Chapter 1453: The Great Purge

In the end, because these savages needed a thorough cleaning, and letting them wash in the stream below would risk polluting the water source, there was no other way; they were directly arranged to dig a large pool next to a small stream at the foot of the mountain.

If it weren't for the fact that there were many people in the Western Development Group who could communicate with the people of the Wuleng Tribe, this job would not have been easy to do, as it felt like they were burying these savages.

Finally, after adding enough water to the pool, it became like a large bathhouse where they could bathe.

Once the Huaxia Soldiers saw this, they felt these conditions were not as good as washing themselves first, so they arranged for those savages to move large stones, set up many bonfires nearby, and then, after the stones were burned hot, throw them into the water pool.

Although it took a long time, everyone was finally able to take a hot bath; the Huaxia Soldiers stripped naked and jumped in one by one to wash, which was very crowded, so they had to take turns.

Fortunately, the soldiers did not mind each other; at this time, having a wash was good enough, and it was only Huaxia that was so particular.

The clothes they had worn before had already been handed over to the women of the Western Development Group to wash, and although the Armor was due for maintenance, the soldiers were prepared to wipe and oil it themselves, so it was placed in a centralized area to be cleaned before they would come for it themselves.

Those savages were just standing by to serve the Huaxia Soldiers, responsible for tending the fires and, at the same time, watching how the Huaxia people bathed.

A Huaxia Soldier brought over several Small Knives because the Regimental Commander and Ce had unanimously decided to make these savages all bald, removing their hair to make it easier to wash and to avoid any remaining insects in their hair.

Those savages, forced to kneel on the ground one after another, could not help but shiver when a shiny Knife was placed on their heads, thinking their scalps were about to be taken; they could not understand the Huaxia Soldiers when they scolded or ordered them.

Fortunately, it was eventually discovered that it was only to cut their hair, and then they shaved it again, making their scalps shiny; the soldiers' technique was poor, and their scalps were cut, bleeding continuously, but for these savages, this was a good thing—as long as their scalps were still there and their lives were still there, it was fine.

Then their beards were also shaved along the way; this made these savages look very strange, even to the point of being somewhat laughable, mainly because in this era, one simply could not see a bald person, and even if there was alopecia caused by tick bites, it could not be seen because the hair was too long.

The Regimental Commander, who had long since washed clean and changed into new clothes, looked at the savages in this state and had a different thought in his heart: why not shave all future Huaxia Slaves into such bald heads? Not only would it be clean, but it would also be easy to distinguish, and one would know their status at a glance.

It was just a thought that popped up quite accidentally; after returning, he would mention it to Wang to see if it could be implemented.

Although Huaxia was a relatively equal place, at least in this era, the internal classes were also quite obvious, starting from the Noble, to officials who had no Nobility but held official positions, and then to ordinary commoners, though any profession was equal.

After that, there were the Slaves; Huaxia's Slaves also appeared in different grades, and although they were all listed as Slaves in the Ministry of Revenue's register, servants who served wealthy families and Nobles had a slightly higher status than other Slaves.

Because they were the ones left after being selected, they possessed talents that other Slaves did not have and were smarter, so their lives and work were better.

The next level down were the Slaves working for various departments; they were very ordinary and the most numerous Slaves, and at the very bottom were the Slaves assigned to various mines, who were the representatives of stupidity and disloyalty; their work intensity was higher, their lifespans would be shorter, and people almost never even saw them.

As for the rules for distinguishing the various classes in Huaxia, he had not mentioned them, nor did he want to; he would not impose restrictions, but things that Nobles could use were not available for commoners to purchase; those who dressed richly and used better things were naturally Nobles.

Nobles were more willing to show off their wealth to ordinary people and distinguish themselves from them, but unfortunately, Huaxia did not have such clear policy rules, so their vanity could not be completely satisfied.

The Regimental Commander naturally belonged to the upper class; although he did not yet have Nobility, how many Regimental Commanders in all of Huaxia possessed actual power? Not many, so it was normal for him to want vanity.

What he did not know was that Baifeng had already made a decision regarding the future of the Wulenge Tribe; the people of the Wulenge Tribe could only be Lowly Slaves, and the Regimental Commander's idea of having them shave their heads forever would naturally be agreed to once proposed; if the Wulenge Tribe wore bald heads, even other Slaves could humiliate them when they saw them.

The savages' hair was cut off and thrown into the fire, crackling and popping—the sound of lice being roasted and exploded—while a scorched, foul smell permeated the air.

After the Huaxia Soldiers were washed clean, it was the savages' turn to wash; although the water was already very dirty and it was a mud pit, now with a lot of mud, it was no problem—just pour some Lime into it and scrub well; they had to scrub their skin until the flesh color appeared.

These savages could only endure the irritation of the Lime water, jump in to clean themselves, scrub bit by bit, and if they couldn't reach their backs, they let others scrub, until finally, they scrubbed themselves clean.

Once the first batch came out relatively clean, they could go into the small stream to rinse; after rinsing their bodies thoroughly, they could go ashore to warm themselves by the fire.

Even if the savages' physical fitness was good, the stream water in this season was relatively cold, and these savages' bodies turned like boiled shrimp, but this was just right, indicating that they had been washed clean, and that foul smell had basically disappeared; now, these savages could truly be considered usable.

The Western Development Group did not give these Slaves Tents to live in, nor did they have rooms, but there were sheep pens; at this time, the flocks had been divided into many batches and were grazing in various Pastures, and the sheep pens built on the mountains were dug like kiln caves to save wood and time, which were for the sheep to rest in.

They were warm in Winter and cool in summer, and could also protect against wind and rain; there was a large fence outside, and the area inside was for the sheep to move around; the herdsmen were diligent, and now the sheep pens were dry and clean, not even a single sheep dropping could be found; now they did not know what to let these savages do, nor how to dispose of them, so they simply locked them in the sheep pens to live.