Soon, Gongsun Zan and Ma Teng led their soldiers to gather all the people in the tribe in an open space.

Seeing that the group in front of them consisted only of women, children, and a few elderly people, Ma Teng and Gongsun Zan couldn't help but exchange a glance.

The strange phenomenon of having no able-bodied men and only a few dozen half-grown children was something that even Gongsun Zan, who had grown up in the north, had never encountered before, let alone Ma Teng.

Moreover, judging from the appearance of this tribe, it did not seem like they had ever been at war, which made Ma Teng and Gongsun Zan even more puzzled.

"You...you...are you Han soldiers?"

From the crowd, an old man walked out shakily, looking at Gongsun Zan and Ma Teng, who were at the head of the group, with eyes full of awe.

"good!!"

Ma Teng nodded, not only not denying his identity, but also with a hint of pride on his face.

"So it was the Han army!!"

"Phew~ That scared me to death!"

Upon hearing Ma Teng's reply, the people in the tribe breathed a sigh of relief, their earlier fear vanished, and many even showed a slight smile.

"Uh... what's going on??"

We're here to attack you, and we have knives! Aren't you afraid? What does this mean? Are you looking down on us?

The behavior of the tribe members surprised the soldiers.

With things having developed to this point, even Gongsun Zan, who was standing to the side, didn't know what to do. He couldn't very well just kill them, could he?

Ma Teng then looked at the old man and asked in a deep voice, "What's going on in your tribe? Where have all the able-bodied men gone?"

The old man chuckled and said, "You mean those children? They've all been summoned by your Prefect Yang to mine coal!"

"Prefect Yang?...You mean, Prefect Yang Biao of Liaoxi?"

Ma Teng looked surprised and couldn't help but ask.

The old man nodded quickly, "Yes, yes, he is indeed the prefect of your Liaoxi Commandery!"

"This place is more than a hundred miles away from Liaoxi, and the mountain roads are difficult to travel... How could the governor of Liaoxi possibly travel so far to summon you?" Gongsun Zan frowned, looking at the old man with great suspicion.

The old man quickly explained, "It's like this: about ten days ago, someone brought back grain and salt, saying they wanted to exchange them for some kind of coal. When our tribe heard about it, everyone went! Even the able-bodied men from other nearby tribes rushed over."

"I see!!"

Ma Teng and Gongsun Zan knew something about the coal situation, thanks to the information provided to the court by Yang Biao, the governor of Liaoxi. It was quite normal that he was able to take action earlier.

Then Ma Teng stepped forward, looked at the old man, and said loudly, "Our army has several hundred wounded and sick soldiers who need to be temporarily housed here for treatment!"

"this...."

Upon hearing Ma Teng's words, the old man hesitated for a moment, not because of anything else, but because they did not have much food stored up, and with several hundred wounded Han soldiers added to their ranks, they were afraid they would not survive the winter!

"Hmph!"

Gongsun Zan snorted coldly, then said in a cold voice, "Our Han army won't let you work for nothing. When we return, we will pay you double for everything they spent during their recovery period!"

The old man was initially trembling with fear at Gongsun Zan's cold aura, but his eyes lit up when he heard that the Han army would pay double the cost.

The old man smiled and bowed, saying, "No problem, no problem, please rest assured, Generals, we will do our best to take good care of them!"

"Okay! That's good. Tell your tribesmen to hurry up and get ready so that they can move in as soon as my brothers arrive!"

"Okay, okay, we'll get ready right away!"

Subsequently, under the elder's organization, the women of the tribe returned to their homes and vacated their best rooms.

About half an hour later, Huang Zhong and Gongsun Du arrived with their follow-up troops.

"Han...Hansheng, guess what I saw??"

As they walked, Gongsun Du stared blankly at Huang Zhong beside him, somewhat puzzled, as he looked at Gongsun Zan, Ma Teng, and the women waiting outside the tribe.

"I saw it too!!"

Huang Zhong, on horseback, looked at the Wuhuan women, all of whom were smiling at him and his companions as if welcoming relatives. Even Huang Zhong himself looked incredulous.

"Huh? There's no smell of blood??"

Huang Zhong couldn't help but sniff, then looked around the tribe, but found no bloodstains or corpses!

Based on his understanding of Gongsun Zan, this scene shouldn't be like this. So before he came, he was mentally prepared to clean up the mess for Gongsun Zan and his group.

However, what he saw before him truly overturned Huang Zhong's understanding.

"Haha~, Hansheng, Shengji, you've finally arrived!! The women here have already prepared accommodations for our wounded and sick brothers!"

When Huang Zhong and the others approached, Ma Teng laughed and went to greet them.

"Shoucheng, what happened? Why are they...?"

Huang Zhong looked curiously at the Wuhuan women not far away; they didn't look like they had lost their husbands at all.

"Oh, you mean her! Their fathers, brothers, and husbands have all gone to western Liaoning to mine coal! So now only women and children are left in the tribe."

Looking at the women, Ma Teng chuckled and then truthfully told them what Yang Biao had been doing.

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