Mount and Blade Central Asia

"Someone has arrived at the lord's camp a while ago, claiming to be an envoy from the Khanate!" One of Badak's guards rode up to him and said excitedly, "The Khanate has finally remembered us!"

"Don't get excited yet. An envoy from the Khanate? In whose name?" As an officer stationed in the overseas enclave of the Khanate, Badak had gone through far more trials and tribulations in the past three years than in his previous seven or eight years of service.

It has even honed this simple soldier into basic political literacy... Of course, his level is limited to - some, but not much, otherwise he would not have asked Li Rufeng for supplies so directly in the letter.

"In whose name? I don't know..." Siwei looked at Badak in a daze, but from his eyes, he still urged Badak to return to the camp quickly to meet with the envoy of the Khanate.

Chapter 338 Guidance on the Maze

The problems encountered by the Badak Thousand-Man Team were more serious than Li Rufeng had imagined. Their base was temporarily leased to them by Muhammad II, and the food was also coordinated by Muhammad II from various parties.

As the saying goes, one should be grateful to the person who has eaten one's food and be grateful to the person who has received one's gift. Mehmed II is not a philanthropist. When he gets angry, he will even kill his own brother. Why would he be kind to an armed force from another country for no reason?

What Mehmed II was after was naturally their people.

Li Rufeng knew that the Khanate had left three thousand-man teams in the Anatolia region as a symbol of guarding the order and majesty of the Khanate. Now two of them have defected to local forces, leaving only Badak still holding on.

However, it was obvious that Badack could not hold on for long. He himself might not have realized it yet, but it only took Li Rufeng one morning to realize that Badack was now in danger.

He had obviously become an obstacle, or even the biggest obstacle, for Muhammad II to control this thousand-man team.

Li Rufeng did not question the loyalty of the other officers in this thousand-man team to the Khanate. In Li Rufeng's view, the fact that they could persist until now was an act of unspeakable loyalty. At least he himself could not do it.

But it is obvious that some people within this thousand-man team have now compromised with Mehmed II or his representatives. They are ready to surrender and intend to get rid of Badak.

The rebellious centurion was an obvious trap, and Barak was completely unaware of the danger.

What kind of traitor would choose to rebel after Bardock had ruthlessly dealt with two traitors, but still stay in the city no more than three kilometers away from Bardock, waiting for Bardock to come to him.

It's impossible that the centurion is a man of ten thousand men who thinks he can fight against the two centuries commanded by Bardock with only the thirty or so men under his command, right?

"Impossible, absolutely impossible, they won't..." Barak widened his eyes, as if he had heard some horrifying news.

The reason why this team of a thousand men was able to break through the encirclement and reach here was because of the internal unity and trust among the officer class.

"If my guess is correct, someone from these two hundred-man teams must have gone out to tip off the enemy. Do you believe it?" Li Rufeng said calmly, looking at Bardock. "How about we make a bet? If someone really sneaks out, you'll follow my orders for today. How about that?"

Bardock didn't dare to make this bet with Li Rufeng. Judging from his somewhat dark face, Li Rufeng guessed that he had already figured out who was the one who revealed his whereabouts.

The captain stood up and shouted to his guards, "Gather everyone in the camp and seal the gate!"

"If necessary, my people can be trusted." Li Rufeng smiled politely, then said, "You now need external intervention to help you maintain internal stability. Don't forget that I am here to help you."

Bardock looked at Li Rufeng deeply. Obviously, if he had not announced that he could bring these overseas wanderers back to their hometown, his current situation would not be so difficult.

Chapter 339 Planning

September 1408, 10, the weather was fine.

Today is a very important day for the governor of Anamur Port, because they plan to kill the stubborn centurion Badak in the city today and replace him with a more obedient candidate. In this way, it will not be long before the elite thousand-man team will become the military force under Mehmed II.

In fact, considering the size of the Karaman people, an armed force of only a thousand people is of no importance to them.

From a spiritual perspective, it is another matter. After all, it is a team of a thousand people from the "Celestial Empire". If this team of a thousand people is willing to submit to Mehmed II, then his rule over the Karamanbey Kingdom will be more legitimate.

The Karaman people were defeated and surrendered by the Ottomans, and then the Ottomans were defeated by the Timurid Khanate, which restored the Karaman people's independence. The relationship between Karaman and Timur was like that between grandfather and grandson.

The governor's plan should have been perfect, because many people around Badak already had other ideas. For these officers who had no home to return to and were abandoned by the Khanate, defecting to the Karamans was almost a foregone conclusion, it was just a matter of time.

People are selfish, especially these officers. The longer they stay in this overseas enclave, the further away their stance will be from the Khanate.

After all, when the candidates for the garrison were selected, most of those who were willing to stay had no ties to their hometowns, and what attracted them was the opportunity to make achievements here.

