Chapter 69: Ershi Tribe

Chapter 69: Ershi Tribe

Chapter 69: Ershi Tribe

Zhu Shenzhui had never dealt with the Mongols, so it was natural that he didn't understand these things.

But Ma Shizhou had lived in Mongolia for many years before and knew the Mongolian people's temperament very well.

He told Zhu Shenzhui that the Mongols looked honest, simple, warm and hospitable, but their way of thinking was completely different from that of the Han people. The Mongols worshipped the law of the jungle and revered the illusory Eternal Heaven. The rules of the Han people were very different from those on the grassland, and in many cases they could not be understood with conventional thinking.

Ma Shizhou personally experienced an incident when he was in Mongolia. Once, a small-scale caravan came to his tribe to trade. At first, the transaction went smoothly and the two sides got along well. However, because the tribe was not large, they could not offer enough goods to trade with the caravan and were unable to obtain all the goods they needed from the caravan.

After the transaction was completed, the chief of the tribe warmly entertained the guests and specially slaughtered cattle and sheep to invite the guests to drink and eat meat to express their gratitude. After drinking and eating meat, the chief warmly invited the guests to stay and specially arranged the best yurt for the guests to stay.

The other party happily agreed to it. On the night when the guest moved in, the chief of the tribe was extremely considerate and gave his most beautiful little daughter to the guest to warm the bed, so that she could accompany the guest through an unforgettable and enchanting night.

Everything seemed so harmonious, but no one expected that after the chief's little daughter left the yurt early the next morning, the Mongolian chief, who had been so kind a moment ago, suddenly changed his face, and brought his men with knives into the yurt and chopped off the head of the distinguished guest cleanly and efficiently.

According to Mongolian rules, I really want what you brought, but I have no money to buy it. So what should I do? I will treat you with the highest courtesy and give you my best and most precious thing (my daughter) to enjoy. Since you accept this precious "gift", then the two sides have reached a deal. After you enjoy it, all your things, including your life, will be mine.

Such thoughts are very "simple and unpretentious", and doing such things is all reasonable.

This way of thinking is incomprehensible to the Han people, but it is very normal in the minds of the Mongols. This is especially true when facing some small caravans. There are hidden dangers under the enthusiasm. If you make a mistake, the consequences will be very serious.

"So, there is such a risk in doing business with such a small tribe?" Zhu Shenzhui asked in surprise.

"Where is there no risk on the grassland?" Ma Shizhou said with a wry smile, "All merchants on the grassland do business at risk, but you don't have to worry too much, Sixth Master. Even if something like this happens, it is not certain. The Mongols still have rules to speak of. At least they will never do anything that violates Changshengtian. As long as you don't accept their kindness and don't let them take advantage of you, general transactions are still very safe. Otherwise, there won't be so many people coming to the grassland to do business."

Thinking about Ma Shizhou's words, Zhu Shenzui bowed to him solemnly and said that he would learn from him.

Ma Shizhou waved his hands and said that this was what he should do. Since Zhu Shenzhui had invited him and paid him generously, and there was also the relationship with Wang Rong, he would naturally consider Zhu Shenzhui and it was natural for him to give necessary reminders.

Zhu Shenzhui called everyone together and solemnly told them Ma Shizhou's reminder.

After hearing this, everyone was stunned by the situation and looked at each other in confusion. But at Zhu Shenzhui's request, everyone nodded and promised that they would follow Zhu Shenzhui's arrangements. After all, no one wanted to lose their lives on the grassland because of greed for a moment of pleasure.

They took turns guarding the camp at night and spent the night safely.

The next morning, when the sun rose, Zhu Shenzui and his party continued their journey, heading northwest.

As they walked towards noon, they saw a group of cattle and sheep of herdsmen in the distance. It seemed that what Ma Shizhou said yesterday was absolutely right. They did encounter a small tribe on the way. From the number of cattle and sheep, it could be seen that this tribe did not have many people.

When Zhu Shenzhui and his team discovered the herdsmen, the herdsmen also discovered them. The sound of horse hooves rang out, and two Mongolians on horseback galloped towards them. The two Mongolians split into left and right, circled in a half arc and took a defensive posture. While galloping on horseback, they already held their swords and bows in their hands, looking extremely alert.

When they got closer, they were stunned when they saw Zhu Shenzhui and his group and the carriage. Then they saw the company flag stuck on the carriage. The two Mongols instantly slowed down their horses with hostility. One of them put his hand to his mouth and whistled, turned his horse's head, and slowly walked up to them.

