Firmament

Like a cuckoo leaving the garden.

- Uzbek proverb

Ali was intently counting the goods and accounts in the store when he suddenly heard the roars of fighting and heart-rending cries coming from the shopping street.

He immediately dropped the account book in his hand and quickly ran out of the store to see what was going on.

A crowd of panicked men, women, and children hurled past Ali, dropping a few shoes, two hats, a turban, and raisins all over the place. The scene was chaotic and chaotic.

Knowing that the situation was not good, Ali hurriedly turned around and returned to the store, picked up the door lock on the windowsill, quickly locked the door, and joined the fleeing crowd.

Ali and the fleeing people ran around the streets of Samarkand like headless flies, and finally ran to the Khitan Gate in the east of the city, where they found a black crowd of fleeing civilians. They curled up nervously, men, women and children huddled together, gasping for air in their mouths and their eyes showing extreme panic.

At this time, Ali suddenly thought of his family. Where are Ada, Grandma, and Sister now? Could they be hiding in the crowd too? He tried to find his relatives in the crowd. However, he was weak and unable to move his feet in the airtight human forest.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd.

Ali hurriedly stood on tiptoe and looked ahead. He saw a group of steppe soldiers riding tall horses rushing over and surrounding the civilians. Their long knives were pointed at the unarmed civilians, and they drove them out of the city like shepherds until they reached the banks of the Zeravshan River.

The waters of the Zeravshan River flowed slowly, like a broad dark green ribbon. The water of the river is crystal clear, as if it were the beautiful eyes of a young girl in Khorezm. The large clouds in the sky gradually dispersed. The midday sun shines on the earth again. Immediately, a blinding light reflected off the surface of the river.

When Ali was young, he often came to play on the banks of the Zeravshan River with his friends. They swim in shallow water to catch clever little white fish. In his mind, the Zeravshan River is a peaceful, tranquil and gentle river of peace, a mother river that feeds the life of Samarkand and blesses Khorezm.

The soldiers of the steppe country jumped off their horses after hearing the commander's order. They broke into the midst of terrified civilians and carefully searched for the Khwarazm soldiers. They pulled all the suspicious-looking men out of the crowd and escorted them to the grassy beach by the Zeravshan River, brandished their swords and slashed at the heads of the Khorezm soldiers.

The civilians standing at the front of the crowd trembled with fright and quickly closed their eyes. Some of the elderly began to pray in low voices, asking the Almighty Hu Da to save the poor people. The woman and the child hugged each other tightly, and from time to time there was a burst of frightened crying.

The officer shouted at the people. Looking at the exasperated look on his face, the civilians speculated that he might be forbidding people to make any noise.

The corpses were piled up like a hill on the meadows on the banks of the Zeravshan River. The water of the river was stained a shocking red with blood.

Ali had never seen such a bloody scene. His muscles tensed, his lips tingled, his breathing was rapid, and he hid in the crowd in terror. In his heart, he couldn't help but miss his relatives again: I don't know how Ada and Grandma are doing now? They must be safe, right?

When the steppe soldiers were tired of killing, they squatted on the banks of the Zeravshan River and laughed unscrupulously, washed the blood on their hands with river water, and then sat around a dozen carpets that were temporarily used as dining tables to enjoy Khorezm-style finger mutton, pilaf, pomegranates, grapes, and milk tea.

Little by little, the sun tilts towards the west and slowly sets behind the mountains. The color of the sky changes from azure to orange and then to light blue, dark blue and gray-black.

Fearing that the civilians would take up their swords and rebel when they were released and returned home, the steppe soldiers forced the civilians to stay overnight on the banks of the Zelafchan River.

The civilians who survived the catastrophe felt a little calm, and sat on the grass tremblingly, and their devastated and tormented souls were given a glimmer of peace. They found their mouths dry and hungry. Some people fumbled in their pockets and took out some dried fruits and naan to fill their stomachs.

Beside Ali stood a gray-haired, kind-faced grandmother. Trembling, she took a small piece of naan from her pocket, broke it into two pieces with all her might, and handed one of them to Ali.

Ali hurriedly thanked the grandmother, took the naan and ate it in a big gulp.

The old grandmother reminded in a whisper: "Child, slow down, chew it before eating." There's no tea here, you'll choke on yourself. "

Ali nodded sheepishly.

