Mount and Blade Central Asia

Fortunately, Hulujirga was not completely stupid. He covered the body of the prey with a short cloak, but it was partially lifted up by the naughty tribal children.

"It's just a wolf with alopecia!" Li Rufeng deliberately said loudly, covering himself with his cloak again. At the same time, he looked at Hulucierjia with a reproachful look, "You disobeyed my orders for such an ugly thing?"

Hulucierjia's face suddenly turned red. He was only slightly shorter than Li Rufeng, but he maintained the sturdy physique of a grassland man and looked extremely powerful.

At this time, Huluchirjia looked as if he had swelled up again, his face flushed red, but he couldn't say a word.

Li Rufeng knew that the other party was not angry because he was accused. On the contrary, Huluchirjia was angry because he was not trusted. Whenever he got emotional, he would stutter and be unable to speak for a while.

Li Rufeng wanted to make him speechless. He pointed at Hulucierjia's horse and said, "Now, take your ugly hairless wolf and go back. Lead the troops and train them well. Do not come back without my order!"

Hulucierjia rode on his tall horse with great pride, and before leaving, he did not forget to greet Li Rufeng with a gesture of greeting.

It's rough and grainy, but very hard. If this beast is still alive, including the subcutaneous muscles, its defense is indeed amazing.

"It had this wound before. It must have been stabbed with a spear." Hulucierjia turned the body over and pointed to the abdomen near the front legs. "I don't know who did it, but it must have been a skilled person."

Li Rufeng inserted a dagger into the wound and felt around. The wound was about eight centimeters deep. The hard scales did not become an obstacle and were pierced directly.

The sharp-eyed Li Rufeng also found multiple arrow wounds on the beast's back. Unlike the arrows shot by Hulucierjia, these arrows all penetrated its surface scales, but did not penetrate deep into the flesh, and were shaken off as the beast ran.

Even the earliest arrow wound had formed a scab, which meant that the ferocious beast had been running with the wound for a long time before coming here. Its vitality was frighteningly tenacious.

Li Rufeng stared at the body for a long time, and finally said, "Find a place to burn the body, and don't mention this to anyone else."

Wuerhun and Bater both nodded. Only Huluchierjia looked at Li Rufeng with some regret. "Shaman, I've never seen such fine leather before. It would be great to use it to make you a piece of leather armor. Otherwise, it would be a waste."

"It's burned, nothing is left." Li Rufeng shook his head. He felt a little uncomfortable just by looking at the ferocious beast, and he always felt a surge of blood.

"This thing is ominous. If you have collected anything from it before, give it to me now." Li Rufeng was worried that the big fool Hulushierjia would be excited about the prey and hide something. He stared into his eyes and asked, "Do you hear me, Hulushierjia?"

"I heard the shaman, don't worry, I didn't leave anything behind. I scolded those guys who wanted to hide a few fangs." Hulucierjia looked at the corpse with some regret and gave up the thought in his mind. The shaman said that this thing was ominous, and it must be ominous.

"Dig a hole and burn it now." Li Rufeng took out the tools from his horse's back. When he left the tribe, he took a few shovels and a pot of liquor. Although there was a prohibition on alcohol in the Khanate, various "substitutes" such as fermented grape juice were actually very popular, which was quite unique.

Bater carried some firewood and fire starters on his horse to burn the bodies.

These are what the old shaman had told us before. If you see something unusual, don't let it spread, don't let it spread. If you can solve it, try to solve it. If you can't solve it, take the tribe away from it.

Because the old shaman only mentioned it casually, Li Rufeng didn't pay much attention to it at the time. It was not until the old shaman's vision and last words before his death that Li Rufeng took these instructions to heart.

Li Rufeng personally took the lead, and several people dug a two-meter-deep pit here, threw the body of the evil creature into it, lit firewood and threw it on the body of the evil creature, and sprinkled it with liquor and salt as a ritual to exorcise evil spirits.

It is difficult for hunters like Hun to find a burial site.

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Chapter 15 The Mysterious Man

As the carcasses of the ferocious beasts were burned and buried, Li Rufeng did not enforce a ban on speech in the tribe. On the contrary, because he was about to set off to visit other tribes, Li Rufeng held a bonfire party in the tribe for two consecutive nights.

Mutton, horse meat, bird meat, and a small amount of fish brought smiles to the herdsmen's faces. Although Li Rufeng had a "hard" life in the past two years, it was not a problem for him to buy a dozen sheep with his own money.

Buckets of fermented goat milk and bread were brought up and consumed. Bones, offal and other debris became the main ingredients for making soup. Some dried vegetables were thrown into the pot at different times by the women based on their experience.

