Chapter 41 Section IX

The tawny muntjac has long legs and narrow back, and it crosses the variegated meadow like lightning. The grass looks like swift water flowing under it. There is a grass slope in front of it, and a blue sky is seen beyond it. With billowing dust and smoke, Bimogan reined in the war horse under his crotch.The war horse neighed and stopped, and with one step, Tuoba Shanyue's black horse stopped beside him. The eight-foot-long black horse shook its long black mane and scratched its hooves irritably. Tap it on the shoulder to calm it down. "This bastard is so fast, it looks like it won't be able to catch up." Bi Mogan looked at Jizi's figure flashing in the grass, and laughed a few times.

Tuoba Shanyue also laughed: "The eldest prince is a handsome horse, but he is not as agile as a wild animal that spends his whole life on the grassland to escape." Bimogan didn't answer, he took out the horn bow from the side pocket of the saddle, buckled a silver-painted purple-tailed mace arrow, tried the string, and suddenly led the horse out.Tuoba Shanyue waved his hand to stop the group of warriors following the hunt, all of them stood still, watching Bimogan unfurl his horn bow on the white horse like the wind. The deer slammed on the ground with all four hooves. At the end of the grassy slope, it bounced into the sky like a projectile. It stretched its vigorous body in mid-air. unruly.

With a sound of "bang", the bowstring cut through the air clearly, and the vigorous figure at the end of the grassy slope was suddenly sluggish, as if time stopped for a short time, and the shadow of the deer jumping high became a painting drawn in the blue sky and white clouds.The spiked arrow pierced through its curvaceous back, bringing up a stream of flying blood, and it fell powerlessly. Bimogan turned around with a smile. After a brief silence, Tuoba Shanyue on the black horse took the lead in pulling out the Pixiu knife and tapping on the scabbard, applauding loudly. Only then did the warriors of Bandang and Xiatang recover from their admiration, and pulled out their weapons together Strike the scabbard, hail the hero in barbarian fashion.

Bi Mogan galloped back into the crowd with his bow and horse high, with a smug look on his face. "Although the wild animals are agile, they don't have the wisdom of humans." He smiled, "I roasted the deer here, and offered its head as my respect to General Tuoba." Tuoba Shanyue pressed his chest in return: "It's not that it has no wisdom. No matter how smart a muntjac is, it can't escape the minions of a leopard. It's like a sparrow working hard, but it can't fly high like an eagle." The one-armed Banzalie turned his head slightly, and exchanged glances with Bimogan's companions.

The smell of barbecue floats in the nose, Xiatang warriors and barbarian warriors sit casually on saddles, the blue sky is covered with green grass as a mat, burnt yellow mussels are roasted on a campfire, and someone is holding a copper pot to heat barley tea . Bimogan clapped his hands with clear water, held up the silver knife respectfully, chopped off the muntjac's head with one stroke, put it on a silver plate and held it in front of Tuoba Shanyue. "The eldest prince is too respectful, why can I enjoy this end?" Tuoba Shanyue declined. The custom of the barbarians is to dedicate the head and heart of the first deer obtained from hunting to the most heroic man or the most prestigious old man in the tribe.

Bi Mogan smiled slightly, cleared his throat, and suddenly began to sing loudly.The barbarian ballads were incomprehensible to the soldiers of the Eastern Continent, but Lei Yun Menghu who was at the side watched him waving his robe sleeves, laughing and singing. . The barbarian warriors stood up together, and Tuoba Shanyue also stood up following the singing, listening respectfully. After Bimogan sang the song, he shook the hem of his leather robe: "General Tuoba came from the far east, he is someone my father respects, and he is a good man of our barbarians. Of course, the deer head can only be presented To General Tuoba. The peace and strength of our barbarians all depend on the help of General Tuoba."

Tuoba Shanyue saluted with his chest pressed, took the silver plate, cut off a piece of meat from the cheek of the deer head, bit it in his mouth, and held up the silver plate high: "This deer head is for the warriors of the barbarians to share." , this is the kindness of the great prince." Amidst the cheers of the warriors, Banzalie stood up and took the silver plate. Both Bimogan and Tuoba Shanyue stared at the bonfire silently. After a moment of silence, Bimogan picked up a dead branch and threw it in. With a flash of sparks, he said with a smile: "General Tuoba came to the northern capital. For half a month, the head of the family and several kings of the Khan have entertained the general, and it is only today that a junior like me has the opportunity to entertain the general, and I have not been able to talk to General Tuoba, so I feel very uneasy."

