Chapter 349: Escorting Back to the City

A few people stayed in the room to keep watch, while the others went to other rooms; one reason was to find a spot to squeeze in for sleep, and the other was to tell everyone this good news. They had not come out of their rooms, so they did not yet know they had already succeeded.

Once the good news was announced, everyone cheered loudly; this was their achievement, after all. Of course, the lion's share still belonged to those dozen or so people, as they were the ones who had gone out to lure them back; this was their capital for future promotions and raises. As officials or Soldiers, if they wanted to climb higher, they had to look not only at their abilities but also at their results. Now, this big fruit had been plucked and was in their hands; as long as it was delivered to the city and placed on the King's table, everything would be set in stone.

After the brief surprise, they began to consider the problem of how to settle these horses. Six horses seemed like a lot, as it was quite a number all at once, but when viewed in the context of the entire nation, it was nothing. Their goals would not stop here.

After everyone discussed it, they decided to put the halters on the horses first. They had brought many; after all, to catch horses, halters and reins were essential, though they hadn't been put to use for half a year.

They selected a few that were of a suitable size, though they wouldn't put them on right away; they should wait until the next time they ate, as their resistance would be smaller then. Once they were on, resistance or anything else wouldn't matter. However, Baifeng had said before they set out that horses must not have nose rings put in; this point had to be kept in mind. If it weren't for this instruction from Baifeng, they might have really gone to put nose rings on the horses just like they controlled cattle.

Afterwards, they also discussed and decided that as soon as this Snow stopped and the road was slightly passable, they would immediately take people to send the horses away, otherwise it would be disastrous if the herd discovered it. Right now, the herd had not yet discovered the situation.

The foals were still quite restless, especially after they were full and had strength, but this time, while they were eating fodder, they were secretly fitted with halters and tied with reins.

The foals only felt that there was something strange on them, but they didn't know what it was for. Of course, in this small room, these two things were indeed of no use.

After the heavy Snow fell for another day, it cleared up completely. The weather improved and the wind died down, but the temperature became lower and lower. It is not cold when it snows, but cold when the Snow melts; the cold air reached straight from the soles of the feet to the crown of the head. But in the current situation, the Snow wasn't really melting much; even after being exposed to the sun for a day or two, the thickness did not decrease.

The herd began to search for food. Their primary target was still that grain transport cart; the Grass was gone, but the fodder had been spotted.

This time, the Scientific Expedition Team turned out almost in full force. Some people hurried to clear the road, as long as it was not too difficult to walk on, while the others stood guard by the fodder cart to prevent the herd from rushing over to snatch it.

After half a day, a section of the road had been cleared. This clearing certainly didn't mean pushing the Snow away completely, but rather making it possible for them to leave this place at the fastest speed.

Once the news was confirmed on both sides, the people guarding the fodder cart began to carry the fodder bags toward the back of the wooden house while under the siege of the herd. Only when they were sure they could no longer see the wooden house, and thus the situation on the road they were leaving by, did they open the fodder bags and scatter them on the Snow. Nearly two full carts of fodder, once spread out, were enough for the whole herd to share. Although it wouldn't fill them up, it would allow them to not think about other things for a long time.

The herd began to eat. A Squad of people pulled the reins of the six foals and began to leave the wooden house at high speed, heading into the distance. With food luring them in front and people driving them from behind, plus the fact that it was the familiar Wasteland, the foals did not resist much, and they proceeded very smoothly.

It wasn't until they were about to leave the Wasteland and enter the forest road that the foals felt uneasy and began to resist with force, neighing loudly. Frightened, the group didn't care about being careful and directly pulled the foals forward with force.

How could the young foals be a match for a whole group of strong men? They had no choice but to follow along.

However, the previous cries were too loud, and the people who had dropped the fodder heard them. Their hearts tightened involuntarily, and the herd also reacted; they all stopped eating and began to look around, especially the lead horse, which even paced about to look.

But the entire Wasteland was just a vast expanse of white; what could it see? Besides, it couldn't count and had no idea that six foals had disappeared from its massive herd. After a brief moment of tension, they resumed eating.

Afterwards, there were a few more intermittent cries, but the sound grew further and further away, so the hearts of those left behind became more and more settled.

When they set out, they had already released carrier pigeons. The letters said they needed reinforcements to clear the entire road so that the horses could return to the city that very night. Even if they had to travel at night, camping out in the wilderness in such endless, thick Snow was simply too dangerous.

They also asked for more fodder because the herd was simply too large, and the Grass they brought was not enough to eat. They would probably need to have Grass sent to them here for some time to come, but because they had a harvest, they felt very confident when writing the letters to ask for supplies.

After receiving the news in the city, they immediately mobilized the idle labor force of the entire New City and began to bring tools to clear the road. With many hands, the work was light, and the clearing speed was very fast.

By the afternoon, the two sides had already met up. However, the six foals were only more panicked when they saw thousands of people, but now they had nowhere to escape. Under the encirclement of so many people, they had no choice but to submit.

Because so many people had come out and it was almost evening, they calculated that there was no need to spend the night in the Wasteland. They just lit Torches all the way home, without stopping at all, and without caring about the feelings of the few horses.

By the time they reached the New City, it was already early morning. Everyone was exhausted, but the officials of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Agriculture did not dare to slack off at all. They settled the horses into an empty cattle pen they had there and only breathed a sigh of relief after the foals' restlessness had calmed down.

But they did not dare to go and rest; they could only stand guard in the cold wind for the whole night, and only when others woke up at dawn did they dare to change shifts to sleep.

After feeding the foals Grass and water, they took them to the Old City. The Old City had more experience in domestication, and it had enough fodder, as well as a Pasture, which was more suitable for the survival of the few foals.

The road between the New and Old Cities, as long as the Snow stopped, had to be cleared immediately, because communication between the two cities could not be interrupted. A day or two was fine, but it would not do for long.

They were even so extravagant that after sweeping it once, they scattered salt on the road to melt the Snow that couldn't be swept clean, as well as the thin ice on the road surface; in any case, there could be no traffic accidents on this road.