Mixed with salted fish in Hongwudang

Chapter 545: Visitors from the Prairie!

In the spring, the river surged, and the Nisai River once again blocked the grazing pace of the Wala herdsmen, but once again brought vitality to this grassland.

Bozhiged led his two sons to graze happily on the grassland in spring, while his aunt Menggenqiqige took her two daughters around a bonfire burning with cow dung, cooking winter savory food. Down the jerky.

There is not much dried meat, only a small handful, and the rest are wild vegetables dug from the ground by the two daughters.

Although this amount of jerky is not enough for a large family, compared to those who died in the cold winter, their family is considered lucky.

A snowfall last winter froze countless livestock to death, and many poor herdsmen were crushed to death in their yurts by the heavy snow.

Seeing that his daughter hadn't put water into the pot, Meng Genqiqi put the black pot on the fire, snatched the pot off the fire immediately, and then slapped his silly daughter away.

"so stupid!"

"Our pot, how can it withstand such a fire?"

"Erji, I was playing at Sister Baoyin's house before, and when I saw Sister Baoyin, she put the pot directly on the fire!"

"It's an iron pot, how does our horse skin pot compare?"

"Erji, what is an iron pot?"

"Why don't our family buy an iron pot?"

Meng Genqiqi looked at his daughter depressedly.

"Do you think I don't like iron pots? Our family is too poor to afford them!"

"Eji, when my daughter gets married in the future, I will ask my husband's family to give you an iron pot!"

Meng Genqiqige looked at the innocent daughter, and really couldn't bear to interrupt her dream.

This child really doesn't know the value of an iron pot. On the huge Nisai River grassland, who would be willing to use an iron pot as a betrothal gift?
In the evening, Bozhiged led his son and drove back the only [-] sheep left at home, just in time for Menggenqige to prepare dinner.

"Meng Gen, we can't always eat wild vegetables, even if we can bear it, the children can't bear it either!"

Meng Genqiqige shook his head helplessly upon hearing this.

"There's not much jerky left at home. If we don't put more wild vegetables, we won't be able to survive autumn at all."

Boriged heard the words and looked at the bow and arrow hanging on the tent.

"It's really not possible. I will take Xuyanggan and Daiqin to hunt tomorrow. If I can bring back a few yellow sheep, then our spring will be much better!"

Meng Genqiqige hurriedly dissuaded him when he heard the words.

"no!"

"It's spring, the season for all things to multiply. Hunting violates the ancestor's precepts, and you will be punished by the Longevity Heaven!"

Borged thumped his thigh angrily upon hearing this.

"Then we can't let the children go hungry?"

"If Changsheng naively blames it, just blame me alone. I must bring back more food for the children!"

After Bozhiged finished speaking, he drank a bowl of porridge with jerky and vegetables, then fell back and fell asleep.

"I'm done eating, eat more of the rest!"

How could Meng Genqiqige not know that her husband was reluctant to eat more, fearing that the children would not have enough?
But the food in the family is really running out. If the husband is allowed to eat with his stomach open, I am afraid they will not even survive the summer.

Meng Genqiqige also put down the wooden bowl after eating half a bowl, intending to save a bite for her husband, so that he can have a rest when he is hungry at night.

The children are also very sensible. While eating, Daiqin and Xurigan made a promise to the two younger sisters that they would definitely bring back the Gazelle tomorrow so that the younger sisters could have a full meal.And after they were half full, they gave up their jobs on the pretext of going out to clean up the sheepfold.

The two little ones didn't have this kind of awareness at all. They held their rice bowls and kept licking them. They ate half of the pot of porridge with wild vegetables and meat in a short time. .

Meng Genqiqige couldn't bear it when he saw this, but he still stopped his two young daughters.

"It's enough for the two of you to eat about the same amount. It's not good to eat too much at night!"

While talking, Meng Genqiqige put the lid on the pot and sent his two daughters away to play.

Just as Menggen Qiqige was packing up the pots and pans, Xurigan hurried back.

"Abba, Erji, there are...someone riding a horse...more than one..."

There are not many herdsmen on the Nisai River Grassland, because the winter here is too long. Even if many herdsmen come here to graze here in summer, they will drive their livestock away before autumn comes.

