Chapter 1495: Revealing the False Image

Baifeng received Zhang and Hun, who had returned in total triumph. Baifeng truly had not expected them to achieve such great results in such a short time, so he did not stint on rewards; he rewarded them as was fitting.

As for Hun's worry about not being able to attend the Golden Autumn Gathering, Baifeng expressed his understanding. Adapting to circumstances and making reasonable tactical adjustments is the mark of a true commander. As for the Golden Autumn Gathering, its importance had been downgraded multiple times in Huaxia's memoranda, becoming unimportant—it could be attended or not, managed or not. Clearly, the gains from directly conquering the Wulenge Tribe were much higher.

The Tribal Chief of the Wulenge Tribe also knelt to see Huaxia. That Wujian was excitedly translating, and he wanted to lift his head, but he was ruthlessly pressed to the ground, because even though he had been promoted to a leader of slaves, he was still a Lowly Slave and not worthy of looking up at Baifeng.

The herdsmen of the Western Development Group were allowed to stand and speak after performing a salute once. He and Wujian translated together to ensure the accuracy of the content.

Baifeng asked the Tribal Chief some questions based on the content recorded by Zhang and the others, and then he was unwilling to pay much more attention, because he had already learned what he needed to know.

In history, this tribe left behind no information, perhaps because of their nomadic nature, backward culture, backward technology, and poor ability to resist risks; in the end, they likely went extinct due to some disaster, and the small remaining portion could not stir up any trouble.

Coupled with their remote location, they were too far from the Xuanyuan Tribe—the cultural, economic, and political center at the time—to be noticed at all. With so much time passing, traces of their lives were difficult to find. Perhaps only in some caves where no one had ever stepped, thousands of years later, could someone discover some stone tools and murals to prove they had once existed.

As for the disposal of this savage Tribal Chief, it was simple: first, march them around Huaxia City and Lema City to proclaim the might of the Huaxia military and display Huaxia's force, and after they were defeated, just send them to some mine to work as laborers.

As for whether to hide the news from the people at the Xuanyuan Tribe Embassy? Of course not. The goal was to create a situation where Huaxia was fighting everywhere, making Xuanyuan think that Huaxia was currently expanding in the west and had encountered a large tribe and big trouble, which was pinning down Huaxia's strength.

This way, when he attacked the Shennong Clan, he would have no distractions and would dare to strike with full force, without needing to guard against whether Huaxia was hiding its strength. He would also ignore the Suiren Clan. The best way to divert attention is to create a bigger hot topic.

It was not enough to just let Xuanyuan hear this news; he had to know the details. Exaggerate the strength of the Wulenge Tribe and exaggerate the arduous process of the battle so that Xuanyuan would truly believe that Huaxia was currently fighting on multiple fronts and was in a difficult position.

As for the disposal of the other slaves, Baifeng believed that Zhang had done nothing wrong; it was a suitable operation under suitable circumstances, so he had no objections. He only required the Western Development Group to submit a detailed report, including the specific numbers and the training and management methods. With so many slaves, they had to be within Huaxia's supervision, especially given the great distance.

For the slaves brought back this time, following the practice of Zhang and the others in the Western Development Group, they were first shaved and stripped, then washed clean. The proposal Hun made to use shaving to determine the lowly status of these slaves was approved by Baifeng; it was a good way to distinguish the status of slaves.

Compared to clothing or branding, hair was the most obvious mark. In the future, even if slaves wanted to escape or rebel, as long as they were within the territory of Huaxia, their status as Lowly Slaves could be identified.

Perhaps this would cause some naturally balding Huaxia people to suffer criticism and cause some trouble in their lives, but compared to the overall policy, the loss of one or two people was not a big problem. After all, Huaxia did not restrict them from wearing hats. Besides, everyone's hair was currently thicker than the next; he had never seen anyone without hair.

Only those bitten on the scalp by ticks or similar insects would have a small patch of hair loss that would not grow back, which had little impact and was of no consequence.

Regarding the Lowly Slaves, Baifeng's policy was that they could not enjoy the slave promotion system and could not enjoy the rights that slaves could obtain; it was almost as if they were nailed in place.

However, if the Wulenge Tribe were to be conquered in the future, the number of Lowly Slaves in Huaxia would reach a very large scale. If high pressure were maintained, it might still lead to resistance. Therefore, Baifeng gave a tiny bit of hope: those who possessed extraordinary abilities, special skills, or could make outstanding contributions to Huaxia in the future could be promoted to slaves by exception and be allowed to keep their hair.

Once they became slaves, the opportunity to be promoted to tenant farmers would be even greater. Even if they themselves could not do it, their children would have a better chance. At least they would not be in despair. In any case, not a single slave in Huaxia felt despair; they all believed they would have a bright future. Even if they worked themselves to death, giving their children a little hope was not bad.

And because these people were all herdsmen, they should naturally be used to their full potential. Lowly Slaves did not need excessive training or selection; they only needed simple cleaning, training, and then indoctrination to tell them what Huaxia was and how it treated them. Once they understood clearly, they would be sent to the Pasture to work.

Although the Pasture in Huaxia City was not particularly short of people now, it would of course be better if some slaves could go to work. This would liberate Huaxia's herdsmen from simple, low-level labor, allowing them to think about and engage in higher-level work.

Several towns also had some vacant land. Once cleared, it might not be excellent, fertile land, but it could be used as a pasture or a large-scale Breeding Farm. After all, Huaxia's crop straw was extremely abundant; even if they were kept in pens, there was no fear of the livestock having no food to eat.

Therefore, small-scale Breeding Farms could be built in several towns, and these slaves could be dispatched there to feed the livestock. For now, they could be sent to work in the Huaxia Pasture or perform other manual labor.

Lema City also needed these slaves. The scale of the Breeding Farm in Lema City was gradually expanding and required more manpower. So many slaves could just be distributed there to reduce the burden on Huaxia City. Taking on so many slaves at once was a great pressure for Huaxia City.

Although the plan was to throw them all into the Pasture or other factories and ignore their living conditions as long as they did not freeze to death—which would naturally alleviate the main pressure—so many people would inevitably cause great trouble. Lema City needed to show its utility at this time by sharing the pressure for Huaxia. For Lema City, this was pure benefit.