In the autumn of 1752, two years had passed since the Battle of Xiaoyuzi.

Kostana is where the royal tent of Sultan Bala of Yuzi in Kazakhstan is located. His pasture is roughly located south of Kurgan and north of the Turan River.

Since the death of Galdan of the Junggar Khanate, the noble chiefs within the Khanate have fought fiercely for the throne. Coupled with the sudden epidemic of smallpox, the Mongolian population of the Khanate at this time has increased from 300,000 to more than one million.

The population dropped sharply to 200,000 and less than 800,000.

The herders could not bear the frequent fighting and fled north, east, and west.

Going north naturally leads to the Russian pastures in the lower reaches of the Irtysh River.

To the east, we cross the Altai Mountains and enter the territory under the jurisdiction of General Ulia Sutai of the Qing Dynasty.

Going west is naturally to enter the pasture of Zhongyuzi in Kazakhstan.

The Great Khans after Galdan kept changing like a revolving lantern. In order to quickly establish authority, each new Great Khan would most likely launch attacks on the Dulbert and Heshuote herders who were attached to them, causing these herders to

The door went farther and farther.

Before the four tribes of Weilat were divided, the Durbot tribe was nomadic in the Irtysh River Basin, and their pastoral areas were from Zhaisangbo to Tara.

After that, the tribe quickly fell apart.

Some of them were abducted by the Turghuts and brought to the vicinity of the Caspian Sea. Some of them were afraid of the forces of the Dzungars and chose to go south to attach themselves to them. Some of them kept getting closer to Tara and eventually became vassals of the Russians.

The Kazakh Zhongyuzi are the same as the Khiva people's self-proclaimed Hongjira, Naiman, and Kipchak. The main tribes are also these. Of course, in addition, there is the largest tribe, the Kle tribe.

At the beginning, the Junggar people conquered Zhongyuzi, and herders from both sides began to integrate in large numbers. Later, with the decline of the Junggar tribe, a large number of Junggar herders fled to Zhongyuzi, which intensified the integration.

Zhongyuzi are actually Kazakhs who speak Turkic language but generally look similar to Mongolians.

Near Kustana, winter will arrive anytime in August.

The grass and trees are falling down, the cold wind is blowing, and the strong wind has been blowing for seven days.

At this time, some herders will choose to migrate to the area north of the Aral Sea, while some will continue to stay where they are. During the migration, the violent wind and sand will scatter their livestock. Even if they stay in the same place, once they encounter strong wind and sand, they will lose their livestock.

Cattle, sheep, camels and horses are also everywhere.

For herders, the bigger the livestock, the more precious it is. As the saying goes, an old horse knows the way. Generally speaking, a lost horse will walk back on its own, because the environment in the wild is definitely not as good as in pastoral areas.

But camels are different. They are extremely cold-resistant and drought-resistant. Even if they don't have an owner, they can still live in the wild for a long time.

Therefore, how to find the lost camel has become a big problem.

Naturally, there are no police officers or agricultural bureaus to help them solve their problems at this time. However, as long as there are problems, there will be people who specialize in solving them.

Some people who are familiar with the temperament of camels and can trace their scent in the wind have become camel hunters who specialize in finding camels for herdsmen.

Obviously there are not many people like this. Riding a horse alone in the wild to look for camels. In addition to strong winds and sandstorms, you will often encounter wolves and black bears. If you are near the Tara Prairie, tigers are also very common at this time.<

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Therefore, if such people want to successfully find the camels and bring them back to the pastoral area, they also need some skills.

Yesimu is such a person.

He is about eighteen or nineteen years old, has a typical Kazakh appearance (his facial profile is Mongolian, but his eye sockets are deeper), short and capable, and is the adopted son of a childless old shepherd, Mr. and Mrs. Tok, who adopted him a year ago.

According to Yesimu himself, he came from Xiaoyuzi. Because of the well-known war, it is said that many herders ran to Zhongyuzi's territory.

Yesimu's camel-hunting skills were not given to him by the Toke couple, but were developed when Yuzi was a child.

Since they had no children, the Tuokes only raised a few cattle and sheep, and did not have the energy to move around, so they stayed near the royal tent of Bala Sultan and eked out a living.

It’s not that Lao Tuoke didn’t have any sons before, it’s just that they all died while fighting with Sultan Bala.

On this day, Yesimu ignored the dissuasion of the Tok couple and insisted on accepting the commission from a herdsman hundreds of miles away near the Tobol River, preparing to retrieve his camel for him.

At this time, it has begun to snow north of the Tobol River, and the ground has not yet frozen. It is the most difficult time to go out looking for livestock in such weather.

If in the middle of winter, the ground is frozen solid, even though it is covered with heavy snow, there is no danger of falling into a swamp. At this time, there are puddles everywhere in the Central Siberian steppe. If it is covered with ice and snow, the herdsmen can still distinguish it clearly, but if

It is very dangerous if the weather is neither winter nor autumn.

