Mount and Blade Central Asia

At this time, Mrs. Fass was in Aleppo. By chance, he was actually one of the masters of Aleppo.

In this city that was devastated and abandoned by all forces, there were three groups of forces at this time. The most important one was the merchant alliance mainly composed of Ottomans. They had about 1,500 people, most of whom were merchants who had previously escaped from Aleppo. They were currently headed by Saduddin Fasif.

Following closely behind were more than 800 survivors from Aleppo, who were lucky enough to avoid Timur's butcher knife. After stumbling around outside for a while, they found themselves with nowhere to go and eventually returned to their homes to live. These people also elected a leader named Ibrahim.

The last group is the Mamluks. After all, strictly speaking, Aleppo is still on the Mamluks' map.

But this group of Mamluks consisted of less than two hundred people, half of whom were soldiers and half were merchants. Most of them lived outside the city and rarely entered Aleppo.

The city seemed to be cursed and repelled the Mamluks. They always fell down for no reason or even disappeared in the city. When they were found, they were either crazy or dead.

And now, the reason why Saduddin Fasif couldn't sleep was because the Mughals were coming again.

The author says:

Author's Note: It's time to order a new volume in July - Thanks for your love

Aleppo

Chapter 172: Differences

Conquering a city, especially an unguarded city, is also a war. The Mughals have already begun sending people to scout around Aleppo.

Historically, Aleppo is one of the oldest human settlements. Archaeological discoveries show that people lived here as early as 5000 BC. The ancient Greeks called the city "Beroea".

But because white marble is abundant near Aleppo, which is also the main raw material for building this city, it is a milky white city. It looks very beautiful from a distance. Locals have called it the White City or the White City since ancient times.

When the ancient Aramaeans lived here, their word for white was pronounced ?alab, and the Arabs also used this word to refer to Aleppo - ?alab (???). ??? is the same as the word for milking. Local legend has it that Abraham stopped here after leaving Ur to milk his cattle, hence the name, and it also means white.

And now this White City has fallen into a new crisis.

People leader.

As an Ottoman, Saduddin actually had no ambition. In his opinion, if the Mongols wanted to occupy Aleppo again, it would be better to let them go.

In the past, the most important thing that Sultan Timur emphasized was that when the army came to attack the city, those who were willing to surrender on the battlefield would be forgiven. These Mongols were the scimitars thrown by Timur, so they should have this custom too, right?

"Are the Mongols really coming? What do they want here?" an Ottoman merchant lamented. "There's nothing here but uninhabited houses and not even a blade of grass..."

Saduddin understood the other party very well, because the other party had just come here with wealth and goods less than three months ago, and had not yet recovered the cost of tolls paid along the way, but the situation was about to change.

"I heard that Timur's son lost the war against the Black Sheep. These Mongols are now rootless and there's no need to worry about them." Another Ottoman said, "Let's pool some money and hire some mercenaries. Maybe..."

"This is a Mamluk city. Why should we spend money to fight for someone else's territory? Are you crazy?" Someone immediately raised an objection.

"Then what do you say we should do? Are we going to surrender to those Mongols?" the man asked indignantly, and then the room suddenly fell silent.

Saduddin Fasif had an idea in his mind. Apparently, there were many people who shared the same opinion as him, but they were just too embarrassed to speak out.

After another half-minute of silence, Saduddin finally spoke. He had his servant hand each person a small piece of paper and said, "I understand what you mean. Now write your ideas on the paper, fold it up, shuffle it, and give it to me. I will announce the results."

Everyone was speechless and quickly wrote down their opinions. They shuffled the order and handed them to Saduddin, waiting for him to announce the results.

He casually picked up a piece of paper, opened it, and read: "Send someone to find out what the Mongols mean. If they want territory, ask them how they plan to treat the merchants. Then they can decide whether to resist or submit."

"That's a very pertinent comment." Saduddin nodded, put it aside, and looked at the next one.

