Aztec Eternals

"Ali, how far is it from Nurgan to Harbin? Which way is faster? Is it by horse or boat?"

"The Lord God with bloody eyes bears witness! Starting from Nurgan, it is about three or four thousand miles to go to the various tribes of Fuyuwei! First, go south for two thousand miles, pass through the territories of the various tribes of the wild people, and reach the mouth of the Ussuri River. Then go west and south for one or two thousand miles, pass through the territories of the various tribes of Haixi Jurchen, and then you can reach Harbin in the upper reaches of the Songhua River..."

Ali, the chieftain of the Harman, stretched out his finger and drew a vertical and a horizontal line on the ancient wild boar skin map. The "vertical" is two thousand miles to the south, and the "horizontal" is more than a thousand miles to the west, both along the river.

In this era, the vast inner and outer northeast is covered by deep and endless forests. There are continuous mountains in the high places and dense swamps in the low places. Only the big rivers and rivers are the roads that the various tribes in the northeast can pass. This does not just mean that ships can sail on the river, but the area along the river beach is relatively open and flat, and it is easier to walk. The riverside has a wide view and is safer to travel. In spring, summer and autumn, you can ride horses, and in winter you can use dog sleds.

"Zu Shaman! The three or four thousand miles of buying horses actually overlap with the journey we have to take when we go south to pay tribute. If you ride a horse, you can walk a hundred miles a day along the river beach. Even if you go slower and slower, only walk eighty miles a day, it only takes forty to fifty days to see the herds of Fu Yu tribe!..."

"And if you go along the river, rowing upstream will be slower, and you may only walk forty miles a day. You have to save enough energy to prevent accidents. Even if you go faster, rowing fifty or sixty miles a day, it will take more than two months. However, when you return downstream, you can row eighty or even a hundred miles a day, and it is more comfortable than riding a horse!..."

Speaking of this, the chieftain of Harman, Ali, paused for a moment, thought about it, and shook his head.

"No! It's impossible to buy only a few dozen horses when going to Fuyuwei. It's better to go to the west to find those 'forest people', which are closer... If we want to buy, we must buy 100 or 200 horses! So many horses can't be loaded on the boat, and the horses won't be quiet... We can only go on horseback, and then bring back two or three horses each!..."

"Ancestors bless us! When we went there, we were all a group of poor people with hammer-back bows. The tribes along the way, whether they were savages or Haixi Jurchens, didn't have any intention of taking action. But on the way back, with an eye-catching herd of horses, it's not so safe! In my opinion, we still have to gather 200 cavalrymen to bring back 200 mountain horses, and try to choose tall horses..."

"In addition, we have to pass through the territories of the Haixi tribes in the middle, so it's best to find a familiar and trustworthy chief to meet us. It would be best to take out some goods and buy a passerby... What? Are there any chiefs you know? Well... I definitely know them, but they are not that close and cannot withstand the temptation of large sums of money and goods. It would be best to go to Yierguliwei and get their chief Shaguda to join us! Shaguda and I have participated in three tributes together, and our ancestors have also had exchanges, so we can trust him! They are close to the Haixi tribes, and they have intermarried for generations. They can almost be regarded as a branch of the Haixi tribes. They must have familiar channels and can guarantee safety and security..."

"Lord God bless you! A journey of three or four thousand miles, riding a horse? A trip of forty days, and a round trip of only three months? With horses, the speed of movement is really amazing... Lord God! What did you say? Buy two hundred horses at a time? ! ..."

Hearing the horse purchase plan given by the chief apprentice Ali, Zuwaro's eyes lit up immediately. Two hundred horses at a time, and they are all Jurchen horses, not the small ponies that are short like humans! It only takes three or four months to do this big business, and the kingdom will have enough horses, and there is no need to buy horses from people! But soon, he frowned again and asked.

"Ali, you just said... for safety and security, we have to go to Yierguliwei, pull the Jurchen chief there to join the group, and find the chief of Haixi Jurchen to support?..."

"Yes! We will go back and forth in the territories of the Haixi tribes along the way, and it will take two months. It is impossible to hide it from the tribes! And a team of hundreds of horses will definitely attract the attention of the tribes, and even attract cavalry scouts to follow. Over the years, the tribes have been fighting with the wild tribes from the north and south, and they have long been like vigilant weasels... You must have a familiar chief to guarantee and say hello in advance!..."

"Oh! So that's it!... Haixi Jurchen? The spying of the Haixi tribes..."

Hearing this, Zuwaro's eyes flashed, and he was somewhat noncommittal about the suggestion of pulling the "Haixi Jurchen" to join the group. He just heard the excitement of the two hundred horses, and instantly calmed down as if he was poured with a basin of cold water.

