Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 157 Kunrong
"Brother Kun!"

"You're playing ball again!"

At the end of the Hexi Corridor,
Close to the Jiuquan County of later times,

He Bo was cracking a whip and greeting a child.

The red-cheeked child said "hmm", ran over with his short legs, and stretched out his hand to He Bo.

He Bo then took out a cowhide bag from his arms, squatted down skillfully, and grabbed the dry grass on the ground and stuffed it into the bag.

The cowhide became more and more bulging as it was stuffed, and finally became a solid, light ball.

"go with!"

He Bo kicked the ball and made it fly far away.

Brother Kun cheered and chased after the ball, then started playing with the friends he brought with him.

He Bo was acting as a referee nearby to prevent any kid from getting angry and starting a fight because he couldn't get the ball.

The cattle and sheep next to them were grazing nonchalantly, seizing the opportunity to gain some weight in order to survive the coming winter.

An autumn wind blew over.

With chill,

The dead grass on the ground was rolled up and flew up.

The water next to it also began to ripple.

……

This is the northern end of the Hexi Corridor.

Going a little further, you will almost reach the territory of Dunhuang in later generations, then go out of Yumen and enter the Western Regions.

The people living here were called "Kunrong" by the Xia people. They had blue eyes and red beards, and looked like macaques.

The Qin merchant caravans that traveled here hated these guys and felt that the Kunrong were the ugliest among the four great barbarians in the southeast, northwest, northeast and southwest.

If it weren't for the fact that the people of Kun tribe were relatively honest and had rarely robbed caravans, the nobles of Qin would have been unable to resist taking action -

As for the reason?

She's so ugly.
There is no justice in the world!
Do you still want the gentlemen of China to give the barbarians reasons?

He Bo also thought so privately.

There's nothing we can do about it.

After all, judging people by their appearance is a tradition passed down from our ancestors and we must learn it.

Fortunately, the child is doing well.

Perhaps it is the love of the laws of heaven and earth for young ones. No matter whether they are humans or animals, no matter what they look like when they grow up, they can all appear cute when they are young.

Then it will grow longer.

We have to rely on the blessings of our ancestors.

Therefore, the ghosts and gods who were very open about judging people by their appearance, after finally getting here, became familiar with these children and did not want to bother with other adults.

no way,
Too ugly.
Just looking at their faces I don't want to talk to them.

The elders of the Kun tribe were also very curious and a little frightened about He Bo, the gentleman from the Xia Dynasty who suddenly appeared.

these years,

As trade increased,
The Qin people and the Kun tribe had more and more contacts.

Although the former always looked disgusted and couldn't bear to look at them every time they saw them, the Qin caravans could bring precious things such as salt, iron, and cloth.

In addition to these, the leaders and nobles of the Kun tribe also liked the gold, silver and bronze wares sold to them by the Qin people. They felt that these items, which were rare on the grassland, could make their status more noble when used.

There were just too many horses to be exchanged.

But it doesn't matter.

Anyway, the nobles will never lack cattle, sheep and horses.

It was also common for some slaves who were herding to starve to death or freeze to death on the vast grassland!
The lower-class herdsmen were driven around by the nobles with whips, and when the nobles saw the gentlemen from Zhuxia, they always greeted them with a smile, so when they treated He Bo, they couldn't help but bend over and breathe out, showing their humility and respect.

This,

This is also one of the reasons why He Bo prefers playing with children.

After all, children are not as worldly-wise as adults.

Like this kid Kun,

He Bo was just bored and got himself a ball to kick around on the green grassland. Suddenly, he jumped out and tried to snatch the ball from him, and they got to know each other.

Realize now,
The boy's attitude remained unchanged. He just played ball with He Bo and never said anything else. He looked like a mute.

How can I be like some people?

I can't help wanting more things that don't belong to me.

He Bo thought about what happened last night.

I couldn't help but snort.

……"ah!"

not far away,
The kids who were having fun playing football suddenly shouted.

