The next day the sky brightened, and the seven Feyaka people who had summoned their courage finally appeared in the sight of the Beihai Town sentry.
"Stop! Stop right there!" As the soldiers in the watchtower yelled loudly, a sharp whistle began to sound.
Mergu turned to the six people behind him and asked, "What is that person talking about?"
The six people looked at the chief together, which clearly meant that even you who were canonized by the Qing court would not understand, let alone us!
Mergu'a then turned around and continued walking forward.
With a "crack" sound, the soldier on the watchtower pulled the bolt of his gun and began to aim his gun. "If you go further, we will shoot!"
At this time, the seven people on the opposite side took off the animal skins, antlers, and dried bear bile they carried with them from their waists, and waved to the sentry in greeting.
"Want to change something?"
"I want to change into that dress you're wearing!"
"Would you like to change your hat?"
Wukambe, who came after hearing the news, hurried to the foot of the watchtower and shouted to the sentry above: "Don't shoot! I'll ask first."
When the sentry saw that it was Ukanbe, he remembered that the other party was from Hezhefeyaka, so he warned: "Be careful!"
Wu Kambei took a few steps forward and shouted in Manchu to Meier Gu and others: "Stop!"
Now that he could finally understand, Mergua and his party stopped hesitantly. Wukanbe looked at the seven people opposite him carefully. These people all had big beards and wore long-breasted cotton robes of green or black.
There is a hat on their head, and the hair under the hat is tied back at shoulder level. They have daggers and daggers in their arms, and they all carry a bow and a big bag behind their backs. As for the quiver,
It must be hidden behind my back.
The most striking thing is that the seven people in front of me are all barefoot and don't wear shoes at all.
Wukanbei immediately realized that these were the people of Kuyefiyaka! He cupped his fists with both hands and bowed to the seven people and said, "I am here to see the Hezhe fishermen on the Dan River. I don't know what you call them."
?”
Mergu'a frowned and said, "Hezhe? Why don't you grow a beard? Your face is as smooth as a woman's."
As soon as he said this, Sembakul and others behind him burst into laughter. Facing the laughter of these people, Wukanbei responded with a normal expression: "I am currently serving in the Beihai Army, and the rules here are strict.
, soldiers are not allowed to grow beards. In the past, my beard was longer than all of yours."
"Beihai Town? Junzhong? Who are you?!" Meier asked loudly in ancient times.
"Brother, who are you?" Ukanbe asked with a smile.
"My name is Mergua, and I was appointed by the government of Ningguta to serve as the local Kalada."
"Oh? Then I will call you Brother Melgua. The Ningguta government you mentioned was defeated by our Beihai Town just last year."
When Wu Kambei said that "we" defeated Beihai Town, he felt a little guilty, because at that time he was still a member of the Manchu "retreating barbarian army".
When Mergu'a heard this, his eyes almost popped out of his head. That was the Qing Dynasty, the Celestial Dynasty!
When Wu Kambei saw the other party's look, he chuckled and said, "Don't believe it? You'll find out when you have a chance to go to the other side and ask around."
Mergua was doubtful and was about to ask again when he saw a person coming over. The person who came was the guard company commander. He asked Wukanbei: "Who are they?"
Wukanbei quickly saluted the company commander and then explained the situation. The guard company commander said to Wukanbei: "Stabilize them, and I will report to the commander."
"yes."
Wukambe's salute aroused the curiosity of Mergua and others. He walked in slowly and asked Wukambe, "Who is that?"
Wukanbei thought for a while and then explained: "Oh, that's my boss. He is going to report to his boss." (There is no word "superior" in Manchu, only "hafan", which means boss.)
Mergu'a felt something move in his heart after hearing this, and quickly asked: "Boss's boss? Are there two particularly tall people here?"
Wukanbei was stunned after hearing this. Now the two tallest people here except Zhao Xin were Liu Sheng, so he suddenly became wary and asked as if nothing had happened: "Brother Mergua, how did you know?
"
Mergua pointed back at Sembakul: "He saw it."
Wukanbei quickly asked: "Where did you see it?"
Sembakul pointed to the northeast and said: "A few days ago, it was at the mouth of the Oha River!"
Wu Kanbei was already sure that they were talking about Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng. He shook his head and said: "My master is very busy and he doesn't have time to see you. If you have anything, just tell me directly."
It is said that in Manchu, the words "lord, master, monarch, emperor" are all expressed by one word, which is ejen. As a result, Wu Kambei's expression strengthened Meier's idea of meeting Zhao Xin in ancient times. In
In the minds of the Feyaka people, God is the master!
As the saying goes, those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes, but Mergu and the others really did not wear shoes. He made up his mind to meet those two people no matter what today.
During the stalemate, a soldier ran over and said to Wukanbe: "The chief wants to see them."
Wukanbei breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know how to deal with it if he continued talking. So he met Mergua's curious eyes and said, "The master wants to see you."
