Mount and Blade Central Asia

Mirzan was not only not distressed, but was very excited. All his previous worries had now disappeared. Li Rufeng not only trusted him, but was also good at making promises. Mirzan now wanted to establish a caravan after the war and do business himself.

As for Gudiel, Li Rufeng generously selected two people from his extended family to become the management of the new tribe.

Guder's son who is the best at herding is called Adar. He is now in charge of the tribe's herds. His first job is to count in detail how many horses, sheep and cows the tribe has, and to see which family has the largest increase in the number of cattle and sheep in the past few years and which family has experienced negative growth.

For those with growth, we should look at what the family has done and give them encouragement. For those with negative growth, we should also look at what the family has done. If Feng Shaman is willing to provide compensation, all of this should be recorded in writing.

"But I can't write and I'm illiterate..." Adar looked like a simple herdsman, looking at Li Rufeng and Gudier with a confused look on his face.

Gu Dier kicked his third son in frustration, "If you don't know how to do it, go learn! If you can't learn, go die! I don't have anything else, but I have many sons!"

Seeing Adal fleeing in panic, Gudier laughed heartily and said to Li Rufeng, "Excuse me, Master Shaman!"

Another son of Guder who was chosen was his most brave and warlike son, the seventeenth one, named Wugudu. Li Rufeng planned to let him lead fifty cavalrymen each to be responsible for daily training, just like Huluchirjia.

This time, there was no need for Gudie to go over and kick anyone. The clever Wugudu rolled away on his own: "I know. I'll find someone to teach me how to read and write!"

Chapter 73 A New Crisis

How to create an elite force and let them destroy the enemy fearlessly? The answer is simple: privilege.

If we are more specific, the answer will be a little more complicated, but the core factor is undoubtedly the sense of honor, which supports the knight class in Europe. The second is tangible benefits. What will be the result when a poor boy with nothing follows the banner of the Crusaders to travel around the pagan land, and comes back full of honor, and also obtains a fiefdom in a foreign country, and never has to worry about food and clothing from then on?

Of course, there will be more new blood flowing in, more wars, and more victories, until they are defeated, defeated, and defeated again by another group of more fanatical people, and then people will wake up.

How to inspire soldiers' sense of honor is an art, and San Dezi has almost reached the pinnacle in this regard. It's a pity that Li Rufeng does not have the conditions. He can neither produce beautiful military uniforms nor exquisite medals.

In contrast, the Ottomans next door pointed out a clearer and better way. Their Sipahi system was definitely advanced and practical in that era, and their other conscription system, the Demiseme system (Note 1), brought about the more potential Janissary (Note 2) Guards.

Unfortunately, the Janissaries are still just an experimental army of less than a thousand people. They did not play their role at all in the previous Battle of Ankara and were dragged into defeat by the defeated army.

The Demischeme system has been proven by history to be a very efficient conscription system suitable for this region, which can simultaneously take into account the stability of the newly occupied areas and the cultivation of the rear military force.

Its only drawback is that it requires a long time investment and a large amount of financial support, which Li Rufeng cannot use for the time being.

But the Sipahi system is definitely a no-cost business for the emerging forces.

Compared with the knight system in continental Europe, the feudal knights under the Sipahi system did not have hereditary land, which gave the monarch greater control and centralized power over the country, preventing it from being fragmented by layers of fiefdoms like the feudal states in Western Europe.

Moreover, because it could not be inherited, the land distribution was more flexible. The ambitious and brilliant father, Murad I, was the founder of this system. Simply put, he launched a relatively shallow land reform against the conservative forces in the Ottoman Empire, and forcibly transformed the hereditary tima system into the current sipahhi system.

In principle, the Sipahi lord only had the right to use the fiefdom he was granted, and the land was merely "held for safekeeping by the Sultan." Moreover, according to regulations, if the Sipahi lord left his fiefdom for more than seven years, the land would be automatically reclaimed by the Sultan. When he lived in his fiefdom, he was also required to personally participate in farm work.

