A few days later, outside the city of Tsahanhot.

In the newly built Red Sect temple this summer, the Khalkha prince Chaoktu, dressed in a white robe, bypassed the golden-domed Tsoqin (main hall) and came to Lakang (Buddha Hall).

The New Year of the Mongols is just around the corner.

Mongolians worship the color white, and the New Year is also known as the "White Festival".

White is also Chaoketu's favorite color, as it makes him look more immortal.

Unlike the young Chahar Lindan Khan, who had just become a father, the Transkhalkha Great Khan Subadi, who was over fifty years old, had so many sons that he couldn't recognize him at all. Chaoktu was just one of them, his mother was an unknown one of his father's many concubines, but Chaoktu was loved by his father due to his outstanding appearance and enthusiasm for studying Buddhist scriptures, and had his own escort and land in Khalkha.

The same descendant of Genghis Khan, the Great Khan of Subadi, who is located in the north of the desert, was originally not very good with Lin Dan Khan, who ruled the south of the Mo and boasted of orthodoxy of blood, but after hearing that Lin Dan Khan knocked on the door of the Ming Kingdom and showed his sharp teeth to Nurhachi, the leader of the Jianzhou in the east, the far-sighted Subadi Khan decided to ease relations with Lin Dan Khan.

He sent his son, Chaoktu, who was about the same age as Lin Dan Khan, to Chahanhot and joined Lin Dan Khan, claiming that unlike his ancestors who believed in the Yellow Sect, Chaoketu was a faithful follower of the Red Sect and became acquainted with many of the masters of the Uth Tibetan Sect.

Chaoketu, who spoke elegantly and was able to translate the teachings of Wusi Zang into Mongolian, really won the favor of Lin Dan Khan.

Lin Dan Khan even beat the loyal supporters of the Yellow Sect at the banquets of the Chahar princes and nobles many times, and combined himself with the power of the Khalkha tribes was enough to make the Red Religion the mainstream religion of the Mongolian steppe.

At this moment, Chaoktu stopped at the foot of the steps of the Buddha hall and watched the monks arrange the Buddha hall into a "mandala".

The mandala has several floors dedicated to vajra and its guards, and is surrounded by red cloth mats filled with butter lamps.

Chaoketu, dressed in white, walked through the white silk banner hanging from the top of the Buddha hall and came to the "mandala".

On the green brick floor here, thick sheep felt futons have been placed, and in such a cold winter, the people sitting in it are guaranteed not to feel the stinging bones.

Chaoktu raised his handsome face, which was striking in both Khalkha and Chahar.

There are so many Buddhas in the mandala, and he may not be able to say the name of each one.

He lowered his head again, staring at the white futon.

In front of his eyes, there is a picture of tomorrow's time.

In the chanting of the disciples outside the hall, He Zhuo will sit cross-legged on King Kong like the Ming Concubine on countless statues.

Then, sit on top of him Chaoketu.

Chaoktu doesn't mind the woman he wants to win, and will first perform a reconciliation ceremony with other males.

I heard that in the Central Plains, this is an intolerable insult to chastity. The standard in the depths of the desert and the confines of the southern dynasty are like two rivers that do not meet, rushing proudly in their respective clamours.

What's more, wisdom empowerment is completely different from chastity in the mundane sense.

A worldly virgin like Hezhuo must perform a solemn vajra lotus ceremony by the guru in a mandala before that ordinary body can become the true body of a Buddha mother or a concubine, and only then can she obtain the qualification to conduct double cultivation with a man.

A hint of ridicule crossed the corners of Chaoketu's mouth.

He was glad that he had reformed his sect by honoring his father's order, and that the doctrine of "abstinence and visualization" advocated by the Yellow Pope Lama Khapa could not restrain him.

He was even more glad that Lin Dan Khan had also changed his sect, so that he could justifiably obtain Lin Dan Khan's permission to conquer the arrogant Yeh woman in a noble name and in fact.

Hezhuo, she's not only arrogant, she's simply unreasonable!

She was just a maid of an alien race who had been married, so why should she say no to a god-like man like him Chaoketu?

Didn't she see clearly, whether it was the secular Khan Court or the universe of the Buddha realm, women would always only deserve to be the one who was led by the nose? Like livestock, like containers, domesticated, loaded.

If Hodra is obedient, he will not have to be used in tomorrow's ritual. She could go into the prince's tent with shy joy at dusk, dressed in costume, and after watching the singing and dancing before the campfire, as many long songs about love sing.

But she was disobedient, and she gave the noble prince indifference and alienation.

Let her, then, taste the trepidation and horror brought upon her by the strange ritual, and then prostrate herself at the feet of the prince.

Chaoketu thought happily, his slender fingers caressing the white flags as soft as the wings of a swan.

The monks told him that the white flags were sewn from fine silk and came from the distant Central Plains Dynasty, as if it were a province called Nanzhili, which was roughly equivalent to 10,000 households in the Mobei grassland.

