Chapter 44

Just a moment ago, he was dreaming of the prosperity that his tribe was about to welcome, but in the blink of an eye, not only had his dream been shattered, but his child's head had been cut off, and most of the tribe's young and strong men had been lost! Dianliang almost fainted from the shock.

After slaughtering a few more who didn't know when to quit, these Qiang people finally realized they were now meat on the Han people's chopping block. Accustomed to submitting to the strong, they hurriedly and eagerly invited the Han delegation to drink and eat meat! Even though their loved ones had already died, they could only hide their hatred in their hearts, hoping that these people would spare them after enjoying themselves.

Being in the enemy's camp, one couldn't drink too much alcohol, but one could eat as much meat as they wanted! Clenching the golden-brown roasted mutton, Li You continued to ponder how to cross the Yellow River and continue westward.

Just now, he had searched the Qiang tribe but found no boats, nor any thick logs that could be used to make a raft! As for axes, forget it! Some of the Qiang warriors who came to raid—oh, no, to die—were still using wooden bows and bone arrows. Any metal weapons were precious assets of the tribe, and having a few curved swords was already quite good. There was no extra copper or iron to make axes.

They were truly poor enough! Li You surveyed all the property of this tribe: low tents made of thin wood and wool felt, over a hundred elderly, weak, and women, most of the young and strong men had just been killed! There were also several herds of cattle and horses, oh, and some sheep. Without spices, the taste was really not good!

Hmm? Sheep? Hearing the bleating from outside the tent, Li You put down the roasted mutton and quickly walked out of the tent, following the sound. He saw that the sheep pen was densely packed with hundreds of sheep!

"Sir! Is the roasted mutton finished? I'll get them to roast more!" The bodyguard who followed him out burped and asked; since they left the checkpoint, they hadn't eaten so well for a long time.

"Ha! I finally thought of a way to cross the river!" Li You punched the wooden fence of the sheep pen and loudly ordered, "Gather all the Qiang people, I have something to command them to do!"

"Yes!" The bodyguard took the order and soon the remaining two hundred people of the tribe were brought to his presence. These people cowered on the ground in fear, afraid that these Han people would kill them all after eating and drinking their fill.

"Father Tangyi, ask them who can slaughter sheep and skin them. If they are willing to help us cross the river, I will spare their lives! Otherwise, the heads of those people will be their example!" After Li You finished speaking, Father Tangyi repeated it in a language they could understand.

Hearing this, these people cautiously raised their heads to look at Li You, completely unable to understand the relationship between slaughtering sheep and crossing the river! After a while, an old man with white hair tentatively asked, "May I ask, noble sir, how do you want to slaughter the sheep? Perhaps the lowly one can serve you in some way!"

"Oh? You can slaughter sheep and skin them?" Li You's eyes lit up, and he gestured for his subordinates to bring the old man to his side. He pulled a sheep from the pen and showed him, pointing to the sheep's neck and limbs, "I want you to cut off the sheep's head and four legs, then skin it completely! Note, when skinning, do not open the belly, only remove the bones and organs from the neck and four legs! If you can do this, I will spare you and your family!"

The old Qiang man was taken aback. He had been slaughtering sheep and cattle for the tribe since he was young, but he had never encountered such a request. However, the desire to live made him grit his teeth and agree, "The lowly one has never skinned sheep this way, but I can try!"

"Give him a knife and bring more sheep! Anyone who wants to try can, as long as they can do it, I will spare them and their families!" Li You looked at the young ruffians who followed him, knowing that some of them were also skilled in slaughtering sheep and dogs, "If you are confident, you can also try. If you succeed, I will remember your contribution!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several former butchers from the Han soldiers stepped forward and began to slaughter and skin the sheep according to Li You's requirements, along with the old Qiang man.

"If no one can skin a complete sheep by sunset today, then no one will live!" After waiting for a long time without seeing a second Qiang person step forward, Li You said coldly. The workload was considerable, and relying on just these few people would definitely not be enough to complete the task in five days.

These Qiang people were only afraid of force and not moved by kindness. Upon hearing that Li You was going to slaughter their tribe, some of them panicked and stood up, cautiously taking the sheep-killing knife from the Han soldiers and pondering around the sheep! A few of them gathered together, gesturing on the sheep's body, seemingly discussing where to cut to skin the sheep completely.

"Lord, what are you planning to do?" Chen Qingzhi walked to his side and asked curiously, could these sheepskins help them cross the river?

"Exactly!" Li You pointed to a sheep and said to Chen Qingzhi, "Ziyun, look, if we can skin a complete sheep, tie its limbs and neck tightly, and leave a small hole to blow air into it, the sheepskin will inflate like a bag! If we connect ten or even dozens of these bags, and build a wooden raft on top, tied with small ropes, wouldn't it become a raft that can cross the river?"

What Li You described was the sheepskin raft he had seen during his travels along the Yellow River in the northwest. This tool is simple to make but has a considerable load capacity! Dozens of sheepskin airbags can carry horses across the river! It is a tool that the Han ancestors who lived in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River used for over a thousand years!

The Yellow River in front of them was relatively calm, with not many ice floes! In the absence of large logs to cut, using these sheep to make sheepskin rafts seemed to be their only option.

Chen Qingzhi, who lived in the south and was familiar with boats and water, quickly understood that Li You's method was indeed feasible, and he clapped his hands in approval, "Lord's plan is indeed brilliant! But it's not easy to skin a whole sheep, and shouldn't we order people to cut branches to make the raft now?"

"I believe they will come up with good methods! These people have been slaughtering sheep and skinning them for decades, they must be useful in some way, right?" Li You saw the old Qiang man who stepped forward first quickly moving the small knife on the sheep's body, seemingly close to skinning the whole sheep!

On the other side, the young ruffians who were former butchers also performed well. Although the first sheepskin they skinned had a few tears, Li You felt that if they were given a few more chances, they would definitely succeed!

"As for the branches, we don't need to go through that trouble!" Li You pointed to the Qiang people's tents, "There is plenty of wood there."

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