Before Zhu Shenzui could recover, Erisi stood up suddenly and shouted loudly in Mongolian to his tribesmen. The faces of the Mongolians who were trading with Zhu Shenzui's people with great interest a moment ago suddenly changed. After being stunned, the old and weak people hurriedly ran towards their yurts, while the young people quickly ran towards their horses, and some people quickly picked up their weapons and started to gather here.
Zhu Shenzui was suddenly startled. Could it be that this old guy suddenly changed his attitude and wanted to take advantage of others? Subconsciously, Zhu Shenzui reached his right hand into his arms.
In his arms was his own gun head. Due to the sudden incident, Zhu Shenzui could not use the gun he was carrying quickly.
And when we were sitting drinking tea just now, weapons like swords and swords had been removed in advance according to etiquette. I'm afraid it's too late to get it now. The most convenient and fastest way is to use the tip of your own gun.
Although the situation in the Mongolian tribe suddenly changed, Zhu Shenzui didn't feel too panicked. Even though there were many more Mongolians here than they did, Zhu Shenzui was confident that he would be able to restrain Eris who was not far from him at the first opportunity.
You must know that Erezi is the leader of this tribe. As long as you hold him in your hand, you should have no problem protecting yourself. Moreover, Zhu Shenzui's skills were very good, and they were very close, so just giving him a breath was enough.
"I'm sorry, my brother, don't be nervous, this is not against you." Zhu Shenzui's actions caught Erisi's attention. He did not make other moves. Instead, he took the initiative to spread his hands and explained to Zhu Shenzui in a slower tone. : "There are outsiders coming, and there are quite a few outsiders coming, and we don't know who they will be. So... our transaction cannot continue for the time being. I hope that with the blessing of the eternal God, everyone will be fine later."
"Are there outsiders here?" Zhu Shenzui was about to ask in confusion, but the next moment he shut his mouth.
Because at this time, he felt the earth shaking slightly, and it seemed that many horse hooves were beating on the ground, rumbling from a distance.
As the leader of the tribe and once a centurion soldier of the Great Khan, Erezi's experience is naturally not comparable to that of Han Chinese like Zhu Shenzui. Even if they are also Mongolians, most of them are not as capable as him.
Although he is older, it is impossible for him to go to the battlefield again. However, the ability to judge from the subtleties has not fallen away, and as he grows older, this has become Erisi's instinct. When Zhu Shenzui didn't notice it at all just now, Erisi discovered something was wrong.
Ma Shizhou told Zhu Shenzui in a low voice from the side that judging from the noise coming from the horses' hooves, there were at least hundreds of horses coming.
The number of such cavalry is not small in the grassland. You must know that the tribe of Erezi only has about a hundred people. Excluding the old, weak, sick and disabled, there are only more than thirty young people at most who can fight on horseback. If this is A hostile cavalry force would be a disaster for the Erezi tribe.
Among the Mongolian tribes, it is common for the weak to eat the strong and annex each other. In the custom of the Mongolians, the big fish eats the small fish, and the small fish eats the shrimp. This is the rule set by the Changsheng Heaven. This was the case for the ancestors of the Mongolian people. It is precisely because For this reason, the extremely powerful Mongol Empire was born in the hands of the great Genghis Khan.
Who exactly is coming? Although Erezi can roughly judge the number, he can't see who the other person is.
At this time, the young Mongolian men of the tribe had gathered, and even the old and weak who ran back to the yurts took up their weapons and took a defensive posture vigilantly.
"Sixth Master, what should we do?" The sudden change made Zhu Shenzui's people a little panicked. Although the people he brought to Mongolia this time were all experts who followed him in the salt industry, they have been doing it in the past two years. Smuggling salt with his head on his hands also has blood on his hands.
However, walking on salt and wielding a knife in the Ming Dynasty was completely different from that on the grassland. The grassland was unobstructed, and the terrain was conducive to cavalry running. The Mongols were a nation on horseback. It was impossible to run past the Mongols on two legs on the grassland. In addition, There are only six of them in total, and they are carrying a large cart and so much cargo. If a fight breaks out, they may not even be able to protect themselves.
Frowning, Zhu Shenzui looked around. At this time, he had no good solution. He could only take it one step at a time.
Resistance is the most inappropriate behavior. Now I just hope that the people who come are not enemies. Even if they are enemies, considering the customs for merchants on the grassland, I hope they can abide by the rules of the Great Khan and let me go.
"Surround our carriages and horses, be careful and take precautions, and do not act rashly unless absolutely necessary."
"Yes!" Everyone responded and quickly made arrangements. Who can care about the goods that have been unloaded from the car at this time? Although everyone is not sure how effective this arrangement will be, it is better to do it at this time than not to do it.
"Uncle Ma, do you think it's bad or good to come?"