"Communicate with the Mamluks and form an offensive and defensive alliance in exchange for tax incentives." Saduddin nodded after reading it and put it aside.

"Spend a huge amount of money to strengthen the city's defenses and maintain the status quo of Aleppo's no-man's land." Saduddin unfolded another piece of paper. He frowned and threw it to the ground. "It's ridiculous! There has never been a case of merchants spending money on war!"

An Ottoman merchant immediately left the table in anger, while the others just lowered their heads and remained silent.

Soon, all the notes were opened, and everyone agreed that Saduddin would send two groups of people to the Mongols and Mamluks to express their loyalty and inquire about the terms...

He went to the tribal horse farm and asked the horse herders there not to make any arrangements until he arrived. Then Li Rufeng was led by Haishar to the small camp of the Order Eagle Knights.

Although this was only a small camp with six people stationed there, it had everything it needed. They even built a wall around it, and inside there was a lookout pole. When Li Rufeng and his men arrived, there was a guard coiled on the pole, keeping watch.

"There is nothing around here that can threaten your power. You can relax a little more." Li Rufeng said as he watched the attendant nimbly flip down from the pole and opened the camp gate.

"You're absolutely right. I'd rather ride a horse for a long ride every day!" The attendant was obviously a very outgoing person and immediately joined in the conversation.

"Shut up, Denilson. Five kilometers of armed running, wearing the heaviest armor." Haishar looked at the talkative attendant and said coldly, "If you don't come back before noon, you don't have to eat. Go now."

"You have the final say, Master!" Denilson smiled brightly, as if he was not being punished but receiving a reward. He turned and shouted towards the east tent, "Sultan! It's your turn to climb the pole. I'm going to run!"

Soon a sighing boy walked out of the tent. He could only be described as a boy. Although he looked as tall as most adult men, his chubby face still showed his childishness, and he hadn't even started to grow a beard.

"Master." The boy named Sultan bowed to Haishar, then climbed up with some difficulty and continued to observe the surrounding environment on behalf of his companion.

"This isn't for vigilance, but to train their physical strength and mental toughness. Sometimes we need to patiently lurk and wait, waiting for months on end for an opportunity with only a 10% chance of success." Haishar shook his head and explained, "Denilson still doesn't understand. If he can't get past this, he'll always be a retainer."

"Is this how you usually train?" Li Rufeng was a little surprised. After all, the five-kilometer armed cross-country run alone was enough to be life-threatening.

"Our conditions are limited, so this is the only way. We have to ensure these apprentices don't interrupt their training. They've been preparing for this their entire lives." Haishar sighed. "Inside the fortress, their training will be more intense. We have a medicine that can quickly heal wounds and relieve fatigue. Now... we can only find a solution ourselves."

"You're not talking about opium, are you?" Li Rufeng asked uncertainly. As a time traveler, he was naturally a bit sensitive to it. The thought of the most elite warriors fighting against the Four Wind Evil Gods in the civilized world being a group of drug addicts was quite bizarre...

"I'm not a scholar, so I don't know, but we have a scholar here who is injured and hasn't woken up yet. He wants you to take a look." Haishaer took Li Rufeng into a separate tent.

Otherwise it belongs to the field of philosophy...

These people in this barbaric land cannot handle human medicine, so they always fantasize about having a substance that can ignore the differences in symptoms and forcibly cure all diseases once and for all. These days, in every small country, every year there will be a mentally ill person who stands up and announces that he has invented a real panacea.

However, in the end, half of these people dared to take responsibility for their actions. They drank their own panacea themselves and died after drinking it without having a chance to harm others. The other half coaxed and deceived others into drinking the medicine. Those with strong backgrounds disappeared for a few years, waiting for the limelight to come back and stage a comeback. Eighty percent of those who did not have so many preconditions would pay with their lives.

If the Eagle of Order organization had not always been mysterious and had not had the bonus of first impression, Li Rufeng would have thought that this person could not wake up, and it might be the fault of this panacea.