He finished eating the naan by two, and felt a little strength in his body. He looked around and saw a tall poplar tree nearby. He helped the old woman to the poplar tree, and made her sit on the rocks under the tree, resting her back against the thick trunk. He saw that the old woman's clothes were very thin, so he took off his own robe and gently covered the old woman's body.

The old woman smiled and stretched out her right hand, motioning for Ali to sit beside her, and then leaning against the poplar trunk with Ali and covering Ali's robe together.

Ali closed his eyes softly and couldn't sleep for a long time. His heart was tormented and chaotic. I can't calm down.

After a while, Ali quietly opened his eyes, raised his fair face, opened his pale yellow eyes, and looked up at the white moon and sparse stars in the sky. He was eager to immediately grow a pair of wings as powerful as an eagle, escape from the hellish Samarkand, fly high in the night sky, and fly to the quiet and peaceful moon.

Listening to the murmuring of the Zeravshan River, Ali fell into a trance into a dream: the great and heroic King Aladdin Mahamad, his three brothers who served as soldiers, and the mighty army of Khorezm, holding high the bright banner of the Empire, bravely fought back to Samarkand and expelled the army of the steppe country from the territory of the Khorezm Empire. The steppe state army retreated to the northern steppe ...... in disarray

Suddenly, a shout woke up Ali in his sleep. The soldiers of the Prairie Country are driving away the poor civilians again.

Ali hurriedly opened his eyes and found that it was already dark. He stumbled upon a glimpse of an oval pebble beside him, picked it up, and slipped it into his trouser pocket. Perhaps, he thought, pebbles could be used as a weapon of self-defense in an emergency.

Ali got up from the ground, picked up the sand and put it on, and then carefully lifted the trembling grandmother to her feet. He struggled to stand on tiptoe and craned his neck to look ahead.

A tall steppe country officer and a middle-aged Khorezm man stood on a large tree lying on the ground and began to speak to the civilians. The officer, who appeared to be in his mid-20s, wore protective armor made of cowhide, and had a long gem-encrusted knife with a scabbard at his waist.

He was an officer under General Hohbazhi Baolig (steppe language, spring water). Bao Lige straightened up, and proudly announced something to the huddled civilians.

Ali couldn't understand a word what the officer was saying. Because Bao Lige spoke a steppe language that Ali had never heard of.

The

middle-aged man of Khorezm waited until Baolig finished speaking, and then translated to the commoners in Khorezm: "The commoners of Samarkand, the great and brave, the wise and supreme commander have decided to accept the advice of the Khitan advisers and forgive all the Sartars in Samarkand with charity from the bottom of their hearts. "

Ali and the civilians looked at each other with suspicion, not knowing what crimes they needed forgiveness. They were very confused but did not dare to question.

The middle-aged man of Khorezm continued: "Now, at the request of this Venerable Lord Bolig, every skilled craftsman will come out of the crowd and stand on my left hand, and all healthy men who have no handicraft skills but are between the ages of 15 and 40 will come out of the crowd and stand on my right hand. Each of the remaining families could send a representative to go home and fetch gold and silver coins as ransom for the release of the others. Whoever pays the ransom on time will have their family go home. "

Civilians couldn't believe their ears when they heard the unexpected news. There was silence for a few moments before the crowd erupted in enthusiastic exclamations. They hugged each other excitedly, rejoicing in their liberation.

Ali excitedly told the old woman the good news.

After the old grandmother heard this, a few tears flowed from her desperate eyes.

Ali hurriedly comforted her and said, "Grandma, don't be sad. That's good news!".

The old grandmother said with relief: "Child, I am not sad. I cried tears of joy. Well, my little cat Nini is still waiting for me at home. We were separated for a day and a night. I've got to get home and feed him. "

According to the rules announced by the officers, Ali knew that he would eventually be separated from the old woman. When he saw a kind old couple in the crowd, he immediately helped the grandmother to walk over, seized the time to introduce them to each other, and entrusted them to be companions with the grandmother and return to their homes.

One by one, the craftsmen stepped out of the crowd and formed a long line on the left-hand side of the middle-aged man in Khorezm. They were incorporated into the Artisan Army of the Steppe Country.

Strong, healthy men with no manual skills also stood in a long line on the right hand side of the middle-aged man in Khorezm.

Ali was hesitating to walk out. A stern-looking soldier walked up to him, grabbed him by the collar roughly, pulled him out of the crowd, and pushed him into the ranks of the young men.

Bao Lige shouted loudly as he led Ali and the other young men past the old and weak women and children and walked to the camp of the Prairie State army not far away.