Chapter 1175: Who is the Hero?

The Ying clan executed their task brilliantly, and Yao State was very satisfied. True to its word, Yao State not only waived the Ying clan's debt but also ceased to interfere with their external horse sales.

Upon receiving this good news, jubilation spread throughout the Ying clan, and the bonfires in Red Valley burned for three days.

Axun, however, found no joy in it.

He was thinking more than ever, and his mood grew increasingly heavy.

Mengmeng, now his wife, noticed his deep worry. "What are you worried about?" she asked.

"The price," Axun said, gazing at the bonfires that cast a red glow across half the sky. "There's a price for doing this. I fear my father cannot bear it, and neither can our clan."

"You worry too much," Mengmeng said, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Are you still feeling uneasy about the Yao State's task? Axun, you truly are a gentle person."

Axun smiled, his palm gently pressed against her lower belly. "You always manage to turn my weaknesses into strengths, unlike Father, who directly calls me soft and weak."

"Although I deeply respect the chieftain, I still want to say that being brave and fierce, or ready to fight and kill, doesn't make one a true hero!"

Axun teased his wife, "Then tell me, what makes a hero?"

Mengmeng thought for a long time before replying, "One who can lead everyone forward, and who can enable their clan members to live good lives – that is a hero."

"Isn't Father that?"

"I don't know," Mengmeng said, pursing her lips. Pointing ahead, she added, "Let's not talk about this anymore! Everyone hasn't been this happy in a long time; let's go join them."

"They don't know anything," Axun said quietly. "No one taught them right from wrong, good from bad, and no one taught me either. But I always feel like we've done something wrong."

Horribly wrong!

"At least the chieftain was right about one thing," his wife said, taking his hand. "As long as we are strong, we are not wrong. Come on, stop cooping yourself up indoors!"

Axun's worries soon proved true, and the Ying people's joy did not last long.

While Yao State no longer restricted their horse sales, it also stopped buying horses from them. Other parts of the Glimmering Gold Plain boasted excellent pastures and superb steeds, so people were not obliged to buy specifically from the Ying clan.

The original annual order for nine hundred steeds vanished just like that.

Yao State was teaching them a lesson, making the Ying people understand that breaking free from its patronage and control might not be a blessing.

The chieftain initially didn't take it seriously, thinking, "So what if the order is gone? We can sell to others for a higher price, and the Ying clan can earn even more."

But he soon discovered there were no "others" to sell to.

News of the Ying clan's brutal killing of the opinion leader spread rapidly across the Glimmering Gold Plain. Others had originally viewed the Ying clan with indifference or contempt, but now, that gaze had turned into hatred.

This was a bad sign. All surrounding powers understood that the Ying clan had positioned itself as an adversary.

No faction was willing to do business with the Ying clan. Common folk, upon seeing them, would first spit and curse them as bad luck.

Their horses could no longer be sold.

Even then, the chieftain remained unconcerned. "What does it matter if the neighbors don't buy?" he thought. "We can just sell farther away. Giant Deer Port has a high volume of trade, and people regularly seek to buy horses there; what is there to fear?"

However, the biggest trouble soon arrived:

The Ying clan could not buy grain.

Their territory was more suitable for horse breeding, so they had only cultivated a small amount of farmland; most of their grain had to be imported. Previously, they bought grain from Yao State and Luodian State, but from now on, these states refused to sell!

The reasons were unanimously the same: they claimed to be facing a famine this year, with reduced domestic grain output, not enough to supply their own people. How could there be surplus grain to sell to the Ying clan?

The Ying people said, "Fine, if you won't sell, we'll buy from others."

The problem was, there were no others.

Other surrounding powers were unwilling to buy horses from the Ying clan or sell grain to them.

Food is vital for survival; a day without it makes one feel famished. Furthermore, to raise steeds well, they needed to eat fodder like beans and oats, among other grains.

Therefore, the Ying people had to find a way to feed both their people and their horses. If they truly wanted to buy grain, certain channels were still available, but the prices were exorbitant and changed daily.

Axun knew perfectly well who was manipulating the grain prices.

With food so expensive, how many days could the Ying people's money last? Before long, they would have to go to Yao State again to borrow money and grain.

The debt they had so painstakingly shaken off, they would soon have to shoulder again.

Besides the Ying clan's even worse reputation and their increased ostracism by other states, how was this different from before?

They seemed to have fallen back into a vicious cycle.

Yao State, without shedding a single drop of blood, had manipulated them completely and forced them back onto their old path.

Axun thought more and more. The words spoken by the opinion leader, whom his father had killed, seemed to be coming true one by one.

Killing him did not bring a better life to the Ying clan.

That afternoon, several old horses were slaughtered within the clan.

While alive, they consumed fodder; dead, they could feed people.

The mournful neighs of the horses echoed, and the women of the clan could not help but weep.

These horses were dear to them, but horses could not compete with humans for grain; they had no choice but to dispose of them.

If they couldn't get more grain, more and more horses would have to be slaughtered.

The clan members could only plead with the chieftain to quickly find a solution, and he, true to expectations, quickly devised a countermeasure:

Attack the Tong clan.

The Tong clan was the Ying people's neighbor, living across the river, but their relationship was very poor, with continuous conflicts over a long time. The last time, they had even joined forces with other tribes to launch a surprise attack on the Ying people.

In that battle, the Ying people lost over thirty lives, and over three hundred sheep and horses were stolen. Many warriors still bore scars from that time.

Most importantly, the Tong clan had recently acquired a large batch of grain.

It offered both revenge and a solution to their hunger, so almost no one in the Ying clan opposed it.

Axun also had no reason to object. Tribes around Red Valley were always fighting; could he really stop everyone from seeking revenge?

But deep down, he knew something was wrong, increasingly wrong.

They acted immediately. That night happened to be dark and windy; the Ying people quietly crossed the river with their weapons, and, led by the chieftain, caught their opponents by surprise!

In that battle, they achieved a great victory.

They had grain, and they had money; the food and drink for both people and horses were temporarily secured.

Their long-standing troublesome neighbors could no longer oppose them.

This was a resourceful solution in desperate times. With their minds opened and horizons broadened, problems were easily resolved.

Yet, at the celebratory feast with roaring bonfires, the chieftain raised his wine cup and proposed a new objective:

Attack the Purple Mud clan!

Everyone had been drinking, their faces flushed and spirits high, but upon hearing these words, they all exchanged bewildered glances.

The atmosphere instantly turned somber.

"What?"

The Purple Mud clan could also be considered neighbors of the Ying people, separated from them by Jing Mountain.

Although only one mountain separated them, the Ying people's territory was suitable for horse breeding, while the Purple Mud people's territory comprised fertile black soil, most suitable for farming. Therefore, Purple Mud had always been the great granary of the central and western Glimmering Gold Plain, with its grain output being of superior quality and quantity, capable of supplying many surrounding regions.