Li Rufeng carefully opened the panacea. A slightly fishy smell hit his nose, making him cough. But after the cough, an indescribable feeling of freshness spread through his respiratory tract. It was like the Golden Throat Lozenges commercial, where his whole body suddenly felt clear...

"Shaman Rufeng!" Haishar woke Li Rufeng up. When he came to his senses, the apprentice was staring at the crystal bottle in his hand, obviously worried that he would accidentally spill the elixir inside.

Damn, anything related to the Eagle of Order is fucking weird. Li Rufeng closed the lid of the panacea and returned it to the apprentice who was watching the thief like a thief. He asked Haishar, "Have you used this thing before?"

Haishar shook his head and glanced at the scholars lying on the ground. "This is Master Ahmed. I haven't had much contact with him. He spends most of his time traveling. I only know that he is a famous pharmacist and a polymath, but we have never used this medicine."

"This is the formula that the master found in the Pharaoh's pyramid during his previous trip. This time we are going out mainly to collect some very rare materials." The apprentice explained. Because Li Rufeng did not show any greed for the panacea, his attitude softened a lot.

"Master Ahmed said that this medicine is only a semi-finished product. It can alleviate the symptoms of almost all diseases and prevent the symptoms from getting worse. But because the second half of the formula was destroyed, he can't figure out the real panacea formula in the second half." The apprentice spoke very quickly and with a strange accent, making it difficult for Li Rufeng to understand.

"What's your name? Do you know when Master Ahmed became unwell? Did he say anything before he lost consciousness?" Li Rufeng squatted beside the master, checking the scabies on his back.

It is called scabies, but in fact this part of the flesh looks more like rotten meat that has begun to rot. The entire ulcerated area has spread to the size of a bowl. From the location, it is located in the left hypochondrium, approximately between the 7th and 11th ribs.

Li Rufeng recalled what he had learned about anatomy. The spleen should be under the bones, flesh and skin at this location. The spleen is the largest lymphatic organ in the human body, with the functions of storing blood, producing blood, removing aging red blood cells and conducting immune responses.

But Master Ahmed's face was ruddy, and although his pulse was a little weak, it was probably caused by lying in bed for a long time without sufficient exercise.

And the surgical instruments that Li Rufeng usually uses.

The moment he saw Li Rufeng getting ready, Tarika's mood calmed down a lot. For those of them who are engaged in technology, they only need to take a look to know whether the other party has real ability.

At least in Tariqa's opinion, the moment Li Rufeng picked up the scalpel, the aura he exuded was very similar to that of Master Ahmed. They were the same kind of people, with extraordinary confidence in their own fields.

Bater didn't ask any more questions. He just splashed liquor everywhere. Although this didn't actually have any disinfecting effect, it was better than nothing. Li Rufeng could only hope that the virus of this era was not as perverted as the source of infection in his era.

As usual, Haishar was kept by Li Rufeng, and Tariq was naturally watching from the side. Li Rufeng also needed them as assistants, one was responsible for butchering the beef, and the other was responsible for using special medicines.

Brother Mengjiang has killed countless people in his life, and his familiarity with the human body should be better than Li Rufeng. When it comes to using a knife or a sword at a critical moment, Li Rufeng feels more at ease to let Haishaer do it.

Li Rufeng used a sterilized sharp knife to cut along the edge of the rotten flesh and the slightly discolored skin. He cut very gently and observed Ahmed's reaction to determine whether he still had any pain reaction.

As the knife entered the flesh, some black blood flowed out from the edge of the wound, but Ahmed had no reaction, which was not a good sign.

Li Rufeng's hands were steady and deft. He gently flipped the edge of the blade, moving it slowly along the edge of the diseased tissue about three millimeters away, as if peeling a piece of fruit. He quickly completed the peeling process, and then came the more risky part...

He had to separate the diseased tissue from the flesh and blood tissue underneath. If these lesions started to rot from the spleen, then the person would be beyond saving... Of course, perhaps with the blessing of the panacea, Master Ahmed could continue to maintain his immortal state.

