Chapter 633: Luo's Preaching

They unanimously agreed that these houses were no longer usable and could at best be used as warehouses; as people who already possessed a strong sense of hygiene, they truly could not accept living in such rooms.

The houses were also unusable, and the many shacks and such in front had to be completely demolished as well; things without any use were all trash.

Luo, meanwhile, was considering how to deal with so many people; Huaxia City likely lacked the capacity to take in these ten thousand-plus people. They had just finished counting them and had also grouped them by gender; there were more men than women, very few children, and not a single toddler.

The population of Huaxia City was already saturated and could not take in so many people, especially such savage ones. Lema City was currently in a relatively healthy state, and if these people were sent there, Lema City would likely become crowded as well. Several new towns had not yet been fully built, making it even more impossible to take them in.

But with such a large population, it was impossible to simply release them back into the wilderness, nor could they all be killed. Baifeng had said that people were the most precious thing in this world.

Luo finally felt that using his own brain to think was not as good as not thinking at all; such troublesome matters should be left for smart people to consider, rather than being solved by a rough soldier like himself. His mission was not to figure out how to settle them, but simply to do what he was supposed to do well.

There was no need to maintain the houses in Xiao Town. As for the saltpeter, they discovered that a large amount had actually been mined in one of the rooms; upon inquiry, it turned out they had been treating this stuff as salt.

They were not overly surprised; if not for the people in Huaxia specifically tasked with judging such things, they really would have mistaken this stuff for salt. Moreover, in this saltpeter mine, there was indeed salt, or rather, they were naturally associated, but these so-called people of the Yanhu Tribe had mined only saltpeter. A test with fire made it clear.

Now their mission could be considered complete; although it was completed very sloppily, it was barely enough to report back. Most importantly, the culprits who started this had also been caught by them. As for whether it would be a merit or a reprimand after bringing them back, he could not be certain.

He only regretted that he hadn't brought pigeons when he came out this time; otherwise, the news would have already reached Huaxia City by now.

It was already dark, so Luo immediately ordered everyone to camp on the spot. The firewood used by the savages for their sheds would be used to build fires, and everyone would sleep in the open to make do.

As for the savages, to prevent them from escaping, they used the ropes they had brought to tie up most of the able-bodied men. However, they could only tie up a portion, binding their legs together so it would be very difficult for them to escape.

As for the women and the frail, they simply gave up on binding them. Without weapons and without the protection and help of soldiers, even if they escaped, they would only face death; the dangers in the wilderness were truly too high. Even with Huaxia soldiers fully armed, they could not guarantee they could survive safely in the wilderness for ten days.

Cangyun saw the way Zhu died, but she did not rashly go out to avenge him; instead, she hid by crouching on the ground like an ordinary woman. She knew very well that she had no ability whatsoever. She had just had the chance to turn her life around and become the woman of a tribal chief, but now she had no future to speak of.

Yinyang, in order to keep his status secure, was always the most proactive in hunting and fighting. Therefore, he was still leading his men in the wilderness, chasing a herd of Musk Ox. Because the distance was too great and to avoid losing them, they had to spend the night in the wilderness, completely unaware of the news that their tribe had been wiped out.

And those who had already been captured did not reveal that there were others who had not yet arrived; they were only thinking of themselves now and would not care about others.

When night fell, the people of Huaxia set up pots to cook, using the food they had brought themselves. They did not touch a single bite of the Yanhu Tribe's stored food, even though there was a lot of meat in it.

But likewise, they did not give the people of the Yanhu Tribe a single bite of food, including the Yanhu Tribe's own. They chose to keep these savages hungry; only by letting them starve and have no fighting strength could they be successfully brought back.

While the Huaxia soldiers began to eat, Luo mounted his warhorse, holding a horsewhip in his hand, and began to circle around the group of captives. After circling a few times and seeing these people lower their heads even further, he was certain that his initial deterrence had been sufficient.

So he began to preach to these people: "Your Yanhu Tribe is now gone, because you encroached upon our territory and refused to leave, so you are our enemies. Defeated enemies are our captives."

"And we, Huaxia, believe that people are the most precious thing on this earth. So, as long as you do not resist and do not escape, we will not kill you and will be able to bring you back to our Huaxia Tribe safely."

"I am not sure what your future will be like, but at worst, you will be slaves of our Huaxia. However, the level of wealth in our Huaxia is something you cannot imagine. In our Huaxia, even the lowliest slave can eat their fill, and they will not starve to death in winter. For over a dozen winters and summers, our Huaxia has not had a single person starve or freeze to death, including slaves."

"Therefore, in our Huaxia, even being a slave is better than being a Free Person in your own tribe. We will not let slaves go to war, because fighting is the business of our soldiers; slaves only need to do work their bodies can handle. In Huaxia, not a single obedient slave will die."

"Moreover, what I am saying is your worst-case scenario. If you have any special skills, such as weaving, making Pottery, or hunting, it is possible you won't have to be a slave and could have a better life. Understand?"

"So, I advise you, do not think about escaping, do not think about resisting, and instead look forward to life in Huaxia. Otherwise, you will regret it."

While Luo was speaking, the heads of the captives gradually began to lift, because they wanted to hear more clearly. But Luo's words were too distant and too unreal for them. How could there be a tribe where even slaves could eat their fill? In a large tribe like the Jiangshui Tribe, the only ones who could truly say they were full were a few Leaders; even if they were not slaves, they were often hungry.

However, those with special skills began to have active thoughts. They really hoped that what Luo said was true, and they themselves, if they were in other tribes, would not have it so miserable even if they became slaves; after all, having a craft meant they would be valued a bit more and would not be let die easily.