The cooking methods for various meats are nothing more than roasting and stewing, and the seasonings are only salt and pepper, and a small amount of fig leaves. The vegetables quickly lose their bones in the pot and become tasteless.

Small pieces of dried melon and grapes were the only embellishments to this feast.

The fermented goat milk has a rough texture, a sour taste, and contains impurities. The bread is gray in color and terribly hard, requiring a long time to chew before swallowing.

Even so, it was a feast and everyone seemed very satisfied, especially for two nights in a row.

Although Li Rufeng had been here for two and a half years, he still despaired of the crude local cooking skills. Just like last night, he ate some cheese, mutton and fruit and began to tell stories.

How can we make these simple-minded herdsmen forget what they saw yesterday? Of course, we should show them a lot of more exciting fairy tales.

Having experienced the era of information explosion and read hundreds of fantasy novels, Li Rufeng didn't even need to write a draft. After drinking a glass of fermented grape juice, he orally narrated six complete short stories with different gods and monsters.

The herdsmen fell into complete silence and even forgot to eat the delicacies in front of them.

Everyone looked at Shaman Rufeng, and was brought into that imaginative world by him and couldn't extricate themselves. In the firelight, the eyes of everyone, regardless of gender, age or status, were sparkling.

This is the pain of the times. No one more dazzling than Li Rufeng has ever appeared in their lives.

Looks scary.

Haishar blew a whistle, and the knights and light and dark sentry guards who were resting gathered together, as if they had always been there.

"The previous shaman of this tribe once worked with us," Haishar said. "I worked with him for a while, and he helped us solve many problems. So I want to continue observing this Oriental man to see if he has inherited his master's legacy."

The man in black who had questioned Haishar before turned his head to look at the beast's corpse and remained silent.

Flesh Hound is what they call this monster internally. In the past two hundred years, this creature has appeared a total of sixteen times, and there is a pattern to follow. All of them appeared after brutal wars and three to four years after large-scale massacres.

After Sultan Timur carried out a bloody purge in Aleppo and Damascus, the organization represented by Hayshar left secret sentries here to monitor day and night. As a result, they waited for six years. Just when everyone thought there would be no accidents this time, an accident occurred.

Four flesh hounds were born in the twisted cracks, where Timur's army massacred prisoners. The observer issued an early warning at the first moment, and then followed the whereabouts of the four flesh hounds, trying every means to eliminate them.

The team that Haishar is leading now has three monitors. Originally, there were nine people in the team, six of whom died in the mouths of the flesh hounds before Haishar arrived. Haishar himself also paid the price of five lives at the hands of these beasts.

During their pursuit, a total of ninety-six people died at the hands of these flesh hounds. Every time they killed and devoured their prey, they would grow a circle larger.

The largest of them was taller than the horses ridden by the knights when it was killed. In order to destroy it, three people voluntarily sacrificed themselves to attract the monster's attention, and Haishar shot the monster's head with a blessed weapon from behind.

Right now, the corpse in front of everyone was the last of the four flesh hounds. It was small in size, but very fast and quite smart, and rarely fell into encirclement because of its greed for blood.

When Haishar and his entourage passed through the city of Aleppo, they were driven out by a group of Mamluk cavalry. The other side was numerous and powerful, and did not care about the pass signed by Sultan Faraj in their hands. As a result, they lost the trace of their last prey.

Fortunately, thanks to Allah, the seriously injured prey did not escape from the grassland, but died at the hands of a group of ordinary herdsmen.

"It has indeed been purified." The man in black took out a handful of silver sand from his arms and sprinkled it on the body of the flesh hound. The fluorescent sand rolled down the surface of the body like ordinary gravel.

These fine sands are said to be fragments left when the Kaaba holy stone was broken. If they encounter unclean objects, they will spontaneously combust and emit flames of different colors.

But even the devout Hayshar did not believe this statement. Otherwise, with the frequency of their use over the years, even if the entire Kaaba holy stone was crushed into powder it would not be enough.

But as long as these things are really useful, Haishar doesn't care.

The wound will heal only when your body and soul adapt to the pain.

Li Rufeng had gone on a long journey with the old shaman before, but that time, in order to take care of the old shaman's health, they took a four-wheeled carriage with a simple steering system.

Li Rufeng, who was just beginning to adapt to this world at the time, got that thing from a passing caravan in exchange for a medical service.

What he remembers most vividly is not how comfortable the carriage, which was padded with fur and carpets, was, but how hard it was for a group of people to lift the carriage over the bumps when it rained.

Even someone as noble as him had to condescend to help carry the carriage across when encountering ravines and muddy wetlands. Moreover, compared to riding a horse, the carriage was too slow.

