Mount and Blade Central Asia

Meanwhile, Li Rufeng had already hand-drawn a plan of Aleppo, using simple geometry to calculate the usable area within the city walls. Drawing on his experience from building games, he attempted to rationally plan the city's areas. He was puzzled as to why the system hadn't yet counted the city as his territory...

The author says:

Rule the whole country.

Nur ad-Din Mahmud was a very prestigious ruler in his own right, but he had a working emperor who was even more famous than him, Saladin. Yes, the very charming Saladin portrayed in the movie "Kingdom of Heaven".

In 1164, Nur ad-Din responded to the request for help from the Fatimid Caliph of Egypt and sent General Sirkuh and his nephew Saladin to Egypt to lead an army to fight against the Crusaders. They won many victories, and the uncle and nephew later served as ministers of the Fatimid dynasty.

Then, the Fatimid dynasty was gone. Saladin annexed the Fatimid dynasty's territory, continued to be nominally subservient to Nur ad-Din, and finally annexed the entire Zengid dynasty in 1183. During this period, Aleppo did serve as the capital of the Zengid dynasty for a short time.

However, Sultan Ismail Malik Saleh was young and powerless at the time. The capital was moved from Mosul to Damascus, and was then forced to move to Hama and Homs, and finally retreated to Aleppo. Saladin forced Ismail to conclude a peace treaty for the sake of his father Nur ad-Din, limiting his power to Aleppo and declaring Egypt independent.

Two years after Ismail's death, Saladin captured the city. Since the political center of the Ayyubid dynasty was in Cairo, Aleppo was only used as a commercial hub from then on and had no more important political status. Eventually, as the Ayyubid dynasty gradually became the Mamluk dynasty, it changed its flag.

Therefore, Aleppo did not have a real ruler in the modern times of Li Rufeng's time. He used this place as his capital to rule his own territory, so the scale and style of this palace were kept simple.

At least, from Li Rufeng's perspective, this place is probably the size of the most inconspicuous small side hall in the Forbidden City... maybe even smaller. At least the palaces of the Ming Dynasty did not have to consider the issue of city defense when they were built.

As an imperial palace, this place also has a full set of city defense fortifications, from towers, city gates to secret passages.

Li Rufeng felt that when the finances and manpower were sufficient, it would be more convenient to choose a new location and build a building suitable for living instead of renovating this dilapidated place. If he was besieged at that time, he would simply surrender.

But that was all for today. Mr. Li drew water from the well and washed the floor of the room over and over again. It was obvious that the room he chose was the one where the ruler of Aleppo lived. The marble surface of the floor was smooth and had colorful carvings.

It’s a pity that after the war, these carvings were incomplete. After being baked at high temperatures, several long cracks appeared on the originally smooth floor, which looked very unsightly.

What made Li Rufeng unbearable was that the loose soil on the ground looked easy to clean, but in fact it was all stained with blood. When washed with water, the color of the mud was abnormal and it also had a strange smell.

Theoretically, the old Sultan's massacre took place six years ago. Even if there were mountains of corpses and seas of blood here back then, it should have been completely wiped out by the action of microorganisms by now. But it is obvious that something has gone wrong now.

Li Rufeng didn't want to touch this curse, at least not now.

But Haishar's worries are justified. The miracles of this world all come at a price. If the power of the curse comes from the Four Wind Evil Gods, then it is like a time bomb. The stronger its power, the greater the hidden danger, and sooner or later the city will pay the price.

But not now. Even Haishaer didn't want to go to a haunted place like Jingguanchang after the sun went down.

That night, Li Rufeng found a room on the second floor and spent the night there. Without Satuya by his side, his living standard dropped visibly. Even the food he had was just simple stews and milk wine. Don't expect these soldiers to have any exquisite cooking skills. Li Rufeng was the best cook among them.

After several days of observation, Li Rufeng has a deeper understanding of this city.

The city's decline did not happen overnight; the old Sultan's conquest and massacre of it was more like a summary result.

As a historic city, if it were still so prosperous, it would not have been so easily conquered by Timur's army... But tracing back to its roots, the decline of Aleppo actually lies in Timur and the growth of the Timurid Khanate.

To the east of Aleppo is the trade route leading to Baghdad, Mosul, India and Iran. The main goods sold are from the East and India. However, Baghdad and Mosul fell successively under the iron hoof of the old Sultan. The original commercial cities were destroyed and all skilled craftsmen were moved to Samarkand.

