six 1
Dan Ying was a completely different person. She ate when she was given food, slept when she was told to, didn't answer when asked, didn't listen when spoken, and even when the tribesmen held a funeral for Tashan and other warriors, she seemed to have a soul that had left its sheath, and it was unclear whether she was asleep or awake. Her green eyes were lifeless - if it used to be a happy spring with free fish swimming in it, now the fish were gone and only water remained.
Liu Qingye was heartbroken, wishing he could transfer all of Dan Ying's pain to himself. But he weighed the burden on his shoulders - the great cause of overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty. Even after the massacre of the Ale tribe, the people of the Chuan Deng Society helped their allies rebuild their homes while still thinking about restoring the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty. They spent all day discussing how to contact the Tiandihui and Tulonghui to fight against the court together...
He felt extremely depressed: Where is the imperial court? Far away in Beijing - the nearest is Shanshan. And where is the Dzungar? These bandits are hiding somewhere in the north, perhaps just outside the village. Where is the irreconcilable hatred between the Manchus and the Han? Far away many years ago - the nearest is Shanshan and Adaler. And where are the atrocities of the Dzungar? The closest, right in front of him, is the Red Eagle, and the farthest - he dare not imagine, tomorrow, or tonight, this lurking grassland demon, maybe it will really come back!
At such a time, no one in the Lantern Festival cared about the survival of the Ale tribe! Liu Qingye really wanted to ask them face to face: If it wasn't for the anti-Qing, if it wasn't for saving Wang Chunshan, or even if it wasn't for the delay of ambush Fu Chatao that night, why would the Ale tribe be in this state? Why would the Dan Ying be in this state?
I wish I could throw this burden off and crush it to pieces!
With this thought in mind, a flash of inspiration suddenly flashed through his mind: What if I really threw away this burden? Abandon everything and fly away with Dan Ying - to Jiangnan, to the place where he was born. It is said that the scenery there is beautiful, they can hide their identities, forget the grudges in the desert, and live a life together, the man farming and the woman weaving...
What a fascinating way out! His blood was boiling. He was so impulsive that he almost ran to the stable to get his horse. But as soon as he went out, he saw Cao Mengsheng practicing sword alone in the yard. He was like a father to his master. If he died like this, he would have no regrets living with the red eagle, but how disappointed his master would be! How could he repay the kindness of raising him for 18 years?
My legs and feet felt like they were filled with lead and I could hardly move an inch.
For several days and nights, Liu Qingye suffered this repeated torture, and his body and mind were exhausted. Even in his sleep, he felt torn by an indescribable force. When he woke up, he was covered in cold sweat.
You can't have both love and righteousness. At dawn one day, he thought: If he had to choose only one, he would only... only...
The only way is to follow the prophecy of the poplar tree, follow the love of this life, and work like a slave in the next life to repay the master!
This time, he would never let himself waver again. He got out of bed and rushed out the door.
But a touch of morning glow dyed the surroundings red, and a man and a horse came hurriedly at the entrance of the village. Liu Qingye was stunned: Isn't it Dan Ying and her beloved Rouge Horse? For many days, she was in a daze and lazy to dress up. This time, she saw him, and she instantly returned to her original appearance, wearing a bright red dress, with a fluttering headscarf, riding a horse, and looking indescribably heroic.
Liu Qingye was mesmerized for a moment, until the Red Eagle galloped in front of him, then he went forward and said: "Junior sister...you..."
Dan Ying glanced at him, as if she smiled slightly, but it seemed not - Liu Qingye felt that there was an indescribable change in Dan Ying's expression: her arrogance was back, her pride and willfulness were back... Was it back, or was it back too much?
Liu Qingye didn't have time to think about it. He just wanted to take advantage of the moment when Dan Ying regained consciousness to tell her his plan immediately, and also tell her what he saw in the mirage, and then immediately lead General Hei out and fly away with Dan Ying.
However, Dan Ying had no intention of listening to him at all. He didn't even lead the horse and walked quickly to the other side of the field.
Liu Qingye was startled, turned around and saw that was the house where Wang Chunshan and others lived. He didn't know what Dan Ying was going to do, so he followed closely.
They walked to the door of Cao Mengsheng's room. Dan Ying fell to his knees at the door.
"Master..." she said loudly, "Master, please help Dan Ying to avenge the entire Ale tribe!"
Liu Qingye was stunned for a moment, then he held Dan Ying's shoulder and said, "Dan Ying, what did you say?"
Dan Ying did not answer him, but just walked towards Cao Mengsheng's door, full of dominance, but not the arrogance of the past, but full of resentment, repeating word by word from the bottom of his heart: "Master, please help Dan Ying to avenge the entire Ale tribe!"
Liu Qingye only felt a buzzing in his ears, and the sun just jumped into the sky at this moment.