Not long after the journey ended, the carriage's wooden steering mechanism broke due to wear and tear, and it has been unused until now.

Most of the skilled carpenters were brought to Samarkand by Sultan Timur. For Li Rufeng and his team to build four wheels of similar size and round enough, they had to rely on the blessing of Eternal Heaven and the extraordinary performance of the carpenters.

So this time, Li Rufeng and his companions only brought a two-wheeled carriage to carry supplies, which was already considered a high standard. In the past, the knights on the grassland would travel with only one tent per person and a few horses.

Because this time he had to travel through most of the Tumed Wanhu, and Li Rufeng had just buried a ferocious creature whose species he didn't know what it belonged to, so he planned to take away twelve of the twenty-five full-time soldiers.

In addition, there were two followers: the apprentice Bartel and the slave Beren Garces, making a total of fifteen people including himself.

Before leaving, Li Rufeng looked back at the tribesmen who had gathered to see him off, and a feeling flashed through his heart, not knowing whether it was relief or indifference.

He had lived here for two and a half years, but he didn't even have anyone to say goodbye to. He treated everyone in the tribe equally, and didn't think anyone was special or indispensable.

These tribesmen worship Li Rufeng just as they worshipped the old shaman in the past. What they have always worshipped is the word "shaman". Even if Li Rufeng dies or leaves in the future, leaving behind Bater, who is neither magical nor smart, to sit in this position, they and their descendants will still offer the same worship.

So Li Rufeng left in a very casual manner, leaving all the trivial matters to Wuerhun, and only emphasized that two caravans agreed upon last year might pass by this month, and they could exchange leather and liquor with them for food and iron tools.

...

"Ah!!!" Bater was riding his horse and galloping on the grassland. The originally shy boy seemed to no longer be shy at this time. He opened his arms to embrace the breeze and shouted loudly.

In comparison, Li Rufeng's riding skills are much inferior. He can control his horse, but he has to concentrate and constantly adjust his posture. He is far from as cool as Bater.

Several veteran riders in the team were scattered around Li Rufeng. On the one hand, they could help him block the wind so that he didn't need to control the direction specifically. On the other hand, it was also convenient for them to teach the Shaman the key points of riding a horse.

"Sir, please relax your legs and rely on your waist to exert strength, otherwise your legs will become sore and will rub against the saddle unconsciously." A man who looked to be over 40 years old but still strong was closest to Li Rufeng.

His name was Habashibuhua, an old soldier who had followed the Sultan to conquer Ankara. If he had not had his leg broken during the siege and became a cripple, he would have been a centurion like Mongke.

Even so, Habashibuhua was one of the people Li Rufeng valued most in the tribe, and he was responsible for training all 25 full-time soldiers.

Li Rufeng adjusted his posture according to the old soldier's instructions, and indeed he felt much more comfortable, but he had heard similar words many times.

People have inertia, and their bodies will naturally move towards the most comfortable posture at the current stage, causing the movements to become distorted. It requires constant reminders to form a habit.

This is what Habashibuhua does. His tone is neither hurried nor slow, which always makes Li Rufeng feel that he has made great progress.

In fact, this was indeed the case. When Li Rufeng felt his thighs beginning to go numb and he felt bored with the scenery on the road, the system sent a warm reminder: Riding proficiency +1, 24/25.

This reminder came at the right time, making Li Rufeng feel like he had finally regained his energy after a long drought. He took out the hand-drawn map and began to add details based on the actual terrain nearby.

His slave Beren Garces was at the same level of riding as Li Rufeng. He could ride a horse, but not very well, and could barely keep up with the team.

At this time, Belen Garces had fallen behind the team and looked very pale.

Since they were not in a hurry, Li Rufeng simply shouted to Habashibuhua and asked him to prepare to rest on the spot.

It was already noon, and although it was the warmest time of winter, the sunlight was too glaring and could easily cause eye diseases over time.

The soldiers dismounted while chatting and laughing, and quickly began to set up a simple awning to facilitate the shaman's rest. As for themselves, they only needed to remove the saddle to use as a pillow, and spread a layer of leather on the ground to make the best bed, so that both people and horses could have a good rest.

The tribe's most powerful warrior, Hulucierjia, was also a member of the entourage. He saluted Li Rufeng slightly, and rode his horse to the highest hill nearby. He stood up and covered his eyes with his hands.

Yang looked around to prevent anyone from approaching the team without knowing it.

Hulucierjia's actions drew cheers from the grassland men, and even Li Rufeng applauded. He had always been unable to understand how these people could maintain their balance on the moving horseback.

If he could see Huluchirja's attributes, Li Rufeng guessed that his proficiency in riding was at least above 50, and he had obtained two specialties.