Li Rufeng looked up at Haishar and Tariq, and they both nodded almost at the same time.

Their current conditions could not sustain Ahmed's survival. In less than a month, he lost 20 kilograms. Li Rufeng was the best doctor they could find.

If Li Rufeng can't rescue Ahmed, perhaps this is God's will.

Li Rufeng slashed with the knife, and suddenly red blood flowed out along the handle of the knife. Everyone realized that this was a good sign!

What followed was a long and arduous task. Too much tissue could not be peeled off each time, as this would easily lead to further infection. Li Rufeng spent almost two hours peeling off the rotten biological tissue from Ahmed bit by bit.

'Super-birth reaction', trembling slightly!

Then, with a faint scream, the small piece of rotten tissue turned into pus and then evaporated and disappeared.

Hey!

Li Rufeng threw the plate to the ground as if he had seen a ghost, and then threw the sheep gut gloves on his hands into the wooden barrel, and asked Bater to repeatedly rinse his hands with strong liquor, and then put them in the sun to dry.

Could this thing also be related to the Four Wind Gods? Li Rufeng made sure his hand was fine in the sunlight before continuing his thoughts. Without a moment's hesitation, he turned and walked back to the tent and ordered, "Carry the patient out into the sun. I'm going to perform a purification ceremony on him!"

"What happened?" Haishar asked with some confusion.

"This thing seems to be the curse of the Four Winds. Listen to me."

Chapter 176: The Poison of Civilization

The Eagles of Order may not be the organization in the world that knows the Four Wind Gods best, but they are definitely among the best. After Li Rufeng said this, Ahmed was carried by them to the best-sunlighted place in the center of the camp.

When Haishar saw the black smoke coming out of Ahmed's wound, his face suddenly became grim.

The headquarters of the Eagle of Order was destroyed by the Mamluks. Although this had never happened before, the knights of the Eagle of Order had never thought of taking revenge one day. Even if they had such an idea, they only wanted to clean up the traitors.

They are unable and unwilling to intervene in disputes with secular governments. There are enough examples in the history of the Eagle of Order to prove how harmful doing so is.

But if the Four Wind Gods were behind that attack, that would be another story...

Li Rufeng didn't care about anything else. As usual, he took a handful of salt and a glass of wine, and added seasonings as if he was going to pick Master Ahmed's kidneys and marinate them, and then started chatting with Changshengtian.

Because no one could understand him speaking Chinese, Li Rufeng was more relaxed during this serious moment...

"Salt and wine are already here. It's time to revive the soul, so bring it back. Otherwise, I'm going to sprinkle cumin next." Li Rufeng said as he sprinkled another handful of snow-white refined salt. This stuff is really expensive in this era. This kind of salt is noble salt. If Li Rufeng didn't know how to extract refined salt on a small scale, the purification ceremony three times a month would probably make Li Rufeng bankrupt.

Then a miracle happened. Master Ahmed really let out a weak groan. Of course, it could also be because of the pain. After all, it would hurt if you sprinkle salt and pour wine on the wound.

"Teacher!" Tariq suddenly became excited. He quickly stepped forward to hold up Ahmed's head, holding a wooden cup in his hand. "Teacher, can you hear me?"

Ahmed opened his eyes with difficulty and took a look. When he saw Tariq and Haishar, he breathed a sigh of relief, and then fainted again.

But this was already the best day Ahmed had been in in the past month. The corners of Tariq's mouth couldn't help but rise, and Haishar also had a smile on his face. The more potential Li Rufeng had in this field, the happier he was.

"Let this master have a rest first. During this period, don't drink raw water, eat liquid food, and avoid meat. I will ask someone to send some dairy products and fresh goat milk. Drink more milk." Li Rufeng reminded Tariq. At this time, the young man no longer thought highly of himself, but nodded obediently, looking very likable.

Li Rufeng was not fooled by the little tricks of this bratty kid. He hit him on the head without any hesitation, causing a red bump to appear on his forehead.