Mergua was overjoyed. He waved hello and was about to go inside when Wukanbei stopped him again.
"Brother Mergua, please leave your weapons here. I will return them to you when you leave."
The six subordinates looked at each other and Mergua nodded. They took off the bows and arrows on their backs and the daggers in their arms, and handed them to a few soldiers. Then they followed Ukanbe and entered.
Residential area.
At this time, many people in the residential area have already gotten up, washing their faces and mouth, or squatting in front of their homes to eat breakfast. Because everyone is doing hard work these days, Zhang Bo specially arranged for three meals a day to be white-flour steamed buns.
At that moment, I saw soldiers walking in with seven barefooted natives. Many people were eating breakfast and looking around curiously.
The seven people in Mergu could not help but swallow a few mouthfuls of saliva as they smelled the smell of white-faced steamed buns in the air. He had been to Delengen Wooden City and had some experience, so he held back and said nothing. But behind him was Samba.
But Kull couldn't help it anymore. He pointed at the steamed bun in a child's hand and said, "I want to eat this! I'll trade it with you for the animal skin."
As soon as he opened his mouth, the other five people also said that they wanted to exchange things for steamed buns. At this time, Hu Liu's daughter Niuniu held up the steamed buns. Seeing everyone's eyes looking at her, the little girl suddenly felt so wronged.
Don’t want to eat?
She thought about it and saw the barefoot bearded man still pointing at the steamed bun in her hand, so she got up and walked slowly to Sembakul, holding up the steamed bun, and said with a slight cry: "I won't eat it.
, give it to me."
This scene is so embarrassing that Mergua wants to find a crack in the ground to crawl in! These six scum! How embarrassing!
Sembakul was also stunned. He did not expect that the first person who came here to exchange things with him was actually a child. He forced a smile and said blatantly: "I will exchange things for you, and you will not suffer any loss.
"After saying that, he took a piece of deerskin from the big bag on his back and stuffed it into Niu Niu's arms without any explanation. Then he took the steamed bun and opened his mouth and took a bite.
The refugees who were watching were also confused. They thought, would they bring something like this? A piece of skin in exchange for a white-flour steamed bun?
Suddenly, a refugee held up the steamed bun in his hand and said to another Feyaka man: "I'll trade this with you."
Others also reacted at this time and gathered around holding uneaten or half-eaten steamed buns.
"Change it with me, change it with me."
“I just took a bite, and it’s like I didn’t eat it!”
"I still have half a draw left. I'm not greedy. I'll hit the mark if I'm given a small piece of skin."
A few scumbags smiled and took out their leather goods, and were about to exchange steamed buns with the refugees. Mei Ergu angrily cursed: "You idiots! Haven't you ever eaten white noodles?!"
"Chief, I haven't eaten for a long time. The last time I ate was when you took me to Deleng."
"Yeah, I'll just change it."
"Half is enough, I'll give it a try."
"Shut up!" Mergu'a was furious.
Wu Kanbei and several soldiers couldn't laugh or cry at this moment. They hurried forward to disperse the refugees and said to Mei Ergu and others: "There are plenty of steamed buns. I will get them for you in a moment. Follow me to see the owner first."
Upon hearing this, several people quickly put the animal skins in their hands into their bags and followed Wukambe towards a large green tent with a smile.
This is Zhao Xin's temporary residence. Two soldiers with guns stood at the door of the tent. Seeing Wu Kambei coming with seven natives, the soldiers immediately became nervous. A guard said to Wu Kambei: "The chief is inside, go in."
." After saying that, he opened the thick curtain.
Mergu followed Wukanbei into the tent, and his eyes suddenly lit up. He looked up and saw a bright object above his head emitting light, illuminating the tent with brightness, and even the corners could be seen clearly.
Chu.
Under the gable to the north of the tent, two guys with smooth chins were sitting on mats, smiling and looking at themselves. Behind the man sitting in the middle, an extremely beautiful woman was sitting there on her knees, holding the man.
He raised his arms and looked himself up and down.
Wukanbei first stood at attention and saluted. His serious look made Sembakul and others stand up straight involuntarily and looked at Zhao Xin, Liu Sheng and A Miao.
"That's the three of them." When Sembakul saw the appearance of the three of them clearly, he couldn't help being stunned, and quickly walked to Mergu'a and whispered.
"Please sit down." Zhao Xin raised his hand and said to Wu Kambei: "You stay here to translate."
There were no chairs in the tent, only a row of thick cotton cushions placed on the west side. Mergua and others hesitantly sat on the cushions after listening to Wukanbe's translation.
There was no condescension, no murderous guards. This was what Zhao Xin wanted, with everyone sitting cross-legged in the tent, chatting wantonly. As for the other party who violently injured someone, the pistol on the mat behind him was not for nothing.
Everyone introduced each other, and several soldiers brought tea. Mergua suddenly said: "Are you from the sea?"
Zhao Xin nodded and said, "Yes."
