Since the leader of the mountain barbarians asked him to go to the village in person, Ouyang Shuo would certainly not refuse. He still has this bit of courage and self-confidence. Of course, he would not be so stupid as to go alone, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall.
Early the next morning, Ouyang Shuo led the infantry squadron and set off for the barbarian village under the guidance of the military intelligence department. Starting from the barracks, crossing the plains, and entering the jungle in less than half an hour.
After entering the jungle, the marching speed slowed down significantly. There were dead branches and rotten leaves everywhere on the ground, and vines were all over the place, making it extremely difficult to move forward, so Ouyang Shuo had to get off his horse and walk. Fortunately, the guide has rich experience and left marks along the road, so he won't get lost in the mountains.
After walking for two full hours, the soldiers who explored the road finally reported that there was a cottage two kilometers ahead. Ouyang Shuo ordered the troops to rest in place and wait patiently.
Sure enough, within twenty minutes, Leng Qian led his team to arrive. As for San Gouzi and his party, they are already under the supervision of the Shanman, so it is not convenient to meet each other.
After seeing the ceremony, Leng Qian began to report the intelligence of the barbarians, saying: "There are more than 3,000 barbarians in the entire village, and most of them are young and middle-aged. Because they live in the deep mountains and old forests all year round, most of the barbarians don't have a long life span, and it is difficult to survive. At the age of forty, the survival rate of young children is also very low, and the average life expectancy is only 25 years old. The mountain barbarian lives by hunting, and occasionally picks wild fruits to satisfy their hunger. The leader of the village is usually the hunting leader, and only the most powerful hunter in the village You can do it. There are also wizards in the cottage, who have a little knowledge of medicine, and they are the oldest and wise men in the cottage, and they are also the actual power holders."
"There are nearly a hundred barbarian tribes distributed in the whole area. The tribes are divided by hunting areas, and the boundaries are clear. The tribe we are encountering now is called the Xuanniao tribe. With the Xuanniao as the totem, it can only be regarded as one A medium-sized tribe. I heard that there are tens of thousands of extra-large tribes in the depths of the mountains. The leader of the tribe is called Stone Bear, who got his name from hunting a black bear alone. The tribal wizards have no names, and they are honored as great wizards."
Ouyang Shuo listened intently, and Leng Qian's information ability did not disappoint him. In just one day, he obtained such detailed information.
"Let's go, let's go see this mysterious bird tribe." He ordered the team to speed up.
In less than half an hour, the troops rushed to the vicinity of the cottage. Seeing Ouyang Shuo and his party, the outpost personnel on the outskirts of the cottage immediately became alert and shouted loudly: "Who is coming, report your name!"
"I am the lord of Shanhai Town. I was invited by the leader of your department to pay a special visit!" Ouyang Shuo replied loudly.
There was a commotion at the outposts, and a small black bird was parked on the shoulder of one of the sentries. The sentinel murmured a few words to the little bird, and the little bird flew into the sky and flew straight to the village.
Seeing this scene, Ouyang Shuo shook his head with a wry smile. No wonder Zhang Daniu wanted to be ambushed, the Xuanniao Tribe had such a sharp detection weapon, and it was not wrong to lose. This unremarkable black bird is obviously more psychic than a carrier pigeon. It not only knows the way, but also understands human language. He estimated that this little bird should be a descendant of the tribal totem black bird.
Fifteen minutes later, the little bird flew back from the cottage and chirped at the sentinel. It is estimated that no one understood except the sentinel.
"The leader ordered that the lord of Shanhai Town can only bring two followers into the stronghold, and the rest must wait outside the stronghold." The sentinel said loudly.
"How can this be done? We must accompany you to protect the safety of your lord." Before Ouyang Shuo could speak, Zhao Sihu couldn't help but shouted loudly.
"This is the leader's intention, and it must be followed." The sentinel remained expressionless.
Zhao Sihu still wanted to continue arguing, but Ouyang Shuo stopped him, and said with a smile: "In that case, Captain Zhao, you and Wang Feng can come with me!"
Wang Feng is Lin Yue's eldest disciple, and he has just been appointed as the first commander of the infantry squadron.
"My lord, this is too dangerous. Let's take people to flatten this dilapidated cottage, and see if they dare to fight us." Zhao Sihu was obviously still worried.
"That's right, my lord, a wise man would not take risks alone!" Leng Qian persuaded.
"You don't need to persuade us. I believe that the leader of the stone bear is not such a reckless person. The barbarians are always bold. If they really want to deal with us, they will only be tough with real swords and guns. They will never act like this." Ouyang Shuo said.
Seeing that they could not be persuaded, all the generals could only give up. Leng Qian turned around and shouted to the sentinel: "Listen up, people on the other side, if my lord makes any mistakes, Shanhai Town will definitely mobilize an army to attack and destroy the stronghold."
Hearing Leng Qian's threat, the sentinel snorted coldly and didn't reply.
Ouyang Shuo ignored it, and led Zhao Sihu and Wang Feng to follow the sentinel to the cottage. After entering the stronghold, the sentinel who led the way returned back the same way, and another mountain man led the way.
Along the way, Ouyang Shuo watched the barbarian village with great interest, and exchanged ideas with Zhao Sihu from time to time. The barbarian cottage has distinct barbarian characteristics, simple, strong and rough. The mountain man on the side of the road, seeing these guests still talking and laughing at this time, felt a little admiration, he is a man, no wonder he was received by the leader.
