Chapter 286: Spreading the news, the Xiongnu have taken the bait

"I need you to spread the word tomorrow."

"Just say that your village had a bumper harvest of grain this year, but because you lack the manpower, it hasn't been transported out of the village yet."

"I know the young people from your village are still out~ and haven't returned."

Zhang Tian said.

Besides the suitable geographical location, he had other reasons for choosing this village.

This village was full of elderly people; they were skilled at farming, but they couldn't handle heavy physical labor.

"Military Lord, our village's tax grain is already prepared."

"When the young ones return tomorrow, we will send it over personally."

The old village chief's expression changed immediately.

He thought Zhang Tian had come to urge them to hand over the tax grain quickly.

"Do not panic."

"It is precisely because your village's tax grain is not yet prepared that I have come today."

Zhang Tian said.

At the same time, he waved his hand to reassure the old village chief before him.

"Military Lord, what is this…?"

An elderly man beside the old village chief looked at Zhang Tian in confusion.

He didn't quite understand what Zhang Tian meant.

"You don't need to know what I intend to do; just follow my instructions and spread the news."

Zhang Tian's face was stern.

He had no need to explain to these people why he was doing this.

As long as these people could follow his instructions and complete the task properly, that was enough.

The old village chief nodded immediately and promised that he would definitely handle the whole matter beautifully.

Having received a satisfactory answer, Zhang Tian left the village.

He still needed to scout the surrounding situation.

He had to determine from which position the Xiongnu would choose to attack and from which position they would choose to retreat.

Then, based on his deductions, he would arrange manpower for defense.

All of this was a difficult problem that needed to be considered.

Soon, news spread throughout the nearby towns and cities that a certain village had not yet handed over its tax grain.

"Have you heard?"

"Oh, you're talking about that village, right?"

"Exactly. I heard the young people from that village all came to our town to work."

"With only those old folks in the village, how could they possibly push out such heavy grain?"

Two young handymen squatted in a corner, chatting casually.

"I heard that people are going back tomorrow, and only then will they transport this batch of tax grain out."

The other person smiled and added.

Business at the inn was always a matter of stealing a moment of leisure.

After the two servants chatted for a few moments, they went back to their respective tasks.

Little did they know that their conversation had fallen into the ears of a guest who was eating.

This guest wore a bamboo hat, slightly lowered, just enough to hide most of his face.

Upon hearing the content of the two servants' conversation, this person's eyes flickered.

"Waiter."

When he spoke, it was in pure Daqin dialect.

"Sir, do you need something?"

A waiter immediately ran over from afar, looking at the guest with a beaming smile.

"Have you also heard about the matter of that village not handing over their tax grain?"

The man asked.

The waiter thought this guest needed something.

He didn't expect to be called over just for some idle chatter.

"It is my confusion, sir, please don't take it to heart. I'll go back to work, I'll go back to work."

The waiter thought this guest felt he was being meddlesome.

"Wait."

"Bring another plate of mutton."

The man immediately stopped the waiter.

Then he spoke.

At the same time, a piece of broken silver was slammed onto the table.

"This is your tip."

How could the waiter have expected this person to be so generous?

He hesitated for a moment, then smilingly accepted the silver on the table.

"Many thanks, sir."

The waiter said.

"Then tell me about the matter you mentioned just now."

The man spoke again.

Although the waiter was a bit puzzled as to why this person insisted on asking about this matter,

there was no harm in talking, after all, it was a piece of broken silver.

"Sir, you've asked the right person about this."

"Our village isn't far from that one, but that village is very poor."

"The young people like to come to our town to find work."

"So the whole village is left with only old people, and those old people naturally can't transport large quantities of grain."

"In previous years, they would let the young people go back, but this year, I don't know why, the young people haven't gone back yet."

The waiter spoke quite thoroughly.

After he finished speaking, he asked if the man needed anything else.

The man waved his hand, and the face beneath the bamboo hat revealed a thoughtful expression.

………

"Are you sure the news is true?"

Helian Bobo frowned slightly.

"Leader, after scouting the news, I went to that village myself to investigate."

"That village is indeed as the rumors say, the location is very remote, and there are mostly old people in the village."

"Originally, the officials were a bit more lenient toward their village."

"But because the grain from the previous village was taken by us, the officials are urging them to hand over the grain quickly."

A man who looked very much like a Daqin person stood before Helian Bobo.

His facial features, upon closer inspection, still showed differences from those of a Daqin person.

"Leader, we absolutely cannot let this opportunity pass."

"That is the grain of an entire village; if we can snatch it, we won't need to take action against the Daqin people anymore."

Several subordinates nearby said immediately after hearing this man's words.

Helian Bobo's frown deepened.

He had originally planned to move their location deep into the grasslands.

To stay as far away from the Daqin border as possible.

He always felt that Daqin seemed to have a restless feeling this year.

But he could not disregard the voices of his subordinates.

"Pake, you go and scout the situation yourself."

"If it is true,"

"we will take action tonight."

After thinking for a long time, Helian Bobo also felt that he absolutely could not let this opportunity pass.

This village, come to think of it, should be easier to deal with than the last one.

After all, the entire village was left with only some old people.

As for these people, Helian Bobo had no intention of sparing their lives at all.

Regardless of whether they were old or young, as long as they were Daqin people, they had to die by his blade.

The group, who had originally thought Helian Bobo would refuse, saw their eyes light up immediately after hearing Helian Bobo's words.

"Leader, I will definitely scout all the news clearly, don't you worry."

Pake said loudly.

As soon as he finished speaking, he had already mounted his warhorse.

The sound of galloping hooves rang out, and then a small team disappeared before everyone's eyes.

"Hahahaha, this kid Pake is still so impatient."

The few people left behind laughed and cursed.

……

……

……Ding.

— Author's Notes —

· ·····Seeking flowers· ··