When Zhao Tingduo returned to Mida City, the competition outside the city was finally coming to an end.
Five hundred people participated in the preliminary rounds, and after the rounds, twenty people advanced to the final round. Now, the top three will be selected from among them.
The highest reward raised by merchants in the city was fifty taels of silver, which was for one hundred sheep.
Most importantly, the contestants come from seven tribes of varying sizes, and whoever wins first place will immediately become the recognized number one warrior of these tribes.
Zhao Tingduo was going to present them with awards, and Song Liyun also had the competition venue decorated.
In addition to the fluttering colorful flags, there were songs and dances on both sides to encourage the participants.
The dancers were beautiful unmarried girls chosen from the tribe, and the leader was Shayi.
Beautiful women love heroes, and under the stimulation of hormones, these athletes will perform even better!
Horse racing includes speed, skill, archery, and strength.
Amid cheers from the crowd, the top three quickly emerged, all of them robust and burly men, including one of them, Nanka, an acquaintance of Song Liyun.
Unexpectedly, he won first place!
Nanka happily accepted the fifty taels of silver from Zhao Tingduo and said provocatively, "I've heard that the city lord is skilled in martial arts and archery and horsemanship. I've long admired him. Last time I left with the city lord in a hurry, could we have a match today?"
That day he caused trouble in the city and was taken out of Mida City by Zhao Tingduo and back to the tribe.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Zhao Tingduo left, he ran back to Mida City and even participated in the finals.
Nanka has already become a hero in the eyes of many after making a name for himself in the competition. Now, his public challenge to Zhao Tingduo has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The other contestants were also eager to try. Opportunities to challenge the city lord were rare, so winning or losing didn't matter, as long as they could make an appearance.
Zhao Tingduo narrowed her eyes, recalling what Ayun had told her: Mida City must recruit its own soldiers and horses, and cannot rely entirely on others!
Haha! I was just thinking about how to recruit these people... and now they've been delivered right to my doorstep.
Thinking of this, Zhao Tingduo laughed and said, "This city lord is busy with affairs and only picks up a bow when training his subordinates."
"Anyone among you who wishes to challenge me can register at the Mida City military camp tomorrow!"
“Okay, I’ll come to the military camp to find you tomorrow!” a burly man readily agreed.
South Carolina hesitated for a moment, then nodded emphatically: "Alright, Lord, I'll wait for you at the military camp!"
During the horse racing event, the top three receive substantial rewards, the top one hundred receive encouragement prizes, and can also enter the city once for a purchase, paid for by the city lord.
Moreover, only the top one hundred were qualified to register at the military camp to challenge the city lord, making these one hundred warriors beam with pride and feel elated.
Next, through Zhao Tingduo's painstaking efforts, the Lei Battalion was newly formed with more than two hundred cavalrymen.
The military camp outside the city immediately became busy. Zhao Tingduo stayed inside from morning to night, eating and living with the new recruits, and began the process of training his elite troops.
These past few days, the surrounding tribes have been experiencing mixed feelings of joy and sorrow. Young men from their tribes have joined the cavalry in Mida City, and they not only have food and clothing, but also receive salt, grain, and tea as gifts, making other families without children who have enlisted extremely envious.
But the clan elders were saddened!
Previously, it was just young people who wanted to settle down near Mida City, but now they've joined the Mida army and don't even want their homes anymore.
A year ago, after the young master of Wuda subdued the tribes of the Mida River Valley, he dispatched the tribes' soldiers.
Those tribal soldiers were not many in number; a single tribe could muster a hundred or so men, but the combined forces of several tribes were still a formidable army.
But once the war was over, the tribal soldiers were taken back by the chieftains for various reasons to protect their own tribes.
Zhao Tingduo had just established himself in the Mida River Valley and needed to maintain good relations with the various tribes. He couldn't be too domineering, so he let the tribe soldiers go. The only troops he could rely on were the four hundred Lei-character battalions of the Zhenbei Army.
Now things are different. The Di people in his newly recruited cavalry battalion joined the army voluntarily, regardless of the tribal chiefs.
Mida City also announced that if any of these tribal soldiers had no one to graze their livestock, they could move their entire families into the city.
Seeing that their strongest warriors had been taken away, the tribes realized that Lord Mida had his eye on their own tribesmen.
Knowing they couldn't fight city hall, they decided to go all the way and personally send their respective tribes' soldiers over.
Several chieftains went to the city lord's mansion to congratulate Zhao Tingduo on the establishment of the cavalry battalion.
They also secretly offered their loyalty, willing to send over other tribe soldiers in exchange for some benefits.
Zhao Tingduo readily accepted the offer, distributing grain and cloth to them, and also arranged for the purchase of newly sheared sheep after the summer.
They no longer need to support their clan soldiers, and they can even get a business deal, so the trip wasn't in vain for each chieftain.
Zhao Tingduo treated them to a comfortable bath and a refreshing meal in the city before they happily returned home.
Song Dekui and Song Erlang have already left Mida City. They are heading to the Balin tribe at the mouth of the Huangsha River.
Song Erlang already knew that Xia's third son had settled on the grasslands, so he scolded Song Dekui long ago and didn't say anything more.
Xia Laosan is not doing well at home, and the Xia family still wants to entangle the Song family. The best way is to get rid of them cleanly and neatly.
Song Erlang traveled a long way to the Balin tribe, partly to meet with Xia Laosan and apologize for his younger brother's disrespect towards the Xia family.
Secondly, I heard that the third son of the Xia family was going to cultivate bitter melons there.
Song Erlang was a farmer. When he heard that he wanted such a rare item, he was itching to try it out and always wanted to exchange ideas with others.
He still needed to go to Suijin Town to see Xiao An. Although Han Ming and others were there to look after her, as an elder, he still wanted to see her in person to put his mind at ease.
Song Liyun also prepared a lot of things for him to take to his younger brother.
After the two left Mida City, Song Liyun arranged for Jian Fangtong to send bandits to escort them.
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