A skinny hand with bulging veins on the back of the hand seemed to have used all its strength to grab a bone crown studded with feathers and slowly put it on the head.
It was a woman, whose age could not be discerned. She seemed to be very old, with tawny skin that only the elderly have.
But his eyes are bright and he doesn't seem as old as he looks.
She is the new great shaman of the Xiongnu, Boguna.
She was very thin, very tall, and wore a shamanic robe made of feathers.
The shamanism believed by the Huns can connect life and death. Because of this, the higher the shaman's practice, the older he looks, as if he is standing between life and death.
Boguna is actually less than fifty, but her appearance is like that of an old woman in her seventies.
When she put on the bone crown exclusive to the great shamans of all ages, shamanic incantations appeared on her face and between her eyebrows, and her nails quickly lengthened, then bent and curled.
Boom, boom, boom!
In the royal tent of Ula Bator, the sound of the shaman's leather drum was heard, and the surrounding area was filled with smoke.
The entire Ulaanbaatar was shrouded in a mist-like atmosphere, as if it were an illusion.
The power of heaven and earth on the grassland is also changing for the coronation of the new shaman.
The bones, blood, and spiritual consciousness in Boguna's body are all merging with the bone crown on the top of his head.
"I... after being buried deep for many years... returned to the world."
Boguna's voice was cold and his eyes turned completely black.
This is what every great shaman will say after inheriting the bone crown for the first time.
All shamans believe that this sentence, which is engraved in the bone crown and passed down to each shaman successor, comes from the original shaman god.
His sleep was never extinguished.
Boguna raised his eyes and looked into the distance, looking towards the south.
In Ulaanbaatar in August, the green grass is undulating and the wind is howling.
In Boguna's eyes, the direction of Han was filled with purple energy like a tide.
The national destiny of the Han people was surging like a boundless ocean, constantly overflowing and about to submerge the Xiongnu and even surrounding countries.
The aura displayed by Han was extremely impressive.
"The Han people are about to hold a grand ceremony they call the Fengchan ceremony to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth."
Yi Zhi stood sideways with a serious face: "If the Han people's national destiny increases again, it will be even more difficult for our grassland departments."
Boguna narrowed his eyes and said: "The Han people's grand ceremony to communicate between heaven and earth will not be so easy..."
After she finished speaking, she slowly turned her head to look north.
"You may have sensed what Yudu is doing?" Yi Zhi asked.
Boguna: "When he appears again, he will become the greatest warrior of the shaman god in the world, possessing the same power as gods and demons."
————
The sunset shines in the evening.
When people from Xianbei, Fuyu, and Wuhuan tribes approached, they could only see a lot of Han troops in the distance. People from the clan gathered around the square in the front hall of Ganquan Palace, and the atmosphere was noisy and warm.
They wanted to get closer, but were blocked by the Forbidden Army:
"The champion is taught the art of archery by the Forbidden Army. How can you, who are not deployed by the Forbidden Army, watch at will?"
It happened that Tong Xuan, the commander of the Forbidden Army, was passing by. When he saw these foreign troops surrendering, he thought for a while and said:
"Your Majesty has summoned me, but the doctor has already left. It doesn't hurt to let people from Xianbei and Fuyu tribes go and have a look, so that they can know my Han people's riding and shooting skills."
Only then were the people from Fuyu and Xianbei tribes allowed to move forward.
The imperial guards and clan members surrounding the area also dispersed because Huo Qubing left.
On the school field in front of the palace gate, only the targets after the attack were left.
During the hunting process, the Xianbei warrior who shot and killed a tiger was named He Guhuaishan.
He has a well-proportioned physique, a short beard on his upper lip, and long and narrow eyes. The thumb of his right hand that draws the bow wears a bow ring, and the other fingers, especially the finger pads, have obvious calluses.
This shows that he often practiced bow shooting.
He came to the shooting position and looked at the target. It was a hundred-foot target.
The distance is so long that even a sharpshooter will have a hard time hitting the heart.
He Guhuaishan curled his lips and said proudly: "At this distance, I can hit nine out of ten targets! And on the grassland, the wind is stronger than here."
He spoke in rather poor Chinese, and after speaking he looked at the few Han soldiers who had not yet left not far away.
