The Wilderness in winter was still cold even with the mountains blocking the wind and hot springs flowing. The palace and the Central Plains countries' negotiations had been going on for several days and had entered the most heated stage.
The cavalrymen of Divine Hall escorted the nobles here because the Chanyu princess liked flowers very much. Due to the climate of the Wilderness, she could not cultivate them properly. Therefore, she wrote a letter to the Divine Hall to let the Flower Addict Lu Chenjia come to the palace for a while so that she could learn from her.
This had nothing to do with the negotiations, but it started when the negotiations were in a deadlock. Just like the food sent by the girls from the Great River Kingdom, it was a secondary exchange of feelings.
Both the barbarians, the Left King's Palace and the Central Plains countries did not want the war to continue. The reason for the plundering and the subsequent conflicts was because of the Desolate Man's return to the south. The former was a problem of resources, the latter was a problem of attitude. The so-called negotiations were just the two sides haggling over the number of troops to be sent and the supply of food.
Facing the hundreds of thousands of Desolate Man who had reappeared after a thousand years, it was reasonable for both sides to join forces to resist. But who should be in charge of this and who should send more troops?
The Desolate Man were born warriors. In the bloody battle in the north at the beginning of spring, the grassland cavalrymen suffered heavy casualties, which once again proved this almost forgotten theory. If they wanted to stop the Desolate Man from going south or even drive them back to the extremely cold north, they would have to pay a heavy price. Who would be willing to let their own army be at the forefront?
Regarding this matter, the Divine Hall and the Tang Empire both showed a very tough attitude. The army pressed on the long frontier fortress in the north of Yan Kingdom, and the young cultivators of various sects were sent out. The grassland Left King's Palace had already been seriously damaged in the war with the Desolate Man. In the face of such a situation, even if Chanyu wanted to show his toughness, he did not have much confidence.
Negotiations depended on who had the stronger spine and who had the more confidence. Once one side was not confident enough and lowered his head, the negotiations would naturally be much smoother. On the second day when Ning Que and the disciples of Black Ink Garden arrived at the palace, the two sides finally reached a consensus.
Before the second wave of fertile grass grew at the turn of the next spring and summer, the Left King's Palace would send their main force to the north to attack the Desolate Man's tribe. As for the Central Plains, they only agreed to send about six thousand cavalry troops, but promised to give the Left King's Palace the most generous financial aid. They also agreed to provide most of the food and armaments that the Left King's Palace needed.
The news of the successful negotiation was carried by the winter wind and spread across the entire meadow at the fastest speed possible. The cloud-like tents were filled with either enthusiastic cheers or low curses. The Royal Court tribe began to prepare strong wine and delicacies. Other than that, they also decided to hold an impromptu Ge Mumu meeting.
Ge Mumu was a barbarian word that meant a joyous gathering. It would only be held during the grandest festival in the grasslands. The royal court had decided to hold a Ge Mumu gathering at the last minute. Firstly, it was to celebrate the success of the peace talks. Secondly, it was to use this opportunity to allow the people of the royal court tribe to interact with the people of the Central Plains. As for whether this intention could be realized or not, no one knew.
The sound of the zither, the horn sounded, and all kinds of colorful banners flew in the wind. People from all over gathered on the meadow. It was extremely lively, especially outside the open area where the competition of horsemanship and archery was held. It was densely packed.
The people in leather or cotton-padded jackets did not stand shoulder to shoulder like brothers. They still stood together with their companions and had their own camps. However, this did not stop them from cheering when they saw the wonderful horsemanship performance in the Ge Mumu meeting.
The sheep catching competition ended and the winning rider received a generous reward. This also made the following archery competition even more exciting.
A Royal Court archer successfully defeated his opponent with his superb archery skills. The arrows on the red target seemed to overlap, causing the crowd to cheer loudly.
Ning Que and the Great River girls stopped in the crowd to watch.
No one from the Divine Hall paid attention to the arrival of the Black Ink Garden disciples. They were also free and simply came out of the tent to watch the show. Mo Shanshan stayed in the tent as usual to write. No one tried to persuade her otherwise.
Cat Girl looked at the Royal Court archer who was being carried on the shoulders of a fellow tribesman and snorted in disdain. She tugged at Ning Que's sleeve and said, "Senior Brother, why don't you participate in the competition? Whether it is horsemanship or archery, these people are far worse than you. Why don't you go up and win back all the rewards? "
Ning Que glanced at her and said with a smile, "Of course not."
Facing this little girl, he always felt that he was looking at Sangsang when she was young. Therefore, both his expression and words naturally revealed a sense of closeness.
"Those who dare to compete in the Ge Mumu meeting are all the best hunters in the grassland. The archer from the Yan Kingdom is also very powerful. Even if I participate in the competition, how can I win?"
This was the truth. Whether it was the Wilderness or the Central Plains, there were many hidden talents. There was no reason to win. This was also a lie. If Ning Que had used his full strength, whether it was the sheep catching competition earlier or the archery competition now, no one present could beat him.
Cat Girl looked at him and sighed helplessly. "Senior Brother, you are good at everything except for being too humble."