As time passed, they gradually found benefits in this land, and some even found lovers. Especially when someone planned to poach them, the chances of these grassroots officers finding benefits and lovers were even greater.

But because Bardock was in the right, he had the support of the grassroots soldiers, so these people could only endure it temporarily.

This should have been an easy operation for the Governor of Anamur Port. When Bardock found him, he would meet with him and negotiate with him using military pay and food as bargaining chips, asking him to promise to give up pursuing the centurion hiding in the Ispar Trading Company.

This was the first step of the plan. The Governor felt that with Bardock's temper, he would definitely agree to his request. Then he would let Bardock and the centurion meet on the pretext of letting both sides speak frankly and meet to resolve their grievances.

The next plan was simple. The centurion of Timurid Khanate killed the thousand-man commander of Khanate. This was an internal conflict of the Khanate and had nothing to do with the Karaman people, especially with Mehmed II.

At that time, Mehmed II only needs to stand up, condemn the centurion who killed Badak, and impose certain punishments, and then he can take over the entire thousand-man team.

As for the other centurions under Badak, perhaps some of them still had loyalty to the Khanate, but with such a nominal reason of upholding justice for Badak, it became natural for them to pledge allegiance to Mehmed II.

As for the centurion, the terms they agreed upon were to punish him in name only, but actually give him a large sum of money, allowing him to live out the rest of his life wherever he wanted, keeping all the secrets to himself.

Muhammad II originally planned to kill the centurion directly after the plan was completed, but after being persuaded by the governor, he finally gave up this plan.

Chapter 340 Is it reasonable?

Judging from the number of soldiers available to both sides, the Governor of Anamur Port undoubtedly has the advantage. After all, they are already on the territory of the Karaman people. They do not have the advantage of time, place, and people to fight against the Karaman people here.

"You must have more than one centurion who betrayed you. If I were a Karaman, I would never take such a risk." Li Rufeng said to Bardock with certainty, "How many of your officers can you fully trust?"

Bardock frowned, his heart was in turmoil. On the one hand, it was a bit unexpected that the Karaman people dared to attack him, and on the other hand, it was because of the betrayal of his subordinates.

He and his thousand-man team were able to hold on until now because of their loyalty to the Khanate and their longing for their hometown, but now all this seemed to have fallen apart overnight, and he found it a little hard to accept.

"Sayyib will definitely not betray me. He is from Mashhad and has four wives and thirteen children. After every service, he tells me how much he misses his family. He will not stay here. I believe him." Badak now completely trusts Li Rufeng. Since their interests are the same, he did not hesitate to tell everyone he could trust.

Bardock is such a person. He is sincere and direct in dealing with both superiors and subordinates, which is why he is well-known in the army.

Then Badak mentioned the names of seventeen or eighteen people, including centurions, officers in charge of logistics, and officers in charge of horses. A thousand-man team stationed alone overseas had a more complicated administrative structure than the thousand-man team within the Khanate.

For example, this thousand-man team has an independent flag-bearer, whose status and power are almost as high as those of Badak. They implement a parallel power system. It's a pity that the flag-bearer from Samarkand has died of illness.

Li Rufeng wrote all these names on paper, but after a period of hesitation, Bardock and Li Rufeng crossed out four or five names on the paper, and finally only eleven people were left. This was the group of officers that Bardock could fully trust.

As for what the grassroots soldiers think, it actually has little impact. At least in this era, in the environment where Li Rufeng is in, the soldiers' thoughts and positions are not important. They are more like accessories of the officers.

But Bardock was very confident. He believed that even if some officers betrayed him, these people would not be able to incite the soldiers to deal with him.

But Li Rufeng's plan was even more daring. As he said before, it just depends on how much you want to pay...

"Attack the Governor's Mansion?" Badak's eyes widened. It was not that he didn't dare to do such a thing. During his expedition with Timur, he had broken into the Governor's Mansion of a small coastal town, not to mention the capital of the Ottomans, and had burned, killed and looted.

But now the situation is different from the past. Badak has been stationed here for several months, eating and drinking their food, and living in their place. Now he suddenly wants to use a knife to kill their governor. He still feels a little guilty.

"Even with the men I brought with me, you can only employ two hundred-man squadrons at most." Li Rufeng analyzed the situation to Bardock and said, "Besides, we don't really want to kill anyone, we just need to show that we dare to do it."

Li Rufeng is naturally not a warmonger. His only purpose in inciting Bardock is to cut off all possible channels for Bardock's thousand-man team to defect to the Karaman people.

Bardock was a down-to-earth man, so he told Li Rufeng all the information he knew.

Chapter 341 Anyone who stands in the way is an enemy!