After some tribes such as Fuyu, Wuhuan, and Xianbei surrendered, one of the surrender orders they received required them to learn Chinese.
Dong Zhongshu and others originally discussed the strategy of conquering and surrendering various ministries, and asked Huo Qubing to provide suggestions.
Huo Qubing's original words were "Let all the surrendered tribes learn Chinese."
Learning Chinese will help educate these tribal people and let them understand Chinese culture.
So now that I have returned to various tribes, I can often see people learning to speak Chinese.
After the Xianbei soldier He Gu Huaishan finished speaking, several Han soldiers on the side turned to look over at the same time, looking up and down with proud expressions:
"Nine out of ten hits? You?"
"A few of us are here to collect the targets. You can follow us and have a look."
The people from Fuyu, Xianbei and other tribes then followed several Han troops and walked towards the archery target in the distance.
When we got closer, we found a total of four target positions, placed in parallel rows.
On the first archery target, there was an arrow inserted into the target.
"This first target was shot by the troops in our camp."
The Han soldier who led the way was a young man who looked to be only 18 or 19 years old: "The other three targets were shot by Huo Hou when he was teaching archery demonstrations."
He Guhuaishan and others looked at the second and third targets.
There is an arrow on each target.
One of them went deep into the center of the arrow, and half of the arrow shaft passed through the target with great force.
The arrows on the third target are exactly the same.
A group of people didn't realize the mystery at first glance.
Only He Gu Huaishan was thoughtful and thought of the key.
The key point is that there is no difference between the arrows on the two targets. The depth and position of the arrows entering the target are as if they were measured with the most precise ruler.
The depth and accuracy of the arrow hitting the target are consistent twice... It is much more difficult than hitting the bull's eye with two arrows at the same time.
Even if it is a simple thing, it is very difficult to be completely consistent if you repeat it twice, let alone hit the target when shooting an arrow from a long distance.
Hegu Huaishan looked at it and remained silent.
"These two arrows are the directions ordered by the Commander-in-Chief for the next phase of our Han army's arrow training. Are you convinced or not?"
Several Han soldiers came to the last target position with honor:
"This last target was also shot by the general. Look over there..."
Around the school grounds in the front hall of Ganquan Palace, there are many towering ancient trees, which are like canopies, blocking out the sky and the sun.
Looking along the target, I saw an arrow that penetrated the bull's-eye and then shot through the side of a giant tree. It was finally nailed to the outer wall of Ganquan Palace and penetrated halfway into the wall. There were dense cracks all around. The feathers on the arrow tail swayed in the breeze.
"Our plans have to adapt."
The Xianbei, Fuyu, and Wuhuan tribesmen, after seeing the arrows on the shooting range, quietly withdrew, and only discussed in low voices when they reached a place where no one was around.
He Guhuaishan was actually a candidate recommended by them to take advantage of the hunting opportunity to show off the military force of each department.
They plan to use Xing's name to challenge Huo Qubing at the dinner after the hunt.
Don’t expect to win.
However, relying on Huo Qubing's status and reputation in the Han army, they could achieve their goal as long as they fought for a chance to fight without losing too badly.
For these nomads, showing strength and then relying on strength to obtain reciprocal resource distribution has always been the principle they adhere to.
They wanted to secure certain benefits for their tribe after surrendering to the Han Dynasty, so they were well prepared.
However, after watching Huo Qubing's surgery, several people were a little discouraged.
"Attach your mind to the arrow. After the arrow is shot, you can still use the power of your mind to affect the arrow, so that the two arrows will be the same. This kind of power is very terrifying. I can confirm that there is a huge gap compared with the champion. great."
He Guhuaishan said calmly: "Don't challenge him, find someone else."
Others nodded: "I asked someone to inquire. When he was hunting with the emperor in the morning, he shot down a flying eagle and penetrated the eagle's eye."
Judging from the current situation, challenging the champion will not only fail to show bravery, but will also bring humiliation to oneself.
Outside Ganquan Palace, when Zhang Cigong, Li Gan and others returned, they also brought back large prey.
Two days of hunting went by in a blink of an eye.
On the night of the third day, which was the last day of hunting, the emperor hosted a banquet for the officials and the various tribes invited to participate in the hunt.