One of the two Mongolians was a middle-aged man with a dark face, and the other was a young boy who was still childish. From their appearance, it could be vaguely seen that they seemed to be father and son. The middle-aged man said something to the young man, but Zhu Shenzhui did not understand it. However, he saw the young man reined in his horse a few dozen meters away, which probably meant that he should wait over there.

The middle-aged man rode up to them alone and started talking in a gibberish. Ma Shizhou also replied in a gibberish. The middle-aged man was overjoyed and jumped off his horse to greet Zhu Shenzhui and the others enthusiastically, pointing in a direction.

Zhu Shenzhui had been learning Mongolian from Ma Shizhou these days and could barely speak a few basic Mongolian words, but the middle-aged man spoke Mongolian quickly and with an accent, so he couldn't understand what he was saying for a while. However, judging from the other party's posture and Ma Shizhou's answer just now, the middle-aged man seemed to be asking if they were merchants and whether they had any goods.

Ma Shizhou answered yes and told him that they were merchants going to Fengzhou Beach. The middle-aged man was very happy to hear that and said that their camp was not far away. He invited Zhu Shencui and his party to rest in the camp and hoped to trade with them.

Ma Shizhou whispered all this to Zhu Shencui. Zhu Shencui was prepared for this and nodded immediately, replying to the middle-aged man in Mongolian to express his agreement.

The middle-aged man was even more delighted after hearing this. He turned around and spoke quickly to the young man. Ma Shizhou continued to translate for Zhu Shenzhui. The young man was indeed the middle-aged man's son. The middle-aged man told the young man to take good care of the cattle and sheep, and he would take the guests to the camp now.

After saying this, the middle-aged man got on his horse again, drove his horse and rode with Zhu Shenzhui and the others, just slightly ahead, and led them towards the camp.

As they walked and talked, through Ma Shizhou's translation, Zhu Shenzhui learned that the middle-aged Mongolian man was called Hatulig, which means hard in Mongolian. The young man who was with him just now was Hatulig's son Turigen.

His tribe is a small one, consisting of a dozen or so pastoral households, with a total population of just over a hundred, of which two-thirds are elderly and weak.

The leader of the tribe was Erzhi, Hatulig's father.

The tribe’s camp was not far from where they met. Hatulig led Zhu Shenzui and his party and walked for about half an hour before they vaguely saw the shadow of a yurt in front of them.

Just as Hatulig said, their tribe was not big, and there seemed to be less than twenty yurts. In addition, there were some cattle and sheep around the camp, and some busy people coming in and out.

Their arrival immediately attracted the attention of the camp, and before they got close to the camp, someone rode over on horseback. When the people approached, Hatulig drove his horse forward and shouted a few words to the other side. After hearing Hatulig's voice, the other side felt relieved, and then heard Hatulig say that Zhu Shenzhui and his group were passing merchants. Some of the people who came quickly turned their horses back to the camp, and the others were all happy and came to greet them happily.

After meeting and briefly greeting each other, the Mongolians embraced Zhu Shencui and others and continued to head towards the camp. When they arrived at the camp, many people had already come out of the camp, young and old, and several children also ran out of the yurt happily, and under the guidance of their mothers and elders, they looked at Zhu Shencui and others with surprised and curious eyes.

When they arrived at the place, Hatulig dismounted, walked quickly towards an old man who was leading the group, and whispered a few words to him. If nothing unexpected happened, this old man should be the one Hatulig had mentioned before, the leader of this small tribe, his father Ershi.

"Welcome, our friends from the Ming Dynasty who have come from afar!" After hearing his son's words, Eris smiled and strode towards Zhu Shenzhui and the others.

Zhu Shenzhui and Ma Shizhou went to meet them. He originally thought that Ma Shizhou's translation would be needed, but he didn't expect that Eris spoke Chinese quite well. Although his accent was a bit awkward, he could still understand them clearly.

"Hello, respected elder. It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for your warm hospitality." According to Mongolian etiquette, Zhu Shenzui placed his right hand on his chest and bowed slightly to salute the other party.

After all, the title of the leader of a Mongolian tribe is complicated. Normally, the leader of a tribe can be called Taiji, but the tribe where Ershi is located is too small, and the title of Taiji can only be used in a tribe with at least thousands of people. So Zhu Shenzhu made a change and called the other party "elder", which made Ershi very happy and a smile instantly bloomed on his face.

(End of this chapter)