Mount and Blade Central Asia

Baghdad was captured twice in history, and both times the defenders in the city surrendered voluntarily due to depletion of supplies or rampant plague. So this time may be the first time that this military camp has truly experienced the test of war since its construction.

"Have you found the reason?" Renzo Piano asked the only remaining artillery group anxiously. He wanted to know why the cannon exploded before.

The climate here is dry, so the gunpowder will not get damp and harden. The only possibility is that the gunner did not carefully polish the inner wall of the cannon before firing, or did not use grease to cool and lubricate it sufficiently as required.

Renzo Piano did not expect a miracle to resurrect the dead. He just hoped that the only remaining cannon would not encounter any accidents, otherwise he would have to bite the bullet to overcome this tough problem.

Inside the castle, Taweel, the nominal governor of Baghdad, was standing on the increasingly tall city walls observing the enemies outside.

Chapter 655 I Advise You Not to Eat Cakes

Li Rufeng knew about the Black Sheep Governor's intention to surrender almost at the same time as Huluchirga. Just as Tavel had expected, all the Mongols, including Huluchirga, did not want the Black Sheep people to have a chance to survive.

Of course, they did not have much hatred towards the Black Sheep People. In the process of continuous wars, the Mongols spread blood debts equally and fairly across the land. No one deserved their hatred, and no one deserved their special treatment.

They now want the Black Sheep to die completely, simply because Governor Tavel has a valuable fortune in his hands.

However, young tribesmen like Huluchirjia from Li Rufeng's headquarters did not actually have such a great demand for wealth. Under Li Rufeng's protection and restraint, they had not yet been infected with the extravagant hobbies of the Mongolian cavalry. He simply felt that if the governor of the Black Sheep People surrendered, his military achievements would not be so impressive.

Tavel obviously did not expect that Li Rufeng had such a convenient information channel, so he did not trust anyone's promise for the time being. Even for his own safety, he would not relax the defense of the military camp before meeting Li Rufeng.

Compared with the Mongols who were eager for war and wealth, the Golden Arrow Mercenary Group was relatively neutral in its stance.

What made the whole thing even more complicated was the appearance of Xiao Valad. This black hand who had been hiding behind the scenes was shocked by Li Rufeng's strength. He felt that he might have attracted a real lion in order to drive away jackals. On the other hand, he was keenly aware of the gap between the military forces under Li Rufeng.

As the military force originally planned to "peacefully" take over the entire city, Renzo Piano, leader of the Golden Arrow Mercenary Group and a man of great social skills from Genoa, naturally had long had friendly contacts with his partners.

He and Shaw Valard even reached some secret agreements. There was no loyalty relationship between Renzo Piano and Li Rufeng. They were just a simple employment relationship, so he had a lot of room to maneuver.

However, as a true businessman, Renzo Piano was also very sensible. He knew who the real representative of rules and order was here, and he also knew the magical power of the shaman. So even though Xiao Valad offered a reward far exceeding what Li Rufeng had promised, he did not dare to make any concessions on major issues.

But after all, many people in Renzo Piano's team were new "newcomers", and he could not control the fact that some of them turned to Shaw Valard under the temptation of high commissions.

Xiao Valad's purpose was very clear, that was Governor Tavel must die. Whether for political purposes or for his own interests, he could not allow the other party to live, especially to get Li Rufeng's promise while he was alive.

The only reason why Xiao Valad was qualified to sit at Li Rufeng's negotiation table was his control over the city of Baghdad.

If Governor Tavel lived peacefully, Xiao Valad's situation would be very bad. Apart from a little inheritance from his family, he could not offer any more bargaining chips.

In fact, compared to the governor who was living a life of shame, Xiao Valad could not even match the other party's basic loyalty.

In the best case scenario, Taweel can continue to be a governor with peace of mind, except that there will be a new "Sultan" above him. In the worst case scenario, he will be transferred to other places to guard the border and fight, so at least he can save his life.

