Chapter 434: Striving to Achieve the KPI (Part Fourteen) [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
One group dug pits to bury people, while another group cleaned up the battlefield.
After finishing, they pat their butts and leave.
The attack took only an hour.
More than half of it was wasted on post-war issues.
By the time anyone realized something was wrong with the tribe, it was already noon the next day—according to the royal court's garrison system, in order to ensure that each tribe "kept quiet," the garrisons of adjacent tribes had to exchange information every ten days.
If any tribe were to rebel, the royal court would not only hold the garrison responsible for that tribe accountable, but also implicate the garrisons of related tribes. However, in recent years, the royal court's authority has grown stronger, and even the Shiwu tribe, which has always preferred to fight alone and has no concept of organization or discipline, has begun to behave itself, because following the royal court means they can have enough to eat, and they also receive subsidies when they go hunting in Longwu County to the south.
Why not do something that brings you benefits?
The second day was originally the day for the routine exchange.
But no news arrived by noon, and his messenger did not reply. Could something have happened?
It's no wonder they have such suspicions.
Smaller tribes were willing to follow the royal court because of the many benefits, but these larger, long-established tribes were different; they always felt they were being taken advantage of and that there was a greater chance of them causing trouble. Just as they were about to gather their troops to investigate, the messenger returned.
"Report—"
It was nearing dusk.
The messenger, looking flustered, brought back bad news.
It's still terrible news.
Their neighboring tribe was completely wiped out!
All that remained at the scene was ruins and a giant mound of freshly turned soil, which left the local garrison commander with a dreamy expression, as if he were still half asleep.
The messenger repeated it twice; he had no choice but to believe it.
"Who did this?"
This problem was undoubtedly difficult for the messenger.
Don't ask, the answer is always "I don't know."
"Gather the troops immediately and go investigate!"
This man, as if his pants were on fire, immediately ordered a hundred men to go together, and instructed the rest to enter a state of combat readiness, not to sleep all night, and to strengthen night patrols, fearing that the same misfortune would befall them.
It was already dark when we arrived.
But the acrid smell in the air still lingered.
The garrison commander, holding a torch, ordered his men to investigate thoroughly.
The subordinates couldn't help but speculate.
"Which gang of thugs did this?"
There are also bandits among the Ten Crows. Most of them are people who are dissatisfied with the rule of the royal court or have lost their tribal pastures and territories due to defeat in the struggle and have been forced to wander. In order to survive, they often launch sneak attacks on other tribes to obtain resources for survival. They are very cruel and bloody.
It is a malignant tumor that everyone in Shiwu hates!
The garrison commander shook his head: "It shouldn't be."
It couldn't have been the work of rioters.
The reason is simple: the scene was too clean.
There was absolutely no trace left by the enemy. The attacked tribe didn't even have a chance to send someone out to report for help, which shows how numerous and powerful the attackers were—they were able to wipe out a sizable tribe so easily and silently…
Could a stray dog wandering the wasteland do that?
If they could do that, they wouldn't be stray dogs anymore; there's a 90% chance they could be ruled out as suspects.
The subordinate then asked, guessing, "Is it an enemy?"
Tribes often fight each other over various interests. Previously, two tribes engaged in a massive battle involving tens of thousands of people because sheep from one tribe ran over and ate grass from the other tribe. The two sides had a deep-seated grudge and started fighting.
This kind of situation is common in Shiwu.
Of course, since the royal court unified the tribes, such conflicts were usually handed over to people sent by the royal court for trial, but not every tribe would obediently listen.
The garrison commander shook his head again: "Impossible."
The perpetrators of this atrocity must have been a well-trained force, decisive and swift in their actions, and possessed the necessary resources...
I can't think of a specific goal for the time being.
He asked, "Have you found out which direction the criminals fled?"
The investigation has found it.
However, after pursuing them for a while, they found the trail ended, indicating that it had been carefully cleared by the bandits. The garrison commander could only return in frustration and ordered his men to dig up the buried mound, hoping to find clues on the body. Although the body had begun to decompose underground, it was not yet rotten; the wounds were clear. Ordinary people would usually die from a single blow, but martial artists typically had more wounds.
In addition, there was another strange discovery.
Without exception, all young and middle-aged men had their right ears cut off.
The garrison commander asked, "Where are the women?"
The subordinate replied, "It's intact."
Although some of the bodies were burned beyond recognition, they were mostly intact. The elderly people were left untouched, except for the adult males whose right ears were cut off.
This behavior could very well be a malicious provocation by the enemy!
There were already hundreds of corpses lying on the ground.
The garrison commander's expression darkened slightly, and he waved his hand at the people.
The soldiers then threw the excavated corpses back into the pit, too lazy to cover them up again.
"How are the tribe's assets?"
The subordinates investigated thoroughly: "A small amount of grain was stolen from the tribe's granary, but no gold or silver was found. Everything else is still there."
In Shiwu, people live in tribal units. Enjoying the protection of the tribe comes at a price: each household must hand over a portion of their harvest to the tribal granary. This portion of the grain is used during times of special hardship, but it is given priority to the tribe's warriors to ensure they are well-fed and maintain their physical strength so they can hunt better and protect the tribe's safety.
Due to its terrain, climate, and customs, Shiwu is not skilled in farming. Grain production is low, making it a precious resource. In comparison, gold and silver are not as valuable in Shiwu. All the gold and silver disappeared, but the grain supply remained relatively stable…
The garrison commander pondered for a moment.
"Judging from this situation, the enemy is not large in scale."
If the operation were large, the grain would have been moved long ago, or burned if it couldn't be moved. In Shiwu, where food is generally scarce, grain is more sought after than gold and silver. Since this band of bandits is not large, their individual strength should be very high, and they should all be elite troops.
Otherwise, how could they have taken over a tribe of more than four thousand people?
Having grasped this point, the garrison commander immediately wrote down the news and his various speculations, ordering them to be passed on to his superiors, though a slight unease arose in his heart. The ability to build such a well-trained elite force suggested a powerful background…
"Hopefully, we won't get involved with any of the nobles in the royal court..." the garrison commander muttered to himself.
Similar incidents have occurred before.
For example, if a tribe's territory or pasture has salt mines, mining them would bring wealth. When the nobles of the royal court heard about this, they would seize it by force, ordering their men to secretly wipe out the small tribe and take the spoils for themselves. You must know that Shiwu is located on the outskirts of the country, and coupled with its backward technology, nearly 70% of its salt production each year had to be obtained through plunder or private transactions with unscrupulous merchants from other countries. The survivors dared not speak out against it.
The garrison commander was afraid that this would happen again.
"Ah owe-"
The unscrupulous nobleman Tang, who was being nagged, sneezed loudly, and then continued counting the gold and silver.
His eyes lit up.
"That's why they say murderers and arsonists wear golden belts..."
Looking at the gold nuggets and silver nuggets...
Shen Tang's hands were trembling.
My heart is trembling!
Oh my god, oh my god, they're all my damn stuff!
|ω`)
I wonder if everyone likes watching fantasy/martial arts stories?
I'd like to give my friend Tanzi a shout-out; her new book, "My Fairy is So Sick," is available today! Many of you have probably read her previous novel, "The Immortal's Decree." (#^.^#)
(End of this chapter)
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