ruthlessness flashed across Sarah Xia Xi's face. Zhudam was more difficult and more well-informed than she had imagined.

Almost as soon as they started to bring these slave traders back, Zhudam had already received the letter. He keenly realized that he was the real target and was about to run away.

Fortunately, Badrani and his men obtained the intelligence quickly enough. When the pursuers arrived, there were only a few minutes between them and Judam. The two sides thus launched a massive cat-and-mouse game in the city of Mosul.

The only thing that comforted Sarah Shahi was that the city guards at the city gates had received the news of martial law very early and directly closed the city gates. There were also spies waiting nearby the secret passages leading to the outside world in Mosul to ensure that Judam had no chance to escape, including the smuggling channels in the port area.

All signs indicate that Judam is still in the city, trapped.

...

Judam was a desperado who had seen many ups and downs. He was a Jew. When the great conqueror Timur came, he escaped from the city in advance. By selling intelligence, he not only survived the massacre but also made a fortune.

When the Black Sheep appeared, he immediately stood on the side of the Black Sheep, repeating the situation of that year and firmly controlling the smuggling channels in the port area.

When the dark wizards suddenly blockaded the city of Mosul, Judam also demonstrated strong subjective initiative. He was the first to defect to the dark wizards' side, and after the beginning of the Long Sleep Era, he contracted the catering business for the tower builders with his "loyalty".

This is how the workers evaluated the meals provided by Judam at the time - it tastes better than kvass, but kvass won't kill people, but this might.

In short, relying on the connections he had accumulated over the years and seven or eight bodyguards who were loyal to him, Zhu Damu lived safely until the new era of Li Rufeng's rule.

It’s a pity that this time, before the main mother could get close to the new ruler, he was wanted because of a small transaction.

Zhudam couldn't understand why the lord was hunting him down. To Zhudam, what he was dealing with was nothing more than a normal slave trade. Although it had a bad reputation, this kind of human trafficking was undoubtedly reasonable and legal.

At this time, Zhudam was hiding in a secret room in the port area, relying on the food stored some time ago as supplies. From time to time, he sent a confidant out to investigate the situation, waiting for the latest developments.

He tried to bribe the soldiers who were chasing him with money, but the result was the loss of two good brothers who had been watching over him for many years.

This made Zhudam a little angry, and he was more eager to know what kind of trouble he was involved in!

Then, Zhudam saw his previous master, the black wizard Shawai, in his dream.

"My master, is that you?" Zhudam asked uncertainly. At this time, he did not realize that he was in a dream.

But soon, accompanied by all kinds of bizarre scenes, Zhudam realized this.

"Be careful of that shaman," Shawai said coldly, "There's no room for loss in this deal. You know my methods."

After saying this, Shawai snapped his fingers, and Zhudam was awakened from his bodyguard's bed in a cold sweat. After thinking it over, he finally gritted his teeth and decided to surrender to Li Rufeng.

Since Li Rufeng was able to defeat those black warriors once, it would not be difficult to do it again.

Even a scumbag like Judam has another set of calculations in his mind to measure his own bias.

This time, in Zhudam's mind, the sky smoothly tilted towards Li Rufeng.

But what he didn't see was that a bodyguard behind him trembled in his dream, and when he opened his eyes again, the person inside was no longer him.

Shawai would not allow anyone to reveal his presence and planned to take action personally to ensure that Judam made the "correct" choice.

Chapter 632 The Aging King

"It's too late. The buyer took action first." Badrani frowned as he looked at the corpse in the room.

As a scabbard cultivated by the Muciyi organization, although he is not as agile as the dagger and cannot fight three people alone, he is also accomplished in the field of killing.

For example, Badrani is now very sure that the four bodies in the room died in a fight, and the murderer is the one lying in the corner, bleeding to death from wounds in the abdomen and chest.

Their target, Judam, was the first to be killed. The wound was on his back, piercing his heart diagonally upwards along the gap below his shoulder blade.

The blade avoided the ribs and the angle of entry was very important. It took a lot of practice to master it. He doubted that even Naseedin could do it so cleanly. When he attacked from behind, he preferred to slit the throat.

But if we exclude the adult's accidental attention, the whole thing is just a normal slave trade. There is no need for the buyer to kill him, and there is no need for Zhudam to hide.

They should have been like those captured slave traders. After getting over the initial panic, they realized that the direction of their investigation was the buyers of this slave trade, so we confessed everything we knew in one breath and in a clear and concise manner.

The corpses in the room now only prove that the adult's concern about the slave trade is completely correct, and there are unknown secrets behind this transaction.

To be honest, Badlani doesn't like Mimi. He has hidden too many secrets in his heart in this life. The secretive culture within the Muciyi people makes them want to store their daily recipes as secrets.

Badrani had spent a lot of money to get this job from Sarah Shahi, so he naturally wanted to do his best to leave a deep impression on that adult.

"He killed Judam with one knife, pushed Judam's body forward two steps, and used the body as an obstacle to block the attack of another person. After being stabbed, he first dealt with the enemy on his right, and then took another knife to deal with the enemy on his left, using a tactic of exchanging injuries for lives." Badrani tried to reconstruct what happened at the time and simulated the murderer's route by stepping on the footprints on the ground.

"No." Badrani followed the bloodstains on the ground and returned to the murderer's body.

