Chapter 3: The Wilderness (Part I)

Facts are always unexpected, and when you start to despair about the future, hope often creeps in. In the afternoon, just as the traders were exhausted and their hearts were full of despair, a large flock of sheep appeared out of thin air on the grassland in front of them.

The flock, the real flock, numbered tens of thousands, "floated" over the withered yellow grass like white clouds. The vendors were stunned, and for a moment they forgot to cheer. Where there are sheep, there must be shepherds, and such a large flock of sheep means that an unprecedentedly rich tribe exists here! All the hardships that everyone suffered on the way before will be rewarded handsomely!

Before they could recover from their shock, three shepherds, dressed in maroon leather and with countless bells tied to the corners and horses of their horses, sped close. The two are in front of each other, one behind the other, keeping a distance of about fifty paces. One of the first two men bent his bow and the other held a trumpet, and he led his horse about twenty paces from the caravan.

"Guests from afar, what kind of wind blew you in front of the felt tent of the Su Si Department!" The man with the bow raised his voice and asked in Turkic, which was extremely fast but singing.

Now the Turks are the most powerful of the Cypriot states, and the rest of the tribes are attached to them. Therefore, Turkic is almost the lingua franca of the northern tribes, and the merchants who often walk in the outer parts of the country can deal with a sentence or two each for the needs of trading. Hearing the shepherd's question, the group quickly removed their hands from their weapons and told them that they had no ill intentions. As the leader of the group, Sun Jiu stepped forward slowly, first pressed his left shoulder with his right hand, bowed his body, and then replied in Turkic and Chinese in turn: "The autumn wind blows us from the Central Plains, and we travel thousands of miles just to share the goods with our friends!" ”

"Distinguished guests, the Central Plains is more than a thousand miles away, there are mountains and rivers on the way, who is the guide for you, who indicated the location of our felt bag?" The bearer bowed slightly, but refused to leave the bowstring, and his questioning tone was full of vigilance.

It is no wonder that the herdsmen of the Xia tribe are suspicious, the weather here is far colder than that of the Central Plains. Every year in August, snow has begun to fall in the sky. Therefore, Han traders who are not familiar with the grasslands will never dare to venture into the depths of the grasslands after August. And now it's the beginning of September, and the autumn snow has fallen two or three times early. In the eyes of the shepherds, the identity of Sun Jiu's gang was really suspicious, and they were more like spies of a hostile tribe than a caravan.

Without waiting for Sun Jiu to explain to the herdsman why he dared to go deep into the grassland this season, Hao Laodao, who led the way, was already impatiently scolding at the back of the team, "Su Si Duer, have you forgotten the Hao family's old knife who drank the same jar of wine with you by the fire two months ago?" Did your family teach you to treat your guests like this? (Note 1)

When the shepherd heard the scolding, the expression on his face was stunned for a moment, and then a bright smile appeared. The bow in his hand was still raised, but the arrow was loosened from the bowstring, and he said to Hao Laodao in a soft tone: "You are a vassal of the Hao family (Turkic language, wolf, also refers to guards, honorifics), I remember how much you drink." But there are no permanent friends on the grassland, and yesterday you left the tribe with Hada, and you may have turned around and came with a bow and arrow! ”

"We have bows and arrows, but we only shoot at the dogs that stand in our way. We have swords and guns, but they are only used against bandits who have been cursed by the Immortals. I, Sun Jiu, a native of the Central Plains, and my friends will never let the sword and arrow be stained with the blood of a good person! Sun Jiu bowed down again and said in Turkic, "You can ride your horse behind us and see if there is smoke and dust from horses' hooves on the grassland." A friend may deceive you, but your eyes will never betray his master! ”

Seeing that Sun Jiu was speaking so frankly, the shepherd's vigilance gradually disappeared. The shepherd who had been called by Hao Laodao to be Su Si Dur rode forward, bypassed Sun Jiu, and ran straight to the back of the caravan. The other two herdsmen were still carrying the horns they had used to call the police, but their hands slowly hung down to the saddle.

After galloping in a large circle of about two miles in the left, right, and rear directions of the caravan, I found that there was indeed no sign of the arrival of a large group of men. Su Si Dur quickly ran in front of Sun Jiu, put away his bow and arrows, and bent down to the head of the horse, "Reckless Dur has made amends to the elder, you are indeed friends. Jackals are rampant after autumn arrives in the prairie, so I have to be careful! ”

With that, he turned back and shouted to the shepherd farthest from the caravan, ordering him to hurry back to the tribe and deliver a message to the chief, saying that a distinguished guest had arrived from afar. Then he straightened his arms and made a gesture of please to all the vendors.

The vendors were already impatiently delayed, but they did not dare to move forward quickly. Following Sun Jiu and Su Si Duer, he slowly approached the place where the smoke was rising in the distance.

After the time of the half-pillar incense, the sound of wind and thunder faintly came from the heavens and the earth. The smoke and dust in front of him were heavy, and more than 100 war horses rushed in like a torrent. Where had the vendors experienced such a big battle, their faces turned pale one by one, and their eyes kept looking at Sun Jiu. As long as the leader gave an order, everyone immediately threw away their baggage and fled. Sun Jiu calmly chatted in Turkic with the Susibu shepherd named Dur, and the two seemed to talk very speculatively, and from time to time burst into laughter.