Xiao Walad had a lot to consider. The main purpose of his cooperation with Li Rufeng was to take advantage of the situation and use other people's soldiers to conquer the world for himself, so that the city of Baghdad could return to the banner of the Jalair Dynasty again.

Therefore, under Xiao Valad's secret operation, the envoy sent by Tavel to the Golden Arrow Mercenary Group was assassinated in the room the next night. His head was also cut off and thrown near the gate of the military camp, clearly seen by the Black Sheep People.

This made Tavel even more nervous, and his trust in the Golden Arrow Mercenary Group outside the city dropped to the lowest point.

When Renzo Piano heard about this, he felt his scalp tingling. What he feared most was losing control of these mercenaries.

Although they signed a clear contract in Genoa and had the fairness of the city council, as mercenaries living on the edge of life, these people only cared about integrity to a certain extent.

Renzo Piano knew very well that this kind of thing could not be done by one or two people. It required a team, from the guards watching over the messengers to the sentries on duty at night. All the links were connected.

He knew without even thinking that at least one of his captains had been bribed by Xiao Valard.

The Golden Arrow Mercenary Group was originally just a medium-sized mercenary group. It was only after the expansion before this mission that it gradually transformed into a large mercenary group. In order to snatch more experienced veterans and experienced officers from other mercenary groups, Renzo Piano gave those captains considerable power.

Now this concession has become the internal cause of the mercenary group's split.

The external factor was that Renzo Piano did not obtain the high returns he had promised when recruiting people in the previous war.

Li Rufeng had a strong army during this march, so he did not have such a high demand for the Golden Arrow mercenaries. In addition, several sieges ended quickly either because of the excellent performance of the artillery or because the defenders had no intention of fighting, which resulted in the Golden Arrow Mercenaries not being able to grab much of the previous spoils.

The city of Baghdad is like a cake right in front of you, and everyone wants to have a bite.

The captains who secretly reached an agreement with Xiao Valard might only be worried about the fact that when they return home, they still need Renzo Piano to establish a relationship with Li Rufeng.

Renzo Piano, in anger, suppressed his rage and held an emergency meeting, requiring all captains and captains to attend, and also selecting representatives from crossbowmen and craftsmen to participate.

At the meeting, he asked everyone to control their hands. This was not the Apennine Peninsula, but the territory of the Mongols, the land of the Turks, and the core territory of the Muslim world. If anything went wrong again, the Mongols could kill everyone at any time.

"I hope you remember that our path home still belongs to our current employer. He may be kind, but his kindness is not shown to enemies or betrayers," Renzo Piano said loudly. "Of course, if any of you plan to stay here and spend the rest of your lives, you can try to trust the merchant's promise."

"I know some of you think you're experienced and skilled, but as your leader, I must remind you that we're mercenaries. We only care about immediate benefits. Absolutely, absolutely, do not trust those empty promises!" Renzo Piano's eyes scanned everyone's faces. "Don't joke with your life, and I certainly won't allow you to joke with mine!"

"This is my final advice."

Chapter 656: Now for the Future

To say that Sayib does not enjoy the current situation in Baghdad would undoubtedly be an insult to the followers of the Blue Wind.

Dark wizards may be pursuing transcendence in the field of knowledge, but facts have proven that this world cannot accommodate so many users of miraculous powers. The deeper they go on the path of dark magic, the higher the price they pay.

The trickery, which is also favored by the Blue Wind, is much less harmful.

Saib could even hear the beautiful music produced by the friction between the many conspiracy tracks in the city. Everyone had his own interests and everyone had his own little plans, and Li Rufeng's attitude towards Baghdad undoubtedly condoned this situation.

He didn't even want Baghdad. As a new entrant in the War of Succession, Li Rufeng was already conspicuous enough. He was currently struggling to maintain his current base, carefully using the lives of every soldier and the value of every gold coin.

