On the grassland by Qingshan Lake, an icy wind blows.

Burigood was counting the sheep with his uncle, and on the way here, a few more sheep could not stand it and fell, so he had to count them again, but this was the last of them.

"......, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX. Uncle, this is eight twenty land, and the rest are the three sheep on your side. ”

It's not that Břigood doesn't know one hundred and sixty, but he has a habit of counting things in batches without twenty, so that he can count them with peace of mind and not be prone to mistakes.

After Tuligur heard his nephew's report, his heart immediately pinched. With just one hundred and sixty-three sheep, how can you afford your own family's expenses? What's more, it's still winter, and maybe there will be a lot of sheep who won't survive it next. He wanted to count them again, hoping that one or two more sheep would make him feel better. But seeing his nephew's frozen red cheeks, he still gave up this self-deceptive idea.

"You go back to the tent and rest first, you're tired from the journey this time. I went talk to other people and saw how they were doing. ”

"Okay uncle, aunt should have prepared hot soup, you have to come back quickly."

Burigood was hungry and cold at this time, and when he heard his uncle's command, he turned and walked towards the tent.

As an uncle, Tuligur after seeing his nephew return to the tent. He looked at his flock again, sighed, and walked to another tent in the distance, where the meeting place had been agreed, and everyone was ready to discuss how to get through the difficult days ahead.

Burigood went back to the tent and took a sip of the hot soup, and the aunt was a nice person, and treated herself like her own son. Her five-year-old cousin was very hungry, but she still insisted on waiting for her to come back before she was allowed to eat.

"How many sheep are there?"

"One hundred and sixty-three, I'm afraid we will have a little hard time after the winter, and my uncle is discussing with others how to solve the problem."

After hearing her report, there was obvious worry in her aunt's eyes. Burigood was also very concerned, so he immediately drank the broth from his bowl.

After finding a random reason to explain to his aunt, he ran out of the tent and went to the place where his uncle and others were discussing and began to eavesdrop. Because they were only temporarily stationed in the pasture, and they didn't stop for long. So the tents between the neighbors were not very far away, and it didn't take long for Burigood to arrive, and at this time the voices of the adults were also heard.

"......, I don't have many sheep left. Tulgul, you still have some of your brother's possessions there, the richest of us, so be kind enough to help me. ”

"I have only one hundred and sixty-three sheep left there, and even if there are more than you, not much."

"But you only have four people to eat, and I only have seven mouths. I only have one hundred and twenty-five sheep left, and my life is really sad, so you can help me. ”

Burigood, who was eavesdropping outside, was a little dissatisfied. Although the number of people in our family is smaller than yours, in fact, the combined wealth of the two families is a little more than yours. If it weren't for the death of several of your relatives in the tribal battle, life would not be better than your family.

It was only the thought of the death of his parents that made Burigood's mood suddenly gloomy again, but he listened carefully to the conversation of the adults in the tent.

"Mugdenbao, don't say it, Tuligur doesn't owe you anything. And I've seen his sheep, and the fat loss is quite powerful, so it's hard to say whether they can survive this winter. ”

It was the voice of Uncle Hadabatu, and when Burigood heard it, he immediately judged that it was the leader of their improvised little herdsman. Uncle Hadabatu is very fair, and everyone can still listen to what he says.

"In fact, my sheep are the same, even if they don't encounter a terrible black disaster, I'm afraid most of the sheep won't survive this winter."

This is the voice of Brother Xi Ri Shaobu, who is usually relatively silent. Now that he has spoken out his problems in public, it seems that life is also very difficult. However, the black plague he talked about, Burigood also felt that it was a problem. Although they are in the desert, the snowfall is a bit small, and there may indeed be a black plague in the coming days. (Note 1)

"Yes, my family is the same, it's too sad this day."