Samarkand is located in the Transoxiana region, and its commerce is more dependent on the areas where the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers flow.

At the same time, the long-lasting "You haven't paid tribute for seven years" joke between the old Sultan and the Eastern Kingdom is enough to make people understand why Eastern goods are becoming less and less. As for why Indian goods have also decreased, we can roughly deduce something from the Delhi slaves whose prices have been completely driven down.

Of course, later the old Sultan captured Bayezid and interfered in Ottoman internal affairs, plunging the entire Anatolian Peninsula into chaos and further affecting Aleppo's business.

From the first day Li Rufeng entered the city, he felt the heavy atmosphere of decadence. The merchant group headed by Saduddin Fasif was too conservative. He urgently needed the immigrants from Mardin to change the local customs.

But luckily they are arriving soon...

After a dreamless night and another day of sleeping on the floor, Shaman Rufeng felt sore all over his back and waist, and felt a little tired when riding on the horse. Haishar was not far away from him, also riding a horse, an ordinary warhorse.

But at this moment, through this low wall, he could vaguely hear the bustling noises of people inside, it was so lively...

"Haishaer, did you hear that?" Li Rufeng felt the hairs on his back stand up. He stopped and asked blankly.

"What did you hear?"

The author says:

Author's words: I read the information for a long time, and time passed by unknowingly...

pigeon day

Something happened at home, so I hurriedly wrote a chapter, but it didn't feel quite right. I plan to rewrite it. Today is considered a day off because it involves some information about minerals. I was so dizzy from looking up information last night that I'll postpone it for a day. I've seen the opinions of the readers, and they are very pertinent. I will adjust the subsequent content and slightly weaken the magical color.

Chapter 194: Think of a solution, Shaman!

The sound from the other side of the wall seemed to be disturbed by Li Rufeng's voice and suddenly disappeared. Li Rufeng shook his head and signaled to continue on his way.

The area of ​​the Jingguan site is not very large. More than 20,000 heads mixed with stones and mud are only forty or fifty Jingguan sites, occupying an area of ​​only 400 meters of grassland. The walls built by the Mamluks were very careful and there were no gaps left. The group could only go around to the entrance.

It can be seen that the Mamluks at that time also thought of finding someone to guard this place, so they built a small house near the entrance, but it was empty at this time, and no one was willing to come to this ghost place to guard the gate.

Because of Li Rufeng's strange behavior just now, Haishar drew out his scimitar at the door, and Li Rufeng's personal guards did the same, with their faces full of vigilance.

But apart from the already scary Jingguan, there was nothing unusual inside the Jingguan. The bright sun shone its rays into the walls, and at first glance, one would think that the scenery here was quite nice.

However, this frightened Li Rufeng more than the messy things talking inside... After taking a look at his brother who was on alert, Li Rufeng calmed down and walked in.

Even taking into account his experiences before traveling through time, it was the first time for Mr. Li, who was considered knowledgeable, to see something like a Jingguan. Although the Eastern Kingdom was the first civilization to begin to create this kind of "corpse art", there was still a difference between seeing it from historical stories and actually seeing it face to face.

Every miracle has a price. Even the believers of the Four Evil Gods of the Four Winds are actually praying for miracles based on a principle similar to equivalent exchange.

However, compared to the high requirements for petitioners and the rarity of local miracles, the Four Evil Gods of the Winds are much more unrestrained. Of course, this does not mean that there is no threshold for becoming a cult member, but that the threshold requirement is much lowered. To make an inappropriate analogy, this is like the Amazon platform and Pinduoduo that Li Rufeng used in his previous life.

To use the former, you not only need to use scientific software to bypass the firewall, use simple English to find the products you need, but also learn to use payment software such as PayPal. But with Pinduoduo, you only need to find someone to cut the price...

It can be said that the existence of the Four Evil Gods of the Winds has greatly lowered the threshold for using miracles. What they are most interested in is human souls, which come from a wide range of sources and are easy to obtain. This is also the main reason for the emergence of organizations like the Eagle of Order. If no one restricts them, the future of this world will be very worrying.

"I need some time to prepare, maybe even longer. You know I haven't completely controlled the city yet." Li Rufeng didn't have any good solution, but according to his previous experience and the knowledge taught by the old shaman, the most important thing to solve this kind of problem is belief.

