Compared to Zhang Lun, who was a crude person, Fan Wenjin actually preferred to hear about the customs and customs of Tubo.
Since the man named Alu in front of him is a famous priest in Tubo, he must know some myths and legends of the Tubo people. If Fan Wen comes in to ask questions, he will tell them all.
Of course, Fan Wenjin already knew about this.
The Tubo people have many gods, ancestors, and all things they worship. There are many righteous gods, such as Buddha, Tubo heroes and kings in the past, and some animals. For example, the great god Shenghuang (transliteration) is a ram.
Among the transformed gods, there are also white elephants, yaks, and the like.
In addition, there are eight gods, who are all demons subdued by the main god and are also the thugs of the main god. From here, we can see the shadow of the eight deities of Buddhism.
It can be said to be a hodgepodge. It is estimated that after they receive the influence of the Central Plains civilization, the gods from the Central Plains will also come to join in the fun.
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At this moment, Alu heard the other party's request and looked at the other party in surprise to make sure that the other party was not joking with him.
He stammered: "Are you saying that if the gods' eyes shine on us, you will let us go?"
Zhang Lun gave an affirmative answer, "Keeping a bereaved dog has no use except wasting food. If your god really wants you to go back, I will give him this face."
Do you need to prepare anything else? For example, sacrifices?"
In the territory of Liangzhou, neither the gods of the Tubo people nor themselves could help themselves. Without Alu's need to answer, Zhang Lun waved his hand and ordered: "Everyone who comes is a guest, and they come according to their rules."
.”
So a group of people came out of the house, and Zilebu was also dragged out like a dog. The people outside had obviously received Zhang Lun's military order and were fully prepared.
Fan Wenjin was a little suspicious, so he heard Zhang Lun say with a smile: "The manager came with me to watch the excitement. I asked, the Tubo people have some tricks to offer sacrifices to heaven, the manager should not be anxious, next year our credit may fall here."
The matter is over."
Although Fan Wenjin felt that Zhang Lun was a bit pretentious, he had always been able to keep his composure, so he smiled and said, "Then I'll wait and see."
The bonfire was lit, and Aru was dizzy. Under the kicks and beatings of the guards, he danced around the fire in fear.
It is estimated that in his more than 20 years of life, he never dreamed that there would be such a day when someone would dare to force the servants of the gods to offer sacrifices to the gods.
Of course, like previous results, he could not get any revelation from the gods.
A group of people were pushed over. They were all prisoners captured by the Tang army. They were soon forced to kneel in a row. When Aru hesitated and stopped, heads fell to the ground one after another as the sword flashed.
The cold evening breeze was filled with the smell of blood. Fan Wenjin twitched his nose. For him, the scene was a little scary, but it was still interesting. So this is how the Tubo people worship the heavens? The gods they believe in are indeed a bit evil.
.
According to his understanding, before the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, especially during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, there was indeed the custom of living sacrifices. Later, only the burial system survived, and people no longer used blood sacrifices for no reason to attract the attention of the gods.
Nowadays, only the truly big shots are qualified to bury living people, and killing slaves at will has become less and less common.
Of course, there are not so many scruples in the northwest. The lives of the Qiang people are not important in the eyes of either the Sui people or the Tang people. This was also the cause of Bai Yusuo's uprising, but apart from the fact that many people died, nothing has changed.
What.
And if the Tubo people appear in Liangzhou in the future, their status will not be any better than that of the Qiang people. Here, people from the Central Plains have absolute dominance...
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For the first time, Aru felt that the sacrificial activity he hosted was a bit scary. The rolling head, the hot blood spurting out, and the swaggering light of the fire gave off an unspeakable strange aura.
He was afraid that his head would roll off his neck, so he didn't dare to hesitate for a moment, and immediately started divination skillfully, and got the result quickly.
"The great general, God... has given a sign, He... wants His servants to return to His arms as soon as possible, and for this we can pay any price in exchange for your... Your mercy.
"
Zhang Lun said quietly: "Is this really what your god said? Don't lie to me."
Aru was ecstatic after hearing the translation. He felt that this man looked like a Tibetan man and he also respected the gods. Things seemed to have turned around?
He nodded repeatedly and kept saying, "Don't worry, as a servant of God, my divination is accurate, and the turning point of fate will appear in my divination."
Zileb, who was gagged next to him, tried his best to widen his red and swollen eyes. He probably had ten thousand thoughts running through his mind, and when he heard the word "turnaround" again, he immediately had an ominous premonition.
Zhang Lun scratched his beard and laughed, "In this case, it seems to be God's will."
After saying that, he waved his hand. Without saying a word, the guard who had already received his order rushed forward and stripped Zileb naked. He took a knife and... shaved his hair cleanly. Well, it was all the hair on his body.
