The sky is blue, the wilderness is vast, the wind blows the grass and sees the cattle and sheep.

When literati and artists mention the desert steppe, they are often full of fantasy, and with beautiful brushstrokes, they depict it as a paradise. There, everyone's status comes from talent rather than origin, life is free and unfettered, and as long as they are willing to pay, they can live a good life.

However, the real grassland is far from being so wonderful, and it is not too much to compare it to the Ming Dynasty and call it hell. Even the poorest villages in the Central Plains, or the most treacherous mountains, are far more suitable for human survival than the desert grasslands. After all, in these places, there is still order, and even if it is full of oppression and unreasonable institutions, it is better than lawlessness. And the grassland is just such a place of lawlessness.

In several descriptions, there is only one that is closest to the truth, and in the grassland, people's courage often determines their own standard of living and social status. Because there is no royal law or yamen here, all the acquisition or maintenance of daily necessities need to rely on one's own strength and knives.

The land is barren and there is a scarcity of goods, and unless there is a great famine and a large number of livestock die, the herders have no meat to eat. Dairy products and barley constitute their main sources of food. Eating enough is an unrealistic fantasy for them. Some people liken them to wolves, and the most similar thing about these people is that they live in perpetual hunger.

In such a hostile environment, human life cannot be valued. A bag of grain, a woman, or an iron pot can lead to the loss of life. And every time the autumn is high and the horses are fat, all the men in the tribe who can ride horses must rush to the battlefield with bows and knives, and launch attacks on the Han city again and again, using their lives as bargaining chips to try to win enough supplies to survive the whole winter. It was not until I answered the tribute and the Ming and Mongolian fields were fully opened and formed a system that this phenomenon was slightly alleviated.

However, for small tribes, it is still difficult to obtain food, cloth, salt and other materials. Moreover, the grasslands lacked the means of exploitation, and the acquisition of various metals could only be transported by caravans. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, the tribe will not attack the caravans with which it trades, but will treat them as if they were guests.

The horses neighed, the shepherds drove the sheep back, and the wrinkled old man sat on the stone, played the horse-head harp, and sang a long tune of simplicity and desolation. The men and women who came in and out had smiles on their faces, and although the total amount of supplies brought by the caravan was limited, it was at least a hope for them, and with hope, they could survive. The few grains, cloths, and the most precious iron materials are the basis for the survival and reproduction of the tribe, and with these, there is a little more hope for survival.

In the headman's tent, barley wine and a plate of mutton are the best gifts that the headman can provide for his guests. Wu Shishi was smoking a cigarette pouch, and the head of the tribe was serving like a servant, and the person who was really sitting opposite Wu Shishi was a short and fat man fifty miles away.

The man's face had the characteristic blush of a prairie man under the influence of long-term sun exposure, and he said unhurriedly:

"There are so few things, and for this small tribe, it's only a small matter, let alone us. Doing business requires sincerity, since your owner is a member of the imperial court, the first time you deal with it, you only take such a little out, it's too insincere, right? ”

Wu Shishi also calmed down, took out the previous perfunctory style, and responded with the same leisurely attitude: "I don't need to talk about the wealth of the Ming Dynasty, you yourself know it." Grain, cloth, cotton, silk, and iron, which you need most, as much as you need. However, you can't just give it out so casually. The most important thing in doing business is fairness, my things are on the table, but I don't see your goods, how dare you let me take out my belongings? ”

"You don't have to take your belongings, and we don't have to. You are from the border army, you should have seen our sons and daughters fetch things. If it weren't for the Great Khan and Kedun all these years, the sons would have to go to the Guannai to get things a long time ago. Now that the Great Khan has ascended to heaven, if Kedun wants to make his sons obedient, he must first have enough benefits to convince his sons. This alone could not make the warriors loosen their bowstrings. ”

"I have seen your sons fetch things, and I have seen your sons die. Heads are cut off, bodies are pierced by bullets, or arrows are pierced. Some people are not dead, and they are suffering there. I have seen this kind of scene a lot, and it was not until His Majesty decreed that this kind of thing happened a little less. And it's not just your sons who can take things, but so do our people. Why was the King of Zhongshun willing to pay tribute back then, you know that I don't need to say much, if you don't ask Brother Udulu. ”

"But no matter what, you're always dying more."