Ma Shizhou shook his head, his expression solemn. He couldn't answer this question. Now it seemed that he could only wait like this. The so-called evil could not be avoided, so he just hoped to be safe.
Zhu Shenzui took out the gun head from his arms and put it on his jujube stick. Then he took out his self-defense musket and lit the match.
These preparations are better than nothing. The cavalry charge cannot be stopped by manpower, and there is no place to hide and maneuver on the grassland. Although Zhu Shenzui is confident enough to win a few men from the opponent, facing the large number of Mongolian cavalry, If there is a conflict, the outcome can be imagined.
After just a few breaths, the sound of horse hooves came closer and closer, and all the Mongolians in the camp looked nervously towards where they came from.
Holding the stick in his hand, Zhu Shenzui felt that his palms were slightly damp, his breathing was rapid and his heartbeat was a little faster. He tried to calm himself down and wait for the unknown to come.
In the blink of an eye, hundreds of Mongolian cavalry arrived in front of the camp. Most of the Mongolians who came were wearing armor, carrying swords and guns on horseback, and all of them also carried bows and arrows.
The leader was wearing a helmet, and the leather armor on his body was decorated with iron sheets. His equipment looked much better than the others. He led the people on horseback and looked tough. When they got closer, the horse under him did not stop, and he did not pull the reins. He just turned his body slightly and the horse ran across the camp, which was enough to show his superb riding skills.
"Erisi! Erisi!"
"Huh..." Eresi, who had been nervous, breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the person calling his name, and the expression on his face relaxed a lot.
"I am Erisi, is this Burigude coming? My brother!"
"It's me! Erisi! The Great Khan has an order! Call the Erisi tribe to gather troops!" Burigude shouted, holding up a small flag in his hand. Zhu Shenzui couldn't understand this flag, but he But Ma Shizhou recognized it at a glance and told Zhu Shenzui in a low voice that this was the order flag of the Mongolian Khan to gather his troops. Anyone who saw the order flag must obey the order, otherwise it would be against the Khan's will.
Seeing Ling Qi, Erezi's body suddenly trembled slightly, his eyes widened with an expression of astonishment. As the leader of a small Mongolian tribe and a former member of the Great Khan's Centurion Army, Erez knew exactly what this flag represented.
He signaled the tribesmen around him to put away their weapons, and then walked out of the crowd and bowed in the direction of the flag. Seeing Erezi's behavior, Burigude also stopped his horse, dismounted with great skill, and strode toward the camp.
"Eris, long time no see."
"Immortal God, long time no see, Burigude!"
Burigude and Erisi seemed to have known each other for a long time. The two greeted each other and hugged each other. Burigude then handed the command flag to Erisi, who took it with both hands and glanced at it. Then he held it up and returned it to Burigude seriously.
"This is the procedure for the Mongols to gather troops. Only after confirming the authenticity of the command flag can the tribes that are summoned cooperate." Ma Shizhou explained to Zhu Shenzui in a low voice on the side. Zhu Shenzui nodded slightly and asked him this Ma Shizhou shook his head and said that he didn't know what Burigude's background was, but judging from the Mongols' rules for gathering troops and the opponent's clothes, this Burigude was at least a centurion.
Burigude and Erisi were talking to each other. They all spoke Mongolian, and they were quite far away from Zhu Shenzui, so they couldn't hear clearly what they were saying.
From their conversational behavior, it should not be difficult to guess that the content of the conversation was related to gathering troops. After talking for a while, Erisi seemed to be pleading with the other party, but the other party shook his head and replied firmly. Hearing the other party's answer, Erisi's energy seemed to be drained away all of a sudden. His old face was filled with helplessness and sadness. He sighed silently, then turned his head and said a few words to the tribesmen behind him, Then the tribesmen also showed sad expressions.
Then, Hatulige, the son of Erezi, selected a dozen young men from the tribe. After selecting the people, Erezi looked at Burigude with questioning eyes. Burigude glanced at the crowd, then stretched out his hand to point at the unselected young people one by one. When he raised his finger, he pointed at the parents, wives and children of those young people. They couldn't help but cover their eyes with a sad expression.
Erezi's tribe is just a small tribe. The entire tribe has a small population. The total number of young and middle-aged people among them is only more than thirty. But now Burigude has directly picked off most of these young and middle-aged people, leaving behind Only a few half-year-old children came down.
Facing the Khan's order to gather troops, Erezi had no ability to resist. If a small tribe like them dared to resist, Erezi knew very well what would happen next.
Back then, when he was a centurion soldier under the Great Khan, he also took the command flag to various tribes to gather troops like Burigude. Whenever he encounters tribes that are unwilling to send troops, Erezi will order an attack without saying a word, and it is also common to directly destroy these small tribes.
He was still young at that time, and so many years had passed in the blink of an eye. He did not expect that he would face the same choice as those tribal leaders today.
