In the south of Yibohai (that is, the famous Balkhash Lake in later generations), on the bank of the Ili River, the sky is like a dome, covering the four wildernesses.The sky is vast and the wilderness is vast.The wind blows the grass and sees the cattle and sheep low.The Irek steppe, which is about to enter early summer, is full of vitality, and the endless green grass grows very luxuriantly in the vast steppe.Cute little wildflowers, blooming next to the horses' hooves.A herdsman on a horse, driving a large herd of livestock, grazing in this vast field, several loyal sheepdogs follow the owner, and a very small puppy also learns from his own father and mother to help the owner herd.The herdsman suddenly reined in the reins and stopped his beloved horse, and he untied a bone china bottle wrapped in sheepskin from his horse's neck, pulled it off, and poured into his mouth the full amount of mare's milk wine.The fresh mare's milk wine has the sour taste of wild plums, and it is sweet and sour.This is my own daughter-in-law, and I prepared the mare's milk wine for him early this morning!
Drinking this mare's milk wine, he remembered his daughter-in-law.His daughter-in-law is a kind, hard-working, housekeeper of the Han family, well, that's right, a Han family lady whose hometown is in the Central Plains.He heard his daughter-in-law say that her hometown is in Jizhou, thousands of miles away.Don't look at her daughter-in-law is much smaller than the average grassland girl, but she is very capable, her skillful hands can weave her own sheared wool into carpets and wool, he can get back a lot of necessities of life when he gets it to Banan City fifty miles away, and not only that, there is such a capable daughter-in-law, even if he was recruited by the Great Khan of Broken Leaf City to fight, he doesn't have to worry about his family.On the winter solstice last year, his daughter-in-law gave birth to a son for him.The little one is very healthy!
Every day when he came home from grazing, he could hear his childish cry.This is his greatest spiritual sustenance now!
Looking up at the rising sun, the herdsman turned over and dismounted, took off his felt hat, knelt on the grass, threw himself to the ground, and prayed to the holy sun: "The Supreme Dao Venerable, the Great Great Khan, you are like this sun, ruling all things in the world, may you always shine on the prairie!"
”After a brief pause, he then bowed: "Please listen to the prayer of your humble servant, Shi Simeng, and please bless Shi Simeng's livestock, the longer it grows, the fatter it gets, the grass of the grassland will always be lush, and Shi Simeng's wife and children will be healthy and safe!"
”When the prayer was over, the herdsman, Ssimon, kowtowed three times to the sun, and then he looked up, revealing his gruff face, which had evidently been battered by the wind and sand.Although he also pulled up his hair in a bun like the Han people in the Central Plains and fixed his hair with a bone hairpin, if you look closely, you will find that there are still traces of braids on his head in the past.On both sides of Shi Simeng's cheeks, three or five scars are still clearly visible, that's right, this Shi Simeng is not a Han Chinese, he was originally a cavalryman in the headquarters of the Western Turkic Khan's Ashina, don't look at him, his surname is also Ashina, but it is eight generations away from the Ashina royal family, and his ancestors are also wide, but in his generation, it is broken to the point of almost nothing.From birth to adulthood, he spent time on horseback.Throughout the year, he followed the nobles of the tribe, going from south to north, and to the east and west.Occasionally, the nobles of the tribe would be in a good mood, and when they saw him, they would reward him with two pieces of dried meat or something.At that time, he had nothing but horses under his crotch and grazing livestock.Even if the cheese is produced by livestock, most of it has to be paid tribute to the nobles who are high in the sky.The adults of the tribe wanted some, as well as the more advanced Dagan and Fatah.There was also an annual tribute to the khan of one-fifth of the income.The rest, is his own.But that bit of cheese wasn't enough for him to eat, and at that time he had a wife and children!
But his luck was not good, the child fell ill not long after birth, and then died, as was the case with four children in a row.What's even more terrifying is that the wife who finally married not long ago also starved to death in a famine, but for such a nomad who was still called Ashinamon at that time, this was a normal thing.So he was just sad at that time, but not desperate.For soon the nobles of the tribe came and told him that we were going to rob the Ugs of the north!
Maybe you'll be able to get a few wives and a lot of wealth back!
It made his blood pump, but ......