"I heard from my people that your ship is as big as a hill. Can I see it?"
"Okay. Someone will take you to the north in a while."
"I also heard." Mergua hesitated for a moment, then summoned up his courage and said, "I heard that you can make a ship as big as a mountain disappear in the blink of an eye."
Wukanbei was stunned when he heard it, but he still translated it.
"Who did you listen to?" Zhao Xin's expression suddenly changed after hearing this, and he looked at Meirgu with burning eyes.
"I, I saw it." Sembakul changed from sitting to kneeling, lying on the mat and lowering his head. "That day, that afternoon, I was chasing a red deer, and I saw you waving your hand.
, the four boats are gone.”
When Wu Kanbei finished his stammering translation, A Miao's expression behind Zhao Xin suddenly changed. She raised her head and stared at Zhao Xin's profile with a look of astonishment.
The originally smiling expression of Liu Sheng on the side suddenly darkened. He stared at Sembakul and asked, "Then what is the purpose of your coming here today?"
When Sembakul saw the strong man with the bear speak, he quickly explained: "I went back and told Kelada, and he brought us here."
He didn't dare to tell the truth. Mergua's original intention was to grab it first and then talk about it.
Mergu'a looked at Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng and explained: "We came with goods and wanted to see if we could exchange them for something."
"So you just want to change to steamed buns?" Someone had already told Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng in advance about the scene in the residential area just now.
"No, no, no!" Mergu'a quickly waved his hand and said: "We want to change some iron weapons. It would be better if you have weapons here." At present, the seven of them are unarmed, and even if they have thief intentions, they are no longer thief.
Courage.
"Weapons?" Zhao Xin shook his head. "I don't have weapons here."
"The ax you used to chop down the tree yesterday was very good."
Liu Sheng stared and said, "We still have to use the axe, we won't replace it!"
Mergu asked carefully: "Can you tell me why you want to live here?"
Zhao Xin said in surprise: "Here? It's very good here."
"But it smells bad here, and you can't drink the water in the puddles. It's all black. I heard the shaman in the village say that it's the blood of the devil!"
"Oh? Hahaha, what else did the shaman say?"
"No. The shaman was killed by the red-haired man. I plan to go to the mainland next month and invite another shaman to come over." Wukanbei's heart suddenly tightened after hearing this.
"Red-haired man?!" Zhao Xin suddenly became nervous. Could it be?
Mergu sighed and explained slowly: "Yes. Our village used to be more than a hundred miles west of you, near a large lake. In the past few years, red-haired people came in big boats.
After they landed, they killed everyone they saw. These people were tall and had many hands. In addition to sharp weapons, they also carried iron pipes that could spit fire. We really couldn't defeat them and many people died, so we moved
Gone to the south."
The more Wu Kambei listened, the more he felt that those people were similar to the bandits who killed his family. He hurriedly asked loudly: "Do they have blue eyes, a high nose, a big beard, and an animal skin cloak?"
Mergua was surprised and said: "Have you seen it before? In addition to most of them having red hair, some of them have yellow hair. They are almost the same color as dead grass in autumn."
Wukanbei couldn't ask any more. The bones in his fists cracked and veins popped out on his forehead. He guessed in his mind that those people must be the ones who killed his wife and children; even if they weren't, they were probably in the same group.
Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng saw Wu Kanbei like this and asked strangely: "Wukambei, what's wrong with you?"
Wukanbei took a few deep breaths and felt that his emotions had calmed down a bit, and then he translated what he had just said to the two of them.
After hearing Wukanbei's description, Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng looked at each other and said in unison: "Tsarist Russia!"
Twenty years ago (1765), since the Qing government did not have an official garrison on the island (because there was no external threat here in the early days, the Qing garrison stayed for a while and then withdrew to the mainland), the Tsarist Russians on the Kamchatka Peninsula sent An expedition team composed of soldiers and exiled prisoners. They raided the northern end of Ku Island, killed the local Feyaka people, built camps in the mountains, and mined coal mines. The docks of these Russian invaders were located in the northern part of Bitterleaf Island. In a lagoon, this lagoon is called "Lake Zalif Baikal" in another time and space.
A few days ago, when Beihai Town's fleet sailed around the northwest of Kuye Island, they did not find any trace of the Tsarist Russians or the presence of ships because the ships were fast and did not stop.
In history, four years later, that is, in 1789, the Tsarist Russian expedition would invade the southwest of Ku Island. After landing on the island, they massacred the local Feyaka people and expelled them back to the mainland; at the same time, in Muzimo ( Alexandrovsk, Coal Mine Center) built city hall, churches, prisons, schools and other buildings.
According to Mergu'a, the camp of the Tsarist Russians was only about fifty kilometers away from Zhao Xin and the others, separated by a dense virgin forest.
At this time, Wukambe still didn't know that the murderers who killed his wife and children, destroyed their bodies and records, and set fire to his home were really in that camp.