While the soldiers recuperated, the remaining uninjured soldiers were being rounded up to eliminate any remaining survivors. After all, not all members of the pierced-chest tribe lived in the city; a few scattered households resided in the mountains. Every ethnic group has its share of people with solitary personalities.
Qin Mu and his group had also witnessed the large, ferocious beasts on the island. Bears several meters tall were terrifying, and they wondered why there were so many of those hairy creatures in the south. Trees that were too large for one person to encircle could be forcibly pushed down, demonstrating their immense strength.
"Go around them!" This was Qin Mu's order. Once you find any place with huge footprints, go around it. Under no circumstances should you provoke those big guys before dealing with the tribes on the island.
However, Qin Mu and his group did not make much progress with the Feathered People. Unlike the Pierced-Chest People, who all lived together, those people lived in caves in the mountains and in the trees. They relied on their wings to fly briefly and hunt wild beasts, so they did not need to hunt in groups.
If they can't win, they run away. On the mountain, they really can't be caught. After all, they dare to jump off the cliff, while the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty can't. This is why the Feathered People are fewer in number and weaker in strength, yet they can still become mortal enemies with the Pierced-Chest People.
"Speaking of Guan Yu! With swift sword and galloping horse, he swung his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, and Hua Xiong's head flew into the air, which he firmly grasped in his hand. Then Guan Yu turned his horse around, returned to the main tent, dropped the head, picked up a wine cup—the wine in the cup was still warm—this is the story of Guan Yu slaying Hua Xiong while the wine was still warm!" Cheng Huailiang spoke with great enthusiasm, gesturing wildly. The story he was telling was one Qin Mu had told them when he was bored, and now he was showing it off to the soldiers.
"Wasn't Hua Xiong killed by your ancestor?" Liu Renshi asked, nudging Sun Hu.
Sun Hu smiled but didn't answer, because Cheng Huailiang had already said that this was a story fabricated by Qin Mu, a fictionalized account. He was quite interested in this kind of story with its twists and turns, which was different from the legends he had heard since childhood.
Qin Mu knew that the accounts in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms differed greatly, so he only recounted a few stories when Qin Mu was young and inexperienced. He mentioned the Three Heroes battling Lü Bu, the Battle of Hulao Pass, Qin Mu's solo journey of a thousand miles, and the Battle of Changban, but he didn't go into detail about the others. His main purpose was to instill the ideas of loyalty and righteousness.
"Slap!" Cheng Huailiang slapped Liu Renshi on the back of the head, glared at him, and said, "I'm telling you the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and you're telling me history, you pedant!"
The term "nitpicker" was what Qin Mu usually used to insult himself and Yuchi Baoqing; everyone thought it was a term reserved for the two of them. Now that he finally had the chance to use it on someone else, he felt instantly relieved.
"Haha!" Upon seeing Cheng Huailiang's appearance, the soldiers who had been listening to the story all laughed. The frustration of spending many days traveling through the mountains and outwitting the winged people was swept away.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!" Suddenly, several soldiers drew their weapons.
"Don't make a move, I'm here to negotiate!" a winged person shouted, raising both hands.
"Let him come over. He's just one person, what are you afraid of!" Cheng Huailiang shouted.
The soldiers weren't actually afraid; they were just overly nervous about the suicidal attacks from the Winged People.
When the Tang Dynasty besieged the Feathered People, they completely surrounded the mountain and attacked with crossbows and arrows. The Feathered People were completely unable to cope. Even though they had shields, they couldn't withstand the crossbows. Knowing that there was no way to escape, they had no choice but to fight to the death.
Hiding in trees, behind rocks, or in the grass, they risked their lives to kill one or two Tang soldiers. Although they didn't succeed most of the time, it still kept them on edge.
"You want to negotiate?" Cheng Huailiang asked, looking down at Yu Ren.
"Yes, I want to see your commander!" The winged man breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the Tang soldiers put away their weapons.
"Come with me!" Cheng Huailiang wasn't afraid of him causing any trouble and immediately led him towards the camp.
"The Winged Eagle of the Feathered Race greets the Governor!" The Feathered Race had asked Qin Mu how to address him on the way.
"Sit!" Qin Mu waved his hand, while also sizing up the guy. White hair and red eyes didn't look like a good person, and his wings were bird-like, not the pure white he had imagined. According to Qin Mu's memory, he looked a lot like the legendary harpies from the West. Fortunately, he was a man.
"Are you here to negotiate?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
“Yes, I represent the Feathered People to negotiate, hoping we can live in peace and stop the war,” Flying Eagle said, rising and bowing his head.
