It has been a month since the courier set off. If everything goes well, they will be able to return with Dazhao’s national letter in another month. Regardless of whether Emperor Dazhao agrees with Bei Di to go to celebrate his birthday, they must start preparing the gifts now, so as to save time when they are in a hurry.
As for the gift, Ur Khan and his clan discussed many times but did not decide.
First, they are not very clear about the etiquette of Jokhang, and second, the specifications are not clear. Giving too little is shabby, and giving too much will make it a problem for the clan to spend the winter on their own, and if Emperor Dazhao does not agree to open trade, wouldn’t these gifts be given in vain
Once again, the result was not discussed, and Ur Khan rode a horse for a few laps outside before he plunged into Jiang Rui's tent full of sweat.
His eldest son was sitting behind the book desk, concentrating on not knowing what to write. Ur Khan slowed down and was about to lean over, remembering that he smelled of sweat, and he would definitely be disgusted. Droplets came in.
Jiang Rui put down the pen, picked up the copied paper and looked at it again. She was satisfied, put it aside, and took a new piece of paper to continue copying. On her left hand, a stack has been copied.
"What's this for?" Ur Khan picked up a thin piece of paper with the Da Zhao characters on it, and he didn't recognize any of them.
"Buddhist scriptures, copy the birthday gift for the royal father." Jiang Rui never raised her head. Even though she was distracted, her writing speed was not slow at all, even many times faster than normal people. She finished writing one in the blink of an eye, taking a dozen breaths Just copy a line.
That is naturally because she is not an ordinary person. She intends to copy dozens of Buddhist scriptures for the emperor, creating the illusion that she has been praying for her father since she married to Bei Dilai. How much will this filial piety impress the emperor
If the emperor really loves Princess Chaoyang in his heart, he will always feel a little guilty after marrying her to this deserted land in Mobei. At this time, let him know that for the sake of his country, society, and the people of Limin, he had to be with his daughter. Not only did he not have any resentment, but he also cared about the well-being of his father and emperor. No matter how indifferent, he should be a little moved.
What Jiang Rui wanted was not the emperor's father's love, but whether he could give a big wave of his hand and agree to do business with Bei Di, no matter how much he wanted.
"Take a rest." Ur Khan sat beside her.
Jiang Rui copied it for half an afternoon, copying the amount that others couldn't finish in half a month, and was about to take a break. After finishing this page, she put down the pen.
In Urhan's opinion, writing is much more difficult than fighting on horseback. Mrs. Yan must have been exhausted after writing so much at once, so she took her hand distressedly and kneaded gently in the palm of her hand to ease the pain. sour.
"Otherwise, don't copy it. Anyway, the clan also has to prepare birthday gifts. What else is there to give away, I will prepare."
Jiang Rui didn't say whether it was okay or not, took a sip from a teacup in her empty hand, and asked him, "Have you negotiated?"
"Not yet." Ur Khan frowned.
There was another quarrel in the king's tent just now, and several groups of people almost got into a fight, and were kicked out one by one by the distraught Ur Khan.
"What plan did they propose?"
"Aguda and others suggested that five hundred sheep, two hundred cows, and two hundred horses, which the old men felt that day was too much, and decided to change it to fifty sheep, fifty cows, fifty horses, and more. The good furs on several large cars make up the number."
Jiang Rui leaned back holding the teacup, just leaned on Urhan's arm, took another sip of tea, and said, "Neither of these two plans are appropriate."
"Yi's thoughts are the same as mine." Ur Khan rubbed her shoulders.
The Di people are not only people like Wang Ting, but there are many settlements scattered around. Every time they change, Wang Ting occupies the best position, with abundant water and grass, and cattle and sheep are the fattest, so even if the material Scarcity, the clansmen of the royal court are the least likely to go hungry.
The Di people value cattle and sheep as important as their own lives, and the older generation's concept is even more deeply ingrained. It is extremely difficult to get food from their mouths.
The younger generation such as Aguda did not give in, because they knew why the Great Khan suddenly proposed to celebrate the birthday of the Emperor of Jozhao, and a richer birthday gift is more likely to impress the Jozhao people. If that plan can be successful, even if they have to tighten their belts , how about enduring a winter? It's a big deal, as the big Khan said, to copy the old nest of the Rong people!
In the past few days, Ur Khan has been quarreling with them. Although he is unequivocal among the clan, cattle and sheep are related to the livelihood of the entire clan, and even he cannot easily move, at least more than half of the clan must agree.
"I have a few words, I don't know if you would like to hear them?" Jiang Rui turned to look at him and said slowly.
Ur Khan raised his eyebrows, "The Yan family just talks."
