Chapter 859: The Reaction of the Hunting Dog

The camp for the newly joined tribespeople was already being set up, just like the one previously built for those Slaves. This time, the construction was being done by a portion of those very Slaves. Watching the familiar place and familiar Tents, they felt a strange sense of anticipation, thinking more Slaves were coming. That way, they wouldn't be the lowest of the low anymore; surely, newcomers couldn't possibly be worse off than the veterans, right?

However, what they didn't know was that those arriving this time would directly become citizens of Huaxia, not even tenant farmers. Huaxia would allocate them land and mountains in a new location; although it was all barren and required them to build it up themselves, it was truly their own private property.

Huaxia people passing by the camp had the same thought, assuming more Slaves were coming. Few were in the know; only a small number of high-ranking Nobles were aware, and they were clear that those people would not be treated as Slaves.

As for why the treatment differed so greatly, it was because the treatment for joining voluntarily versus being forced to join was naturally different. Plus, the people of the so-called Yanhu Tribe had messed up the buildings they had worked so hard to construct, wasting Huaxia's labor and time, so they naturally had to be punished a bit more.

They even resisted; if they didn't become Slaves, who would? For those willing to join voluntarily, providing sufficiently good treatment could attract even more savage tribes to join. Huaxia was merely giving some grain and some tools. Once they finished the most important step of land reclamation, Huaxia could directly send people to take over the fruits of their labor and then send others to supervise.

This couldn't be considered plundering the fruits of labor; it was a matter of mutual consent. After all, Huaxia's grain and tools couldn't be given away for free, right? They could also provide protection to those savage tribes, so everyone was happy. Even after taking over, the private property belonging to those people would not be confiscated; what was theirs would remain theirs.

The team led by Xiong was getting closer and closer to Huaxia because the route was relatively familiar. However, they hadn't seen the next Snow yet. This was a good thing for them, but for Huaxia, it might not be; because at this time of year, seeing so little precipitation meant this was a relatively dry Winter.

If it was dry in Winter and precipitation was also low in early Spring, grain planting would be affected. If there wasn't much moisture in the fields, it was no good for agriculture, and they would only have to waste more manpower on irrigation.

Fortunately, there was still a long time left; perhaps after a while, it would suddenly start snowing heavily. After all, with this weather, no one could say for sure. Sometimes the first half of the year was dry as death and the grain was almost beyond saving, and then it would rain every day, soaking everything until it grew moldy. Heaven was just like that; it wouldn't coddle anyone.

Lu had also been leading the team for eight or nine days and was already far from Huaxia, but they still hadn't encountered Xiong's team. This made him somewhat anxious, but he could only hold back. After all, Xiong had enough experience and shouldn't encounter any major trouble; even if he did, he should have the ability to handle it.

After walking for another day, although it was still early, they happened upon a clearing that Xiong's team had cut out, so Lu directly announced they would camp there. Shaoyin was impatient, but he had to follow orders, and this place was indeed the most suitable spot to camp.

Xiong's team had already cleared it, so how could they not use it? After all, that was its purpose, and they weren't familiar with the road ahead. What if they walked until it was pitch black and still couldn't find a suitable place to camp? Everything had to prioritize safety.

However, just as they had finished setting up the Tents and were preparing to go find firewood and let the cattle graze, the hunting dog they brought suddenly began to bark wildly. This caused Lu and the others to tense up immediately.

The Soldier watching the cattle quickly gathered them, and the other Soldiers surrounded the herd and picked up their Weapons. Tension was tension, but looking at the hunting dog's tail and its bark, it didn't seem like a beast or an enemy had arrived.

Because the dog's tail was held high and kept wagging, and its bark occasionally carried squeaks, it was more like joy. If it were facing an enemy, the tail would be held high but not wagging, and the sound would carry an angry tone.

The hunting dog turned its head to look at Lu from time to time and moved its feet in a quick trot, extremely excited. Lu told everyone to remain vigilant: "A few of you come with me. There's some situation; I feel it might be their team coming."

The group immediately relaxed a lot, but Shaoyin picked up his Weapon and stepped forward: "I'm going too."

Lu glanced at Shaoyin and immediately waved his hand: "No, you stay here to guard. Don't come over; follow orders."

Shaoyin could only stand straight and answer yes. In private, he could call Lu 'Uncle', but now, Lu was his superior officer. He had to call Lu 'General'; a junior general was still a general, and once a military order was given, he had to obey.

The main thing was that Lu couldn't fully guarantee that the ones coming were Xiong's team; what if it was the enemy? So, to ensure Shaoyin's safety, he had to do this. It didn't matter if he himself got hurt or died, but if Shaoyin died, he wouldn't be able to answer for it, and it would also create a difficult problem for Baifeng.

Staying here, with more people and the cattle to defend, was safer. For him to take a few people, the risk was too great.

With a wave of Lu's hand, the hunting dog rushed out impatiently, but after running a distance, it returned to wait, barking toward the distance from time to time.

Xiong's team had been marching for a whole day without rest and was exhausted. Plus, food was getting a bit tight. During the march, the prey they could catch was too scarce. Each tribe would cook a few small things in a big pot, then find some edible tree bark, Grass roots, and dried berries to boil together in the pot; they even threw moss into the pot.

This kind of life was the norm for them, but having to march like this every day was indeed too miserable. If it weren't for the fact that Huaxia gave them enough salt, they really might not have been able to hold on. By now, they didn't even want to talk, feeling like they didn't have a shred of strength left in their bodies.

The only ones who could hold on were Huaxia, which had a stable food supply. The Chishe and the other tribe that brought their own food were having a hard time now too; it wasn't as severe as the other tribes, but food was still stretched thin.

Xiong was thinking about whether they could avoid starving people to death. In any case, it was impossible to kill one of the cattle. One such cow was more precious than that small tribe; sending it to the Xuanyuan Tribe or the Suiren clan could easily trade for hundreds of Slaves. After all, labor and a dead meat-cow were completely different concepts.

If it were a situation where there was truly no other way, Xiong would first abandon the Zhangshan Tribe, which was already Slaves, and cancel their food rations to distribute to the other tribes.