Chapter 846: Setting Off Speedily

Everything was ready. Since Huaxia, this largest tribe, was leaving, there was no need for the remaining small tribes to stay any longer. They had earned a wave of profit here at Huaxia, and although they hadn't reached their expected goals, it was better than getting nothing, so they also chose to leave.

Of course, this was suggested to them by Xiong, because Xiong could no longer wait for them to all leave before he departed himself. Once the two-day trading deadline arrived, while taking over the prey they had brought, Xiong said: "We in Huaxia are now preparing to leave. You tribes can continue trading if you wish, but there will be no one left to maintain order for you, and we in Huaxia will not leave anyone behind to protect you."

"You also know clearly that you have no more opportunities for trade now, so you might as well return early."

Although the tribes were in low spirits, they could only nod in agreement, go back to pack their things, and plan to leave at daybreak. If they were lucky, they might have a chance to come here to trade next year; if they were unlucky, their tribe might disappear.

Xiong had originally intended to give the unused salt, of which there was still plenty left, to those tribes that were more obedient and had defected to Huaxia early on. However, those tribes had left relatively early, so Huaxia had only snuck a little to them as a reward and a means of winning them over.

Now, although the remaining salt was completely enough for all these added people to eat, Huaxia had no intention of giving away the extra salt. There was no need to win over those small tribes; after all, they were too weak. Moreover, that salt no longer occupied transport capacity, as with so many wild people following, it could simply be distributed to them. He believed they would not suddenly leave on their own now.

It was just that Xiong had no intention of keeping the porcelain and Glassware packed in the boxes. There was no need to give them to the following tribes; they would certainly be reluctant to use them, which would simply increase their burden. Furthermore, once they reached Huaxia, they would no longer lack such things. What's more, these were all defective goods.

So, that night, Xiong directly had the Soldiers throw those plates and cups into the lake like skipping stones. No one would be able to find them again. They themselves did not lack eating utensils; wooden plates and wooden bowls were much more useful than porcelain.

Porcelain just looked good, but in the case of such a long-distance trek, it became a burden instead. After all, it was too fragile. It would be fine if it broke on the road, but if the food had already been served and it suddenly shattered, that would be truly unlucky.

It was just that Huaxia's Iron had not yet reached the point where it could be squandered at will; otherwise, Baifeng would have wanted to directly give these Soldiers Iron tableware.

The morning wind was strong and extremely cold; Xiong's hands were frozen red. With an order from him, the Soldiers began to quickly dismantle their Tents, then bundled them up and tied them onto the backs of the oxen.

For the wild people following Huaxia, the Tents were very casual: dismantle and roll, tie with Grass rope, then carry on their backs. Even the wooden sticks for setting up the Tents had to be carried by someone.

Just like that, a Large Team with an extremely obvious disparity set off. Among them, the happiest was Xi, because he had truly completed his mission here and achieved his goal. He did not doubt Huaxia's reward and punishment system in the slightest. After returning this time, he would certainly be able to successfully rise up and enter the power center of the Ministry of Rites.

The other few Slaves with the same goal were not so excited. Due to their eloquence and their relatively dull thinking, they had failed to accurately select the target population. They only felt that the larger the tribe, the greater the merit they could bring, so they spent a great deal of energy and words lobbying those relatively large tribes, but the result was also obvious: it was a complete failure, as those tribes had no such needs.

Fu and his companions were filled with nervousness mixed with anticipation. The nervousness was because they would soon reach their own tribe, and he didn't know what his Tribal Chief would think or if they would be willing to go to Huaxia. The anticipation was because they would be able to go and live in this terrifyingly strong tribe. According to the Huaxia Soldiers, they were not a tribe, but a state, larger and stronger than a tribe. This was something a wild person born in a small tribe of a few hundred people could not imagine.

That day, they passed under She Shan. Because of the weather, the smell of rotting corpses could not be smelled at all, and not a single fly could be seen. With the rapid drop in temperature, the vast majority of those flies had likely already frozen to death, and some clever ones might have hidden somewhere.

But even Baifeng was not very sure whether flies hibernated or not. Perhaps they did hibernate; otherwise, why would those large-bodied flies be able to come out and annoy people immediately whenever the weather warmed up slightly?

Some scattered bones on the road also proved that a large number of wild beasts had come here to eat the corpses. The competition might have been intense, dragging the corpses everywhere, leaving bones scattered all over the place.

Therefore, when passing through here, Xiong still had the Soldiers stay alert, as there might still be some wild beasts nearby. In the first few days after the battle ended, even though they had changed locations, they could clearly hear a great many wild beasts during the gathering, with the cries of various animals rising one after another. The bold tribes even went out to hunt and had a bountiful harvest.

However, Xiong was still somewhat resistant to this. After all, these were wild beasts that had eaten human flesh, so Huaxia did not go hunting, only willing to purchase the skins that had been peeled off.

Including the trade over these two days, Xiong was also more inclined toward herbivores. The meat of carnivores could also be accepted, but the Huaxia Soldiers would not eat it; they would give it to those wild people to eat. Mainly, the meat of carnivores did not taste good either.

With Huaxia clearing the way and providing protection in front, the wild people following behind felt much more at ease. Huaxia's powerful combat strength made them believe that even if larger and fiercer wild beasts came, there would be no danger.

In this season, as long as they guarded against medium and large wild beasts like tigers, wolves, and leopards, Xiong did not need to worry, because bears should be hibernating at this time. It was possible to encounter them a while ago, but now that the temperature was so low, the bears had long since returned to their dens to sleep soundly.

Just like that, Huaxia crossed She Shan and walked along the road they had come back on. There was no Snow on the road; the light Snow from a few days ago had already melted. When the sun shone at noon, it was not too cold. The greatest danger was that the road was very slippery.

The dry Grass was slick, which was already slippery, and in the morning when the frost had not completely melted, it was even more slippery. The Soldiers were fine, but he was afraid of the oxen slipping. However, such worries would disappear once the sun rose higher. What Xiong worried about most was the heavy Snow that might be encountered on the road.