The governor of the port of Anamur is named Symes, a mixed-race of Karaman and Ottoman. Neither his maternal nor his paternal family is of prominent blood. The only reason he can get to where he is today is because of his outstanding personal abilities and his loyalty to Mehmed II.

Symes' abilities are indeed outstanding, but he is not a jack of all trades. His abilities mainly lie in urban construction, market management and taxation.

Before Symes, the port of Anamur was just an inconspicuous small port city on the coast. Symes spent nearly five years to build it into an important port for the Karamanians on the northwest coast of the Mediterranean.

Of course, compared with the entire Mediterranean trade, the port of Anamor is still just the most inconspicuous trade node, but at least it is a trade node. Merchant ships that come to make money on the Mediterranean route often stop here to replenish supplies.

To put it in the simplest terms, since Symes took charge of the Port of Anamur, the port's tax revenue has increased by more than 20% every year in the past five years, and this is only the part that Mehmed II can see.

As for how much money the Anamur Port controlled by Semmes earns every year, only he himself knows.

When this financial resource is converted into armed force, it is relatively more intuitive. As a governor without tribal support, Symes has two hundred-man teams at his disposal. Most of the members are sailors from the ship, some are Islamic pirates who want to change their way of life, and some are slave rowers redeemed by Symes.

These two centurions were all full-time soldiers, and they had a high armor rate. More importantly, these two centurions had a total of forty crossbowmen.

The crossbows equipped by these crossbowmen were all imported by Symes from Genoa. They are of excellent quality and do not require much training. They can form sufficient deterrent power after simple training. Apart from being expensive and time-consuming and labor-intensive to maintain, they have almost no other disadvantages.

When Symes gathered his two centuries, a total of 200 fully armed soldiers gathered together, the sense of security suddenly surged Symes' confidence and dispelled the last bit of cowardice in his heart.

As the governor of the city and the one who paid the soldiers, Symes didn't need to do any pre-war mobilization. With the help of his attendants, he put on his armor imported from Venice and said proudly from his horse, "The Mongols in the city have offended me. Today we are going to teach them a lesson."

The commanders of the two centuries looked at each other but said nothing in the end. One of them was a Mamluk and the other was an Ottoman. The former had been the captain of a boarding team on a pirate ship before and had commanded twenty or thirty people, but this was his first time as a centurion.

The latter had no command experience at all and was a horse thief. He was promoted to centurion by Semmes just because he boasted loud enough.

These two people usually look down on each other, but today they are really going to fight, and they are going to fight against the Mongols. They are still a little scared and want to get some support from each other, but in the end they see through each other's guilty conscience.

Fortunately, Symes still has capable people under his command. At least the captain who commands the crossbowmen was a mercenary from Genoa before. He has experienced many big scenes and plans to make a fortune before retiring.

He glanced at Symes, who was riding on his horse in a high-profile manner, and his shiny armor and helmet with feathers in three colors, sighed, and walked forward helplessly.

"Sir, I've heard that some of the Mongols can shoot flying birds with bows and arrows," the crossbow captain said earnestly. "I've also heard they have a type of heavy arrow that can penetrate armor at a distance of 50 meters."

Despite the captain's hint, the layman, Samus, still looked at him with clear eyes and asked, "And then, Lars?"

Hearing what Sams said, several veterans among the crossbowmen who had served in the military and fought in wars before couldn't help laughing.

But when Lars looked back, the old soldiers all frowned and stopped laughing at their governor.

Lars was an old-school mercenary who respected those who paid him. So even though telling the truth might offend his employer, for the sake of his employer's health and safety, he still spoke frankly, "My Lord, the way you're dressed now makes you look like a perfect target for those archers."

Chapter 342 Sir, you need to pay more!

Badak's goal was to leave the city and join his main force outside the city. He was indeed grateful for Mehmed II's support for him during this period, but if this support turned into a threat, the arrogance of the Khanate's soldiers would be revealed.

The general meaning is: What status do you have? How dare you threaten me? You are just a vassal state that is supported by others!

So when the two teams of 100 men marched out of the barracks, the momentum instantly made the people on the street feel the pressure, and the street was cleared in the blink of an eye.

The two centurions stationed by Bardock in the city were mainly composed of infantry. His thousand-man team was originally a mixed army of multiple arms. It was more complicated to command, but also more flexible, and could deploy personnel according to mission requirements.

Moreover, when leaving Antalya, Barak and his men abandoned too much baggage and horses. The entire thousand-man team only retained less than two hundred war horses, most of which were used by scouts and officers.

In terms of equipment, Bardock and his men also gave up a lot of heavy equipment, such as some heavy metal armor and long weapons that were inconvenient to transport.

The main equipment of the two centurions under Bardock now is mainly plate chain mail and scimitars, and only a few soldiers carry blunt weapons for breaking armor.

Scouts skilled in riding have been sent out and are advancing along the streets, both to clear the way for the troops and to scout the situation.