"If you only decide to send cattle, horses and sheep, I am afraid that sending all the cattle and sheep in the clan will not make my father really tempted."
Jiang Rui knew from Princess Chaoyang's memory that although Dazhao was mediocre in power and his army was vulnerable, he was unexpectedly prosperous, blessed with a unique geographical location, and a warm climate, all of which were the best breeding ground for the development of agriculture. On the basis of the foundation, various other industries have also developed very prosperously.
She can say unceremoniously that any small landlord in Dazhao is better than her former princess, the current Bei Diyan family, at least people want to eat meat, vegetables, and white noodles. She can eat white noodles and play with sugar, but she doesn't want anything, she has to make a few bean sprouts by herself.
The lives of ordinary people are carefree, let alone the most honorable emperor in the world? Are cattle, sheep and horses a rarity in his eyes? No matter how much you give, it's just a string of numbers, and maybe it won't be worth the smile of a concubine in the harem.
She said it directly, but Ur Khan didn't feel offended, and asked sternly: "So what does the Yan family mean?"
"There are not many gifts. If you like them, one piece is enough. If you want to give them, you can give them rare ones. You don't have them in the Dazhao Palace, and you don't have them in the Dazhao Palace."
Ur Khan nodded slowly, frowning in contemplation of her words.
Someone was walking outside the tent door, Jiang Rui looked over and said, "Who's outside?"
"Khan King and Princess, they are slaves." Qiuhua opened the curtain and went inside to salute. Seeing that the two of them had nothing to discuss, he walked over to Jiang Rui with a sigh of relief, and said softly, "Those children have come here several times, I know they are big Khan was here, didn't dare to make a loud noise, and pestered me to ask questions, saying that three of the pumpkins in the field had turned yellow, and I wanted to ask the princess if I could eat it."
Thinking of those greedy children, Jiang Rui bent her lips and shook her head, "You take them to pick them off, and let the kitchen make pumpkin pie for them to eat."
Qiuhua hesitated. When the caravan came, she went to buy some rice, flour, sugar and other items. She originally planned to improve the meals for the princess, but these days, the princess has been making food for the children one after another. , I don't eat very much. To make pumpkin pie today, you need glutinous rice flour and sugar, both of which are very rare here.
Seeing her thoughts, Jiang Rui said, "Which of those things is not something we used to get tired of eating? If you want to eat it, just eat a few more when the pumpkin pie is ready."
"That's not what the slaves mean." Qiu Hua pouted and didn't say more, and went out to tell the children the good news.
In fact, Qiuhua had a misunderstanding. Jiang Rui didn't want to keep subsidizing the children. After all, she didn't have much supplies on hand, but these pumpkins were the first real harvest for the children. They have some sweetness, and then they have more energy.
When there are more pumpkins in the future, she doesn't have so much glutinous rice flour to match, so let them take one home and steam it.
Sugar is rarer than salt here, and some children have grown so large that they haven't really tasted the sweetness except for the occasional wild fruit. The peculiar burnt-sweet aroma of pumpkin pie when frying makes these children look forward, restless, and anxious.
Because the pumpkin was quite large, and a lot of glutinous rice flour was added, each child was given three palm-sized, golden-yellow pumpkin pie.
Some children took a bite carefully, their eyes widened immediately, and then devoured it, unable to wait to finish it; some were like small animals, taking small bites; more after eating the first one, they held back their saliva and cherished it. I kept the remaining two and prepared to bring them to my family to taste.
Qiuhua is also divided into three. In the past, in the palace, such rough cakes, let alone the princess would not touch, even a maid like her would not eat it. After coming to the Di clan for so long, she is not picky at all. . It's just that I was full of expectations just now. Looking at the performance of these children, I don't know why, but I don't know what to eat.
After receiving Jiang Rui's prompt, Ur Khan began to take people out early and returned late. Sometimes he didn't come back for several days, and every time he came back, he was in a state of embarrassment, and he didn't know which rabbit den he went to to roll.
Without his entanglement, Jiang Rui copied the book even faster, she wrote the last word on the paper, and finally finished copying all the Buddhist scriptures. Just copy it. Put the Buddhist scriptures in the box, get up and move your muscles and bones, and go outside the tent to breathe.
The sun is about to go down, the smoke rises in the tent area, the grazing people in the distance are chasing their cattle and sheep back, and the melodious pastoral song is heard far and far.
Jiang Rui walked slowly to the river. From time to time, people from the Di tribe stood up and saluted her. Compared with the first time they arrived here, the smiles on these people's faces were obviously a little more sincere than before, even though Ur Khan was not there at this time. , and no one neglected.
