Blooding the Troops

Xueya stood up and walked to the simple map hanging on the wall. It was something they had gathered over the past few days. It was crudely drawn with charcoal on animal hide, the lines crooked and twisted like earthworms crawling, but it roughly showed the distribution of tribes in the area. He pointed to a mark on the map, poked it hard, and the hide was dented.

"Let's start with the Stone Disc Tribe. They're the closest to us, and they don't have many people, only about six hundred. After we take Stone Disc, we'll go take the Blue Stone Tribe. One at a time, no rush." His voice was hoarse and deep, like sandpaper rubbing against wood, and it was particularly clear in the quiet council hall.

Xueshou and Yexiao stood up and replied in unison, "Yes!" Their loud voices echoed in the room, causing dust to fall from the roof.

Xueya waved his hand and ordered, "Go and prepare. We'll set off first thing tomorrow morning." He tapped his fingers lightly on the table twice, making a "tap-tap" sound.

The two turned and left the cabin to prepare.

Early the next morning, before dawn, the Abundant Grain Tribe's camp was bustling with activity. Xueya stood at the camp gate, watching the warriors who were assembling. Two thousand men, a dark mass, stretched as far as the eye could see. Horses snorted and pawed the ground, white breath billowing from their nostrils, condensing into a white mist in the morning light.

The soldiers were inspecting their weapons. Some were sharpening their knives, the whetstone making a rustling sound; some were drawing their bows, the bowstrings humming; some were talking in hushed tones, some were laughing, and some were cursing and urging the people next to them to hurry up.

Xueshou and Yexiao approached, both looking quite energetic.

"Big brother, everything's ready," Xueshou said, his voice rough and filled with barely suppressed excitement, his eyes gleaming like two flames.

Xueya nodded, mounted his horse, and shouted, "Let's go!"

Two thousand people left Abundant Grain Tribe in a grand procession and headed towards the Stone Disc Tribe. The procession traveled along the mountain road, the sound of horses' hooves thundering. At dusk, the Stone Disc Tribe's camp came into view. Stone Disc Tribe was built on a circular valley, surrounded by undulating hills, like a series of giant steamed buns. The camp was not large, but it was very clean.

Xueya reined in his horse, raised his hand to signal it to stop, and his gaze swept across the Stone Disc Tribe's camp in the distance. He ordered, "Hide, don't light a fire, eat something and then rest."

Xueya whispered the order, "We'll make our move at daybreak tomorrow."

Xueshou and Yexiao Owl nodded and went to make their own arrangements. The warriors led their horses into the woods by the roadside. The next day, as dawn broke, Xueya opened his eyes, stood up, walked to the edge of the woods, parted the branches, and looked toward the Stone Disc Tribe.

The Stone Disc Tribe's camp was faintly visible in the morning mist. Xueya turned around, looked at the warriors who were just waking up, and said, "Get up! Get up, all of you!"

Xueya whispered, his voice low but exceptionally clear in the quiet morning. "Prepare to attack!"

Xueshou and Yexiao immediately understood. They exchanged a glance and nodded. Each of them led a thousand veterans and charged fiercely towards the Stone Disc Tribe. Xueya led the remaining five hundred new recruits and spread out around the Stone Disc Tribe camp, forming a loose encirclement. Xueshou and Yexiao's cavalry charged into the Stone Disc Tribe camp.

The wooden fence collapsed under the charge of the cavalry. The warriors rode into the camp, hacking at anyone they saw. The people of the Stone Disc Tribe were awakened from their sleep. Some were cut down before they could even react. A few who tried to resist were killed instantly, without even a whimper. The old, weak, women and children were dragged out of the thatched huts and gathered together. About a hundred young women were dragged from the crowd and roughly pulled away. Xueya led the five hundred new recruits into the camp.

Xueya gave the order, "Let these newbies do it too."

Xueshou led the veterans and drove the five hundred new recruits to the controlled elderly, women, and children. Many of the new recruits only then realized what was happening, but it was too late to regret it. Disobeying orders meant certain death, so they could only grit their teeth and raise their knives against the elderly and weak.

Xueya stood aside, watching all this with a slight smile on his lips. Their hands were stained with blood; they had killed people, making them enemies of the Great Rock. Not following the Wolf Tribe meant death. The Stone Disc Tribe's camp had become a living hell. It wasn't until noon that the screams from the Stone Disc Tribe camp gradually subsided. Xueya, Xueshou, and Yexiao were in the largest house in the Stone Disc Tribe, eating and discussing their next move.

The house belonged to the chief of the Stone Disc Tribe and was quite spacious. Yexiao put down his wine bowl, wiped his mouth, and said, "After these new recruits have tasted blood today, they have no way out. From now on, they can only follow our Wolf Tribe down this dark path. Want to go back? Great Rock will not let them go, nor will it forgive them."

Xueshou nodded and said, "After the five tribes in the previous tribes tasted blood at the Yellow Stone Tribe, even more of them are eager to participate this time, vying to fight as if afraid of falling behind. It seems they've tasted the Tiantou and know that following us means meat to eat and women to play with."