"Who's not the same, the cattle have been robbed by people from other tribes, and a lot of people have died on the way here. If I continue like this, I may not have anything left after this winter. ”

"Ever since the Great Khan came to us, life has been turbulent, and the Chahar people have been domineering. But the shadow of the Jurchens had not yet been seen, and they turned around and fled early in the morning, this great khan was really ashamed. ”

"Otherwise, let's try to see if we can join other noble lords and let them take us in."

"At this point in time, which master still has the strength to take us in, maybe everyone's livestock will die on the way." ……

Brzygood listened to the adults in the tent, and each said various methods and difficulties, but none of them could really solve everyone's problems, and Břigood himself was a little panicked. At this time, Uncle Hadabatu spoke.

"Can you still wield a bow and arrow?"

"Hadabatu, you mean you want us to go out and grab something?"

"We had a hard time, and the other Mongols were similar. I think after this winter is over, the world will become even more chaotic. Everyone might be stealing from each other, but if the Great Khan came back from the west, he might take everyone to the Han in the south to grab food. Maybe before we do, we can try our luck now. ”

"This ......, I heard that the Han people in the south were very powerful before, just a dozen of us, running over will only send us to death, right?"

"If you want to survive this winter, you can only find a way for the Han people."

"Maybe we don't have to fight, we can find a way, maybe we can do business with the Han people."

Burigud, who had been eavesdropping outside the tent for a long time, finally cheered up, because it was his own uncle Tuligur who spoke.

"Let's not talk about whether we will be cut off by the Han soldiers, what else can we exchange with the Han now?"

"Let's exchange the sheep for some food, although it will make the herd smaller. But if we can exchange food to feed the sheep, maybe not a single sheep will have to die for the rest of this winter. ”

"Even if there are Han people who are willing to change, how much grain can we exchange for the sheep in our hands. I said it would be better to find an opportunity to cross the border wall and rob the Han Chinese village. ”

"Mugdenbao, how many men in your family can still take risks. I am the only one left in my family, and if there are casualties in the war, who will take care of the people in my family. ”

"Listen to my ......."

Břígood listened to the confusion of the adults outside the tent, and he did not know which one was right. But he knew that if he did nothing, everyone would probably starve to death in the end. Thinking of this, Bříggood's heart was irritable.

"Long~Rumble."

Well, what's going on with this sound of horses' hooves, is the horse suddenly in chaos? Strange as Břigood, he quickly stood up and looked at the position of the horses. But everyone's horses were drinking water there, and there was no change, and the guards there, Asgen, who was about the same age as himself, also had a puzzled expression.

"Burigood, why are you here, is something wrong with the horses?" Naturally, the commotion attracted the attention of the adults in the tent, and Tuligur was the first to rush out, and when he saw his nephew outside the tent, he thought something was wrong.

"Nothing happened to the horses, the voice seems to be from the ......, oh no, there is an enemy killed!"

Answering his uncle's question, Břigood walked around the tent and turned his head to look to the other side. Just by looking at it, I saw dozens of Ming cavalry wearing red armor rushing in the direction of everyone.

After Břígood's loud warning, the ranch where they were stationed was immediately in chaos.

PS: Note 1: To put it simply, the "black disaster" is the lack of water in the grassland and the poor quality of the pasture caused by the lack of snowfall or the delay. The "black plague" is the "white plague", and the "white plague" is the snow that has fallen too much, making grazing impossible.

By the way, some readers may think that having more than 100 sheep in a household might be enough for them to live. In fact, this is already a very dangerous number, and in the event of any disaster, there is probably no one left in these flocks. Even if there were no disasters and all the sheep were well fed, this number still had a serious impact on their livelihoods.

According to a survey conducted by the Japanese in the thirties of the last century, ordinary herdsmen consume more than 20 sheep a year, half of which are used for food, and the rest are used for money, with an average of 3.7 sheep per person per year.

This seems to be a bit exaggerated, mainly because dairy products are their staple food, and only the great Mongolian nobility can eat meat every day. Dairy products naturally come from goat's milk and mare's milk, and sheep are the largest proportion of herdsmen's livestock, and their number will naturally seriously affect the herdsmen's lives.