Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 525 Calming the Raging Spirit (Part 7)

Pierre, led into the palace tent by the young hunter, found the interior of the tent to be very spacious.

The dome, supported by six pillars, has an extraordinary span.

The dome had many skylights, so although there were enclosures on all sides, the inside of the tent was very bright.

However, compared to the reputation of the Blood Wolves, the palace of the Wenduo tribe was not magnificent enough.

It should be noted that the Harts liked to display their property openly, regardless of their wealth. The centurion's tent, however, was simply furnished, as always.

Many of the Harts were already inside the tent, sitting in twos and threes on the felt rugs.

An elder, accompanied by a young disciple, knelt respectfully before the Blood Wolf.

These were Pierre's first impressions of the "Grand Palace Tent".
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Just as Pierre was observing the situation inside the tent, the Vendors who had been facing Batu under the dome all turned their heads and turned their gazes toward the newcomer.

Some of them recognized Pierre, the "arrow that Batu shot near and far," while others had never seen the newly appointed military governor of the Outer New Territories.

Regardless, when the Wenduoer people inside the tent discovered that the newly arrived young man was not from any of the tribes, the interior of the palace tent suddenly became unusually quiet.

The members of the Wenduo tribe scrutinized the unfamiliar visitors while secretly observing the expression on Batu's face.

Pierre, realizing he seemed to have stumbled into some kind of ritual, was momentarily at a loss.

Because he didn't speak the language or understand the customs, he didn't know what to say or do, let alone what he could say or do.

Just as he was caught in a dilemma, Pierre saw the centurion sitting high in the center of the palace tent, who calmly waved to him.

Pierre was somewhat hesitant. The young hunter gently nudged him from behind, but he still couldn't figure out what the centurion meant.

Then he saw—the centurion wave to him again.

Pierre felt immediately at ease. Under the gaze of all the Herders in the tent, he strode confidently to the center of the palace tent.

In the center of the palace tent, a platform about a foot high was built with wooden planks, and six gleaming, imposing guards stood on either side of the platform—Pierre was certain that this arrangement was merely for ceremonial purposes.

A curtain was drawn behind the platform, dividing the palace tent into two rooms, one in front and one behind.

The antechamber—the space where Pierre was located—was larger, with carpets covering the floor. The posterior chamber was smaller and hidden by curtains, obscuring the view inside.

The platform in the center of the palace tent was naturally the exclusive area of ​​the ruler of the tribe.

However, instead of the luxurious couches of other tribal chiefs, the platform only had a camp bed with a bearskin on it.

Blood Wolf sat on the bearskin.

Pierre came to the platform and stood shoulder to shoulder with the two kneeling Herd men, raising his hand in salute to the centurion.

Blood Wolf did not return the greeting, but simply nodded.

Pierre assumed that the centurion would then introduce himself to the Huds inside the palace tent.

Unexpectedly, the chief of the Wenduo tribe remained silent, but simply pointed to the empty space on the right side of the cot, indicating that Pierre should sit next to him.

Pierre was stunned, even more hesitant than when the centurion beckoned to him.

Fortunately, Charles came to Pierre's rescue at just the right moment. Charles, who was standing guard on both sides of the platform as the "chief guard," conjured a small stool out of nowhere.

He took a large step forward, placed the stool to Blood Wolf's right, half a body length behind, and then, leaning on his saber, retreated back to his original position with dignity.

Pierre was relieved.

This time, he understood perfectly and bowed respectfully in the manner of the Hed people, placing his hand on his chest and bending over, before ascending the steps and giving Charles a grateful nod.

Because the stool didn't just appear out of thin air; it must have been that as soon as he stepped into the palace tent, Charles immediately sent his men to retrieve it.

Charles also winked discreetly.

Pierre, with impeccable manners, took his seat behind the centurion after ascending the platform.

He immediately noticed a significant change in the way the Harts inside the tent were looking at him:

No one dares to stare at you so openly anymore; the gazes directed at you become more cautious, more respectful, and more curious.

Blood Wolf gently raised his hand, signaling for the interrupted ritual to continue.

Pierre saw two Hurds, one old and one young, kneeling before the centurion, sweating profusely and with their legs trembling. They were as if granted a pardon. The younger Hurd babbled a long string of Hurd words, then raised the arrow in his hand and snapped it in two with a snap.

The centurion nodded and stood up—Pierre quickly followed suit.

Big White and Little White, carrying a saber, a short-barreled matchlock gun, a pair of boots, and a pair of stirrups, came from behind the curtain to the platform.

The sabers, boots, and stirrups were all in the style of the Paratists, not to mention the matchlock guns.

Pierre watched as the centurion descended the platform, tied his saber to the huddled man who had broken his arrow, put the musket on his back, placed his boots and stirrups in his hands, patted him on the shoulder, and helped the young huddled man up with a smile.

A burst of cheers and applause erupted inside the palace tent.

The young Hedman, now the center of attention, blushed and turned to face the crowd, accepting the congratulations somewhat shyly.

It was then that Pierre noticed that although the young Hurd was about the same height as the old Hurd, he looked very young, probably only fourteen or fifteen years old, just old enough to draw a real bow, not a toy cork bow.

Pierre realized that the ceremony he witnessed was a coming-of-age ceremony, and very likely also a ceremony of allegiance. From this, Pierre deduced that the two men, one old and one young, were probably not ordinary herders or runaway slaves, but rather from the chieftain's family of a small tribe that had submitted to the Vendor tribe.

Pierre carefully examined the two Hurds and soon found more evidence—the old Hurd's boots and robes were more exquisitely made than those of the new white men in the caravan, and he wore jewelry and ornaments on his ears and fingers that were not commonly found among the runaway slaves.

