Chapter 360: Shaoyin

Perhaps it was because their great fortune had reached this point, but the Chiyou Tribe was also expanding unceasingly. From their original territory, they had now incorporated the entire Dayeze into their governance. However, further north, there were too many swamps, the forests were overly dense, and the winter temperatures were terrifyingly low. Even though their physical constitutions were top-tier among all the tribes of this era, they dared not rashly continue northward. Thus, after several years of expansion, they began to turn toward the south.

In the Huai River basin to the south, they encountered another powerful tribe, the Sanmiao, or rather, the Miaoman Tribe. At this time, "Man" was not a derogatory term, but the name of their tribe. It was only after the unification of the Nine Provinces that the original tribal name gradually became an adjective, because in every aspect, they were too backward.

Chiyou knew that his current strength was not enough to wage war against the Sanmiao Tribe, so with the two sides being roughly equal in strength, they formed an alliance. Of course, this alliance was primarily economic.

The Jiuli Tribe was skilled at crafting weapons, while the people of Sanmiao often lived in the water and were skilled at fishing. Even when facing Tu—which was what the Xuanyuan Tribe told them were crocodiles—they were equally adept. Crocodiles were only a part of their diet; of course, they were also a part of the crocodiles' diet.

Faced with the Xuanyuan Tribe's request to trade for crocodile skins, the Jiuli Tribe naturally agreed without hesitation. There were many in Dayeze, and they could capture them easily. However, in recent years, Xuanyuan's demand had grown larger and larger, yet the grain provided remained excellent. Their productivity was limited, so Chiyou acted as a middleman, trading for crocodile skins with the Sanmiao Tribe.

A single crocodile skin would pass through Chiyou's hands, then through Xuanyuan's hands, before finally reaching Baifeng. Baifeng knew nothing of this; he only assumed that Xuanyuan provided a portion, and the Chiyou Tribe might have provided another.

After Xuanyuan figured out the production of crocodile skin armor, he would intercept half of the crocodile skins for himself by earning the price difference. Calculating the accounts, the Xuanyuan Tribe did not actually earn any grain from this transaction, but more and more of his Soldiers were wearing leather armor.

Chiyou was also a smart man; he had long since seen through Xuanyuan's intentions for expansion. Otherwise, why would the small tribes between their two factions have disappeared, only for them to suddenly border each other? If his own tribe had not been strong enough, Xuanyuan would have already planted his knives and spears in his territory.

Therefore, Chiyou was also constantly strengthening his tribe. Besides continuously increasing the population and expanding territory, he was also preparing to promote eighty-one subordinates, which was also to fulfill the big promise he had made to his father back then.

However, in these years of warfare, he had only selected thirty-some people. People like Duanxiu, Cangang, Lumu, and Diexin were his right-hand men now.

Huaxia had another Harvest this year. Baifeng even felt a bit afraid; it had been several years in a row without a single incident, surprisingly smooth. He was afraid that next year, Heaven would suddenly play a big one on him, bringing a great disaster where nothing would be harvested, not even enough to recover the seeds.

This was not Baifeng cursing himself, because the fact was just that. If you have several days in a row that are very smooth without any bad luck, you will also feel in your heart that something must be wrong.

To preserve the grain, they built several extra-large Grain Storehouses, and used Cement to build the foundations well to prevent moisture and rats. Baifeng did not intend to brew Wine or make feed with this grain, including most of the old grain from last year. He wanted to ensure that the grain would not spoil while keeping enough food for everyone in the country to eat for two years.

Their Horse Farm was also developing very smoothly. The eight horses that went ahead were actually ostracized by their original herd, perhaps because too much time had passed and the two sides no longer recognized each other.

But this was just as well. The earliest horse had become relatively friendly to humans, but the hundred or so horses that came later were very wary of the human tribe. Therefore, those horses had completely lost their freedom and had been kept in the Horse Pen.

It was not until they enclosed a new Pasture that was not too small, with poles around it high enough that even chickens could not fly out, that they dared to let these horses out for a short run.

Everyone in the country understood that it was almost impossible to tame this first generation of horses; they could only domesticate their offspring. But among them, there was one person who did not believe in evil: Shaoyin. Perhaps it was because his father held a high position and doted on him, and he had now entered a rebellious phase, so even if his old man used his fists to educate him, he would still sneak to the Horse Farm to pick out his future mount.

The mistakes Shaoyin made due to his willfulness were not few, but there were no major faults, and they were all resolved by Xiong himself. Moreover, Baifeng would not overstep his bounds to discipline another person's child, because his status was King. If he raised a hand to hit the child, what would his parents think?

However, it was different when Baifeng's status changed to teacher. He had a basket full of tender bamboo strips. Children in this era were also tough; if they could not finish the homework he assigned, or made a mistake, he could punish them in the classroom.

Through his grapevine, Shaoyin learned that the horse herd would be grazed, or rather, let out for air today. So, he had thought of an excuse early on to fob off his mother and many aunts, took his three younger brothers out of the house, and headed straight for a remote corner of the Pasture.

At this time, Xiong had already gone to work, so naturally, he did not know what his son was doing. It was currently summer vacation, and the school was closed. These children had no one to restrain them. If you let them go to work, they could not do much anyway; after all, the work distribution of the entire country was relatively perfect. Children had work that children did themselves. A "second-generation official" or "second-generation rich" like Shaoyin could not possibly go do farm work.

The original leader of the children in Huaxia was Yulong. Even though Shaoyin was several years older than Yulong, he could only obediently be the number one little brother. After Changle was born, he was relegated to the number two little brother.

Now it was better; Yulong was following Baifeng to learn Government Affairs, and Changle had her own dreams and goals, and was already too proud to play with this group of children. It was exactly the case of "when the little dragon is not at home, the little tiger becomes the king."

Xiong had also always wanted Shaoyin to do some proper work, but unfortunately, apart from inheriting a strong physique like his own, Shaoyin had not grown much of a brain. Therefore, the joint plan of Xiong and Baifeng for him was that in two years, when Shaoyin's body was fully grown, they would send him into the army to be tempered. He would definitely be a good Soldier in the future. As for academic subjects, it was better to forget it.