Shi Xiong led the important members of the tribe to greet them at the door of the meeting hall, and he was not too rude after all. If Shi Xiong sat inside and let him be brought in like a prisoner, then Ouyang Shuo would have to re-evaluate the importance of the Xuanniao tribe to Shanhai Town.
"Guests from afar, welcome to the Xuanniao Tribe!" Shi Xiong said loudly, his tone neither salty nor weak.
Ouyang Shuo smiled slightly, and said in admiration, "Thank you, chief, for inviting me to experience barbarian sightseeing. It really has a special flavor."
Shi Xiong's face relaxed, and he said enthusiastically, "Please!"
"Please!" Ouyang Shuo followed Shi Xiong and walked towards the meeting hall.
After the two parties sat down, Shi Xiong was not polite, and said directly: "Lord of Shanhai Town, your subordinates said yesterday that they want to cooperate with our Xuanniao tribe. I would like to hear more about it."
"Dear Chief, I am here this time to make friends. Regardless of whether the cooperation is successful or not, Shanhai Town will give your tribe 100,000 units of food for free." Ouyang Shuo first gave the other party a carrot.
As soon as this remark came out, the other party immediately became agitated. 100,000 units of food, plus hunting and wild fruit supplements, are enough to maintain the Xuanniao tribe's livelihood for two or three months. Such a generous gesture immediately won the favor of this group of men, and they looked at Ouyang Shuo and the others without any hostility.
Shi Xiong was also shocked, but as the leader, he did not lose his composure, "Thank you Shanhai Town for the gift, and the Xuanniao Tribe is very grateful!"
"There are three main methods of this cooperation, please refer to the leader. The first method is that your department goes down the mountain and settles in Yushui Village. The second method is that your department selects soldiers to serve in the army of Shanhai Town, and Shanhai Town distributes their salaries. The third method is that Your Ministry helps Shanhai Town find and mine ore, and Shanhai Town pays the salary." Ouyang Shuo proposed three strategies for the barbarians.
"Our Xuanniao tribe has lived here for generations, and it is difficult to move our homeland. It is difficult to settle down the mountain." Shi Xiong first denied the first cooperation method.
Ouyang Shuo nodded, this was completely within his expectation. Without a suitable opportunity, it would be impossible for the mountain man to move out of the jungle and settle on the plain. Settling down can't be forced, it can only be done slowly.
"I don't know how much is the salary in the Shanhai Township Army?" Shi Xiong continued to ask.
Ouyang Shuo felt relieved, and the big fish finally took the bait, "Ordinary soldiers, their salaries are determined according to their strength. Converted into food, the minimum is 10 units of food per month, and the maximum is 90 units of food. With the level of your soldiers, the average salary per month is 10 units. You can get at least 50 units of food per month."
Shi Xiong nodded, without expressing his opinion in a hurry, and then asked: "As for the third cooperation method, please ask the lord to explain it in detail."
"Naturally. As far as I know, there are many rare ores such as gold mines and silver mines hidden in this area. If your ministry can find these ores, then Shanhai Town will use food as labor reward." Ouyang Shuo knew that Ba Dao from his previous life It was through the mountain barbarians to find a gold mine and extract the original funds that they rose rapidly.
"Please sit down for a while, we need to discuss it." After Shi Xiong finished speaking, he arranged for members of the tribe to accompany Ouyang Shuo and the others in the conference hall, and went around to the backyard by himself.
The great wizard of the Xuanniao tribe is in the backyard at this moment. Naturally, Shi Xiong didn't dare to make decisions about such a big matter. Discussing this was just to fool Ouyang Shuo. The real purpose was to go to the backyard to ask the great wizard for advice.
After listening to Shi Xiong's report, the great wizard was silent. After a long time, he said: "The lord of Shanhai Town is also a wise man. Three months ago, I had a dream with a black bird, and it was said that it was not long after that. , There will be aliens descending from the sky, armed with sharp knives, to open up the wilderness. Xuanniao once said that these aliens may be the opportunity for our family's prosperity, or the source of our family's demise, and we have to investigate."
"In that case, I will drive them away!" Shi Xiong said.
"Don't be so reckless. This lord came with the sincerity of cooperation, maybe he can help us out of the predicament. You can send some soldiers to join the Shanhai Town Army to see what he does. As for the ore, we must hurry up and look for it, maybe It can solve the food crisis." The Grand Wizard is obviously not as conservative as Shi Xiong.
"Yes! Great Wizard, in your opinion, how many fighters are appropriate?"
"The first batch of fighters shouldn't be too many, but we must choose the elite and not be prevaricated. Two hundred people are the standard. In addition, Shi Hu is smart and brave. Let him go out to practice with him." The great wizard said.
Ouyang Shuo specifically pointed out before that the soldiers' salaries were tied to their strengths, and they didn't want the Xuanniao tribe to arrange some crooked melons to make up for them, and it really worked.
"Obey!" Shi Xiong said excitedly. Shi Hu's strength is also one of the best in the hunting team, and he is also the most threatening person to his position as leader. Now that the great wizard sent Shi Hu to Shanhai Town, he was naturally happy.