4 Friends and Allies

Chapter 3 Friends and Allies When Temujin was sixteen years old, he traveled back across the steppe to claim his bride. Borte's family was happy to see him. Her father gave the couple a valuable coat made of black sable fur as a wedding gift. Temujin returned home with Borte, eager to start a family. But he could not risk being captured again—or worse, killed. To protect his clan, he needed allies. Temujin visited the powerful Kereyid tribe seeking an alliance. He met with their leader, Toghril, in his golden ger. Since Toghril and Temujin's father had been andas, Temujin hoped

铁木真十六岁的时候，他穿过大草原回到这里去认领他的新娘。 波特的家人见到他很高兴。 她父亲送给这对夫妇一件珍贵的黑貂皮大衣作为结婚礼物。 铁木真带着伯特回到了家，渴望生儿育女。 但他不能冒再次被捕的风险——或者更糟，被杀。 为了保护他的家族，他需要盟友。 铁木真拜访了强大的Kereyid部落，寻求结盟。 他在金色的蒙古包里会见了他们的领袖托格里尔。 既然托格里尔和铁木真的父亲已经结婚了，铁木真希望

Toghril would agree to become his ally. To seal the deal, he gave Toghril the beautiful sable coat. THE NOMADIC TRIBES OF THE STEPPE

托格里尔会同意成为他的盟友。 为了达成交易，他把那件漂亮的貂皮大衣送给了托格里尔。 草原上的游牧部落

MANY PEOPLE CALLED THE STEPPE HOME. TEMUJIN'S TRIBE, THE MONGOLS, WERE NOT UNIFIED, BUT DIVIDED INTO SEPARATE CLANS. MORE POWERFUL TRIBES SURROUNDED THEM. TO THEIR NORTHWEST WERE THE MERKID, WHO SOMETIMES RODE ON REINDEER. THE TRIBES TO THEIR SOUTHWEST AND FAR WEST WERE THE KEREYID AND THE NAIMAN. TO THE EAST WERE THE TATARS. THE TRIBES WERE NOMADIC, MEANING THEY DID NOT HAVE PERMANENT SETTLEMENTS. THEY MOVED WITH THE SEASONS IN SEARCH OF GRAZING LANDS FOR THEIR HERDS OF SHEEP, GOATS, COWS, AND HORSES.

许多人把大草原称为家。 铁木真的部落，蒙古人，并不是统一的，而是分成了不同的部落。 更强大的部落包围了他们。 在他们的西北方向是美人鱼，它有时骑在驯鹿身上。 他们的西南和西部的部落是凯里伊德和奈曼。 东边是鞑靼人。 这些部落是游牧部落，这意味着他们没有永久的定居点。 他们随着季节的变化而迁移，寻找放牧羊群、山羊、牛和马的地方。

THEY WERE POOR. BECAUSE THERE WAS VERY LITTLE TRADE WITH FOREIGN COUNTRIES, IT WAS EASIER TO JUST ATTACK A NEIGHBOR AND STEAL THINGS. YEAR AFTER YEAR, CENTURY AFTER CENTURY, THE STEPPE TRIBES ATTACKED AND RAIDED OTHER CLANS AND TRIBES. Toghril accepted Temujin's gift and offered him a position of power within the Kereyid tribe. But Temujin declined. He only wanted Toghril's protection. In return, he and his men would fight for Toghril whenever it was needed. Temujin returned home.

他们很穷。因为与外国的贸易很少，所以攻击邻国并偷窃东西更容易。 年复一年，一个世纪又一个世纪，草原部落攻击和掠夺其他部落和部落。 托格里尔接受了铁木真的礼物，并在凯里伊德部落中给了他一个有权力的职位。 但铁木真拒绝了。他只想要托格里尔的保护。 作为回报，他和他的手下会随时为托格里尔而战。 铁木真回到了家。

One day, eight of Temujin's horses were stolen. He rode his only remaining horse to pursue the thieves. On his journey he met a boy named Boorchu who helped find and recover the horses. Temujin asked Boorchu how many horses he would like as a reward, but Boorchu refused. "I joined you," Boorchu said, "because I saw that you were in trouble and in need of help." Then Boorchu joined Temujin's camp. The two became lifelong friends. Around this time, another boy named Jelme joined Temujin's camp. Although Jelme was sent to Temujin as a servant, he was treated as an equal. One day, Jelme would become Temujin's most trusted commander. Temujin now had powerful protection and new friends in his clan.

一天，铁木真的八匹马被偷了。 他骑着他仅剩的那匹马去追捕小偷。 在旅途中，他遇到了一个名叫布尔楚的男孩，他帮助找到并找回了马匹。 铁木真问布尔楚他想要多少匹马作为奖赏，但布尔楚拒绝了。 “我加入了你们，”布尔朱说，“因为我看到你们有麻烦，需要帮助。” 然后布尔楚加入了铁木真的阵营。 两人成为了一生的朋友。 大约在这个时候，另一个名叫耶尔梅的男孩加入了铁木真的营地。 虽然耶尔美是作为仆人被送到铁木真那里的，但他受到了平等的对待。 有一天，耶尔梅将成为铁木真最信任的指挥官。 铁木真现在有了强大的保护伞，在他的氏族里有了新朋友。

But he still had enemies. It was around this time that the Merkid raided Temujin's camp and kidnapped Borte. After praying for guidance on Burkhan Khaldun, Temujin rode down the mountain to ask his Kereyid allies for help. Toghril offered twenty thousand of his troops, plus twenty thousand more from another ally. That ally was Temujin's blood brother. His anda, Jamuka. The blood brothers were reunited! The men rode over the mountains to attack the Merkid camp and rescue Borte. But Borte did not know the attack was a rescue mission. When the Merkid scattered, she fled.

但他仍然有敌人。就在这个时候，Merkid袭击了铁木真的营地，绑架了Borte。 在祈祷了布尔汗·赫勒敦的指引后，铁木真骑马下山，向他的克里伊德盟友寻求帮助。 托格里尔提供了两万军队，加上另一个盟友的两万军队。 那个盟友是铁木真的亲兄弟。 他的anda， Jamuka。血亲兄弟团聚了！士兵们骑马翻山越岭，攻击墨奇德的营地，救出了波特。 但博尔特并不知道这次袭击是一次救援行动。 当美人鱼散去时，她逃走了。