Mount and Blade Central Asia

But Parisa even knew about blacksmithing, which was beyond Li Rufeng's understanding. After all, no princess would be trained in this direction...

"I've been wielding swords and guns since I was a child. My teacher sometimes tells me how to repair weapons, but they have to do all these things themselves in the monastery." Parisa explained a little embarrassedly, but judging from the professional knowledge in her words just now, this was not as simple as the teacher mentioning it casually.

"Are you very interested in this?" Li Rufeng asked with a smile. He found that he admired Parisa, the down-and-out princess, more and more.

She is very realistic, so realistic that after realizing that she can't find a better way out for the time being, she is willing to humble herself and integrate into the current environment.

For example, after realizing that Li Rufeng was the most suitable candidate for marriage at the moment, Parisa accepted this result without hesitation.

But Parisa still has the innocence of a girl. She is trying hard to cultivate a sustainable relationship between two people who are brought together by politics and interests.

This active effort to change one's fate, or at least to improve one's fate, is as bright as a candle in the darkness among women of this era.

As a time traveler, Li Rufeng never expected to find a so-called soul mate. The worldview, cognition, and the environment in which he was raised that he brought from the afterlife were all very different from the times and regions. He was destined to be lonely in this life, and he had accepted this fate.

This is also the reason why Li Rufeng missed the old shaman. He always felt that the old shaman might have some inexplicable knowledge of his origins, and the harmony between the two people across time and age also helped Li Rufeng overcome his initial loneliness.

And now, when Parisa took the initiative to bring up the topic to "please" him in her somewhat unfamiliar way, Li Rufeng had to admit that he was still a little moved. After all, he had not yet reached the stage of marriage in his previous life.

Of course, in terms of emotions and physiology, Mr. Li is already an experienced driver. His Cadillac XTS can prove that he has never wasted his money and energy...

"You know, I've planned an entire area in Aleppo, where all the blacksmiths are gathered together. This will help with technical exchanges and industry standards. I have a lot..." Li Rufeng echoed Parisa's words and whispered a lot about his plans for Aleppo. He even promised that they could build a forge in the lord's mansion specifically to verify new technologies.

This initiative to plan their future together was somewhat difficult for Parisa to resist. She continued to look at the swords in the blacksmith shop with a red face.

This blacksmith shop was recommended by the follower sent by Omar. It was said to be the best in the city of Mersin, but now it seems to be just so-so. At least the things hanging outside are not qualified products in the eyes of Li Rufeng, a half-baked one, and Parisa, a theoretical expert.

Chapter 332 Your Highness, You Have Entrusted Yourself to the Wrong Person!

Li Rufeng was indeed more interested in the blacksmith market in Mersin. Compared with the cities in the Khanate that were plundered by Timur, the blacksmith market in Mersin was still in its original state.

Moreover, the blacksmith in front of him seemed to be a smart guy. When Li Rufeng was talking to Padisha about the blacksmith economic zone planning in Aleppo, he noticed that the blacksmith was listening next to him, so he deliberately said a few more words.

As expected, the other party seemed to be very interested in Aleppo in his subsequent words, and Mr. Li naturally would not miss such a good opportunity.

Because the blacksmith area has not yet been put into production, Li Rufeng actually does not know the level of the blacksmiths he brought back from Martin City, but at least the scimitar made by the blacksmith named Orado in front of him is indeed a fine product.

Orado was never reluctant to show off his skills to these nobles, so he took out a scimitar made for the Governor's Guard and showed Li Yongheng its sharpness and toughness.

Even the most picky person cannot find any flaws in this scimitar. If you have to say one, it is that it is too expensive.

Even a rich man like Li Rufeng could not have such scimitars fully equipped for military use.

Moreover, according to Olado, it took him more than two months to reach 13 scimitars, and the remaining 7 scimitars may take another month to complete. Such efficiency is compared with what Li Ruofeng needs, just like the comparison between brands like Ferrari and Volkswagen.

Simply put, what Li Rufeng needs is industrial products, not handicrafts.