As an outsider, Li Rufeng did not have much desire for this land. His ambition and desire were more reflected in the power over people, but limited to this era, people depended on the land, and the two were inseparable.

For a nascent power, the lords who own hereditary lands do more harm than good, and it also goes against the common sense of Eastern time travelers who are accustomed to a unified system. Anyone who has played the CK3 game will deeply detest the system in which the vassals of the vassals are not my vassals.

In Li Rufeng's mind, wherever I conquer, that's my place. The right way is that the whole world belongs to the king. Whether it's Islam or Christianity, everyone who comes here is a guest and should follow the host's wishes. Those who don't listen are bad guests and should be kicked out.

Li Rufeng spent two days thinking carefully and roughly constructed a military system that looked decent, so that he could join the battle as a qualified military unit in future wars.

First of all, the cavalry under Li Rufeng will be divided into two parts. The first part will be professional soldiers who are fully dedicated and have been training for a long time. The number of these soldiers will be one hundred.

Originally, he did not plan to mobilize so many professional soldiers, but given the situation, he could not afford to engage in war. Fortunately, the Mongol tribe had a strong foundation and could afford it in a short period of time.

These one hundred professional soldiers are composed entirely of cavalry. The main force is the forty people he has assigned to his own command, and the remaining sixty people will be selected from the best of all the tribes. Li Rufeng will distribute land to these soldiers according to the Sipahi system.

The social structure of the Mongols was relatively primitive. Within the order of the Timurid Khanate, they were often only responsible for fighting and had no worries about food and clothing. Private land was still a somewhat unfamiliar concept to them.

But it doesn't matter. Humans are profit-seeking creatures. It will only take one to two years for the class differences to become apparent. By then, the Sipahi lords will become the backbone of Li Rufeng's forces.

These one hundred Sipahi knights will be completely under the command of Li Rufeng. Although expanding the number of people will inevitably disrupt the chemical reaction of the existing forty-man personal guards, and the extra sixty people will not be able to enjoy the command bonus of the system and affect morale, Li Rufeng plans to divide them into two levels: regular soldiers and deputy soldiers. The deputy soldiers outside the system must accept the command of the regular soldiers.

The other part is the conscripted soldiers with a total estimated number of 200 people. Li Rufeng also doesn't know what kind of people will be after selecting those 100 well-dressed men and then pulling out 200 cavalrymen from the tribe of more than 1,000 people, because that is basically all the young and middle-aged men in the tribe who are over 16 years old and under 35 years old.

Regardless of whether they have combat experience, their horsemanship or archery skills, they must shoulder their responsibilities. The only thing that makes Li Rufeng feel at ease is that in this world where everyone competes for the worst, the Mongols selected as conscripts can be considered capable and good at fighting among other ethnic groups.

In fact, among all the men and women of appropriate age in the entire tribe, the one who is the worst in riding, archery and weapon use is Li Rufeng. Even though he has made rapid progress recently, there is still a visible gap between him and the Mongols who grew up on horseback and started shooting with toy bows at the age of six or seven.

Another good news is that, whether they are professional soldiers or conscripts, the wealthy Mr. Li now has enough armor and weapons to equip them, which will undoubtedly greatly increase the survival rate of the soldiers.

Considering that almost all the existing regular soldiers come from the Taierba tribe, in order to balance the military power between the two tribes, Habashibuhua will become the actual leader of the 200 conscripts.

Under Habashibuhua, the two hundred conscripted soldiers will be divided into four groups of fifty people each, led by four captains. Among them, the confirmed personnel are Gudier's son Wugudu and Li Rufeng's personal guard, Huluchirjia.

Li Rufeng also plans to choose one of the remaining two places. He plans to observe for a while to see if there are any good candidates.

Unfortunately, the tribe was full of illiterate people and there were too few talented people to handle the job. As soon as Beren came back, he was kicked into the tribe to start working on popularizing education. To be honest, at any time, all that is needed to educate minors is money and energy.