Tuoba Shanyue waved his hand: "The eldest prince is too modest, how dare Tuoba Shanyue accept it?" "The respect of our barbarians has never been dedicated to powerful nobles, but to heroes. General Tuoba is the hero in my heart. What does General Tuoba think of the future of the barbarians?" Lei Yun Menghu became alert and secretly watched Tuoba Shanyue's reaction. "In the future of the barbarians," Tuoba Shanyue pointed to the south, "they will be able to graze on the rich land in the Eastern Land, eat the corn in the Eastern Land, drink horses by the Jianshui River, and bend their bows at the foot of Leiyan Mountain."

"However," he changed the subject, "people in the Eastern Land can also drink tea under the Tongyun Mountain, sing poems and sing in the majesty's golden tent, and plant cotton and wheat on the grassland. There should be so many wars and massacres. Tuoba Shanyue wholeheartedly agrees with what our country’s lord said in his letter. One day, the world will live in harmony. Needless to say, the barbarians and the Donglu Chinese are of the same race, even if they are from the East. Yuren, Kuafu from Sunset Mountain in the west, and Heluo people in the south, can't you all drink together and enjoy yourself?"

Lei Yun Menghu smiled slightly in his heart.He had known earlier that this general was by no means a simple prairie warrior. Bimogan also knew that he wouldn't get out of Tuoba Shanyue's words so easily, so he smiled along with him. He thought for a while, and leaned over: "General, can you let me back down?" Tuoba Shanyue nodded, and Leiyun Menghu got up quietly and retreated out. Bi Mogan approached: "General Tuoba has such great ambitions, so I have a strategy to fight side by side with the general." "What strategy?" "I have long heard that Donglu came to Tang Dynasty. The country is rich and populous, occupying the bustling area of ​​Wanzhou, and our barbarians are strong in riding and shooting. The general knew about it a long time ago." Bi Mogan simply sketched on the grass with his finger , "Leiyan Mountain is the big cloudy mountain in the Eastern Land. It divides the Eastern Land into East and West. Although there are powerful Li Kingdom and Jinbei in the East, it will not be easy for them to attack the West. The next Tang Dynasty is about to rush , as long as we can raise troops to defend the fortress of Shangyang Pass, we will use our barbarian cavalry to attack Tianqi City. We will form an alliance with the great emperor of Tianqi, and from then on, the barbarians and Chinese will all be one family, while those princes of King Qin will be blocked by Leiyan Mountain. Isn't this a strategy to sweep the Eastern Continent?"

