"Is the Northern Desert... really that miserable?"
Chu Yao's words truly shocked Shen Tang.
As everyone knew, the Northern Desert and Ten Crows were both nomadic peoples. The difference was that the Ten Crows' lands sat at a higher elevation and were flatter, cold, dry, and parched, with little rain year-round. The Northern Desert's elevation was about the same as elsewhere, and though it had plenty of deserts and rocky badlands, it also had abundant pasture.
Because of the natural conditions, the people living in these two regions had to adapt to an unfriendly climate. Their entire populations followed the water, moving their herds from place to place. They would spend spring grazing on one pasture, then move on once they had eaten their fill. They rarely had a fixed home at any time of year.
Even so, life was still hard.
When their populations were small, this way of life was manageable. But once the population slowly grew past a certain tipping point, the pressure to survive would suddenly skyrocket. That led to greater environmental damage, scarce supplies, and food shortages, creating a vicious cycle.
Eventually, herding and hunting alone could no longer keep them alive.
Raiding regions with richer resources became one way to ease this conflict. Both the Northern Desert and Ten Crows had ideal conditions for raising warhorses. Their people were skilled with bows and horses, and their cavalry was highly mobile. They would often strike, then flee in a flash.
By the time their unlucky victims realized what had happened, all they could do was eat their dust, grinding their teeth in fury as they watched the raiders' clouds of dust rise in the distance, helpless to stop them.
At least, that was how Shen Tang understood it.
She had previously seen a set of