In the end, Li Rufeng spent money to place an order for twenty scimitars for his personal guards here, and agreed on a pick-up time, which would then be delivered directly to Aleppo.

For Li Rufeng, the order for twenty scimitars was just a good deed. The main purpose was to leave a deeper impression on the local group of artisans, so that he could find talents from Mersin in the future.

In the end, Parisa only chose a small dagger for self-defense in the blacksmith shop. The dagger was only the size of a palm, but the handle and scabbard were made of silver and carved with very delicate patterns.

It was Orado's "innovative" work. It was said that the material used was the scraps of Damascus steel billets, and the blade of the dagger did have a pattern that looked like a cloud pattern.

In the end, this dagger, which was said to be of great value, was given to Parisa as a gift for the transaction just now.

From this point alone, Li Rufeng knew that although Orado wanted to break into the upper class, he was still far from being good at socializing.

If he were to do this business, he would never act on his own initiative under such circumstances and give the dagger to the lady for free, and even say that it was a bonus. Instead, he would raise the price of the dagger and let Li Rufeng spend a large sum of money to show the man's admiration.

But even so, Parisa smiled, and was obviously very satisfied with the gift. She also had a small dagger before, but lost it on the way of escape. It was one of the few gifts her father gave her.

Parisa did not have much affection for her father, but now that Maharaja Miransha is dead, the few feelings she had seem even more sincere.

And now, Li Rufeng's gift has filled Parisa's regret to a certain extent.

Afterwards, Li Rufeng and Parisa visited several unique shops in Mersin and bought some pearls and sapphires. Most of those sapphires were produced in Izmir, and were famous for their unique colors and pure quality. They have always been popular among the minor nobles.

When the sun was about to set, they had already toured the entire town, and Li Rufeng was still holding some salted fish pickled by the locals.

Chapter 333 Whereabouts Leaked

In the field of religion, there are far more enemies than friends. Those who disagree with one another in the same faith are heretics, and those who have different faiths are pagans.

For thousands of years, there has been a debate about who is the greater enemy, heretics or pagans. Now, Li Rufeng in front of Knight Bastos is obviously a standard pagan, and a pagan from a little-known religious sect.

The reason why Li Rufeng was regarded as a pagan was because the belief in Eternal Heaven was a Mongolian belief.

Otherwise, considering the number of believers in the Eternal Heaven faith, Knight Bastos would rather classify it as a cult.

"I've heard of you, Shaman Li Rufeng. While Easterners are rare here, we do have our followers." Knight Bastos looked at Li Rufeng, ultimately maintaining his chivalrous demeanor. "I imagine you've already come into contact with the followers of the Four Wind Gods. You're well aware of the danger of their power. I sincerely suggest you hand over the sword to us for safekeeping."

As a half-baked religious person, Li Rufeng had no prejudice against Christianity and Islam of that era. He felt that they were equally ignorant.

However, considering that more than 100 years later, Christian bishops were able to come up with such tricks as indulgences, Li Rufeng felt that in terms of piety, Muslims might be more devout.

But for Parisa's sake, and because Knight Bastos had remained polite, Li Ruofeng still politely asked, "I understand the threat posed by that demonic sword. What are you going to do with it?"

"I will take it by sea and head for St. Mark's Basilica in Venice as quickly as possible," Knight Bastos said frankly. "I will be accompanied by 12 ascetics. They are all the most devout believers, capable of using the power of faith to resist the bewitching magic of the magic sword. We will supervise each other and try our best to carry the magic sword separately."

At this point, Knight Bastos glanced at Parisa and then said, "Of course, if Princess Parisa is willing to join us, that would be great. The Bishop of St. Mark's Cathedral would also welcome her."

"I pledge my faith and honor to ensure your safety." Knight Bastos bowed slightly to Parisa. "We already know that the Black Sheep are searching for you, trying to learn your father's secrets from you, but they will never be able to threaten Venice."

Knight Bastos did not lie in this statement. Venice was now at the height of its glory. Twenty-five years ago, they defeated the Genoese in a naval battle and became the new overlord of the Mediterranean. In recent years, they had ambitiously begun to expand their influence on the Apennine Peninsula.

