knife

Chapter 479 The Future of Small Tribes
As the first hint of dawn appeared in the sky, the livestock in the pen began to stir. Their guard dogs ran around the fence, barking occasionally to scare away any large animals that tried to cross it.

On the vast grassland at dawn, these movements immediately brought a lot of life to this place.

Bucha walked out of the tent with some difficulty, followed by his wife.

Both of them are almost sixty years old, which is considered a long life on the vast grasslands.

The average age in the entire tribe is only in their early fifties.

Therefore, Bucha naturally became the most respected person in the tribe and the person in charge of this small tribe.

The entire tribe consisted of only a little over a hundred tents, and the total population was less than five hundred.

Bucha walked to the livestock pen, opened the gate, and the animals, who had been waiting impatiently, rushed out of the gate like a flowing river, heading towards the distant pasture.

Several large dogs barked wildly and ran around, restricting the livestock's path, while some agile, bold, and careful dogs actually managed to weave through the numerous herds of animals.

These dogs are Bucha's best helpers in herding. He is getting old and can no longer ride horses like he used to when he was young. Now he relies on these dogs to help him herd livestock most of the time.

As the commotion started at Bucha's house, the scattered tents around the area began to stir, and more livestock gathered from all directions, heading towards the nearby pasture.

Bucha mounted an old horse, and his wife hung a cloth bag next to the saddle, which contained Bucha's food and water for the day.

Waving to his wife, Bucha patted Old Ma's bottom, and Old Ma walked forward at a leisurely pace.

We're old buddies, we've known each other for a long time.

People gathered along the way from time to time, but there were hardly any young people; most of them were elderly. Occasionally, a few younger people would come, but they were all disabled. When Bucha saw a few boys in their early teens riding over on ponies, the wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen.

Many livestock are pregnant, which is a big deal for the herders. At first glance, this year should be a good year, at least the number of livestock will definitely increase significantly, but there is no joy on anyone's face.

All the able-bodied men in the tribe were conscripted to fight for the emperor.

A total of sixty-eight people left the small tribe, which was the entire tribe capable of going on expeditions.

In the past, emperors also conscripted soldiers, but they would take a cut based on the number of people in the tribe. Generally speaking, for small tribes like Bucha's with fewer than a hundred tents, a dozen or at most twenty people would be the limit.

But this time, all the eligible people were conscripted.

Having lived for so long, Bucha naturally has a deeper understanding of this world.

He knew that this incident only meant that the current situation was very bad, which was why those big shots were desperate and reckless, just to get through this crisis first.

If we win, that's fine, but what if we lose?

Bucha dared not even think about it.

If these dozens of young men cannot return, Bucha feels that their tribe will soon disappear.

A merchant who was selling goods came a couple of days ago.

They were the kind of people who traveled across the grasslands with a few horses, carrying supplies that everyone desperately needed. These people were usually well-informed and could both trade goods for everyone and bring news from the outside world.

The merchant said that the Qin people's flags had already been planted in Zhengding.

Bucha absolutely refused to believe this news.

Zhen Ding, that's where the emperor is!

When he was young, he followed the old emperor in many battles. The Qin people were not very powerful, so how could they possibly have reached Zhengding?

But the merchant swore he wasn't lying. He had traveled far and wide, even to the border regions, so how could he mistake the black flags of the Qin people? He had originally intended to restock in Zhengding, but after seeing the black Qin flags, he didn't dare go in.

This has resulted in him having very few goods now, and they are very expensive.

The merchant left in a hurry, but the news he brought made Bucha very uneasy.

Both of his sons were among those conscripted this time, and he heard that they were to accompany the emperor to attack Qingtongxia City.

Of course, Bucha knew about Qingtongxia City; he had fought there when he was young.

But if even Zhen Ding has been occupied by the Qin people, will the soldiers who went to war be able to return?

Will my son ever come back?

He was worried.

Sixty-eight strong men from the tribe went to Qingtongxia City; what if none of them come back...?

OK!
Countless cattle, sheep and horses gathered together, and the herders slowly came together as well. Looking at their deeply lined old faces, Bucha felt as if a hundred ants were crawling all over his heart. He was extremely worried, but he had to pretend that nothing was wrong and comfort these people.

You absolutely must come back!
Even if fewer people come back, that would be better!
Bucha prayed silently.

The sound of hurried hooves came from afar. Bucha stood up and looked in the direction they had come from. The next moment, his eyes widened. Although they were far away, he recognized the figure very well. It was his eldest son, the one he had been dreaming about for some time now.

"Bucha, it's your Dejun! He's back!" someone exclaimed. "Is it them? Is the war over?"

Bucha swallowed hard but didn't answer.

The war was over, and their son had returned. This was a joyous occasion, but no one knew how many had returned. When they left, there were sixty-eight children!
Dejun was a very good rider. When he saw Bucha and his party, he immediately reined in his horse. Before the horse had come to a complete stop, he trotted a short distance to dissipate the forward momentum and stopped right in front of Bucha.

"Ah Da, we're back!" Dejun shouted.

"Dejun, has my Luo Jie returned?" an old man asked loudly beside him.

"You're back! You're back!"

Where is my Quinbia?

Where is my Ted?

A group of people surrounded Dejun, making it impossible for him to move.

Dejun raised his hands high and shouted, "Listen up, everyone! We're all back! All sixty-eight brothers in our clan are back! Not one is missing!"

The meadow erupted in cheers, with everyone laughing, jumping, and shouting.

Such a large-scale conscription was bound to be a major battle. No one expected that out of the sixty-eight who went out, sixty-eight would return. They just hoped that their own relatives would be among those who returned.

"Dejun, did we win a great victory? How much spoils did everyone bring back?"

Since they all returned unscathed, they must have won the battle. And if they won, there should be countless spoils of war—this is the experience of these old folks over the years.

Upon hearing this, Dejun's face turned awkward, and he stammered, unable to speak.

Seeing this, Bucha knew something was wrong and waved his hand, saying, "Let's go back first, let's go back first and talk about it later!"

So everyone forgot about the spoils; after all, it was good that their loved ones were back.

(End of this chapter)