Chapter 1609: A New Batch

Cleaning up the battlefield is a relatively long process, so they first gathered the weapons, and then let Yinglong and Lu take over two thousand Soldiers to head to the Xingtian Tribe to see what the situation there was like. If Xingtian had not yet left, they would discuss the matter of surrender; if Xingtian had already left, that would also serve as confirmation. It just so happened that Huaxia and the Xuanyuan Tribe could rest here for two days, wait for supplies, and then continue their departure.

Lu also went into battle yesterday, following Xuanyuan, so he also had merit. However, because his position was already high enough, there was no such thing as an on-the-spot promotion, but the Military Merit he had accumulated was already high enough. If the credit for finally destroying the Shennong Clan were added, he would be able to obtain the rank of Marshal after returning.

In the future, he could also serve as a transition from Xiong to Shaoyin. After all, Shaoyin is still young, and it is impossible to let him reach the position of the highest leader of the Ministry of War all at once. It just so happens that a person who is neither too big nor too small is needed to transition, and Lu is a relatively suitable choice. Adding to this, doing so can also eliminate some of the negative effects of father-to-son succession.

After all, Huaxia's officials are selected and strive for their positions, not inherited; only the throne can be passed from father to son. Even if Shaoyin truly has this ability and merit, Baifeng still has to consider the impact of this matter.

Although it had been determined that the Xingtian Tribe was almost crippled last night, Yinglong and Lu were also extremely careful. At the same time, Hun's Cavalry unit was also dispatched. They had no advantage in night skirmishes, but now that it was dawn, their advantage was displayed once again; even in a chaotic battle, they could fight with ease.

Approaching the Xingtian Tribe, everyone felt that the Xingtian Tribe was a bit too quiet. When they snuck over, they discovered that the Xingtian Tribe was already in ruins.

Soon they encountered a large number of women. Upon seeing the Huaxia Soldiers, they were immediately terrified, screaming and fleeing, but in the end, they gathered together, waiting for their final fate.

The Cavalry spread out, patrolling and monitoring the perimeter to ensure that no one escaped and that no one suddenly appeared to ambush them.

Yinglong picked out a woman who looked bold and asked, "Where is your Tribal Chief?"

That woman could still speak clearly: "Our Tribal Chief has already left; he left last night."

"Left? Then why did he leave you behind? Didn't you leave together?"

The woman answered generously: "Because we didn't have enough food. The Tribal Chief said that he could only return to the tribe if he let the men take the food back. If he took us, there would be no food, and we would be caught by you, so he let us find our own way back."

Yinglong and Lu looked at each other, feeling that this did not sound like a lie.

Lu pointed to the few men remaining: "What about them? Why didn't they leave with the others?"

"They are Slaves. More Slaves even snatched some women and ran away, leaving us behind."

Afterwards, she pointed with her finger: "They went in that direction."

"Alright." Yinglong raised his hand to stop her from continuing: "So you have no food now, right? Do you still want to go back to the Shennong Clan?"

The woman ignored the previous sentence and just said: "Can we even go back?"

"Of course not. You are our people now. You, gather these women and Slaves together and come back with us. Once you get to our place, at least you won't starve to death, and you won't be afraid of being eaten by wild beasts."

"Then we are your Slaves?"

Yinglong said casually: "I am not the Tribal Chief, I cannot decide this. After we go back, listen to the arrangements of our Tribal Chief and the King of Huaxia."

Yinglong looked at Lu again, asking for his opinion. Lu had no objections; these women and Slaves were their spoils of war.

On the way back, Yinglong and the others even avoided the place where the battle took place last night; after all, that scene was truly a bit terrifying, lest these women be scared senseless and unable to walk.

Bringing so many women back to the camp naturally filled this camp, which was entirely made up of men, with a different atmosphere. The men were all a bit restless; they were not seven or eight-year-old children, and they had been out for so long. Coupled with facing life and death, they were certainly a bit repressed.

As for the fate of these women, the two great rulers, Baifeng and Xuanyuan, immediately made a decision: they would be Free Persons, not Slaves, because they were in great need of population, especially women of childbearing age.

At the same time, because these were spoils of war and not the Shennong Clan population received at the end, they were divided according to the previously agreed-upon proportions.

Xuanyuan announced at the first opportunity that these women would be distributed, letting the Soldiers have some recreation first. There was no threat from enemies for the time being, so there was no need to worry too much.

Since the Xuanyuan Tribe did this, even if Huaxia's military discipline was strict, it was inevitable that a disturbance would occur, so Baifeng had to do the same. However, he also clearly stipulated that it could only be normal behavior, nothing excessive, and no one could be hurt. If a life were lost, the punishment awaiting them would be quite heavy, because these women were not Slaves.

The women also accepted it readily; this was their fate. What's more, neither Huaxia nor the Xuanyuan Tribe treated them as Slaves. If they could give birth to children as soon as possible, they could better prove their own value.

Yinglong had long since taken a fancy to that generous woman, so he took her away with a grin. It was daytime, but that didn't matter.

Xuanyuan pointed at the group of women and said to Baifeng: "Baifeng, aren't you picking one or two? This journey is boring; could it be that you have no interest in women anymore?"

Baifeng was of course interested, but he had to set an example for the Soldiers. Now that the Soldiers all had someone, he didn't need to maintain his image; in fact, there was nothing to maintain. If he didn't take a woman, it would instead make people think he might have some problem.

So Baifeng naturally and generously had people bring those women over and walk in front of him. Baifeng's requirements were still quite high, but fortunately, after changing a few batches, he picked one who looked pleasing to the eye. So he said to Lu: "Just her. Get her washed clean and send her to me."

Lu was beaming with joy. Only after their King picked first could they feel safe and bold enough to pick. He would not judge the King's aesthetics, but the one picked this time was indeed very good. Although she looked dirty now, she was well-proportioned, with big parts where they should be big and curvy parts where they should be curvy; she was quite good. If he were picking, he would also like someone like that.

The woman who was picked was naturally overjoyed. Being able to sleep with the King of Huaxia might make a big difference in her life; perhaps she could even live a good life.