Baghdad was like the last straw that broke the camel's back. Even though Li Rufeng was a genius, even though he had many extraordinary qualities, he could not devote more energy to managing the two big cities of Mosul and Baghdad at the same time.

But fate pushed the world line forward, and the city eventually fell into Li Rufeng's hands.

But at least Sayyib knew when to please the blue wind he believed in and when to please the monarch he was loyal to.

So before everything became irreversible, Saib had to interrupt the melody that both he and the Blue Wind were intoxicated with, and go to the military camp to negotiate with Tavel in person.

Saib's identity is just right for attending such an occasion. Internally, he is the meritorious centurion of Badak's thousand-man team. Before, he almost did the work of Badak's adjutant. He is an officer of the Khanate's regular army and a "favorite" around Li Rufeng. Both the Golden Arrow Mercenary Group and Huluchirga have to give him some face.

To the outside world, he was the "middleman" who persuaded Mushtaq to surrender. With Mushtaq's testimony, Tawil could probably rest assured.

The only person worth noting is Shaw Walad. As an outsider, his greatest interest is Tawil's death, so Sayyib handed this troublesome figure over to Badrani to deal with.

"If he is unwilling to cooperate, just kill him. He is not that important now anyway." Saib decided Xiao Walad's fate lightly.

Then, Sayyib brought the reluctant Mushtaq into Taweel's military camp.

"I've heard a lot about you, Chief Tawel. I heard that you're living comfortably in Baghdad?" Saib didn't mind the hostile looks of the Black Sheep people around him.

In fact, for most Black Sheep civilians, they do not have the so-called spirit of patriotism, and they do not even have any identification with the Great Black Sheep Dynasty advocated by the Black Sheep King.

These people are now hostile to Saiyib, more because of his Mongolian identity... Although Saiyib is a mixed-race Mongolian, he does look more like a Mongolian.

This most basic hatred supports the Black Sheep King's ambition to restore his country. The Black Sheep people may not care who the Sultan above their heads is, but they absolutely agree that they do not want a Mongolian Sultan.

"It was indeed quite good before you came." Tavel wanted to be tough, but the current situation made it impossible for him to be tough. "You killed my messenger and then walked into my territory so brazenly. Do you think my sword is not sharp enough?"

"And you, traitor!" Tawil said harshly, pointing to the small fortress in the distance. "For the sake of the Saidi family, let's go there and talk, for the glory of your ancestors!"

Mushtaq was now lying flat on his back, treating this nonsense as nothing more than a gentle breeze, not even bothering to show any expression.

Fortunately, Tavel was also an old actor who could swallow his pride. He walked briskly into the building with his men, avoiding the sight of other soldiers.

"What do you want?" Tawil's face fell as the door closed. "Baghdad is yours now. I just want to leave safely with my people and, of course, a little personal property. We all know that compared to the profits this city can generate, what I have is just a drop in the bucket!"

"That lord doesn't care about the little money you have. The problem comes from those Mongolian cavalrymen." Saiyib shrugged and directly stated the problem. "Even that lord can't stop the greed of those Mongolians."

Chapter 657: South to Baghdad

Whether for public or private reasons, Li Rufeng must temporarily put aside the mess in Mosul and deal with the even bigger mess in Baghdad.

He didn't know how the sultans and emirs of the past managed their territories, but for now he could only regretfully say that this was not a job for a human being.

It took Li Rufeng nearly two months to restore order in Mosul. He sorted out the losses caused by the war itself and the losses caused during the rule of the dark wizards, ensuring that most people would not starve to death for the time being.

In the process, Li Rufeng almost exhausted the wealth of the newly occupied territories west of Mosul, and also spent most of the wealth that Aleppo could produce.

The Venetian merchant Antonio sent several letters hoping to meet with Li Rufeng, but they were all temporarily put on hold due to the war. The Aleppo Commercial Development Chamber of Commerce jointly established by the two sides was almost entirely handed over to Antonio to operate alone.