"We have a lot more people than you, even if two lives are exchanged for one life, we will earn and you will lose. You are a man who comes out to do business, but you can't settle accounts, and Mrs. Zhongshun doesn't know who to employ. ”

The man took a sip of barley wine, but instead of having a seizure, he smiled and said, "Your old fox's teeth are still as sharp as when you were young." You're right, every time we fight, our sons die a lot. My two sons left their lives outside Datong forever. But you know our situation very well, we are not afraid of death, because being alive is not a gift in the first place. Don't you think it's ridiculous that you're trying to use death to intimidate the warriors of the Immortal Heavens? ”

Wu Shishi smiled, "I don't believe in any immortality, and I don't believe in those lamas, I only worship my ancestors." Eighty percent of the more than 100 spiritual seats offered in our ancestral hall died when we fought with you. Hundreds of people have died in these generations, when have you ever seen us scared? If you have to talk about it, you can talk about it, and if you don't want to talk about it, you can simply point out that someone has done a show, and everyone will see each other. Don't look at the fact that there are not many young men in my team, but if you want to fight, I will accompany you at any time! ”

Seeing that Wu Shishi couldn't be frightened, the man smiled, "The old fox doesn't have to be hard-mouthed, but I know that you have no son to send to the end." I have several sons dead, but there are still three in my family. You are a bunch of old, weak, sick and disabled, and it is not glorious for us to stuff men and kill you. ”

"An old immortal like me can pull out hundreds or thousands of people casually in Shanxi. But there are very few fools like you in the entire grassland. Most people are like those offspring out there, dumber than you. I'm afraid of this? Mrs. Zhongshun has always known the importance of it, so our host is willing to talk to her. As a representative of Madame, you actually want to rely on swords and war to force us to bow our heads? Isn't it time for you to quit drinking? ”

"The problem is that your government is bowing its head!" The man placed the bowl on the table. "Xin Ai used war as a threat to your governor to give up his support for us, and then we will have less and less supplies. Even the lady's request to cooperate with the officers and soldiers was denied. Mrs. has always been loyal to Daming, and Daming's reward to Mrs. is this? Xin Ai has a team of 10,000 people on his hands, and we have it too. It's not just him who has the ability to wage war, our good lads are no less than Xin Ai! ”

"The affairs of the imperial court...... I don't understand. I only know that our boss asked me to go out of Cyprus to do business this time, just to tell my wife that he is different from Governor Zheng. One person can't represent our court, just like an old horse can't represent the entire herd. Our host's idea is different from Zheng Luo's. ”

As soon as Wu Shishi's words fell, the tent door was suddenly lifted, and a Mongolian girl walked in from outside, she was not very old, but she was very powerful, and said to Wu Shishi: "If your host has anything to say to Madame, tell me now!" ”

"The proprietor is asking me to tell my wife, are you a lady? Although I have never met Madame, I have heard that the pearl of Zhongjin Hatun is the spirit of this heaven and earth. You girl...... That's a long way off. ”

At this moment, Wu Shishi seemed to hear an inaudible laughter, and now there was a transaction outside, men, women, and children were in high spirits at this time, and it was common for them to laugh. It's just that even if you can run the merchant gang at the border, your intuition will not be as dull as ordinary people. He instinctively realized that this laughter did not come from the mouth of ordinary people, but it was impossible to tell where it came from.

The man who had been fighting with Wu Shishi laughed: "Old fox, I thought your mouth only spit out knives, but I didn't expect that the ability to smear honey was not put down at all." But this girl is Madame's representative, and what you say to her is the same as what you say to Madame, Brother Udulu, go out with me to have a look, lest those old things defraud your tribe of all their money. ”

The two men went out, and only Wu Shishi and the woman were left in the tent, Wu Shishi put away the smile on his face, and said, "My owner has something to say!" If the lady only wants to be a loyal lady, it makes no difference who is the loyal king. Mrs. Chungshun came to the throne, and without the King Chungshun, Mrs. Chungshun would no longer exist. In that case, please ask Mrs. to focus on the common people of the grassland, and let go of the rest. If Madame doesn't want to be just Madame for the rest of her life, we can talk about business on both sides. There is also a letter for me to bring. Girl, wait. ”

Wu Shishi handed the horsewhip that did not leave his hand for a moment to the woman, and the woman was expressionless, took the horsewhip and turned to leave.

In a small tent a little further away from the Great Khan's tent, the wife and daughter of the chieftain, who used to live there, are now temporary slaves, holding food and pastries around a woman.

The woman was dressed in a Mongolian robe, and looked no different from an ordinary Mongolian tribal woman. But a hibiscus powder face with thin eyebrows and phoenix eyes is extremely rare, looking at the entire grassland. Its skin is delicate, almost blown apart, and it is also an outlier in this treacherous world. The eyes flowed, and the majesty revealed in the eyes made several women around them dare not look directly,

Whether this kind of demeanor is innate or acquired, it is enough to prove that the person concerned is not an ordinary man. Even if there is no harmony at the moment, when the time comes, you can soar to the side of the King's Landing.

