Chapter 720: Hired Soldiers

The following few families were in much the same state as the first, and Yanggou followed along for the whole process to send them off, fearing that the Soldiers under his command might say the wrong thing and cause the conflict to escalate. Overall, however, things went very smoothly; after the compensation was given, there was not a trace of hostility left in those people's eyes, replaced only by excitement and enthusiasm.

Even for the children, in their view, the company of family they were not close to was far less important than food. Yanggou thought that as long as they went back and worked at their respective posts, today's events should be able to spread. Even if they were unwilling to say that their own families had received so much food, they would certainly change their attitude toward Huaxia.

Having successfully completed his task, Yanggou did not report to Changle right away, but instead found Limu to discuss the matter of hiring Soldiers. They had a hundred Soldiers of their own to act as guards, but they would not bring them all every time they went out, and would leave ten or twenty behind to protect Changle's residence, avoiding any loss to Changle's research results due to various accidents.

Plus, they were not familiar enough with the Xuanyuan Tribe, so they definitely needed to hire enough people from the Xuanyuan Tribe, whether they were Soldiers or hunters familiar with the terrain and directions. Yanggou thought they would need at least thirty or forty people.

A guard team of about one hundred people was enough to ensure Changle's safety in this territory where no other tribes lived. Small fierce beasts would move in groups, but even a pack of a hundred wolves would only become prey when faced with a large number of humans, and large fierce beasts were basically solitary.

Yanggou had heard that the Xuanyuan Tribe had a huge number of elephants; almost everyone in the Xuanyuan Tribe had seen elephants, and the number of elephants they had hunted was not small. Otherwise, the ivory the Xuanyuan Tribe was responsible for could not be explained; it was impossible that they were all found from dead elephants.

Yanggou's guess was also answered by Limu. Limu said, "In our mountains and forests, the number of elephants is truly not small. Our hunters can encounter herds of elephants dozens of times a year, but they know the living ranges of those places. Elephants also have tribes and territories; as long as you avoid the areas where they are active, you can still avoid danger."

"However, you should try not to think about hunting elephants. If you want to hunt them, we won't agree, mainly because you don't have enough manpower. Elephants are easily provoked and hold grudges. We only organize enough hunters to hunt elephants when food is truly scarce; now, there is basically no such idea."

"There are also many rhinoceroses and wild oxen here. The danger is not as great as with elephants. Even if you are attacked, your people plus our Soldiers are enough to resist. There are many other fierce beasts, but as long as there are enough people, there isn't much danger."

Yanggou did not show too much emotion, only saying, "Then let's do this: I will hire thirty strong Soldiers from you. We will provide their food, and the pay will be the same amount of food as for your male Laborers, plus half again. That is equivalent to one Soldier being worth one and a half Laborers. How about that?"

Limu felt this price was quite acceptable, but still wanted to be clearer about the details, so he asked, "Then what do they need to do usually? Is it just to protect your Prince? Is it also needed when in Qingqiu City, or only when going out?"

Yanggou explained the details to Limu: "Only needed when going out. Usually, our own people will protect him. Every time our Prince goes out, it will be for a few days at most, and then he will stay in Qingqiu City to research things. He might go out every few days. What your people need to do is protect our Prince, be willing to fight when encountering danger, even to the point of using their own lives to protect our Prince, and not think about running away first when encountering danger."

Limu shook his head: "That certainly won't happen. I believe in our Soldiers; they are all brave enough. As long as they agree to something, they will certainly be able to do it."

"That's good. I also believe in your Soldiers, so when we are out, I will treat your Soldiers the same way I treat our own Soldiers. I will absolutely not behave badly toward them. Another thing is that they must obey my orders. Once hired by us, our Prince is their temporary leader. Once they return to Qingqiu City, they are still people of the Xuanyuan Tribe."

Limu did not hesitate at all: "No problem, I can agree to all these conditions."

Yanggou slapped the table: "That's good. Then, I also need to hire ten hunters from your tribe, mainly those who are more familiar with the surrounding terrain and environment, to lead the way for us. If they need to hunt during this time, they also need to take action. We will trade for the prey they catch with food, ensuring you won't have any losses. How about that?"

"These are all no problem. Then, will you be the one to select the people hired, or will I?"

Yanggou said with a smile, "You select some first, and then I will continue to select from the people you have chosen. After all, I am not very familiar with your Xuanyuan Tribe's Soldiers, but I must also consider our Prince's safety."

"Fine, that's it. When do you need the people?" Limu felt very satisfied with this negotiation.

"This depends on when our Prince wants to set off. I will come to find you at least half a day in advance so that you have time to prepare. Of course, if the first cooperation with those Soldiers goes smoothly, it might be the same people in the future. Of course, if someone violates our rules during this time, or our Prince is not satisfied, we have the right to stop hiring that person."

"Good, good. By the way, I heard from our Tribal Chief that you will also provide our Soldiers' Weapons, right?" Limu asked suddenly.

Yanggou almost forgot about this: "Right, that's how it is. We will provide Weapons for your Soldiers, but limited to Knives, axes, and Spears. They can choose whatever they are used to using. If they lose them by accident, they need to compensate us, because we can't determine if they hid them. Although it sounds unpleasant, we have to consider this."

"However, if it is normal wear and tear, like if they break or are damaged, we will bear it ourselves and won't need them to compensate. If they are injured or die while performing a mission to protect our Prince, we will provide full compensation, the price also being one and a half times that of a Laborer. But if it is their own fault, such as slipping and falling to their death, we will only compensate one-third."