3 Chapter 3
◎Spring Pasture◎
The news brought back by the scouts was like a bolt from the blue.
In the Northern Di language, Silver Moon Valley means "mother's embrace." It has always served as the Canglang Tribe's spring pasture, a veritable haven of abundant grass and water in the entire Northern Di. Destroying Silver Moon Valley would be tantamount to severing a vital artery for the Canglang Tribe.
The so-called "black thyme" is a curse that nomads on the Mobei grasslands are terrified of.
"Khan, it's really black thyme!" A white-haired herdsman carefully examined the shape of the grass seeds in the soil, tears welling up in his cloudy eyes. "Young people haven't seen this before. Once the roots of this poisonous weed take root, they can't be eradicated. Wherever it goes, it's a deadly place. Cattle and sheep can't eat it, and it prevents other grasses from growing!"
"Without pasture, how will the cattle and sheep give birth this year?"
"Tuge has gone crazy. He wants to die with us!"
"Maybe he's in cahoots with those crazy people in the north. We can't let him stay!"
For a moment, the angry voices almost overturned the Khan's golden tent.
Just as everyone was arguing, the system's prompt sounded coldly in Li Hengqing's mind:
[Emergency Mission Release: Spring Pasture Crisis]
Mission Description: The core spring pasture has been polluted, leaving the tribe with no land for grazing. Please open a new spring pasture to ensure this year's cub survival rate is no lower than in previous years.
[Task Reward: 8000 points, unlocks the behavior points system, any action that increases grassland construction will earn points.]
"Warriors of the grasslands," Li Hengqing slammed the table, silencing the clamor. "The matter is done. Even if the Great Khan takes Tuge's head within an incense stick, it will be of no avail. Our first priority is to resolve this issue."
All eyes turned to him. After what had happened before, no one dared to question Li Hengqing easily.
Someone asked, "Khatun, what should we do?"
Li Hengqing used his dagger to circle the location of Silver Moon Valley on the map and said, "First, we must stop the spread of the poisonous weeds and minimize the damage. Build dams and nets downstream, dig deep ditches to create a buffer zone, and order that no other people or animals are allowed to enter the valley."
Helian Xiao immediately gave orders to his personal guards, and the chaos in the tent was cleared up.
Someone else asked worriedly, "Khatun, now that the poisonous weeds have been isolated, what are we going to do this spring?"
"Who said we don't have pastures?" Li Hengqing pointed to another patch of grassland that was burned by a wildfire caused by lightning last autumn. "We can create one ourselves."
"Build a ranch?" Everyone was stunned.
The Northern Di were a nomadic civilization, unaccustomed to farming. According to Northern Di tradition, burned grasslands needed to be left to nature's mercy, waiting for natural recovery. This laissez-faire approach resulted in vast tracts of land lying idle and wasted for long periods.
"When I was a child, I heard people singing Northern Di folk songs that mentioned a method of 'zoning and rotational grazing,'" Li Hengqing said. "The Northern Di ancestors would divide the pastures into different areas and graze them according to the seasons, allowing the grasslands to rest and recuperate. This is in accordance with the way of heaven."
"This land, cleansed by wildfire, is the opportunity gifted to us by the heavens. We can awaken it with our own hands and establish a new order."
She cleverly packaged modern ecological concepts as the wisdom of grassland ancestors, and the people around her were indeed convinced.
"A while ago, the Khan and I traded salt bricks for a batch of alfalfa seeds. They're resistant to poverty and drought, and cattle and sheep will grow very fast after eating them." Li Hengqing continued, "That's the craftsmanship of the Han people. Our iron plows are crude, and reclaiming wasteland is twice as effective with half the effort. To awaken this land, we need better tools, and even more importantly, people who can use and make them."
"Khan, I want to personally lead the team to make this deal with the Han people."
"Invite the Han people to our tribe?" This proposal was bolder than trading ironware and immediately aroused vigilance.
"I'll go with the Khatun." Helian Xiao agreed without hesitation.
Three days later, Helian Xiao escorted Li Hengqing and a caravan loaded with salt bricks, dried meat and animal furs to a Han settlement on the border.
They were greeted by a group of strong men holding hoes and sticks. The one in the lead was a weather-beaten man with a dark face. When he saw their posture, he became defensive and only stayed ten steps away to talk.