Therefore, there is only the Boriged family within a radius of tens of miles, and it is impossible for anyone to come.

Hearing this, Boriged hurriedly got up from the wool felt, then leaned against the ground and listened for a while, frowning and said.

"About three or five people, we will be here soon!"

"Meng Gen, take your daughter and sons and hide in the haystack first, and I will ride a horse to meet them!"

"it is good!"

There are dangers everywhere on the grassland, such as ferocious wolves or cruel weather.But for these independent herdsmen, the biggest danger is people.

If they encounter horse bandits, they will not only lose their flocks, but even their lives.

Bozhiged carried a bow and arrow on his back, wore a saber full of gaps, rode on a scrawny war horse, and rushed in the direction of the person coming.

Boriged rode his horse for a short distance when he saw five men in full armor running towards him.

Although these people saw that they had taken the initiative to reduce the speed of their horses, their attire still filled Boriged with despair.

Whether these people came from the Khan Court or other barbaric tribes, it was a disaster for their little herdsman family!
"Dear friends from afar!"

"I have already prepared kumiss here, waiting to entertain all my friends!"

When the people on the opposite side heard this, they all laughed heartily.

"Dear master here, we are just passing by and ordered to deliver a letter to Beiyuan Khan Court. If the master can take us in for a night and provide us with a shelter from the wind and a place to warm up, we will be very grateful!"

Boriged was secretly relieved when he heard the words. There were obviously five people on the other side, and they were fully armed. Whether it was the bows and arrows on horseback or the armor on his body, they were enough to buy all his belongings.

However, instead of being domineering, they talked to themselves politely, which shows that the other party should be a kind person.

"Welcome my friend, come with me as a guest in the yurt, enjoy our sweetest kumiss, the most fragrant mutton..."

Bozhiged took the five people back to the yurt, and saw that when the five people saw his flock, instead of showing greed, they showed some pity, and his nervous heart relaxed even more.

It seems that they look down on their own family property!
Thinking of this, Boriged immediately called his wife out to greet the guests, while he himself went to pick the fattest sheep in the sheepfold.

Although his family was too poor to let go of the pot, the customs passed down on the grassland for thousands of years still did not allow him to treat guests from afar.

Huqitu and others did not stop Boriged from slaughtering the sheep, because they would be so enthusiastic if someone else came to their house.The big deal is to leave more valuable things for their family before leaving, such as a steel knife and a few arrows made of fine steel.

These are good things that money can't buy on the grassland. As long as the owner is not stupid, he can use these things to hunt a lot of prey, so that the whole family can live a prosperous life.

Bozhiged slaughtered the fat sheep and handed over the rest to his two sons. He came to the tent to drink with some guests from afar.

Hu Qitu and others praised Boriged's generosity, and sang praises while drinking with him.

However, there was too little kumiss in Boriged's house, and each person barely got a bowl. In the end, Hu Qitu and others took out the kumiss they brought with them, which eased the embarrassment.

After the mutton was served, Hu Qitu frowned just after smelling it.

"This meat doesn't taste right, it should be boiled with horse hide?"

"Dear guest, you have such good eyesight that you can spot it at a glance!"

"We are poor here, and every family uses horse skin as a pot. I really wronged everyone..."

Hu Qitu sighed secretly when he heard the words.

"Ugh!"

"Unexpectedly, the people in Mobei live in such a difficult life..."

"Who is that, you go and pick a pot from the goods we brought and give it to Boriged, it's right to be our thank you."

Boriged hurriedly resigned upon hearing the words.

"No, this is really too expensive, our meager wine and meat are not worth the price at all."

After hearing the words, Hu Qitu persuaded him again and again.

"You can accept it with peace of mind. This thing is worthless in our Monan, and it is cheaper near Guihua City. Three or five sheep can be exchanged for one."

When Boriged heard this, he opened his mouth wide in surprise.

"what?"

"Can three or five sheep be exchanged for an iron pot?"

"Of course!"

"It is said that Han land is cheaper, and half a sheep can be exchanged for an iron pot. It's just that the transportation of this product is not easy, and it is normal for the price to increase by five or six times when it is transported to our grassland for thousands of miles."

