Mount and Blade Central Asia

During the days when Li Rufeng was away fighting, the city of Aleppo continued to maintain its prosperous development momentum. The blacksmith district continuously produced armor and weapons, and the newly arrived refugees were continuously transformed into the city's strength. The orderly expansion of the city guards was an example.

At this time, Marida was looking at the city from afar, which was much larger than Aleppo. This was her first time setting foot in Mosul.

She looked at the city with envy, as well as the princess who was supposed to be getting married in the city. Marida was not jealous of the princess, but as a woman, even though she had vowed never to marry, she was still secretly saddened by such a festive scene.

Marida knew that she would never have such a happy ending, nor did she need it. Her fate was sealed the day she chose to pick up a sword and shield instead of relying on men to protect herself.

But the love story of Li Rufeng and Princess Parisa is still widely circulated in this land, enough to make any woman envious, even Marida.

Legend has it that Princess Parisa lived in a tower in Mosul since she was a child. Her devilish father imprisoned her there, leaving her only a sense of freedom when she listened to the birds singing from a high window every day.

When night fell, Princess Parisa could only take a glimpse of this great city when the sun and the moon met.

Her father hid his darkest secret in the princess' fate to prevent his enemies from learning such secrets and thus understanding his weaknesses, thus gaining invincibility.

The people of Mosul felt pity for the princess, so the nuns would recite scriptures under the tower at sunrise to teach the princess how to be a good person. The most respected scholars would quote scriptures under the tower at noon when the sun was at its strongest to teach the princess about the changes in the world.

When evening falls, children will gather under the tower and sing loudly to comfort the princess's lonely heart.

Although Princess Parisa is the child of the devilish Maharaja Miransha, it was the hardworking and kind-hearted people of Mosul who raised this princess together, so she is not only the daughter of Maharaja Miransha, but also the daughter of Mosul.

So, when Mosul was occupied and ravaged by the black wizard, Princess Parisa, who had escaped her fate, came with her lover like a divine army from heaven, took back the city that raised her, and liberated the kind residents of the city.

Now, the Princess of Mosul will hold her wedding here in the presence of all Mosul witnesses.

This is the story that is being spread on this land, a fairy tale that has little logic but is catchy and meets the simple spiritual needs of the working people.

The story features a beautiful princess, hardworking and kind people, religious elements, love, villains, and a happy ending. Although it was just something Li Rufeng wrote while he was in the toilet, it still spread at the fastest speed.

This is a gift from Li Rufeng to Parisa. This story will give Parisa great prestige. He even deliberately weakened his presence in the story to highlight the protagonist of the story.

From now on, this city has one and only one princess, Her Royal Highness Princess Parisa.

Chapter 675 Before the Wedding

Painter Ostad Mahmoud arrived in Mosul half a month in advance. During this time, in addition to recording Mosul’s new landscape - the four wizard towers, he was also learning to use sketches to record the changes taking place in Mosul.

His admiration for Li Rufeng was like a surging river. As a scholar who graduated from a seminary, Ostad himself was more focused on painting and poetry, and was somewhat "relaxed" about religion itself.

Or to put it another way, as a poet with a free soul and free will, Ostade was full of disgust for those old pedants in the seminary who could only recite scriptures.

If it weren't for the high status of his teacher Saadin in the theological community, such a reactionary painter and poet like Ostade would have been arrested and re-educated long ago.

Following Li Rufeng, Ostad did not need to worry about any religious issues. After all, Li Rufeng himself was a Kafir, and the territory under his rule naturally presented an atmosphere of freedom in the religious field.

Although Muslim traditions are still the mainstream of society in general, everyone knows that the real owners of this land are now "pure-blooded" Mongolians. Therefore, many times when it comes to some specific individual matters, Islamic etiquette and laws are more inclined towards etiquette than law.

Li Rufeng has not yet announced to the public which set of laws he will choose as the "official law". Although this ambiguous attitude has caused many scholars of religious law, including Muheya, to feel worried, for people like Ostad, it makes them feel a lot more refreshed.