People from various ministries took the opportunity to invite battle to add to the fun. He Guhuaishan and others changed their targets to Zhang Cigong and Li Gan.
During the banquet, swords and swords were interlaced, fighting and killing, which made people's emotions boiling.
When the emperor took control of Ganquan Palace, the focus of various affairs of the Han Dynasty also shifted.
There are urgent reports sent to Ganquan Palace every day.
At the end of August, good news was still coming out frequently from the Western Regions.
In the Congyuan Kingdom in the southwest corner of the Western Region, in the morning, Fu Luzhi, Chen Qing, and Zhao Anji were riding on horses.
"The Marquis sent an order for us to return to Chang'an to report on our duties. Prefect Xiguan Zhang will take over the follow-up matters, and the army will not retreat in the short term."
Zhao Anji said: "But at this stage of the Western Region war, it is almost done."
"I heard that a Zen ceremony will be held. The general hopes that we can go back and participate in such a grand event."
Chen Qing took out a small bronze mirror, looked at his face, and said:
"This Western Region is not a place for people to stay. It can burn people to death at noon, and clothes can be roasted with open flames. I seem to be a lot darker now that I have been fighting everywhere."
"It turns out you're not white either."
Fu Luzhi glanced at the city behind him and said disdainfully: "This Cong Yuan Kingdom has summoned several times to surrender, but there has been no response. We have to bring troops over and kill people and destroy the city before they surrender in fear."
"Who will be willing to give up his authority until the end?"
Zhao Anji was a little excited: "Thanks to the ability of my subordinates to fly over the walls, they entered the city first to defeat the enemy and opened the gate of the Royal City of Congyuan. Otherwise, if we wanted to capture Congyuan, we wouldn't have been able to capture Congyuan so quickly and with such little loss." .
The Marquis said that he has developed some new ordnance and will equip us when we get back. "
"With the victory of Congyuan, only Dawan in the far west of the Western Region, and three or four other countries such as Xinuo Qiang have not yet surrendered."
"The Marquis wants to keep these countries for now. He may have other considerations. Let's set off back to Chang'an within two days."
Early September.
Three people came out of Wuyang Palace and all the way out of Chang'an City.
These three people are the emperors, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing.
Because the Zen ceremony was approaching and a lot of preparations were needed, the three of them had just returned to Chang'an from Ganquan Palace.
After leaving the city, the three men in casual clothes came to the outskirts of the city.
But in the fields, people were busy, and carts and horses pulling dung could be seen everywhere, making it a busy scene.
Dong Zhongshu took Huo Guang and several other officials to investigate here.
Autumn harvest time.
"Your Majesty, since Zhang Qian came back from the Western Regions, we have figured out a lot of rules for some of the fruits and vegetables that have been planted around Chang'an in the past few years.
For example, the grapes that His Majesty likes to eat need to be put on a trellis to maintain sufficient sunlight. The soil must be loose and have good water permeability. Supplemented by my farm methods to promote the infusion of earth vein Qi, the fruits that grow can be harvested in a few months, and the harvest is not bad. "
Next to Dong Zhongshu was Da Sinong, one of the nine ministers.
He was born a merchant, but he practiced farming skills and knew how to farm.
At this time, he took off his shoes and socks. He had just returned from the field to check the soil condition and reported to the emperor.
The emperor, Huo Qubing, Wei Qing, Dong Zhongshu and others walked slowly to check.
If the products are abundant and the family has surplus food, people's hearts will be stable, and the country will be stable and unshakable.
Huo Guang followed the team step by step, keeping what he saw and heard in his heart, slowly digesting it, and gradually forming his own understanding.
It's nearing the end of September.
The day of the Zen Ceremony is an even number and is set in October.
After entering September, people from all over the Han Dynasty began to gather in Chang'an.
Representatives from various prefectures and counties, the Fuyu tribes in the Northeast, and the countries in the Western Regions, who had been reorganized into counties, also came to Chang'an one after another.
For a time, the whole world gathered in Chang'an.
Early autumn.
The emperor's guard of honor left Chang'an, the capital of the country, and headed for Mount Tai in the east, kicking off the ceremony for the conferment of Zen.
(End of chapter)