Because they found a dead person in a slightly sunken area.

The parents who were grazing nearby came over immediately, picked up the child, and turned around to stuff him into the herd of cattle and sheep.

Then the adults went to check the body that suddenly appeared.

"This person is Xiu!"

Someone called out the identity of the body, "Why did he end up here?"

Everyone started talking about it and felt that it was strange that the companion who was grazing with them yesterday suddenly died today.

Only a few people had strange expressions on their faces and couldn't help but sneak a glance at He Bo who was inexplicably fighting with a bull in the distance.

When He Bo turned around and looked at them,
These people quickly lowered their heads again, not daring to look at him.

Because last night,

It was Xiu who suddenly found them and announced that he was going to make a big deal.

He said, "That person from Zhuxia is all alone!"

"Let's sneak in at night and find his hiding place and rob him!"

Although I am not sure how many treasures the other party has,

But just looking at the neat clothes they were wearing was enough to attract the herdsmen who had difficulty getting food and drink on the grassland.

How could a sheepskin coat passed down from generation to generation as a family heirloom compare to He Bo's neat and clean dress?
But they were a little hesitant.

Because He Bo appeared very suddenly and did not rest with them at night, the herdsmen felt that he must be a brave man or a person protected by gods to be able to walk and live alone on such a vast grassland and not be killed by wolves.

Moreover, while He Bo judged people by their appearance, he was also judged by the Kunrong people by their appearance—

Feeling of beauty
It is common to all people.

He Bo had a slender figure, fair skin and handsome appearance. If he were in other places in China, he would be worthy of being praised in poems.

The Kun tribe grazes all year round, and even nobles find it difficult to be as clean and odorless as him.

After spending these few days together,
This man summoned a herd of wild horses and buffaloes from somewhere, and made those wild-tempered horses and cattle obey his commands and behave more docilely than animals that had been domesticated for many generations.

Therefore, this gentleman from the Xia tribe who has strength, good looks, and is treated with courtesy by the leader, made these herdsmen from the Kun tribe feel in awe of him.

But Xiu was very brave and thought that no matter how powerful a person was, could he really fight ten people alone?
The grassland is so big, and there is also the Tolai River on the pasture here. They killed people, stole all their belongings, and threw them into the river.

The next day dawned,

The flowing water and the autumn wind will take away all the traces.

The herders will only remember a good-looking person who suddenly came and disappeared.

Who knows, they might even go a step further and regard people as gods who have descended to earth!
Xiu felt that he was helping this person become famous and was doing a good thing!

He finally said, "If you don't want to do it, I'll do it myself!"

After all,

He left in a hurry.

But what happened?
He lay here.

I don’t know how he died.

The few people who knew the situation were just thankful that they were not tempted by money and property and thus offended that strange Zhuxia man.

After all, there were no wounds on Xiu's body, and his expression did not show any pain. He was lying on the ground, as if he had fallen and then died.

Such a situation,
Could it really be that ghosts and gods are protecting that Zhuxia man?
As they thought about this, they prayed silently in their hearts, hoping that after punishing Xiu, the gods would not pursue their crimes any further.

Afterwards, He Bo, who had just finished fighting with the bull, came over and glanced at the corpse with a calm expression.

"this is not good!"

He said to the herdsmen, "Let's just bury him and let him return to the embrace of nature!"

"I heard that people who died inexplicably have something on their bodies that can infect others and make them sick. We can't let them be exposed to the air and let the wind blow the dirty things onto others."

The herdsmen thought what he said made sense, so they dug another hole in the sunken land and buried the body there as fertilizer.

He Bo said, "That's better!"

"Next year the grass here will be much more lush!"

then,

He put his hands behind his back, holding the whip in his hand, and slowly turned and left.

The herders only discussed the situation for a while and then turned around and went back to herding.

The snowstorm on the grassland always comes suddenly.

The death of people around us always comes with wind and snow.

They have become accustomed to this kind of unexpected separation.

(End of this chapter)