Twists and Turns (2)

Twists and Turns (2)

Sangkun looked at Xinba, who was embracing a Rakshasa dancer with lust written all over his face. His heart was filled with contempt, yet the smile on his face only grew. This simple-minded fool was the greatest gain of his journey. The Kereit Tribe's pastures were far too small, yet it had far too many warriors. The fertile western banks of the Chile River should belong to the sons of the Kereit Tribe, not the Tatar Tribe, which was about to split into four or five pieces.

"Sangkun, my brother, thank you for sending me such a beautiful woman... urp... Don't you want one?" Xinba asked Sangkun with a drunken belch.

"I prefer drinking now, Xinba. Once you become chieftain of the Tatar Tribe, I can introduce you to some important people. All kinds of beauties... you'll have everything you could want." Sangkun subtly raised a hand and pointed south.

"Hahahaha! Don't worry, my brother. My younger brother can't even scrape together ten thousand cavalrymen now. Once Great Xia's army leaves Guihua City, I'll convene the tribal assembly and take back what should have been mine."

The more Xinba spoke, the more excited he became. He was his father's eldest son, and also his strongest son, yet he had been given the smallest tribe. Meanwhile, his underage younger brother had inherited the position of chieftain, with nearly a hundred thousand herdsmen and twenty to thirty thousand warriors under him. If not for this time, when his brother had been provoked into going to Great Xia to sell horses, there would truly have been nothing Xinba could do.

"Rest assured, Sangkun. We of the Kereit Tribe are your most steadfast allies. You will get what you desire." Sangkun raised his wine cup toward Xinba, but inwardly cursed, Take back what belongs to you? A fool like you deserves nothing. All the pastures and herdsmen will belong to the Kereit Tribe—to me, Sangkun.

Hearing Sangkun's words, Xinba grew even happier. He poured great cups of wine down his throat, feeling as though he had already become chieftain of the Tatar Tribe, as though everything belonged to Xinba alone.

A grasslander dressed as an attendant hurried in from outside the grounds. He ran straight to Xinba's side and whispered into his ear. Xinba's expression shifted between light and shadow, changing without end.

"What is it, my brother? Has something happened? Do you need my help?" Sangkun noticed the change in Xinba's expression.

"Hehe, Brother Sangkun, my worthless little brother has come. He only brought a few dozen men and wants to talk with me," Xinba answered casually.

"Let them in. Today, the Tatar Tribe's affairs must be settled once and for all." A savage gleam flashed in Xinba's eyes.

Sangkun rose with Xinba and looked toward the camp gate. A group of people soon approached, led by a short half-grown boy. So this was Hu Ba, the nominal chieftain of the Tatar Tribe. He actually dared to come to Xinba's camp with only fifty men. The Tatar Tribe truly was full of fools.

Hu Ba led fifty guards to a spot only several dozen yards from Xinba. Looking at the crowd gathering around him, he saw that many were his relatives, while others had once been leaders of his own tribes. Now, they all stood on Xinba's side.

"Big Brother, I went to Great Xia to sell horses for the people of our Tatar Tribe, to exchange them for salt and iron for them to use. Why did you take the chance to swallow up my tribe and even injure Brother Hu'er? Are you going to break the oath you swore before Father and turn brother against brother?" Hu Ba had initially only been angry, but now that he saw so many of his own people siding with Xinba, sorrow crept into his voice.

"Hu Ba, put away your lies. You didn't sell a single horse in the Great Xia Imperial Capital, yet you still have the nerve to come back and continue deceiving the kind people of our Tatar Tribe. If Brother Sangkun of the Kereit Tribe hadn't told me the truth, we would all still be kept in the dark."

"The Kereit Tribe? They have long coveted our fertile pastures. He is clearly driving a wedge between us brothers. How can you believe those cunning hungry wolves?" Hu Ba was so furious that his hair seemed ready to stand on end. Before their old father died, he had repeatedly urged his sons to remain united against foreign enemies, especially the Kereit Tribe. Yet Xinba had actually believed the Kereit Tribe.

"Young Hu Ba, as the nominal chieftain of the Tatar Tribe, you should watch your words. Do not casually slander your kind friends." Sangkun could no longer sit still. He slowly began to defend himself. The Tatar Tribe had always been deeply wary of the Kereit Tribe. If they did not seize this chance, while Hu Ba was young and had made a mistake, to break open the situation, then once Xinba came to his senses later, the Kereit Tribe would have almost no chance of victory against the vast Tatar Tribe.