Ming Guo is really rich and magical, Chao Ketu sighed with emotion while letting the white flags slide across his cheeks.

"It's like a white cloud ...... around me and the Yehe woman"

As soon as Chaoktu chanted a lyric in Mongolian, he heard a cautious voice behind him: "Chaoktu Taiji, Great Khan and Fujin, please enter the city now." ”

Chaoketu put down the white flag, turned around gracefully and asked, "What's wrong?" ”

The messenger who came on a horse had to tell the truth: "The soldiers of the Ming Kingdom, with Mama Kedun, ran away." ”

……

Tsahanhot, in the wide tent of Lin Dan Khan.

Chaoketu stepped over the huge carpet and bumped into Zheng Haizhu's gaze before saluting Lin Dan Khan.

On the way back to the city, Chao Ketu, who had already heard most of the incident from the messenger's mouth, first of all, said to Zheng Haizhu with a dignified ferocity.

Later, he realized that the eyes of this Ming woman were very different from those of the people in the tent.

The many glances cast in front of him, Lin Dan Khan's, were appeased, Su Tai's, was dodging, and the Ming general surnamed Ma was stern, and for some reason Anger's who would appear in the tent was ridiculed.

And only Zheng Haizhu, looking at him Chaoketu, is not like looking at people, but like looking at a stone, a handful of weeds, sweeping at will, and is not ready to spend any effort to confront him.

The first to break the silence is, of course, those in power.

"Chaoketu," Lin Dan Khan, who was on the throne, said, "Fu Jin and I returned to the city yesterday to find out that He Zhuo and the guards of the Ming Kingdom have become husband and wife. That guard was General Ma's subordinate. General Ma, you talk to Chaoktutaiji. ”

After Su Tai Fujin translated, Ma Xianglin turned sideways and stared at the Mongolian prince with a dewy face, and there was only one sentence that could not be simpler: "The maid of Kedun is already the daughter-in-law of our Ming people, and General Man has taken her back to the south." ”

"You, how dare you! He Zhuo is already a concubine! After listening to Sutai's relay, Chaoketu raised his voice suddenly.

Although he knew before he stepped into the king's tent that the woman he was going to conquer was really like the empty mother, no, like the yellow bird before the winter was approaching, and flew away, but at this moment, his anger was that the people of the Ming Kingdom looked like they were understated.

Unger, who was holding a black tea bowl to warm his hands, laughed sneeringly.

"Chaoktu Taiji, in fact, I had already guessed that this would happen," Anger said with a grin, "I have confirmed to the Great Khan that on the way north from Luanhe, Hezhuo and the Ming man surnamed Man, are not right. He Zhuo would only keep a straight face when he was facing General Man, but would talk to him in our Mongolian dialect, make him milk tea, and put on the squirrel skin robe he had sent. If you want to talk about double cultivation, He Zhuo is the concubine of General Man, right. ”

Chaoketu said angrily: "Shut up, the Great Khan is above, how can you speak disrespectfully to our Red Sect!" ”

Unger shrugged his shoulders without hesitation: "What did I say?" I explained that the Chinese people also want to learn double cultivation, why did it become disrespectful to your Red Sect? There are also several Lakangs of our Yellow Sect on Mount Wutai in the Ming Kingdom, and our Lama Tsongkhapa must have been very happy to see the Dharma spreading in the heavenly realm. ”

"That's it!"

Lin Dan Khan opened his mouth to stop his cousin's verbal quarrel with Chaoketu.

He looked at Zheng Haizhu.

Don't expect this Ming envoy to have any humility towards Chaoketu.

Yesterday, although this woman stood guard in front of the tent and told him where He Zhuo was when she greeted the couple, it was evident that she was only informed, and there was no fear or guilt.

In the negotiations between the two countries, she did not show any bending to meet her, and she thought that the matter of Hezhuo was just regarded as an affair between subordinates, and it was not regarded as a discord worthy of further study.

Lin Dan Khan was naturally angry at first glance, but Mrs. Zheng was surprised, and retorted: "Great Khan, the niece of Sutai Fujin, has become the wife of my Ming border general, we are more like allies in the common defense of Dongyi, isn't it a good story?" ”

Lin Dan Khan only came to his senses a little, and the master and Chaoketu would neither give him a reward of 40,000 taels of silver, nor would they send him generals to defend the southern defensive line.

For the sake of the Khalkha prince coveting the mind of a maid, he went to turn his face with the Ming people, but it was really a big loss.

At this time, Lin Dan Khan invited Zheng Haizhu and Ma Xianglin to enter the account together, and confirmed it to Chao Ketu in person, but it was also through these two Ming people with a cold and arrogant attitude, so that Chao Ketu could settle the matter.

Great Chahar, where is it difficult to find a beautiful girl, why bother staring at Hezhuo as a Buddha mother.

But Lin Dan Khan also took a fancy to the Khalkha forces behind Chaoketu, so he made a round and said: "Chaoketu, the people of the Ming Kingdom also proposed to me yesterday that they are willing to report to their emperor after returning south, and send us some craftsmen who built the Tsoqin Hall and cast Buddhas, plus the best silk and paper. ”

Chaoketu gritted his teeth and looked at Zheng Haizhu again.

