The warm south wind blew across the grassland, causing the snow from last year to melt slowly, revealing the withered grassland below. After a while, the grass seeds that had been sleeping for a winter will begin to sprout and grow, and the grassland will usher in a green spring.

The ice layer of the Hun River also began to melt. Under the alluvialization of the river, the ice layer on the river surface finally began to break, turning into piles of ice, carried by the turbid river water to flow to the west. The Hun River is a tributary of the Yellow River and a few large rivers flowing from east to west, so it is also called the backflow river. Moreover, this river flows through the grassland, and there are places with abundant water and grass on both sides, attracting countless tribes to come and graz.

In a small valley on the north bank of the Hun River, a small tribe was stationed here. At this time, the sun had already set on the top of the mountain and was about to set. The earth was dim and smoke rose from the tribes in the valley.

Lao Ger limped and drove the thin flock back to the sheep pen, then closed the fence door, looked up at half the sun on the top of the mountain, then sighed, and the wrinkled old face also showed a look of sorrow.

Lao Gel was a Turkic person. In fact, their entire tribe was Turkic. It used to be a large tribe with glory. However, later Jie Li used troops everywhere to recruit the middle-aged men from the tribe to participate in the war, but most of them died in battle. Lao Gel was lucky. When he went to the Tang Dynasty to plunder, he was shot in the knee with an arrow. As a result, he was disabled and no one wanted him in the war. However, this also saved his life. There were almost no men in the tribe who were his age.

The Turkic tribe where Lao Ger is located is called the Hunshui tribe. Because they have lived on the Hunhe River for generations, they used to be the most prosperous tribe, and even had tens of thousands of people. However, after so many wars, there are only a few hundred old and weak women left.

In fact, last year, there were still thousands of people in the Muddy Waters Department and five or six hundred young men. However, they did not expect that the Tang army came to attack. They were too close to the Tang Dynasty. First, they encountered the massacre of the Tang army. Most of the tribes of thousands were slaughtered, and only such a few people were left hidden in this valley. They finally survived.

Thinking of the scene where the Tang army came last year, Lao Gele couldn't help but shudder. In his opinion, the black-armored Tang soldiers were simply devils in hell. They rushed into the tribe and started killing people and robbing sheep without saying a word. No matter how they beg for mercy, it was useless. Fortunately, they finally survived. As long as the tribe's roots were still there, there would always be a day of making a comeback in the future.

"Dad, please go and discuss matters!" Lao Gerle thought about the matter and came to his tent. Before he could even wait, he saw a seven or eight-year-old guy dragging his nose to him. This child was Lao Gerle's youngest son and his only alive son. As for other adult sons, he had long died under the butcher knife of Tang Jun.

"Okay, these are a few voles I dug up. Go and clean up and cook some broth!" Lao Ger agreed when he heard his son's words, and then took a cloth bag from his back and threw it to his son. When they escaped last year, they only brought a small amount of livestock. Moreover, these livestock were the lifeblood of the tribe, and they had to rely on them to reproduce and strengthen the herd. However, in this way, there was too little food in the tribe, and the whole tribe was worried about food. He probably asked the head man to go today, which was also a matter of discussing food.

When Lao Ger's son heard the food of a field mouse, he shouted happily, snatched the bag and went to the back of the tent to clean up. Seeing his son's happy look, Lao Ger couldn't help feeling sad. In the past, their Muddy Waters Department was a large tribe, and there were even a few small tribes attached to them. Lao Ger had made a lot of contributions before, and he was half a nobleman. His family had never been worried about food, but he didn't expect that even a few field mice could make his son so happy now.

Thinking of the above, Lao Gel couldn't help but sigh again, and then turned his head to the tent where the head man lived. When he entered the tent, he saw the head man sitting cross-legged on it, and there were several important figures from the tribe around. Lao Gel greeted them and then sat down.

"Okay, Lao Gel is here too. Let's discuss the affairs in the tribe. Now there is no food in the tribe, and there are only a few cattle and sheep left. If this continues, people will really starve to death. What do you think?" The head man saw Lao Gel come in and spoke in a deep voice, but there was a sense of powerlessness and fatigue in his voice. He had tried his best to do anything for the tribe, and now he was almost unable to hold on.

"The head man, there is no food, so let's go and rob. Didn't it be done before?" As soon as the head man finished speaking, a young Turkic man sitting on the left head immediately jumped up and shouted. The young Turkic man was named Yonggu. He was one of the surviving young and strong people in the tribe and the son of the head man. He was not only tall, but also very brave. He was known as the number one warrior in the tribe. Thanks to his desperate protection, they survived the Tang army's pursuit.

