In August, when the capital of the Song Dynasty in the south was still green, the vast northern wasteland was already withered and yellow. The first snow of winter swirled into the grass, and in a short time the earth had turned into a world of yellow and white.
.
Wu He tightened the old sheepskin on his body with a leather rope. Only in this way can he feel warmer. The first snow this year came eleven days earlier than last year. His sheep's autumn fat was not enough, so he had to cover the grass in the heavy snow.
Try your best to make the sheep fat enough before covering them all, otherwise they will not survive this long winter.
The sheep seem to be aware of their own situation, and they are eating grass without raising their heads. The white snow falls on the wool, and the entire body of the sheep becomes larger...
Wu He looked around vigilantly. The first snowfall in the wilderness is also the most dangerous time. All wild beasts will become violent. Sheep need to eat grass, and wild animals need to eat meat. If they encounter a pack of foraging wolves,
It is the greatest disaster.
Fortunately, this is a hilly area. As far as the eye can see, there are only a few marmots looking around vigilantly. They are also preparing for their winter. Wu He was relieved when he saw the marmots looking out. This means that there are no falcons in the sky and no eagles on the ground.
Wild wolf is a good sign.
The harvest for fishing for beads was not good this year, but luckily I managed to pay the tax by hunting a falcon. The people in the tribe depended on these sheep if they wanted to spend this winter safely.
The tribe is not big, there are only thirty-one people, and there are fourteen women alone. Counting the cubs just born this year, there are six children. These are the treasures of the tribe and cannot be damaged, but there are too many women.
Next year, go to the wedding market to buy some good young men, and try to go into the Dahei Mountains to pick ginseng next year. This year, we don’t have enough people to go into the mountains. The lack of ginseng is what makes the tribe’s life so difficult. Hu Li Ke’s
The tribe must be having a good time this year, and being able to collect old ginseng is considered a blessing from the gods.
"Yo yo!" Wu He threw out a clod of soil and hit the big horn of the first sheep accurately. The first sheep immediately walked down the hillside to the left. Wherever the first sheep went, the flock of sheep would follow.
Wu He followed behind, looking at the more than a hundred sheep, and he was very satisfied. The only person who came out to herd sheep today was himself, and the rest of the people went to cut the grass. Grassland people live on grass, and grass is not only
Sheep feed is also a tool for the tribesmen to keep warm. Without grass, there would be no grassland people. Wu He heard this sentence when he was very young.
A gust of wind blew up the snow particles on the grass stems and hit his face with pain, forcing him to lower his head. His felt-like hair would naturally block the damn snow.
The edge of the river was already frozen. Wu He used a thick wooden stick to smash the thin ice so that the sheep could drink water. While the sheep were drinking water, he also lay down by the river and drank a lot of water. It was cold.
The river water went down to his stomach, and he felt that he was getting colder. He shivered and started to drive away the sheep. He had to go back to the tribe. If he couldn't go back, he would be in big trouble. The dark clouds in the sky were very low, like a lid.
Above his head, there was still a hint of blue sky in the distance, and Wu He no longer expected any good weather here from today on.
With good luck, he actually picked up a dead sheep. The sheep's neck was tragically split in half, and it looked like it had been hacked to death. Wu He didn't care how the sheep died, he only cared about having mutton to eat tonight.
. He picked up the dead sheep and threw it on his shoulder. With this sheep, he felt that the wind was not too cold.
When he was carrying three sheep on his shoulders, he finally felt that something was wrong, not because there were too many dead sheep, but because he saw Hulik, or to be precise, Hulik's head, with his head stuck in a
The blood on the wooden stake has not yet dried.
Wu He drove the sheep to a leeward place like crazy, then climbed up the highest mound and lay on the ground to observe his surroundings. The Jurchens never waste food. Only the Khitans could do such a thing.
He saw a group of cavalry walking towards the south. At this time, the wind and snow became lighter, allowing him to see clearly who was walking away. The Khitans, they were playing the game of "fighting the Jurchens" again.
The Khitans went to the south, and their own tribe was in the north, which meant that all of Hu Li Ke’s tribe were dead. Wu He laughed out loud. The Khitans would not want Hu Li Ke’s food. There must be a lot of them in the settlements behind the mountains.
Food, Wu He's whole body felt hot when he thought of food. He quickly tied the dead sheep on the ground to his own sheep. He had to finish these things as quickly as possible. After a while, the wolves on the grassland would
coming.
Wuhe was like a hard-working bee running back and forth in the heavy snow. His hundred and ten sheep were his pack team. Hulik's tribe had more sheep than his own tribe, so after he got the most sheep, he
Driving the sheep towards the north, he felt very happy as flakes of snow fell on his face. Fortunately, it had started to snow, otherwise too many dead sheep would have rotted.
After returning to the tribe, he took all the tribesmen except a few children and ran towards Hulik's tribe. He didn't dare to waste any time. As he ran, he prayed to the gods to make the snow fall harder.
, this can cover the smell of blood, so that the wolves in the distance can smell the blood later, and you can get more food.
