The mighty mountain breeze blew by, the trees in the mountains and fields swayed gently, and the fragrance of palms wafted in the air.
"...Bertard, thank you for your hard work."
After a few breaths of silence, Shulot looked at the warrior commander with an apology on his face. Then, he decisively returned the rich multi-grain dumplings to Pimen.
"Pimeng, how many dumplings like this do the prisoners eat in a day?"
"Your Majesty, it depends on how fast the prisoners can go."
Pimen looked at the calm Holy Eagle Warrior Commander carefully and answered respectfully.
"The commander of the Ezpin Army stipulated that the prisoners were not allowed to carry food with them and were not allowed to leave the team in search of food. Violators would be whipped twice for the first time and executed for the third time. There was only a warrior camp every thirty miles where food was supplied. And in each camp, the escorting warriors can eat enough, and the prisoners can only receive food once."
"Well, one camp thirty miles away is quite reasonable."
Hearing this, Xiuluo nodded. Due to the lack of load-bearing vehicles, the stable marching speed of the infantry group ranged from thirty miles to sixty miles per day, depending on the load and terrain.
"But the prisoners are all mountain people who are good at walking. They don't need to carry equipment or food, and they don't have to carry heavy loads to go into battle. They can walk at least fifty miles a day."
"Exactly, Your Highness is wise!"
Pimon nodded in agreement and continued.
"The commander of the Ezpan Army ordered that the food was limited and only one grain dumpling was provided for each meal. If the prisoners could travel ninety miles a day, they could eat three dumplings; if they could travel sixty miles a day, they would be able to eat three dumplings. You get two dumplings. But those who are less than sixty miles away only get one dumpling, and they have to be scolded and whipped by the warriors!"
"Huh? Only one dumpling for one meal? Travel at least sixty miles in one day?"
Hearing this, Shulot was stunned. The difficulty of walking thirty miles on a grain dumpling is like the saying in the Chinese proverb: "One grain of rice can pass three passes, and three grains of rice can climb a mountain." If you forcefully walk sixty miles a day, the calories supplied minus the calories consumed must be an absolute negative number. And when the captives walked three to four hundred miles from the depths of the southwest mountains to the city of Apa, they all had to lose weight. Even two pounds a day would be considered light weight.
Thinking of this, Shulot frowned slightly. He looked at Battalion Commander Pimon.
"Pimeng, the food supply for the captives is somewhat low. If we march with hunger like this, some of them may not be able to make it to Apa City."
"Ah! Your Majesty, the commander of the Ezpin Army said that the mountain people are unruly and fierce. They can only have hungry stomachs and exhaust their strength every day so that they will not have unnecessary thoughts. As for the old and the weak who starve to death, I couldn’t survive in the mountains and forests.”
Pimen scratched his head, looked at the king carefully, and tried to argue.
"Besides, your majesty, the food in the camp is not enough! There are now a full 7,000 royal troops, deep into the southwest mountains. The leader of Coca has brought 2,000 Guakili warriors to Palm Bay, where they are arresting... .No, gather the refugees. Ezpan Tuanzi personally led two thousand warriors to guard against the Colima tribes in the west in the wild mountain village. Then there were another thousand warriors stationed in the Hand Snake Basin. As for the remaining two thousand canine warriors, We have to maintain a long food route, and we have to keep batches of refugees out of the mountains..."
"The Hand Snake City was burned down by Captain Black Wolf, and all the food along the way was burned... There is a serious shortage of food in the mountains, and there is no way to transport it!"
Hearing this, Shulot was silent and nodded silently.
Now the starting point for grain transshipment is Apa City. The grain team traveled 150 miles across the plains and arrived at Kanhe Village here. Then we entered the mountains from Kanhe Village and walked one hundred and twenty miles on a flat mountain road to reach Hand Snake City. Travel another sixty miles to the wild mountain village where Ezpan is stationed. Then, starting from Yeshan Village, we walk one hundred and twenty to thirty miles on a rugged mountain road to reach Palm Bay, where Coca Cola is located.
The royal army had to travel four hundred and fifty miles to transport food from Apa City to Palm Bay, the front line! The further back you go, the more difficult the mountain road becomes and the greater the transportation losses. The most critical thing is that all the villages along the way have been burned down by black wolves. There is no food in the area and must be transported from the rear to feed the gathered Tekos mountain people.