"Hehe, you originally had no enmity with the Tang Dynasty, but you helped the Piercing Chest Clan attack Wu City, which caused us great harm. The Tang Dynasty has a saying, 'Those who offend China, though far away, will be punished.' Do you know what that means?" Qin Mu sneered. Anyway, he was in the right, so of course he had to make the problem more serious first.
“I understand, I understand. We were also coerced into participating in the war by the Undead. If we don’t send troops, they will blockade the mountains, which will make it very difficult for us to obtain prey,” Flying Eagle hurriedly explained.
"If the Pierced Chest Clan can be blocked, so can we. The Tang Dynasty has millions of soldiers and dozens of prefectures and counties. Yazhou is just a small place. You can't even stop them, so what right do you have to negotiate with us?" Qin Mu took two steps forward and said arrogantly.
“Millions of people?” Eagle exclaimed.
"Hmph! You're making a fuss over nothing. It's millions of soldiers, don't you believe me?" Qin Mu said with a mocking laugh.
"I believe you, I believe you," Flying Eagle nodded repeatedly.
"You frogs in a well, how many years have you lived here? Do you even know what the world used to be like?" Qin Mu asked.
"According to tribal legend, the world was once boundless and limitless, but no one remembers exactly how long ago. All that is known is that it was a very long time ago." The winged people's accent was somewhat strange, but they were still able to communicate.
"The Great Tang Dynasty unified the nine provinces, and our human race has tens of millions of people. Even a single county town has more people than yours. Tell me, what right do you have to negotiate? I won't lie to you. The news that we cannot defeat Yazhou in the short term has already been reported, and a large number of reinforcements will arrive soon." Qin Mu pointed downwards as he spoke. To make sure the Yuren understood, he slowed his speech and emphasized his words, making them sound very powerful.
"Governor, please calm down. We are willing to compensate you. Please, Great Tang, do not attack us again." Flying Eagle could not tell that Qin Mu and his men were lying. Besides, the other side already had the advantage, so there was no need for them to deceive him. Even if they exaggerated, it was still something his tribe could not compare to.
Looking at the eagle lying prostrate on the ground, Qin Mu said calmly, "Get up. To be honest, I can't think of any benefit that a ceasefire would bring to the Tang Dynasty. On the contrary, it would only lead to the destruction of you. This entire island would then belong to the Tang Dynasty."
"Governor, Governor, we, the Feathered People, are willing to become your vassal tribe and offer tribute every year," Flying Eagle hurriedly said. The Feathered People were no match for the Pierced-Chest Clan, and now that the Pierced-Chest Clan was extinct, how could they possibly defeat the Tang Dynasty, which was far stronger than the Pierced-Chest Clan, especially since their strength had already been greatly diminished?
"The Tang Dynasty is rich in resources and has a large population. We don't need your numbers, nor do we care about your goods. Look at us, take a good look, are we poor?" Qin Mu asked confidently, pointing to himself with his thumb.
Flying Eagle looked at Qin Mu and his companions blankly. Although they were wearing iron armor, the silk clothing underneath, even without appreciation, revealed the high quality of the smooth fabric. Inside the tent, there were exquisite porcelain pieces; one was right in front of him, which he unconsciously picked up to examine.
Qin Mu and the others weren't in a hurry; they sipped their tea as if watching a show.
After waiting for a while, Flying Eagle came to his senses and pondered, "You are right, Governor. Our Flying Eagle tribe is poor and not many people, but we are still useful. This island is mountainous and very steep. You can't go up and down, but we can gather those medicinal herbs. Our requirements are not high. We just want a small piece of land enough for our tribe to survive. For your Great Tang, this is very, very small, insignificant."
“You’re quite right. Such a small piece of land is indeed nothing to us. In the southwest, we have countless islands. How about this, as long as you offer sufficient compensation, I will persuade His Majesty to forgive your ignorance. After all, our Great Tang Dynasty loves peace,” Qin Mu said, feigning being moved.
"Thank you, Commander! Thank you, Commander!" Flying Eagle was overjoyed and hurriedly knelt down again.
"Get up! I always keep my word. Look, they are from the Black Ape Clan. They were once captured and enslaved by the Monkey Clan, and now they live under the protection of the Great Tang." Qin Mu stepped forward, pulled up the flying eagle, walked to the entrance of the tent, and pointed to several black men wearing leather armor.
Those creatures had very long arms, making them easily identifiable as different from humans. The murals of the Feathered People also depicted various strange and unusual racial figures. Flying Eagle glanced at them and nodded in agreement, noting that the chimpanzee and human figures were chatting and laughing, clearly indicating a good relationship.