Reality dealt him and the nobles of his tribe a heavy blow, and before they could assemble, the Great Khan of Jiankun, oh, was the Great Khan of Jiankun, and he defeated the Great Khan of Ashina Mohe, who had been high in the past, and just when he was a little overwhelmed, a great man rescued him and some of his brothers, and the lord named Ashina Monro led them to submit to the Great Khan of Jiankun.Lord Monro led them on a wide and open road, and after submitting to the Great Khan of Jiankun, the Great Khan sent him and some other former brethren to this land of abundant water and grass to graze, and the Great Khan also asked the adults of Banan City to send officials who were proficient in animal husbandry to take care of and guide them to graze, and at first they thought it was a joke, grazing, who wouldn't, ride on a horse, take a horse pole, bring a shepherd dog, drive cattle and sheep, and walk by water and grass, These learned officials quickly convinced them with facts, and Shi Simeng and the grassland men immediately took the words of these officials as a guideline.Under the guidance of these loyal and diligent Jiankun officials, with the help of the craftsmen sent by the Great Khan and the resident Taoist leaders sent by the steppe Dao, these original Turkic people got rid of the miserable fate of living in the past, chasing rain, and constantly migrating.Those green storage cellars built in their houses are always providing a steady stream of delicious feed for their livestock, and the addition of soybean cake, wheat bran and other feed allocated by the Great Khan makes the livestock grow fat and strong!
Even in the harsh winter, you won't lose weight!
In this way, Shi Simeng survived a winter of his life without famine and death.After praying, Shi Simeng stepped back on his horse, and he looked at his herd with some pride, which was a herd of a certain size even on the grassland.The herd consisted of a hundred and thirty sheep, twenty mares and a dozen foals with four stallions, and twenty or so cattle.The cheese produced by these animals every day can be filled with two large clay jars in the family, and he and his daughter-in-law can work hard to make enough cheese for him to eat for half a month.No one will rob him of these cheeses, and no one will come to force them.It's all his wealth and food!
With this cheese, he was able to feed himself and his wife and children, and he was able to sell the rest to the government of Banan City, and then he could use the copper coins given by the government to buy beautiful silk, fine wine, and other things.Of course, the ownership of these animals on behalf of the Great Khan belonged to the Great Khan who lived in Broken Leaves, who helped the Great Khan to herd his livestock, and the Great Khan paid for the cheese.In the eyes of Ssimon, this was fair, and he helped the khan to graze his herds, and the khan rewarded him with cheese, not to mention that the wise Great Khan generously rewarded him with such a diligent slave, and allowed him to leave a tenth of his newborn livestock every year.Those animals are the property that belongs entirely to him and his descendants.This is a very valuable asset!
The amount of wealth on the grassland depends on whose livestock is more.Is there a more merciful, generous, and wise master in this world than the Great Khan?
Without!
Shi Simeng exhausted all the information in his mind, and could not find any trace of the existence of an owner like the Great Khan of Jiankun.Even if he has been naturalized into Han nationality in the household registration, and he has a Han name, but he still has the characteristics of a steppe nomad, Li Lu, the great khan in his eyes, just met his heart's wish for the best master, "Taishang Dao is on top, I must be diligent in grazing, loyally take care of his livestock for the Great Khan, and contribute the best foals and lambs every year, may his rule over the steppe last forever and forever!"
”Shi Simeng finished chattering, picked up the bone china bottle again and drank a sip of mare's milk, "I don't know which tribe the Great Khan will conquer next time?"
If I do it again, I will definitely go to the Great Khan's tent to listen to his dispatch, and then I will be able to accumulate military merits, and I will be able to make Ah Xia and Ming'er's lives better......"
This bone china vase is one of the rewards that Shi Simeng received when he was called to join the army and participated in the crusade against the Sogdians last year, and this bone china is the standard for those high-class nobles.......
When he was thinking about the next call-up, he heard a woman's voice in the distance, "Meng Lang, Meng Lang......."
Shi Simeng turned his head to look, and a smile immediately appeared on his face, "Ah Xia, why are you here?"
”It turned out to be his daughter-in-law, a petite woman with a baby behind her."
Meng Lang, just now the township official sent a messenger to inform you, saying that you were going to take our herdsmen to the township for a meeting, saying that the king asked them to bring new forage varieties, and also said that they brought a grain ....... that can be grown on the grassland," his daughter-in-law said.Shi Simeng is the head of their herdsmen's gathering point, and he said that he wants to promote new pasture grass and new grain, which is a big deal, "Then, Ah Xia, you take care of the livestock for me, and I will go and gather the men in the tun to attend the class!"
”"You go.....
Ah Xia took his pole and said with a smile, the baby behind her stared at her father and mother talking there with round brown eyes, "Ah Ming, good boy!
Follow your aunt well, don't be naughty!
Daddy went to a meeting......."
Shi Simeng touched his son's little brain, and said regardless of whether his son understood it or not.