The cheerful laughter reassured the vendors, and they pressed their hands on the hilt of the talisman knife and continued on their way. A moment later, the oncoming torrent drew nearer and closer, and a sky-blue streak embroidered with a queue of herringbone high-flying swans rose high from among the horses.

"Distinguished guests are here later, and my family Ai Jin has come to greet you in person!" Susidur said in Turkic. Then, he stepped forward and met the pole from a distance.

The torrent slowed down, and came to a standstill where it was about to meet the caravan. A middle-aged man wearing a pale green cloak and trimmed with maroon and yellow sheepskin around his clothes bowed to everyone: "Brother Su Sibu, the original brother of the original from the middle, the descendant of the white swan, welcomes you!" ”

"The descendants of the white swan greet the original brother!" At the front of the procession, more than 60 strong men of the Xia tribe wearing yellow sheepskin jackets, bare arms, and brass bells on the hems of their hair and clothes bowed down at the same time.

"The descendants of the white swan, the elder brother of the Central Plains came to visit his siblings!" Sun Jiu bent down in return. The vendors followed Sun Jiu's example and pressed their hands on their shoulders and leaned over to salute. The crappy Turkic dialect speaks in a southern and northern tone, and the neatness of the movements is far less than one-ten-thousandth of the other party.

Seeing the chaotic movements of the vendors, a smile bloomed on his face. Turning sideways, he beckoned back, and more than two dozen women in colorful brocade shirts with silver bells on the corners of their clothes immediately jumped off their horses and poured bowls of fragrant wine from their leather bags. The patriarch threw off the saddle and lifted the first copper bowl to Sun Jiuma, and the two women followed, pulling away a white hada with both hands.

More than 60 strong men dismounted at the same time, and came to the vendors with wine bowls, walking and singing. The song is so long and long that you can't make out the words, but the melody contains a strong sense of welcome.

Xu Dayan wanted to jump off the horse several times, but Li Xu firmly grabbed his arm. Before leaving for the north, his father had instilled many Turkic rules in Li Xu. Since the people are attached to the Turks, the rules must not be much different from those of the Turks. At this moment, if Xu Dayan jumps off the horse, he will definitely leave a bad impression on the owner. And although the other people in the caravan watched the two teenagers make a fool of themselves, once it affected their business, they would not forgive the young man's ignorance.

Sun Jiu took the wine bowl in the patriarch, bowed down, and first dipped a few drops with his fingers and sprinkled them into the blue sky. Repeat again, spilling the syrup on the ground. Finally, he picked up the wine bowl and thanked the patriarch: "Sun Jiu, a native of the Central Plains, thank Changshengtian for arranging this opportunity for you and me to meet." Sun Jiu, a native of the Central Plains, wishes the grassland to witness the friendship between you and me. Brother Susibu, let's drink this bowl together! ”

The patriarch saw that Sun Jiu and the others did not neglect the etiquette of the Xia clan at all, and the smile on his face became even stronger. Picked up the white Hada from the hands of the girl in the clan, raised her feet, and gently put it on Sun Jiu's neck. Sun Jiu bent over and calmly treated each other in an extremely uncomfortable posture. It wasn't until the patriarch finished riding Hada that he raised the wine bowl to drink with the patriarch, and then gently jumped off the horse.

The merchants waited for Sun Jiu and the patriarch to finish drinking the first bowl of wine, and also picked up the wine bowl to drink with the Su Si tribe. Then, they dismounted one after another, and with the help of the Xia people, led their mounts to the tribal settlement.

Dozens of women of the Xia tribe accompanied by singing, all the way to the first fence of the tribe. The enthusiastic men of the Xia tribe carried their goods on their shoulders and unloaded the goods of the vendors, neatly placing them in several large felt bags specially vacated by the tribe near the center of the tribe.

The vendors were treated as distinguished customers, and their tiredness was swept away. Especially Wang Mazi, Du Scarqi and others, since they finished drinking, their eyes didn't blink, staring at the women of the Xia tribe who poured wine. The women were not shy, but smiled back, and from time to time they used as simple Turkic words as possible to put together sentences with Wang Mazi and others.

"That bowl is dismount wine, you must not dismount before you drink it!" The two teenagers walked at the end of the line and exchanged words in a low voice. With his father's influence for many years, Li Xu also knows a sentence or two of Turkic language. The rules of the Turkic tribe and the conversation between Sun Jiu and the patriarch were probably introduced to Xu Dayan, and Xu Dayan was confused, confused, and curious.

"You stood up for me that day and beat Wang Mazi and Du Scar. A few of them have a grudge, and they must try their best to make a fool of the two of us. After a while, you enter the tent, you pay more attention. Although the grassland people are straight, they are very persistent in the rules of the clan. Li Xu whispered. Unconsciously, he and Xu Dayan have switched roles when taking care of each other.

Note 1: Ai Jin, the title of the tribal chief, is equivalent to Qu Shuai. Susidur, a Turkic name, means the athlete of the Susibu tribe.