Chapter 9 Temujin's Search for a Horse

Hard work must pay off. After several years of hard work, Temujin had nine horses in his family when he was 16 years old.However, bad luck fell from the sky, the day was sunny, and Biligutai rode a horse out early to catch the cute marmots, while the other eight horses were happily grazing outside the yurt.Three horse thieves came riding like a whirlwind, and drove away the eight horses right under the eyes of Temujin's family.With no other horses, Temujin's family could only watch, angry and helpless. Herds are the currency standard on the Mongolian grasslands, just like the US dollar today.People in the grassland will use a sheep, a calf or a horse to "buy" according to the size of the item, among which "horse" has the largest face value.Herds are still hard currency, just like gold and silver today, even if they are not used as currency, they are still of high value, especially "horses".The grassland people used horses for movement, for hunting, and even more for looting or war. Horse milk was their drink, and they could also drink horse blood and eat horse meat to save their lives when necessary.Horsehide can be used to make tents, and horsetail and mane can be used to make rope.

Losing a horse is equivalent to losing the lifeline of the family. Temujin's younger brothers were about to cry, but Temujin stood upright, looking at the direction in which the horse thief was fleeing, his face livid and his eyes spitting fire. At night, Biligutai came back with a few marmots, and when they learned that their lifeline had been cut off, they screamed strangely, got on their horses, and were about to chase them.Temujin ordered him to dismount and said, "You have been tired for a day, and it is impossible to catch up." Khasar agreed with his elder brother and volunteered to pursue the murderer from hundreds of miles away.

Temujin also stopped him, and said decisively: "Both of you don't want to go, I'm the elder brother, I should go." Before everyone could react, Temujin jumped onto the horse's back and whipped the horse's butt symbolically, and the horse that had lost its companion flew away like the wind. Temujin had only been running for most of the night, and the horse seemed to be suffering from asthma, wheezing and wheezing.Temujin looked at the horse and secretly complained.This horse was the last of the nine horses and was a real bad horse.If those eight horses are gold, this horse is broken copper.Temujin didn't want the horse to be sacrificed halfway, so he had to slow down and follow the trail of the horse thief anxiously.

Because the speed was too slow and the time was too long, the traces of the horses gradually disappeared. On the third day when the east turned white, Temujin found a group of horses directly in front of him. In the faint morning light, those horses were strong and strong, and their fur was as smooth as a dragon.A handsome boy is skilfully milking a horse from its crotch. Obviously, this is a rich family, and the evaluation standard of the Mongolians is Boyan, which means rich. The little rich man saw Temujin riding a useless horse, covered with dust and dust, and knew that something must be wrong, so he took the initiative to ask.Temujin said: "Did you see three people riding three horses and driving eight horses passing by recently? Among the eight horses, there is a silver-gray one, which is particularly eye-catching."

The little rich man replied without hesitation: "I saw it, just before dawn." He pointed to the place where the sun rose and said, "I went there." Temujin thanked him, and was about to rush towards the place where the sun was about to rise. The little rich man quickly and precisely grabbed his rein, and asked with concern, "What's going on?" Temujin instantly felt the warmth and chivalry from the other party's words, and he briefly explained the matter, and the little rich man jumped up exaggeratedly.This is not his fault, because on the grassland, stealing horses not only violates the criminal law, but also challenges the simple grassland morality and grassland order.On the prairie, if one horse was caught, nine horses would be compensated, and the horse thief would be punished by corporal punishment.On the grassland, horse thieves are not as good as pigs and dogs.

The little rich man patted his chest and said excitedly to Temujin, "I've taken care of this matter for you. I'll go with you." Once some people make up their minds, no one can stop them.Temujin was so moved by the little rich man's generosity that he had no choice but to agree to his joining. The little rich man threw away the milk pail, picked the strongest-looking horse, jumped on the horse's back nimbly, gave Temujin a "going" look, kicked the horse's belly, and jumped out first.Suddenly, he reined in and turned back.He jumped off his horse, searched carefully among his horses for a long time, and pulled out a good horse that was as black as coal.He said to Temujin: "Your horse is too bad, ride this one."

At this time, Temujin didn't care about his dignity anymore, he quickly changed his horse, and the two rode on the horse and galloped towards the place where the sun rose. On the way, the two chatted. The little rich man called himself Boershu, and he was the only son of Nahu, a rich man with a great reputation nearby.Temujin reported his name, and Borshu said pleasantly, "I've heard your name before! I know all about your father and your family's hard life after being abandoned by the tribe. I didn't expect you to have nine horses." Temujin was very humble and self-abased. He said, "Where are there nine horses? Now there is only one."