Belen was responsible for teaching the children to read and write, regardless of age. Every child was counted, and they could learn as much as they could. They learned in school, and Li Rufeng provided three meals a day. Huluchierjia brought the two biggest ones with him.

The soldier with the most ferocious face was guarding the tent, and anyone who didn't listen to the class would be given a loving lesson.

Judging from the current progress, in three months the hundred or so idiots in the tribe will be able to go home and write dirty words on the ground to curse their illiterate old fathers.

Overall, the expanded Li Rufeng unit seems to be thriving, and everything is moving in a good direction.

But Li Rufeng knew that everything went so smoothly only because the Mongols were wealthy and still reaping the benefits of being conquerors. What they produced every day was far less than what they consumed.

Dost cut off the trade route on the east bank of the Tianshui River, which was equivalent to cutting off half of the Mongols' financial resources. The other half was between Aleppo and Damascus and had to be snatched away with a knife.

Qinggelinayan's timing was right. This land really needed to use war to redistribute power and property.

Without the blood transfusion from the Khanate, the local indigenous people alone could not support the entire Tumed 10,000 households. Even without the threat of the Black Sheep People, they would have a civil war. The victor would swallow up everything of the loser, allowing themselves to remain fat and heavy, and repeat this process until they were eliminated by the latecomers.

Li Rufeng wants to break out of his circle, so he must first have the right to speak.

Just after Li Rufeng had selected all 300 cavalrymen and trained them for three days, Mengge arrived with Qinggelinayan's personal soldiers.

Looking at Li Rufeng's tribe, which had expanded three or four times in size, a trace of envy flashed across Mengge's face. The path he chose was destined to be not as free as Li Rufeng's. If he wanted to expand his power, he could only go to the battlefield and fight for his life.

"Shaman Rufeng, in the winter your tribe was just a tiny flower. Now that spring has just begun, your tribe has grown into the tallest trees on the grassland!" Mengge dismounted, walked towards Li Rufeng and gave him a strong hug. At the same time, he whispered in his ear, "I wonder if what I said back then still counts?"

"A man without integrity is not a good person, so of course it counts." Li Rufeng patted Mengge's shoulder firmly and asked in a low voice, "What is Qinggelinayan's attitude?"

"Be careful," Mengge warned, then shouted, "We've been riding for five days and are thirsty and tired. Hurry up and bring us your fat sheep and good wine!"

The point of this sentence is that Qinggelinayan has already gathered troops and is only five days' riding distance from Li Rufeng's tribe. This is a very dangerous signal.

Because Qinggeli Nayan did not show due respect to Li Rufeng. He was not only the old shaman's student, but also the actual controller of a large tribe. Qinggeli should have told him where to gather his troops instead of leading them directly to his tribe...

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The author says:

Author's Note: There will be another chapter soon

Note 1 - For the newly conquered Balkan Christian areas, Sultan Murad implemented the Demiseme system (Turkish for "gathering"). This system was not his original creation. In the past, the Seljuk Turkic Empire had a similar "Gurlan" system, where Gurlan meant foreign youth.

The Seljuk Turks at that time deliberately selected outstanding young people from the conquered foreigners (foreigners here almost specifically refer to Christians in the conquered areas) for their own use. The young people selected through the Demiseme system would become "Kapikulu" (meaning palace slaves in Turkish), and most of these people would become Janissaries.

There are many misunderstandings about the Demischeme system. In the past, some old translations translated Demischeme as "blood tax", which gives people a sense of punitive exploitation. But in fact, Demischeme is not a punishment. It simply refers to a systematic and regular selection of foreign talents.

Generally speaking, recruitment is only once every five years, and on average only 2.5% of the children of appropriate age (mainly boys) are selected. This is obviously a very harsh exploitation. Throughout the Ottoman Empire, it can be found that the Ottoman Sultan particularly likes to use Christians as his personal guards, which to a certain extent highlights the cruelty of the Ottoman court struggle.