It may be that they are familiar with each other, or they are close to the children these days, and the children have influenced their parents. It is also possible that they know that the idea of Beidi and Dazhao trade is proposed by her.
In short, Jiang Rui's position in Beidi is now improving and consolidating all the time.
A few unclothed, black-skinned children were playing in the river. When they saw Mrs. Ye appearing, they subconsciously wanted to come around. They suddenly remembered that they were naked, and immediately hid back into the water, only showing their head outside. , his dark face flushed red.
The women of the Di nationality who were washing clothes by the river pointed at them and sneered unceremoniously. Compared with Da Zhao's seven or eight-year-old children, who are guarded by men and women, Beidi people are obviously more open. It is rare that this group of naughty stinky boys will be ashamed. The older generation jokes and naturally shows no mercy.
While laughing and making noises, there was a sudden loud and cheering sound not far away, Jiang Rui turned her head to look, and saw that Ur Khan came back with his clan.
This time, they had been away for five days, and they didn't tell her what to do. Mysteriously, besides their group, there was also a large cage, and the thick roar of wild beasts was heard from time to time.
"Oh—the sweat is back! The sweat is back!"
The children in the clan cheered and cheered, and the few in the water didn't care about being ashamed, they stood up in a rush, climbed ashore naked, and ran to the door.
"Princess, what is that?" Qiuhua asked in surprise.
"It's a clouded leopard!" Before Jiang Rui could answer, a woman from the Di ethnic group told her, with a proud face, "The clouded leopard is the most ferocious beast in the grasslands, it only lives on the snow-capped mountains where the ice and snow do not melt all the year round. My old Abu once said , no one has ever been able to capture a live clouded leopard, we Dahan are indeed the number one warrior of the Di tribe and the number one warrior of the grassland!"
Jiang Rui nodded with her and stared at the crowd.
For a leopard, the beast in the cage is astonishingly large. Although the name is clouded leopard, it is not the same as the clouded leopard that Jiang Rui has seen in other worlds. To be precise, it is more like an animal called snow leopard in another world, but it is much larger. Whether it is the smooth and firm curves or the gorgeous fur patterns, they are both shocking and heartbreaking.
When Ur Khan returned to the tent, although his face was a little tired from lack of rest, the excitement in his eyes could not be hidden. He had already developed the habit of cleaning himself up before entering the Ye family tent, so he had already taken a shower at this moment, and when he saw Jiang Rui, he picked him up and turned around, laughing loudly.
Jiang Rui supported him on his shoulder and lowered her eyes, "Are you going to treat it as a gift?"
"Yes, what do you think?"
"I believe that no one can pick anything out as long as they have seen that fierce beast."
The smile in Ur Khan's eyes was even greater, and he couldn't help but hug him tighter, rubbing his face on her face.
Although the beard has been shaved, the little stubble left behind is still uncomfortable. Jiang Rui endured it for a while, and finally slapped him away.
Ur Khan kissed her hand, "Thank you for the reminder."
"I didn't say anything." Jiang Rui said.
"A random word from Mrs. Ye is more effective than what we rough people think of out of their heads."
Jiang Rui squinted at him, "You stole honey outside?"
Ur Khan hooked his lips and kissed her cheek again, "No, but I did pick up a beehive and make tea for the Yan family."
As he spoke, he yawned twice in a row, and threw the person in his arms into his arms again. He took a few steps and fell on the bed together, "Sleep with me for a while."
Before Jiang Rui could break free from his arms, she heard the sound of even breathing from above her head, and when she looked up, Ur Khan was already asleep. I don't know how many days he hadn't slept outside, the dark blue and dark skin could not hide, he almost fell asleep when he was in bed.
She didn't struggle anymore, picked a comfortable position in his arms, and closed her eyes.
During this period of time, melons and vegetables were gradually ripening in the fields. After the children had tasted the sweetness, they were already pestering the ginger to ask when they could plant another wave.
Several children secretly asked her, saying that her parents promised to help open up a larger piece of land and plant it with them.
Of course she allowed it, after all, this was her original purpose. If adults didn't participate, and only rely on children to make small troubles, how could it become a climate.
The day of the messenger's return is getting closer and closer, and most of the clansmen are looking forward to it, but the messenger didn't look forward to coming back, and looked forward to people from other tribes first.
Dazhao referred to the nomadic peoples in the north as Bei Di. In fact, there are many tribes in the north. Although the Di people are the most powerful, these tribes have never been unified and are scattered all over the grassland. There will also be battles in pasture territory.
This time, people from several tribes came together, led by the Qi tribe, who was second only to the Di tribe in strength.
