Chapter 1468 The Strange Yongning Temple (Additional Chapter for Alliance Leader Book Friend 33021211000)
"Lord God! These savages are really wild boars! Whatever they see, they want to take a bite first, not afraid of stabbing their throats!"
"Haha! Ancestor! As long as they can grab good things, they don't care about the dead! You know, in the eyes of our tribe, wild boars are brave totems! At least, they are much braver than cunning wolves!..."
As the sun set, the long boat turned its bow and sailed quickly to the lower reaches of the river along the surging Heilongjiang River. The dark forests on both sides were like the background of the fleet, like a vast ink landscape painting. And the many tribes bred by this vast northern forest sea are also like this deep-colored "Heilongjiang River", floating coldly in the reality of life and death.
"Ah!~Ah!~"
The sun sets and the moon rises, and the September wind has brought a little autumn. The roar of the beast came from the depths of the forest sea, mixed with the shouts of people and dogs. As the cold weather approaches, the wild beasts in the jungle also begin their last hunting and frenzy before winter. Of course, the most ferocious overlord in the forest is always the wild man in the forest. And the most brutal fight will only happen between human tribes...
"The Lord God is a witness! These wild tribes along the river are in great need of iron, salt and food! They are poor, brave and good at fighting, and are good trading and recruitment targets for the kingdom!..."
"But it is not so easy to trade with these wild tribes and open up this mighty river! Even if there are helpers like the Maha tribe, you must always be careful and maintain sufficient force! And for both sides to establish enough mutual trust, and even spread the Lord God's faith and tell the story of the unity of the people... it requires more contact and a longer time!..."
Zuwaro stood at the bow, watching the river surge northward and rush to the estuary downstream. Nurgan, where the Maha tribe is located, is actually more than 300 miles north of Harmanwei. That is to say, this time, the exploration to the south, after sailing for only more than 300 miles, encountered a chaotic and fighting tribe of wild people, and saw a corner of the chaotic fighting in the south. Afterwards, the fleet exchanged more than 100 captives from the tribe of the mature women and returned.
The speed of the water in this section of the lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River is too fast. The fleet used to sail upstream, and could only sail 30 to 40 miles a day, which took nine to ten days to reach. Now, if the speed of the ship is not reduced, it is estimated that it can travel 100 miles a day, and it will only take three days to return.
"There will be spring floods in spring and ice floods in winter. The flow rate is very fast in summer and autumn, and the river is winding... This turbulent Hunhe River is really not a suitable river for navigation! And the kingdom's exploration to the south has really just started on this river that is said to be thousands of miles long!"
Thinking of the poor shipping conditions of this river and the complicated tribal fighting along the way, Zuwaro shook his head and felt not optimistic. If it weren't for this double difficulty, the Ming Dynasty would not have completely abandoned this place and allowed the two sides of the river to fall into chaos.
At present, in the mountains and forests on both sides of the river, the wild and brave Jurchen tribes are everywhere like migrating beasts, bringing great pressure to people. This is the second clearly recorded period of chaos in the vast forests of Outer Northeast China since the rise of various tribes. The last period of chaos was a thousand years ago, when the Little Ice Age began...
"Of course, the biggest gain from this trip south is not the more than a hundred young tribes... but the chief with thin braids, the commanding chief of the Ming Dynasty!..."
Thinking of the mature Jurchen chief imprisoned in the cabin, Zuwaro's mouth corners slightly raised. He reached out and took out a newer copper seal from Xiong Da's backpack and looked at it carefully.
"The deputy commander of the Harman Guards... the fourteenth year of Chenghua... Chenghua? This is another new year, probably like the Kingdom's House Year, Rabbit Year, and Reed Year... and looking at the shiny quality of this copper seal, it should have been only a few years ago?..."
"The Lord God is witness! It's not time to interrogate him yet. The boat is so crowded that we can't have a good talk. Let's leave him alone for a few days and let him think about it. Then we can make him tell the truth... It's almost time! Wait a few more days, wait until the fleet arrives at the Maha tribe, and make arrangements..."
Four days passed quickly, and the Kingdom's fleet of three long ships finally docked at the shore and arrived at the Nurgan Maha tribe. This way down the river, the water was turbulent, the river was winding, and there were many shoals and reefs. The fleet had to keep speed all the time and dared not sail at full speed. Even so, it ran aground once on the way, and the captives came down to tow the boat. This is also thanks to the fact that the fleet is all flat-bottomed boats, and there are no "huge ships", otherwise it can't be towed! You know, the name of this river is the roaring "Black Dragon"...
"Holy Emperor! Where is this? How can the savages have such a big village?... Is this here? Is this here?..."
Ali, the chief of the Harman tribe, trembled all over and climbed out of the crowded cabin. He looked up and saw a big village. The scale of this village is twice that of the Harman tribe. There is even a village wall made of earth and stone, and fields surrounded by the wall!
But when Ali wiped his hungry old eyes and looked carefully for a while, he suddenly found that most of the "village" had collapsed. Even the outer village wall was intermittent, and the middle was covered with fences. Looking at the collapsed pagoda temple in the distance and the tower body that was rare in the north, Ali suddenly realized and shouted tremblingly.
"Ancestors! That's Yongning Temple! Is this Nurgandusi?! It's the abandoned Nurgandusi!..."