Pierre secretly wondered, "Is the centurion trying to secure the loyalty of these small tribes by taking hostages? That might not be a bad idea."

However, his conjecture was soon questioned by himself.

Just after the young Hed had received everyone's congratulations and settled down with the old Hed in the yurt, another new family entered.

This family consists of a middle-aged Hurd man with two boys of similar age.

The process was the same as before: the three knelt on one knee, the two little ones broke off arrows to swear an oath, accepted gifts and congratulations, and then found a place to sit in the tent.

The difference is that the new family, no matter how you look at it, is an ordinary, very poor herding family.

It's even possible that he was a runaway slave, because the middle-aged Hart man's exposed hands and neck were covered with shocking, worm-like scars, clearly marks left by whipping.

Moreover, middle-aged Herd men walk with a limp—Pierre had heard his father tell him when he was a child that the Herd barbarians on the steppe would cut open the heels of runaway slaves and sprinkle shredded horsehair into the wounds, causing the runaway slaves excruciating pain with every step, even after the wounds had healed.

The two little Heds were also thin and small. Although they looked more mature than the first little Hed, they were much shorter.

“Uncle and two nephews,” Pierre heard the centurion introduce them succinctly in a low voice, “the one in front is the grandfather and his grandson.”

Pierre felt both warm and ashamed.

The warmth came from the fact that, in this situation, the centurion, fearing he might not understand, specifically explained it to him.

He felt ashamed because, as the military governor of the newly reclaimed lands who would be dealing with the Hed people in the future, he couldn't understand a word of Hed language and had never even thought of learning it.

The ceremony continued, with wave after wave of Harts entering the palace tent, and one young Hart after another making their vows.

Among them were the rich and the poor, the large and the small;
Some Khads offered gifts to Batu before receiving them, while others were so poor that they only had a tattered felt cloth to wear on their feet.

Pierre was completely unable to glean any patterns from them; if he had to pinpoint anything, there were only two commonalities:
First, all those who took the oath were Harts;

Second, they are all quite young.

In addition, Pierre also noted that among the families who "handed over the hostages," the Hart family, which had some property, was significantly more numerous than the poor who had nothing.

It wasn't until the huge palace tent was almost full that no more members of the Hart family entered through the tent gates.

Pierre remained serious and upright throughout the entire event, without smiling or moving an inch. By the end, his back was aching terribly.

He estimated the time and thought it was at least three hours, but looking at the sun's position through the skylight, it seemed that less than an hour had passed.

After the last young Hedman received cheers and took his seat, Bell peeked out from the palace tent entrance to confirm that everyone's ceremony was over.

Bowls of roasted meat and bags of fine wine were immediately brought in, table after table.

The atmosphere inside the palace tent instantly became incredibly relaxed.

The Wendor people, who had been quietly observing the ceremony and only cheering when necessary, gradually began to talk to each other, and the area under the dome was soon filled with a buzzing sound.

Pierre gently stretched his shoulders and lower back when he suddenly heard the centurion's voice, "How long did you ride back?"

Pierre looked up and saw the centurion, who had maintained a dignified demeanor, turn around and smile at him.

“Not long,” Pierre whispered.

Pierre smiled at the centurion and asked, "Are you hungry?"

This time, Pierre answered truthfully: "A little."

The first small table, containing wine, meat, salt, cheese, and a sauce made from wildflowers from the prairie, was undoubtedly offered to Blood Wolf.

The second one was placed in front of Pierre.
Next were the others in the palace tent.

"Eat if you're hungry." Blood Wolf took out a small knife with a handle made of leather rope from his pocket, picked up a piece of meat with the bone still attached, and ate it generously, saying as he ate, "I still have work to do after I'm full."

Pierre was so hungry that he had no feeling in his stomach and no appetite, so he didn't touch the food on the table.

But he suddenly realized that the dark mass of Harts inside the palace tent were all staring at him.

He paused for a moment, but quickly recovered. He imitated the centurion and tentatively picked up a piece of meat with bone from the small table.

Only then did the others inside the palace tent seem to receive permission and begin to move about.

“I originally wanted you to ‘manage the banquet.’” Blood Wolf held half a sheep’s head in his hand, viciously tearing at the tender flesh of the sheep’s cheek. “This is an important job—in the minds of the Hed tribes, doing it well will earn you recognition in front of everyone.”

“I have let you down…” Pierre felt as if a stone was pressing on his chest.

"What do you mean by letting me down? I'm very happy that you took the initiative to come and get a feel for the new land reclamation area in advance. I knew then that I hadn't chosen the wrong person."

Hearing this, Pierre felt even more ashamed. He was only glad that the centurion was sitting in front of him and couldn't see his blushing face.

“You said, ‘Even after we’ve eaten our fill, there’s still work to do.’” Pierre tried to find the right words: “What kind of work?”

Blood Wolf turned his head, a meaningful smile playing on his lips: "You'll find out soon enough."

[Updated Forecast]
The previous goal of "stable updates until Sunday (April 28th)" has been achieved, so the current goal is "stable updates until this Sunday (May 5th)".
[但是5月7号笔者要出差，5月10号（2024年）或者5月11号（2024年）才能回家，所以5.7-5.11都没有环境写小说]
[I will try my best to build up some chapters during the May Day holiday so that I can continue updating normally while on a business trip. However, if the plan to build up chapters doesn't go smoothly, I can only ask for your understanding. Thank you very much, and I'm very sorry. Orz]
[Thank you to all the readers for your collections, reading, subscriptions, recommendations, monthly tickets, donations, and comments. Thank you everyone!]