Note 2 - The original name is janissaries. They were basically the Sultan's central standing army. Initially, their members were prisoners and mercenaries, regardless of Muslims or non-Muslims. Later, they were almost entirely composed of young people recruited from the "dev?irme" system. Compared with the previous military system of the Ottoman Empire, the Janissaries could be regarded as a "new army". They were also the first troops in the Ottoman Empire to embrace firearms.

The Janissaries received strict military training since childhood, and were strictly disciplined and skilled in combat. They were not only the most elite professional infantry force in the Ottoman Empire for a long time, but also played a variety of roles such as armed police, gendarmerie, and palace guards.

Especially because they were stationed in Constantinople, the political center of the empire, for a long time to guard the palace, similar to the Roman guards in the past.

In the later period, the Janissaries gradually gained political privileges and even deposed and enthroned sultans many times. Finally, they were slaughtered by the Sultan as the biggest obstacle to reform (the Jixiang Incident).

The specific method of formation is to select children aged 7 to 10 from Christian villages and send them to military camps for 10 years of rigorous training. In theory, they are not required to convert to Islam, but most of them eventually become Muslims. The Janissaries are the personal property of the Sultan, or in other words, the soldiers are actually slaves.

Early sultans almost habitually selected officials at all levels from the Sultan's personal guards. Statistics show that in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, two-thirds of the Ottoman Empire's grand viziers (roughly equivalent to prime ministers) came from these Christian slaves. It was these bright prospects that attracted the personal guards to fight until the last moment.

The Janissary system was also quite interesting. Their legionary symbol was an iron pot, the legionary commander was called a long-handled soup ladle, his deputy was called the chef, and the second-in-command was called the soup maker. Later, when they rebelled and overthrew the sultan, the codeword was to overturn the pot...

Chapter 74: Discussing Important Matters

The two people sent by Qinggelinayan looked like they were here to cause trouble. They wore exquisite inlaid armor and brown linen cloaks fixed to their shoulders with gorgeous shoulder buckles. They walked with great momentum. Even Mengge just smiled and said nothing along the way, as if he didn't want to offend them.

Li Rufeng just clapped his hands and asked the directors to go down and prepare the banquet. Li Rufeng had cured many people over the years, and on average there were distinguished people coming here to meet him every month. Wuerhun knew how to entertain people.

The delicacies on the grassland are nothing more than fresh mutton, either boiled or roasted, broth with pepper and cinnamon, vegetable stew, blood sausage, fermented dairy products, fresh dairy products, and various kinds of alcohol. If you are lucky, you may also have some toasted wheat cakes as the staple food.

It was obvious that Mengge was lucky today. A hunter happened to shoot a few wild ducks, and the Taierbahe tribe also contributed a few pickled salted fish as a flavor dish.

Unfortunately, the delicious food and fine wine did not make Qinggelinayan's envoys lower their airs. After entering the tent, one of them took out a thick volume of Dazasa from the cowhide bag he carried with him. It was the Mongolian law.

"Shaman Rufeng, according to the information we received, the Taierbahe tribe was attacked by Duosite that night, and you happened to be in the Taierbahe tribe. After Taierbahe and his son were killed in battle, you took over the tribe. Is that right?" An envoy asked Li Rufeng in a polite tone. His words were clear, but every word was full of traps, obviously hinting that Li Rufeng and Duosite were colluding with each other.

"Who is this idiot?" Li Rufeng asked directly. Outside the tent, the personal soldiers who received the mental hint quickly surrounded him.

"Shaman! You are insulting a military judge!" The messenger immediately stood up and stared at Li Rufeng.

Chance."

"If we don't take action, and if Lord Milansha wins, we'll be labeled rebels for no reason. If he loses, we'll be even worse off. The Black Sheep, freed up, can send a few thousand troops, which will be enough for the Duosite to completely annihilate us." Li Rufeng noticed the smile on the envoy's face and continued, "So we must not only fight, but also finish the battle as quickly as possible. We can't give the Duosite a chance to catch their breath."

