At this moment, Simo Domo He's mind was in a mess. He wanted to find out why the Great Tang had come to his side.
He knew that helping the Arabs had angered the Great Tang, and they had even stolen many of the things stored in his tribe. Fortunately, the current season was not bad. If they had stolen the things in the winter, many people on his side would have starved to death.
A group of Great Tang soldiers had just left, and now another group had arrived. There were even more people than before, and the ones leading them were the legendary Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. The Arabs had told him that these two were ruthless.
Most importantly, in their first meeting today, the two of them did not seem to be very friendly. It seemed that he had used the wrong strategy and should have lowered his head.
Now that the other side had brought up a competition, he did not know what the other side was planning. Could it be that they wanted to capture everyone on his side during the competition?
With so many thoughts in his mind, the delicious taste of the hot pot gradually faded away. Simo Domo He slowly swallowed a piece of meat and looked at Zhang Xiaobao, who had suddenly become amiable, and asked, "What are we competing in?"
"We can compete in anything. Hunting, fishing, chopping wood, fighting, whatever you say, we'll compete according to what you say. But the rules have to be the same, so that we can get to know each other better. Who knows, maybe we'll become a family."
Zhang Xiaobao put down his chopsticks and smiled at Simo Domo He. He took a small bowl in front of him and scooped out some soup from the hot pot. "Drink the soup. It's fresh. The taste of the hot pot's soup depends on how it tastes when drunk directly. If it's not fresh, then it's not a good hot pot."
"Good, good." Simo Domohe also took a small bowl and imitated Zhang Xiaobao's actions. He scooped out a bowl of soup and blew on it. He raised his head and gulped down half a bowl of soup. He praised, "It's delicious."
Zhang Xiaobao, Xiaobei, and the others were speechless. Is this how you drink soup? That's sour plum soup and mung bean soup, okay? To relieve the heat.
"Eat meat, eat meat. We've found good meat today. Xiao Bei, don't eat too much." Once again, Zhang Xiaobao invited Simo Domo to join his chopsticks. He didn't forget to shout at his younger brothers and sisters. Otherwise, if they ate too much, they wouldn't be able to sleep at night. They rubbed their stomachs and strolled around to digest the food.
Xiaobei was explaining to the children of the Duoduo tribe how to best match the ingredients in the hot pot. He was very serious. When he heard his brother's words, he responded with a big smile and promised, "Don't worry. I won't eat so much meat today, nor will I eat rice. I'll just eat mushrooms and green vegetables. Also, I'll chew them up to help my stomach digest. Just now, I drank a bowl of soup to fill my stomach. When the soup is gone, I won't be full anymore."
Zhang Xiaobao nodded. This was a good idea. He would drink the soup first, and when he felt full, he would stop and wait for the soup to be digested. He would feel better.
Xiaobei turned around, picked up a plate of mushrooms, and placed it in front of the children of the tribe. "Eat mushrooms. Eating mushrooms is good for the body. Don't just eat rice. I found that you guys can eat too much. Your appetite is comparable to people with big appetites."
Immediately, an interpreter helped to explain to the children. The child in front of Xiaobei quickly ate a few mouthfuls of rice. Only then did he put more than ten mushrooms into the small hot pot. He smiled at Xiaobei embarrassedly and continued to eat.
The children in the tribe liked to eat two things, venison and rice. They even knew how to soak in the soup.
Duoduo blushed shyly and explained to Zhang Xiaobao, "It's because your rice is too fragrant. We don't have the same kind of rice in our area. We eat wheat, and the meat doesn't taste good. Usually, we exchange the meat with the tribe. We can only eat one meal every few days. Sometimes, according to your calendar, we can't even see meat in a month."
"Yes, there is no oil in the stomach, and there is little salt, so the children eat more. You don't have to worry in the future. The children eat for ten days to half a month. Look, they won't feel hungry after eating three meals like now."
Zhang Xiaobao understood. In the past, the children of the villagers were like the children of the tribes. One reason was that they exercised a lot and needed to grow up. Another reason was that they didn't eat much oily food. The more they ate, the poorer they became. The poorer they were, the more they could eat. Their productivity couldn't keep up, so it was useless to say anything else.
When Duoduo and Zhang Xiaobao talked, Simo Duomo was unwilling. He admitted that he couldn't compare to the Tang people, and that he had used the wrong strategy.
But he was the leader of the entire tribe. Unless he returned to the country, his status would be lowered. If he was afraid of the Tang people, how could he be on equal footing with the leaders of a small part of his tribe?
So he glared at Duoduo and said, "Duoduo, why didn't your people stay at the place I arranged? What are they doing here?"
He was speaking in his native language. Zhang Xiaobao found it difficult to translate, but he still understood what he meant. He smiled and continued to eat the meat with his chopsticks.
Duoduo was shocked and lowered his head. Then he realized, "That's not right. I won't be under your command in the future. What right do you have to criticize me? I don't have many people, 126 in total. But I'm following the Tang people now. I'm not afraid of you. "
Thinking of this, Duoduo suddenly felt very comfortable and happy. He drank a mouthful of soup and nodded in satisfaction. He pushed a plate of deer tendons in front of Simo Duomo and said with a smile, "Simo Duomo, leader Simo Duomo, try this.
