The State of Hor Kidnaps Cholmo by Force and King Bacham Is Killed as a Punishment
The State of Hor lies to the northeast of the State of Ling. The Hor, also called the Yellow Hor, had three kings who were brothers. They lived in black, white and yellow tents respectively, hence the nicknames Prince of the Black Tent, King Bacham and Prince of the Yellow Tent. King Bacham was the ruler of the state.
Three years after Gesar went to the north to vanquish the demons, King Bacham’s wife suddenly died. He summoned his ministers immediately and ordered them to find the most beautiful woman in the world as his new wife. The ministers ordered a dove, a peacock, a parrot and a crow to perform the mission in all directions.
These uncommon birds were raised in the palace and could speak to the people. They flew to a junction of three roads and the parrot said: “We have a very difficult task. On the one hand, it is hard to find the beautiful woman that our king wants. On the other hand, even if we find her, it is possible that she would be unwilling to marry our king. If that happens our king will have to turn to force to get her. Once a war breaks out, numerous people will lose their lives. At the same time, we four birds will be at the bottom of all this trouble. Listen to me, we’d better give up this mission.”
The peaceful dove and the beautiful peacock agreed with the parrot’s point of view. So, the three birds flew back to their respective homes.
But the black crow disliked following the parrot’s advice. She made up her mind to find the world’s most beautiful woman to return the favours of her king. The crow went in all possible directions to search for the most beautiful woman. One day she flew to the State of Ling. There, in Darze City, in the Hall of Auspiciousness and Victory, she unexpectedly found the beautiful woman who was just in a tent. This was the place where Gesar’s wife Cholmo resided. The black crow was astonished by Cholmo’s beauty and began to sing happily:
“You are Gesar’s wife but now he has left you alone at home.
I am an envoy from the Hor King Bacham.
A beautiful woman like you should marry the King.
If you become his wife you will have all the splendour in the world.”
When Cholmo heard this ugly crow speaking to her like this, she grew extremely angry. She quickly grabbed a fistful of ashes and threw it at the crow. Unfortunately, when she threw the ashes the beautiful turquoise ring flew off her finger and out of the window. The crow grabbed it in his beak immediately and flew off towards Hor.
King Bacham was certain that the crow would bring him some good news. When he saw her arriving he said: “Good work! Come on, tell me where my beautiful woman is?”
The black crow replied: “Queen Cholmo is resplendent and bright, she is more fragrant than the flowers in bloom. There are many beautiful women in this world but only she is a true match for the king. King Gesar has gone to the north and his queen is alone and unprotected.”
“Great news! This is a great opportunity for me! I will immediately send some troops to bring her back here for me.”
As Tsinpa Merotse, a minister of King Bacham, heard the conversation between the crow and the king, he said to himself: “If the State of Hor sends troops to attack the State of Ling without any rational reason, it will violate all the natural rules and bring disaster to the common people. Besides, the Lion King of the State of Ling is quite powerful.” In order to prevent King Bacham from making a wrong decision, Merotse said: “My king, our two states have gotten along well with each other for years. Do you want to trigger off a war just for a woman? If you take Cholmo by force of arms, the Lion King will try to rescue his wife by any means. My king, please think it over.”
King Bacham was occupied in his mind with Cholmo and so he ignored Tsinpa Merotse’s advice. In order to find an excuse for marching into the State of Ling, he decided to let Chichun Yexei take a reading of the omens.
Chichun Yexei was the daughter of Prince Gar Ponar. She was very beautiful and was an expert in divination. The girl was very much esteemed in the State of Hor. As soon as she heard that King Bacham needed her help, she came to see him with some items for reading — a tiger rug, some white conch arrows, some pieces of red silk and some turquoise dice. King Bacham said to her:
“I want to know if I will be successful if I go to the State of Ling at this time.”
Then, the girl began to pray devoutly. While she was praying, the divinatory symbols gradually appeared. This was indicative of danger.
Chichun Yexei hurriedly reported to King Bacham: “The omens show the grasslands among three mountains, many swords are shining in the air, a sea of blood is surging on the ground, my younger brother is killed by a sword and you are also involved in the disaster. It signifies that endless troubles and misfortunes will come to you, My King! My King! Please think about my words and do not wage a war for no reason.”
After hearing what Chichun Yexei had said, King Bacham replied in a dissatisfied tone: “This divination is reliable? I don’t want you to say just these ill omens. If you were not a beautiful young girl, I would decapitate you.” With that he dismissed Chichun Yexei.
When Tsinpa Merotse heard that King Bacham was determined to send his troops to the State of Ling, he could say nothing and had to go with him.
One night, Queen Cholmo had a nightmare: Mountains were collapsing and the earth was cracking up, a great flood carried away houses and inundated their cattle and sheep.
Cholmo woke up with a start and broke out in a cold sweat. She wakened Ngachonchi and Lachoinchi and told them about her nightmare.
They exclaimed: “Queen, a disaster is imminent! Mesa was carried away after she had a nightmare. A few days ago that black crow came here to propose to you for the king of Hor. Maybe the king of Hor is going to kidnap you by force.”
Cholmo immediately became very anxious and ordered her two handmaids to call all the military leaders and heroes of the State of Ling together. At the same time, she racked her brains to work out a strategy to fight against the enemy.