The speed of the pair and the horse is naturally relatively slow, and Huang Taiji's horse is also a bargain bought from the market, although they have been on the road all the way, but it was not until almost noon that they came to Keno City.

As soon as he approached the city, Huang Taiji's heart was half cold - Keno City was an undefended city, with no walls, moats, or even city gates. As they rode into the nearest street, Huang Taiji turned over and dismounted to find a stone tablet written in five languages: Chinese, Uighur, Sogdian, Latin, and Turkic.

The stele says: "Shine in China, shine on the fertile soil." He came to live in a guest house and listened to it. Abide by the summer rules and follow the Chinese customs. Listen to Erxiner, worship the god of Er. Pay taxes on time and in accordance with the law. The army of the kingdom will always be the shield. Abide by the law and abide by the law, my king Youer. If you don't obey it, you will take the blame! ”

Look at the time when the inscription on the stele is more than 280 years ago. This is probably the agreement between the first Christians from the Eastern Roman Empire to settle here, and to govern the local feudal marshals of the Tangut royal family.

Although Qulandam could speak everyday Chinese and Uighur dialect, he did not know the written language, so he asked Huang Taiji what he meant, and Huang Taiji translated the inscription to her, and said: "The people in this city were originally foreigners, and the Xia kingdom promised them that as long as they obeyed the laws of the kingdom, the kingdom's army would protect their lives, property, and freedom of belief." ”

Gulandam said: "But now that my people have been instigated by those black-robed people, what should I do!" ”

Huang Taiji wiped the dust from his face, looked around, stopped a passer-by and asked; "Where is the governor of the city?"

The passer-by said: "Stranger, there is no prefect here, only the bishop, and when we are in trouble, we all go to the church in the city to seek a solution from the bishop." ”

Following the guidance of passers-by, Huang Taiji led Gulandam to the tallest building in the city, a church. In front of the church stood two warriors with long halberds in ornate armor - the style of their armor looked very similar to the early models of the Eastern Roman Empire, after all, this era of muskets was popular, and armor had been obsolete in the regular army for many years. Only in this kind of place where tradition is preserved can you still see a little living artifact.

Huang Taiji maliciously guessed that perhaps the armor left behind by their ancestors when they settled here three hundred years ago.

He led his horse to the door of the church, and was about to ask aloud, but he did not expect that a halberd warrior had already gestured with a halberd; "Hey, stranger, who are you? What are you doing here! ”

Huang Taiji Road; "I heard that you are in charge of the bishop here? Is it okay if I want to see him? ”

The halberd warrior guarding the gate doesn't seem to have a good temper; "Our bishop is busy, who are you?"

Gulandam Road; "We're here to call the police, someone is trying to harm you!"

The halberd warrior looked at them vigilantly: "Let me ask again, who are you?" ”

Huang Taiji stopped Gulandam: "Forget it...... Let's go, they can't help. ”

Qulandam cried out anxiously; "But they're coming, they're going to kill everyone here! We don't tell them, they're going to die! ”

Huang Taiji squinted his eyes at the halberd warrior: "It's useless, they are too few and unarmed." It's too late. Let's go, it's still too late. ”

When the halberd warrior heard Gulandam say this, he laughed: "It turns out that a madman has come. Hurry up, walk quickly, don't get in the way here. ”

Ignoring Gulandam's objections, Huang Taiji dragged her to the other side of the square in front of the church, found a tea stall and bought two pieces of bread and a can of milk: "Eat some, drink some, let's go after eating." ”

Gulandam was also really hungry, so he grabbed a piece of bread and took a big bite of it, and after devouring half a piece of bread, he wiped his mouth and asked, "What about the people here?"

"What to do? Life and death are fate, and blessings and misfortunes are up to heaven. Huang Taiji said indifferently: "Don't they believe in their own gods, if the gods are really useful, then they will definitely come to save them." Eat, drink milk, and we'll hurry when we're done. There is a place to the northeast, let's go there and report to the yamen. ”

But Qulandam put down the bread in his hand: "What about your courage? Did you lose all the courage to save me and my parents last night behind the horse's hooves? There are 5,000 of them here! Is it because a little doorman is disrespectful to you that you have to be buried with the whole city? ”

Huang Taiji took a sip of the milk jug and said, "It's just five thousand pigs...... It doesn't take half a day to kill. We can still run now, and if it's too late we'll be killed with these 5,000 pigs." ”

Gulandam was also in a hurry, and suddenly stood up from the bench: "I'm not leaving!" I'm going to stay and help them! ”

Huang Taiji raised his eyes and spread his hands: "Okay, let's all stay." ”

Gulandam looked back and saw two warriors in red cashmere vests and strange high hats looking at them with unkind expressions as they pressed their long knives in their hands.