"Black Wolf, my Black Wolf, you are too cruel..."
Shulot thought for a moment and sighed helplessly. Ezpan's approach was right. The mountain people's physical strength must be squeezed to the limit, so that they can come out of the depths of the mountain forest at the fastest speed and with the minimum consumption. Otherwise, once famine spreads, more people will die.
"Your Highness, the first three hundred miles of mountain roads are difficult to transport grain. You can follow General Ezpan's settings. The Apa Plain has a flat terrain and it is easier to transport grain. When we reach Kanhe Village, the next one hundred and fifty miles can be done. Give enough food and let the mountain people repair themselves before continuing the march."
Bertard speculated on His Highness's thoughts and suggested with a smile.
"Yes, I will do as you say!"
Shulot nodded seriously and looked at Pimon.
"Pimeng, the Guards Corps has escorted a batch of food over with the army. All this food will be allocated to you, and more food will be delivered later. Starting from Kanhe Village, the food supply for all mountain people will be doubled! Then the food for the weak mountain people will be doubled." The people and children were selected, formed into a separate battalion, and marched according to the standard of thirty miles and one day! Well, this is the king's order!"
"Ah?! I obey your will, Your Majesty!"
Pi Meng scratched his head and bowed to the ground respectfully. He thought for a moment and tried to compliment.
"Your Majesty, you are as powerful as a brown bear, and you also have the kindness of a brown bear. You do not advocate killing like a jaguar. You are a sacred giant bear!"
"Am I a sacred bear?..."
Hearing this, Shulot's face was expressionless. He had never heard such a compliment before, and for a moment he didn't know whether it was sarcasm or not. The king stared at the other party's sincere eyes for a while, then nodded slowly.
"Okay, go down! Pimon, settle the prisoners. I will remember you!"
"Ah! Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Pimon was overjoyed and fell to his knees. He kowtowed heavily several times and went about his work excitedly.
"Food...food...food from the mountains..."
Shulot stood there and continued to think. He looked towards the Colima Mountains to the west and asked in a deep voice.
"Bertard, what are the various departments at Colima doing? Have they sent envoys?"
The warrior commander thought about it for a while and shook his head.
"Your Highness, the various ministries in Colima should have completed the mobilization of their militia and are defending themselves. The last time they sent an envoy was four months ago, expressing nominal compliance."
"Choose two Tekos guards who are proficient in the language and send them to Fire River City!"
Shulot pondered for a moment and made a decision.
"The army went south to attack the Palm Family and destroy all the tribes in the Alkomen Mountains. Fire River City must be terrified at this moment! The Fire River Plain has always been famous for its fertility. It can produce two crops a year. There will be no shortage of food in Fire River City. Order them to hand over two A year's worth of food for ten thousand people should be transported to the wild mountain village where Ezpan is located as tribute for the army going south! Tell them that if they don't pay, tens of thousands of the royal army will continue to march westward and burn down Huohe City!"
"It is your will, Your Highness!"
Hearing this, Bertard's eyes lit up. Fire River City is only two hundred miles away from Yeshan Village. If enough food can be provided from there, Coca's red frog warriors can continue to capture or gather refugees along the seashore. The food supply on the front line will be much easier.
The warrior commander immediately arranged for an envoy to take pictures and letters with the kingdom's seal and head for Fire River City. After everything was arranged, he returned to the king and asked softly.
"Your Highness, if Fire River City refuses tribute or even sends troops to attack, what will the royal army do?"
"If they refuse tribute, or dare to send troops..."
Shulot looked towards the towering mountains in the west. The rumored Fire River City stands on the fertile volcanic ash plain. To the north is the Colima volcano, which is 4,000 meters high, and there is a giant iron-rich vein buried 100 meters deep underground. There are red volcanic rock walls, countless tribal villages, and the ancestral land of the 200,000 Western Tekos tribe.
The king's eyes gradually became darker, and a strong desire to conquer arose in his chest.
"If they don't hand over the food, we will get it ourselves! Even if we can't take down the solid Fire River City, we must let the fertile Fire River Plain be filled with flames!"
The long wind swept across the sky, and the mountains and forests swayed silently. The warrior captain looked at the king's profile and sniffed the breath of the wind. The fragrance of palm fell into my nose, but it smelled like gunpowder smoke.
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