Continental Warriors Yoo Ma

Then, he discovered to his horror that he had been completely sold out by his allies who had been working closely together and trusting each other!

It can only be said that in terms of scheming, a soldier like General Mustain is absolutely inferior to a political animal like Prince Mohammed.

After being betrayed, the furious Mamluks decided to fight with their backs and break out from the mountains.

The crusader bastion in front of them could not be touched by any means. General Mustain decisively led his army back, hoping to break through the blockade of the Burgundians and retreat eastward.

A fierce battle broke out between the two armies on the banks of Lake Sano near the southern mountain pass.

Relying on their elite heavy cavalry, the Mamluks attacked the most vulnerable part of the Burgundian defense line.The Mamluk army mages even used magic to attract the water from Lake Sano, which destroyed a considerable part of the simple fortifications built by the Burgundians.However, the flooded lake created large areas of muddy wetlands, which weakened the impact power of the heavy cavalry.

Chapter 480 IX The Lonely Mustaine

Relying on the remaining trenches and fences, the Burgundian army continued to give full play to its superiority in firepower, using artillery of various calibers, as well as long-range weapons such as hand cannons, crossbows, and longbows, to block the charge of the Mulhollands.

When the two sides were at loggerheads in the muddy ground, two thousand Breton heavy cavalry suddenly rushed out of the forest on the east bank of Lake Sano, turned around to the back of the Mamluk army, and dealt a fatal blow.

After the end of the battle, 3000 of the 6000 Mamluk troops were killed, [-] were captured, and the rest fled in disintegration.

From General Mustaine down, a total of 24 Mamluk nobles were captured.

Philip III, who won a big victory, was extremely proud.After he ordered his subordinates to keep all the captives under strict supervision, he returned to Sidi Bel-Abes City, held a celebration banquet in person, waited for Ma Youfu to arrive, and then everyone shared the spoils together.

Although the most beautiful annihilation battle was won by the coalition forces of Burgundy and Brittany, the planning and command of the entire battle was the credit of Ma Youfu.

The most difficult defensive battle was also fought by Ma Youfu.

So even though Philip III was very proud of this beautiful victory, he only dared to boast to the outside world that he "accounted for half of the credit".

A day later, Ma Youfu arrived in the city of Sidi Bel Abbes with five hundred Qingqi.

There is nothing special about the three-day celebration banquet. It is nothing more than from top to bottom, from nobles to ordinary soldiers. Girl Libu, you can still have a good time.

The attitude of the two dukes as a family also convinced the Crusaders that if they were united, they would definitely win the final victory and completely conquer the vast Maghreb region.

However, behind the hustle and bustle of the celebration banquet, when it came to the distribution of benefits, Philip III and Ma Youfu, who were already in the relationship of husband-in-law and son-in-law, still made a lot of calculations, and finally reached a satisfactory result for both parties.

Mayoufu didn't want any of the spoils seized from the Mamluks. In addition, he also posted [-] ducats as a military reward for the entire army.

In return, the ownership of the [-] captives was taken by Ma Youfu.

As a traveler with a higher moral standard, Ma Youfu will not follow the old practice of religious wars, treat all captives as slaves, and use them to death like consumables.

The identities of these [-] captives will be "labourers whose freedom has been restricted." Ma Youfu will guarantee the survival needs of the captives, and provide a job with one-half of the ordinary labor income, and invest in various places in the Maghreb. Go to the task of building water conservancy projects.

After working for five years, the laborers will be free, and it is their own choice whether to settle down or return to their hometown.

Well, to make it so complicated, it is actually used as a reform-through-labour prisoner.

Moreover, this batch of able-bodied men's reform-through-labor team is not only an excellent labor force, it can also provide him with excellent soldiers.

Many examples in history have proved that in the pre-nationalist era, for the monarchs, the beliefs and cultures were different, and foreign soldiers who could not gain a foothold in their own country were the most reliable armed force.

The previously recruited "Moroccan Legion" and "Tlemcen Legion" are only emergency measures in extraordinary times, and their combat effectiveness is worrying.After gaining a firm foothold in the Maghreb region, Ma Youfu can start thinking about preparing for the establishment of a real foreign legion.

The senior fighters among the Mamluk captives can be used as the backbone of the foreign legion.

Ordinary Mamluk captives were quickly sent to Tangier and incorporated into the Vitruvius Construction Company. Under the leadership of Rashid Isad, the chief civil engineer under Mayouf, the water conservancy construction work began.

Other Mamluk captives who were nobles were brought back to the port of Oran, and those who had good wine and meat were put under house arrest, waiting for a ransom to be released.

After receiving the news from the front line through the communication technique, the families of these Mamluk noble captives immediately began to raise ransom.

