Around the wide farm, huge tree trunks and stone pillars formed high fences. Around the fences, there were guards at intervals. Probably because of the accident that happened today, the number of guards increased.
In some of the fences, the birds were driven away, and some people were repairing them.
Those big, fat, and timid birds were stretching their necks and looking around. Occasionally, some people would throw in some fruits and unknown grains, which would cause a commotion in the fences. The big birds would rush to peck at the food on the ground. After eating, they would sleep in the sun.
Shao Xuan also saw some people carrying out eggs about half a meter high from some haystacks. In comparison, the eggs that hatched Chacha were so weak. Anyone who saw Chacha now would find it hard to imagine that Chacha came out of such a small egg.
The people of the Lu tribe called those big birds "meat birds". They were domesticated from moas. After generations of domestication, these meat birds gradually lost their wild nature and became docile and timid. However, they looked fat and had short and thick legs. Shao Xuan didn't expect these birds to run so fast. At least, they ran more "gracefully" than they looked.
In addition to those meat birds, Yan Jiu also took Shao Xuan to see other animal pens, such as cows, horses, and sheep. The scale of these pens was not as big as the one in the Feng tribe, but with such rich breeding species and techniques, the people of the Lu tribe would not lack food.
"How is it? How are the animals in our tribe?" Yan Jiu asked Shao Xuan with a proud face.
"Very good." Shao Xuan answered honestly.
Shao Xuan had seen many tribes along the way, and they all knew how to breed animals. However, none of them could compare to the Lu tribe. Because of this, the Lu tribe was able to establish a foothold in the central region and maintain a good relationship with many other tribes. It was said that several large tribes in the central region had friendly relations with the Lu tribe. If the Lu tribe was in danger, they would even send people to help. No one knew whether this was true or not.
Just like what Shao Xuan knew, this was not an aggressive tribe. They could even be considered as the "good guys" in the central region. Of course, the "good guys" were not without temper. To be able to gain a foothold in the central region, their own strength was indispensable.
"Are those also raised by you for food?" Shao Xuan pointed to a breeding area where giant cows were grazing. There weren't many of them, but they were obviously much larger than the surrounding cows, sheep, and horses. They were very conspicuous.
"No, those are not all for eating and trading. Most of the time, we use them to pull carriages," Yan Jiu said.
"Pull a cart?!"
"That's right. Look over there. We are preparing the meat bird this time. If it weren't for the unforeseen event, we would have already set off and be on our way." Speaking of this, Yan Jiu's smile faded a little.
How could such a thing happen in the animal pen? Did no one discover the breach? Even the guards couldn't stop it? Yan Jiu didn't believe it. He felt that someone must have deliberately destroyed it. However, he wouldn't tell Shao Xuan about this. This was an internal matter that they were investigating. It wasn't something to be proud of. To outsiders, they would only say it was an accident.
Shao Xuan saw an ox cart here for the first time.
It was a very large ox cart.
Even if he didn't see the cart, he could tell the size of the cart just by looking at the deep tracks left on the ground.
There were some damaged stone spinning wheels or pottery spinning wheels and other wheel-shaped apparatuses. The stone spinning wheels were specially made and the stone material was relatively hard. There were more pottery spinning wheels, from some small model-like ones to those half the height of a person. There were all kinds of them, and there were even paintings on them.
Some of these wheels were used to twist and spin thread. Some were used as wheels to transport food to the animals. Some were also used as wheels to transport heavier goods.
The distance between two roughly parallel tracks was more than four meters.
If they walked a little further, they could hear people talking. They could see people carrying meat birds. Those meat birds had been tied up and couldn't escape. They were carried onto large wooden carts and piled up into a small hill.
Yan Jiu caught a soldier who was carrying meat birds and asked, "Have you found all the escaped meat birds?"
The soldier wiped the sweat on his forehead and sighed, "Those who went out to search have all come back. Up until now, almost all the ones that ran out have been found. Only one escaped."
"Only one. That's good enough." Yan Jiu sighed. He looked around and asked again, "By the way, how's the cargo moving?"
"It's almost done. We can leave in the afternoon."
"Okay, you continue."
Yan Jiu didn't say much to the others. In order to thank Shao Xuan for his help today, he treated Shao Xuan to a sumptuous lunch at noon. He also gave Shao Xuan a meat bird and a meat bird egg. The meat bird Shao Xuan gave Chacha an extra meal.
Giving Shao Xuan something was not just to thank him. Yan Jiu also had his own thoughts. Although they had never heard of the "Yanjiao tribe", this tribe was not necessarily weak. Maybe they would have contacts in the future, so it would be good to make friends with them.