Before the power of the kingdom headquarters was strong enough, Zuwaro maintained a cautious attitude towards cooperation with other southern Jurchen tribes. He needed to be careful in contact, and it was best to establish mutual trust between tribes through marriages of important figures. After all, although he had a lot of gold in his hands, the power of the headquarters was only so little. What if he encountered the spying of the Haixi Jurchens, or an ambush by the tribal alliance... How could he be worthy of the brothers who followed him across the sea for thousands of miles, and worthy of His Majesty who gave him the important task and support?

"Well, Ali, you just said... Only if you buy a large number of horses, you need to find the powerful Fu Yuwei. If it's dozens of horses, it's better to find the "Forest People"? Where is this "Forest People" tribe? How far is it from us?..."

"Huh? Instead of going to Fu Yuwei, go to the "Forest People" to buy horses?..."

Hearing this, the chieftain of the Harman tribe, Ali, was stunned. He didn't understand why Zu Shaman suddenly changed his mind. But he had no decision-making power and could only listen to Zuwaro's orders. So, Ali once again drew a long line to the west on the map, and then drew a red circle at a certain location on the river.

"Respected Zu Shaman! The people in the forest, that is, the Wuliangha Wanhu, are just west of Nurgan... If you want to go there, you must first go west along the Hen Gu River, then turn to the tributary of the Jingqili River (Shelemjia River), and go west and south. After about two thousand miles, you will reach the Huntong River! This will directly cross the Haixi tribes and go directly to the middle reaches of the river, which is the red circle, 'Halabo' (Hailanpao). There are many elm forests and many deer herds there, which are very attractive for hunting by various tribes..."

"Lord God bless you! As long as you pass Harabo and go to the upper reaches of the river to the west, you may encounter people riding horses at any time. The forest people who are herding. Their tribes are very small, mostly only one or two hundred people, and they migrate with horses, cattle, sheep or deer. And these forest tribes, especially those near "Harab", basically speak our tribal language, and are half-Jurchen and half-Mongolian tribes. It's just that they have more exchanges with the Mongolian tribes in the upper reaches of the river, so they are regarded as Mongolians. And going west along the river, it is said that you can reach the heart of Mongolia and the majestic Bogda Holy Mountain! …”

“Holy mountain? Bogda Holy Mountain?”

Hearing the name of the holy mountain, Zuwaro, who was born in the plateau and worshipped the holy mountain, instantly became interested and wanted to see it with his own eyes. But when he asked again, he heard that there were tens of thousands of nomadic Mongolian tribes at the foot of the holy mountain, and he shook his head again. He didn't know that the pastures around the holy mountain would have another name in later generations, "Kulun", "fenced grassland". Later, "Kulun" became "Ulaanbaatar"...

"Ali, Harabo is only two or three thousand miles away from us, and there are no dangerous large tribes along the way. We can go back and forth once every two months! When the spring of next year comes, we will go west to find the "forest people" and buy some horses, cattle and sheep back!..."

After weighing it for a moment, Zuwaro made a decision. This vast land in the northeast is too dangerous. It is safest to deal with small tribes first and slowly grow ourselves! However, what kind of goods should we bring to trade with the forest tribes in the west?

"Ali, do the tribes in the forest recognize gold?"

"Uh! Gold? This... Zu Shaman, these tribes in the forest are actually very similar to the wild tribes that moved south, very ignorant! Cough! Don't hit me! I didn't say the Maha tribe, I said the people in the forest... It's just that the forests where the tribes in the forest live are not as dense as here, and they have more exchanges with the Mongolian tribes, so it's easy to get livestock. They have large and small forest pastures suitable for grazing, so they raise herds... So, gold is actually useless to them..."

"Oh? Since they don't want gold, what goods do they lack?"

"What are you missing? The ancestors witnessed! The tribes in the forest The tribe is just like the ‘savages’, lacking everything! Lack of ironware, lack of weapons, lack of food…”

“Well… we don’t have too much ironware, let alone weapons, and it’s difficult to transport food…”

Zuwaro frowned, calculating the trade goods he could take out at hand, preferably light, easy to carry, and high in the eyes of the tribe…

“Priest Zuwaro! Do you remember the goods that were most popular among the coastal tribes when we sailed on the Far North Coast and the West Coast before? The forest tribes here are actually also in short supply! …”

“Hmm? ! You mean? ! …”

Hearing this, Zuwaro’s eyes moved and looked at the priest Kuihuo. Priest Kuihuo nodded and took out a small bag from his arms. Then, he stretched out his hand and gently pinched it, and the gray-white salt crystals flashed in front of the holy fire.

“Yes! This is it! Salt!”

“Salt that can be obtained cheaply and in large quantities from the people! …”