Chapter 482: The Temperamentally Changed Baoxi

After a long period of recuperation, Baoxi was finally able to get out of bed and walk around. During this time, he had been closely monitoring everything happening within the Suiren tribe. However, the fact that the foundation he had built had fallen apart in an instant still dealt a heavy blow to his expansionist drive; he no longer possessed his former ambition and high aspirations.

Especially after witnessing the gap between himself and Huaxia, he had been thinking calmly during this period of recovery. Now, he decided no longer to be so rash and impulsive. He would first get his own internal affairs in order; otherwise, no matter how large a tribe was, it would eventually fail if it split apart the moment a problem arose.

Baoxi was also very gratified that Huangpin served him daily and had no intention of leaving. The decision to entrust Huangpin with heavy responsibilities was already set in stone, mainly because there were few capable people left in the Suiren tribe now.

On the day Baoxi felt he had recovered sufficiently, he decided to start taking action to reorganize. He first had someone conduct a census of how much wealth and population the Suiren tribe currently possessed.

The conclusion reached was that the current living population of the Suiren tribe was about eighty thousand, among which over twenty thousand were Slaves. Nearly one-third of their various livestock, grain, and such had been taken away.

If it were just to feed the more than fifty thousand people living in the concentrated areas of the tribe, it could only be said to be barely enough to survive the Winter. But there were also villages scattered everywhere; their lives were extremely difficult, and it was feared that many people would die this Winter.

Baoxi now believed that his advantages were his population and territory. His territory was vast enough to support so many people, but his previous oppression of those villages had been too harsh, leading to their low level of recognition for the Suiren tribe. If given the chance, they would immediately turn and flee to tribes like Huaxia or Xuanyuan that treated them better, and might even turn around and harm the Suiren tribe. This was the experience Baoxi had summarized from the war with Huaxia.

Therefore, he decided to reduce the amount of revenue collected from each village, leaving the bulk for themselves and collecting only a small amount for the tribe. Previously, he had spent a great price, bestowing almost half of the wealth upon the high-ranking Leaders, yet they had not returned corresponding contributions; instead, they would, as they did now, carry away a large amount of the Suiren tribe's wealth and leave the Suiren tribe.

Thus, Baoxi decided to drastically reduce the treatment of these people. It could be higher than that of ordinary people, perhaps even to the level of the combined wealth of dozens or hundreds of ordinary people, but it would no longer be the case where thousands of people supported one person as before.

The things saved could then be used to improve the lives of ordinary people, which would, in turn, enhance the overall strength of the Suiren tribe.

Once his order was issued, those Leaders who still remained naturally had complaints, but Baoxi gained the support of more ordinary people. No matter how dissatisfied those Leaders were, they could not risk expressing their thoughts under the current circumstances; that would be pure suicide.

However, Baoxi also allowed those remaining Leaders to retain their existing wealth and would not take it back, only reducing it in the future. For the Leaders, this was the best news; with the assets they currently possessed, they could live just as they had before and then die of old age—anyway, they did not have many years left to live.

Huangpin was entrusted with a major task, basically replacing the position originally held by Wangzuo, taking charge of everything from military affairs to supplies, but he still had to listen to Baoxi's arrangements.

After seeing the lives of the people in the few villages closest to them, Baoxi immediately decided to trade with Huaxia—large-scale trade. He would sell their Slaves to Huaxia in exchange for enough grain to let the entire Suiren tribe survive the Winter. He had an inexplicable confidence in his heart that Huaxia definitely had enough grain to satisfy them.

Huangpin was so shocked by these words that he could not close his mouth for a long time, but after Baoxi repeated the order, he immediately agreed and asked, "Tribal Chief, how many Slaves are we going to sell? Three thousand, or five thousand...?"

Baoxi said in a very flat tone, "Sell ten thousand first. If that's not enough, we'll continue!"

Huangpin was shocked into taking two steps back, then said in a slightly trembling voice, "Tribal Chief, is ten thousand too many...? This... our Suiren tribe won't have many Slaves left."

Baoxi looked back at Huangpin coldly and said, "What are Slaves for? Isn't the greatest use of Slaves for you to enjoy and torture? How much food can they obtain for the entire tribe? The ones who truly collect food for us are our Soldiers and women."

It is better to have fewer of these things that only consume grain and cannot produce it. It won't matter if you have fewer Slaves to serve you, but our tribespeople will starve to death. Besides, do you have the grain to let those Slaves survive the Winter now? Rather than letting them starve to death, it is better to trade them for grain."

Huangpin was rendered speechless by Baoxi's slightly reprimanding words, then said respectfully, "Yes, Tribal Chief, I will go count the Slaves now. When shall we go for this trade?"

Baoxi sighed, "The sooner the better. It hasn't Snowed yet; there has been almost no Snow this year, so it's a good time for traveling. I will go to this trade myself."

Upon hearing this, Huangpin hurriedly knelt on the ground in a panic and said with a crying tone, "Tribal Chief, you absolutely cannot go. Let me go this time. It is too dangerous for you to go; I will go instead!"

Baoxi was somewhat pleased by Huangpin's concern, so he said in a slightly calmer tone, "None of you can go; it has to be me. Only if I go can I negotiate the best price for the Suiren tribe and exchange for enough grain. I believe Huaxia will not lay a hand on a Tribal Chief who comes to trade, and besides, I am bringing them the population they need most."

Seeing that he could not persuade him, Huangpin had no choice but to say, "Then, Tribal Chief, let me go with you. If there is any emergency, I can still help you."

Baoxi refused Huangpin again, "You stay in the tribe. The Suiren tribe cannot function without a capable person staying behind. You are the person I trust most, and I believe you can do it well. Go, go prepare. I am very tired; I will rest for a while."

Huangpin opened his mouth, but could not say anything, so he could only stand up silently and leave.

Ever since Baoxi woke up, his words had become fewer and fewer, and his voice and temper had become very calm. Seeing this completely different Tribal Chief, Huangpin felt a bit panicked in his heart, and even once thought about whether he should go find the Shaman to ask if the Tribal Chief was...

But fortunately, in all other aspects, there was no difference from before, and only then did Huangpin set his mind at ease.