Xueya also spoke up, "That's good. This is exactly the effect I wanted. After these newcomers see blood a few more times, they will become veterans of the Wolf Tribe. Then, the veterans will mentor the new recruits, and the new recruits will become veterans, making the Wolf Tribe stronger and stronger."

Yexiao spoke up, "Chief, our manpower has greatly increased now. Although we wiped out three tribes, those three tribes only had about five or six hundred people, which is still not enough for our Wolf Tribe's needs. How much food does our Wolf Tribe need every day for its people and horses? We can't last long relying on just these few small tribes."

Xueshou chimed in, "Then let's keep looting. Just loot a few more. There are plenty of small tribes around here. We can loot them one by one, and that'll keep us busy for a while."

Xueya nodded and said, "Indeed, we can plunder more tribes, but we need to carefully consider how to plunder them and which tribe to plunder first. We can't just plunder blindly; we need to have a plan. We need to think clearly about who to plunder first and who to plunder later."

He stood up and walked to the simple map hanging on the wall. It was something they had gathered over the past few days. It was roughly drawn with charcoal on animal hide, and the lines were crooked, but you could roughly see the distribution of tribes in the area. He pointed to several marked points on the map, pointing back and forth with his finger.

"We now have two thousand men at our disposal, and they've all seen blood, but it's still not enough. Two thousand sounds like a lot, but in a real fight, it won't be enough. I plan to take advantage of the Great Rock Great Boulder Tribe's lack of reaction time and attack a few more of the surrounding outlying tribes."

His finger moved across the map, tapping on each marked point, and he said, "One effect is to train the troops, letting the new recruits see blood and practice their skills. The second is to quickly improve everyone's strength; the food, weapons, and women they seize are all sources of strength. The third is to quickly gather supplies; winter is coming soon, how will we survive the winter without supplies?"

He paused, then continued, "Once this is done, I plan to attack several of the core subordinate tribes of the Great Boulder Tribe. The six core subordinate tribes of the Great Boulder Tribe have now grown to about two thousand people. Taking one or two of the core subordinate tribes of the Great Rock Tribe will be enough for us to take several smaller tribes. At that time, the Great Rock will definitely prepare to retaliate against us. Then, we will have a good showdown with the Great Boulder Tribe and see who is the boss of this region."

Xueshou shouted, "Alright! Let's do it! Snatch the small ones first, then the big ones. Once we've pulled out all of the Great Rock's teeth, let's see how they can still bite!"

Yexiao also praised, "This plan is feasible. Start with the easy parts and move on to the difficult ones, start small and move on to larger ones, take it one step at a time, and proceed steadily."

Then the two went to make preparations. Early the next morning, before dawn, Xueya set off with Xueshou and Yexiao. Only about ten people from the Stone Disc Tribe were left to wait for the Wolf Tribe's logistics troops to transport supplies and escort the female prisoners. They would transport the captured supplies and prisoners back to Stone Ridge Mountain.

Xueya led nearly two thousand men in a grand procession toward the next small tribe. Then, Xueya continued to lead his men to raid the Blue Stone Tribe, Pine Needle Tribe, and Earth Root Tribe. These tribes were all small tribes with six hundred people each, and they were no match for the ferocious Wolf Tribe warriors.

After raiding and wiping out these tribes, Xueya and his men collected a considerable amount of supplies. During this time, he allowed his warriors to feast and drink lavishly, slaughtering sheep and pigs, and indulging in hearty drinking. The newcomers to the Wolf Tribe gradually transformed into veterans of the Wolf Tribe Wolf Tribe, having embraced their identity. They were no longer fearful or hesitant; their eyes became fierce, and their movements swift. They began to eat meat heartily, drink wine from large bowls, and laugh loudly, just like veterans. They even began to vent their frustrations on women and trample on corpses, just like veterans.

Xueya and his men were very satisfied with this. Watching the new recruits turn into veterans day by day filled them with indescribable joy. Then they continued to discuss their next move in the Earth Root Tribe. The Earth Root Tribe's chief's wooden house was requisitioned and turned into a temporary council hall. The fire in the hearth was burning brightly, and the house was warm and cozy.

Xueya sat in the main seat, with roasted mutton and fruit wine in front of him. He picked up a piece of meat and chewed slowly, his gaze distant. Xueshou and Yexiao sat on either side, also eating and drinking.

"Next, it's time to make a move on the core subordinate tribes of the Great Rock," Xueya said, his voice low and slow, as if squeezed from his chest.

Xueshou put down his wine bowl, his eyes lighting up, and asked, "Which one should we attack first?"

Xueya stood up and walked to the simple map hanging on the wall, which they had gathered over the past few days. He pointed to a marked point on the map, poked it hard with his finger.

"Let's attack the Great Black Stone Tribe first. This tribe is the largest vassal tribe of the Great Rock, with over two thousand people. Taking them down will be enough to feed us for a while."

Xueshou and Yexiao stood up and replied in unison, "Yes!"

Xueya waved his hand and said, "Go and prepare. We'll set off first thing tomorrow morning."

The two turned and walked out of the wooden house.