Ning Que could not help but laugh. He thought that whether it was Mo Shanshan or Cat Girl, they always used various ways to praise him directly and sincerely. If he spent too much time with these pure Great River Kingdom girls, he was really worried that one day he would float up to the sky.
He rubbed her head affectionately and said, "When you grow up, you will understand that if you always want to be in the limelight, there will be a time when you will be blown by the wind and break your back."
The people of the Great River Kingdom were deeply influenced by the Tang Empire. They were persevering, concise, and yearned for victory. They placed great importance on honor and treated it as their lives. Therefore, Cat Girl did not understand why he would say this. Her bright eyes were filled with confusion.
During the Ge Mumu meeting, other than the various competitions and entertainment, the Palace tribe also provided many delicacies for the participants. Cat Girl's attention was attracted by the fragrant roasted leg of lamb and she instantly forgot her previous doubts. Zhuo Zhihua and the other Great River Kingdom girls were also attracted by the milk tea and other foreign delicacies that they had never seen before and gradually dispersed into the crowd.
After the peace treaty was concluded, it was the season of revelry. At this time, the Palace's meadow was undoubtedly the safest place in the world. Ning Que looked at the curious and eager Great River Kingdom girls in front of the various food stalls and smiled. He was not too worried.
The meadow in the distance suddenly became even more lively. Noisy cheers and cheers rose and fell. The winter clouds in the sky seemed to be shaken away by the heat wave.
Cat Girl held the large roasted leg of lamb. Her bright eyes were wide open as she looked curiously in that direction. However, she could not see what was happening because of the crowd.
"The horse racing must have started."
Ning Que took the roasted leg of lamb that she could barely hold in her small hands. He took out a handkerchief and handed it to her, indicating for her to wipe off the oil stain at the corner of her lips. He continued, "The people of the Wilderness live as nomads and are best at riding and shooting. Horses are extremely important to them, so horse racing is the most important event of the Ge Mumu meeting."
Cat Girl said excitedly, "Senior Brother, I want to go and watch."
Ning Que held the greasy leg of lamb in one hand and Cat Girl's hand in the other as they walked towards the periphery of the crowd.
He did not bring her to the edge of the racing meadow. Instead, he walked to a gentle slope outside the tent. The grass on the slope had long turned yellow and lay sparsely on the ground, waiting for the next spring. Although the wind was strong, the view was excellent. They could clearly see the horse racing on the meadow.
Because the people from the Central Plains were participating in the Ge Mumu meeting, the Palace paid special attention to it, especially to the horse racing that they were best at. The tribe had specially vacated hundreds of tents just for this, and had enclosed a large piece of land in the middle of the meadow.
Horse racing was a competition of speed. It was simple, direct, and exciting. At this moment, the race had already begun. More than ten majestic horses were galloping on the meadow. The hooves of the horses were like rain, kicking up gravel and dust everywhere. Those with good eyesight would be able to see the muscles under the shining skin of the horses trembling as they exerted their strength.
The edge of the empty meadow was surrounded by fences. It was the race track. Ning Que stood on the gentle slope and looked down. With a quick glance, he could tell that they had already run a third of the race.
The dozen or so horses had gradually separated into two groups according to their strength. There were three horses at the front, leading the charge. Based on the attire of the riders, one could roughly tell that the first three horses belonged to the Palace, the Divine Hall, and the Tang army.
The horse that the Divine Hall riders rode on was snow-white in color. Its four hooves were strong and powerful. When it galloped at full speed, it left white afterimages in its wake, as if it was a snowstorm.
Ning Que was different from most soldiers. He had never been a horse lover. However, he had been at the frontier fortress of Wei for many years and naturally knew about horses. He looked at the snow-white horse and could not help but exclaim, "This horse is not bad. If it has a good rider, it will probably only be slightly worse than that silly thing."
As he said this, his right hand was still holding up the greasy leg of lamb, which made him look a little funny.
Cat Girl was holding a small knife that she had just bought from a herdsman. She was trying to cut off a perfect piece of meat from the leg of lamb. When she heard this, she said unhappily, "How is Big Black silly? Speaking of which, Senior Brother, you make it carry such heavy things every day, and you don't give it any good food. Even if it becomes silly, it will still be bullied by you. "
The Big Black that the little girl mentioned was naturally the Big Black Horse.
…
…
To make it convenient for the nobles to watch the race, the racetrack was specially set up in front of the Palace Tent. A group of nobles stood in front of the tent and watched the intense horse race, smiling as they discussed.
In a luxurious corner of the Palace Tent, Princess Chanyu looked at the quiet girl beside her and said with a smile, "Princess Chen Jia, it seems that this horse will not embarrass you."
The snow-white horse in front of the field was the mount that Princess Chanyu had given to the girl last night. Today, it was ridden by a cavalryman of Divine Hall, and its performance was indeed extraordinary.
The girl smiled and replied, "Thank you, Princess, for your generous gift."
The princess looked at the girl's elegant face and thought of her story. Her smile became warmer and warmer, "If it was an ordinary horse, how could it be worthy of a love-struck fool like you? Oh yes, speaking of which, what do you want to name it? "
The girl looked at the snow-white horse galloping on the field and felt a little happy. Then she thought of that person's dislike of complicated descriptions. After thinking for a moment, she said softly, "Let's call it Little Snow."
…
(To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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