Chapter 417: Shama Zhuoyi's Proposal

At this moment, Liu Zheng still did not know what was happening in the Longyan Dynasty.

How lively Liangzhou was these days.

He believed that with his own arrangements and Qingyang Shuo holding down the fort, the situation in Liangzhou would not turn out too badly.

Naturally, he had also refused the daughter of that Buyi chieftain...

But as a "Lord" from Longyan, what he could not refuse were these Headmen attending the gathering.

As soon as the sky darkened, these people came together to invite Liu Zheng to drink.

Shama Zhuoyi in the crowd still did not look very pleased. But as the host of this Torch Festival and with a Longyan guest of honor present, he still had to come and welcome him.

It was still the three cups of welcome wine.

Of course, Liu Zheng did not sing this time, a matter he felt was quite a pity.

Just as they entered the banquet, there were men and women singing and dancing. Because it was the eve of the Torch Festival, the surroundings of Qionghai were filled with people wearing ethnic costumes, performing various programs; there were pious prayers, a group of Suni performing shamanistic dances, and believers worshipping the fire. Around the beaches of Qionghai, a fire dragon had already appeared—it was all lit torches, with people surrounding the torches, celebrating together.

Such things were too numerous to mention.

The atmosphere was there.

Hearing that Liu Zheng could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, these Headmen took turns coming up to offer toasts. Fortunately, the effect of the Gehua Powder from earlier had not yet worn off, and Liu Zheng did not refuse anyone.

There really were a lot of Headmen...

This was Liu Zheng's current impression of Liangshan. Under the introduction of Huobu Quli, he also met the Headman of the Big Trouser Leg Tribe, Naibao Rize. This was a man who looked very sturdy and honest; he did not speak much, appeared neither to struggle nor to contend, and was sparing with his words.

Among this group, if not for the seat he occupied, sitting in the center alongside Shama Zhuoyi and Huobu Quli, one would never have guessed that this was the Great Headman of the Big Trouser Leg Tribe, who commanded an army of one hundred thousand.

Chaotic.

Disunited.

No one submitted to anyone else.

Interests came first.

This was Liu Zheng's assessment of these people in a short period of time.

Since it was a chaotic landscape... then, for him, there were benefits. What he needed to pay attention to were this Shama Zhuoyi and Naibao Rize.

Furthermore.

In his view, this Naibao Rize was likely the truly ruthless one!

A person who was sufficiently forbearing!

This matter seemed not as simple as Huobu Quli had described.

"Hahahaha, today we gather together to toast our Yi ancestor Heiti Aba, hoping for a bountiful harvest in the coming year!"

At this moment, Shama Zhuoyi raised a bowl of wine, stood up, and said loudly.

Once these words were spoken, the atmosphere changed instantly.

"Headman Shama, that is not right. The Torch Festival is to commemorate the ancestor Chishan..."

"Fart, it is to commemorate..."

"It is..."

This group of Headmen instantly erupted into an argument, and the brotherly camaraderie of drinking and chatting from just a moment ago vanished instantly.

This sudden change left even Liu Zheng dumbfounded.

Huobu Quli, however, laughed leisurely from the side: "It has begun. It is like this every year."

Liu Zheng chuckled, watching the spectacle from the side.

In the Yi regions, it seemed that each tribe had a different origin story for the Torch Festival. Some said it was to commemorate the Yi hero Heiti Aba, some said it was to commemorate a woman named Chishan, while the Middle Bitter Horn Tribe, represented by Huobu Quli, believed that the Torch Festival was to commemorate the great god King Samei...

Shama Zhuoyi slammed his wine cup down with a bang, his expression cold: "What, Headman Aze, are you prepared to lose three thousand cattle to us again this year?"

Every year during the Torch Festival, these tribes would send men and women from their tribes to participate in various programs and competitions.

It seemed that every year, these Headmen brought stakes with them.

At the mention of this, the crowd burst into loud laughter.

It seemed that Headman Aze had lost quite heavily last year.

That Headman Aze, his face livid, was not afraid and said: "Let's just do it, who is afraid of whom?"

Shama Zhuoyi gave a cold laugh: "Good! But everyone..."

He seemed to glance at Liu Zheng calmly and laughed: "This year is different from previous years; our Lord from Longyan is a true guest of honor. Since such a distinguished guest is here to witness, Shama has a proposal."

Liu Zheng remained expressionless.

Everyone looked toward him.

"What proposal, speak up!"

"Why the hesitation, just say it!"

"Heh, is it that Headman Shama's tribe has no cattle or sheep again this year? Hahaha!"

There was all sorts of laughter at the scene. Shama Zhuoyi smiled faintly: "Brothers, Liangshan is one body, and our ancestors are the same. But over these years, eight Great Bimo have appeared in our Liangshan region! Every year during the Torch Festival, we argue back and forth because of this; this is truly detrimental to the unity of our Liangshan!"

Once these words were spoken, the whole place buzzed, and people began to discuss it one after another.

Although the Torch Festival was more competitive and entertaining because of these differences in belief, it also brought about daily friction and localized fighting.

Headman Aze frowned and said: "What does Headman Shama mean?"

Others also looked over one after another. Liu Zheng and Huobu Quli exchanged a glance, thinking, here it comes.

Indeed.

Shama Zhuoyi laughed loudly: "Why don't we Headmen, while the distinguished guest is here to witness, simply make a final decision, how about that?"

The scene went quiet.

Shama Zhuoyi continued: "This year's Torch Festival, in the end, only one Great Bimo shall remain! The Great Bimo of the winning tribe shall serve! The other Great Bimo will all obediently go back to being ordinary Bimo!"

These people all looked at each other in dismay.

Only one left?

Eight left one?

Many people wanted to refuse on the spot. Who didn't know that under Shama Zhuoyi there was a group of fierce warriors, and there was also some Divine Blessing, winning the championship every year at the Torch Festival.

Doesn't that mean that it is destined for the Zhongkujiao to unify the faith of Liangshan?

"This..."

Many people began to hesitate.

Shama Zhuoyi's eyes turned cold.

"Good!"

Who knew that at this moment, Huobu Quli stood up, agreed readily, and laughed, "Exactly so, everyone, Daliang Mountain cannot continue to be this chaotic! We Inuo People agree!"

"Agree!"

Naibao Rize also stood up and said.

Now, the others had no capital to refuse at all. The three largest ethnic groups had all agreed, so what else could they say? And... starting from the pretext of the Torch Festival, this proposal itself was not wrong. Whose Great Bimo represents the Heavenly God, then the people of that ethnic group are even more powerful, aren't they?

"Good!"

"Since that is the case, we also agree!"

These Headmen could only follow the crowd.

At this time, Shama Zhuoyi drained the wine in his hand, turned his head to look at Liu Zheng, and chuckled, "Noble guest, if that Aluba loses, the noble guest's fifty thousand troops can only be stationed in Meigu, what do you think?"

The whole scene instantly quieted down.

【Author's Note】

The May Day holiday has begun, and updates will not stop. But that's it for today, three chapters tomorrow. Happy holidays to the brothers reading along, have a happy holiday.