A few days later, Su Jin's leg injury had basically healed. He left Li Yuanhao's entourage and moved much more freely. At least he didn't have to hide in a car every day and live in a snail's nest. He could ride a horse and follow the team.
.
Originally Su Jin planned to leave Lingzhou and return south, but after hearing Yeli Duanyun mention that their Yeli tribe's pasture fiefdom was in Hongzhou, Su Jin wanted to go and see it. Now that he had reached an agreement with Yeli Duland
The agreement was to trade war horses with the Song Dynasty, so you should go and see the goods. Furthermore, although the two countries have stopped fighting, the peace agreement has not yet been reached. It is necessary to detour from Hongzhou to the south via Liangzhou and then return to the territory of the Song Dynasty.
It’s a safe road. If we just go back the same way we came, I’m afraid it won’t be peaceful along the way.”
The further we travel to the northwest, the higher and darker the sky becomes. It is already September, and although the heat is still unbearable in the south, autumn has already begun in the northwest. The weather is cool and there is already a thin dew in the morning.
After getting wet, I crossed several mountains and finally found myself on an endless prairie.
Su Jin has never been on the grassland. In later generations, water and soil erosion have been serious. Many grasslands have become places where wind and sand are raging. Without the nourishment of rivers, you can only see patches of deserted beaches, but the grassland in front of you is...
It is a real prairie.
The green carpet-like grass extends to the end of the horizon. Under the white clouds in the distance, several snow-capped mountains stand quietly there. It is the melted water from these snow-capped mountains that converges into several rivers to nourish the entire prairie.
Yeli Duanyun also left his carriage and rode a horse to ride side by side with Su Jin. He introduced the scenery along the way to Su Jin. Yeli Duanyun's riding skills were very good. After entering the grassland, she was obviously in a much better mood.
She took off her fine clothes and put on leather riding boots, with dozens of pigtails tied behind her head. She looked charming yet capable, and her riding skills were very good. With a wave of her whip, she could move freely on the grassland without any fuss.
Not inferior to the men from the wild tribes under his command.
Su Jin sighed secretly, no wonder the Dangxiang people were able to defeat the Song army in the field. The riding skills of a Dangxiang woman were better than those of the soldiers trained by the Song Dynasty. Cavalry combat was obviously a major advantage of the Dangxiang people; but since she and
Yeli Dulan reached an agreement to exchange war horses for food. Over time, this advantage of the party members will also be lost.
Su Jin also understood that Yeli Dulan was just using himself to tide over the current difficulties. When Xia State resumed production, Song State would no longer need food assistance in a few years. By then, the war horse trade would inevitably
Suspended; by then the next generation of the Yeli tribe will have tens of thousands of warriors grown up. Yeli Dulan will definitely not do war horse business with him again if he can protect himself. This is risking the disapproval of the world.
things.
Su Jin has also thought about it. They are using each other anyway. It is understandable to be kicked away by others when there is no use value. Su Jin has also thought about it. He will look for a large area on Jingyuan Road in a few years.
Plant pasture, use the horses obtained from the transaction as breeding horses, and establish a horse farm in the northwest. In that case, there will be a continuous supply of horses, and there is no need to act at the whims of the Xixia people.
The pasture of the Yeli tribe is on the grassland south of Hongzhou. It is neither under the jurisdiction of Hongzhou nor Liangzhou in the south. It is like a small independent kingdom. From this, we can also know that the Yeli tribe
How revered the power was once, but it is a pity that the war and calculations have severely weakened the vitality of the Yeli tribe. On the huge grassland, scattered villages and tents are sparsely scattered, and the cattle, sheep and horses are not grazed, and the pasture grows wildly, up to a person's knees.
.
Along the way, they didn't reach any village or tent gathering place. Old men, women and children with sallow faces came out to greet them. The men of the surviving Yeli tribe were rushed into the village with tears in their eyes. Most of the women and children were greeted by
A handful of ashes and the relics of relatives, along the way, the tears flowed like a river.
Yeli Duanyun's eyes were red and swollen. She would burst into tears without passing a dilapidated village. She couldn't bear to see the sadness of her tribesmen. She could feel the pain of every family that had lost a loved one, because she herself had just died.
After losing the two mountains of the Yeli clan, the deaths of Yeli Yuqi and Yeli Wangrong were like rolling thunder sweeping across the grassland. Each tribe of the Yeli clan worshiped their leader in their own unique way.
Silence.
The evening before arriving at the central city, Yeli Duanyun took Su Jin for a walk on the grassland. The two stood side by side in silence. The sun set at the end of the grassland, and the sky was filled with blood-like sunset glow. Under the solemn deep blue sky, a group of wild geese
It screamed and flew south, the scene was magnificent, but a little desolate.
