Chapter 71 Gathering Troops

Chapter 71 Gathering Troops

Chapter 71 Gathering Troops
Before Zhu Shencui could come to his senses, E'ris suddenly stood up and shouted loudly in Mongolian to his people. The Mongols who were still enthusiastically trading with Zhu Shencui's people just a moment ago changed their faces in an instant. The old and weak were stunned and hurriedly ran towards their yurts, the young people quickly ran to their horses, and some people quickly picked up their weapons and began to gather here.

Zhu Shenzhui was suddenly shocked. Could it be that this old guy suddenly changed his face and wanted to rob his fellow thieves? Subconsciously, Zhu Shenzhui reached his right hand into his arms.

He had his gun tip hidden in his arms. Because the incident happened suddenly, Zhu Shenzui was unable to use the gun he was carrying quickly.

Moreover, when we were drinking tea just now, we had already removed our weapons in advance according to etiquette. It would be too late to get them now, so the most convenient and fastest way was to use the gun head.

Although the situation in the Mongolian tribe changed suddenly, Zhu Shenzhui was not too panicked. Even though there were many more Mongolians here than here, Zhu Shenzhui was sure that he could control Eris who was not far from him in the first place.

You have to know that Ershi is the leader of this tribe. As long as he is in hand, there should be no problem in protecting himself. Moreover, Zhu Shenzhui is very skilled, and they are close, so it is enough to give him a breath.

"I'm sorry, brother. Don't be nervous. This is not targeting you." Zhu Shenzhui's action caught Eris's attention. He did not make any other moves. Instead, he took the initiative to spread his hands and explained to Zhu Shenzhui in a slow tone: "There are outsiders coming. There are quite a few outsiders. We don't know who they will be. So... our transaction cannot continue for the time being. I hope that Changshengtian will bless everyone and everything will be fine later."

"Is there a outsider?" Zhu Shenzhui was about to ask in confusion, but he shut his mouth the next moment.

Because at this time he felt the earth shaking slightly, and there seemed to be a lot of horse hooves hitting the ground rumbling from a distance.

As the leader of a tribe and once a centurion of the Khan's personal army, Erris's experience is naturally incomparable to that of a Han Chinese like Zhu Shenzui. Even if they are both Mongolians, most of them do not have such ability as him.

Although he was too old to fight on the battlefield again, his ability to judge from subtle details had not declined. As he grew older, this had become his instinct. When Zhu Shenzhui hadn't noticed anything just now, Eris had already discovered something was wrong.

Ma Shizhou whispered to Zhu Shenzhui that judging from the noise of horse hooves, there were at least a hundred riders coming.

This number of cavalry is not small on the grassland. You have to know that Ershi's tribe has only a hundred people. Excluding the old, weak and sick, there are only more than thirty young and strong people who can ride horses and fight. If this is a hostile cavalry force, it will be a disaster for Ershi's tribe.

In Mongolian tribes, the law of the jungle and mutual annexation are common. In Mongolian customs, big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimps. This is the rule set by Changshengtian. This was the case with the ancestors of the Mongolians. It was also for this reason that the extremely powerful Mongolian Empire was born in the hands of the great Genghis Khan.

Although Eris could roughly determine the number of people coming, he could not see who they were.

At this time, the young and strong Mongolians in the tribe had gathered together, and even the old and weak who ran back to the yurts picked up their weapons and vigilantly took a defensive stance.

"Sixth Master, what should we do?" The sudden change made Zhu Shenzhui's people a little panicked. Although the people he brought from Mongolia this time were all experts in salt smuggling with him, their hands were stained with blood in the past two years of smuggling salt at the risk of their lives.

However, fighting in the Ming Dynasty is completely different from fighting on the grassland. The grassland is open to the public and the terrain is conducive to cavalry. The Mongols are a nation on horseback, and it is impossible to outrun the Mongols on foot on the grassland. What's more, there are only six of them in total, and they are carrying large carts and so much cargo. Once a fight breaks out, they may not even be able to protect themselves.

Frowning, Zhu Shenzhui looked around. He had no good idea at this moment. He could only act according to circumstances and take things one step at a time.

Resistance is the most inappropriate action. Now I just hope that the people who come are not enemies. Even if they are enemies, considering the customs of merchants on the grassland, I hope they can abide by the Khan's rules and let me go.

"Surround our carriages and horses, be careful and be on guard, and do not act rashly unless it is absolutely necessary."

"Yes!" Everyone responded and hurried to make arrangements. Who would care about the goods that had been unloaded from the truck at this time? Although no one knew how effective this arrangement would be, it was better to do it than not to do it at this time.

"Uncle Ma, do you think this is a good omen or a bad omen?"

