Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

This area is relatively open and flat.

For the people who live here,

That already makes it incredibly precious.

A Tibetan tribe lived here.

The production status is semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral.

These are likely Han Chinese who have been assimilated into Tibetan culture.

Their language and customs,

They all retain characteristics of the Han Chinese from the Tang Dynasty.

There are very few able-bodied men in the tribe.

Most of them are the elderly, women, and children.

Because all the young people had been conscripted to fight in the war.

The people who remained in the tribe were still unaware that

Their sons, husbands, and fathers

They had already become Yang Zhi's prisoners.

Many also perished in the Karo River.

On a sunny morning,

The children are herding sheep.

The elderly and women were busy.

A few shepherd boys,

Looking at the large army emerging from the mountains,

Alert and habitual, they drove the sheep home.

Richard stopped and looked up at the sky.

The sunlight was so dazzling.

He led eight or nine thousand elite troops in a breakout.

The personnel losses were not severe.

There are about 7,000 left now.

The days of eating raw flesh and blood,

It didn't last long.

If they escape far enough, they can barbecue horse meat.

The entire army is now exhausted.

Moreover, there are quite a few patients.

But there are basically no major problems.

However, more than half of the warhorses had been eaten.

Much armor was also discarded.

It will be difficult to restore their combat effectiveness in a short period of time.

"We're out of the mountains! I'll take you all to eat mutton!"

Richard, with his stubble.

He turned to the elite soldiers with a smile and said.

An army with low morale.

He instantly perked up.

They charged out like wolves and tigers.

They would snatch any sheep they saw.

They then stormed into the houses of the Tibetan people.

They were forced to hand over their food—some didn't want to eat meat.

I'm so tired of eating horse meat.

I just want to replenish some carbohydrates right now.

The tribal chief was an old man.

Like these small border tribes,

The chief's family was not wealthy either.

He dared not be negligent in the slightest.

He tried his best to offer them food, saying with tears in his eyes,

"Your Majesty, the harvests have been poor these past few years,"

"We also have to pay taxes and serve in the military,"

"The able-bodied men of the clan have not yet returned."

"If those sheep are gone,"

"How are we going to get through the winter this year?"

Richard casually brushed it off.

"I won't eat your food for free,"

"Wait until I return to Xingqing Prefecture,"

"Send someone to deliver some grain."

The old chief hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Looking at the soldiers slaughtering sheep in the distance,

He remained silent for a long time, seemingly lost in thought.

After Richard collected some millet and prepared to leave,

The old chief finally couldn't help but ask,

“A few days ago, the able-bodied men of the clan were conscripted by the Southern Army.”

"The old rule was that one out of four men would be chosen,"

"This time, it's three out of four men being chosen,"

"I wonder when they will be able to come back?"

"Come back after the war is over."

Richard gave an ambiguous answer.

barren land

A ravaged tribe,

The elderly chief,

A gust of wind swept across the Loess Plateau,

The whistling wind sounded like a lament.

The next day, the elderly, women, and children watched the army leave.

After the soldiers walked away,

Only then did they dare to wail loudly.

The grain and livestock were almost completely looted.

The able-bodied men of the clan were still fighting and had not returned.

How are we going to get through this winter?

More than twenty days later,

The able-bodied men have finally returned.

Nearly four hundred people went when they were conscripted.

Now there are only a little over a hundred left.

Moreover, they were empty-handed and had no weapons.

Their ancestral, simple leather armor and weapons,

They were all confiscated by the Ming army.

Where is your brother?

The old chief asked his second son.

The son lowered his head, not daring to look at his father, and answered in a muffled voice.

"My brother is gone."

The old chief pointed to the others,

"Those who didn't come back, are they all gone?"

The son nodded.

In normal combat, one out of four soldiers is selected.

Even if the entire army is wiped out,

The tribes were able to continue to live and reproduce.

This time, they were surrounded along with the Southern Army Command.

The situation was extremely urgent.

Not only did the Gansu military command engage in rampant conscription,

The officers dispatched by Xiliang Prefecture to Jisang,

They were also being recruited in the territory under the jurisdiction of the Southern Army Command.

Moreover, the closer the distance is to the Southern Army Commandery, the better.

The more they conscript, the more ruthless they become.

This tribe was directly robbed of three-tenths of its resources by the four Ding.

The old chief asked again, "Did you lose?"

The son said, "We lost. We lost over 100,000 yuan."

"What can we do? The people are gone, and the food is gone too."

The old chief slumped to the ground.

The son asked, "Where's the food?"

The old chief recounted the events in detail.

These Tibetan youths who were deliberately released back into the wild

They were all furious.

Chapter 1737 Now they know how to negotiate

They relayed the Ming army's policies.

They said they could contact the Governor-General of the Hehuang region.

The old chieftain exclaimed in surprise, "Are the Song soldiers really that good at fighting?"