The early morning mist covered the entire valley, making the entire nameless valley appear faintly, like a fairyland in a novel.
The snow in the sky has gradually stopped, and the snow is gradually melting, but the coldest time is when the snow melts.
In the valley, Chen Lixin and four other people were wrapped in thick cotton jackets and burning coal stoves in their tents.
Even so, the four of them were still shivering from the sudden drop in temperature this morning.
The winter-long snowfall last night suddenly stopped, and the sun came out in the morning. However, before the scorching sun had time to bring warmth to everyone, the temperature drop caused by the melting of the snow under the rays of the sun hit everyone first. Show off your power!
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, I say ha...Old Chen Ha...no, no, no...this...the people from the Jiamusi tribe, no, no...ha...when will they come!"
Next to the stove, Sun Xingzhou was trembling with cold as he spoke. His upper teeth and lower teeth could not be controlled and clashed rapidly as he spoke.
"Shahu~"
Chen Lixin was also severely frozen. He couldn't help but take in a breath of cold air (purely speaking). His whole body shivered uncontrollably, and then he trembled and said: "Ying...ying...should be quick...quickly It’s time to…”
"Damn it! Thanks to me, I started selling these cotton-padded jackets and coal stoves this year. Otherwise, I might have frozen to death before the Jiamu tribe arrived!"
On the side, Li Xuanji was also very cold. Everyone else only had one set of cotton-padded jackets. When the temperature dropped last night, he immediately ran to the goods area and wrapped up two or three cotton-padded jackets. Now he is wrapped like a ball, but he can still survive. Speak a complete sentence.
Wang Zhihuan, the head of the Wang family on the side, was staring at the coal stove with dull eyes at this time, and his face was a little blue.
"I...I said Brother Li...you...can't you sell us two more sets of cotton-padded jackets?"
Sun Xingzhou complained.
"No! His grandma's, these are good goods for me to make a fortune. It's so cold today, I might be able to make more from this batch of goods, but I can't sell even one set!" Li Xuanji categorically rejected Sun Xingzhou's "nothing" etiquette” requirements.
But in fact, he did it on purpose, deliberately watching these guys suffer from the cold.
Chen Lixin also knew that he still had a grudge against him and others for not helping him before, so he didn't even mention it, at least he wouldn't freeze to death.
After hearing this, Sun Xingzhou had no choice but to wrap the quilt tighter around him and get closer to the coal stove.
Over there, Wang Zhihuan was almost pressed against the coal stove. If Li Xuanji hadn't been quick with his eyesight, he would have almost hugged the coal stove.
This good guy is freezing.
As the patriarchs of the four most influential families in Yunzhou City, they have never suffered like this. However, they can only do this in order to make money. They have secretly felt cruel in their hearts. When the next transaction is made, the prices will all be raised by three levels. Otherwise, they will suffer so much. It’s all for nothing!
The sudden drop in temperature not only caught Chen Lixin and others off guard, but Aslan was also surprised by the sudden drop in temperature. In one night, four or five people froze to death in the camp.
Early in the morning, Aslan received the news that one of his warriors froze to death. With a gloomy face, he quickly came to the scene with Zacia. The five warriors on the ground who were still in good shape last night now looked like cooked prawns. The body was still curled up, stiff from the cold!
They died with smiles on their faces. Aslan had seen this scene before. Every year when it snowed on the grassland, there would always be people killed by the cold wind in their sleep, and without exception, they all had smiles on their faces. dead.
Before they die, those people will say they feel their whole bodies are filled with warmth, but in fact their bodies have already become stiff.
Such a smile is called the smile of death on the grassland.
When you smile like this, it means you are about to fall into the arms of death.
"They have returned to Changshengtian. We should be happy for them. They no longer have to endure the suffering in this world."
Aslan said the following words with a gloomy face. Everyone around him listened quietly and looked at the scene in front of him calmly.
For people who grew up on the grassland, this scene before them is so ordinary. They always see this scene appear every year, either in other people's homes or their own homes, and everyone has long been able to treat it calmly.
Perhaps as Khan said, they could no longer endure the pain in this world, so they returned to the embrace of Changshengtian early.
Maybe tomorrow, maybe the next moment, they will end up in the same fate.
So for grassland people, life and death may be important, but maybe they are not that important...