Knowing that Shao Xuan had left the tribe for a long journey, Yan Jiu didn't ask for details. Many people from other tribes would travel around, especially those from other small tribes on the periphery. They would be brought to the central region by their elders to gain experience. However, few people like Shao Xuan would travel alone.
Shao Xuan didn't say where he was going. He just pointed to some places near the old haunt of the Yanjiao tribe.
"Our transport team will pass by there. You can go with us. It's safer that way. Besides, the Wan Shi tribe is there. People in their tribe have bad tempers. "Yan Jiu said.
People from the Lu tribe who could be called "bad-tempered" naturally wouldn't have bad tempers.
Inviting people to ride with them was one of the Lu tribe's ways to show their friendliness. Shao Xuan didn't refuse. After thanking them, he helped them carry the tied up meat birds.
Observing these meat birds from a close distance, Shao Xuan found that after they were tied up, they would only cry once or twice. Most of the time, they were sleeping. There was no sense of danger at all.
Most of the people of the Lu tribe carried one bird with two people, but Shao Xuan could carry two birds with no problem.
"Shao Xuan, people in your tribe are really … strong." Yan Jiu couldn't help but say.
"Yes, people in our tribe don't have good tempers, but they are strong." Shao Xuan threw the two meat birds onto the wooden cart and answered.
Yan Jiu didn't take Shao Xuan's words seriously. He only thought that Shao Xuan was joking. After all, he didn't think Shao Xuan was a violent person. Naturally, he also thought that people in the Yanjiao tribe were all like that. However, he believed Shao Xuan's words about people in the Yanjiao tribe being "strong".
"Your tribe is very similar to the Wan Shi tribe. You are both strong, but your tribe is definitely better than the Wan Shi tribe." Yan Jiu said.
The Wan Shi tribe was said to not have been one of the big tribes in the central region. Later, it developed and became famous. However, some old strong people didn't seem to care about the Wan Shi tribe.
When the goods were almost loaded, the leader called everyone to get ready to set off. Yan Jiu was also one of the members of the transport team.
More than ten bullock carts were lined up in a straight line. The giant cows had already been fed and were ready to work.
"Come on, Shao Xuan, get on my cart!" Yan Jiu jumped on one of the carts and shouted to Shao Xuan.
Shao Xuan walked over and jumped on the cart that was taller than him.
The wheels of this kind of bullock cart were huge stone wheels. They were round and slightly thick. Probably for cushioning, the stone wheels were tied with circles of grass vines.
In order to pile more meat birds, there was no carriage or roof on the cart. It was just an open-air wooden cart.
Fortunately, the thick planks were strong enough. Otherwise, they would collapse with a little pull.
After the leader of the transport team finished cleaning up, he shouted, "Let's go!"
The sound of the stone wheels rolling on the ground and the creaking of the planks, mixed with the cries of the meat birds, rang out as the carts set off.
This was a very novel experience for Shao Xuan.
Sitting on the wooden cart, with his knees hanging down, Shao Xuan listened to the gossip of some tribes in the central region. For example, which tribe had a war, which tribe's people were beaten up, which tribe found some treasures, which tribe's chief or shaman changed, and so on.
In the afternoon, Yang Guang was still very hot. Probably because it was the end of the year, the temperature was not very high.
Shao Xuan listened to the people of the Lu tribe all the way. Occasionally, he asked a few questions to learn about the situation nearby and to perfect the map.
As they got closer and closer to the old land, Shao Xuan didn't hear anything about the Yanjiao tribe. No one mentioned the Yanjiao tribe. Instead, they talked about the Wanshi tribe, which was said to be very strong and bad-tempered.
Next to the old land of the Yanjiao tribe, a new strong tribe, the Wanshi tribe, rose up and occupied a new territory. According to the words of the people of the Lu tribe, in the eyes of the Mang tribe and the Eight Limbs tribe with a long history, the Wanshi tribe was the second Yanjiao tribe. And the Yanjiao tribe, which used to be glorious in the central region, had long been forgotten.
While they were talking, Shao Xuan heard a long and sonorous elephant trumpet in front of them.
Looking up, at the intersection of the flat ground and the sky, a black shadow was wriggling. Because of the movement there, the place where the sky and the sky met became blurred.
"The Wanshi tribe!"
"It's the people of the Wanshi tribe!"
The people in the carts were not in the mood to chat anymore. They looked nervous, and some people had already taken out their weapons.
