Chapter 69

Chapter 69

As the sun climbed higher, the fire keepers of the Xuanjia Camp began cooking.

One cow could feed fifty people. Including the Tabghach Tiele tribe, Xuanjia cavalry, and logistics personnel, there were about five thousand in total. This meant that at least a hundred livestock were needed per meal. Blood flowed like rivers as the fire keepers set up large pots over firewood, boiling water bubbling as meat was washed and thrown in, along with torn dry bread. They carefully added coarse salt from clay jars into the large pots, followed by some vinegar cloth to continue simmering the meat soup.

The aroma of the meat drew the attention of the burly cavalrymen around the pot, their eyes gleaming. In the past few days of rapid advancement, they had subsisted on horse and sheep milk, hard dried meat, and dry bread. Yesterday, after capturing a small branch of the Sogdian tribe, they finally enjoyed a hot meal.

Cavalrymen in the distance patrolled the camp, while those resting on-site didn't remove their armor. They stayed within their designated areas, not moving about without specific reasons.

When it was time to eat, ten men shared a pot. The meat soup, enhanced with salt, emitted a wonderful aroma. The cavalrymen had large appetites, the meat in the pot was scarce, and the soaked bread mush was abundant. Even so, the meat soup with oil, salt, and meat was devoured eagerly by the cavalrymen.

One of the soldiers, built like a bear and eating most fiercely, used soaked dry bread to mop up the meat soup in his bowl, not wasting a bit. He kept his Youzhou saber by his right hand, occasionally looking around like the others. This vigilance was fundamental for a sharp cavalryman in the grasslands.

"Eat slower, boy, or you'll burst your stomach," a cavalry captain, selected through rigorous tests from Youzhou, scolded the man, tapping his stomach with the back of his knife, "You'll suffer when we ride later."

The man wiped his mouth, feeling half-full, which lessened his urgency. Hearing his superior's comment, he stuffed the last bite into his mouth, grinning broadly, his scarred face twisting grotesquely, "Better to burst than starve to death. Besides, I'm still not full yet."

The cavalry captain recalled the new recruits, identifying the man's name, "Hu Dali."

Hearing his name, the man nodded, "That's me."

After the captain left, Hu Dali, feeling uncomfortable with nothing in his mouth, plucked a blade of grass to chew. Growing up, he had an unusually large appetite, but with too many siblings, his parents couldn't afford to feed him and abandoned him. He later mingled with beggars and refugees, often starving. The hunger he experienced made him dreadfully afraid. Before joining the Xuanjia Camp, he had never had a proper full meal. His greatest wish in the camp was to eat his fill, or at least be half-full, and he was willing to do anything for it. Those who've never starved cannot understand the gnawing hunger that turns a man into a beast devoid of humanity.

"Hu Dali, come here."

Hearing his superior call him, Hu Dali, carrying his Youzhou saber, approached and realized they were near the Sogdian prisoners. Scratching his head, he asked, "Captain, are we going to behead them?" Beheading was something he excelled at.

"No," the cavalry captain replied, ordering the cook to bring over two bowls of meat soup, "Can you still eat?"

Hu Dali's eyes lit up at the sight of food, and he eagerly nodded, "I can eat, I can eat, I'm not yet full."

"Eat here then."

"Thank you, Captain," Hu Dali answered loudly and coarsely, treating the captain who allowed him to eat his fill almost like a parent, grateful to anyone who fed him.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Hu Dali faced the Sogdian captives and began devouring his meal with gusto.

The smell of cooking from the firekeepers had long reached the Sogdians’ noses. Now, watching the bear-like, robust cavalryman eat before them, the Sogdians swallowed saliva frantically. Due to their escape, they hadn’t had a proper meal in a day and night, their eyes nearly turning green with envy at the sight of the soldier’s meal.

That meat soup contained salt, a luxury for them. In Youzhou, the control over salt and iron was strict, especially for foreign tribes. When trading in Gu Chang city, they often paid three to four times the price of Youzhou people and might still not obtain it, making salt even more precious and rare on the grasslands.

The elderly chieftain, Mao Ying, watched his restless tribespeople, not daring to scold them. His face bore a long whip mark, half covered in blood, from a recent whipping by the Tiele guards for trying to calm his people and prevent chaos.

Mao Ying watched everything with a grim expression.

He then, under the cover of his son, glanced towards the area where the Gulunwugu branch was held. He remembered that their tribe had about a thousand people, but now, counting roughly, there were only a little over three hundred, and the women and children of Gulunwugu were nowhere to be seen... A foreboding feeling weighed heavily on the elderly chieftain’s heart.