Humans treat the chimpanzee tribe well because the chimpanzees are large, kind, honest, and strong. They run incredibly fast for food and work very hard, so no one dislikes them, except for women. Nowadays, the people of the Tang Dynasty have a strong sense of superiority over ordinary tribes and races. They would never look favorably upon these vassal tribes and races; their peaceful coexistence is only due to the kindness of humans. If any woman wanted to marry someone from another tribe or race, not only would her parents be ashamed, but her father would probably strangle her.
“Governor, the Feathered People can also fight for you,” Flying Eagle said solemnly, then lowered his head in shame and said, “It’s just that there aren’t many of our people left now.”
"It's alright, it's good that you have the intention. We don't lack scholars." Qin Mu patted Flying Eagle's head and comforted him gently.
"Rest assured, Commander, we will definitely provide you with a satisfactory compensation," Flying Eagle said sincerely, raising his head.
"That's not just about my satisfaction, it's about satisfying everyone else in the Tang Dynasty. After all, we lost tens of thousands of people in battle, and His Majesty has to give the people a plausible reason," Qin Mu explained.
"Yes, I understand. I'll go back now and get back to you as soon as possible." Flying Eagle nodded understandingly. Indeed, so many people had died; there was no reason to say that. Like their own tribe, there were still people unwilling to surrender, wanting to fight to the death. But Flying Eagle and his men understood that a fight to the death was impossible. Even if the Feathered People were wiped out, many others would still remain. After everyone was extinct, everything else would be meaningless. The Feathered People's bottom line was to prevent the tribe from being wiped out.
"No rush. Since you're here, have a meal before you leave. I'll have someone stop the attack," Qin Mu said, patting his shoulder with a smile.
Flying Eagle felt that Qin Mu was a good person and trusted him very much, so he relaxed a bit and said gratefully, "Thank you, Commander."
"What are you all standing there for? Didn't you hear what I said? Issue a ceasefire and prepare a banquet! I need to entertain the guests." Qin Mu raised an eyebrow and shouted to those around him.
"Yes, sir!" everyone responded loudly, and then got to work.
They've been discussing the Winged People recently. These guys are all hiding in the mountains and scattered. To wipe them all out would require too much manpower, resources, and time. It's not worth trying, since news has spread that many things have changed in the country. Just recently, in Jiangnan, they need to be wary of the situation on the islands there. The islands that have appeared are no smaller than Yazhou. Who knows what's going on there? Currently, the Tang Dynasty is only taking a defensive approach because they need to deal with the troubles on the land first.
Considering all these factors, the final conclusion is to temporarily spare the Feathered People. However, this will only happen after the Feathered People have been eliminated from the current siege. When they come to negotiate, he will readily accept their offer, which is a result of the information asymmetry.
Qin Mu's purpose in hosting the banquet was obvious: to show off. Knowing this, Cheng Huailiang and the others immediately began preparations, changing into casual clothes. Wine, meat, canned fish, and other delicacies were gradually laid out on the table. The lavish hospitality ended with Fei Ying passing out drunk.
Getting him drunk wasn't the goal. After waiting an hour, Qin Mu had Han Chen sober him up. When Fei Ying woke up, his eyes still blurry with drunkenness, he was greeted by Qin Mu's gentle smile.
"You're drunk, but to avoid delaying important business, I had someone sober you up. We'll treat you to a proper drink another time."
"Yes, yes, I almost messed up our business." Flying Eagle hurriedly stood up, shaking his still dizzy head as he spoke. He had drunk fruit wine before, but he hadn't expected Qin Mu and the others' wine to be so strong; he had actually gotten drunk.
"It's alright, I'll have someone take you back." Qin Mu smiled and led him out of the tent, then pointed to the things on the ground and said, "I think you're quite good. This is a gift for you. It's nothing, just a small token of my appreciation."
The top-heavy Flying Eagle was sent out of the camp in a daze. After walking a long way, he looked at the ten loads of things being carried behind him with some confusion.
After walking thirty li, they arrived at a clearing at the foot of a mountain. One of the soldiers said, "Shall we take you here?"
“Sure,” Eagle nodded.
"Alright, let me introduce these gifts to you. Six loads are wine, three loads are porcelain, and one load is salt," the soldier said, pointing to the items left behind.
"oh oh."
"Alright, we'll take our leave then." The soldier cupped his hands in farewell and departed.
After the soldiers left, Flying Eagle looked at the empty land, waited for a while, and then ran into the distance. After searching around and confirming that no one was following, it took a deep breath and let out a sharp screech.
A sharp screech rang out, and Flying Eagle waited quietly. An hour later, several dozen Feathered People came from all directions and shook their heads at Flying Eagle, which finally made him breathe a sigh of relief and say, "Take these things back."
70
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