"Ratch? What should we use to rob? There are less than a hundred young and strong men in the tribe now. Can they rob others? Moreover, last year, the Tang army burned, killed and looted the grassland, and the surviving tribes were probably poor. Even if we rob, we probably won't be able to rob anything." As soon as Yonggu finished speaking, an elder scolded him.

"What do you think of? Are you just staying here and waiting to die?" Yonggu shouted angrily when he heard the old man's words. He was tall and strong, so he naturally ate a lot. However, this situation in the tribe made him not have enough food for a long time. Now he is very thin. If he continues to be so hungry, he is worried that he will not even have the strength to hold the knife.

"Or... let's kill some more sheep?" At this moment, another man whispered.

"Shut up, there are only a few sheep left in the tribe. If we continue to kill, what will we eat in the future?" As soon as the other party's proposal was spoken, the leader immediately scolded him angrily.

"But if we don't eat sheep, we may have to starve to death now. At that time, the cattle and sheep will be cheaper," someone retorted. The head man has a high prestige in the tribe. Usually, no one dares to object when he speaks, but now the tribe is facing such a big crisis, the prestige of the head man can no longer suppress the opposition in the tribe.

Hearing the above, the tent immediately fell into a silence. Even the head man didn't know how to refute the other party's words. Indeed, their tribe was facing a moment of life and death. If the remaining cattle and sheep were eaten, the tribe's roots would be broken. If they didn't eat them, they would probably starve to death. It seemed that no matter which road they chose, they would be dead.

Lao Ger had been sitting there silently, not in a hurry to express his opinion. Now that he saw that everyone was not talking, he finally spoke slowly: "If it really doesn't work, we have only one way to go."

"Laogele, what can you say quickly!" The head man's eyes lit up when he heard Laogele's words, and he spoke anxiously. The others were also shocked at this time, and then looked eager to Laogele with a look of eagerness. Although Laogele's legs and feet were not good, his mind was very good. He was a famous wise man in the tribe. Maybe he had a way to help the tribe overcome this difficulty.

"It's not a good idea. Now we have no one, no food, no food, and the only way to survive is to find a larger tribe to rely on. I heard that the Shifeng tribe in the east was not attacked by the Tang army. There was enough food in the tribe, and there were many women and children in our tribe. If we asked them to rely on them and offer a group of women, they might agree." Lao Ger said slowly at this time.

"What? Let's rely on that traitor, this is impossible!" As soon as Lao Gel finished speaking, Yonggu jumped up and opposed. Shifeng's tribe was not a Turkic person, and he could only rely on Turkic people in the past. However, when the Tang army attacked the Turkic army last year, Shifeng criticized a tribe that surrendered to the Tang Dynasty and helped the Tang army attack the Turkic army. Yonggu, who was the Turkic person, naturally hated them to the core, let alone to rely on the other party.

"For our tribe, the most important thing is to survive. If we can rely on the Shifeng tribe, even if we are their shepherd slave, we can at least survive. Apart from this method, I can't think of any other way to survive." Lao Gerl glared at Yonggu and said, "He is old and has long been clear about it. As long as he can make the tribe survive, he is willing to trade with the devil, let alone the Shifeng tribe.

"It is also a way to rely on the Shifeng tribe. However, the Shifeng tribe has surrendered to the Tang Dynasty long ago. I am worried that even if we want to rely on each other, I am afraid that others will not be willing to accept us?" At this moment, another old Turkic man spoke.

"That's not necessarily the case. The Shifeng tribe has great ambitions. The fall of our Turks is a good time for the Shifeng tribe to expand. I heard that there are already tribes attached to their names, so we can also try it." Lao Gerle insisted on his opinion at this time.

Faced with Lao Ger's proposal, the head man above showed a contemplative expression. The bottom was also arguing about this matter. After a long time, it was not possible to discuss it. In the end, the head man did not make a decision. He simply asked everyone to step down and think about it carefully and discuss it tomorrow.

When Lao Gerle returned home, the women at home had cooked field mouse soup. There were many people in his family. In addition to him and his son, there were many women. After all, most of the men in the tribe died in battle, and the remaining women could only be distributed to the remaining men. However, so many people had to support him, Lao Gerle was unable to fill his stomach, and a few field mice could not fill his stomach. Lao Gerle drank a bowl of broth and went to bed.
Chapter completed!