Hu Dali, enjoying his meal, knew the captives wouldn't dare try to steal his food. Firstly, they weren't desperate enough; secondly, the Tiele guards were vigilant; and thirdly, he patted his Youzhou saber – he wasn't one to be trifled with.

Suddenly remembering something, he took out a piece of dry bread from his bosom to tear and soak in the soup for a fuller meal. Unexpectedly, he brought out an extra piece which fell and rolled on the ground.

Hu Dali looked where the dry bread had fallen, about to pick it up, when a large hand grabbed it first.

The person dusted off the dry bread and tossed it back to him.

It wasn't until the surrounding cavalrymen knelt down that Hu Dali, a beat slower, also knelt, his face flushed with excitement.

"It's the Grand General of this campaign against the foreign tribes, the esteemed Governor of Youzhou!"

Zhou Xu observed the captives, noticing their restless and anxious behavior, his gaze shifting to the women and children among them.

Cui Shi coughed once, his face expressionless. Zhou Xuan and Zhou Lingzhi stood by his side.

"Separate them," Zhou Xu commanded.

"Yes!" Hu Dali jumped up and shouted loudly, quickly joining the team separating the captives. Soon, the women and children were parted from the others.

The tribespeople gathered around their elder chieftain, Mao Ying, who respectfully greeted the northern overlord in the Central Plains language, performing a long bow, "Respected Governor, I am Mao Ying, a chieftain of the Pu Gu tribe's Mao Re branch."

Zhou Xu, however, ignored him, and Zhou Lingzhi instructed the group of women to identify their family members among the crowd.

About a hundred Sogdians with families were identified and separated.

Zhou Xu returned to a military tent. Inside, the chieftain of the Gulunwugu tribe was tied to a chair, along with several minor chieftains, all gagged with dirty cloth.

Zhou Xu sat at the head of the tent, listening to Li Xun from the Xuanjia Camp interrogating the captives, with Zhou Xuan, Zhou Lingzhi, and General Shi also participating.

Li Xun, a martial man, was straightforward and focused on key questions. They had learned from the Gulunwugu that several tribes had sworn brotherhood, and now they needed to confirm which tribes and compare the information with what Gulunwugu had provided to avoid any mistakes.

"Which tribes have you Pu Gu allied with? Don't lie. Gulunwugu has already informed us. This is a chance for your families to live. If your answer matches what Gulunwugu told us, then your families can survive."

Tuoba Aguda and Tuoba Amu sat to one side, translating for General Li Xun when necessary. Cui Shi took a sip of tea; this was their thirty-second interrogation, with eight untruthful ones already executed.

Hu Buer entered the tent trembling, struggling with his emotions and sweating profusely upon hearing a general's question and seeing the captured minor chieftains of Gulunwugu.

"You only have one chance," Li Xun said coldly.

"Yes, Gulunwugu and Hun," Hu Buer closed his eyes, tears streaming as he spoke rapidly, "Si Jie and Abusi as well."

"What about Bayegu?" Li Xun asked.

Hu Buer was startled, realizing the Youzhou people's extensive knowledge of the alliance, no longer daring to hide anything: "The Khan of Bayegu was in Huiyi City at that time but did not participate in the swearing ceremony. The five Khans of the grasslands who did were the ones I just mentioned. I was there with the chieftain and saw it myself."

Li Xun, looking at the intelligence reports and finding them consistent with others, continued, "Are there any Turks involved in the oath-taking?"

Hu Buer shook his head, "No, but the new concubine of the King of Huiyi is said to be from there."

"How many troops have you gathered?"

Hu Buer shook his head vigorously, afraid of giving a wrong answer and being killed, "I really don't know that, General! Please understand!"

The people in the room turned to look at the Governor.

Zhou Xu twirled his black whip, then waved his hand.

Immediately, a cavalryman dragged Hu Buer away. Hu Buer screamed frantically, only to find himself pushed into an open area where his family and tribespeople were gathered, totaling about thirty or so.

Hu Buer knew he could never return to his tribe as a traitor; they had no chance of survival on the grasslands now.

"The Governor is merciful, offering you a slim chance to go to Gu Chang," Hu Dali said through bites of his dry bread, "Just wait here."

Hu Buer dared not face his distant tribespeople, knowing the slim chance given by the Governor meant an arduous journey back to Gu Chang city without horses or anything else, but it was still better than being beheaded right away.

Hu Buer, a contemptible coward, sat on the ground, weeping bitterly.

After interrogating all the Sogdians, Zhou Lingzhi combined the people from the two tribes for easier supervision.

Zhou Xu held a thin sheet of paper, examining the intelligence. After a while, he instructed Li Xun, "Give them only one meal a day."

"When we reach Huiyi city, use them as human shields and to clear the path of any iron caltrops."

"Yes!" Everyone bowed and replied in unison.