"Master Su, thank you very much." Yeli Duanyun looked at the sunset, his pretty face reflected as beautifully as the sunset.
"Why are you thanking me?" Su Jin said.
"Now I know why you took the risk to burn the grain and grass in Huizhou, because only by burning the grain and grass, the war will end and my people can come back alive. Otherwise, I am afraid that this vast prairie will never be
They were all crying."
Su Jindao: "I burn food for the sake of the tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Weizhou City, not for your wild tribes, so you don't have to thank me."
"I understand, but in fact you not only saved the soldiers and civilians of Weizhou in Song Dynasty, but also saved the lives of many people in Daxia, so I still thank you."
Su Jin sighed and said: "I understand your feelings, but I have to pour cold water on you. This is just a temporary calm. The killing war will never stop. Maybe in a few years, there will be another war and bloodshed."
into a river.”
Yeli Duanyun's beautiful face twisted, and he gritted his teeth and said: "I don't understand why some people just like to fight and let others die. Don't they have the slightest sense of compassion? Is it possible that a happy life?
Isn’t it okay to live in peace and have friendly exchanges?”
Su Jindao: "** dominates everything. The rich want to be richer, the powerful want to be more powerful. Human greed is never-ending. This is the sin of human beings. Human nature is like this. I'm afraid it will never end."
It will change.”
Yeli Duanyun turned to look at Su Jin and said: "Are you that kind of person? In order to compete for power, status and money, will you let thousands of people bleed and sacrifice for you?"
Su Jin smiled and said, "Do you want to hear the truth?"
Yeli Duanyun said: "Of course I have to tell the truth. I...I regard you as a good friend. You can't lie to me."
Su Jindao: "I won't just fight for power, status and money, but if I want to survive in this world and protect more good people, I will! The sacrifice of one hundred thousand people will bring about the happy life of millions of people. This way
Bloodshed is meaningful; and the dead will be remembered by millions of people, and that is the real eternal life."
Yeli Duanyun said: "Are you saying that the people who died in the war between the two countries today were meaningless deaths?"
Su Jin said: "Yes, it would be sad to die for someone's inflated ambition."
Yeli Duanyun said thoughtfully: "What you mean is that it is meaningful for the dead to live happily for their loved ones. So what kind of life is considered happy?"
Su Jin turned around and looked at Yeli Duanyun's face and said softly: "Perhaps you won't understand what I said. I will answer your question in one sentence. This sentence is: 'Living with dignity is the right thing to do.'
True happiness, living indifferently, is no different from cattle, sheep and grass.'."
Yeli Duanyun frowned and said, "I really don't understand what you mean. Doesn't living with food and clothing count as happiness? What does it mean to live with dignity?"
Su Jin smiled and said: "I can't explain it to you, maybe you will understand it in the future." Su Jin really couldn't explain to her what it means to live with dignity, standing on the ancient land, talking about the future life with a girl from the Dangxiang tribe
Democracy and human rights seem a bit silly and lacking. Su Jin is just speaking from his experience after a lot of experience. He is not stupid enough to talk about democracy and human rights in this era.
…
The next morning, the convoy finally arrived at the central city of the Yeli tribe. This city was built in the middle of the grassland. It had tall walls and wide ditches and was a solid fortress on the grassland.
Men, women, and children in the city came out to welcome the ashes of the two Yeli kings and the return of the princess. The old and young people in the tribe shouted the names of the two deceased kings with tears in their eyes, and surrounded Yeli Duanyun into the city.
There were originally three brothers who were in charge of the Yeli tribe. Yeli Yuqi and Yeli Wangrong were the eldest and the second. The third brother was Yeli Duanyun’s father, Yeli Mosui. Unfortunately, more than ten years ago, Yeli
Mo Sui had already died in the battle against the Uighurs. Now Yeli Yuqi and Yeli Wangrong are also dead. Only Yeli Yuqi's ten-year-old sons Yeli Shangjun and Yeli Duanyun are left in the entire Yeli tribe.
Two direct descendants.
At noon that day, Yeli Duanyun took his cousin Yeli Shangjun, and under the witness of the tribal elders, sent the ashes of the two kings to the pagoda for burial. At the same time, a tribal elders meeting was held. The tribe could not live without peace for a day.
The chief, Ye Li Shangjun, was the only person qualified to inherit, so he was elected as the new generation of clan leader without any controversy. Because of his young age, he followed Queen Ye Li Dulan's decree and ordered Ye Li Duanyun to temporarily take charge of the tribe.
Handle matters within the tribe.
Su Jin witnessed all this, and he knew that all this was arranged by Yeli Dulan. Originally, Yeli Shangjun was young, and the affairs of the tribe should be decided jointly by the elders, but Yi ordered Yeli Duanyun to take charge of the tribe.
, in fact, it is to clear the way for transactions with him, which is what Su Jin is happy to see.