There's something called chili in it. It tastes very good. You're here as a guest, so don't be polite. Eat well and eat until you're full. "
The meaning of these words was obvious. Duoduo treated himself as the host and Simo Duomo as a guest. And not as Simo Duomo's subordinate.
"You …" Simo Duomo was dumbfounded. How could he not see Duoduo's attitude? He clearly wanted to leave the tribe.
Simo Duomo couldn't say the rest of his words, nor did he touch the plate of tendons. He lowered his head, suppressed his anger, and began to think.
Simo Duomo had to admit that he had never directly looked at Duoduo's small tribe of more than one hundred people. In a small tribe of more than one hundred people, there were old people, women, and children. There were far too few people who could participate in the hunt.
Moreover, Duoduo's tribe didn't know how to grow wheat, nor did they know how to use nets to catch fish. When they finally managed to catch a few fish, they had to exchange it for wheat and salt.
They were used to being bullied, and then they were sent to that outpost. He had never imagined that they would one day betray him. This was truly too infuriating.
"Duoduo, if you're not willing to go back now, I won't care. You can follow the Tang people for a while. Once the Tang people are gone, the things you earn will still be yours.
I won't take them, "Simo Duomo said to Duoduo after thinking for a while.
Duoduo wasn't stupid. How could he not understand the meaning of his leader's words? He was clearly threatening him.
Duoduo didn't say anything, instead looking at Zhang Xiaobao.
Zhang Xiaobao had just finished rinsing a piece of meat and was about to put it into his mouth. When he heard the conversation between the two, he also used his rather poor Hindustani to answer.
"Haha, Leader Simo Duomo, you don't need to worry about Duoduo. We'll always lead his tribe. Once the Duoduo people are beaten into submission and obediently give us tributes every year, I'll bring Duoduo and the others back to the Great Tang to live a better life. You should think about the competition. What are we competing in? "
Simo Duomo was shocked. He originally thought that he knew a bit of the Great Tang language and could use the local language with Duoduo to get around this Zhang Xiaobao. Who would have thought that Zhang Xiaobao also knew the language of his people and even stood up to help Duoduo?
He finally understood that he wouldn't be able to control Duoduo and the others in the future. Betrayal, this was betrayal. If I didn't treat you well, would you betray me?
Simo Duomo glared at Duoduo again, but Duoduo responded with a sneer and straightened his neck, with an attitude that said, "Do whatever you want."
Simo Duomo couldn't think of any other way. He took a pair of chopsticks and put it in his mouth to chew. The more he chewed, the more satisfied he felt. The spiciness and toughness of the tendon made his whole body feel comfortable.
After eating the tendon, he said to Zhang Xiaobao, "I think there's no need to compete. You guys go your own way. We can give you some things."
"No need to compete? Okay, then let's talk about how you helped our enemy, the Duoduo people. With your help, the Duoduo people dared to camp by the river and attack us, causing us great losses. A few people even lost their precious lives. How do you think I should settle this with you? "
Zhang Xiaobao slammed his chopsticks down and asked Simo Duomo with a gloomy face.
The commotion around them suddenly disappeared, and everyone looked over.
How could Simo Duomo have known that Zhang Xiaobao's mood would change faster than one could flip a book? He opened his mouth slightly, looked at Zhang Xiaobao, and then glanced at the various gazes staring at him. After a few breaths, he trembled and said, "We, we helped them. In fact, it was them who threatened us. No, it wasn't us who wanted to fight with you."
"In other words, you were afraid of them threatening us and then causing us to suffer great losses because you weren't afraid of us, right?" Zhang Xiaobao pressed.
"You, you didn't lose anything."
"We died, six people." Zhang Xiaobao grinned, revealing his teeth.
"I know that the six people who died weren't killed by the Arabs. They died of their own accord." Simo Duomo refused to admit it.
"They could have died if they stayed in their own homes? If you didn't help the Duo Eaters, they wouldn't have set up camp by the river. If they didn't set up camp, we wouldn't have sent troops over. If we didn't send troops, there wouldn't have been a battle. If we didn't fight, how could our six people have died?
And our supplies, the ammunition we used to kill the Duo Eaters, isn't that money? In order to support us in this battle, some of the Great Tang people collapsed in the munitions factory from exhaustion. Others suffered heatstroke while helping to repair the road. The donkey that should have been pulling the mill didn't pull the mill. When they came here to pull things, someone had to pull the mill. Our losses were great.
What did the Duo Eaters threaten you with? Tell me, and I'll treat you like how the Duo Eaters threatened you. Aren't you not afraid of my Great Tang? "
Zhang Xiaobao slapped the table as he spoke. It sounded very reasonable.
Of course, Simo Duomo couldn't tell the truth. He could say that the Arabs had agreed to give them a lot of salt after taking over the salt producing area.
After being pressed by Zhang Xiaobao, he had no choice but to lower his head and say to Zhang Xiaobao, "Sir, don't be angry. What do you think we should compete in? We'll compete. "
"Oh, I'm not angry. I'm just excited. Haha, come, eat. What are you standing around for? Eat! Leader Simo Duomo, are the tendons tasty? When you go back, I'll bring some back for you. We'll talk about the competition later. You can go back and think about it. But what I want to say is that since it's a competition, there naturally needs to be a reward. Why don't we make a bet? What do you think? "
"Okay, okay." What else could Simo Duomo say? He only felt sullen. He had to endure Zhang Xiaobao's constant flip-flopping because he couldn't beat the Tang.
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