Chapter 371: The Team Sets Off

The beating that needed to be done was done, and the lecturing that needed to be done was also done. In the evening, the whole family sat together to eat, though of course, Shaoyin was lying on his stomach; his buttocks were bandaged with medicine. Although he could manage to walk, the doctor still advised him to rest for a period of time to let the injury heal properly; otherwise, it would be bad if it got infected again.

Xiong sat in the seat of honor and instructed his eldest wife: "Once I leave this time, it might be for several months. I don't know when I will return; at the latest, it might be until Winter, or perhaps it is not even certain if I can return alive."

"Now Shaoyin is the man of the house. He is also almost an adult. The King has already arranged for him to be punished at the Pasture; at least it counts as work. After this time, I don't know if he can mature a bit, stop fooling around, help you properly, and support the family."

Then, glaring at Shaoyin, he said: "You are older than both Yulong and Changle. Look at those two brothers; one follows the King every day to handle Government Affairs and is already capable of handling national affairs, and Changle is now peerless in learning throughout Huaxia."

"Look at you, only knowing how to lead your younger brothers into trouble. In the future, you must work hard. How much can I help you? I am still strong and sturdy now, and the King is still willing to let me be responsible for these major tasks, but what if I get old or die? You are good for nothing; you don't know how to farm, you don't know how to build houses, and you have no other skills. If you enter the Battalion like this, you won't even be a good Soldier."

Shaoyin did not retort a single word, only burying his face into the pillow.

In the past, Xiong had been very satisfied with this strong and sturdy eldest son of his, feeling that if he entered the Battalion in the future, he would definitely be an outstanding Soldier, but now, in an instant, he felt disappointed in him.

Xiong did not scold Shaoyin anymore, only rambling on about things to do after he left.

There was no need to publicize the trip to attend the Golden Autumn Gathering throughout the country, but they would not hide it either. Now it was different from the past; there was no need to post notices for such dangerous matters and have everyone sign up. It only required a few departments to coordinate what to bring, how many people were needed, and then distribute the preparations to each department.

In two days, everything was prepared. It was a large team of two hundred people. Because the road ahead could be said to have no "road," they did not bring carts; even if they had, they couldn't travel. They only brought thirty oxen to carry heavier items. They brought enough Dry Rations to last a month, and the rest were hard currencies of this era, such as salt and Salted Fish.

There were also some of their specialties, such as Tea Leaves, Glass cups, bowls, and Wine. The Wine was mainly for their own team to drink; if there was enough left over, it could be used for trade when they reached the gathering.

The Tents were all redesigned by Baifeng. They could be set up with four poles, and he even added things like wind ropes, making them very convenient to set up, and the effect was much better than the kind common in this era.

Originally, Baifeng planned to use Iron rods, but he found that to be the most unnecessary thing. The thing this era lacked the least was good wood. Even if they lost the ones they brought, they could easily find suitable wood. In the entire Tent structure, only the ground pegs used for fixing them were Iron.

After so many years of accumulation, their Iron was no longer in short supply. Because the main use of their Iron was to forge Weapons, and the Weapons had been fully equipped for several years, the Iron from these years was used to forge various tools. The excess Iron smelted was all forged into Iron Ingots and stored in the warehouse, waiting for the day it would come in handy.

Regarding the team configuration, it was mainly composed of Soldiers. After all, going out this time, fighting was inevitable. Among the other people, there were a few specialized cooks, but they were not just cooks; they were also skilled fighters.

There was one doctor and several researchers, including those who studied ores and plants. Originally, they did not have these positions, but Baifeng got inspiration from the Scientific Expedition Team and gave this title to those who followed Changle to study plants, as well as a few Workers who were already very familiar with ores.

There were several hunting dogs and several carrier pigeons. The importance of hunting dogs in the wild naturally goes without saying. Their greatest use was not hunting, but keeping watch at night and scouting for enemy movements. Human noses and ears were certainly not as sharp as a dog's.

As for the carrier pigeons, Baifeng knew that many racing pigeons in later generations would be taken to provinces far away to be released, and they could still find their way home, so Baifeng was not afraid that the pigeons would not be able to return if they were too far away.

Moreover, the reproductive capacity of pigeons was very strong. Now, they no longer considered carrier pigeons to be very precious, and even set aside a portion to be used as meat pigeons.

The number of carrier pigeons Xiong and his team brought this time was enough to frequently send messages back.

Without a grand farewell ceremony, Xiong led the team quietly out of the city gate and began to walk toward the direction of the Golden Autumn Gathering. Of course, Xiu was naturally in the team, as well as several Soldiers from the former Luoneng Tribe. They were all people who were relatively familiar with the Golden Autumn Gathering, and they had to be the ones to lead the way.

One of the important reasons they came was to earn merit. The Luoneng Tribe had successfully integrated into Huaxia, but because they had no achievements, the people of the entire tribe were doing manual labor. Xiu also, because his learning speed was too slow, had not recognized many characters to this day, and in the end, he did not meet the requirements for an official, though he still obtained the position of a village chief.

This time, it was also Baifeng who asked him if he wanted to strive for some merit. If successful, he would be promoted, and he would also continue to be sent to study, giving him greater opportunities for advancement in the future.

But Baifeng did not say what would happen if he did not go, because Baifeng did not intend to give him the opportunity to refuse. If he did not want to go, Baifeng would also forcibly arrange for him to go. On such matters, Baifeng would not talk to him about the issue of voluntariness; his order was the greatest.

Fortunately, Xiu was very sensible and volunteered to set off, and he also recommended several Soldiers. Baifeng did not care who these Soldiers were to him; as long as they met the conditions, they could all go.

After Xiong set off, he told everyone that there was no need to be too anxious to hurry. The priority was to ensure safety, food, and water. The food they brought was only enough for one month, which meant that most of the time they would have to rely on hunting and gathering to sustain themselves. This would consume at least half of their time. It was not that they did not want to bring enough, but they did not have such great transport capacity.