Fortunately, although the Venetians are almost synonymous with greed, the Mongols are no less famous on the road. For the time being, Li Rufeng does not have to worry that the Chamber of Commerce will leave him heavily in debt after operating independently for a few months.

If such a situation really happened, Li Rufeng would have no choice but to kill Antonio to recover the losses.

In addition, the noble captain of the Knights Hospitaller who was born in Cyprus also hung out with Antonio. If it were not for Antonio's letter, Li Rufeng almost forgot his name - Gastino Aurelio.

Gastino is now a member of the Aleppo Chamber of Commerce and Development. Although the three parties have not yet conducted in-depth discussions to form a stable alliance, Gastino is currently providing convenience for the ships of the entire chamber of commerce in the Mediterranean.

He personally received 10% of the gross profit as a benefit. In Antonio's words, this number was very fair, so fair that it did not seem like a price that a member of the Knights Hospitaller would offer.

However, it was obvious that Gastino had other requests for Li Rufeng, so he gave him such a friendly price.

Li Rufeng has no time to deal with things over there for the time being, so Gastino can only "work for free" at this friendly price for the time being. Although he doesn't get much, it's a long-term income.

The emergence of the Aleppo Chamber of Commerce and Development symbolizes that the East-West trade, which had been cut off for nearly ten years, has finally resumed circulation, and it is the kind with "official" endorsement.

Now, no one can ignore Li Rufeng's authority on this land. He has essentially become the new owner of this land.

Wealth is flowing in continuously from the port of Alexandria-Aleppo through merchant ships on the sea, strongly supporting Li Rufeng's military operations.

At this time, Li Rufeng was unloading his own burden and handing over all matters in Mosul to Parisa. In fact, there were not many tasks left to be decided. Most of the trivial matters left by Li Rufeng only needed to be supervised by someone with sufficient power to ensure that the orders that had been issued continued.

As a novice administrator, Parisa remained motivated and accepted the task, even though it meant working more than ten hours a day for a long time to come.

Li Rufeng considerately left the little maid Satuya behind to take care of Parisa's daily life. The two of them have always had a good relationship.

Chapter 658 Aim!

"Huaihui, I heard that you have been to Beshbalik. Is the situation the same there?" Chang Jinyu was riding a camel, and his whole body was swaying up and down with the camel's movement.

Chang Jinyu's face was full of curiosity and confusion. After he got ashore, he rested for more than a week before he recovered.

Since becoming the cartographer, Chang Jinyu has seen a lot and has learned a lot about the customs and folkways of different places.

But he really couldn't understand this place. There was clearly a big river flowing here, but the desert could be seen less than a hundred meters away from the river bank. Even the limited soil on both sides of the river bank was saline-alkali land that was not suitable for growing crops.

The small village where they previously lived relied on a small river delta as an area for growing crops, and the annual food output was very limited, almost to the level of an individual.

To an Easterner like Chang Jinyu, this place was basically a wasteland. The advance ship in the fleet was just a small reconnaissance vessel. Even though a team of garrison soldiers was added just in case when entering the bay, there were only 120 people on the entire ship.

But these 120 people were so hungry that the surrounding villages had to exchange all their surplus food from the past two or three years with them. The last time Chang Jinyu saw such a poor and destitute place was the uncivilized savage tribe on Luzon Island.

According to the news left by the Jinyiwei, in this place where the output is not enough to feed the new population, there have been three or five wars of annihilation in the past ten years, and they often involve massacres of cities and extermination of clans. It is simply a sign of the collapse of rituals and music.

"There is also a desert in Beshbaliq, and it's very large, but there are more fertile areas in Beshbaliq." Dong Huaihui swallowed some sand and hurriedly tightened his veil. This was a windproof cloak they had improved by learning from the locals.

It is said that it is not yet the season with the strongest winds, but even so, the sand and dust raised in the desert are so strong that people cannot lift their heads.