Cao Mengsheng had already come out of the room wearing his clothes, and then Wang Chunshan, Liao Yuan, Yan Tiebi, Wu Shuiqing, Meng Hu, Chen Luohui, Chi Yunzi, as well as Moler, Dali Ama, Wu Tan, Asu, Zai, and many other people came out from different doors, surrounding Dan Ying and Liu Qingye in the center.
"Please, uncles, aunts and masters, help Dan Ying to avenge the entire Ale tribe!" Dan Ying said again.
Wang Chunshan and others looked at each other and did not answer, obviously showing some surprise at this sudden change.
At this time, a man strode up to the side. It was Cheng Anren, who was rescued by Liu Qingye and Dan Ying that day. He knelt down and said, "These bastards of the Junggar are more brutal than the Qing dogs! Killing someone means paying with your life! Mr. Wang, I have always respected the heroes of the Lantern Festival. Please give me a word. We are brothers with the Uyghurs. I am willing to lead the charge!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Moler pushed through the crowd, walked to the center of the field and knelt down: "I, Moler, will also lead the charge—" He said this in Chinese, with a strange tone, but his tone was very firm. Then Ashu, Wutan, Zai, and the survivors of the Ale tribe also knelt down.
This dark mass and the cries of "revenge" instantly lifted the burden that Liu Qingye had dropped and put it back on his shoulders. He could no longer stand and knelt down. His heart sank even more.
Cao Mengsheng gently supported Dan Ying on the elbow and helped her up, saying: "Dan Ying, Han people and Uyghur people are brothers from the beginning. This blood feud must be avenged no matter what!"
A spark flashed in Dan Ying's eyes: "Then when are we going to set out to kill those bandits?"
"Little girl, don't be anxious..." Meng Hu walked over with his hands behind his back. "We Han people have a saying that 'As long as the green mountains remain, there is no need to worry about running out of firewood'. Now the Ale tribe has suffered a heavy blow. Think about it, when the old patriarch Tashan was alive, he couldn't stop the Junggar army. Now more than half of the men in the tribe have died or been injured, and the remaining old, weak, women and children, how can we fight against the Junggar?"
Dan Ying bit his lip and said nothing. Moller jumped up and asked, "Then...what should we do?"
Meng Hu stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder: "Young man, the most important thing now is to heal the wounded, rebuild the homes of the healthy, and accumulate strength - aren't we already doing this?" He paused, then continued: "However, given the temperament of the Junggar bandits, they probably won't stop after just one burn and killing. Fortunately, when Chief Tashan was alive, the thirteen tribes formed an alliance. On the fifth day of next month, the thirteen tribes will hold a meeting - at this meeting, we must formally conclude an alliance, and the Uyghurs will work together to fight foreign enemies."
Although his voice was not loud, it was passionate. The people of the Ale tribe were no longer ignorant as they were at the beginning. They knew what the thirteen-tribe alliance was for, and they all responded loudly, "Work together to fight the foreign enemy." The shouts shook the sky.
Dan Ying asked: "Then...what can I do?"
Wang Chunshan walked up to her with a smile and said, "You... Miss Danying, you are already the new leader of the Ale tribe, and you still have a lot to do!"
"Chief..." Dan Ying was slightly stunned, and the expression on his face became more resolute. He knelt down, bowed deeply to Wang Chunshan and others again, and said: "Dan Ying doesn't know anything... but as long as it can avenge my people... I will do whatever my uncles and aunts say!"
Wang Chunshan quickly helped her up, twirling his beard and saying, "As long as you have the intention, it's fine." Cao Mengsheng beside him also nodded and smiled. Cheng Anren took a step forward and said, "Okay, Danying girl, since you saved me outside that day, I owe you a favor. If you have any orders, I will definitely listen to you!"
Only Liu Qingye watched silently in the crowd - when everyone got up and left, to herd horses or repair houses, he was still kneeling. He saw Dan Ying's figure mixed in with the crowd and was about to disappear, and suddenly he jumped up impulsively and chased after him.
"Dan Ying!" he called her, "I have something to tell you——"
Liu Qingye's life returned to being filled with studying and practicing martial arts again - accompanying Dan Ying to study and practice martial arts. Being together day and night, this is what he longed for and hoped for, right? However, when Dan Ying was right beside her, she seemed to be thousands of miles away - her expression changed so much, completely losing her previous innocence.
Many times, he wanted to tell Dan Ying about the mirage, but every time the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back - what's the point of saying it now?
He could never forget that day in the field, he called Dan Ying and almost said it, but he asked Dan Ying: "What were you doing just now?" Dan Ying looked at the endless grassland and the Gobi Desert beyond the grassland, and said: "I went to see the mirage. Today is my seventeenth birthday, count it as a virtual birthday, it is also eighteen years old." Liu Qingye was stunned and asked: "What did you see?"