Anamur is a small city, so small that when the armed forces of both sides chose their marching routes, there was only one main road along the way that met the requirements for the troops' march.

Badak's scouts soon saw the army under Governor Symes, and also saw the traitor Shahram mixed in with them.

The soldiers under Governor Symes are more like long-term mercenaries than professional soldiers. Their main characteristic is that they will never do anything unnecessary.

For example, anyone with military knowledge now knows that when you want to have a military conflict with the enemy, it is best to first gain an intelligence advantage, such as sending scouts to detect the enemy's movements in advance, whether they are prepared, etc.

But for these mercenaries, since their employers did not make such requests, they would never meddle in other people's business.

The two centurion captains under Symes are both useless, and Lars, the only professional, does not want to offend this person. After all, no matter who proposes to send scouts, it is a very dangerous task for the scouts themselves.

Although everyone is here to make a living by licking blood and bleeding, there is no need to force others to death. Moreover, Lars does not think that any of these more than 200 people are capable of taking on such an important position as a scout.

So when Bardock's scouts appeared on the streets, Semis' mercenaries immediately became chaotic.

These scouts are the elite soldiers selected from the best. Not only can they gallop on horseback in such a complex terrain as the city, but they are also sharpshooters. At the first meeting, three or four mercenaries under Symes fell under the arrows.

The only ones on Symes' side who responded were Shahram and his soldiers who had accepted his money or received his favors and were willing to follow him to the end and seek a future in a foreign country.

As a centurion, Shahram was naturally very skilled. At the critical moment, he raised his bow and shot down one of the scouts who was close to him. The arrow entered the opponent's throat from the bottom of the helmet, and the arrowhead went out from the back of the neck, killing the man instantly.

But the other scouts were not frightened. They almost immediately noticed Shahram's position and drew their bows and shot arrows in an attempt to kill the traitor.

Fortunately, the soldiers around Shahram reacted quickly and immediately protected their centurion with their shields.

Half of Bardock's scouts immediately turned around and returned to the dock to report the situation. The other few scattered in the blink of an eye. They knew their mission and role very well and would not fight with others here meaninglessly.

They had to determine whether there were any other obstacles along the road leading to the city gate, who was controlling the city gate, how many guards were there at the city gate, whether they needed to take a detour or launch a head-on attack. All of these required them to make judgments on their own.

In Timur's army, many grassroots officers who were promoted from the front line were scouts. Most of them have proven their value on the battlefield, and have a keen sense of smell and can provide sufficient intelligence support to the commander.

Shahram was also very clear about this, but just by looking at the performance of Semis' men, he knew that this group of good-for-nothings could not stop the scouts.

For Shahram, everything that happened today happened too suddenly.

He had indeed been in collusion with the Karamans for a long time, and even met with Mehmed II in secret, and was promised that after getting rid of Badak, he would be the new captain of this thousand-man team.

The reason why Shahram stayed in Anamur was to get rid of Badak when it was convenient. In his understanding, this was probably a kind of act of surrender.

As a result, he suddenly received news from Semis this morning saying that an envoy from the Khanate was meeting with Badak. To be honest, this news scared Shahram.

Timur relied on his bloody massacres to terrify the entire Central Asia and Asia, and within the army, he was a god in the hearts of all soldiers. Even though Timur is dead now, the Khanate he established still has an insurmountable majesty in the hearts of these soldiers.

But this also strengthened Shahram's determination to kill Badak. After all, the way traitors were treated within the Khanate was something no one wanted to experience while alive.

"Don't worry about those scouts, you can't catch up with them. Keep moving forward, our target is Badak!" Shahram shouted, and Governor Symes, who had never been on the battlefield before, immediately responded.

Lars frowned as he watched the Khanate scouts going away. He was a Genoese. Although he had never fought against Timur's army head-on, the reputation of Timur and his army for being victorious in every battle had always been spread in Genoa.

He didn't know how long these two hundred-man teams could hold out against each other, but he was already thinking about which direction he should take to maximize his chances of survival if he had to escape...

Of course, as a mercenary with basic qualities, Lars would not flee the battlefield before his employer escaped or the army collapsed, but he played the old tradition of mercenaries before the battle.

"Sir, if we need to confront Timur's army head-on, I'm afraid we need some extra incentives." Raphael called his crossbowmen and made an attitude of not moving without extra money.

Although the other two centurions were not competent soldiers, they were definitely top-notch rogues. Just by taking a look, they knew what Larrals was doing, grasped the essence of it, and immediately followed suit.

"The enemy is imminent now, where can I find the money to give you!" Symes felt that he was about to go crazy. This scene was too ridiculous. Bardock's scouts had already started fasting in his own team, but these soldiers under his command were actually planning to use this trick of adding money before the battle!