.
Zileb struggled desperately to no avail. His ominous premonition was verified. If he still had some sense, he would definitely yell, "Why am I always the unlucky one?"
Suffering this humiliation, Zilebu burst into tears, but he did not receive any sympathy or preferential treatment.
Before this was over, a middle-aged man came over with a sharp knife. Naturally, Zilebu didn't know that this man was a doctor in the Tang Army, but he could sense what evil intentions were in his eyes.
Naked, he closed his eyes in front of everyone, and his body was shaking like chaff.
The middle-aged man gently moved his limbs a few times and broke the tendons of his hands and feet. Not even a few drops of blood flowed out.
Then he pinched Zilebu's cheeks with one hand and pinched open his mouth with a slight force. With a flash of the knife, half of his tongue was cut off by him, without Zilebu even feeling much pain.
The middle-aged man finished the surgery and applied medicine to Zilebu. His eyes slipped under Zilebu and he looked at the general. When he saw the other man shook his head, he threw away his hands with regret and left.
A series of operations left Fan Wenjin dumbfounded. The bearded image finally became scary in his eyes. He felt a little cold and couldn't help tightening his robe.
Aru was so scared that he shrank into a ball.
Zhileb was a famous commander among the Tubo people, and he was only one step away from those heroes. Moreover, he was extremely prestigious among the Supi people, and his family had been married to the Supi royal family for generations.
After Langri Lunzan unified all the Tubo tribes, Qileb's son also married Langri Lunzan's daughter.
Such a person now... Aru couldn't imagine that the noble man was not beheaded by the enemy, but ended up in such an end. If the news was spread back to Tubo... what would be the consequences?
Zhang Lun bared his teeth and smiled. In Alu's eyes, that smile was undoubtedly that of a devil. He was really a terrible person...
"Although your God wants you to go back, you broke into our home and killed many people, and you must be punished.
According to our rules, you should actually gouge out your eyes, chop off your limbs, and leave you to fend for yourself in a deserted place. But I need someone to go back and tell your fellow tribesmen not to appear in the lowlands again.
, otherwise not even your gods can save you."
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Aru took the people away overnight, and of course among them was Zileb, who was already half-dead.
Zhang Lun asked him to take away two hundred people. Except for Aru, who was intact, the others had their ears cut off, and they were all dressed in women's clothes, which was extremely insulting.
They will be escorted by a thousand Tang troops all the way to Jishi Town, and then return to the high ground through Jishi Mountain.
Zhang Lun kept his word and indeed allowed them to return alive. It was just that they were missing some parts. As for whether they could return to the highlands before deep winter and how many of them could survive, it would depend on the strength of their gods.
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Fan Wenjin finally understood what Zhang Lun was going to do. Since the army couldn't go up to the high ground, he would lure the Tibetans down.
They all knew from the mouths of the Tubo captives that the Tubo people still had a large army in the highlands, led by a guy named Nang Nyima Ben, stationed on the bank of Bohai Sea.
If we can lure them to Liangzhou to fight and win again, the Tubo people will be honest, and they can also severely damage the tribes in the highlands. It's a very good strategy.
It's just a bit more deceitful. Of course, if he knew the story of Zhang Lun's time in Kuizhou, he wouldn't have this feeling.
Thinking of how the Tubo leader was punished to death, Fan Wenjin felt a little nauseous and felt that he should be more careful when working with this bearded man in the future.
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On the fourth day of August in the third year of Yuanzhen of the Tang Dynasty, Ashina Nishu came to Guzang. After meeting Fan Wenjin, Fan Wenjin quickly ordered someone to escort him to Chang'an.
At this time, the tribesmen of the Western Turks finally entered the boundary of Zhangye and stationed themselves around Zhangye City.
This journey of running around is no joke. People who are not strong enough will die on the road. The reason why the number of people has not changed much is because along the way, large-scale plunder has been carried out on the tribes living in the Hexi Corridor.
Many strong slaves.
According to Cheng Zhijie's idea, it was natural that he had to use two-legged sheep to get food when he was short of food. He had no psychological barriers to this as he had been in trouble in Shandong.
When they arrived in Zhangye, he and Hou Junji finally breathed a sigh of relief. They were finally at the right place. The time was just right. The next question was not what happened to the Turks. They both needed to face the imperial court.
Question.
Especially Cheng Dabeard, he has to think carefully about how to go back and explain to the emperor.
Li Po just sent him to Dunhuang to have a look, but he was so good that he actually took the initiative and brought the Turks back. Whether it is a credit or a sin is unpredictable.
But Cheng Dabeard has his own ideas. If I don't bring the Turks back, how can I easily return to Chang'an? I might be left in this ghost place in the northwest.