"So are you willing to respond to Qinggelinayan's order and join the attack on Duositelou?" the envoy seized the opportunity to ask.

"This concerns the inheritance of our tribe. How can I just stand by and watch? You still think I'm an outsider, not on the same page with the Mongols." Li Rufeng sneered. "I'm the tribe's shaman. As early as when Duoshite started to act strangely, Changshengtian had already given me clear instructions to pay attention to the movements on the grassland. That's why I rushed to the Taierbahe tribe overnight, just in time to catch Duoshite leading his men to attack. Taierbahe and his son fought bravely, giving me the opportunity to turn the tide!"

"We don't need Qinggelinayan's orders. As part of the grasslands, we've already gone to war with that bastard Duosite." Li Rufeng didn't accept the messenger's allusion to a subordinate relationship, but immediately offered him another candied date. "But I'm willing to cooperate with Qinggelinayan's call and discuss important matters together."

"Nonsense! How many men do you have? Why do you think you can discuss important matters with Qinggelinayan!" The hot-tempered military judge stood up again and looked at Li Rufeng as if he were an enemy, but he still didn't dare to draw out his knife.

"I have a thousand men," Li Rufeng said calmly. "Eight hundred cavalry and two hundred infantry. Are they qualified enough to discuss important matters with Lord Yan?"

The tent suddenly became quiet, and Mengge, who had been watching the show nearby, widened his eyes. How long had it been? Where did Li Rufeng get a thousand-man team? He couldn't possibly drag everyone in the tribe into the battlefield as soldiers, right?

The envoy opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. The situation was a little different from what he expected. Strictly speaking, Qinggelinayan was just a captain of a thousand men. Although in fact the number of troops he controlled was far more than that, no one could ignore a leader who could mobilize a thousand soldiers.

Even though Li Rufeng is a Christian woman, she is now qualified to discuss important matters with Qinggelinayan...

Chapter 75: War is just a means

Obviously, in Qinggelinayan's eyes, a tribal leader who could send out a thousand soldiers was more worthy of respect than the old shaman's students. The two messengers didn't even drink a sip of water, and hurriedly mounted their horses and left the tribal camp to go back and report the news.

Only Centurion Mungo was left. He stayed behind temporarily on the pretext that he wanted to take the wounded back with him. This was not a lie. The few wounded he had sent last time had all returned to the barracks one after another, but Michele, who was the most seriously injured, had not left.

The unlucky kid was a famous VIP client of Li Rufeng. His arrow wound became inflamed twice, but he finally pulled himself back from the brink of death thanks to his good health.

These were indeed issues he had not considered. He always thought that this was an internal conflict between them and Duosi Te. If they killed Duosi Te and made Qinggelinayan the new Wanhu, everything would return to peace.

"After defeating Dost, there are the Black Sheep to the east and the White Sheep to the north." Li Rufeng said as he casually drew a thumbnail on the sand table in the tent. "To the west, there are the Ottomans, to the south are the Mamluks, and we are in the middle."

Mongke's brows were furrowed together, forming a deep frown. In his mind, the Black Sheep Dynasty in the east was a rebel army. Until they captured Tabriz, he felt that it was just a small flame that could be extinguished at any time.

The Aries people in the north were the vassal army that followed behind them and benefited from their influence.

The leader of the Aries was Kara Osman, who was originally loyal to the prisoner-like lightning, but was instigated by Sultan Timur to turn against the Khanate in the Battle of Ankara, which ultimately led to the glorious victory of the Khanate. Sultan Timur generously gave the Diyarbakir region in the north to the Aries, giving them a piece of land to live on.

The Aries people have always behaved very submissively, and Mongke never thought about the threat from the north, but now when Li Rufeng pointed out the key, Mongke, as a professional military officer, suddenly woke up.