Tariq covered his forehead with his hands in pain and stared at Li Rufeng fiercely, but did not dare to say anything. Only then did Master Li leave with satisfaction.

"We plan to rest here for a while. Besides me, there are two knights, Martin Ewing and Abdul Aziz. They are both official knights of the Eagle of Order." Haishar briefly introduced the camp. "Knight Martin Ewing went to Jerusalem with a squire three days ago. We were there at the time, but due to horsepower issues, some of us volunteered to go to Jerusalem to provide rearguard support."

When Haishaer talked about this, his tone was a little depressed. He had always been brooding over what happened at that time.

"Abdul should be teaching the young men in your militia camp how to use machetes today," Haishar said softly. "Since we're temporarily stationed here, we'll do our best. You don't have to send us a sheep every day. It's too expensive."

"Haha, eat without worry, we don't have anything else, but we have plenty of mutton!" Master Li thought it was something else, but it turned out to be just a matter of one sheep a day. The Mongols are the big dogs in this land. It is estimated that the size of the sheep flock of Li Rufeng's tribe alone is more than 30,000.

The size of the herd that an ordinary pastoral family can manage every day is limited, and this number is completely beyond the normal range. As for the Mongol tribes, special shepherds appeared to manage the extra flocks.

The same is true for war horses. The Mongols have no shortage of horses, but their war horses are roughly equivalent to Lu Bu among horses, and at the very least they have to be Hua Xiong.

According to the ratios Li Rufeng had seen, only one horse out of every hundred could be called a war horse. They were naturally stronger and more enduring than other horses, and were superior to their peers in all aspects. These horses also had to learn to obey orders and cooperate with the knights. Only such horses would be chosen by the Mongols.

Became a war horse.

Of course, it may also be because the Mughals had higher requirements in this regard. They could not be equipped with the strongest armor, the sharpest scimitars, and the most accurate bows and arrows, but they had the best war horses. This is why the three mixed-breed horses sent by Haishar were so precious.

Compared with ordinary horses, those hybrid horses are like changing tracks. Just by relying on their own physical conditions, they have surpassed those genetically mutated horses in the population.

Li Rufeng didn't know how the Eagle of Order had hybridized this hybrid horse that had obviously stabilized its genetic expression, but this was undoubtedly a miracle in probability. Among billions of possibilities, luck and fate had just selected such a chosen creature with reproductive ability.

In later generations, purebred horses bred from British mixed breeds dominated the racing field by relying on stable genetic gene expression. Each of those famous foals was worth tens of millions. But now, the mixed-breed horses in Li Rufeng's hands can scare those purebred horses to death no matter how you look at them. How much should this thing be worth?

priceless!

On a smaller scale, this type of warhorse can change the performance of cavalry on the battlefield to a certain extent. On a larger scale, if the reproductive capacity of this type of horse is further improved, it may directly reverse the direction of development of human civilization.

Imagine, for example, the rise of the steam engine, when it encountered a fleet of mixed-breed horses that were simply outnumbered and superior. For centuries, they were unable to outperform the grass-fed mixed-breed horses in terms of power output, and were ultimately eliminated by human civilization...

Li Rufeng shuddered. And there was a panacea... If a panacea could truly be popularized, would human civilization still need to develop modern medicine? At the very least, the field of pharmacy could be declared complete.

The world seems to be becoming weird. These things that are neither scientific nor magical may be considered poison to civilization in the long run.

Chapter 177: I haven't even started the battle yet, and someone is already bowing down to me

Muzaffar Natanzi was walking along the main road of Li Rufeng's tribe. His ferocious face scared a group of children so much that they screamed and ran away, but he was able to remain calm.

He nodded to a group of women passing by. Many of these women had helped take care of his daily life while he was recovering from his injuries, giving him food and water. Muzaffar was full of gratitude to these people.

Or rather, he was full of gratitude towards Li Rufeng.

Muzaffar's life was saved by Li Rufeng.