The Lu tribe had a good relationship with many tribes. In the central region, many tribes would not attack this "nice guy", because he was not a big threat. Even if they wanted to fight for territory, they would not attack the Lu tribe. And the Wanshi tribe was not one of them.
Yan Jiu had said that the people of the Wanshi tribe were bad-tempered, and conflicts between the two tribes often happened.
"Look at them. Are they going to fight with other tribes again?" A man in the carts said.
"They should be. Look at their mammoths, carrying so many things on their backs." Another man said with disgust, "If they are strong enough, why don't they hunt the ferocious beasts in the forest? They always rob other tribes. "
The Wan Shi tribe was close to the forest where there were many ferocious beasts. However, they seldom went there to hunt. Every time they had enough food, they would go to other tribes to rob them. They only robbed those tribes that were weaker than them. As for the powerhouses of the big tribes, they would not provoke them.
"I heard that there was a big tribe in the forest with ferocious beasts a long time ago, but it died out. When will the Wanshi tribe die out?" A man whispered.
"Stop talking. Take care of the things." Yan Jiu whispered to several people in the carts.
"Got it." The others in the carts answered.
"Shao Xuan, you should also be careful. Although the Wanshi tribe may not really fight with us, it's always good to be on guard." Yan Jiu looked at Shao Xuan.
"Yes, I will."
Shao Xuan looked at the approaching figures.
Because people had been walking here for a long time, it formed a dirt road without grass.
The huge mammoths stepped on the road, shaking the dust on the ground. Hundreds of people, plus a dozen mammoths bigger than the giant oxen pulling the carts, together with the dust raised, looked a bit murderous.
There were so many of them that in order to avoid conflict, the leader of the Lu tribe took the initiative to ask everyone to move aside and give way to the main road.
The other side didn't mean to be modest. Compared with before, the mammoths sped up a lot. If the Lu tribe didn't move aside, they would probably hit them directly.
There were several people sitting on each mammoth. In addition to some looted materials on the back of the mammoths, there were young women tied up. Looking at their embarrassed appearance and clothes, they were not people of the Wanshi tribe. They were robbed and were one of the trophies. In fact, not only the Wanshi tribe, but also many wars between tribes were like this. Some of the captives were killed, some were sold to the slave owners, and some young women were taken back as trophies.
The leading mammoth had long tusks, and there were some decorations with blood stains on its body. Some were carved from bones, some were made of stone and some were made of wood. The man sitting on the head of the elephant was wearing a head ornament like a ghost face carved from ivory. His hair looked very hard. The short ones stood up like steel needles, and the long ones were simply tied with bone ornaments. This man was tall and strong. His exposed strong muscles seemed to contain explosive power. His eyes showed undisguised fierceness and arrogance.
This man was the leader of this team of the Wanshi tribe.
When he glanced at the team of the Lu tribe, his eyes were full of greed. He looked at the Lu tribe as if they were meat. But, thinking of the warning he received not long ago, he still restrained his desire to pull out his sword and rob them.
Not only this leader, but those people of the Wanshi tribe walking on the ground also coveted the goods on the Lu tribe's carts. They looked at the leader from time to time, waiting for his order to take action.
The people of the Lu tribe were all tense. They didn't expect to meet the team of the Wanshi tribe today. But they wouldn't flinch, let alone give away the goods!
The leader of the Wanshi tribe ignored the eyes of his subordinates. He just glanced at the team of the Lu tribe. His eyes flashed past Shao Xuan and didn't stay for long. But every time he looked at the meat birds on the carts, he paused for a moment. With a gloomy face, he whipped the mammoth and shouted, "Hurry up!"
The mammoth cried out in pain and sped up its pace.
The dust around them rose higher. The wind just blew the dust towards the team of the Lu tribe. The Lu tribe was so angry that they choked several times, but they didn't take any action. They were outnumbered, and the other side was not easy to deal with. They had to endure what they had to endure. They hated the Wanshi tribe even more.
When the other side's long whip was lashed out, it almost brushed against the giant ox pulling the carts of the Lu tribe. If the warrior of the Lu tribe hadn't blocked it with his sword, the whip would have hit the ox.
When many people of the Wanshi tribe passed by, they bared their teeth at the carts and waved their swords and spears. It seemed that they were saying, "Sooner or later, I will rob all your things!"
When all the people of the Wanshi tribe passed by and went far away and the dust dispersed, the people of the Lu tribe relaxed. The carts set off again.
Shao Xuan looked at those figures far away and thought, "Is this the second" Yanjiao tribe "in the central region?
They are nothing! "
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