Legend has it that the Venetians had three thousand warships, which was an incredible force in that era. Even if most of them were fishing boats and merchant ships, their sheer number was enough to destroy anyone's determination to resist in advance.

For Parisa, it seems to be a good choice to stay away from the disputes of this land and the mess left by her grandfather and father, and go to a big city like Venice to spend the rest of her life. But now...

Parisa glanced at Li Rufeng, then said firmly to Knight Vasquez, "Thank you for your help, Knight Bastos. I don't want to leave this land. I trust Li Rufeng and believe he can protect me and take care of my father's relics."

"Since this is your will and since you said so, please allow me to talk to Mr. Li Rufeng alone, okay?" Knight Bastos said politely to Parisa.

Chapter 334 Changing Route

The friend that Omar mentioned who could help transport them to the port of Anamur was Knight Bastos. The good news was that he could indeed do it, because the flag of the Crusaders was flying on Knight Bastos' ship, but it was taken down before entering the port. The bad news was that Knight Bastos knew Li Rufeng and the others too well.

Li Rufeng naturally did not trust the Knight Bastes. Those Crusaders seemed to attach too much importance to the magic sword, which made him wonder if there were any secrets on the sword that he had not discovered.

For a time traveler, the most regrettable thing in the world is to give away an opportunity that has already been obtained to someone else.

But considering that the power of the magic sword came from the scarlet wind, Li Rufeng was very conflicted. He really didn't want to have anything to do with the God of the Four Winds.

Li Rufeng didn't know what the relationship was between the Knight Bastos and the Knights Hospitaller, but he knew that the Knights Hospitaller had always had a very good relationship with the church. He had no doubt that if the church ordered, those Crusader pirates would be very happy to circle the sea and sink him, a pagan, to the bottom of the sea.

He didn't want to test these people's bottom line, but Li Rufeng felt that although Knight Bastos's subtext was not spoken, the meaning was very clear, that is, either agree to his conditions, take his ship to Anamur Port, and get things done easily, or die as soon as he went out to sea.

Similarly, Li Rufeng was not sure about the role played by Omar. Was this a coincidence or a premeditated conspiracy?

Twenty personal guards who have received system certification, twenty warriors carefully selected from the people of Central Asia, this is Li Rufeng's military guarantee. Those Mongols may be the best light cavalry in the world. Standing here in the port city of Mersin, they only have scimitars and bows and arrows in their hands, no horses, and their deterrent power is greatly reduced.

Fortunately, Li Rufeng had Haishar with him on this trip. He was an experienced Knight of the Eagle of Order with over a decade of experience and extensive connections in the other world...

"I found the secret base of the Ahch Brotherhood at the harbor and asked them to help me find out about the situation." That night, Haishar, dressed in black, secretly came to Li Rufeng's room. "That Crusader named Bastos became active in Mediterranean trade two years ago. He's backed by the Bank of Venice and has close cooperation with the Knights Hospitaller and the Cypriots."

"There's a cargo ship called the Aka at the harbor. Bastos came on that ship, arriving yesterday morning." Haishaer said, picking up one of Li Rufeng's towels and wiping his still-damp hair. "I went up to take a look, and the cargo hold was full. There were only 25 sailors on the entire ship, so they weren't sent specifically to attack us."

"If he really has a good relationship with the Cypriots, then they can just wait for us in the open sea." Li Rufeng shook his head. He didn't want to take any risks. In his opinion, it was too stupid to entrust his safety to a group of religious extremists.

"Can the Ah Brotherhood provide enough horses?" Li Rufeng asked again, "We can go there by land."

"I can try, but what about the food? It's easy for us to go, but when we come back, there will be a full thousand people, not counting the horses." Haishaer knew Li Rufeng's purpose, so he knew very well that in order to achieve Li Rufeng's goal, he had to cooperate with local forces.

It is true that there is a deep blood feud between the Ottomans, Cypriots and the Knights Hospitaller, but it is unknown how much of this hatred remains when it comes to the Karamanians.

In other words, even if they took the land route, if the Knights Hospitaller were willing to pay enough, they could still bribe the Karamandi to attack them.