Ma Shizhou shook his head with a serious expression. He couldn't answer this question. It seemed that he could only wait like this. As the saying goes, danger cannot be avoided, so he could only hope to be safe.

Zhu Shencui took out the spear head from his arms and mounted it on his jujube wood stick, then took out the musket for self-defense and lit the matchlock. These preparations were better than nothing. The cavalry charge could not be stopped by human power, and there was nowhere to hide on the grassland. Although Zhu Shencui had enough confidence to exchange a few people for the enemy, facing the large number of Mongolian cavalry, the result of a conflict was imaginable.

In just a few breaths, the sound of horse hooves was getting closer and closer, and all the Mongols in the camp looked in the direction they came from with nervous expressions.

Holding the stick in his hand, Zhu Shenzhui felt his palm slightly damp, his breathing quickened and his heartbeat quickened. He tried to calm himself down and wait for the unknown to come.

In a blink of an eye, hundreds of Mongolian cavalry arrived in front of the camp. Most of the Mongolians were wearing armor, with swords and guns on their horses, and all of them also carried bows and arrows.

The leader wore a helmet and leather armor with iron plates, and his equipment looked much better than the others. He led his men on horseback, looking very tough. When they got closer, his horse did not stop, nor did he pull the reins. He just turned his body slightly and the horse galloped across the front of the camp, which was enough to show his superb riding skills.

"Eris! Erris!"

"Huh..." Eris, who had been nervous, breathed a sigh of relief when he heard someone calling his name, and the expression on his face relaxed a lot.

"I'm Eris, is this Burigude? My brother!"

"It's me! Eris! The Khan has an order! Summon Eris's tribe to gather troops!" Burigude shouted, holding up a small flag in his hand. Zhu Shenzhui could not understand what the flag was, but Ma Shizhou beside him recognized it at a glance and whispered to Zhu Shenzhui that this was the flag of the Mongolian Khan to gather troops. Anyone who saw the flag must obey, otherwise it would be against the Khan's will.

Seeing the command flag, Erzhi's body trembled slightly, and his eyes widened in astonishment. As the leader of a small Mongolian tribe, and once a centurion of the Khan, Erzhi knew very well what this flag represented.

He signaled to the tribesmen around him to put away their weapons, then walked out of the crowd and bowed in the direction of the command flag. Seeing Eris's action, Burigude also stopped his horse, dismounted nimbly, and strode towards the camp.

"Eris, long time no see."

"God of Heaven, long time no see, Burigude!"

Burigude and Eris seemed to have known each other for a long time. They greeted each other and hugged each other. Then Burigude handed the command flag to Eris. Eris took it with both hands, took a look at it, then held it up and solemnly returned it to Burigude.

"This is the Mongolian procedure for gathering troops. Only when the authenticity of the command flag is confirmed, will the tribes that respond to the call cooperate." Ma Shizhou explained to Zhu Shenzui in a low voice. Zhu Shenzui nodded slightly and asked him about the background of this Burigude. Ma Shizhou shook his head and said that he didn't know, but judging from the Mongolian rules for gathering troops and the other party's attire, this Burigude was at least a centurion.

Burigude and Eris were talking to each other. They both spoke Mongolian, and they were quite far away from Zhu Shenzui, so Zhu Shenzui could not hear clearly what they were saying.

From their conversation, it should not be difficult to guess that the content of the conversation was related to gathering troops. After talking for a while, Erris seemed to be begging the other party for something, but the other party shook his head and replied with a firm look. Hearing the other party's answer, Erris's spirit seemed to be taken away all at once. His originally old face was filled with helplessness and sadness. He sighed silently, then turned his head and said a few words to the tribesmen behind him, and then the tribesmen also showed sad expressions.

Then, Ershi's son Hatulig selected a dozen young men from the tribe. After selecting them, Ershi looked at Burigude with an inquiring look. Burigude glanced at the crowd and pointed at the young men who had not been selected. When he raised his finger, the parents, wives and children of the young men he pointed at covered their eyes with a look of grief.

Erris's tribe was just a small tribe with a small population. The young and middle-aged people in the tribe were only a little over 30 people. But now Burigude had taken away most of these young and middle-aged people, leaving only a few half-grown children.

Faced with the Khan's order to gather troops, Erzhi had no ability to resist. If a small tribe like theirs dared to resist, then what would happen next, Erzhi himself knew very well.

Back then, when he was a centurion under the Khan, he also went to various tribes to gather troops with a banner like Burigude. Whenever he encountered a tribe that refused to send troops, Ersi would order an attack without saying a word, and it was common for him to directly destroy these small tribes.

He was still young at that time, and so many years have passed in the blink of an eye. He did not expect that he would face the same choice as those tribal leaders back then.

(End of this chapter)