"My lord, I plan to use the techniques you taught me before to paint the scene of your wedding!" Ostad's tone was full of excitement. He has combined perspective and miniature painting in recent times and made great breakthroughs in character creation.

"Ostad, you are the painter, I only need the results." Li Rufeng answered the painter's questions without raising his head while handling official business.

Although his wedding was only a few hours away, Li Rufeng still had to finish the work at hand before he could get involved in the wedding.

Although he contracted many trivial matters to the outsourced team from the Ming Dynasty, and handed other trivial matters to local officials who were obviously unqualified in terms of ability and experience, there were still a lot of official business that needed to be reviewed by Li Rufeng in person.

The large number of guests and envoys who came from other places to attend his wedding also became part of his official duties, forcing Li Rufeng to work hard for a while before he could get married with peace of mind.

He had no choice. He really had too few management talents under him. In order to ensure the normal holding of the wedding, even Saib, a "talent" who believed in the Blue Wind and whom he had been worried about, was now the acting lord of Mosul.

While Li Rufeng was sitting in his office reviewing documents that required his personal review, Saiyib was busy receiving the endless stream of guests.

The merchants and nobles from Li Rufeng's rule were relatively easy to deal with. They were basically "partners" that Li Rufeng had met during his entrepreneurial period. These people knew how many makeshift teams there were within the faction, so after entering the city, they spontaneously began to solve the problem of stationing.

But the envoys from "neighboring countries" could not be treated so roughly. Sayyib had just sent off several envoys from the neighboring Iranian Emir and personally sent people to arrange accommodation for them in the city. He didn't even have time to drink a sip of water. He turned around and ran to the city gate to welcome the Aries delegation with a smile.

The Aries King, who was always timid on the battlefield, performed exceptionally well at this wedding. Not only did he arrive in Mosul in person to attend Li Rufeng's wedding, he also brought a whole team of more than 500 guards and a large number of gifts.

Apparently, the Aries King intended to regain the trust he lost on the battlefield at the wedding.

While Saib greeted them with a smile, he denounced the incompetence of his pig teammate in his heart. So in order to vent his emotions, Saib simply arranged the Aries King's residence next to the Black Sheep.

That's right, although the two sides are currently at war, out of courtesy between kings, the Black Sheep King still sent a high-level delegation of envoys to Mosul before the wedding, bringing gifts to express his blessings to Li Rufeng.

In this matter, even Li Rufeng had to admire the magnanimity shown by the Black Sheep King. If it were him, he would not be so polite. Master Li was giving him face by not taking advantage of the other party's wedding day to launch a large-scale attack on the city.

However, this also shows how much pressure the Black Sheep King is under at this time. This is actually a signal that the Black Sheep King is willing to sit down and talk with Li Rufeng.

According to the analysis of Saib and Li Rufeng, the Black Sheep King should be willing to recognize the current border and accept the previous series of defeats.

The Black Sheep People's previous occupation of such a vast territory was originally a huge gamble. They bet that the Khanate would fall into civil strife due to the death of the Great Conqueror and would not have time to respond to them.

The rise of Li Rufeng caused a chain reaction, causing the Black Sheep people to lose the bet. It is understandable that they now face reality and intend to consolidate their existing territory.

After settling the Black Sheep and Aries people and sending some soldiers to prevent them from fighting in the city, Saib had to sigh deeply and gallop back to the city gate to welcome new guests.

There were always some guests that he needed to greet personally, such as the envoy from Damascus, who claimed to represent Sayyid al-Had, the ruler of Damascus, and offered Li Rufeng blessings from Damascus.

Although the delegation from Damascus was small in number, Li Rufeng had to attach great importance to it because it was the first formal communication between the two sides.

Before this, the two sides had already had several cooperation and conflicts in many areas.

Because of the previous plague, Aleppo's rapid development actually sucked the blood of Damascus. In addition to absorbing a large number of refugees from Damascus, they also took the opportunity to annex the city of Hama.

But what embarrassed Said Hadd was that Damascus was able to get rid of the plague thanks to Li Rufeng's medicine and his belief in Changshengtian. This incident made Said feel choked and he felt inferior to Li Rufeng.