The stronger your belief, the more you can achieve with half the effort.

Li Rufeng's method was very simple. Since it was the wronged souls causing trouble, he would appease these wronged souls and hold a proper funeral, a grand one, with lots of paper money, carriages, horses, people, etc. It was estimated that there would be some effect.

Haishaer looked at the strange atmosphere in the Jingguan Arena, then looked at Li Rufeng, and finally nodded: "Okay, then I will stay here for the time being to prevent any accidents."

"You want to live here?" Li Rufeng stared into Haishaer's eyes, and after confirming that he was not joking, he stood in awe. "Okay, I'll try to prepare everything you need within three days."

Chapter 195: Treating Everyone Equally

Aleppo is located at the westernmost part of the Fertile Crescent, so there is no shortage of fertile land around it. However, over the past few hundred years, the area has been plagued by wars, which have destroyed large-scale agricultural activities. Instead, the surrounding villages and small settlements, because of their small size and flexibility, have maintained agricultural production operations.

After Timur conquered this territory, the small settlements centered on Aleppo, especially the small settlements and villages close to the Ottoman and Mediterranean sides, even had much more annual harvests than before, because they did not have to pay taxes to the Mughals or the Mamluks, and all the harvests belonged to them.

Li Rufeng had no intention of changing this situation for the time being. He had both money and food. Since he could afford to spend a fortune on horse bones, he could naturally tolerate the nearby population recuperating for the time being.

But these people must understand that the source of this generosity and kindness is not God, but Li Rufeng himself.

It's quite big! " Behind a wooden wall only chest high, a middle-aged man with a full beard sneered, not taking Li Rufeng seriously at all.

"Shoot him." Li Rufeng pointed at the man and ordered the guards behind him.

The guard shot an arrow without hesitation, hitting the man's right eye. His archery skills were amazing.

The man wailed twice before he died. He died very quickly and left no worries for his family.

"I am the ruler of Aleppo, the democratically elected lord of the Mongol, Kurd, Armenian, Aleppan, Arab, and Ottoman peoples of this land," Li Rufeng repeated his title before asking. "Find someone who can speak and bring them before me. I will grant them the opportunity to pledge allegiance to me and the legal right to rule this place."

The armed men in the settlement looked at each other in bewilderment. Although the settlement was less than fifteen kilometers away from Aleppo, their lives were too isolated and they knew nothing about what was happening in the city.

And now, the only courageous "lord" in the settlement is dead, and facing the Mughal knights outside, these people can't find anyone who dares to speak out.

"I'll give you three minutes. If no one comes out to look for me after three minutes, these people will not be here when I come tomorrow. I guarantee that by then, half of your heads will have moved to Jingguanchang to be guests." Li Rufeng felt a little embarrassed when he saw that no one recognized him. He could only add fuel to the fire and put some pressure on them.

The long-term wars in this land have caused the people here to be ambitious and lack the vision and confidence for long-term investment. They are also afraid of power but not virtue. If they only display virtue, they will be regarded as fools.

Li Rufeng calculated the time. Of course, the threat was just a threat. Li Rufeng would not kill people meaninglessly. He would only destroy the settlement and then forcibly relocate the people here to the city.

Fortunately, there are still "capable people" in this settlement. Before Li Rufeng's patience ran out, a woman wearing chain mail, a sword at her waist, and a scar on her face walked out. Judging from her age, she should be around 30 years old, but her weather-beaten face made her look a little older.

"Your Excellency, we are unaware of the events in Aleppo, and there's no point in creating a conflict with you. If you find something you like, you can take it now. There's no need to embarrass a country bumpkin," the woman said calmly. "If you still have any compassion, please don't hurt us. We're just a bunch of pitiful people who pose no threat."

"What's your name?" This was the first time Li Rufeng had seen such a woman in this era. Just from the way she spoke and stood, he could tell that she was a person with a firm mind and was not easily shaken.

Er memorized a few Chinese characters and the structure of Li Rufeng's talismans by rote, and could write paper money and draw talismans on behalf of Li Rufeng.

Moreover, compared with Li Rufeng's perfunctory attitude, Bater was as pious as if he was writing a letter to Tengri himself when doing these things. It can be said that every piece of paper money contains Bater's devout faith and pure compassion for the dead.