What did she see? If she had seen Moler, Liu Qingye might have felt better. But Dan Ying said that what she saw was her tribe, the tribe that had been massacred by the Junggars, the tribe with blood flowing like a river and corpses strewn all over the ground.
Liu Qingye was stunned. He knew that day, he chose Dan Ying, and Dan Ying chose revenge.
"Junior brother, why are you standing here in a daze again?"
He turned around and saw Li Mingxin.
"The leaders of all tribes have arrived." Li Ming thought, "Have you forgotten that today is the meeting of the thirteen tribes?"
Thirteen tribes meeting? Liu Qingye was stunned. Yes, it was already the fifth day of the new year, and he was so confused... No wonder Dan Ying had not been seen since the afternoon... She was the tribe leader now...
Li Mingxin smiled and said, "Junior brother, why don't you come quickly? Uncle Wang wants everyone to help."
Liu Qingye didn't understand what was going on, so he asked, "What can I help you with?"
"Alas..." Li Mingxin sighed, "It's all because of that chieftain of Kyakhta, Reiza. After he came here, he kept saying that he wanted to form an alliance with the Qing Dynasty. Now that Uncle Tashan is gone, his Kyakhta tribe is the strongest among the thirteen tribes. When the other chieftains heard what he said, they were a little shaken. Uncle Wang meant that we must not let Reiza become the leader of the alliance, otherwise we would be inviting a wolf into the house."
Liu Qingye nodded.
Li Mingxin added: "We Han people know best how cruel the Manchu Tartars are. No matter which Uighur tribe leads the thirteen tribes, they may be deceived by the Tartars' sweet words in the future. Uncle Meng Liu said that the best thing would be for the Ale tribe to be the leader. We, the Chuan Deng Society, would assist Miss Dan Ying and help her guard against the Qing dogs..."
"Dan...Junior Sister will be the leader?" Liu Qingye cried out in surprise - Dan Ying, she is only seventeen years old, do you want to put such a heavy burden on her shoulders?
Li Mingxin did not notice the difference in his tone and only said, "Yes, Sister Danying is Uncle Tashan's only daughter, and she has the right to lead the Uyghur tribe. She is half Han Chinese, speaks Chinese, has Uncle Cao as her master, and understands the cruelty of the Qing Dynasty. Uncle Meng thinks she is the best candidate."
"But……"
"But, Dan Ying's sister is still young." Li Mingxin added, "It's hard to convince the others - Uncle Meng Liu has also considered this - look, at the meeting, Reiza instigated a group of clan leaders to demand a competition to determine their skills and elect a leader."
"Ah..." Li Mingxin's answer was not what Liu Qingye wanted the "but" for, but how could he even utter the "but"?
"Junior brother!" Li Mingxin saw that he was stunned and called out, "Why don't you come with me quickly? Uncle Wang asked us to help Sister Danying to have a competition!"
Liu Qingye followed Li Mingxin to the front field. It was dusk, but a bonfire had already been lit in the field. Liu Qingye was in a trance, as if he had returned to the celebration party held by Tashan that day. He was so happy at that time, and he danced with Dan Ying. What about now? His eyes quickly searched for Dan Ying in the crowd. She was sitting in the host's seat, alone, but her blue eyes were shining, and she was not timid at all.
Liu Qingye then took a look at the people sitting on both sides of Dan Ying. They were all clan leaders from thirteen tribes. Some were broad-shouldered and fat, some were skinny, some were handsome, and some had rat-like eyes. One of them had a copper complexion, eyes like copper bells, and was dressed in gorgeous clothes. He looked extraordinary. I guess he must be Reiza from Kyakhta. He was stroking a precious sword hanging from his waist - the sword was shiny and inlaid with gems.
"I say..." Reiza said impatiently, "Are we going to compete or not? The warriors of my Kyakhta tribe are not like those of your Ale tribe. When Tashan was alive, I told him that a patriarch should consider the overall situation. If he hesitates to make a decision, he will suffer. He refused to form an alliance with the Qing Dynasty, and now the retribution has come, and he has also dragged everyone down..."
"The clan leader is wrong!" Wang Chunshan said, "Although I am a Han Chinese, I should not interfere in your Uyghur affairs. But when it comes to the Qing Dynasty bandits, we Han Chinese have suffered greatly from them. The clan leader's proposal to form an alliance with the bandits is tantamount to inviting a wolf into the house!"
"Hmph..." Reiza had met Cao Mengsheng last time. Cao Mengsheng had told him about the atrocities of the Qing Dynasty. He had expressed his belief at the time. Now that Cao Mengsheng was present, he could not go back on his words. He just said, "Treat the Han people as you treat the Han people, and treat the Uyghurs as you treat the Uyghurs. In short, in my opinion, the Qing Dynasty is a hundred times more powerful than you Han people, so it is better to ask them for help."