The main reason why Said Had sent an envoy this time was to completely resolve the issue of the ownership of Hama City. He could accept losing such a small border town with a small population, but there had to be an explanation for this matter, otherwise he was worried that Li Rufeng would continue to encroach on his territory in the same way.

In addition, there was pressure from the Mamluk Sultan. Said needed a strong ally to share the military pressure from Cairo with him.

He believed that Li Rufeng would be willing to get involved. After all, he was still a vassal of the Mamluks in name, and Li Rufeng was the real enemy of the Mamluks. Sultan Nasir had previously sent Plague Knights to directly attack his territory.

Chapter 676 Let’s get married!

Perhaps some of the guests took the opportunity to meet Li Rufeng and wanted to strengthen their relationship with the new "Sultan", but most of the people who came here to attend the wedding were sincerely congratulating the newlyweds.

Because Mr. Li took the opportunity of his marriage to once again announce a three-month tax-free policy for the entire country, and it was a complete exemption, not only from commercial taxes, but also from head taxes and agricultural taxes for the upcoming harvest season.

Apart from the newly reclaimed farmland around Aleppo, the only land under Li Rufeng's command that still maintains a certain scale of agricultural activities is around Qamishli. The rest of the land has basically lost the most basic order of agricultural production.

The city of Mosul should have dozens of supporting grain-producing villages, but currently only seven villages are still in production, and their harvest this year is only enough to feed the farmers themselves.

If Baghdad is also counted as part of Li Rufeng's rule, the data would look much better. However, Li Rufeng has already taken away more than half of the food reserves in Baghdad through various means. As a city that relies on oasis agriculture for its survival, Li Rufeng could only choose to recuperate in the first year of occupying Baghdad to prevent man-made disasters.

After all, if Master Li dared to ask for 30%, his subordinates would dare to collect 80%. If he dared to collect 50%, his subordinates would be able to figure out how to reverse the electricity meter and make the landowners owe taxes.

So just like he did in Aleppo back then, Li Rufeng simply generously waived all taxes to gain a reputation. Anyway, he already owed a lot of foreign debts, so he wouldn't have to worry about adding more.

The purchase contracts for this year's harvests of those reclamation militias had already been signed. Mr. Li had paid them in advance in the form of seeds, farm tools and building materials, which were not linked to taxes.

In Li Rufeng's most optimistic forecast, this grain harvest is enough to alleviate all the current famine in his territory. Although life is still tight, at least he no longer needs to purchase grain from surrounding areas at a premium.

when!when!when!

The bell ringer on the top of the Leaning Tower rang the newly installed brass bell. The huge sound echoed throughout most of Mosul, reminding everyone that the auspicious time had arrived.

Li Rufeng finally put down the pen in his hand and the documents on the desk. He had just signed a new deal with the Iranian Emir Anis, in which he would exchange war horses for spices, textiles and coarse pottery containers.

Compared with the luxury goods shipped from the Ming Dynasty, these things are mostly daily necessities used to fill the market gap in Mosul and other cities west of Mosul.

Although the great conqueror also left an indelible mark on the land of Iran, the Iranians have recuperated for nearly twenty years, and their handicraft market has largely recovered.

In the land ruled by Li Rufeng, a family often could not even get together a few decent sets of tableware for meals, and men and women often only had one set of clothes to wear on formal occasions.

This is still the standard for urban residents. Many families outside the city cannot even find qualified water containers.

Anis's family once lived in Isfahan and witnessed the destruction of the city, so he was well aware of the predicament Li Rufeng was facing now, and took the opportunity to do a good deal with Li Rufeng. Fortunately, his greed was limited, and Li Rufeng was willing to accept the price he offered.

The Iranians actually did not lack war horses, but Anis did. There were not many qualified pastures in his territory, and there was also a lack of qualified horse herders, so the proportion of cavalry in his army was lower than that of other emirs. This was also the reason why his troops were assigned to the difficult task of attacking the Erbil Castle at that time.