The ground is covered with a thin layer of snow, covering the road visible to the naked eye. At this time, you can only rely on your own feelings and experience to drive.

But then again, one of the essential skills of a camel hunter is to be able to find lost animals in any weather and road conditions. Therefore, Lao Tuoke, who had a ravaged face, finally let Yesimu go.

Also, the reason why Yesimu took such a huge risk and agreed to the herders to find camels was that in addition to getting generous rewards, he also liked to travel around and travel.

Riding a Mongolian horse that was in its prime and beginning to have thick hair, carrying a bow and arrows and a saber, he said goodbye to the old Tok couple and ran towards the Tobol River in the north without hesitation.

Two days later, we arrived at the house on the south bank of the river.

"What I lost was a male camel. It was extremely tall and a rare breed nearby. In the past few years, I have made a lot of money by breeding it to other people."

Yesimu nodded.

"What characteristics does it have?"

"Well, yes, he is about five years old. He has golden hair and double peaks. He is about one foot long and six feet high. Most people can't sit on it."

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"The hair on its neck is very bright, but it turns red in winter"

"How many days has it been missing?"

"It has been ten days, and I have asked nearby camel hunters to look for them, but they have not been found."

"Your opinion is..."

"The camel hunters here all look south, and have never gone north across the Tobol River."

"So you think it went to Bayinhan's pasture?"

"It should be"

Bayin Khan was part of the Dulbert tribe who had been coerced by the Turghuts and moved westward. They stopped after arriving at the Tobol River and did not continue to follow the Turghuts to move westward.<

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In the past, there were only more than 2,000 households in this department. After more than a hundred years of reproduction, it has grown to about 8,000 households!

The leader of the tribe was named Bayin from the beginning. After that, no matter who succeeded him, except for adding a word with a Lamaist meaning in front, everything that followed was Bayin.

In ten days, a tall and strong camel can travel hundreds of miles. Of course, if it encounters a pack of wolves or is taken in by another herdsman, that is another story.

Yesimu thought for a while.

"It's snowing in the north now, but it's probably a month before it's covered by heavy snow. For camels, there's still plenty of fodder, so they shouldn't go too far."

"By the way, what happened to it before it left?"

"Of course there is. The herdsmen in the north and south of the Tobol River, mainly those far away from here, are very eye-catching about this camel. They often use the female camel that has just come into heat to attract it, and have also been attracted by other herdsmen.

I adopted him, but I finally wanted him back."

"Then is it willing to be adopted by others?"

Yesimu suddenly thought of something.

"I don't want to, cough. To tell you the truth, there is a kind of forage near here that it likes the most. It is naturally found in other places, but it is concentrated here. At that time, in order to prevent it from getting away, I asked all around.

After walking for more than a hundred miles, I finally came to the conclusion that it will definitely not escape."

"Oh? Why is this?"

"Because this kind of fodder is the most abundant nearby, the most concentrated place is here."

......

Yesimu crossed the Tobol River, which was only more than a foot deep, and set out to find the male camel named "Arslan" (similar to the golden lion king in Kazakh language).

Before leaving, he was given a pile of Arslan's dried feces and a tuft of hair.

After crossing the Tobol River, he did not continue to go further north, but walked straight downstream along the Tobol River. If he kept going down, he would reach the famous Russian city of Tobol.

Sk.

"In this season, if the camels are not stupid, they will not go deep into the interior, but will walk along the river bank. Where there are river banks, there are valleys, which is also convenient for hiding their whereabouts."

With that lump of dried feces and that tuft of hair, he could catch even a trace of its scent in the air.

He planned to walk a hundred miles first, and then go deeper into the interior if there was no result.

He carries three days' worth of dry food with him, which is only used in emergencies. Normally, he has a bow and arrows in hand, plus skilled trap skills, as well as a large amount of money in the Tobol River that can be harvested with just one stick.

A white fish means you don’t have to worry about having nothing to eat.

His prediction was correct. Ten days later, when he arrived near Kurgan, where Bayin Khan's royal tent was located, the weather still had not changed, but he did not find any information from Arslan.

However, he doesn't seem to care.

For the camel hunter, it is good to be able to find the lost animal. If he cannot find it, neither party will owe the other. The reward promised by the herdsman is two young stallions. If he cannot find it, then

A sheep.

After spending ten long, cold, and lonely days, the scene in front of me was refreshing.

At the southern foothills of the rolling Kurgan Mountains and the highlands on the west bank of the Tobol River, which has turned to flow north, there is a large area of ​​white tents, with a large number of horses and people passing through. From time to time, herders drive their livestock to the river to drink water.

Kurgan!
To be continued...