"But it's almost as hot!" Dong Huaihui complained loudly. He grew up by the sea and was not afraid of anything on the sea. But he was not so carefree on land, especially in the desert with temperatures of forty or fifty degrees. The sweat under his armor soaked his clothes.

But Dong Huaihui didn't dare to take off his armor. This place was shallow and full of turtles. Although there was nothing here, it was difficult to get food. There were many bandits along the way.

They stayed in the village where they had settled before for less than half a month and fought off three waves of plunderers who came to take advantage of the situation.

This time, the advance ship sent out a team of more than fifty people to escort almost all the goods on the advance ship to a large city called "Baoda" further north for trading. The Jinyiwei had already contacted the buyer.

In addition to the sailors led by Captain Dong Huaihui and the garrison soldiers who were later transferred, the team also included two officials from the Ministry of Revenue in charge of food and finance, two medical officers in charge of medicine, one Yin-Yang official in charge of observing the stars, two teaching officials in charge of translating foreign books, five craftsmen, one Taoist priest from Shenle Temple, and one immortal from Chaotian Palace.

These people all have their own followers, and Dong Huaihui can't afford to hurt any of them, so he can only wear armor day and night just in case.

The entire team escorted a total of ten carts of goods. The team's craftsmen had almost nothing to do these days. It took a long time just to build these carts, and even then they would occasionally get stuck in the sand and need help to lift them out.

So they had already walked the 800-mile journey for twelve days, and there was still nearly one-third of the distance left to go.

Fortunately, we followed the river along the way, so we didn't have to worry about replenishing fresh water. Even though the water tasted bitter, even after boiling it and adding the herbs provided by the medical officer, it couldn't cover up the bitter taste.

Along the way, Dong Huaihui and his team have lost two brothers. One person was separated from the team in a sandstorm. The local guide just shook his head and said it was impossible to find the person.

Chapter 659 Surprise!

Bah!

The crisp sound was still so penetrating even in the wind and sand. The falconer in the tribe watched his beloved black eagle falling from the sky and immediately let out a heart-wrenching howl.

For a falconer, such an adult black eagle is the whole meaning of his life. A falconer only owns one eagle in his lifetime. They need to develop a tacit understanding and feelings together from childhood, and even give up the opportunity to marry and have children, in order to gain the loyalty of those birds of prey.

Sometimes, the lifespan of these birds of prey is even longer than that of the falconer himself, and they will gain a brief but lonely freedom after the falconer's death.

And now, he has lost the black eagle he had tamed since childhood, and the most important partner in his life.

Pain and anger instantly engulfed him, causing him to rush towards the direction where the black eagle fell regardless of anything.

"Don't stop him, he's already dead." Ahad stretched out his hand to stop several other tribal warriors who were about to follow and shook his head. He understood the falconer's pain because he had also lost his relatives...all of them.

"He will do something bad." Alwash, the deputy who had been following Ahad across the desert, frowned. Their tribe of plunderers adhered to the principle of the survival of the fittest.

Whoever has the ability will eat more and take more. The falconer has always been considered a core leader in the tribe because of his special ability, but now he has lost his eagle and is worthless.

Rather than letting a worthless person ruin the deal, it is better to kill him now. Ahad can be compassionate because this can increase the centripetal force of the "tribe", but Alwash cannot have such a useless thing.

He must always consider every mission from the perspective of his own interests and the interests of the entire tribe.

"We are close enough, the prey can't escape." Ahad waved his hand indifferently. A few days after these Orientals landed, they had received news and knew about the existence of such a fat sheep.

But unfortunately, those people's ships seemed to be filled with endless weapons. Every time they led their men to attack, they would be driven away by overwhelming arrows and terrible flames. Not only did they not get any "meat", but they also lost a lot of men and horses.

Until now, Ahad and his men finally waited for the opportunity for these Orientals to divide their troops.