Zheng Haizhu nodded at him this time, but he only echoed Lin Danhan's relay, looking at his gaze, he was still indifferent.

Chaoktu has never felt so humiliated.

What's the solution? How can a tribe compete with an empire?

For the first time, Chaoktu understood his father Subati's words: If Kublai Khan Khan can really be reincarnated, how can the people of the Ming Kingdom dare to be so arrogant.

……

Two hundred miles away, northeast of the Daling River and west of the Liao River.

A red fox galloped by, but was suddenly shot by a whistling arrow, and writhed in the snow until its breath faded.

When Man Gui came near, he bent down and pulled out the arrow, inserted it back into the quiver, picked up the fox, and put it on the horse's back.

"General Man is good at archery."

He Zhuo also drove his horse over, and said something nonchalantly.

Man Gui glanced at her, and humbly said, "Make do", but he was happy in his heart.

That night, Zheng Haizhu and Ma Xianglin discussed with him, and first in the name that the two had made a private lifelong agreement, Man Gui would bring He Zhuo back to the customs to avoid the unwarranted disaster, and He Zhuo also agreed.

said that it was a discussion, and Mrs. Zheng's tone was clearly more unquestionable than when General Ma gave the order.

Man Gui saw that Mrs. Zheng really had the heart to save He Zhuo, and blurted out: "Then, Lao Tzu and her, are they fake couples, or are they real?" ”

Zheng Haizhu said: "If she is willing, she is a real husband and wife." If you don't want to, after half a year, you will be reconciled and separated. If she goes back to the fiefdom of Sutai Fujin, it will not prevent her from contacting our caravan, and it is impossible for her to be held back to be a concubine and a Buddha. ”

Man Gui smacked and touched, and suddenly felt that the taste was wrong, what is this madam, do you value him Man Gui, or don't take him seriously?

But I heard Zheng Haizhu say: "Man Gui, compared with fighting, what kind of big deal is this?" You can do a favor without losing anything. You just have to take her out of Chahanhot tomorrow, Lin Dan Khan, and General Ma and I can just talk about it. On the way back to the south, you just asked her to point out the road that she had married with Sutai from Yehebu, and look at the terrain from the Liao River to the Daling River. ”

He also said: "Man Gui, you save her twice this time, in addition to the good knives I promised to give you, there are a few more combined guns, you and your subordinates will definitely like it." ”

Man Gui looked at Ma Xianglin's expression of "don't forget that I am your superior", and he couldn't say anything more, but he was not angry.

Why didn't Lao Tzu lose anything? If Lao Tzu was reconciled and divorced by a female Tartar half a year later, how would he behave at the border when he said it?

For the first two days of his journey south, He Zhuo kept his distance from Man Gui and his twenty or so subordinates.

Not vigilant, not embarrassed, more like, lonely and self-respecting sadness.

Man Gui understood that this girl's fate had changed suddenly in two or three months, and even if it was not impossible to return to her aunt's fiefdom in the future, her current mood was always depressed.

However, his subordinates still like to make jokes about him, the unlucky boss, and coax General Man about how he can't coax women.

When Man Gui was annoyed, he slandered Zheng Haizhu and Ma Xianglin on the one hand, and shot hunting to vent his anger.

But when he shot the first fire fox, he suddenly remembered that he had seen Ma Xianglin hand over the fox skin to a craftsman to tann in the pass, saying that he wanted to make a jacket for his daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Man Gui glanced at the yellow cocoon gray squirrel robe that He Zhuo was wearing.

How can there be the warmth of fox fur.

This little girl is strange and pitiful, the rich days of Chahanhot are gone, just give her a few more decent outfits.

After doing this for a few days, Man Gui found that He Zhuo's sorrowful aura gradually faded, and it seemed that he had regained a little bit of the noble momentum when he was escorting the New Year's reward silver, and he could also talk to him Man Gui.

First of all, we will talk about the terrain outside the pass, and then talk about the customs of the area from Yehebu to Horqin.

To this day, he praises Mangui for his ability to archery.

The point is that the little girl changed her habit of speaking Mongolian with him, and used Chinese.

Man Gui raised his head and tried the direction of the wind on the snowfield, squinted his eyes and said, "As soon as it enters the first month, the wind has really changed." ”

He Zhuo asked: "At this age, is the name of your Ming Kingdom Taichang?" ”

Man Gui scratched his head: "Like, yes, I heard Mrs. Zheng say it, like you said these two words." ”

He patted the three foxes hanging right away: "He Zhuo, Mrs. Hui has returned to the south, ask her to give it to you, and sew a fox jacket again, sew this fox fur on the outside, you wear red, it must be better than this color of Coptis or Yellow Gourd." ”

He Zhuo smiled lightly: "You give it to me directly, I will sew." ”

(End of Volume 9)