The death of the Sultan was just the beginning; the subsequent civil war among the successors weakened the Khanate, which was the real reason for their current situation.

"The population of Aleppo has increased recently, right?" Li Rufeng asked. He had always been thinking about that city.

Mengge nodded silently. His favorite job was to rob the caravans coming out of Aleppo, so he naturally kept an eye on the situation in that city.

The Mamluks are tentatively trying to regain control of the land. Damascus is said to have been rearmed, and Aleppo will be next.

Only the Ottoman Empire in the west, like the Khanate, is still in the War of Succession and is not a threat for the time being.

"What plans does Qinggelinayan have for all this?" Li Rufeng drew a circle on the map and asked, "After defeating Duosite, what does he want? What are his strategic goals? What impact does he hope victory in this war will have on the surrounding situation?"

Mengge felt a little embarrassed. Before Li Rufeng asked, he didn't even think this was a problem. For the Mongol people, fighting was a natural thing, just like eating, drinking water, and breathing...

But now, he realized that this was a very important issue, so important that it would determine their future survival.

"I think... maybe... Qinggelinayan is mainly unhappy with Duoshite and wants to replace her." When Mengge said this, he had already made up his mind, so his tone gradually became smoother.

"So his goal is to use civil war to ensure the Khanate maintains sufficient power to deter this land?" Li Rufeng asked with a smile. "Even Duosite knows that it's time to find a new backer."

There are a total of 49 craftsmen in the department, including 5 blacksmiths, 2 skilled workers and 3 apprentices; 12 coopers, 4 skilled workers and 8 apprentices; the largest number of leatherworkers is 32, 11 of whom are skilled workers and the remaining 21 are apprentices.

According to Li Rufeng's direct observation, there is almost no substantial difference in the skills of the craftsmen of the two tribes. One of the two blacksmiths is called Agul, and he is the man who gave up Li Rufeng's dream of becoming a blacksmith. He is about 37 or 38 years old this year, with a burly figure and is usually taciturn. It is said that his master was also a strong man who could forge armor in the past, but in his area, he can only barely repair metal weapons and armor. His main job on weekdays is to make horseshoes.

The other blacksmith was Tuherudin from the Taierbaha tribe. As a blacksmith, he looked much thinner than Agul, and his age did not seem suitable for the job anymore. However, he was still the only blacksmith in the Taierbaha tribe. Li Rufeng felt that he might not be as skilled as Agul. The horseshoes he made did not look round enough.

In this era, blacksmiths undoubtedly represent advanced productivity. Unfortunately, the blacksmiths in Li Rufeng's department do not count, as they are all the leftovers.

For a nomadic tribe, maintaining a blacksmith shop is no joke. They need real fuel to get the furnace to a high enough temperature, so burning horse manure or cow dung is out of the question. They have to burn charcoal.

You can easily imagine how precious wood is in this exposed grassland, not to mention charcoal.

However, this is only part of the trouble. Li Rufeng's troops are still short of iron... There are actually iron mines near Aleppo, but the mines have been completely destroyed by the army. Sultan Timur's intention is very clear. He wants to keep this area "peaceful", preferably the kind of peace where there are no breathing people. It's a pity that the locals are all "believers", so he can't be so cruel.

Regarding the mine to be restarted, Li Rufeng could only add this line to his booklet and wait for a chance to think so far ahead in the future. For now, he could only rely on the metal products and iron ore he had stockpiled before to make up for the army's consumption.

After visiting the blacksmith shop, Li Rufeng felt that all his knowledge and talent were useless. He knew that blacksmithing required a forge with a higher temperature, knew the principle of the hydraulic forging hammer, knew that iron plus carbon could produce steel, and knew that assembly line operations could improve production efficiency. But as soon as he saw the two blacksmiths with sour faces hammering there listlessly, he knew that all his words were useless. Without competition, there would be no productivity.

He hasn't even solved the problem of people, how can he solve the problem of tools and technology in one step...