When Li Rufeng led his men back to Aleppo, the entire city had undergone significant changes compared to when he arrived. Nearly a hundred laborers were clearing debris from the river. The river, which had been dry for five or six years, needed to have the embankments on both sides reinforced before it could be used again.

The pile of earth and stones that originally replaced the drawbridge were also cleared away first. A brand new drawbridge has been installed and adjusted. Craftsmen are oiling the chains for retracting the drawbridge. Four Mongol soldiers are stationed in the watchtower, supervising the work from a high vantage point.

When they saw Shaman Rufeng returning, the soldiers quickly stood up straight and paid their respects.

Inside the city, the grain transport team led by Marida Val has entered the city. They did not dare to disobey the order of the Lord of Aleppo, but they were also very curious and wanted to come to Aleppo to find out what had happened and who the new Lord of Aleppo was.

"Shaman Rufeng! Shaman Rufeng!" Hujiao Mali, who was guarding the city gate, had a gleam in his eyes the moment he saw Li Rufeng. He took a few deep breaths and walked over under Li Rufeng's encouraging gaze. "Master Shaman, I heard you say before that if we can bring more residents to Aleppo... there will be a reward?"

Li Rufeng did say this. He was in dire need of manpower. As a historic city, Aleppo had farmlands for cultivation, salt marshes for seasonal salt production, quarries, iron mines, and copper mines. But these were all shadows of past glory. Without people, he even had to wait for people to line up and finish their work in the quarry before he could restore the city walls of Aleppo.

"I did say that. How many people did you bring?" If it weren't for being too close to the Mamluks, Li Rufeng would have planned to spend money to buy slaves to replenish the population.

He was afraid that the slaves he bought with his own money would become indentured workers today and escape to Damascus tomorrow, striving to become Mamluks all his life... What's more, even Mamluks couldn't buy suitable slaves now, let alone amateurs like Li Rufeng.

"I brought seventy-six workers to the quarry, twenty of whom are willing to settle in Aleppo!" Marinus said with some pride. It is true that he is a small businessman, but small businessmen also have their own ways of making money!

He was the best at understanding people's hearts. Although he had only met this mysterious shaman once at the banquet that night, Marinus understood from his words the other party's urgent need for population.

Although everyone else could see that Li Rufeng contracted out the city wall repair work at a high price this time in order to gain fame and not worry about the balance being overdue, only Marinus knew that this was just the beginning.

Shaman Rufeng needs population, or rather, what he needs is a city with bustling streets inside and constant flow of merchants and travelers outside the city, connecting Aleppo to the east, west, south and north.

Baker finally figured out the key point and visited Li Rufeng that night...still at the Wangcheng Tower.

"You want to use me as a puppet so that the Mamluks behind me will not attack this city." The silly boy said the conclusion he had come to after thinking hard for several days, and received Li Rufeng's approving response.

"That's right. I always like to do win-win deals. I provide money, manpower and energy to run this city, and you just need to lie down and take the money. The only thing you need to pay is to make sure that the Sultan doesn't feel too embarrassed." Li Rufeng smiled and poured a glass of wine for the other party.

He did not prepare any delicious food in Wangcheng Tower tonight. Every partner was different and needed to be dealt with in a different way. For example, Ais Baker had to be pressured based on benefits.

He is not a tough person, and many times he needs you to push him before he can make the "right choice" with peace of mind.

"My asking price is very high." The silly boy tried to bargain, not knowing that this was a seller's market.

"Trust me, my friend. Your asking price is irrelevant." Li Rufeng put his arm around Ais's shoulders and pointed to Aleppo, which was bustling even at night. "I've already taken over this city and have everyone's support. Therefore, only I can handle this deal."

"I can abandon you at any time and find a more sensible partner. I'll have them play their roles well and work year-round." Li Rufeng continued, "I imagine the Mamluks shouldn't be short of nobles willing to cooperate for the sake of fiefdoms, right?"

"I have the Sultan's letter of appointment!" Ais. Baker said gritting his teeth, and his eyes seemed to be burning with fire as he looked at Li Rufeng.

"Do you think your Sultan would choose to remain deaf and dumb when he suddenly receives a considerable tax from Aleppo Province after seven or eight years?" Li Rufeng asked with a smile. "Especially when everyone knows that the Mamluks cannot enter Aleppo?"

