Chapter 940: The Zhesheli Tribe (Part 2)
"...Please forgive me, Your Excellency."
The mouth of the valley.
The real female envoy, Ye Sugai, was telling Xu Furen the causes and consequences of the stable incident in the noisy temporary camp.
Just as Sun Shaozong had expected, the Zhesheli tribe suffered heavy losses in the battle a month ago. Even the tribe leader Zheheli's younger brother, Herisule, died near Xingcheng.
Not long after the body was dragged back for burial, the 'enemy' showed up in a swaggering manner and demanded to be served with good food and drinks. No one would be happy about that.
So, with the tacit approval of the clan leader, Ha Qinmi and others tried to force the Great Zhou delegation to live in the stable to relieve their hatred.
After learning about the situation, the Great Zhou delegation's response was mainly based on official jargon: "serious concern", "pull back from the brink", and "wait and see".
Of course, Sun Shaozong, who was responsible for playing the good guy, would inevitably find opportunities to say a few harsh words, such as "Don't say I didn't warn you" or something like that.
Finally, Ye Su repeatedly promised that it would not happen again. Only then did the two sides reach a consensus based on the principle of mutual understanding and accommodation: let's put this matter behind us for now.
…
at the same time.
Alin Qitu, feeling that his dignity was challenged, also went to his father-in-law Zheheli's house in a rage.
Although as the outpost of the Jurchens, the Zheheli tribe fought fiercely with the official army of the Great Zhou Dynasty year after year and had long accumulated irreconcilable hatred, the house of this patriarch was in authentic Han style.
The square second courtyard is equipped with carved beams and painted buildings, corridors and pavilions, plaques on the courtyard walls, dismounting stones and horse hitching posts.
There were even pieces of frosted glass on the windows of the main hall - you have to know that even in the capital, this thing has only become popular in recent months.
However, seeing Alin Qitu rushing in with a sullen face, several guards from the Zheshe tribe in the yard wanted to step forward to stop him, but they did not dare to offend this distinguished son-in-law.
After a moment's hesitation, Alin Qitu was already outside the hall door. Without thinking, he lifted the door curtain and walked in, shouting, "Amoha [Father-in-law]! You must give me an acquiescence today..."
Before he uttered the word "wait", the scene in the hall stunned Alin Qi Tu.
I saw that there was nothing behind the tiger-skin table in the middle. A fat middle-aged man with a white beard was half-squatting in front of the seat on the left, rubbing his hands, drooling, and explaining something to a woman.
The woman was kneeling upright on the side seat, but she seemed to have no reaction to his words or actions at all, as quiet as a jade statue.
The more this happened, the more the fat man salivated over it. Just as he saw the hairy palm was about to land on the woman's shoulder, he suddenly heard a shout from behind. He was frightened and his body tilted to one side, almost falling to the ground.
After he finally managed to steady himself, he couldn't help but feel angry and embarrassed, but when he looked up and saw that it was Alin Qi Tu outside the door, his anger was mostly extinguished.
He tried his best to straighten himself up and was about to say something when the woman who had been kneeling upright suddenly stood up and said, "Since there are guests at Zheheli's house, I will go back first."
Having said that, without waiting for Zhehri's response, he bowed and turned to walk out.
Zheheli's greedy eyes followed the woman's graceful figure until she disappeared out the door, and then he shifted his attention back to Alinqitu.
"Ah, Moha."
Alinqitu also just retracted his gaze and asked with a frown: "That woman just now, seems to be Helisu's wife?"
This so-called Herisul was none other than Zheheri’s younger brother who died in battle in Xingcheng.
Zheheli nodded, sat down in the main seat, and motioned his son-in-law to sit in the woman's original seat. Then he said helplessly: "If she hadn't been shouting about revenge all day, how could I agree to Kanha and his men's reckless behavior."
"Well, I..."
"Besides."
Just as Alin Qitu was about to question him, he said sternly, "It's better to put pressure on the Han people first, so that they won't really think that we are seeking peace after being defeated and then ask for an exorbitant price when we get to Jianzhou City."
After he gave this reason, Alin Qi Tu found it difficult to refute it - he couldn't say that he was impressed by Sun Shaozong's bravery and didn't want to lose face in front of him, right?
Two flowers bloom, each showing its own beauty.
But the woman left Zheheli's house and walked deep into the valley. When she saw that it was getting dark, she covered her face with a headscarf, braved the wind and snow, bypassed the tribe, and quietly arrived near the valley entrance.
Because of the previous conflict, Feng Xin and others did not dare to slack off and arranged to take up night duty early.
So as soon as the woman approached, she was bumped into by the patrolling officers and soldiers, who immediately raised their swords and guns and shouted at her.
The woman bowed slightly, and somehow she used her hands to comb her hair into a gourd-like shape. She said softly, "Brother Han, please don't be violent. I heard that my people have offended the Han warriors, so I came here to apologize for them."