The Mamluk Sultanate, which sits on the key node of the east-west air route, is indeed rich. Most of the families of the captives did not need to pay in installments, and they met the ransom conditions issued by the Crusaders.It's much more generous than those poor ghosts in England who pay the ransom.

It just so happened that a Genoese fleet completed trade in the Black Sea, returning with a load of fertile black soil and Slavic white slaves.After receiving Mayouf's instructions, they temporarily changed their course and sailed south to Alexandria, where they planned to get the ransom before returning to the Maghreb.

In this way, the time for the Mamluk nobles to gain freedom can be much earlier.

The only exception was General Mustaine, the highest among the captives.

Although they are all Mamluk nobles, a brown orc like Mustain is also very rare in the Mamluk class with complex and diverse personnel sources.

In the Mamluk class, both Turks and Caucasians can quickly expand their influence by forming their own small groups.But Mustain can't, and has been alone all the time.Perhaps because he is independent enough, he can be trusted and reused by the Mamluk Sultan.

Mustain is not even married, and is a pure loner in Egypt.

As a result, after the news of his capture was sent back to Egypt, there was no news of it.

Mustain has enough assets to redeem himself, but the key problem is that he does not have a trustworthy person who is willing to stand up to raise the ransom.

If the Mamluk Sultan really liked Mustain, he could do it himself.

But now it seems that the Sultan of Barsbey is not a guy who does personnel affairs, and he completely ignores the news that his general has been captured.

Even malicious speculation, I am afraid that at this time His Highness the Sultan is already working with other nobles to divide Mustaine's property.

Seeing the Mamluk nobles who were captured together, after the family paid the ransom, they were all freed and boarded the ship back to Egypt from Oran Port, Mustain felt more and more uncomfortable.

Finally, he couldn't bear it anymore, and asked the guards to meet the Duke of Barr.

Ma Youfu did not lack the ransom money from the other party, but because of the other party's identity, he decided to show off his aristocratic demeanor and meet Mustaine.

On a crisp autumn morning, Mustain was led by two guards to the study where Ma Youfu usually works.

Walking into the room, Mustain saw Ma Youfu sitting in front of a large desk with two subordinates standing behind him.One was Bernard with whom he had dealt, and the other was a handsome young knight.

There was also a golden scimitar that Mustain was very familiar with pinned to his waist, which made the Mamluk general's eyelids twitch and he recalled the nightmarish battle of attacking and defending the bastion.

"At least I'm still alive, unlike Jihangir Pasha, who doesn't even have a complete body." Mustain comforted himself.

"Good morning, Your Excellency General, please sit down." Ma Youfu glanced at Mustaine and gestured please.

Mustain sat on the chair facing the desk with a wry smile, and said, "I have long been abandoned by His Highness the Sultan, and I am no longer a general. Your Excellency, you can call me by my first name."

"Oh? Barsbey is so stupid that he even ignores such an excellent military talent as you?" Ma Youfu wondered.

Mustaine was indeed an excellent commander.In a series of previous military operations, his command was remarkable.If it weren't for Ma Youfu's advantages brought by hot air balloons and bastions, it is still unknown who will win this battle.

Mustain continued to smile wryly and shook his head, but did not answer Ma Youfu's question.

He knew that after he was defeated and captured, the treacherous officials in Cairo would definitely slander the Sultan immediately, blaming himself for all the faults, and then urging the Sultan to punish him severely.

And the greedy Barsbey certainly couldn't resist the temptation to reach out to Mustain's property.

Because Mustain is imprisoned overseas, it is impossible to bring him back to Cairo for questioning, so we can only search and deprive him of his property first.

As for the confiscated property, it is not known how the pleasure-seeking sultan and those treacherous officials will divide the loot.

Mustain didn't want to talk about the bad things that might have happened, and Ma Youfu didn't force it.He asked again: "Mr. Mustaine, what is your plan for coming to see me today?"

"Your Excellency, I want to redeem myself." Mustaine said.

"Redemption yourself? How?" Ma Youfu wondered.

Mustain said: "I still have some belongings in the city of Jazair, which are stored in a special safe and hidden in the basement of the Governor's Palace. Only based on the information I provided can I find that box and open it. .You know, I've always been alone, so I think about it more, and I always leave some back roads."

"So, what's in that safe that's valuable enough to set you free?"

"There is no gold or silver. But there are treasures that are worth a thousand, or even ten thousand times more than gold and silver." Mustaine said confidently.

Ma Youfu's curiosity was aroused: "Please explain in detail."

Mustaine said: "Master Duke, I wonder if you have heard of 'Kahuwa'?"

"Kahuva?"

At this time, Bernard, who is quite familiar with the world of Mulholland, said: "Your Excellency, this is Arabic, which means plant drink. It is said that 'Kahuva' is a mysterious black bean that is ground into powder. , a brewed drink. It has a unique aroma and can enhance the perception of the drinker. Whether it is the Ulema who uses divine magic or the mage of Mulholland, this precious and magical drink is flocking to. "

Chapter 490 The Magical Coffee

"Could it be that the thing you're talking about is coffee?"