Bozhiged was even more depressed when he heard that, because this thing is worth at least thirty sheep with them...

There is still no market for this, and you can't buy it if you want to buy it.

However, the other party's words aroused Boriged's curiosity. He often heard people from Hanting say how hard life was for the herdsmen near Daming, and how lucky they were to follow Hanting to Mobei.

Why now, listening to the other party's words, not only are their lives not bitter, but they are much more comfortable than their own?

"Dare to ask, respected guests, are you not afraid that Daming people will rob your cattle and sheep, and bully your women?"

Hu Qitu laughed loudly when he heard the words.

"Brother, you are thinking too much. Daming is so rich, how can you look down on our cattle and sheep?"

"As for women..."

"It's not that we grow other people's ambitions and destroy our own prestige. It's that we wash our own women and send them to others. They may not care..."

"You don't know, there are quite a few people in our Monan tribe who want to marry their daughters to Daming, but they don't want to!"

"Uh uh..."

Borged asked with a puzzled face.

"That's not what the people in Khan Court said, they said..."

Hu Qitu's expression turned serious when he heard the words, and he looked at Boriged solemnly.

"Brother, do you believe in the Khan Court, or in me who came from afar?"

"I……"

Seeing the hesitation on his face, Hu Qitu was not in a hurry to urge him, but just said lightly.

"Now it's different from before. Daming has a grandson of the emperor. He not only loves the people of Daming, but his brilliance also shines on our vast grassland."

"There are no herdsmen in Monan who have not received his favor. Under his governance, we can drive cattle and sheep to graze everywhere, and we can also exchange cattle and sheep for anything we need in life from the merchants of Ming Dynasty."

"Not only did he not charge us heavy taxes, but he also provided us with protection from the Khan Court's people harassing us."

"For ordinary herdsmen like us, the emperor's grandson of Daming is far more worthy of following than Beiyuan Khan!"

Boriged murmured to himself when he heard the words.

"Is that so?"

"Could it be that the people in Hanting have been lying to me?"

"Brother, let me tell you another news. Many grassland people who were captured by Ming Dynasty a few years ago have been released, and the emperor's grandson divided the grassland, cattle and sheep..."

"what?"

Boriged was even more surprised when he heard this.

"Aren't they buried in the ground as a roadbed?"

Hu Qitu heard the words and explained.

"It is true that some people died during the road construction, but they died unjustly. The Ming people have tried their best to treat them, but they deserve to die, and there is really no way to save them."

"But the vast majority of them survived, and some even became soldiers of the Ming Dynasty!"

"This……"

Boriged only felt that his cognition had been subverted once again. Instead of being killed, his captured clansmen became soldiers of Ming Dynasty?
Doesn't it mean that it won't be long before he will meet those clansmen on the battlefield?

Seeing the hesitation on Boriged's face, Hu Qitu hurried to hit the railway while it was hot.

"Brother, if you believe in me, hurry up and move with your family in the direction of Daming!"

"To tell you the truth, I led the team here this time to send a letter to Han Ting on behalf of Daming's emperor's grandson!"

"It won't be long before Daming will go to war with Hanting. We herdsmen caught in the middle must be the unluckiest ones who were killed first..."

"Is that so..."

After hearing this, Boriged was really moved.Just thinking about the distance between this place and Daming made him a little shaken.

Because he was afraid that he would not be able to go that far...

The next day, Hu Qitu left with his entourage. Before leaving, he not only left steel knives and arrowheads for the Boriged family, but also left them a lot of salt and dried meat.

These things are not precious in Monan, but they are definitely rare in the barren Mobei, which is enough to repay the hospitality of the Boriged family.

After sending Huqitu and others away, Bozhigede quickly returned to his normal life.

Although Hu Qitu and others described Da Ming as beautiful, but Da Ming is too far away from them, as far away as the clouds in the sky that cannot be touched.

However, their calm was soon broken.

A group of cavalry roared over, carrying the latest will of Khan Court.

"The Khan wants to conquer Ming Dynasty, and every household needs to recruit two soldiers, sheep..."

The leader of the cavalry silently counted the sheepfolds of Boriged's house, and reported a number that Boriged could not accept at all.

"Take 29 sheep!"

(End of this chapter)