Chapter 335 Object of Loyalty

Master Li fled with his men. Thanks to the fact that most of the soldiers led by Li Rufeng this time lived in a small farm outside the city of Mersin, he left quietly. Under the guidance of Haishar, even Parisa's maid did not reveal any clues.

In fact, just from the perspective of sneaking away at night, Parisa's experience is far richer than Li Rufeng's. This is how she escaped from the city of Mosul.

Without Haishar's connections, they would not have been able to leave so smoothly this time. The Ah Brotherhood really did not want to get involved in the conflict between Li Rufeng and the Crusaders, but for Haishar's sake, they still provided enough war horses.

Of course, each of these war horses was bought by Li Rufeng with real money, and at a price almost twice the market price.

Although Li Rufeng has not had direct contact with the legendary Ah Brotherhood until now, he has already witnessed the other party's money-making business style.

"The mentors of the Akh Brotherhood have said they won't sell you any food. They'd love to see you take that thousand-man team with you," Harishar said, riding beside Li Rufeng on horseback. "There are rumors that Mehmed II is in contact with Badak, and the Akh Brotherhood doesn't want to see them side with the Karamans."

"If that's the case, why can't they provide me with some convenience? I'm willing to spend money." The wealthy Master Li spoke with a penny-wise and pound-foolish manner. "They're asking me twice the price for these war horses, but I can totally accept that. I can pay three or even four times the price for the food. If they're willing to do more, I'm willing to pay for their services."

Haishaer didn't want to join in Li Rufeng's conversation at all. He felt that he might never be able to keep up with Li Rufeng's thinking.

The straight-line distance from Mersin to Anamur Port is less than 200 kilometers, but if you go by land, even if you walk along the coastline, the distance is more than 300 kilometers.

Fortunately, this distance is not a big problem for Li Rufeng, who is in a team of cavalry. After all, the person with the worst riding skills in the team may be Li Rufeng himself, so how far they can travel every day mainly depends on Li Rufeng.

Li Rufeng's riding skill proficiency has now risen to level 66. With the help of riding skills, traveling at least 30 to 40 kilometers a day is already a choice that takes into account both rest and decency.

The supplies they carried with them were enough to cover the expenses of this journey, not to mention that Li Rufeng's personal guards could always harvest some game along the way.

From the hares and pheasants on the roadside to the pigeons flying in the sky, all these things eventually ended up on the dining table of Li Rufeng and his friends.

"Do you think Badak is loyal to your grandfather or to the entire Khanate?" Li Rufeng was roasting pheasant wings on the campfire. These wild game were hung upside down on the horse's back, and the blood was drained from the wound. The original flavor of the ingredients was very rich.

Li Rufeng's words were a bit profound for Parisa. After all, in this era, people have not yet awakened to the so-called national and sovereignty consciousness. In many cases, loyalty to a ruler and loyalty to a country are exactly the same concept.

But Parisa was, after all, a princess who had read many books, had many teachers, and had undergone political enlightenment. After a while, she quickly understood what Li Rufeng meant and looked at Li Rufeng with some surprise.

Chapter 336 Anamur Port

Badak Oheim, the son of a craftsman born in the city of Thirst, joined Timur's army as a teenager and conquered westwards. By the age of twenty-one, he had become a centurion.

When he was 24 years old, he got an opportunity. If he was willing to guard his achievements for the Sultan in a foreign land thousands of miles away from home and let his name echo forever in this land, he could be promoted to a thousand-man captain.

Between his hometown and making a name for himself, Basak chose the latter. He was ambitious at that time and vowed to let his son never have to go through the same experience as he did, where he had to sacrifice his life for his future.

However, things went against his wishes. Just as Basak's term was about to end and he was about to return home in glory and embrace his glory and future in Keshi City, the Sultan he was loyal to suddenly passed away.

For a generation like Badak who grew up listening to Timur's stories and followed Timur's footsteps to gain endless glory and wealth when they grew up, Timur's death was like a bolt from the blue, shattering the faith and persistence in their hearts.

