Chapter 362: The Rampaging Herd

The herdsman was struck hard on his back by a horse's head; enduring the pain and fear, he used nearly all his strength to hoist Sihu up to a high spot, and Sihu, while weeping, scrambled in a panic onto the top of the wooden stake.

One of the four sheepdogs had already been lost, and now the three remaining dogs could not possibly face the rampaging herd of horses; other herdsmen were also frantically rushing toward this place, but they dared not dismount their oxen, as the oxen were their final layer of security.

There were only this many sheepdogs allocated to the Horse Farm, and they had no more reinforcements; the herd had arrived in full, and they first launched a fierce attack on the few dogs, biting and trampling with their front hooves as the three dogs faced the entire herd's assault head-on.

The dog that fell first might have been severely injured but perhaps still savable, yet it was now being trampled by the herd as if it were mere dirt, and it no longer held its original shape, having become a pile of meat paste.

Shaoyin climbed out first, then reached out to catch Sihu, after which Erhu and Sanhu also jumped down; apart from Shaoyin, all of them were trembling in their legs and could not utter a single word.

Seeing the current scene, Shaoyin could only shout loudly, wanting to drive the horses away, but it was of no use at all.

The other three finally roared out as well, hoping to use their own voices to assist the sheepdogs.

However, the few dogs did not even have a chance to escape; surrounded by the herd, they were each trampled into severe injury, and one of them was bitten by a tall horse, which then swung its body with force into the sky, only for it to fall and be besieged and trampled again.

While the dogs were being besieged, the herdsman who had saved the few of them also failed to escape, as the number of horses was simply too great; the herdsman tried to climb the wooden fence but was dragged back after his clothes were bitten. They attacked, and the herdsman relied on his body's agility to dodge a few times, but there were simply too many hooves trampling down toward him; his thigh was struck, and after a scream, he lost the ability to move.

Subsequently, he faced countless hooves; from the initial loud screams, the wailing gradually grew lower until there was no sound at all, and blood flowed out from the wooden fence, streaming to the feet of Shaoyin and the others.

The few of them retreated in a hurry, fearing that their feet would be stained with blood, for if that happened, they would become the murderers who had stepped on the herdsman.

The few were terrified, and not one of them made a sound; Shaoyin's heart was in complete chaos, for he knew he had caused a great disaster; if only a few dogs had died, there might have been room for negotiation, but people had died, and they had died to save them.

Shaoyin did not know if there was a corresponding crime for this in the laws, but whenever he thought of the miserable state of those criminals who were tortured before having their heads chopped off, he only felt his neck go cold; he even had the thought of taking his younger brothers and fleeing Huaxia.

The herdsmen's reinforcements arrived, but there were only seven men and seven oxen; facing the herd that had turned red-eyed and was in a state of high excitement, they could only rein in their oxen, not daring to advance further.

They had witnessed the entire tragedy unfold, and now, going up would have no meaning; instead, it might even cost the lives of those few men; with no other choice, they had to turn their oxen around and retreat, and one herdsman, while turning back, glanced at Shaoyin and the others, his eyes full of hatred, for the person who had died was his own older brother.

After the herd had completely trampled one person and four dogs into meat paste, they still felt unsatisfied; facing the few people outside the wooden fence, they began to paw the ground and attempted to use their bodies to ram the fence, and although it had little effect, it still scared the few of them out of their wits.

Shaoyin could not care about that anymore; regardless of what punishment he would receive later, he could not let his three younger brothers come to harm, and he would bear all the blame himself; he believed that by virtue of his father's status and his friendship with the King, at least his three younger brothers should not receive too heavy a punishment.

The remaining seven herdsmen were very silent, but the anger on their faces could not be concealed; their partner, their brother, had paid the price of his life for the mischief of a few children, and this grievance was something they could not swallow no matter what; furthermore, the herd was currently in an uncontrollable state, and more people must be summoned to suppress them—yes, suppress them; if the herd was not beaten into submission, they now had successful experience, and if they saw humans again in the future, they might think humans were incompetent and attack them at will.

The few did not speak, but with a tacit understanding, they rode their oxen out of the Pasture, not forgetting to close the Pasture gate tightly, leaving three people to keep watch while the others headed straight for the Chaotang.

They did not intend to report this to a higher level, and such a matter had to be reported to their direct superior so that he could secure more help for the entire Pasture.

The management department of the Pasture was the Ministry of Agriculture, but their leader was not Geng, but Mu; Geng was responsible for farming and all matters of land, while Mu was responsible for all affairs of animal husbandry.

When the guards saw the few people riding over on oxen, regardless of their identity or purpose, they immediately raised their long spears, demanding they dismount and hand over their weapons; this was their profession.

The few herdsmen were not angry or anxious because of this, but obediently dismounted, took off their own knives with both hands, and placed them on a table to the side; then, a leading herdsman said to the guards: "We are herdsmen from the Horse Farm, and because a major emergency has occurred at the Horse Farm, we have come to report it; this is my farm manager's seal."

He untied a seal from his waist and handed it to the guard; the guard only took a casual look at it, then returned it and immediately let them pass, not asking another word.

A seal could not be faked; in Huaxia, there was no one with the ability to forge a seal, so taking a look at it was enough; as for the detailed content, that was not something for a guard like him to ask about.

The few strode past the guard post and rushed toward the office of the Ministry of Agriculture; at this moment, their emotions could no longer be suppressed, and anger and grievance surged up together, turning into tears; they did not know why they were so prone to crying now.

When Mu saw a few burly men rushing toward him with tears hanging from their eyes, he was startled and hurriedly stood up to ask what had happened.

The few spoke one after another, telling the whole story to Mu, and Mu's expression changed from anxiety to fear, and then to anger.

He slapped his hand on the table and shouted: "Outrageous!", then directly vaulted over his desk, stormed out of the door, and headed straight for Baifeng's office.

Xiong was still relatively leisurely, as there was not much work for him to do; their Ministry of War had a few clerks who could help him handle various miscellaneous tasks; he heard the words "Outrageous" from the office next door, so he poked his head out and listened carefully to the movement outside.

Seeing Mu stride away, Xiong curiously shouted: "Hey, Mu, what happened to make you so angry?"

Mu did not respond to him, but paused for a moment and gave Xiong an extremely vicious look.