Why didn't anyone notice that hundreds of thousands of people were missing?
Where did these people come from?
Why didn't the surrounding villages notice anything wrong?
Without Ren Baqian's reminder, the empress wouldn't have thought of this. However, with his reminder, she immediately realized the seriousness of this matter.
"What do you think?"
The empress asked with a gloomy face.
"First of all, there are a few things that need to be clarified." Ren Baqian frowned as he pondered.
"First of all, how long do these herdsmen live? The jade-waisted slaves in the villages that we have passed through have been in human bodies for more than 10 years, but they still haven't completely turned into jade-waisted slaves. In other words, the cultivation of jade-waisted slaves takes at least 20 years.
In that case, how long did it take for these herdsmen to cultivate the jade-waisted slaves and this forest? Five to six hundred thousand people may seem like a lot, but if it is stretched to 100 years or even longer, the number of people going missing every year will decrease significantly. Even so, fifty to sixty thousand people going missing every year isn't a small number.
"Secondly, these jade-waisted slaves are consumables and food. What is the rate of their consumption? The numbers mentioned above are calculated based on the current number of jade-waisted slaves.
Taking into account the consumption of hundreds of years, the previously estimated number will be greatly increased. It could be up to one million or even two million people. "
At this point, the empress's face turned extremely ugly.
Ren Baqian's words suddenly made her feel that the aboriginals were livestock raised here, just like the fork-horned cattle and jumping goats that were raised outside the mountains.
"Thirdly, and most importantly, how many herdsmen are there? There are more than 30 of them in this group. According to Bor, they will give up their childhood memories when they reach adulthood. In other words, they actually have a place to live.
There must be some herdsmen living there to take care of the young. The others will leave when they reach adulthood and find a place to live alone. Where is that gathering place? What is the total number of herdsmen? What is their fertility and lifespan? "
Ren Baqian's three questions made the empress gloomy, and she remained silent.
There were too many things that could be drawn from these three questions.
Just the 30 herdsmen here alone had caused millions of aboriginals to die in their hands.
If there were more herdsmen …
"But I don't think there are many Herders." Ren Baqian thought for a while and said, "If there were hundreds of herdsmen, the death toll over the years would be ten times higher. More than ten million people is already close to the total population of the aboriginals."
After all, the total population of the aboriginals was only slightly more than ten million.
"Anything else?" The empress waited for a moment. Seeing that he didn't speak, she turned her head and looked at him. Her eyes were shining brightly in the darkness.
"I have an idea. The aboriginals that the herdsmen targeted must have been at the edge of the strongholds. That way, they wouldn't be easily discovered. But with such a large number, it was impossible to hide it for so long.
The only possibility was that the nearby stronghold was also under their control.
A portion of the people in the strongholds were moved to this secret place and turned into jade-waisted slaves. The people in the other strongholds were left behind as a barrier. This way, even if their behavior was slightly inappropriate, the other strongholds would not think too much about it even if they were suspicious. Compared to disappearing directly, this method was much harder to detect.
Every once in a while, this barrier would slowly move inward. "
Ren Baqian drew a circle on the ground and then another circle on the edge of the garden. "By moving inward bit by bit, they are nibbling away at the aboriginals."
The empress felt her hair stand on end when she heard this, and all her hair stood on end.
"However, the most dangerous thing about these herdsmen is that they have always been secretive and unknown. Now that we know about them, it will be much easier to deal with them.
They aren't strong, and we have already killed three herdsmen, let alone the aboriginals.
They might have been discovered by experts before … "
Ren Baqian comforted her. Then, he looked a little strange and said, "However, I'm afraid that those experts have failed at telling them their names."
Just thinking about it, with the temperament of the aboriginals, they would probably fall for the herdsmen's tricks if they were asked for their names.
After a long time, the empress heaved a sigh of relief, looked at Ren Baqian, and said, "You are quite smart!"
"Definitely! There's no need to doubt me! "Ren Baqian gave her a thumbs up and revealed his white teeth.
However, his white teeth weren't so conspicuous under his glowing skin.
The empress stood up and said, "Let's go back."
"I can't run anymore. Please carry me!" Ren Baqian opened his arms.