What made Badak feel even more desperate was that after the death of the Sultan he was loyal to, it seemed that everyone had forgotten these soldiers who were far away in a foreign country guarding the glory of the Sultan. They were like homeless stray dogs, at a loss in facing the hostile environment every day.

It took Bardock six months to realize that he might never receive a transfer order to end his term, and they might not even receive their salaries.

The last news he received from Samarkand was a letter from the Central Divan. In the letter, the Central Divan asked Badak to be prepared to withdraw to the Khanate at any time, but the Central Divan did not specify the route and who would provide the supplies along the way.

Badak had tried hard in the past few years, but without exception, all his attempts to return to the Khanate with his warriors failed.

Most of the reason was that Barak did not have enough funds, and part of the reason was the obstruction from the Knights Hospitaller, those fanatical Crusaders hated them.

Badak took great pains to retreat with his warriors to the port of Anamur. At least there was not so much hostility towards them here, and Muhammad II was willing to provide them with a place to stay and food to prevent them from starving to death.

Of course, in Bardock's view, this kind of help is more like humiliation than help.

What was most difficult for him to accept was that even if it was humiliation, he had to accept it with a smile...

Fortunately, after going through the most difficult two years, he finally got some news about the Khanate. He heard that the defenders on the western border of the Khanate had recently recaptured Aleppo.

All this news came from merchants, but Badak was willing to believe that this was a sign that the Khanate would once again regain its rule over the western region, so he sent a letter to the shaman named Li Rufeng, hoping that he would continue to fulfill the obligations that the Khanate should have fulfilled.

Although Bardock himself did not hold much hope, he still wrote the letter because the fact itself could boost morale and he was the morale of the Thousand Man Team.

Even the Mongolian shaman far away in Aleppo supported him with a shipload of food or even a few days' military pay just for the sake of their former service to the Khanate.

Bardock never imagined that the Mongolian shaman's ambitions were far greater than this, and he came here in person...

Chapter 337 I'm here, and the day has dawned!

Badak's schedule today was very full. As a centurion, he shouldn't be so busy. Those trivial matters should have been handled by the local puppet state supported by the Khanate.

But now he needs to do all these trivial matters himself. Just looking at the things recorded on his schedule today, he began to feel a headache.

Badak had to meet a local dignitary this morning because five soldiers in his team had a conflict with a group of enemy guards last week, and three of them died.

This kind of thing would have been bullshit in the past. Bardock only managed to kill three people with just one sentence, saying they were all useless. All the participants should get out of here and practice more. Then he would take people to wipe out the entire family of the important person who dared to conflict with them, and warn them to be careful in their next life.

And now Bardock had to come in person to express his regret and promise that such a thing would never happen again.

The second one is that Badak needs to meet with the governor of Anamur Port today. To be more precise, he should ask for a meeting, because the other party has found excuses to refuse to meet with Badak for three consecutive times.

Bardock's only purpose in looking for him was to ask him to provide him with the food and fodder that the court official had promised him before.

But it is obvious that within the Karamanbey Kingdom, there are a lot of issues that need to be coordinated among the various forces. Although the port of Anamur accepted Badak's thousand-man team, it did not want to give out so much food and contribute it to the Timurid Khanate for use.

As for the third thing Bardock was going to do today, it was a bit bloody. The gang members who had been cleared out of the city actually had plans to counterattack during this period. They kidnapped two of his soldiers who were in charge of logistics and procurement, and wrote him a ransom letter.

Bardock didn't know which of the second and third things annoyed him more. He knew that these two things combined were not as irritating as the last thing today.

He has a centurion with more than 30 soldiers who have temporarily escaped from Bardock's control. They are now hiding in a guild hall called Ispar Trading Company, and it is obvious that they intend to leave the army and work on their own.

This wasn't the first time Bardock had experienced something like this, but the two previous times ended with the death of the leading officer, and this time was no exception.

Of course, this kind of information targeting one's own people needs to be dealt with at night, when it is late at night and everyone is asleep. After all, this is no longer the time when the Khanate's garrison can kill people openly on the streets without being held responsible.