"Come with us, both of you." An elderly bushido. Huang Taiji drank the milk and wrapped the rest of the bread: "Let's go, Gulandam, you are talking too loudly. ”

The samurai took them one after the other to the church they had just left, and led them in through the side gate on the west side—Huang Taiji gave them his old horse: "Help me keep an eye on it, although it is an old horse, it is only my last friend." ”

The samurai nodded, and ordered the servants to bring the old horse to the stable to be fed.

Huang Taiji swaggered into the church with Gulandam, and through a corridor they came to a library where several Orthodox priests were waiting for them. Sitting behind the desk was an old bishop who made one wonder if he had been involved in the founding of the city of Keno, surrounded by priests ranging from middle-aged to young. Their rank can be seen from the complexity of the patterns on their clothes.

Huang Taiji suddenly thought of his brother Mang Gultai, who was also a brave warrior, but later retired due to an accidental injury, and when he was recuperating, he came into contact with a Dutch missionary known as a coachman at sea, and actually gave up his Buddhist faith and converted to Christianity (Lutheran Protestantism). For this reason, it has caused trouble for the family.

Because of this, Huang Taiji didn't have a good impression of these monotheistic religions, and if it weren't for Gulandam's loud shouting, he might have found a good excuse for himself to "do your best, they didn't listen to me" and slip away.

"A few elders." Huang Taiji was thinking about his family's affairs, but he still said this with a smile on his face.

"The Heavenly Fang Sect and your Sect have been mortal enemies for hundreds of years. Now they are back at war with the Uighurs, and the city of Keno is the first battle they have tried. From my observation all the way, Keno City is a city without defense, and the people live and work in peace and contentment for a long time. The small number of guards to maintain law and order was sufficient, and it was not enough to deal with the pressure of the Uighur army. The only chance is to ask the royal court for help - I wonder where is the nearest Kingdom Army station? ”

After several priests exchanged words and discussions, a middle-aged priest asked, "Is your information reliable?" The Uighurs were in rebellion, and the kingdom's army would not let them go—once the army came, the Uighurs would be destroyed. ”

Gulandam replied, "It's true! My people are crazy, they say to restore the glory of their ancestors, to rebuild the great Uighur Empire! Eradicate all the heretics of the steppe. ”

"Since the spring of this year, there have been missionaries from the Tianfang Sect who have infiltrated the Uighur tribes to incite the tribal leaders to rebel under the guise of rebuilding the Uighur Khanate, and have brutally killed many people who do not want to follow them. Now, whether sincere or coping, there are 20,000 Uighurs coming in the direction of the city of Keno. No matter how slow they go, they will be able to appear before sunset today. What will happen next, I don't think I need to say more. ”

After a moment of silence among the clergymen, the oldest bishop spoke: "God will guide our way, and He has sent us a messenger and will send us an army of God." ”

Huang Taiji didn't say anything, he glanced at Gulandam, and pleaded, "We have told you everything we know, and now we want to leave here." ”

The bishop paused for a moment, exchanged glances with his assistants, and then said, "You two have had a hard journey, please go to the next door and rest for a while." ”

Not allowing them to refuse, a priest summoned the warrior and "invited" them to the next door, with flower tea, cheese and cake, and some books in Latin, which Huang Taiji guessed were some theological classics—unfortunately, of little help in solving the immediate problems.

He sat in a leather chair and looked at Gulandam: "Do you know why I want to go?" It's not that I'm timid...... It's that these people don't deserve help. Whatever you do for them, they will only thank God, not the people who helped them. No matter how much you do for them, they also think that it is prayer and piety that moves God, and it is not attributed to those who actually do it. It's better for such people to fend for themselves. ”