Chen Zhao called out to everyone, "Be careful and alert. Don't take action without my order!"
Everyone responded and immediately dispersed to surround the convoy.
At this moment, the team also came closer.
The men riding on the tall horses were all men from the grassland. One of them was tall and strong, wrapped in a fur coat, a wide fur hat that covered half of his reddish-brown face, a thick beard, a shiny whip in his hand, and a scimitar at his side!
This is the best cavalry in the grassland royal court!
Almost instantly, Chen Zhao recognized them, and a slight pang of worry rose in his heart. Most of the people they had encountered before were guards from various tribes, far inferior to these people.
In other words, the previous rhetoric and methods of trade will probably not work.
Sure enough, the leader of the cavalry on the opposite side came forward holding the reins of his horse, with vigilance and sharpness in his eyes. He spoke in authentic grassland dialect, with no intention of accommodating the caravan and using broken Chinese.
Fortunately, Chen Zhao was also quite capable. During the few months he had lived in the royal court, he had learned the grassland dialect almost perfectly.
The cavalry leader asked them where they came from and where they were going.
Chen Zhao saluted as a gesture of friendship, then took out a string of Buddhist beads and handed it over, saying in grassland dialect, "Warrior of the grassland, I am a merchant traveling between the grassland and the Great Wei. I have had the honor of meeting the Living Buddha before. At the Living Buddha's request, I have collected many Buddhist scriptures in the southern part of the Great Wei and sent them to you."
The grassland leader carefully examined the Buddhist beads, his expression showing a bit of respect, then he held the beads in both hands and returned them to Chen Zhao.
But he still said, "I have never seen the Buddhist scriptures of the Great Wei Dynasty. I wonder if I can take a look at them?"
Of course Chen Zhao knew that he didn't completely believe their intentions and was just checking in disguise.
He didn't feel embarrassed at all and immediately asked everyone to open the tarpaulin on the second car.
There were neatly arranged boxes under the linoleum. Chen Zhao jumped on top, shielded himself from the wind and snow with his robe, then opened the box and took out a Buddhist scripture.
The grassland chief did not recognize the man, but he was familiar with the Buddha statues engraved on the Buddhist scriptures.
He glanced into the box again and vaguely saw that it was full of Buddhist scriptures, which completely dispelled his doubts.
Chen Zhao put the Buddhist scriptures back and tried his best to block them so that not a single snowflake could get into the box.
The grassland leader became more relieved and satisfied as he watched. After all, Chen Zhao cherished the Living Buddha so much, he must have great respect for the Living Buddha and valued his promises.
"We are just about to return to the royal court, so let us escort you all the way to see the Living Buddha." The leader of the Iron Cavalry took the initiative to propose, and Chen Zhao agreed immediately, bowed and expressed his gratitude, then asked someone to take dozens of bags of liquor from the last carriage and distribute them to the grassland Iron Cavalry.
This liquor is brewed from sorghum in the north. It is strong enough and is packed in a sheepskin bag so that it can be easily taken at any time.
Braving the wind and snow as you venture into the grasslands, resisting the cold is paramount. A sip of strong liquor can warm you up for at least half an hour.
During this journey, even Yonglu, Yongyue and Chen Ruiyang drank frequently. From being drunk at the beginning to having bright eyes now, they have made great progress.
The grassland cavalry also knew the value of this sorghum wine, which was much better than the wine brewed from their own grassland barley and mare's milk. They would only receive it as a reward from their master when they performed great deeds.
Unexpectedly, we met a convoy on the way and everyone got a bag!
Even the leader of the cavalry smiled, and his expression became even more enthusiastic.
Chen Zhao didn't dare to bet whether these grassland cavalrymen could speak Chinese, so he simply said a few words to everyone in the caravan.
"These warriors are returning to the royal court and are willing to escort us to see the Living Buddha. Everyone, work hard and deliver the Buddhist scriptures to the Living Buddha. Then we can rest assured for a few days."
The team members couldn't be said to be very smart, but they were definitely not stupid. At this time, naturally, no one could sabotage them.
The grassland people believe in Buddhism, which is a reverence and hope for fate and reincarnation.
Many times, when encountering problems, saying the title of prince or even the title of King of Han is not necessarily more useful than saying the title of Living Buddha.
This is also the reason why Chen Zhao did not mention the third prince and only used the title of Living Buddha.
After all, they didn't know the origin of this cavalry. If they were subordinates of a prince who was hostile to the third prince, they would be in danger.
But as long as they were carrying scriptures to the Living Buddha, no prince, tribal leader, or even the Khan, dared to act against them without authorization.
At the very least, they must be sent before the Living Buddha, who must personally confirm that they are enemies and not friends before they can be dealt with.
That night, the white-hair wind that had been blowing all day suddenly stopped, and everyone hid at the foot of a mountain to avoid the wind and spend the night.
The carriages and horses were tied around the perimeter, forming a small fortress.
Everyone cleared the snow quickly, took firewood and dry cow dung from the carriage, and soon seven or eight bonfires were burning.
The light of the fire made everyone feel relieved in such a cold and dark night.
Tai Yonglu, Tai Yongyue and Chen Ruiyang were busy taking a small iron pot, melting the snow and boiling the water. Everyone drank hot tea. They added white rice to the pot, put in dried mushrooms and dried vegetables, chopped dried meat, and salt, and a pot of steaming and fragrant meat porridge was ready.
Chen Zhao, Tai Jiye and others drank a bowl first, and then as if they had just remembered it, Chen Zhao hurriedly called the cavalry leader and others to warm their stomachs as well.
The leader of the Iron Cavalry held the bowl of porridge and looked at Chen Zhao and others, his eyes becoming more complicated.
The people of the grassland are naturally good at fighting, but when it comes to scheming, ten of them are no match for one person from the Wei Dynasty.
At this moment, Chen Zhao clearly wanted to invite them to drink porridge, but he was afraid that they would worry that there was medicine in the porridge, so he drank a bowl himself first and then pretended to have forgotten to invite them.
Not only did he put the blame on himself, but he also lowered their vigilance. He was really thoughtful and tactful.
I have to say that they felt comfortable and happy after doing this, but afterwards they couldn't help but feel envious and jealous.
We are all human beings and have the same brain, so why are the grassland warriors not as smart as the people of Wei?
Chen Zhaoke had no idea what the Iron Cavalry leader was struggling with. Seeing that he had eaten two bowls of porridge fiercely and showed no intention of stopping, he could only ask Yonglu and the others to continue cooking.
Yonglu felt a little distressed. The white rice, dried meat and mushrooms were all brought from home. If he continued to eat them like this, he might not be able to eat them on the way back.
He rolled his eyes, cooked another pot of porridge, and distributed it to the cavalrymen one by one. Smiling, he began to praise the cavalrymen in his half-familiar grassland dialect for their bravery and generosity!
Some of the cavalrymen couldn't stand the flattery, so they picked up a dagger or some small objects and gave them to him as a thank you gift while eating the hot porridge.
After going through all this, Yonglu finally got his "meal money" back!
Tai Yongyue and Chen Ruiyang were so excited that they wanted to do the same, but were stopped by Chen Zhao with a look.
The people of the grasslands are honest, but they are not stupid. "Blackmail" once is fine, but if it happens too many times, everyone will know that they are at a disadvantage!
After eating and drinking their fill, both sides, without further discussion, assigned their men to guard the night. The cavalrymen volunteered to guard the outside, while the convoy members guarded the inside.
On the quiet grassland, the cold wind howled and rolled up the snowflakes, it was cold and desolate.
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