Chapter 1456: A Matter of Great Importance

Another major problem that appeared alongside raising pigeons was the physical health of the people raising them; this situation had already emerged several years ago.

Currently, Changxu's health is obviously poor; he does not have to go out on campaigns like Xiong and the others, enduring the wind and sun, so he does not have those rheumatic or exhaustion-related illnesses, but his lungs are about the same as those of people who mine or burn Cement.

After the feather dust carried by pigeon feathers is inhaled by people, it clearly damages the lungs; Changxu has already retreated to the second line, and those now responsible for breeding and rearing are the apprentices he brought up and some Slaves, who have all been wearing Masks made of cloth, so they haven't had any problems yet.

However, in the long run, it is hard to avoid, so the scale of pigeon raising in Huaxia is currently controlled and cannot continue to expand; if in the future these pigeons lose the ability to deliver letters after leaving Huaxia for a long time, then I fear the importance of pigeons in Huaxia will have to be lowered once more.

But they will not completely lose their function; within a short time, perhaps after being taken out for a month or two, the pigeons should still be able to fly back, even the pigeons of later generations can do so; some competitions involve taking pigeons to very far places and then releasing them to fly across the country to see who arrives first—this is pigeon racing.

The Western Development Group has hardly sent any letters to Huaxia this year, so they had not yet discovered this situation, but this very time, Ce tied letters containing his full expectations to the carrier pigeons that had been kept at the Western Development Group for nearly a year, and after releasing them, he unexpectedly saw them in the pigeon coop again at dusk.

This abnormal situation made Ce's heart pound; such a situation had never occurred before, so why now? Could it be that there is some very powerful bird of prey nearby, driving them away and causing them to be afraid to leave?

This speculation also gave Regimental Commander Hun a fright, because if the pigeons of the Western Development Group encountered this situation, would the pigeons he released have encountered the same situation? Had the information he sent to Huaxia been successfully delivered?

If they were all intercepted by these birds of prey, they would be in trouble; not to mention how these savages should be dealt with, what if an entire large tribe that might be following behind them attacks them here?

The two did not dare to make a scene for fear of causing unnecessary panic, so they first picked up the pigeons to examine them carefully, but strangely, not a single pigeon was missing, and there were no signs of injury at all, not even a single feather was missing; if they had really encountered a bird of prey capable of making so many pigeons afraid to leave, there would certainly be more than one bird of prey, and it would be impossible for them to return so unscathed.

Hun could not understand it, and Ce could not understand it either, so Hun simply said: "Don't I still have a dozen or so here? Since they are already here, let's just use the pigeons I brought tomorrow; if they fly away and don't return, that means there is no problem."

"Tomorrow, release your pigeons again too; if they return and my pigeons don't, then that means your pigeons have a problem."

After Hun finished speaking, Ce suddenly had a more terrifying thought: "Regimental Commander Hun, it is said that pigeons deliver letters because they want to return to their nest; they grew up in Huaxia City since they were young, so they believe Huaxia City is their home, and the King and Changxu are their masters."

"But I have been raising these pigeons for nearly a year; could it be that, like other beasts, they consider me their master and this place their nest, so they are unwilling to fly away and have already forgotten Huaxia City?"

Hun's complexion changed even more severely; he grabbed Ce's hand and said in a low voice: "Regimental Commander Ce, this matter is too important and may affect the future of our Huaxia; tomorrow, tomorrow at daybreak, we will test it; if it is true that my pigeons fly away but your pigeons fly back, then that means your guess is correct, and there may not be any birds of prey in the sky."

"But if it really is like this, it would be better if there were birds of prey in the sky; my message didn't get out, the enemy is coming, and if we guard this place and fight, we will definitely be able to hold it, and it would just be a matter of more casualties."

"But if the pigeons are no longer capable, then what will our Huaxia do in the future? Our Huaxia has spent so much energy on these pigeons; we rely on pigeons to transmit letters while we are away; if they are no longer capable, what will we do in the future, what will Huaxia do in the future?"

Ce paced the ground in a panic and then made up his mind: "We will test it tomorrow; I will write the letter now, rewrite it, and also write about the pigeon matter, then I will carve words on the bamboo tube; the content of the letter will be the same, but if only yours fly away and mine return, then this matter is basically confirmed, and for our Huaxia, it is a great disaster."

Because it is only a guess for now, the two have not told anyone else to avoid causing unnecessary panic and disrupting everyone's plans, but if both teams of pigeons return, it means that there might really be birds of prey in the sky blocking the pigeons, and the carrier pigeons Hun sent previously most likely did not fly back either.

Then what they need to do is immediately light the signal fires, summon all the herdsmen grazing outside back, and then prepare together to resist the Wulenge Tribe that might be pursuing them; they must make preparations in advance.

Ce could not care about thinking about the future of the Western Development Group, nor could he plan where to open up farmland or where to open up factories; if they cannot avoid this trouble, the Western Development Group might suffer heavy losses, he might be transferred from here, and he might even die in battle here.

Although they could not tell others, the Regimental Headquarters had to be notified; the Regimental Headquarters of the Western Development Group consisted of only a few people, who were the center of power for the Western Development Group and also the few people here with the most wisdom and knowledge; they were all shocked by this situation and also a little panicked.

They also approved of Ce's plan; now this is the only way to determine what exactly is causing the pigeons not to fly back.

At this time, the Wulenge Tribe, although they had been pursuing for a long time, had not seen a trace of Huaxia, but they were very persistent and had to catch up; the tracks were right under their feet, very clear, so how could they not go after them?

Furthermore, their own Soldiers and clansmen had died miserably, and their internal organs had been eaten by those cannibal tribes; they had to take revenge, otherwise, such a large tribe would lose face, how would they carry on in the future, and what would their own clansmen think?