Tuoba Shanyue pondered for a moment: "The grand prince's strategy is certainly very good. But if he wants to meet the great emperor of Tianqi City, the grand prince must break through the defense lines of Chunguo's iron cavalry and the imperial capital's Yulin Tianjun, as well as the sky of Mieyunguan. Obstacles, these are not the directors of the barbarian rangers." "That's because General Tuoba didn't see our barbarian soldiers!" Bimogan suddenly stood up and raised his hands. Four barbarian warriors with horns on their backs walked out of the crowd, half-knelt on the ground, and blew their horns to the east.The voice of Shen Xiong, which is unique on the battlefield, made Lei Yunmenghu involuntarily press the hilt of his sword and look into the distance.In the distance is the cloudy mountain and the large horse grass in the faint mist. Before noon, the eastern sun burns a layer of pale gold on the top of the mountain. It was all silent, but Bimogan's posture of looking sideways carried the majesty of overlooking thousands of troops.The Xia Tang warriors looked at each other in surprise. There was a faint vibration, it was like the feeling of the clouds and mountains breaking apart.The flag first appeared, and then the smoke and dust, followed by a wave of horses, all of which were black horses, sweeping towards them.With the national power of the Tang Dynasty, the warriors had never seen such a huge formation of barbarian cavalry. When the tall and powerful barbarian horses formed an army, it was not so much a legion as a group of beasts on the grassland. The cavalry ran around Bimogan and Tuoba Shanyue's team, and the rising smoke and dust seemed to be a barrier, covering the sky.Lei Yun Menghu, who was in it, only felt that his feet were not the ground, but a small boat in the undulating waves.The strong smell of horses made him breathless, and the other Xia Tang warriors were also panicked like him, but Tuoba Shanyue was still nodding his head approvingly. Bimo raised his hand abruptly. The cavalry reined in their horses and stopped abruptly. The well-trained horses did not panic at all. The centurions headed by the dazzling red tassels hung from their heads. They held battle flags and nailed them to the ground, forming an iron barrel-like encirclement. Bimogan strode forward and shouted to a cavalryman, "Draw out your sword!" The cavalryman immediately pulled out the long knife in the saddle bag, Bi Mogan took it, and with a backhand shake, the edge of the blade shot out a blue light, it was an extremely sharp pure steel knife.He then swung his knife and slashed out, striking the cavalryman's chest powerfully! With a metallic roar of "Boom", the cavalryman took Ma Xiao back a step, but stopped firmly, the knife grazed the black iron heavy armor on his chest, leaving only a faint white mark. Bimogan didn't speak, and swung his knife again. This time, the blade brushed off the cavalry's helmet, and the red tassels fluttered down with the wind, and the scene was filled with silence. He threw the saber back to the cavalry, turned around and opened his arms to Tuoba Shanyue and Xiatang warriors: "This is the iron cavalry I trained. Our saber is not like the one brought by General Tuoba Well, our armor is not as strong as Heluo's armor, but we in Qingyang have ten thousand swords like this, ten thousand pieces of iron armor, and ten thousand men ready to wield such swords and wear such iron armor to go into battle." Tuoba Shanyue sighed and nodded: "Unexpectedly, forty years later, the barbarian iron cavalry will have such a formation. The princes of the Eastern Continent really can't figure out our grassland." Bimogan came back and saluted respectfully: "Although it is not as good as the iron pagoda in my grandfather's hands, since I was an adult, there has never been a day when I have not been running such a cavalry. Even my father may not know us. The equipment I took the liberty to show General Tuoba today is to convince General Tuoba that I, a young boy, can fight side by side with the general and the lord of your country." Tuoba Shanyue pondered for a moment: "Maybe I was wrong when I came here. There are young heroes on the grassland again. If the eldest prince doesn't mind, you can come to my tent tomorrow to talk about it." A smile appeared on the corner of Bimogan's mouth: "Although I am young, I claim to be an eagle on the grassland. What I want to talk to the general is not about being a hostage." into the night. The girls were twirling around with their white dancing sleeves in the huge golden tent, which was full of hilarious scenes. Holding a wine glass, Tuoba Shanyue toasted the Great Khan kings and noble family heads one by one.For half a month in a row, almost every day the Maharaja held a dinner in the golden tent to entertain the noble envoys of the Eastern Continent.Tuoba Shanyue toasted and passed by Bimogan's table, and the two smiled slightly when they looked at each other. Tuoba Shanyue went back to the guest table and sat down, Ba Bang had already come to invite him to the Maharaja's seat.Maharaja sat in the incense with a calm expression. When he saw Tuoba Shanyue approaching, he only smiled slightly and pointed to the cushion beside him. "Did Bi Mogan show the general the cavalry he trained today?" Tuoba Shanyue sat down, and the Maharaja seemed to ask directly casually. "Yes." Tuoba Shanyue replied calmly, "It is a rare and strong army. The weapons and armor used seem to be made by the Eastern Land. With the barbarian horses, this army may be able to compete with Chun. The wind and tiger cavalry, whose country is so famous in the east, are fighting. The majesty must have known it a long time ago, right?" "I know, Bimogan traded his fur back from Chunguo. He didn't tell me, and I didn't care about him. Anyway, he was still a strong soldier of our Qingyang after training. Bimogan is my son. I believe that. He, but Bi Mogan showed this army to the general, does the general understand what he means?" "The meaning of the eldest prince must be that his troops are strong, and the help he has given to our country by staying in the Northland is far greater than that he went to Nanhuai as a hostage. Since the two countries have formed an alliance, of course we also want to have a strong ally in Xiatang .” The majesty smiled and took a sip of the strong wine: "I ask the general to choose the hostages he needs. Has the general not chosen yet?" Tuoba Shanyue also lowered his head to drink, and shook his head slightly: "Tomorrow the third prince will also invite me to watch the horses in the south of the city. I think the character and intelligence of the third prince will not be inferior to the cavalry of the eldest prince, right?" "General Tuoba is a good man of our barbarians. Why do you have to hesitate so long to choose a hostage? Every prince is my beloved son. In my opinion, there is no difference between them." "But in our eyes, the princes of the Maharaja are different." The majesty frowned, and pressed the silver cup on the table: "What does the general mean?" "It's different from what the eldest prince thinks. What we want in the Tang Dynasty is the smartest and bravest prince in your ministry. Our country is definitely not looking for a hostage, but to train a grassland for the majesty with the military martial arts of the Eastern Land The heroes in the world will be returned to the Maharaja. Our country's lord and maharaja are not in their prime, and the new overall situation will naturally be decided by the young people!" Tuoba Shanyue shook her head: "Before I came, I had already planned to ask the king to ask the prince to live in Nanhuai. It's a pity that the prince has passed away." The majesty's expression became gloomy: "I'm afraid the general will still be disappointed when he sees Asule."