Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 2170 - 1569: Buying Horses for the Journey Home, Tribute to the Ming Dynasty Next Year!

The future is always unpredictable, and a person’s fate is equally unforeseeable. On the stockade walls left by the Ming Dynasty, Zuwaro fell silent for a moment before patting Aguda’s broad shoulders and asking."May the Chief Divine bless! Aguda, this time you brought back so many horses, all thanks to your battles! But these horses and prisoners that the Maha tribe must support... I fear the needed food will not be a small amount!"

"Chief! You are right. I can’t support so many people and horses; I will give half of the war horses and prisoners to you! I also need you to transport more food here, especially that white, hunger-sustaining ’rice,’ the more the better!"

Maha Agudah grinned widely, lacking the worry seen on Zuwaro’s face. The pressure of food had indeed hovered over all the Northeast Jurchen Tribes, like shadows cast by the White Mountain God, descending cruelly from the cold and hungry winter.

However, as long as the tribes have swords, armor, and horses, will they just starve? At worst, they go out to fight, go out to plunder, to reduce the unfed population. Now the Maha tribe compared to several years ago has improved so much! At least they have enough weapons and equipment, enough marching provisions to start a tribal war, and even stored fuel for the winter. As for the dead, the Shengshu Jurchen Tribes going southward have long been accustomed to it, always unafraid...

"Haha! Chief, stop worrying! Come now, let’s eat, drink, and sing and dance together tonight! This time out to buy horses, we’ve swallowed two tribes and captured so many horses; it’s just a ’good beginning!’ A good beginning, like the morning sunlight, is the ’first appearance of the bear’s palm!’"

"Hmm... the first appearance of the bear’s palm. A good beginning will lead to an even better future. May the Chief Divine bless us!"

"Roar! Master, what bear’s palm? Where is the bear’s palm? Bear’s palm is delicious! Delicious! Roar!..."

"Wu Xiong, shut up! Go chew your lamb leg..."

"Gugugugugu...huur-huur-huur!"

The opening of the banquet was a deep Mongolian throat singing. The Mongolian riders imitated the echo of the wind traversing the valleys, also imitating the grass waves stirred by the wind, and mimicking the striking of the morin khuur. Afterwards came the sudden long tunes, from wind blowing to wolves howling, then the cries of galloping horses.

"Oh...ju-uu-uu...tu-eh-eh-eh!"

"Stallions, prancing back home! Women, radiantly smiling! Men, strong and mighty! We all sing like eagles..."

"Let us sing celebratory songs...under the azure Tenggeri sky, only victory and singing endure!"

"Eat! Eat meat! Eat meat soup! Build up the bonfire, eat well and continue singing; no one sleeps tonight, only howl like wolves!"

The unending Mongolian joyful songs rang out within the Huli Ping Village bonfire. Among those mottled bricks, echoed the songs of men, followed by the gentle sings of women. Eating well, dressing warmly, multiplying tribes is the most humble pursuit on the grassland, yet the shortest and rare gold autumn before the long cruel winter snow arrives.

Three days later, when the Kingdom’s horse-buying team left the camp, it had grown from two hundred people to three hundred fifty, carrying three hundred horses, tripling their transport capacity! The salt and iron pots on horsebacks were mostly exchanged for large quantities of meat jerky, dairy products, and lots of warm cattle and sheep skins. The worthless salt goods were left by Zuwaro at the River-side Tribe, exchanged for many soft hides; he wanted to free up capacity to carry more useful local specialties. He even set up many racks on horsebacks, bringing forty breeding sheep, securely tied up and carried on the horses.

Among these forty breeding sheep, there were both sheep and goats, as most nomadic tribes raise both types. In fact, one could easily tell that the larger, more wooly ones are sheep, the smaller, fine-haired ones are goats. Sheep are more cold-resistant, suitable for flat, lush grasslands. While goats are more suited to barren lands, better adapted to hilly, forested complex terrains.

Zuwaro especially arranged for Ali, choosing the fattest and strongest breeding sheep to bring back to the Kutadai Peninsula for breeding, afterwards using the Ocean Shielding Ship to transport these "four-legged cotton beasts" back to the Northern Continent. Meanwhile, others at the River-side Tribe probably saw this as the "Da’erhan" Nobles liking to enjoy themselves, wanting live sheep to eat on the way. As for the special Mongolian cattle, they couldn’t be brought back. The journey was too long, and cattle walked too slow; unable to be driven back in winter, only to slowly find opportunities later.

"Abaha! I’m leaving now! May ancestors bless the tribe... I’ll return with my children to see you when I get the chance!"

Pearl rode on horseback, raised her sun-tanned face, waving goodbye to Aba Bule and Uncle Ao Hala on the stockade. The two Noble Chiefs on the stockade wall wore iron armors, smiling and watching the "Brother Aguda" armored people’s team slowly disappear into the eastern horizon. It wasn’t until this "Great Tribe Armored Cavalry" was completely gone, did their smiles vanish abruptly. It’s just that their gazes still focus on the eastern grassland, the Great River beyond the grassland, the forest beyond the river, and the more distant eastern mountain forest.

"May Longevity Heaven bless! They finally left...headed eastward!..."

"Yes."

"Brother! I feel that this suddenly appearing ’horse buying team’ doesn’t seem like it was sent by the Ten Thousand Households Tribe to the south! They left so much salt and several ironwares for us, even giving us two iron armors... We saw people from Ten Thousand Households Tribe in the south the previous year! But never so wealthy and generous. Even those Haixi Jurchen Tribes, we had seen them at the lower reaches of the Great River, had no such abundance in salt and iron!"