Chapter 102: Genocide (Part 2)

The Pingchang tribe betrayed its friends and did not gain any benefits by joining the Abul tribe. Twenty years have passed, and now the population is only 100 people, which is less than it was back then.

When they saw their leader being shot dead by an arrow, cries were heard from the Pingchang tribe.

A half-grown boy rushed towards Zhao Tingduo with a knife in hand, shouting, "Murderer, you are the murderer! I will kill you to avenge my grandfather."

Zhao Tingduo didn't move. Before the boy reached him, a white knight next to him had already swung his scimitar.

A flash of knife appeared, and half of the boy's head flew off. Several screams were heard from the crowd, and the crying became louder.

Zhao Tingduo lowered his eyes slightly to hide the pain in his eyes: It was the same with the Wuda tribe back then. Almost all the men were dead, and the only sounds in the tribe were the cries of women and children.

It was A'niang who led the tribe to join the Zhenbei Army and thus preserved the tribe's bloodline.

Now, I'm here to take revenge!

On the grassland, hatred is passed down from generation to generation in this way.

All elite human resources are consumed in internal strife, creating a vicious circle that no one can escape.

If I hadn't come here to seek revenge, the child who just died would have become an outstanding grassland boy in a few years.

Unless the grassland can be unified and there are no more scattered tribes.

At this time, the Pingchang tribe had no ability to resist and could only wait quietly for the victor's disposal.

According to grassland regulations, any boy or man in the defeated tribe who was taller than the shaft of a cart would be killed to prevent rebellion.

There were more than twenty women and children left in the Pingchang tribe, including three boys who were taller than the shafts of the carts.

Faced with the boys who were so scared that they collapsed on the ground and trembled, Zhao Tingduo did not kill them, but only had their right thumbs cut off.

From now on, these people can only hold whips to herd cattle, and cannot draw bows and shoot arrows or hold scimitars.

"Young master, the escaped people have gone to the northeast!" A knight in white rode over.

Zhao Tingduo's depressed spirits suddenly lifted, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "Okay, it's over. Take the people and livestock here back to the Wuda tribe."

These are all spoils of war, and the cattle, sheep and people will all be the wealth of the Wuda tribe.

Moreover, without men who can protect the tribe and herd the cattle, and only the elderly and children are left, the tribe will not survive the winter.

As for the men of the Pingchang tribe who were intentionally let go, they should be able to cause some chaos on the border of the Wu Dynasty.

But no one expected that Pingliang Fort would fall so quickly, and the series of events that followed were even more beyond everyone's expectations.

Song Liyun in Suijin Town knew nothing about the turmoil on the grassland. She was trying to test her patience with the little rabbit in the fence.

It has been three days since I caught the little rabbit. It is very wild and timid. It hides in the rabbit hole and won’t come out.

Today she scattered corn stubble and dropped some vegetable roots, hoping to lure the little rabbits out.

At this time, the hare was extremely hungry. When it saw the green leaves, it finally couldn't help but started to peek out of the hole and eat secretly.

Xiao An and Hei Jin came together and gathered around the rabbit pen to look at the gray-brown little wild rabbit.

"Xiao An, wait until dark to feed them again, and these tasks will be yours from now on."

Song Liyun handed over the corn stubble in her hand. Xiao An couldn't do heavy work, so these things were just right for him.

Xiao An nodded vigorously. He liked rabbits.

Heijin also nodded vigorously. He also liked rabbits. It would be best if they were roasted, but grilled ones were also fine. He had seen the pictures before.

Song Liyun had already discussed with Song Zhenping that she was going to Qili County.

Boss Mu's home is not in Suijin Town, but in a village outside Qili County.

He told Song Liyun that the recent situation was not good and his shop would be closed for a while, so he asked her to buy more food herself.

If Song Liyun wants to go into the city, she can go with him.

The family had spent all their money, so Song Liyun sold the wool carpet that looked good but was useless and had been tantalizing her every day for silver.

Without the carpet, she could not think of fine furniture and pretty clothes.

She needs to buy more food and prepare New Year's goods.

I also have rabbit and fox skins to sell. I want to see how much the rabbit skins are worth, and also see what else can be bought and sold in Qili County.

Suijin Town is thirty miles away from Qili County, which is not far.

However, it is separated by two mountains and a river, and transportation is inconvenient, so it seems remote.

This is also the reason why even though there is gold sand, the Qili County Government is only willing to collect taxes and is unwilling to deal with other matters here.

Because the emperor is far away and the mountains are high, Suijin Town is governed by local gentry and petty officials.

Who would have known that when the Di people arrived, the gentry and petty officials would be the first to suffer, so that now no one in Suijin Town is willing to step forward to take charge.

Boss Mu goes to Qili County every month to buy some oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and other things, and he doesn't go alone.

When Song Liyun set out with him, two people were waiting at the entrance of the town with a mule cart.

"Don't worry, Miss Song. This is my nephew. He lives in the county town and comes once every 15th of the month. No one else has seen them."

Boss Mu was afraid of misunderstanding, so he introduced her to Song Liyun first.

Boss Mu runs a store in the town, but his family lives in Qili County. He only sees his family every month when he needs to purchase goods.

Song Liyun is not going out alone now, and Han Ming follows her with a wrapped wool carpet on his back.

Several people walked very fast and had a mule cart for transportation, so before noon, they arrived at the Qili River outside Qili County.

Boss Mu sent Song Liyun here and was about to go home.

He only asked a mule cart to take her into the city, and left his address so that Song Liyun could go to his house to find him if she had any problems.

The river outside the county town is not as wide as the Huangsha River, but it is extremely deep.

It surrounds half of the city, forming a natural moat and dividing the county into two parts.

The reason why the Di tribe and bandits in Suijin Town did not set their sights on the county town was because of the Qili River.

With deep water as its protection and city walls as its defense, it has become the safest place for the nearby villages and towns within dozens of miles.

Now the Qili River is frozen, and some people have specially chiseled grooves in the ice to make it impossible for people and horses to cross the river. They have to take a special passage.

There are guards setting up checkpoints at the city gate.

"It costs five cents per person to cross the river!"

"It costs five cents per person to enter the city!"

After walking across the ice and entering the city, Song Liyun and the other person paid a total of twenty coins.

Heavy taxes. Qili County collects heavy taxes.

The moment Song Liyun heard about the entrance fee in Qili County, she was shocked.

Since the fall of Suijin Town, Qili County has rapidly expanded due to its favorable location and timing, even though the county magistrate was beheaded.

It just grew a little crooked.

No serious officials were willing to come, and the local officials were allowed to do whatever they wanted.

No wonder Boss Mu rarely goes into the city.

The money she and Han Ming had was enough to buy a few pounds of food to feed several people.

Fortunately, nothing else happened after entering the city.

This was Song Liyun's first time stepping into a proper county town. The street layout here was similar to that of Suijin Town, but it was more crowded and lively.

Even in cold weather, there are vendors selling their wares along the streets.

"Boss, there's a shop in Qili County that specializes in furs. We can go there and have a look."

Han Ming has been in Suijin Town for several years and knows it very well.

"Okay, let's sell the carpet first, and then we can go to other places in the county town."

Song Liyun looked around, her eyes lingering on the stalls selling candies, snacks, and various kinds of food.

The county town is different. Even the big white steamed buns in the steamer are more beautiful.

(End of this chapter)