Chapter 76: Training the Troops and the Night School

Tonight was destined to be an unforgettable day for the herdsmen and slaves of the Buluhui tribe. The newly arrived shaman was strange: not only did he demand the cessation of human sacrifice and the liberation of all slaves, but most strangely, he grew furious when the slaves knelt before him, kowtowed, and spoke words of gratitude.

Whether it was the tribal chieftain or the former shaman, they were delighted when people knelt before them; indeed, for their own part, they would have been happy if anyone were willing to kneel and kowtow to them.

They simply could not understand someone who disliked being knelt to, yet they did not ponder it deeply, for another shaman had already taken the tribe's naqirs to count the population of every household.

Nie Huaishang held a notebook, questioning each person one by one, cross-referencing his inquiries with the ledger provided by Buluhui, and shaking his head repeatedly. The Buluhui family was truly formidable in their bone-sucking and marrow-extracting ways; with merely a few Battalion Commander, they had enabled him to amass such vast quantities of gold, silver, and jewels.

After finishing the census of the tribe, Nie Huaishang and Guo Jing ordered the meeting to be dissolved and instructed them to return to this place for another meeting in one week.

Once all the herdsmen had departed in succession, the slaves standing there, still perfectly upright, appeared so incongruous. Seeing the slaves who had not left, Guo Jing stepped forward and asked, "What is it? Suddenly freed, you do not know where to go, do you?"

All the slaves nodded. Guo Jing sighed and said, "Very well, then. This week, you shall stay here to assist us with certain tasks. In one week, we will settle you properly. The tribe will provide your meals."

The moment Guo Jing finished speaking, the five hundred naqirs erupted in a clamor. Finally, one person stood up and asked, "My Lord Shaman, you are far too benevolent. You have already granted them freedom; why must you also provide them with food?"

Guo Jing wore an expression of displeasure and said, "What do you mean by that? They work for me, so providing them with food is only right and proper. Moreover, if we do not feed them, are we to let them starve to death?"

The naqir who had been reprimanded wore a look of grievance and said, "But we, the naqirs who protect the tribe, are not provided with meals either."

"You do not? You, who protect the tribe's safety, risking your lives to safeguard everyone—does the tribe not even provide meals for you?" Guo Jing asked in disbelief, then looked at Buluhui Wuge, thinking, You have gone a bit too far, boy.

Buluhui Wuge forced an awkward smile and immediately reprimanded that naqir, saying, "Haming, what do you mean? Has my lord treated you unfairly? Every time we followed the tribe on campaign and turned over the spoils, you secretly hid some away. As for this, I have been..."

"Enough, shut your mouth." Before Buluhui Wuge could finish, Guo Jing cut him off directly. He turned and bowed to Haming, saying, "In reprimanding you without fully understanding the situation, I was wrong. I apologize to you."

He then addressed the five hundred naqirs, saying, "You are all brave warriors defending the tribe. Having shouldered such heavy responsibilities, how could we let you prepare your own meals? I have decided: starting tomorrow, the tribe will not only provide you with free meals daily but will also issue grain for you to take to your families."

Instantly, the five hundred naqirs cheered and rejoiced. In contrast, Buluhui Wuge was heartbroken to the extreme. So much grain, given away freely by this fellow to these lowly commoners and slaves—it was truly a waste. This much grain was enough for him to buy dozens of young, beautiful female slaves.

"Very well, let us not speak words of gratitude just yet. Starting tomorrow, I will begin training you. Only those who complete the training may remain." Guo Jing waved his hand, signaling the tribe to disperse, then entered the main tent with Nie Huaishang to hold a meeting.

The people of the Buluhui family stood voluntarily before the main tent, ensuring they would not stray from their line of sight. The three palm-thunderclaps Guo Jing had just unleashed had thoroughly severed their petty schemes.

As soon as they entered the main tent, Nie Huaishang eagerly said, "Just now, while counting the population, I also calculated the assets owned by the herdsmen. How to put it? They have almost nothing. Since the pastures belong to the Buluhui family, whenever a ewe gives birth to a lamb, the lamb must be turned over. Under such circumstances, the nobles' sheep increase while the herdsmen's sheep decrease, until finally the herdsmen can only sell themselves to become the chieftain's slaves."

"Moreover, this tribe treats its soldiers far too harshly. Before coming, I often wondered: Mongol soldiers' weapons, clothing, horses, and even their rations must be procured by themselves, with no compensation. Even so, they are willing to follow Temujin. Why? Entirely because Temujin is willing to distribute the plundered spoils. But this tribe? They keep everything for themselves. Just now, that Buluhui Wuge had the audacity to claim he turns a blind eye to soldiers hiding spoils."

Guo Jing shook his head and said, "The suffering endured by the people far exceeds our imagination. The task of liberating the toiling masses of the world is heavy and the road is long. Huaishang, during this period, take those slaves to inventory the tribe's cattle, sheep, and supplies. In seven days, distribute the cattle and sheep according to the population and circumstances of each herdsman's family. Families with soldiers in the tribe should receive more."

"Agreed." Nie Huaishang nodded and said, "However, you must also speed up your pace. You have much to do. Not only must you train the troops to improve their combat effectiveness, but you must also conduct ideological education to raise their political consciousness. You must strive to cultivate these five hundred into officers whose ideological understanding can withstand testing and whose military quality is solid. All this must be accomplished in a short time, for the time Temujin has left us is running out."

For these five hundred soldiers, these seven days were undoubtedly both arduous and happy. The newly arrived shaman's training was strict and strange; after all, in the past, the tribal lords did not train them. Since they had known how to ride and shoot archery since childhood, the lords simply conscripted them to collect taxes from every household.

Other tribes' training of them had been seen to some extent, nothing more than riding, archery, and martial arts practice. Yet their training was about how to stand, how to walk, how to turn left and how to turn right.

They simply could not comprehend what meaning such training held, or how such training would help them in combat against others.

But regardless, as long as they completed the training given by My Lord Shaman each day, he would issue grain to them. Looking at this grain, they were very happy; this grain was enough to feed their mothers and families.

Of course, they did not intend to eat with their bellies wide open. After all, for a noble lord, such a good thing could not last long; this was entirely a loss-making transaction.

No one is willing to engage in a loss-making transaction.

This grain would be crucial when they encountered harsh weather.

Besides the daily daytime training, there was also a night school. Another shaman in the tribe, surnamed Nie, taught them to acquire knowledge: Han characters, Mongol characters, and arithmetic for accounting.

In the words of Shaman Nie, upon graduating from his class, one could become a qualified shaman, better able to serve the broad masses, enable the broad masses to live happy lives, and also teach more people to become shamans.

The middle part of his words the night school students did not understand, but the first sentence about becoming a shaman and the last sentence about enabling more people to become shamans, everyone firmly remembered in their hearts.

Everyone secretly resolved a fierce determination in their hearts: they must study hard, graduate early, and teach the knowledge learned here to their own children, so that their children too could become excellent shamans.