Are you crazy? Trying to trick him into military service? He's the number one dragon on the fro

The title "Tongtian Wu" was an honorific used by the Northern Barbarian royal court to refer to their high priest, who was highly respected for his ability to communicate with the heavens and the earth and to facilitate communication between humans and gods.

The Tongtian shaman of this generation was named Bagu Lun, who was also a member of the Northern Hu Miro royal family, equivalent to Miro Khan's paternal uncle.

After walking out of the royal tent side by side with Princess Yuezhen, Bagulun bowed and said in a deep voice:

"Your Highness need not reveal my existence during this trip south. If anyone asks, just say that I am the accompanying cook, and that I am highly valued because I am good at cooking Your Highness's favorite dishes."

"The princess must not utter another word about anything else."

Upon hearing this, Princess Yuezhen nodded slightly, her expression complex as she watched the other person leave.

Although she was not favored, she knew very well that the main reason her father sent her to the Great Zhou for a marriage alliance was to prevent the young Lu Xiao from continuing to attack them.

As the king of the Northern Hu, Mirohan was ambitious but timid and hesitant, and never dared to launch a large-scale war against the Great Zhou.

This time, he keenly sensed that Lu Xiao was very likely a pro-war figure in the Great Zhou, so he immediately sent himself there in the hope of delaying the war for a while.

Besides, Princess Yuezhen understood even more clearly that her mission to marry into the country was a pretense, and her true intention was to sow discord!

Such tricks were child's play for her, who had learned the art of questioning from the Zhou Dynasty since childhood.

As she pondered this, Princess Yuezhen reached out and caught a few falling snowflakes, her expression filled with melancholy.

"How can a woman so easily decide her own fate?"

"Hopefully... this trip to the Great Zhou will be relatively uneventful."

……

In mid-November, the weather was freezing cold.

Frost had already spread across the northern part of the White Wolf camp, and the snow in some shady spots had not even melted. The cold wind blowing in carried a biting chill.

During this period, Lu Xiao has been busy with matters related to compensation and relief.

In the battle against the Gule tribe, the White Wolf camp lost more than 600 men. Their relatives and friends were either in Bai County or far away in various parts of Yuyang County, so dealing with them was time-consuming and laborious.

In addition, the soldiers' military achievements must be carefully recorded without any omissions or errors.

Therefore, Lu Xiao personally oversaw the matter and checked it several times to ensure there were no oversights before allowing it to be reported and filed!

"My lord."

Fan Changxin lifted the curtain, entering the wooden building with a hint of chill in his air. After exchanging greetings, he said in a low voice:

"As you instructed, five catties of charcoal have been distributed to each household in Bai County to help them get through this difficult period. I will arrange for people to lead them to the nearby mountains to cut down trees and exchange their labor for living supplies."

"This situation will disappear once my Fan family's caravan arrives, so please don't worry, Lord Marquis."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiao put down his brush, pondered for a moment, nodded, and then asked:

"What about other aspects?"

"In this freezing cold, the people who have just arrived here have basically only rebuilt their homes and have no money left to buy supplies to keep warm."

"Besides cutting down trees, we can also let them build city walls, streets, etc. In short, we should use all kinds of methods to enable them to exchange their own hands for living materials."

This was a consensus reached by Lu Xiao, Fan Changxin, and others.

Bai County is a newly established county, and the people living there are basically starting from scratch. If overly strict rules are established, the people are very likely to freeze to death in the winter.

But if things are too easy, laziness will breed among them.

Only with rules and regulations that are neither too strict nor too lenient can the people adapt to life here as quickly as possible and survive their first winter!

Fan Changxin nodded in deep agreement:

"To be honest, ever since the first snowfall, I have arranged for three shifts of yamen runners to patrol the streets. Whenever they see a starving and freezing person, they will take them to the almshouse."

"So far, although some people have suffered from frostbite, no one has frozen to death."

At this point, he indicated to Lu Xiao that he could rest assured:

"The Fan family caravan encountered an unusual blizzard on their way here; otherwise, they would have arrived much earlier."

"I received a message from the caravan yesterday evening that they are expected to arrive in five days, at which time our supplies in Bai County will be further replenished."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiao pondered for a moment:

"When the caravan arrives, tell them to bring more farm tools and grain next time they come."

"After half a year of development, more than 20,000 mu of farmland have been reclaimed in the south of the White Wolf Camp. Of these, 30% are fertile land, 60% are flat land, and the rest are scattered pieces of land that are not on a large scale."

"When spring arrives, you will distribute farm tools and seeds for free, and collect the corresponding amount of grain according to the quality of the fields after they are ripe."

"We won't collect taxes for the first year; let the people catch their breath first..."

As time passed, Lu Xiao and Fan Changxin finished discussing most of the matters concerning people's livelihood and came up with a relatively reasonable operating method.

Fan Changxin was overjoyed, and before leaving, he said with great reverence:

"Your Excellency truly deserves to be called a marquis and prime minister; with just a few words, you have resolved most of my doubts."

"I've said it many times, we call each other brothers in private."

Lu Xiao chuckled wryly a few times and personally saw Fan Changxin out the door.

He was about to return to his post in the watchtower when Zhou Daxing rushed over:

"My lord, we just spotted a troop of Hu soldiers approaching from the north. However, judging from their appearance, they don't seem to be attacking; rather, they appear to be seeking our assistance!"

"Need help?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiao chuckled coldly a few times, pondered for a moment, and then gave the order:

"Once they are a hundred paces from the north gate of the camp, immediately fire arrows, but not actually kill them!"

"Understood!"

Zhou Daxing clasped his hands in a deep fist salute, then turned and left.

Lu Xiao paced around the watchtower for a moment, and just as he finished tidying up the confidential documents on the table and the wooden cabinets around him, he saw Zhou Daxing return, followed by a group of Hu people.

"My lord, they claim to be envoys of the Northern Hu royal family. They have come to our White Wolf camp on the orders of the Hu king."

"We were sent here? Instead of the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty?"

For a moment, Lu Xiao was stunned, his gaze falling on the few Hu people behind Zhou Daxing, completely puzzled.

He simply let the person in to talk.

After all, it was freezing cold outside.

"King Wei Xiluoluo of the Northern Hu pays respects to Marquis Zhongyong of the Great Zhou!"

"General Xi is too polite."

Lu Xiao smiled broadly, reached out to help the person up, and was about to speak again when he saw Xi Luoluo say with a serious expression:

"My surname is Xiluo, and my given name is Luo."

"Hehe, General Xiluo, please forgive my negligence earlier."

He quickly apologized, then pretended not to see the woman who was bundled up tightly, and kept asking her questions:

"General Xiluo, have you come here to deliver a letter of surrender to our Great Zhou on behalf of the Hu King?"

"Lord Lu has misunderstood."

Siloro shook his head in denial, and though he wanted to get angry, he held back and stepped aside.

"This is Princess Yuezhen of my Northern Hu!"