Chapter 324: Lead the Way

The few people from the Luoneng Tribe saw Baifeng's imposing and dignified manner and stood up involuntarily, then retreated a few steps. Clearly, they felt they had no ability to face Baifeng, let alone negotiate as equals; when they replied, their waists bent unconsciously.

"W-we are from the Luoneng Tribe."

Baifeng revealed a smile, showing neat white teeth rare for this era: "Don't be nervous, sit down and talk."

Afterwards, he sat down first in the spot where Changle had been, while Changle stood respectfully by his father's side.

However, even though Baifeng had said so, the people of the Luoneng Tribe did not have the courage to sit, especially when facing so many fully armed Soldiers; sitting down was equivalent to giving up resistance and waiting for death, so it was better to stand, as there was still a chance to escape.

Seeing that the few did not sit, Baifeng did not pay much attention. He reached his hand toward the teapot and discovered the tea was already empty. Without needing him to give an order, an official from the Secretariat hurried to take the teapot, poured out the old Tea Leaves inside, replaced them with new Tea Leaves, added water, and placed it on the fire to boil.

Baifeng rested one hand on the table and said leisurely: "Don't be nervous. I said, we are all neighbors. Don't talk about now; many winters and summers ago, we were neighbors. It's just that our tribe was too weak at the time, and a heavy rain almost wiped us out, so we have been wandering until now. Only now can it be considered that we have carved out a small territory. Isn't this why my youngest son came to visit you, my neighbors?"

The people of the Luoneng Tribe would not truly lower their guard just because Baifeng kept calling them neighbors. In this era, neighbors were the most dangerous; one had to fight for territory and resources. Only if the distance was far enough was it possible to have a friendly relationship.

However, they were also thinking that Baifeng said they were neighbors before, but they had absolutely no impression of this "Huaxia" tribe. It sounded like it was a long time ago. At that time, their tribe was massive, and there were many small tribes around; they couldn't remember the names, but for such a massive tribe, they certainly should have known. But why did they have no relevant memory at all?

The few people looked at each other, their eyes full of confusion. They looked at the Soldiers behind them, and they also shook their heads, indicating they had no idea about such a thing.

The people of the Luoneng Tribe did not shy away at all: "Tribal Chief of the Huaxia Tribe, you say we were neighbors before, but why do we have no impression of it at all? Did you remember wrong? Moreover, because of some things that happened over these years, our territory has changed. This was not our territory before either; we just saw it as ownerless, so we moved here."

The tea beside them began to bubble under the boiling fire. Baifeng bared his teeth again and said with a smile: "So you are not a tribe from here. No wonder you don't know us. Because the land under your feet now is our former territory. Now that we have returned, this territory naturally must be reclaimed. This is not the ownerless land you speak of, but our Huaxia land. Do you understand?"

The faces of the Luoneng Tribe people turned ugly in an instant, because this was clearly a declaration of war. But to tell the truth, they had no confidence at all in winning against this "Huaxia Tribe." The Soldiers brought by the other party were almost half the population of their entire tribe. What could they use to fight? The wood in their hands? Therefore, their faces turned pale one by one, cold sweat dripping. They wanted to say something tough in return, but the words were stuck in their throats, and they couldn't say anything.

As for the Huaxia Soldiers, even though they knew what Baifeng said was not quite right, they all still maintained a look of righteous indignation. Although they had indeed lived in this area before, their territory could be said to have been no territory at all, just a tiny piece of land. These places had nothing to do with their original tribe, but now that the King said it was their territory, then it was their territory.

Seeing that they were not speaking, Baifeng applied pressure: "Who among you is the Tribal Chief? Come out and answer."

All the Soldiers took a step back. The few small Leaders had nowhere left to retreat and could only bite the bullet and say: "Our Tribal Chief is not here. We, we really don't know what to do about these things you mentioned. How about we go back and find the Tribal Chief?"

At this time, the tea was brewed. The person from the Secretariat picked up the teapot directly, held it with a handkerchief, and poured a cup of tea for Baifeng. Baifeng picked it up, blew on it, took a light sip, and then lowered his head and said slowly: "No need for you to go call him. You lead the way; we will go directly to find your Tribal Chief to see what he means. Our Kingdom has a lot to be busy with now and doesn't want to waste time on these trifles. Let's solve it all today."

The people of the Luoneng Tribe looked troubled: "Ah, this, this..."

Baifeng did not give them a chance at all. Once the teacup was set down, the surrounding Soldiers immediately changed formation, shifting from defensive mode to attack mode, ready to strike at any time.

Baifeng was no longer amiable: "This is not up to you. Lead the way obediently. We don't want to start a war either; being able to solve it peacefully is certainly the best. I don't want my Soldiers to get hurt, and I don't want my neighbors to disappear. Humans are still too weak in this world; the fewer who die, the better, understand?"

Afterwards, Baifeng stood up directly and tidied his Weapon. A Soldier from the Secretariat led the ox over and then helped Baifeng mount the ox. The Tea Set was packed up by Changle's guards.

Seeing that there was no way to avoid it, the people of the Luoneng Tribe had to lead the way in front. Their own tribe would likely suffer a disaster today; no matter how well this Tribal Chief spoke, it was estimated that their tribe would not be able to escape.

However, fortunately, there were still Soldiers who were quick-witted and had already snuck away in advance to send news to the tribe. Whether they could pack up and run depended on the Tribal Chief's arrangements.

The only thing they could do was take a detour and slow down their speed to buy more time for their tribesmen. As for leading them astray, it was likely useless; this place was only so big, and if this large tribe searched, it wouldn't take much time to find them. It was better to let these people bear the anger in exchange for the tribe's survival.

Baifeng also knew the thoughts of these people, but he did not point them out. He continued to advance at the slow speed they led, and no matter what they did, they would not be able to escape in the end, so Baifeng was not worried at all.

His idea was to directly incorporate them peacefully to expand the strength of his Kingdom. He himself had proposed: "Under the vast Heaven, there is no land that is not the King's; on the shores of the land, there is no one who is not the King's Subject."

This time was the first implementation of this statement. No matter the outcome, it would be a template for the action plan for Huaxia's future operations and how they would face other human tribes.