"Who are you? How dare an outsider interrupt when brothers are speaking?"

"Hu Ba, this is my best friend, Sangkun. His tribesmen saw what happened to you in the Great Xia Imperial Capital. When a young eagle breaks its wings, it should lie low. Give up your position as chieftain now, and I'll leave you five thousand households. We will still be brothers." Xinba spoke quietly to Hu Ba. His tone was solemn, his gaze grave. Where was the drunken, pleasure-seeking man from moments ago? When Sangkun saw the look Xinba gave him, he suddenly shuddered. Old Qiangba's sons... not one of them was a fool.

"Big Brother, power has blinded your eyes. Since you refuse to believe me, have them bring in the goods I brought back from Great Xia. Let the people of our Tatar Tribe see who the real liar is." Hu Ba had already been preparing to strike, but an attendant in a hooded hat tugged him back. After whispering a few words to him, Hu Ba shouted these words to the surrounding crowd.

The crowd stirred. They had all heard the rumors: Hu Ba had offended the Great Xia Imperial Clan, and not only would the three thousand warhorses he had brought starve to death, but merchants coming to the grasslands in the future would no longer trade with the Tatar Tribe. Only by replacing the chieftain could the wrath of the Great Xia Imperial Clan be appeased. That was why they had sided with Xinba.

An inexplicable wave of panic rose in Xinba's heart. Apart from the ten thousand warriors the Kereit Tribe had lent him, his greatest support in creating the current situation was the fact that Hu Ba had offended someone in Great Xia. After all, Hu Ba had the most tribesmen. If they were not disappointed in Hu Ba, no one would dare openly contend with him for the position of chieftain. The thirty thousand elite grassland cavalry under Hu Ba were no joke.

Watching the surrounding crowd grow increasingly noisy, Xinba knew he had to settle them down now. He shouted, "Since Hu Ba brought goods back from Great Xia, let us see how much salt and iron our young chieftain earned for our tribe."

Salt and iron were hard currency on the grasslands. Great Xia merchants had always been greedy. Three thousand fine horses might fetch a considerable amount of silver, but if one wanted Great Xia merchants to haul salt and iron across the grasslands, their prices would soar into the heavens. If one bought salt in Great Xia and transported it oneself, hehe... the checkpoints along the road would swallow one up without even leaving scraps behind.

Hu Ba waved a hand, sending one of his attendants running outside the camp. That attendant was incredibly bloated all over, and the broad hooded cloth robe draped over him looked awkward no matter how one looked at it. Xinba's men followed him out as well, preparing to see whether Hu Ba had been telling the truth.

Heavy carts were slowly pulled into the grounds, one after another. Before long, they had filled the firelit field, and more carts continued to be dragged inside until the way was packed so tightly that nothing could move.

Hu Ba walked to the foremost cart and ripped away the felt covering, revealing gleaming white salt. Then came the second cart, the third cart. Without waiting for Hu Ba or Xinba to say anything, the Tatar Tribe's herdsmen tore away the felt coverings from every cart themselves. Hundreds of thousands of jin of refined salt reflected the dancing firelight, stirring every herdsman's heart.

Xinba was already speechless. He pointed at the carts, and his personal guards swiftly grabbed a handful of refined salt for him. Xinba tasted the salt in his hand. Its saltiness was pure, vastly different from that pale yellow, coarse-grained salt. This... was refined salt, salt that only nobles could eat.

After scheming for so long—first secretly buying over his younger brother Hu Ba's tribesmen, then having someone provoke him into going to Great Xia to sell horses, then finding the Kereit Tribe to borrow soldiers—he had been on the verge of taking the chieftain's seat. Was it all going to come to nothing now?

...No... absolutely not... He said coldly to Hu Ba, "Hu Ba, no matter what, the Tatar Tribe is now a wounded Wolf King. Only I can bring good fortune to our Tatar Tribe. For the tribe's future... you... can only die here today."

After saying that, Xinba swept out his hand. Several hundred of his personal guards drew their sabers and surrounded Hu Ba and his pitiful few dozen attendants.