Ais Baker admitted that Li Rufeng's last words broke down his psychological defenses.

The reason why the Mamluks did not retake Aleppo for three years after Timur's death was because of this damn curse...

"For every hundred gold coins worth of wealth that flows through Aleppo, one will be yours." Li Rufeng quoted his price. "Besides, you don't have to worry about taxes; your share is pure profit."

"Too little!" The foolish boy, who had put aside his noble airs, suddenly became shrewd and understood the simple figures behind Li Rufeng's flowery words. One percent... Compared to the risk he was taking, this amount of money was like giving money to a beggar. "I need four gold coins!"

The two cities of Homs were not seriously damaged, they were just looted and then left. The population of the two places was still sufficient, but the people were also living in poverty because of the severance of trade routes. If someone was willing to provide enough food, it would not be difficult to lure the population to settle there.

But Li Rufeng cannot do this alone. The current situation is very delicate. The Mamluks have an ambiguous attitude towards Aleppo, but if Li Rufeng further provokes the Mamluks, it is hard to say what will happen.

After all, the only people he had who could really be used and could be called combatants were a team of a thousand men cobbled together, with five hundred Kurds making up the numbers.

Speaking of the Kurds, Li Rufeng had already sent someone to deliver a message to Saladin, asking him to bring two hundred elite soldiers to Aleppo.

Aleppo needs armed protection. Although it is a bit of a waste to let the cavalry enter the city to serve as city defense soldiers, it is more convenient to waste the Kurds to stand guard than to waste the combat effectiveness of the Mughal cavalry.

Correspondingly, Li Rufeng has also posted a notice to recruit soldiers in the city, but given the current population in the city, it is indeed a waste of manpower to ask them to serve in the army.

The news that he entertained Pepper Mali last night and gave him a generous reward has spread throughout the city today. Because of the previous incident of paying a hundred gold coins to repair the city wall, everyone in the city has a certain degree of trust in Li Rufeng's credit and payment ability. As soon as the sun rose today, many businessmen left the city to find their own connections and immigrate to the city.

There are even many ordinary residents who travel in groups of three or four, preparing to find their former relatives and friends and go back to Aleppo to pick up money together.

The Black Sheep people, whom Li Rufeng had always been worried about, temporarily stopped their troops at Urfa Castle. According to the intelligence Li Rufeng had obtained, the Black Sheep people had about 70,000 armed soldiers in total. Of course, this number was inflated.

Among these 70,000 people, nearly 40,000 are armed citizens, armed farmers, and armed herdsmen who have just taken up arms. However, in terms of combat effectiveness, they are just there to make up the numbers. They can be used to fill the line and expand the contact area on the battlefield, but they cannot fight hard battles.

The other 30,000 people are a different story. They are the warriors of the Black Sheep People. Many of them have experienced the destruction of their country twice and have been living in misery until now. Finally, they have waited for the opportunity.

In essence, these soldiers were like the personal soldiers and servants of the generals in the late Ming Dynasty, surrounding the chiefs and nobles, forming the main force of the Black Sheep Army.

The "brave and ambitious" Sultan Karl Yusuf was able to restore his country time and time again thanks to the support of these chiefs and nobles.

The reason why these people have been secretly supporting Karl Yusuf and bringing their own food to resist the Khanate's notice is ultimately due to Milan Shah. He has exploited the people in his territory too harshly, and he has also occasionally developed "mental illness" and implemented a brutal rule, killing people for fun. Anyone with a little blood in his veins can't stand it.

The man stood up and shook off the debris on his robe. He was still as energetic as when Li Rufeng left three days ago.

Li Rufeng nodded and took off a bag of food from his body. Although his personal guards had brought food to Haishaer every day in the past few days, the favors were accumulated bit by bit.

"Eat first. I'll take my apprentice in to check the situation. I'll call you if there's any danger." Li Rufeng brushed the dust off Haishar's shoulders and patted the magic sword at his waist. "Since it's not the Four Winds Evil God's fault, I guess it can handle any minor incidents."

Haishar looked at the magic sword with a complicated expression. Although the scholar in the camp was no longer in danger of life, he could only stay awake for a few hours a day. He was unable to move normally, let alone help with advice.

Why Li Rufeng could easily control the magic sword without being affected remains a mystery.

Haishaer bowed slightly to Li Rufeng and opened the small door which was not very spacious.