There were a few applauses outside the door, and the woman responded with a glance, and a woman next to her responded with a round of applause. Then the tent was lifted, and the woman with a horsewhip came in from outside, saluted the woman, and recited Wu Shishi's words as they were. The woman's voice is soft, and this retelling unconsciously uses a Mongolian melody in a long tune, which sounds like singing.

The woman had only sat there, but when she heard this, she suddenly got up, approached the woman with two steps with great skill, and snatched the whip from her hand. This kind of mechanism could not be difficult for the people on the grassland, and with a slight rotation, the tip of the whip was unscrewed, and a roll of paper fell into the woman's hand. Unfold it, and you can see a few lines of Chinese characters appearing on it.

The woman looked at the words on it, and the person seemed to be still motionless, her eyes were confused, as if she was caught in some kind of memory. No one around her dared to alarm her, and it took a while for the woman to roll up the paper and put it close to her. Said to the woman beside him: "The white-haired royal hand's words are really beautiful, it's a pity if you don't take a look." ”

"If Madame doesn't let us see it, we won't dare to see it."

"The Han army competed to see the embroidered crotch, and 100,000 mink and a girl. Arouse Mulan to compare with each other, and see who he is better at using arrows?" The woman read word by word what she had just seen. The woman next to her said, "This is not ...... Isn't it a poem that Mr. Qingteng gave to his wife? ”

"Yes, that's the poem that Mr. Qingteng made for me after I shot willows at the Xuanfu campus. At that time, my godfather was the governor, and our life was better than now! ”

The woman in front of her is the surviving person of the former grassland overlord Alta, the lady of Zhongshun Wang of the Ming Dynasty, according to the rules of the grassland, she should be called Zhongjin Hatun, but in the Ming Dynasty, she is more accustomed to calling her another name: Sanniangzi.

The treacherous environment of the grassland has trained a large number of brave men who are not afraid of death, and it is precisely because of the difficulty of survival that life is not very memorable for them. It is the obsession of most people in the entire grassland to conquer the Central Plains of the flower world, to herd horses in the land of anointed land, to obtain wealth and women with scimitars, and to turn the people of the Han family into their slaves. But the three ladies are one of the biggest outliers.

She is a standard pro-Ming faction, and has always used her influence and authority to restrain her subordinates and try not to be a thief. And in his later years, due to the decline of his energy and his devotion to Buddhism, most of the work was handed over to the three ladies to do, and during that time, the three ladies were actually the incarnation of the meth, the king of the entire Tumut tribe.

This king did not become arrogant and domineering because of this, on the contrary, he lowered his stature, especially in front of the Ming court, he never regarded himself as an equal diplomatic object, but always held the courtesy of his subordinates. Even worship the former Xuanda Governor Wu Dui as his father-in-law, dressed in costume to enter and leave the army without taboo, Wu Dui's staff Xu Wenchang wrote poems for it, a large number of materials were transported from the customs to the grassland, and the three ladies used these materials to buy the tribes, so that the border achieved a rare peace, even the wind and frost are a little warm.

But all this ended with Wu Dui's departure, and until now, the air in the entire border area became tense again, and the old man in the tribe said earnestly, smelling the bloody smell coming from the wind. The wolves on the prairie galloped, worshipping the moon and howling, as if preparing for a feast of corpses.

The departure of Wu Shishi's caravan was Fan Jin's last effort to save all this. The purpose of this caravan is not to spy on intelligence, but to release goodwill, hoping to spread the word through the small tribe and establish a relationship with the three ladies. Wu Shishi and others' behavior of gambling with their lives finally paid off, and the three ladies not only sent representatives, but also came in person.

Fan Jin's letter and Fang Cai's words revealed a very clear message, he is willing to be like Wu Dui and fully support Sanniangzi, instead of being as strict and neutral as Zheng Luo. The third lady can personally go to this tribe to see Wu Shishi, and her situation is naturally very difficult, and Fan Jin's overtures are the last driftwood in front of her. And this letter reminded her of the good old days, and it was rare to have a good mood for a moment.

She paced back and forth in the tent, and suddenly made up her mind: "I want to meet this great genius!" ”

"Madame! How can you leave the tribe, it's too dangerous? He should be allowed to come and see you. ”

"It doesn't mean that I'm safe to stay, not to mention that I'm a courtier of the Ming Dynasty, so there's nothing wrong with going to meet this Qincha who patrols the heavens. Compared with the grassland, perhaps Datong is safer. You go down to prepare and tell Wu Shishi that I will go back to Datong with him and see Fan Jin. ”