Borshu said at the top of his voice, "Brother Temujin, don't worry, I will help you find the horse!" The two looked at each other, and a rock-solid friendship had been formed in their hearts. It was extremely hard to find the horse. They drove on the grassland for two days, but they did not see the shadow of the horse thief.Borshu was a little anxious, but Temujin advised him to calm down.Borshu was amazed by Temujin's calmness and composure. When the sun set on the third day, Changshengtian paid off. The two finally saw a camp on a small hill. Borshu was so excited that he almost turned somersault on the horse's back, but Temujin told him to be quiet, and he looked carefully, and he saw the silver-gray horse grazing leisurely.

Temujin observed the surroundings of the camp and found that the other party was not vigilant, so he said to Borshu: "My friend! Those are my horses. You wait for me here, and I will drive them out secretly." Borshu became anxious: "I came to fight side by side with you, but you made me stand here stupidly. This is not the way to treat a friend!" Temujin advised his new friends: "This is risky. If they find out while driving the horses, they will definitely use force against me." Borshu shouted: "Of course I know there are risks, so I can't let you take risks alone. If I was afraid of risks, I would have stopped coming."

Seeing that Borshu was so stubborn, Temujin had no choice but to agree.The two cautiously rode to the side of the horse herd in the camp, and untied the eight horses.Hearing the shouts of drinking and having fun in the tent, the hearts of the two of them rose to their throats, and they almost drove the horse out of the camp with their eyes closed.When the voice of the people in the tent could not be heard, the two speeded up the driving, the horse galloped, and the earth trembled. Borshu turned around by chance and yelled: "No, they chased them out!" Temujin also turned his head and saw two horses galloping towards him.He heard Borshu say: "My friend, give me your bow and arrow, and I will break it."

Temujin reined in his horse, took out the bow from behind him, took out the sounding arrow that Jamuka had given him from his waist, put it on the bow, and said to Borshu almost in an orderly tone: "Go!" Boershu turned around and left involuntarily, as if under a spell. Two horse thieves had come within range, and Temujin aimed at one of them. The man noticed it, and hastily reined in his horse, staring at Temujin.Temujin let out a loud roar, raised his hand and shot the arrow towards the sky, the arrow pierced through the sky with a shrill cry, and after a while, it descended from the sky like a bolt of lightning with a shrill cry, following the path of the horse thief. The horse's face was stuck vertically into the grass, and the shaft of the arrow was still shaking.The horse thief yelled, vaguely saw Temujin go to get the arrow from his waist again, turned his head and ran away. Of course they have seen many kinds of arrows, but they have never seen such an arrow that fell from the sky and almost killed them. Temujin waited for them to run away, then drove his horse back to retrieve the arrow, sneered at the camp of the horse thieves, turned his horse's head and joined Borshu. Boershu now loves and admires Temujin, and he secretly vows to treat Temujin as his best friend in this life.When Temujin showed him the arrow, he was surprised to find that the arrowhead was made of iron, smooth and sharp.On the Mongolian grasslands at that time, there were very few iron arrowheads. Borshu stroked the arrow happily. Temujin looked at his childlike novelty and said lightly: "In the future, this kind of arrow will be popular in my tribe." more and more!" Three days later, Borshu and Temujin, who were familiar with the road, returned to Borshu's home.Borshu's father Nahu jumped out of the tent, his face was full of anxiety and surprise. Nahu hugged his son Borshu into his arms, tears streaming down his face, and then he said angrily, "You bastard, you've been gone for six days, why are you in such a hurry, you don't even say hello?" A proud smile appeared on Borshu's sunny face, and he said to his father: "If I tell you, you will definitely stop me, so I won't be able to make friends with Temujin." Only then did Nahu see Temujin, and Temujin's indistinct charisma moved him.During the meal, he said to the two of them: "Since you two are already friends, you should take care of each other in the future, don't fall out, friendship will last forever." The two nodded repeatedly.The next day, Temujin was leaving, but Borshu didn't want to keep him, because he knew that for a poor family, after losing eight horses, everyone would stay up all night. Before leaving, Temujin wanted to give Borshu four horses in order to thank Borshu for his generous help.Borshu flatly refused.He said: "I help you because I am sympathetic and friendly to you, not because of your property. Besides, I have a lot of property. How can I ask for your things?" Temujin held Borshu's hand tightly, and Borshu shook it back, saying, "I'm obliged to talk if I have something to do in the future." Sure enough, Borshu did not break his promise. A few years later, he brought his own rations and soldiers to join Temujin, and willingly became Temujin's subordinate. Some things may be destined, just like Borshu fell in love with Temujin at first sight.This can only be explained by the fact that those great leaders are born with a kind of temperament, which is like a magnet, attracting the surrounding iron. When Temujin appeared at the camp on his strong silver-gray horse and eight other horses, the yurt was boiling.His mother and younger brothers had been in fear for nearly ten days, but now they were finally looking forward to returning to Temujin. What made them even more ecstatic was that the eight horses also came back unscathed. Temujin once again became the hero of the family. From the breathtaking light shining in his sharp eyes at any time, everyone expected that the leader of the young chieftain of the Qiyan tribe could not be shaken.