Chapter 57: The Charlatan

However, the tribe where Guo Jing and his mother Li Ping resided was quite far from the Jin Kingdom, so the Jin Kingdom, though desiring to carry out the reduction of population there, truly had the will but lacked the strength.

Thus, their location was relatively safe, and they need not worry about the Jin Kingdom's implementation of the population reduction.

But this did not mean they could relax, for in another year or two, Temujin would arrive; at that time, Temujin would lead from the front in battle, and then Guo Jing would be the best target to be killed.

They must establish a revolutionary base during this period to facilitate a confrontation with Temujin a year or two later.

So time was pressing; by the next morning, Zhang Chu'an and Zhang Xiaofan packed their luggage and set out on the road to Shandong.

Watching the two depart, Li Ping could not help but complain to Guo Jing and Nie Huaishang:

"Really, is the matter you must do so urgent that you cannot even rest properly for two days?"

Guo Jing and Nie Huaishang, upon hearing this, could not help but smile bitterly; it was not that they were in a rush, but rather their opponents left them not the slightest opportunity to catch their breath.

They had to take action; they must secure a base belonging to themselves in the fastest possible time.

The two thought firmly, so the two set out toward a nearby small tribe; this small tribe had only a few thousand people, and excluding the elderly, young, and women, the adult soldiers capable of fighting numbered only one thousand.

Looking at the tribe before them, Guo Jing curiously asked Nie Huaishang beside him: "Do you say that if I simply use the Five Thunder Orthodoxy to forcefully kill their leader and then proclaim myself the Messenger of the Eternal Heaven, I can subdue this tribe?"

Such an easy approach made Guo Jing feel somewhat unreliable; were these people so easily deceived by him?

Hearing Guo Jing's doubt, Nie Huaishang said with a face full of confidence:

"Rest assured; at this time, the Mongols are very superstitious. Shamans can achieve high status among the Mongols merely by performing tricks of pretending to be gods and ghosts. Those tricks of pretending to be gods and ghosts are far inferior to your Five Thunder Orthodoxy; your Five Thunder Orthodoxy can absolutely subdue them."

Then Nie Huaishang said again with a face of nonchalance:

"Besides, if your strength cannot deceive them, these few hundred people cannot stop you anyway; at that time, you can simply fight your way out relying on your own strength."

Hearing this, Guo Jing nodded; indeed, the combat power of this tribe was very average; if he wanted to leave, they truly could not stop him.

Thinking thus, Guo Jing no longer hesitated; gathering his internal energy, he let out a mighty roar toward the tribe ahead and then charged straight forward.

He wanted his performance today to be deeply engraved in their minds; the people of that tribe, upon hearing that earth-shaking dragon roar, stopped their work and looked toward the direction from which the sound came.

They saw a young boy charging straight toward them; at this moment, the leader of this tribe also looked at this person.

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, a white light appeared out of nowhere in the boy's hand; subsequently, the boy pointed the white light forward, and the direction pointed was precisely their leader.

Then a bolt of thunder fell straight onto their leader's body; the crowd, seeing their leader lying on the ground completely blackened, life and death unknown, were so frightened that they all knelt and prostrated themselves on the ground, daring not to look at that boy.

The impact this scene brought them was far more shocking than that of the shamans and witch doctors in the tribe; after all, this boy had truly summoned the Heavenly Thunder.

Seeing the people of the tribe all kneeling and prostrating themselves, Guo Jing breathed a sigh of relief; that move just now had completely drained him; if he could not subdue them, he could only hope that Nie Huaishang would lead him to fight his way out.

However, it now appeared that these people had been completely subdued by him; Guo Jing slowly approached the leader he had beaten to near death, finished him off with a single sword stroke, and then spoke loudly to the crowd in Mongolian:

"Your tribe's leader neglected the Eternal Heaven; the Eternal Heaven has specially sent me to punish him. You, who once followed him, are all guilty."

Hearing this, the people of the tribe all kowtowed as if pounding garlic, saying repeatedly:

"Messenger, we knew nothing of his crimes; spare us."

"We were all forced; his affairs have nothing to do with us at all."

"Messenger, please forgive our crimes."

"Silence."

Guo Jing shouted sternly at the crowd; upon hearing Guo Jing's stern shout, the vast tribe instantly fell into silence; with thousands of people present, not a single person dared to make the slightest sound, all waiting for Guo Jing's words.

Under the crowd's anticipation, Guo Jing slowly opened his mouth to the crowd:

"As long as you follow this Messenger, in the rest of your lives, this Messenger will constantly cleanse your sins; after your death, your souls can still return to the Eternal Heaven. Are you willing to follow this Messenger?"

"We are willing to follow the Messenger."

Upon hearing that Guo Jing could cleanse their sins, the crowd all expressed their willingness to follow.

At this moment, although the leader's close confidants in the tribe did not wish to submit to Guo Jing, forced by his unpredictable divine and ghostly abilities and the pressure of the crowd, they could only temporarily feign cooperation with Guo Jing and his group.

By nightfall, Nie Huaishang and Guo Jing arrived at the central yurt of the tribe to discuss matters together.

After entering the large tent and blocking out the crowd, Nie Huaishang teased Guo Jing:

"I never expected that you, Guo Jing, also have the potential to be a charlatan; so easily did you deceive and acquire a tribe of several thousand people."

Upon hearing this, Guo Jing also wore a bitter smile:

"If not forced by necessity, I would not wish to use such methods; after all, this is the fastest way to obtain a foundation."

Nie Huaishang did not refute but instead nodded in agreement:

"Regardless of what methods are used, as long as they are effective, they are good methods."

Speaking thus, Nie Huaishang shifted the topic:

"However, we still have not completely mastered this tribe; its core power remains in the hands of that leader's close confidants."

"Then how shall we seize power next?"

Guo Jing asked impatiently.

Nie Huaishang shook his head and said: "At this time, we should not think about how to seize power; if you choose to purge the former leader's confidants now, it will make everyone in the tribe feel insecure."

"After all, they all once followed the former leader; moreover, those so-called confidants may not be particularly loyal to their former leader."

On the grasslands where interests are supreme, loyalty is not worth much; Temujin's father, Yesugei, could also be counted as a decent leader.

But after Yesugei was poisoned to death, who in the vast Kiyat tribe paid any attention to the orphans and widows he left behind?

In the end, the reason Temujin was able to rise again relied on his good brother Jamukha and his adoptive father Wang Han.

Therefore, on the grasslands, the phenomenon of deathly loyalty simply does not occur.

Thus, at this time, there is absolutely no need to purge the former leader's confidants; moreover, at this moment, the people of the tribe have not the slightest recognition of the two of them.

Thinking thus, a sharp light flashed in Nie Huaishang's eyes; subsequently, he said to Guo Jing with a face full of confidence:

"On this grassland where interests are supreme, if one wishes to obtain others' recognition, one must let them obtain sufficient benefits."