"Hurry up! My lord! Today can be your wedding!" The only person who dared to speak to Li Rufeng like this was Satuya. The little maid rushed into Li Rufeng's study regardless of anything, pushed away the official documents on the table, grabbed Li Rufeng's hand and started to push him out.

"I know, I know!" Li Rufeng could only throw the feather pen in his hand on the table. Weng Guo and others had given him several sets of brushes and ink before, but to be honest, Li Rufeng was a little unworthy of them.

At least the officials under him could recognize the words he wrote with a feather pen, but if he used a brush, they would be completely clueless.

If charcoal writing wasn't so easy to erase and modify, Li Rufeng would really like to use a homemade "pencil" to work.

At Satuya's call, a large group of maids immediately helped Li Rufeng change into the dress he would wear today as quickly as possible. The maids originally planned to get a headscarf for Li Rufeng, but Li Rufeng refused.

This wedding was not only a publicity for Li Rufeng to the outside world, but also a negotiation with all parties within the organization.

Li Rufeng accepted Muhaya's proposal and held the wedding in a mosque, giving Islam enough respect; he chose to wear Mongolian-style dress to show his identity as a "Mongol" and appease the hearts of the Mughals.

He married Princess Parisa, a Christian, and all Armenians were grateful to him. The last sultan who married a Christian as his queen was a prisoner, and his wife did not end up well.

But when it comes to makeup and hairstyle, Li Rufeng insisted on his own opinion. He asked the old Taoist priest Qiu Fucheng to tie up his hair, which satisfied Li Rufeng's long-standing fantasy of a handsome man with ancient style. His hair had grown long enough over the years.

Although this mixed outfit looks out of place, it cannot withstand the fact that Li Rufeng's power has grown stronger in recent years. No matter how he wears it, he always has a sense of majesty.

The little maid Satuya happily kissed Li Rufeng on the face, which made many maids look envious. Many of these people were brought back from Baghdad by Li Rufeng. They used to work as maids in the Abbasid Palace and were much more professional in all aspects of their work.

"Princess Parisa is already in the mosque, and Lady Muheya is accompanying her." Satuya whispered to Li Rufeng, "The nuns are also here, and the two gangs are about to start a fight!"

"Don't talk nonsense." Li Rufeng smiled and slapped the little maid. The little girl had been very excited these days and kept telling him all kinds of gossip.

Li Rufeng could not envy her affinity. Although she had only been in Mosul for a short time, Satuya already had friends in all walks of life, just like in Aleppo, and was extremely well-informed.

Not only could she easily find out about the open and covert struggles between high-ranking officials like priests and imams in the city, she could also find out from the little beggars at the bottom of the society which soup kitchen had sand mixed in the relief food today.

If it weren't for Satuya's simple and honest character, Li Rufeng would have wanted her to train with Sarah Xia Xi.

"Okay, let's go." Li Rufeng waved his hand to disperse the maids who were still planning to put on makeup for him. Under the protection of Huluchirja, he walked out of his mansion, rode a tall horse, and walked into the streets of Mosul under the protection of a group of personal guards.

"May Allah bless you! My lord!" Outside the door, countless people shouted Li Rufeng's name loudly, vying with each other to offer their blessings!

Chapter 677 Red Wedding

Li Rufeng is not a vain person, but the feeling of being supported and admired is indeed fascinating.

When in Aleppo, Li Rufeng also held a banquet with free meals in the lord's mansion, but to be honest, there were only a few thousand people in Aleppo at that time, and only a few people had the courage to go to Li Rufeng's mansion to eat for free.

Moreover, Li Rufeng was still Rufeng Shaman at that time. Both in his mentality and behavior, he was more like the director of the neighborhood committee than the city lord. Every day he was either dealing with trivial matters of each household or looking for new ways to make money for Aleppo.

Of course, it is actually the same now, except that it has changed from looking for money to looking for food. Li Rufeng still has to take care of the food, clothing, housing and transportation of these people.

But now everyone knows that Li Rufeng is actually a ruler. Although he does not call himself Sultan, he already has all the conditions to become a Sultan.