The group of people had deliberately disguised themselves, but Helian Xiao's handsome face with obvious alien features was difficult to conceal, and the atmosphere was tense for a while.
Helian Xiao was about to speak his slightly stiff Chinese when a slender hand pressed his arm and Li Hengqing, wearing a white gauze hat, stepped down from the carriage.
"We mean no harm." Her voice was so gentle that it put people off guard. "Brothers and uncles, we're here to do business with you."
His attitude softened a lot, but when he heard that Li Hengqing wanted to invite craftsmen to the tribe, he still flatly refused.
"Miss, that's absolutely impossible." The old soldier shook his head, his expression solemn. "It's an iron rule in the army that craftsmen are not allowed to leave their settlements, let alone enter the heart of the Northern Di. It's a capital offense, and no one dares."
"Uncle, you don't know," Li Hengqing calmly began to tell the story he had already prepared. "Although my husband has Northern Di ancestry, he grew up in Dasheng. He returned home this time out of necessity. Now that we're in trouble, we want to reclaim the wasteland and save ourselves, but we lack the talent. We don't intend to kidnap anyone, but simply want to hire a few carpenters and blacksmiths to instruct us for a few months. The wages are negotiable, and their safety will be absolutely guaranteed."
She spoke earnestly and asked someone to present salt bricks and furs worth far more than the market price as a deposit, but the old soldier just sighed and refused to give in no matter what.
The negotiations reached a deadlock.
Li Hengqing signaled Helian Xiao to calm down and she asked to talk to the veteran alone.
The two walked to a corner, avoiding everyone's sight.
"Is your uncle's surname Cen?" Li Hengqing asked softly.
The old soldier was shocked and looked at her warily: "How did you know?"
Li Hengqing lowered his eyes, and the token in his sleeve flashed by, but was put away again after a moment.
The old soldier's lips trembled.
"You...you are..." His voice trembled and his eyes were full of disbelief.
"My last name is Li." Li Hengqing nodded.
The territory of the Da Sheng Dynasty was so vast that people with the surname Li were numerous, but the old soldier did not ask any more questions.
This token was a relic of the original owner. She traded points with the system and obtained a portion of the original owner's memories. Although the original owner was not valued in the palace, her mother seemed to be of extraordinary background and had a deep ties with the border troops.
The old soldier's eyes filled with tears. He wiped his eyes and when he looked at Li Hengqing again, his eyes were completely different. "Miss... No, Madam, don't worry!"
He lowered his voice and said solemnly, "I will send you the best carpenter and blacksmith in the settlement, even if it costs me my life."
A seemingly impossible negotiation was reached.
Helian Xiao only saw Li Hengqing exchange a few words with the veteran. Uncharacteristically, the veteran not only agreed to their request but even approached it with a respectful, almost humble demeanor. He had his doubts, but looking into Li Hengqing's clear eyes, he wisely chose not to question them. Everyone has their own secrets, and he chose to respect them.
However, when Li Hengqing turned around and gave him a cunning smile that showed her plan had succeeded, he couldn't help but avoid her gaze. His wheat-colored ears... were actually slightly red?
Carrying the craftsmen and heavy hopes, the team returned to the tribe, and the tribe immediately plunged into the vigorous land reclamation.
Meanwhile, the Black Eagle Tribe, far downstream in Silvermoon Valley, was still basking in the joy of their successful plan. They mocked the Canglang Tribe's "cowardice" and "incompetence," unaware that a retribution from the heavens was quietly approaching.
When the spring breeze first greened the northern grasslands of the desert, two completely different scenes unfolded simultaneously on both sides of Wolf Mountain.
Downstream of Silvermoon Valley, the leaders of the Black Hawk tribe were still basking in their winter victory, while the herders drove their cattle and sheep into the lush valley, awaiting a bountiful breeding season.
However, a strange wind suddenly blew from the direction of Silver Moon Valley without warning, stirring up dust and spreading the seeds of poisonous weeds that were invisible to the naked eye to every corner of their pasture. Tug and his people knew nothing about this.
On the other side of the mountain, the wasteland burned by wildfire presented a scene of bustling activity.
