Chapter 580: That dried teardrop (monthly ticket 6/26)
In Pingyang, the autumn wind is not too cold, but north of Hetao, it is already a bit cold.
This is a small tribe, with about a dozen tents pitched together, and a wooden fence on one side to contain the tribe's cattle and sheep.
The sky gradually gets brighter, the voices in the tent gradually become noisier, and a new day begins again.
The herdsmen in the North are actually similar to the farmers in the Central Plains in many aspects. For example, they work at sunrise and live at sunset. Day after day, year after year, they have to rely on God to give them food.
, as unlucky as encountering natural or man-made disasters.
It's just that farmers in the Central Plains may only work on a mountain top their entire lives, while herdsmen in the Northland are constantly migrating following water and grass.
In fact, herdsmen also farm, but they don't cultivate it very intensively. They dig the ground a little next to the tent where they settled, and then scatter some seeds, mostly plateau crops such as highland barley, and then the elders, women and children in the tribe
People like this usually take care of it a little and wait for the harvest.
Young and strong male tribesmen usually herd animals, and sometimes they organize together for hunting. At this time, they are more similar to primitive society. The prey obtained from hunting is generally divided equally among the whole tribe, and everyone of all ages has their own.
share……
Nomads are more active and have more opportunities to ride horses and use bows and arrows than farmers in the Central Plains. Therefore, when the two sides confront each other, it is inevitable to have a certain advantage in the physical fitness and skills of individual soldiers.
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Today, the habits of this small tribe are still maintained.
The middle-aged herdsmen rode on their horses and shouted, taking the blessings of the old man, the expectations of their wives, the envy of their children, and their own bows and arrows, they set off...
The half-grown young man untied the fence and drove the cattle and sheep not far away to eat fresh water and grass. By the way, he continued yesterday's wrestling competition. Regardless of winning or losing, he wanted to challenge it again...
Children mostly stay together in groups, playing fighting games that they never get tired of. Sometimes they fall down or get bumped, and unless they bleed, they usually get up without saying a word.
Keep playing…
The women packed up the tents, washed their clothes, and then thought about finding some fabric or leather to repair the leaky cracks in the tents they found last night...
When the elderly herdsmen have enough energy, they will go to the highland barley field nearby and tidy it up, and then check the fences for cattle and sheep, and knock some loose parts that have been damaged by cattle and sheep...
Cumbersome, messy, but warm.
But this peaceful atmosphere was quickly broken.
Three or five cavalrymen appeared from the horizon and quickly arrived in front of the tribe. The leader had a long eagle tail tied to the head of the rope, which was fluttering in the wind.
Most of the Xianbei people also have long hair, but it is not tied up with a crown like the Han people, but is braided one by one. Well, it is a bit like the hairstyle of the African brothers in later generations, and then some trophies are attached to the head.
As a decoration, for example, the person at the head obviously shot down a large eagle...
Of course, later there were also people who were "killers" in the Xianbei tribe. For example, the bald Xianbei tribe, well, this is a bit like the pig tails and money braids of later generations...
The leading Xianbei cavalry unfurled a flag on the side of the horse and raised it high in the wind. The flag was embroidered with a golden eagle with spread wings, and it seemed to be about to fly...
The Xianbei cavalry reined in their horses and shouted loudly: "Who is the chief?"
Father Bart in the tribe quickly stepped forward and saluted the Xianbei cavalry with his arms crossed.
The Xianbei cavalry said a few words, and then Father Bart nodded repeatedly, and asked someone to bring a few skin water bags and a few pieces of dried meat, and gave them to several Xianbei cavalry.
The Xianbei cavalry was not polite and took it with a smile. Then they whistled wildly again, rolled up the flag to reduce wind resistance, then turned their horses' heads, led the men, and set off again, obviously heading to the next station.
Father Bart stood in front of the tribe, the expression on his face was indescribable.
When Bart's wife saw that the Xianbei cavalry had left, but Bart's father stood still and did not come back, she took a few steps forward, came over, and asked with some worry: "Dad...what happened?
Could it be..."
Father Bart sighed and said: "Your Majesty has summoned... there is going to be a war... Fifty men will gather at Langshan within three days..."
"..." Bart's wife was stunned for a moment, because she knew that as a brave person in the tribe, Bart would definitely lead the team to participate.
Langshan is a part of Yinshan Mountain.
If the Mongolian Plateau is the big stage for the Huns before and the Xianbei now, then the Yinshan Mountains are the most important center point of this stage.
On this important natural geographical dividing line, the former Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty of the Central Plains launched a battle for more than a hundred years.
Both the former Qin and the former Zhao built the Great Wall to the north, and fought over this area with the Xiongnu, not to mention the Han Dynasty.
The Yinshan Mountains, the mountains that stretch from east to west, serve as a barrier to block the cold current in the north. The south is irrigated by the water of the river, forming a fertile field suitable for farming and grazing, with abundant water and grass; while to the north are gentle mountains and semi-arid grasslands.
Even deserts and Gobi are very barren in comparison.
During the Han-Hungarian War, the Han Dynasty sent troops to cross the Yin Mountains to attack the Huns in the north. They often marched through Dingxiang, Yunzhong, Wuyuan, Shuofang and other routes, crossing the Yin Mountains and entering the plateau area. When the Xiongnu went south from Mobei, they also had their own
The most common route was the Kundulung Valley at the southern foot of Yinshan Mountain. Through this important passage from south to north, people went south to plunder.
Father Bart's original tribe also lived in the south of Yinshan Mountain. At that time, there were more than 800 people in the tribe. It was a medium-sized tribe. Naturally, it was possible to join the lush grassland in the south of Yinshan Mountain. However, after a war, it was very difficult to
Unfortunately, as the vanguard, the tribe to which Father Bart belongs has almost completely lost its strong population. As a result, the status of the entire tribe has plummeted. Now they can only find meadows in the north of Yinshan Mountain and endure the biting cold wind blowing from the north.
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Yes, war can bring all kinds of shiny gold and silver, thick copper cauldrons, silky cloth, and all kinds of exquisite utensils...
However, war brings more death, death belonging to both sides. This time, I don’t know how many people will never come back, maybe none, maybe...
However, it is impossible not to participate, and a small tribe has no right to speak. It is already a small tribe. If the population shrinks further and the strong men are lost again, then this winter, this tribe may be forced to cease to exist.
, had to be merged into other tribes.
And all the property that now belongs to the tribe, including cattle, sheep, and even women and children, will belong to the new tribe.
Father Bart lowered his head silently, clasped his hands behind his back, no longer in the mood to go to the highland barley field, and silently returned to the tent...
Bart's wife suddenly felt a chill on her cheeks. She stretched out her hand to touch it, and she unexpectedly shed tears at some point. They dried up quickly in the cold autumn wind. Bart's wife rubbed her face hard with her rough hands, then turned around and shouted loudly.
He called his half-grown child and asked him to catch some sheep and bring them back.
Oh my God!
At least, let the men of your family and the men of the tribe have a good meal before going off to war...
No matter when the war occurs, whether it is ancient or modern, destruction is the majority after all...
Otherwise, the United States would not be desperate to instigate this and provoke that, just to make the surrounding small countries jump up, fight a war, and drag them into the quagmire of war...
ps: There will be an additional update later...
PS: I haven’t saved the manuscript yet, so I’m adding more updates. I can’t prepare for this day...
