Chapter 884: War's Concerns

After settling the group from Huaxia, it was basically evening. Xuanyuan only ate a few bites of dinner before leaving the scene, because Limu had come to say again that those envoys were now very anxious; if he went any later, they might even start making a scene.

It just so happened that Xuanyuan had been thinking about this matter in his heart, so he gave a greeting and immediately left to meet those envoys.

The envoys were impatient in the room, pacing back and forth, but the Xuanyuan Tribe Soldiers outside were guarding them very strictly, making them feel as if they were being imprisoned. They were not only anxious but now also a bit afraid.

Fortunately, Xuanyuan arrived. The envoys had never met Xuanyuan, but after Limu's introduction, they knew that the man before them was the person they were looking for.

Xuanyuan entered the room with them, and then, for the first time ever, lit an Oil Lamp in the dim room. It was only because Huaxia had given them enough Soybean Oil; otherwise, there wouldn't even be oil to light a lamp now.

These envoys were seeing an Oil Lamp for the first time. Even though they were anxious, they were shocked that such a small thing could actually be lit and continue to burn.

However, Xuanyuan did not have time to chat with them about this, but instead went straight to the point: "You were in such a rush to find me, so first tell me what your situation is."

The envoys' thoughts were immediately pulled back. Several of them scrambled to speak, but none could explain it clearly, so in the end, they had to let one of them explain.

"Tribal Chief Xuanyuan, we are all from the Shennong Clan tribes, as you already know. It is just that because the current Shennong lacks ability and has a violent temper, during the time he has ruled the Shennong Clan, not only is everyone unable to eat their fill, but we also have to suffer his tyranny. His demands on our tribes are getting higher and higher, and the grain he collects is increasing."

"He also forces us to attack other tribes. Our young men die in vain without receiving any reward. Over time, there are no men left to hunt."

"But if we cannot catch prey, it means we cannot hand over enough food, and we will be punished. He punishes many people as Slaves, or kills our Tribal Chiefs as punishment. Even the people of the Shennong Clan themselves are bullied by him to the point they cannot bear it."

"Last winter and summer, our tribes could not take it anymore, so we united and prepared to resist Shennong. Many tribes have directly broken away from the Shennong Clan and then gone to attack other tribes to strengthen their own power. In any case, the entire Shennong Clan is now very chaotic, and wars are being waged between various tribes."

"We are an alliance composed of forty-two tribes, totaling over eighty thousand people. There are at least thirty thousand men capable of fighting. Even the women are willing to pick up a Weapon to resist the Shennong Clan. But the Shennong Clan is, after all, too powerful; our small number of people cannot resist for too long, so our tribes decided to seek help from your Xuanyuan Tribe to resist the Shennong Clan together."

Xuanyuan screened for useful information within their words. Generally speaking, what they said should not be false, because if Xuanyuan were to help them and join the war, whether it was true or false would be known as soon as he sent people over. If they were lying, Xuanyuan could completely withdraw his people, refuse to help them, and even attack them in retaliation for deceiving him.

But the problem is, does he really have the ability to unite them to resist the Shennong Clan? And they say there are thirty thousand people who can fight, but can their tribes support so many of them? It is estimated that fully supporting ten thousand people is already their limit.

The Xuanyuan Tribe now has a population of nearly four hundred thousand, scattered across various parts of the territory, because Xuanyuan, like the Shennong Clan, has many subordinate tribes and does not gather everyone in one city like Huaxia. The population of Qingqiu City is far less than that of Huaxia City.

In the past, the population of the Xuanyuan Tribe did not increase very quickly, mainly because the amount of food was limited and human life expectancy was also limited, so the growth rate was very slow. Unlike Huaxia, which achieved a sufficient supply of food in a short time, along with rapid development in medical care, life expectancy increased, and the number of newborns also increased rapidly.

After the Xuanyuan Tribe achieved a sufficient supply of food, the population only then began to grow rapidly. If it followed the previous speed, it would not take many years to be caught up by Huaxia, and Huaxia is composed entirely of young people.

The problem for the Xuanyuan Tribe now is that life expectancy is still not very long, and the infant mortality rate is too high. More than two-thirds of the children do not even live to adulthood in the sense of this era. Compared to Huaxia's infant mortality rate of less than thirty percent, these newborns of the Xuanyuan Tribe have it too hard.

Not only do they have no concept of things like dystocia, but their rearing of newborns is also extremely crude. The main theme is Nature's selection; if they are not strong enough when born, they naturally do not have the qualifications to live to adulthood. The only benefit of this is that the people of the Xuanyuan Tribe all have good bodies and are very strong, which can be considered the result of natural selection.

Huaxia treats everyone equally. Even children who are born weak or premature can be kept alive through various means. In any case, they are not short of that one bite of food. But after all, it is still a primitive society. Baifeng already feels that he is very remarkable for being able to maintain such a low mortality rate. If this mortality rate were placed in later generations, the local health commissions and maternal and child health departments would never have a moment of peace.

If Xuanyuan really wants to help these tribes resist the Shennong Clan, without any worries behind him and in a situation of all-out war, Xuanyuan could fully pull out a force of seventy or eighty thousand people to resist the Shennong Clan. But if that were the case, the operation of the Xuanyuan Tribe would be affected, and only women and children would be left to farm and hunt.

But for such a massive force, at most only twenty thousand can be used for fighting; the rest must be responsible for logistical support. In war, there are always more people responsible for logistics than Soldiers.

In this era, most wars are battles of a few hundred people, and they have to be short-range battles. If the number of people is too large and the distance is too far, a war simply cannot be formed.

Wars of over a thousand people can only be fought by those large tribes. Of course, except for those war-crazed people who sustain war through war. However, in the mode of sustaining war through war, as long as one battle fails, it will lead to a total collapse of the line. For the entire tribe, it will also be a fatal blow. Just like the Suiren Clan, after their defeat here in Huaxia, they rapidly headed toward collapse. The current Suiren Clan, using the strength of the entire tribe, can only fight a war of about ten thousand people. Any larger war, given their strength, has no possibility of being launched.

Xuanyuan also has to consider his own tribe. The cost of going to war, the survival and operation of his own tribe, and the defense against other enemies—I am afraid that this time he can only dispatch a few thousand Soldiers to help this tribal alliance.