Jiang Rui did not go out in the tent, these are what Aruna told her. The leader of the Qi tribe was named Chagan. According to Aruna, his mother was Ur Khan's aunt, so he and Ur Khan were cousins.
There has been a lot of movement in the Di people recently, they are learning from the Dazhao people to farm the land, and they are sending letters to Dazhao. Even if these two can be concealed, the incident of Ur Khan's capture of the clouded leopard a while ago cannot be concealed.
Thinking that his actions were only after he married Princess Dazhao, and they all seemed to be related to Dazhao, people from other tribes could not sit still. But they didn't dare to rush to inquire, so they went to the Qi clan's territory and let the Qi clan leader be their leader.
At this time, the few aliens, headed by Chagan, walked around outside the children's nursery as if they were watching some strange scenery.
Looking at the yellow pumpkins, the kidney beans hanging on the bamboo racks, and the long beans that were about to fall to the ground, Cha Gan couldn't help but step over the short fence and reached out to grab one to taste.
The next moment, he found that there was a row of children in front of him, blocking him from moving forward, and all of them glared at him.
He paused, and suddenly made a fierce grimace.
The children stepped back in fright, but they quickly raised their chests to block his footsteps. The head stalked his neck and said, "This is our territory. Even if you sweat profusely, you can't come in and pick it up. Please go out immediately!"
Chagan looked at them for a while, and found that the group of small beans were serious, he couldn't help turning his head to Urhan and said, "Hey, don't be so stingy, let these boys get out of the way."
He doesn't really think that this place is the territory of what the children say, how many stinky boys can come up with these things
Ur Khan showed a mocking smile, turned around and left with several other aliens.
This piece of land has been marked by the group of cubs. Except for his Ye family, no other adults are allowed to enter, including his big sweat. So he was happy to see Cha Gan being kicked out.
Seeing that there was no support, Chagan decided not to be tough. Of course, the main reason was that he didn't want to be seen for a while, and the dignified leader of the Qi clan couldn't beat a few cubs.
Seeing him turn around, several children immediately chirped, "We drove the bad guys away!"
"Yes, we have protected our territory, the Yan family must be very happy."
"Go and talk to Mrs. Ye, the bad guys were scared away by us!"
Cha Gan, who hadn't gone far, twitched the corners of his mouth and asked himself that he couldn't care about a few stinky boys who didn't have all the hair, so he forced himself not to look back.
It was only those children who kept their mouths shut from the Ye family that caught his attention. Could it be that this place was really created by the Princess Jozhao with the child
If it is true, it seems that these changes in the Di family are indeed related to her.
Although only a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg, Cha Gan, as the leader, has a keen sense of smell and realizes that Princess Dazhao is indeed helping the Di family, and not for any other purpose. And if it continues to develop like this, the already powerful Di people are likely to leave their tribes far behind.
In addition to the nursery, they went to see the clouded leopard again. On the way, they met many people of the Di tribe who were watching. Chagan Biurhan had no pretense of being a leader. He was always smiling and whistling frivolously when he saw the woman. Feeling offended, he giggled generously instead.
Although the other tribesmen obviously had something to say but didn't dare to say, Cha Gan looked leisurely and contented, as if he was just here to see his cousin.
But Ur Khan knew that his cousin was not a fool like Ogler.
When they left, Chagan and Ur Khan were still walking ahead, a few steps ahead of the others. He said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Whatever you are going to do, take me and my clan with you."
"In exchange for what?" Ur Khan asked.
Cha Gan Diao Er Lang was swinging his horse whip, as if he was telling him some interesting things: "I'll give you a seat in a wolf's seat?"
"So what does he mean?" Jiang Rui asked slightly raising her eyebrows in the Ye family tent at night.
Ur Khan rolled her into his arms, "He wants to form an alliance with us."
"You will be the leader of this alliance?" Jiang Rui added.
Ur Khan nodded, just for the benefit of the alliance, not the merger of the two tribes, although he is not interested in this alliance leader who only has a good reputation, but it is indeed necessary to form alliances with other tribes.
As a result, the alliance, no matter what, is more powerful than a single tribe, and can also give Dazhao more threats and pressure, prompting Emperor Dazhao to agree to open the transaction.
Second, if the emperor agreed, and the Di tribe traded with the Da Zhao, but did not bring other tribes on the grassland, it would be inevitable that someone would not do evil secretly. He was not afraid of anyone, but flies were always disgusting.
It has to be said that his cousin is quick enough to understand him.
It's a pity that he doesn't seem to understand well enough. He is only the leader of the alliance. How can he be satisfied. What he wants to do is to be the real alpha wolf on the grassland.