Water Margin people

In just a few days, the situation in the entire Mesopotamian region changed dramatically.

Hundreds of thousands of Saudi bandits were defeated by various forces and finally fled to the vicinity of Baghdad.

The Crusaders also reached the upper reaches of the river valley north of Baghdad, the Arab coalition forces reached an oasis a hundred miles west of Baghdad, the Qi army was to the east of the Mesopotamian River basin, and Sun Lei was still at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Baghdad was surrounded by various forces, which frightened Muktafi so much that he quickly led his men to the oasis of the Arab coalition.

"Saladin, what do you mean? Are you going to betray your brother?"

Muktafi angrily accused Saladin that the Caliphate stipulated that all believers were brothers in everything.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Who wants to betray their brothers?"

Saladin asked, frowning at Muktafi.

"Then what are you doing here? Aren't you going to attack Baghdad like those pagans and bandits?"

Muktafi still did not let Saladin go, and said angrily that Baghdad was now surrounded on all sides. If Saladin really wanted Baghdad, he would just give it up, because he couldn't defend it anyway.

"You misunderstood. We are not here to take down Baghdad, but to help you! By Allah, we are brothers!"

Saladin stood up and opened his arms.

Muktafi looked at Saladin in disbelief. These people were not really here to deal with him. The Arabs would never lie to Allah.

"Don't worry, my brother, we will help you!"

Saladin hugged Muktafi and then spoke.

"Then why are you here?"

Muktafi looked at Saladin and asked, if Saladin brought people to help him, he should go directly to Baghdad.

"What would we do if we went there? Be surrounded by the Crusaders and Qi? Trapped in the city?"

Saladin asked with a smile.

Muktafi's eyes widened, he was still a little confused.

"We can coordinate with the people in the city from here. If someone attacks the city, you defend the city to contain the enemy, and we will attack from behind. No matter who it is, no one can capture Baghdad!"

Saladin explained.

"I see!"

Muktafi said happily, he understood it after hearing this.

The rest of the people also stood up and hugged Muktafi to express their concern, then they began to dance around the campfire, arm in arm and shoulder to shoulder, and finally they began to circle around the campfire.

After a passionate celebration, everyone sat around the campfire and started eating the roasted whole lamb.

"Saladin, there are Qi troops outside!"

Muktafi looked at Saladin while eating and said that he was not worried about the Crusaders. What he was most worried about was the Qi army. Those people were powerful and well-armed, and they were no match for them.

"This is where the Crusaders come in!"

Saladin looked at Muktafi and spoke.

"The Crusaders? Those pagans!"

Muktafi said in a cold voice that he had a deep hatred for the Crusaders.

"Pagans are also useful. Qi is our biggest enemy right now. As for the Crusaders, we will deal with them slowly after we defeat Qi!"

Saladin said, looking at Muktafi.

The Crusaders are actually not a big problem. These people came here on an expedition and are like a rootless tree. They can fight anytime they want. As locals, we don't need to worry too much about them.

What Saladin feared the most was the State of Qi. The Crusaders only had one Jerusalem here, and the rest of the places still belonged to the Arabs.

But Qi was different. It conquered cities and strictly preached its religion, as if it was determined to completely occupy the place. If Qi was allowed to gain a foothold, the Arabs would never have peace again.

"Okay, let's repel Qi first, and then deal with the Crusaders!" Muktafi nodded.

"By the way, did those bandits who fled to Baghdad bring this kind of gold plate with them?"

Saladin pointed to the two gold plates and spoke.

"This kind? I didn't notice!"

Muktafi shook his head. He was unwilling to let the bandits enter the city, so how could he know what they were carrying?

"Go back and look for it. This is a holy relic of Christianity. With this, we can make them go to war with the State of Qi!"

Saladin said, looking at Muktafi.

"This kind of thing should be destroyed immediately. How can we give it to those pagans?"

Muktafi immediately refused.

"Things are dead. If we give them today, we can take them back tomorrow. As long as the Crusaders and Qi go to war, we will have the upper hand!"

Saladin looked at Muktafi and explained that all he wanted was to provoke the enemy into a fight.

Muktafi returned to Baghdad happily with his men, and he immediately summoned a group of Saudi bandit leaders.

Among these people, the bearded Han Shizhong stood out in the crowd. He is now the leader of a small group of sand bandits and is qualified to discuss matters.

The first thing Muktafi asked was about the treasure and the gold plate.

Several bandit leaders looked at each other. Although they were unwilling, they still handed over some gold, silver and jewelry, including the gold plate and the Holy Fire Order.

"Good good!"

Looking at the golden plate, Muktafi was overjoyed. With this thing they could send the Crusaders to their deaths.

Next, Muktafi told the Saudi bandits about his plan. He asked the bandits to be responsible for the defense outside Baghdad, and he would provide food.

Several major Saudi bandit leaders were unwilling to do so. They were all cunning men and knew as soon as they heard that Muktafi wanted them to die. Defending on the periphery meant fighting the enemy head-on, while the Abbasid army was hiding in the city of Baghdad.

Muktafi roared at the several leading bandit leaders, but the bandits refused to give in and were very unwilling to be cannon fodder and die.

Finally, Muktafi gave in and only let the sand bandits guard the east side to block the enemies on the east bank of the Euphrates River.

Han Shizhong listened very carefully. He was inconspicuous at the back of the crowd, so he was happy to look at everyone casually.

"This man's tone is not right. He doesn't seem to be worried about the Crusaders in the north and the Arabs in the east at all. He is focusing all his energy on dealing with Qi."

Han Shizhong analyzed it in his mind.

After returning to the camp outside the city, several bandit leaders began to assign tasks, as they did not want their own people to take the lead.

Therefore, small groups of sand bandits like Han Shizhong were selected. Although these people were unwilling, the situation did not allow them to resist.

Han Shizhong pretended to be embarrassed and accepted the order. For him, this was a good thing. Knowing the situation of the defense would be helpful when the army attacked.

"You guys are really used to pretending to be a bearded man!"

Inside the tent, Yue Fei looked at Han Shizhong who came in and spoke.

"Hey, you're too young. You look so delicate and tender, how can you be a bandit in the desert?"

Han Shizhong said with a smile.

"How's the situation in the city?"

Yue Fei looked at Han Shizhong and asked.

"It's chaos! You can fight anytime you want! But now is not the best time, and you won't be able to defend even if you fight!"

Han Shizhong looked at Yue Fei and said, Baghdad is not as good as the cities of Qi, but the city is full of foreigners. Yue Fei can break into the city with his few men, but it is difficult to defend it. If they fall into the human wave tactics, Yue Fei and his men are afraid that they will be in danger. (End of this chapter)