"Coffee? So that's what Siris called the black fruit?" Mustain said, "If that's the case, then I'll let you say what you want. If you've heard of that magical drink, you should know , how much is a live coffee sapling worth. In the safe I hid in Jazhael, there are three surviving coffee saplings preserved by stasis. I heard that you have many great agricultural Experts. I believe that they can successfully cultivate this plant. Also, as an Ethiopian, I also know some coffee cultivation skills and can help you. Of course, the premise is..."

"The premise is that I set you free, right?"

Mustaine nodded in silent reply.

Ma Youfu readily agreed: "No problem, Mr. Mustaine, you are free now. In addition, since the monarch you served before has abandoned you without faith, are you interested in working for me?" What? I can arrange you in the Ministry of Agriculture and give you the position of 'Senior Consultant for Coffee Plantation', and the salary will definitely be enough for you to live a good life again."

"Sounds good. But as a professional soldier, I don't know if I can adapt to the new life of being a farmer." Mustaine laughed.

"If I asked you to command the six thousand Mamluk soldiers, would you dare?"

Mustaine was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head with a smile.

on

Even if Ma Youfu gave [-]% trust to his newly surrendered Mamluk general, he would not want to lead his former subordinates anymore.That would be too sensitive and too easy to make people suspicious.If something happened to the [-] surrendered soldiers, others would suspect that he ordered it, and the purpose was to rebel against Ma Youfu.

With his current status, it is better to stay away from right and wrong.

It will not be too late to return to the battlefield after gaining a firm foothold in the future.

Thinking of this, Mustain readily accepted Ma Youfu's appointment.

The next day, Ma Youfu, who had been maintaining secret communication with Prince Mohammed, knew that the other party had retreated from the line between Muhammadiya and Mustaganem.

The Ottoman prince took away the remaining [-] leaderless Mamluk troops stationed in Mustaganem with a combination of flickering and coercion.

The Crusaders followed Prince Muhammad and kept a one-day journey, occupying the towns in the coastal plain area one by one without any effort.

After capturing the dilapidated Jazhail, under the guidance of Mustain, Ma Youfu found the safe he mentioned in the governor's palace that had been looted twice.

This is a large iron box with a volume of one cubic meter, and the outer shell is wrapped with circles of iron chains, just like the problem that Alexander the Great encountered in those days - the Gordian Knot.

But Ma Youfu can't learn from Alexander the Great, cutting off all the chains with a simple and rude sword.That would cause the magic circle in the safe to trigger, releasing a cloud of acid, killing all the coffee saplings.

It took half a day, waiting patiently for Mustain to untie the iron chain round after round, before Ma Youfu got three precious coffee saplings.

"In this world, caffeine is a good thing. It can improve the perception and utilization of magic power..." Looking at the three saplings with nothing unique, Ma Youfu said to himself.

Through the remnants of the previous memory of the body in his brain, he knew that in China, the meaning of tea is not just a drink, it has a similar effect to coffee.Compared with the ordinary world before crossing, the price of tea is more expensive, and the cultivation range is narrower.Generally speaking, only dignitaries and spellcasters are eligible to drink.

Maybe, including the cocoa he hadn't seen so far, the three major beverages in the original world all have the effect of strengthening extraordinary power.

Coffee originated in the Ethiopian highlands, and later spread to Yemen across the sea, and was then known to the world of Mulholland.However, the Mulholland people obviously have a high sense of secrecy about this strategic beverage, so it didn't spread to Europe as quickly as cane sugar.

The spellcasters in the Mulholland world are stronger than the Europeans. The spellcasters in the 7 Ottoman-Mamluk coalition army can be compared with the nearly [-] Western Crusaders. I am afraid that coffee is among them. Part of the credit.

Recalling that in the bastion defense battle, the only shortcoming of one's own side compared to the enemy was the spell caster, and Ma Youfu was determined to promote coffee planting.

It's just that coffee is very picky about the planting conditions.Anyway, the entire Maghreb region, from the coastal Mediterranean climate, to the tropical mountain climate of the Atlas Mountains, to the southernmost tropical desert climate, is not suitable for coffee cultivation.Not to mention Europe.

For the time being, he can only use the magic greenhouse to grow coffee trees and produce expensive coffee that can only be enjoyed by a few people.From a long-term perspective, if coffee is to be popularized quickly and the number and strength of French spellcasters are increased, I am afraid that we have to hope to explore the coast of West Africa and plant coffee in Nigeria and Cameroon in later generations.

After handing over the three coffee saplings to Ma Youfu, Mustain accepted the baptism ceremony under the witness of the newly appointed Bishop of Tangier Diocese and converted to the Seven Saints.