He dug his finger deep into the wound on the murderer's body, looked at the dead man's eyes and said doubtfully, "The first knife has injured your lungs. You should be having difficulty breathing and coughing violently. How did you kill the second and third people?"

Badrani pushed the dead man away and sat in his place, staring in the direction the dead man had looked before. There was the only window in the secret room, a small window the size of a palm, mainly used for ventilation.

But through it you can just see the pitch-black wizard tower. It is said that it is the southern tower among the four wizard towers and also the most completed one.

Badrani remembered that among the merchants arrested this time, two were because they secretly purchased crude cement produced from the Black Stone Tower. The adult wanted to know who knew the news about the crude cement so quickly and wanted to get some.

The result seems obvious. Interested in the people of Mosul, knowing the secret of crude cement... The only person who meets these two requirements at the same time seems to be a dark wizard...

At this time, the Saidi family far away in Tabriz finally realized, after not receiving a reply for a long time, that the killer they had paid a high price to find had disappeared.

Feeling that things were getting out of their control, the Saidi family began to move around in the city of Tabriz, trying to find more allies to ensure that they would not be liquidated by the Black Sheep King.

To be honest, some members of the Sayidi family actually have some understanding of Mushtaq's choice. After all, it is by relying on this capricious approach that their family has been able to successfully stand on the side many times over the years and get to where they are today.

But this time, Mushtaq's behavior has caused too much harm to the family...

Judging from the information they received from Abdul, the Black Sheep King had probably made up his mind to take action against them even if it meant plunging Tabriz into chaos.

During this period, the Saidi family's confidants in key positions have been under tremendous pressure. The Black Sheep King introduced some chiefs of border tribes into this ancient city, filling various important positions and competing directly with the Saidi family.

These border tribes have been fighting for years, and although they have suffered heavy losses, they have brought back a strong army. Now no one can find any fault in compensating them politically.

This was the Black Sheep King's open conspiracy. He wanted to dismember the network woven by the Saidi family in Tabriz bit by bit, starting from the periphery.

The ruthlessness and precision of his attack made the Saidi family immediately realize that Mushtaq's surrender was just a pretext. He had long been dissatisfied with the Saidi family.

But the resilience of the Saidi family far exceeded the Black Sheep King's expectations. The open and secret struggles between the two sides almost instantly reached a fever pitch. Today you remove one of my officials, and tomorrow another official will be poisoned to death at home by his mistress.

Although Abdul tried his best to mediate, he was unable to prevent the conflict between the two sides from escalating and soon affected the war on the front line.

In the past few years, the Saidi family has made friends with many leaders of large tribes, making them believe that since the Black Sheep King dares to take action against the Saidi family now, he will dare to take action against them in the future.

Because there is no essential difference between the two sides. They all try to guarantee their independence under the banner of the Black Sheep King. The only difference is that the tribes of those chiefs are on the grasslands, while the tribes of the Sayidi family are in the city...

Bang!

The Black Sheep King threw the decorations on his table to the ground again and stomped on them viciously several times.

The counterattack of the Sayyidi family made him lose face and almost came to the point of fighting, but several large tribes sent messengers back to Tabriz in succession, urging the Black Sheep King to remain calm and not to hold the entire Sayyidi family accountable for the fault of one person.

"They're all looking for a way out!" The Black Sheep King gritted his teeth and said to Abdul, "Mushtaq is just the beginning! They all have a Mushtaq in their hearts! They have tarnished the banner of the Black Sheep!"

"Calm down, my king. They do have reason to worry about this. We are currently surrounded by enemies, and no one wants to be implicated by an unknown person." Abdul sighed, realizing for the umpteenth time that the king in front of him was already old.

Not only did wrinkles appear on his face, but his personality also became more and more irritable. He was no longer as rational and calm as he used to be.

The Black Demon King is now so stubborn that he always wants to gain everyone's loyalty by the fastest means.

He seemed to have a sense of urgency to teach his successor a country that could truly be called a kingdom.

But such things always fail to achieve the desired results if haste is insufficient, and no one is willing to give up the power in their hands easily.

The more times like this, the more subtle tactics should be used to deal with these power disputes. It's not that the Black Sheep King doesn't understand, he just doesn't have the patience to go through it step by step.

Abdul looked at the still furious Black Sheep King, but what he was thinking was, how long can I help you, my king?

Chapter 633: March on Baghdad

Although the information about the buyer of the slaves was cut off by Zhudam, and he ultimately failed to follow the clues to find out who the real buyer was, Li Rufeng was still able to roughly determine that the buyer was the black wizard Shawai who controlled the wizard Tananta at the time.

That damn black wizard should be hiding in Baghdad now. Li Rufeng hates these black wizards very much. They are always hard to kill and always prepare at least one escape route to ensure that they can survive the worst situation.

But Li Rufeng himself is now maintaining a certain degree of cooperation with the believers of the Blue Wind, and has no right to blame the black wizard.

In fact, what Li Rufeng had discovered through Sayib before about the transformation of the followers of Azure Wind was no longer a secret. At least the Eagle of Order had discovered some mendicants within the Sufi sect who were studying the power of Azure Wind.

Compared with Hayshar and other members who fled from the Mamluks and stayed in Aleppo, thus being cut off from information, Mu'er from Isfahan was very clear about this change.