Under Li Hengqing's personal planning, the concept of "rotational grazing" was introduced to this ancient land for the first time. The entire wasteland was divided into four areas of varying sizes. Under the guidance of artisans, new iron plows forged by coal were harnessed to the strongest oxen, deeply turning over the charred earth, seamlessly blending the fertility of the ash and grass into the soil.
The men were responsible for clearing wasteland and diverting water, while the women and children followed behind, using a simple seeder designed by Li Hengqing to evenly spread the precious alfalfa seeds into the soft soil. No one complained about the hard work, for they had all witnessed the Khatun's ability to transform decay into something miraculous, and they believed that this time would be no different.
When the first hint of fresh green broke through the earth, the entire Canglang tribe erupted in excitement. It was a tender green, unlike any weed, swaying with vitality in the spring breeze of the new year. In just a month, the wasteland was covered with a thick, lush blanket of alfalfa, its purple flowers swaying in the wind, and the air was filled with a sweet, refreshing fragrance.
According to Li Hengqing's plan, the tribe's ewes and lambs were first herded into one of the pastures. They greedily devoured the delicious food they had never tasted before, their milk becoming more abundant than ever before, and the newborn lambs grew stronger at a visible speed.
Meanwhile, the "scientific breeding" program under Li Hengqing's guidance proceeded smoothly. The strongest rams were selected and systematically bred with the tribe's finest ewes. The results were quite encouraging, with the newborns this year far exceeding previous years in both size and survival rate.
Spring passed, and summer, the most abundant season for grass and water, arrived. When the tribe conducted its annual inventory, the results shocked everyone.
Far from weakening due to the loss of Silvermoon Valley, the Canglang Tribe actually set new records in terms of livestock population, fatness, and cub survival rate! This miraculous land they had personally reclaimed produced far more than the Silvermoon Valley, their former "mother's embrace."
Helian Xiao stood on the hillside, looking at the green grass and herds of cattle and sheep below, and his eyes unconsciously fell on the slender figure beside him who was concentrating on recording something.
At this moment, a scout came galloping from afar. He dismounted, knelt on one knee, and said in a trembling voice, "Khan! The Black Hawk Tribe... is finished!"
The scout reported incoherently.
The poisonous black thyme had erupted in late spring, decimating the Black Eagle tribe's livestock. Desperate, Tug attempted to clear the poisonous weeds with fire, but this ignited the dry grass, and a blaze consumed their remaining pasture. Caught between internal and external pressures, Tug was killed by his enraged tribe in the chaos, and the once-mighty Black Eagle tribe fell apart.
A fierce look flashed in Helian Xiao's eyes. This was a good opportunity to completely swallow up the opponent and strengthen himself.
However, the second news brought by the scout was like a bucket of cold water that extinguished his ambition for expansion.
"Khan... Tug is dead, but there are still tens of thousands of Black Hawk tribe members left. They have lost all their livestock and pastures, and like a pack of starving wolves, they are swearing that if they don't have a good life, the other tribes will not be able to escape with it either."
"The surrounding small tribes are terrified, fearing that they will turn into horse thieves and plunder everywhere!"
The joy of the harvest that had just filled the air disappeared without a trace in an instant, replaced by silence.
Helian Xiao faces a problem that is more difficult than the powerful Black Hawk Tribe - how to deal with this heavy and dangerous "legacy".
Massacre? Drive them out? That would make him bear the stigma of cruelty and lose the support of the people.
If we ignore it, tens of thousands of refugees will disrupt the peace of the entire grassland, causing endless troubles.
But if they took them in... the Canglang Tribe had barely recovered and couldn't afford to feed so many mouths! Furthermore, the warriors within the tribe would never agree to use their hard-earned food to feed their former enemies.
This is undoubtedly a dead end with no way out and no perfect solution.
Just when everyone was at a loss, Li Hengqing, who had been silent all the time, slowly spoke.
"Khan, perhaps we don't need to 'feed' them." Her voice was as gentle as ever. "We can give them a chance to earn food and dignity with their own hands."
She opened the parchment map she carried with her.
"We can hire them. Let them build water conservancy projects, reclaim more wasteland, and even... build us a real city that can withstand wind and snow. We only need to provide them with food and clothing, and they will give us a stronger future."
“Work-for-relief.”
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