"Pfft!"
Ren Baqian was held by the neck by the empress and carried back.
"Brother, come here for a while." The empress called Qi Ziting aside and told him what had happened.
Qi Ziting's expression changed drastically after hearing this.
"Is that really the case?"
"It's just a guess, but the possibility is very high. Didn't you see an abandoned village before? "Ren Baqian asked.
Qi Ziting's face was gloomy as he swung his cane at the tree next to him, sending the upper half of the tree flying.
After breaking seven or eight trees in a row, Qi Ziting vented his anger and slowly calmed down.
"Yes, it's indeed possible!" Qi Ziting said. "Xiao Ya, what are you going to do?"
"You know the Sixty Thousand Mountains better than I do. Find some people to check if there are any problems with the surrounding villages. If there are any problems, report them immediately and kill them once they are confirmed, "the empress said coldly.
"If we check all the villages on the periphery, I'm afraid it won't be completed in a year," Qi Ziting said. After all, it wasn't easy to transmit information in the Sixty Thousand Mountains, and the deeper one went, the more difficult it was.
"No matter how long it takes, these foreign races must die!" the empress said coldly.
"What about your marriage?" Qi Ziting asked with a frown.
The empress was silent for a while.
Ren Baqian then said, "It's more important! Thank you for your concern, brother-in-law! "
"Pfft!" Qi Ziting spat.
In any case, it seemed that his marriage with the empress would have to be delayed for some time.
"Although this matter is important, you don't have to stay here all the time. There are still many Cardinal Heaven experts in the depths of the Sixty Thousand Mountains, and I have seen more than 30 of them. As long as we gather these people together, we can easily kill these foreign races.
Furthermore, Dayao doesn't only have the Sixty Thousand Mountains. The previous emperor and countless ancestors fought for the outside world with their blood. There are also Great Xia, the Yun Nation, and the Chen Nation eyeing us covetously. "
"The Yun Nation has died!" Ren Baqian suddenly said.
"What?" Qi Ziting was stunned.
"The Yun Nation has died and is no more. The emperor of the Yun Nation is a guest in Lan City! In the future, you can call it the Yun Province or the Yun Protectorate. "Ren Baqian laughed.
"When did this happen? Why didn't I know about it? "Qi Ziting was stunned.
The Yun Nation had fallen? It had only been a few years, and such a big thing had happened outside?
"It has been a few months … and Great Xia isn't far from falling," Ren Baqian said.
Great Xia had also been in trouble recently.
Previously, Xia Bailong was killed by the stench, and the royal family of Great Xia moved out of the palace three months later. After that, the security was naturally very tight. It took a long time for the second batch of stink bombs that Ren Baqian sent over to find a way to get into the palace.
Then, it exploded two months ago.
This time, someone died again. It was the empress dowager … Ever since Xia Baichong's death, her condition hadn't been very good.
It had only been half a year since she returned to the palace, and the second batch of stink bombs exploded … Her body was already in poor condition, and she smelled this familiar formula and smell …
She fainted on the spot and died the next day.
Two consecutive stink bombs were detonated in the palace. The first time, the previous emperor died, and the second time, the empress dowager died. This caused Great Xia, which boasted that it was the most powerful country in the world, to be slapped in the face and pushed into the cesspool.
Everyone felt as if they could smell the stench that lingered in their bones.
The emperor of Great Xia issued seven orders to the border guards in a row, urging them to speed up the attack. The royal family and the court wanted to see the news of victory in half a month!
Half a month later, the empress received the news!
Hong Wu and Zi Donglai sent 20,000 reinforcements, defeating the 400,000 strong Great Xia army in one fell swoop. They also seized Tiesuo Pass and three other border guards.
After seizing the three border guards, Hong Wu sent troops into Great Xia's territory to plunder more than 30 cities before returning with a full load.
At present, Dayao had no intention of conquering Great Xia. Conquering the Yun Nation was their top priority.
After seizing these three border guards, Great Xia's doors were wide open.
A few days after the empress received the news, the entire Great Xia court was in mourning. Then, taxes were raised and soldiers were conscripted again.
However, at this time, there was news that made things worse.
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