Li Rufeng knew that the cheers these people were making now were mostly just for a few full meals, but he still waved to them generously.

These people don't need to know how much he has paid to prevent them from starving to death. Li Rufeng did this only out of his own moral bottom line. He doesn't need these people's gratitude.

In fact, even if Li Rufeng has tried his best and even gave up a lot of interests for this, when it comes to these individuals, it is just a breeze and drizzle.

Moreover, Li Rufeng also doubted whether these people, whose minds were dimmed by the times, really understood what they were doing.

They have exhausted everything just to survive in a humble way. Human beings are animals with advanced intelligence and emotions, but the premise is that they can survive on the basis of having enough food to eat.

Li Rufeng didn't expect these people to understand him, but he hoped that the children who survived because of him would remember what they had done after receiving enough education.

So Li Rufeng's smile was mostly given to the children hiding behind the adults' thighs.

He is not yet able to provide education in places like Mosul and Baghdad according to the same standards as Aleppo. He does not have enough money to expand schools, nor does he have enough qualified teachers, nor does he have the management staff to manage thousands of children.

If everything goes well, the first batch of students receiving education in Aleppo will meet the graduation standards in two to three years. After all, many of them were already thirteen or fourteen years old when they were captured and enrolled in school, and Li Rufeng could not always control them.

Judging by Li Rufeng's standards, this group of graduates has basically just escaped illiteracy, but it is enough for emergency use.

Li Rufeng's personal guards formed a large enough hollow circle to separate Li Rufeng from the people on the street. Each personal guard opened his eyes wide and scanned the smiling faces that looked equally simple.

Among the crowd, there were also spies belonging to Sarah Xia Xi who were moving with Li Rufeng. Although these people did not have much professional qualities and could be recognized as spies at a glance, they were still a deterrent.

The ones who were actually hiding in the dark and protecting Li Rufeng were actually the Jinyiwei, and of course it was also possible that they also included the people from the Eagle of Order.

Ever since Haishar was forcibly driven out of Mosul, the contacts between the Eagle of Order organization and Li Rufeng have become less frequent. Even on the day of Li Rufeng's wedding, these so-called knights and scholars did not show up or make any other expressions.

Therefore, Li Rufeng was not sure what the attitude of the Eagle of Order was towards him now, but one thing was certain, that is, Master Li would write down every person and organization that did not give gifts at his wedding in his notebook and settle the accounts with them later.

The sun was very strong on October 1st, and Li Rufeng chose noon as the auspicious time, which further highlighted the power of the warm summer sun.

But Li Rufeng didn't care. Under the sunlight, all ghosts and monsters could only expose themselves to the light like him.

In addition to the secret security personnel on the periphery and the personal guards around him, Li Rufeng also overlooked the entire city from a strategic map perspective.

The densely packed people around only accounted for a small part of the city's total population. More people were just watching from a distance. They were all afraid of the Mongolian cavalry guarding Li Rufeng.

This is a reasonable fear. These people had just swept through this city with lightning speed a few years ago. If Li Rufeng wanted to appear more approachable, he should withdraw these Mongolian cavalry. In fact, someone really suggested this.

Of course, the other party has now been secretly detained in a prison, waiting for Sarah Xia Xi to interrogate him slowly.

Li Rufeng couldn't be sure whether the other party was really giving advice out of "loyalty". He didn't have time to carefully discern the other party's thoughts, but the system's favorability would not lie. When a guy with a negative favorability towards him made such an obviously flawed proposal, the hidden problem was obvious.

The city did not completely bow down to Li Rufeng. There were still some extremists hiding in the undercurrent. They either felt that Li Rufeng, a kafir, was not qualified to be the new owner of this land, or for some other reason, they were unwilling to accept Li Rufeng's rule.

As a ruler, Li Rufeng acknowledged and accepted the existence of these people. After all, he could never satisfy everyone, and there was no need to do so.

But if this group of people planned to take advantage of his wedding day to cause trouble and planned more than one assassination, Master Li would be unhappy.