The soft official language actually brought out some Jiangnan flavor, and the two officers and soldiers looked at each other in surprise.
After a while, one person was sent to report to Feng Xin.
When Feng Xin heard that a 'beautiful' woman had come to his house, he hurriedly took out his sword and went out to greet her. He carefully combed the woman's hair from head to toe, and angrily scolded her: "You talk nicely, woman, but how do I know that you are not here to assassinate me?!"
Feng Xin swallowed his saliva, grasped the hilt of the knife and laughed: "In this case, you follow me to the tent and search it thoroughly!"
"That won't work."
Who knew that the woman suddenly covered her face again, shook her head and said, "I came here to look for a general named Sun, and I'm afraid it would be a shame to delay you too long."
Feng Xin's face suddenly fell.
Since the other party has already brought up Sun Shaozong, how dare he intercept them halfway?
He wanted to go forward and satisfy himself and then be done with it, but then he changed his mind and thought, if he wanted her to file a complaint in front of Lord Sun just for these small benefits, wouldn't that be a loss of the greater good?
He was listless and ordered the woman to wait where she was and turned around to find Sun Shaozong to report.
When Sun Shaozong heard that a Jurchen woman came alone and asked to see him by name, he couldn't help but feel very puzzled.
With his bravery, he was not afraid that a little girl would suddenly attack and hurt others, so he ordered Feng Xin to bring the girl in to find out what happened.
Unexpectedly, before he could even open his mouth, the woman spoke first: "This must be General Sun? I have made a great contribution, but I wonder if the general dares to accept it!"
This opening statement...
He does have some of the demeanor of a lobbyist.
Sun Shaozong became more and more curious. He looked directly at the woman's exposed almond-shaped eyes and said, "Young lady, if you want to test my courage, why are you so secretive?"
The woman hesitated for a moment, then took off her headscarf, revealing her charming face. She bowed and said, "Nashiyama, I greet the general."
After a pause, she added, "Herisule, who died in Xingcheng last month, was my husband."
Upon hearing this, Feng Xin next to him subconsciously drew out his knife and watched Naxiyama's every move vigilantly.
Sun Shaozong rolled his eyes and asked, "How did your husband die?"
If Helisule really died at the hands of the government troops, and this young widow came to him to make a deal, wouldn't that be tantamount to recognizing the enemy as her father?
"General, you are indeed smart."
Nashiyama's face was filled with anger, and she gnashed her teeth and said, "That bastard Zheheri said that my husband was shot in the back of the neck and died when he was defeated and fleeing - but my husband was clearly holding a sword in his hand!"
At this point, she seemed to be afraid that Sun Shaozong didn't understand, so she hurriedly explained: "The Zhesheli tribe is famous for its archery skills, and my husband is the bravest warrior in the tribe. Usually on the battlefield, he only put down the bow and arrow and replaced it with a sword when charging in front of the enemy!"
Sun Shaozong nodded in understanding, and suddenly asked, "Does Helisu have a son?"
Nashiyama was not used to such leaps of thought. After a pause, she nodded and said, "I gave birth to a son and a daughter for Hrisul."
"So how old is your son?"
"Six...six years old."
Hearing that he was only six years old, Sun Shaozong's sitting posture suddenly relaxed a lot, and he waved his hand weakly: "You are too young and don't have enough capital, you can keep this credit for yourself - Feng Xin, show me out!"
Naxiyama originally believed that her intelligence was as good as her beauty, but at this moment she was confused by Sun Shaozong.
Seeing Feng Xin approaching with a knife, she hurriedly shouted, "General, General! Don't you even have the courage to listen to what I have to say?! Do you really want to miss out on this tremendous achievement?!"
"Should I wait for you to finish?"
Sun Shaozong shrugged his shoulders and said, " It's just that Zheheli was afraid of your husband, so he secretly killed him. Now, in order to save your son's life, you want to use me to kill Zheheli and his son for revenge."
"As for the so-called great merit..."
Sun Shaozong snorted when he said this, and said with a sneer, "It's just that your son becomes the chief of the tribe, and you can lead this small tribe of 1,800 people anyway."
The more Naxiyama listened, the more gloomy her face became, obviously because Sun Shaozong had exposed her idea.
But when she heard the last part, her eyes suddenly lit up and she shouted excitedly: "No, no! General, you misunderstood. The Zhesheli tribe is one of the six tribes of the Jurchens. In addition to the people in this valley, there are more than a dozen tribes, large and small, with a population of more than 20,000 and more than 4,000 warriors!"
"As long as the general can help me get revenge and support my son and Helisu's son to take the position of patriarch, my Zhesheli tribe is willing to be the barrier and pioneer of the Great Zhou!"
After a pause, she added another bargaining chip: "My brother is now the patriarch of the Nayan tribe. I can persuade him to join the Great Zhou!"