The corpses of the five people were packed up and brought by people they knew well. Those who brought their corpses back would inherit all the property of the deceased. This was the custom of the prairie.
Some people even looked at the people carrying the corpses with envious eyes, and at the same time looked eagerly at their familiar companions.
After packing up the camp, enduring the cold and wrapping their sheepskin jackets tightly around their bodies, the cavalry team of the Jiamu tribe quickly moved towards their destination.
According to predictions, we will be able to reach our destination before the sun sets this morning. The wind and snow have stopped now. Although it is colder, it also reduces the difficulty of moving forward, so we should be able to reach our destination faster.
Thousands of horses marched forward in a mighty manner, leaving only a mess of horse hoof marks behind them.
The sun gradually moved closer to the center. At about the beginning of the month, the four sentries arranged outside the valley finally received news that a cavalry outside the valley was rapidly approaching. Judging from its shape, it should not be the army of the Song Dynasty.
When the four of them heard this, they immediately knew that today's rightful owner had arrived. They quickly ordered their men to get ready. They also packed up and headed towards the entrance of the valley.
Fortunately, as the sun went up, the temperature rose slightly. Otherwise, it would have taken a lot of courage to let them leave the coal stove.
The cavalry was moving very fast. The four families had just ordered their men to prepare their things and come to the entrance of the valley. The cavalry, who were still ten miles away, had already arrived in front of the valley.
Herod!
The war horse neighed and was stopped by the knight. The horse's hooves were raised high and stopped in front of the four family heads.
The burly Jiamu Aslan quickly turned over, dismounted, and walked up to Chen Lixin and the others in a few steps. Before he could speak, he looked around with sharp eyes like an eagle, and his brows suddenly furrowed deeply. !
Chen Lixin saw something was wrong and hurriedly asked:
"Your Excellency, is Aslan Khan, the Khan of Jiamube?"
"it's me!"
Speaking in half-baked mandarin, Aslan admitted his identity.
The four masters all breathed a sigh of relief.
But before they could say anything, Aslan continued to ask in half-baked Mandarin:
"What's going on with you? Didn't you say that you Song people always had a thousand troops in the past? Why not this time? Or is your army ambushing and trying to do something?"
Ever since he didn't see anyone who looked like a soldier when he came here, Aslan's heart was in the air. He didn't hide his nature and started questioning him directly.
Chen Lixin and the other four were stunned for a moment, but they quickly came to their senses and looked at the Jiamu cavalry around them who had already put their hands on the handles of the scimitars at their waists. They were secretly cursing the barbarians for being barbarians and hurriedly explained. If they don't explain clearly, they The barbarians are probably going to kill people with knives!
“Dear Aslan Khan, please don’t get me wrong, we did not bring the army this year.
This is what we think. After all, we have been trading with you for so long without any problems, so we think everyone should have some basic trust and don't need to let the military sit in every time.
Furthermore, I believe you have also heard the news. We have a new prince in Yunzhou City recently. It is too difficult to conceal the fact of troop mobilization. In order not to cause trouble and attract the attention of the prince, we did not do what we usually do. We will also mobilize the army to escort you. Dear Aslan Khan, please don’t get me wrong! "
Aslan didn't believe a word of what Chen Lixin said about trust. Although you have traded many times, you don't trade with my Jiamu tribe every time. We are the first ones to trade. Where does the trust come from? .
What he was more willing to believe was the latter reason. Zhaxia had already said before that a prince came from the Song Dynasty. These guys did not dare to mobilize the army at will like before, so they did not mobilize the army.
Hearing this, Aslan's heart, which had been speculating and uneasy for the past few days, finally relaxed.
It seems that he is overthinking. The Song people have no conspiracy. This transaction should be completed smoothly.
Now that the safety issue is no longer a concern, the next thing to worry about is how to use the things in hand to obtain more urgently needed supplies for the tribe.
Thinking of this, Aslan began to think.
Chen Lixin and others also quickly led the cavalry into the valley and came to the open space where the goods were piled.
“Aslan Khan, you see, this year compared to previous years, in addition to the fixed tea bricks, salt, iron pots, and cloth, we also brought some new things.
You see, this is the stove. This is called a coal stove. It burns coal, which is the pile of black stuff over there. This is a good thing. And look at these cotton-padded jackets we are wearing, these are also a good thing... "