"Holy Emperor! The stronghold of this savage tribe is actually here?... How many tribes do they have, and they dare to occupy this important place that locks the river mouth and allows various tribes to communicate?!... Could it be that they are not afraid of the Holy Emperor's order to send troops? ?…”
Harman Chief Ali's lips trembled and he muttered a few words in a low voice. He carefully observed the size of this stronghold and calculated that there were probably five or six hundred savage tribes. Adding the more than two hundred people on the ship, that's seven or eight hundred people? No, there are more than a hundred people from my own tribe who were kidnapped. The total number is almost a thousand...
However, would even a large savage tribe of a thousand people dare to occupy Nuer Gandusi? With such a small manpower, can they still occupy Nuer Gandusi? Yes, their large ships, their iron armor, and the iron pots and iron axes that can be exchanged are all different from ordinary savage tribes...
Could it be that behind these people is really a tribe of ten thousand households in Mongolia? wrong! How could the Mongols be willing to give up precious iron tools in exchange for useless men? …
"Damn! Where did this savage tribe come from? How could there be such a strange savage tribe?!..."
Thinking of these difficult questions, Ali had a splitting headache and couldn't think of any reliable answers. The previous judgment that the so-called collusion between the savages and the Mongols had been overturned by his observations along the way.
The Harman Tribe has taken root in the northern and lower reaches of the river since it was canonized during the Yongle period. Each generation of Harman chiefs paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty and received canonizations from Taizong, Renzong, Yingzong, Xuanzong, Xianzong and Xiaozong, a total of six generations of Ming emperors! These canonizations are all recorded in the Ming Dynasty Records. Regarding the situation upstream and downstream of the river, the Harman tribe really knows everything about it, and they are the real tigers on the ground! Well, although the strength is a bit weaker...
At the moment, this sudden appearance of the Maha tribe, the vast majority of the tribesmen, including the appearance of this camp, are all in the shape of savage Jurchens. There is no doubt about this, Ali has already observed and confirmed it! But how could the savages from the north and south have big ships? How could they have so many iron tools? Even the Duoyan Sanwei in the west, the Uuliangha Wanhu in the northwest... even if these large Mongolian tribes in the west can provide tens of thousands of herdsmen and cavalry, they will not spend as much money as this savage tribe, exchanging iron weapons for human beings!
"Something's wrong. The appearance of these iron weapons, big ships, and squatting tiger cannons is so wrong! It's impossible that they were really obtained by some forest shaman and some evil human sacrifice, right?..."
Thinking of this, Ali felt a little trembling in his heart. Like the Mongols, the Tungus Jurchen tribes are all too familiar with human sacrifice. This kind of sacrifice only differs in size, not in existence. However, right now, it is very likely that the last members of his Harman Tribe, or even himself, will be sacrificed...
"...! What are you doing! Where are you taking me?!..."
Chief Harman was still thinking, but his arms suddenly tightened and his feet were dangling in the air. In his horrified eyes, two thick and short armored warriors carried him towards the collapsed temple. At the entrance of the temple, the plaque of "Yongning Temple" seems to have been rewashed. The word "Temple" at the back has been shoveled away, and a mysterious and complex variant character is written with a strange red paint...
"Yongning...thunder...bird...god?"
Chief Harman's eyes widened as he looked at the three parts of the variant characters. They seemed to be "Thunder", "Bird" and "God" respectively. They were all ancient characters with partial graphics, as if they contained some kind of special meaning. mystery. And when he was carried into the half-collapsed temple, he was faced with a red stone altar, and a more abstract mural on the altar, carving an abstract and weird...
"Ancestor! What is this? An eagle growing in the sun?..."
Chief Harman's eyes moved away from the obvious blood stains on the altar, and his whole body trembled! His gaze passed over a row of fierce tribal warriors and was fixed on the heads of two shamans with strange expressions and wearing bright feather crowns. And one of the shamans, whom he had had close contact with before, was the forest shaman who tricked him into boarding the boat! …
"Chief of the Harman Tribe! We meet again!..."
The priest Kui Huo lit the sacred smoke and sprinkled a handful of sulfur, making the flame glow with a strange blue light. In the pungent and dull smoke, Zuvalo groaned with a smile, stretched out his fingers, and touched the wrinkled forehead of the Harman chief Ali, as if he was performing some evil ritual.
"Uh!...respected...respected forest shaman..."
As soon as the elder Chief Ali stiffened, he heard Manchu with a strange accent, like a snake hissing, penetrating into his ears.
"Witness the Lord God! I said before that I will protect your tribe and rescue your tribesmen..."
"Now, Chief of the Harman Tribe! My promise has been fulfilled... It's time for you to give your reward and pay your price..."
"Lin... Shaman in the forest, you... what price do you want? Now, my people, including my life, are in your hands! Whatever you want to take, just take it!..."
"Aha! What I want, I can't get it myself, I have to agree with you! Just like...your soul!..."
A faint voice floated in the half-collapsed temple. Then, there was the wooden door slamming shut, the flickering light of the fire, the rising smoke, and the low chanting of the shamans. Then, a shrill scream suddenly cut through the groggy darkness! This voice was filled with great terror. It sounded suddenly, gradually turned into a howl, and finally disappeared into the cold mountain forest...
Chapter 2 will be updated! Thanks to the new leader and readers for their support and encouragement!