As for Habashibuhua beside him, God knows how good his riding skills were when he was not injured. Even though he is a cripple now, Li Rufeng can still feel the beauty of the unity of man and horse when he rides the horse.

Every bump of the horse seemed to be within Habashibuhua's expectations. His body had already prepared for it and not a single bit of energy was wasted in resisting the bumps.

With such soldiers, Sultan Timur was able to mobilize 100,000 cavalrymen. No wonder he was able to win every battle and conquer such a vast land.

Hulucierjia did not find any threats around. This was the core control area of ​​Tumed Wanhu, and there were few blind bandits running here. But for the safety of the shaman, Hulucierjia still chose to stand guard at the commanding heights while others were resting.

Li Rufeng was already used to all this. He waved Beren over, gave him paper and pen, and asked him to draw the route he had taken in the morning and the terrain along the way.

Beren Garces' face suddenly turned sad. When he was riding, his whole attention was on how to keep himself from falling off. He had no time to observe the terrain along the way and could only start to draw roughly according to his memory.

Fortunately, Li Rufeng didn't intend to ask him to draw a very detailed map. He just regarded it as necessary practice to make the other party forget to eat.

He also called Bater over and squatted beside Beren to study carefully.

Veteran soldier Habashibuhua looked at the map they drew and gave pointers from time to time. Although he was illiterate and could not draw maps, after watching Beren draw the route he had just taken, he could at least match it up and point out any noteworthy terrain around there.

Several soldiers set up a stove and began to boil water. The iron pot that looked bigger than the shield was Li Rufeng's treasure. According to merchants, it was a best-selling product sold from the Ming Empire. The price of one pot was four horses, no bargaining was allowed.

On this trip, among the twelve soldiers, there was a simple and honest man named Abu who was the cook in charge of cooking. He was not good at riding, shooting or fighting, but he was much better than other soldiers at cooking.

At this time, Abu was staring at the water in the pot, waiting for it to boil. The first pot of water was drinking water. Li Rufeng prohibited drinking raw water in the tribe, but most of the herdsmen did not take this requirement seriously, and Li Rufeng could do nothing about it.

On the one hand, the tribe did not have enough metal containers to boil water. On the other hand, boiling water for four or five hundred people every day would consume too much fuel. No matter how much cow, sheep, and horse manure there was, it would not be enough to burn.

So he only arrested the people around him, the children, and the 25 soldiers who were released from their jobs, and these people were not allowed to drink raw water.

Abu was now used to this custom. He thought there was nothing wrong with it, and he happily took a patterned silver bowl from Li Rufeng, filled it with hot water, and then poured water into the wooden bowls of others one by one.

One of the cavalrymen, holding two bowls of water, rode his horse towards Huluchirga on the high ground. Not a drop of water was spilled during the journey, and his hands were incredibly steady.

For the second pot, Abu started to boil a mixture of dried meat and pancakes in water. Although the seasonings were only salt and a few herbs picked from the ground, the taste was very good, at least much better than what Li Rufeng had eaten last night.

He was indeed more talented in this area than any other woman in the tribe. Li Rufeng gave Abu a thumbs up, and the other smiled happily.

Li Rufeng looked at the route he had outlined earlier. The first tribe they were going to visit was the Taierbahe tribe, a large tribe with more than a thousand people.

The Taierbahe tribe also had a shaman named Wusali, who had few abilities and was not well-known. He was not even one of the top three people in the Taierbahe tribe.

But Wu Sali is, after all, a shaman who believes in Changshengtian, and can be considered half one of his own. If Li Rufeng wants to gain power, he must first gain the support of his own people.

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Chapter 17: Black Sheep Rebels

The Taierbahe tribe is a large tribe, with nearly 200 households, ranking among the tens of thousands of Tumed households.

Tairbahe himself was a pure-blooded noble of the Eastern Chahar Khanate. After his father's generation was defeated, he swore allegiance to Timur. Unfortunately, he was never valued and was kicked to the west to guard the border in Tairbahe's generation.

However, Taierbahe's people are all herdsmen who have been loyal to him for generations, even the shaman Wusali, so his status is unique among the entire Tumed Wanhu.

Tairbahe himself could lead a cavalry team of no less than 150 people, and each of them was a veteran who had fought in the battlefield with the old Sultan. Their strength was also the strongest among all the tribes.

It only takes three days to start from Li Rufeng's tribe and enter the nomadic area of ​​the Taierbahe tribe, but at this time of year, 80% of the Taierbahe tribe settled on the riverside.

The grass there is lush and there is a sweet river for water, fishing and hunting.

The warm winter season is the favorite nomadic place for every nomadic tribe.