Wu He's judgment was absolutely correct. Everyone in the Hulik tribe was dead. The heads of adults, children, and women were all cut off and inserted into the wooden stakes of the sheepfold. This was a Jurchen game.
The request, Wu Hyuk had heard of it.
He had long been envious of the Lele cart in the Hulik tribe, and now it was finally his own. Watching seven or eight bags of grain being loaded onto the Lele cart, Wu He smiled happily. The women were stripping the clothes off the corpse.
You need to be quick, because it will freeze hard after a while and it will be difficult to chop. The mute in the tribe moved a hanging pot from a room and shouted excitedly. Several women ran over and touched the hanging pot happily.
With this hanging pot, you don't have to leave the tribe, which is a symbol of wealth.
Wu He struggled to pull the Lele cart in front. This was supposed to be the job of the oxen, but Wu He couldn't find the oxen, so he had to pull it by himself. The people from the tribe were pushing from behind. The Huli Ke tribe was really rich. Their things were so valuable.
Can fill a Lele cart.
Wu He's tribe was different from Hu Li Ke's tribe. They lived in a cave. When the children heard Wu He's hoot, they came out of the cave to greet him. They ran two steps and hurried back to the cave.
The rotten sheepskin really couldn't withstand the biting cold wind outside, so it was better to go back to the cave and wait.
A bonfire was lit in the cave, and the skinned dead sheep were thrown into the hanging pot in large chunks. The hanging pot was so big that two sheep were put in before the pot was full.
The men stood by the pot, talking about the unlucky Hulik and looking forward to the mutton being cooked. The women looked at the mutton tumbling in the hanging pot while putting the bloody sheepskin on the children.
After eating and drinking, Wu He looked at the women and children eating mutton crazily, patting his belly and laughing. He actually wanted to eat...
This is a good life that I have never dreamed of...
With a smile on his face, Wu He looked at the rock paintings on the top of the cave. The uncertain firelight shone on the top of the cave. The rock paintings seemed to come alive. He suddenly thought of a question. What if the next time the Khitan people "beat the Jurchens" was his own tribe?
What about the tribe?
Wu He was eating mutton with his tribe, and Yunzheng was also eating mutton with his whole family.
What we ate today was mutton pot, which suited Lu Qingqing’s appetite best. Before Yun Zheng made pork delicious, Lu Qingqing’s favorite meat was actually mutton.
Yun Zheng sighed after taking one bite. Without the red oil, he really wasn't interested in the bland mutton. The taste of dogwood was not right, and mustard made Yun Zheng hate it. Lu Qingqing ate it with chive flower sauce.
In order not to spoil everyone's interest, Yun Zheng picked up a piece of mutton, rinsed it carelessly in a soup pot, and then threw it into his mouth. The mutton was cut too thick and could not be cooked at once, so it squeaked in his mouth.
Not many men like hot pot. Yun Zheng took advantage of the radish in the pot before it was cooked, took out a large bowl of mutton soup, tore open the pancakes and threw them in. Xili grunted after finishing a large bowl of steamed buns and wiped them.
The mouth is about to leave.
"Sir, please eat some more." Lu Qingqing took some mutton into Yun Zheng's small bowl and signaled him to eat more.
Yun Zheng couldn't bear to ruin Lu Qingqing's good intentions, so he almost gulped down the small bowl of mutton, and left the table, intending to read the letter from Di Qing.
Ever since they talked with Di Qing one night in Guangnan, the connection between the two has never been broken. Now that the war in Dali has subsided, the copper mine has been found, and Di Qing's errand is about to be completed. The letter said that he
The division has already begun, but the army will not return to Kaifeng. After leaving Shuzhong, they will return to their original armies. Officers above the military level will come to Tokyo to celebrate the victory, so they will come back quickly and easily.
Yun Zheng understood very well why Di Qing was willing to obey. Originally, he should have brought back a lot of money. He probably distributed it to the troops participating in the war. Even if he withheld some, it was to replace the equipment of the frontier army. Now Di Qing has clearly understood
Considering the importance of equipment to the army, the people of the Song Dynasty were not as physically strong as the barbarians, and their equipment advantage was almost their last advantage.
Yun Zheng shook his head, closed the letter, and said to himself: "This old man still doesn't know how to be an official. Do you think the emperor and the civil servants will be satisfied with the Jiaozhi treasury? They will seize it privately and wait for the censor's words."
Impeach the official!"
Ge Qiuyan took a thin blanket and covered Yun Zheng's knees and said: "The dew in autumn is heavy. Please pay more attention to it. Hello, our family will be better."
Yun Zheng pointed to the left side of his house with the letter and said: "Do you think Di Qing will be scared to death this time? I always feel that this old man is having a hard time. Do you think I should help him and share the seizures privately?
This is a great sin!"
Ge Qiuyan's eyes widened and she said honestly: "Gong Di is a hero!"
Yun Zheng smiled and said: "What the Song Dynasty court liked to do most was to force its heroes to death." (To be continued)