356 Hule Division

"Bow!"

In front of the altar, Fang Yuan led Wei and the other slaves to pray.

The deities they prayed to were faceless and there was no need for idols or statues.

Fang Yuan's actions were systematic and well rehearsed, but his mind was going wild.

"Huff!"

A flash of fire flew up into the skies, and there was a gentle breeze.

This was the precise time when the afternoon light gave way to dusk. Just as the ceremony ended, Fang Yuan squinted towards the south and was slightly moved.

'It seems like something has changed!"

"Yuan, look!"

Wei tugged at his wrist and shook it.

"The sky…"

"Hmm?"

Fang Yuan raised his head and saw a clump of red clouds. They looked like a fantasy and were beautiful. It seemed as though they were about to fall.

"The heavens have acknowledged our offerings!"

The master of ceremonies' face was flushed, and he roared.

"This is our tribe's honour!"

"Many thanks to the heavens and earth!"

Everyone bowed once more, especially the leaders and warriors from the other tribes. Their faces of disbelief showed that they had also been awed by the sight.

"No way!"

Seeing the amazement and joy in their eyes, Fang Yuan was speechless.

'It was all supposed to be an act...how did it become real? No! Impossible. If I had ten thousand people and led them in praying to the heavens and earth, it might have been more believable. But this is child's play, how could it be real?"

"Unless, there are other forces at work...a great shift in the south?"

Fang Yuan rubbed his chin, and pointed at the master of ceremonies.

"This is a sign from the heavens. I order you to divine the fortunes!"

"Yes my lord!"

The old man dropped his exaggerated gestures and conducted the proceedings with a greater degree of seriousness. He threw some tortoise shells into the fire and began to chant.

The heaven was circular and the earth was square. The hump of the tortoise shell represented the skies, and its flat abdomen represented the land. Thus, it was a sacred object that could connect heaven and earth, and was used for divination. 

When the fire was down to its last embers, the master of ceremonies picked out the tortoise shell and read the patterns on it.

"My lord, lord of the tribes!"

The old man prostrated himself before Fang Yuan.

"According to the heavens, there will be a calamity in the south! We, on the other hand, will prosper!"

'Shit!'

Fang Yuan widened his eyes.

"Great! You have become the official master of ceremonies?"

"Yes, my great lord!"

The old man remained on the floor, his forehead to the ground. His eyes were full of tears.

"While I prayed to the heavens and earth, I felt an overwhelming radiance emanating from above, and acquired the powers of our forefathers...the all-knowing ones told me that you are our destined leader, and will lead us towards a golden age!"

"Yuan!"

"Yuan!"

"Yuan!"

All the slaves and warriors which even included the White Mountain, Black Water and Xuan Du tribesmen were cheering.

Amidst these developments, the leaders of the three tribes had terrible looks on their faces. But they managed to squeeze out smiles.

"Great Leader Yuan, we will pledge our allegiance to you. The three hundred warriors that you required will be sent to you shortly!"

"Alright!"

Fang Yuan agreed but he was slightly troubled.

'What does this mean? A pretender that became legitimate?'

…...

After the successful ritual, the people were once again in awe of the heavens, and this would lead Fang Yuan's reign to stability.

The different tribes sent three hundred men each as promised on the second day. From this pool, one thousand men were chosen to undergo military training.

The impending military threat pressured everyone to work hard, and barbarians came from all over to join in the war effort. Thus, Fang Mountain became a hive of activity.

Fang Yuan only played a supervisory role. Micromanaging was not his style. He tasked the young lady Wei to run the show.

After all, running this little fief was but a game to him. It did not provide him with much real power.　

As time passed, news from the south came in a never-ending stream.

"The Jiuli Division has raised an army of fifty thousand with Xing at its fore. They destroyed the Zhuri Division in 3 days?"

"The Xia borders are not stable. The Kuayi Division to the west, Sangjie Division to the east, and the Hule Division to the north have all revolted?"

"The demonic tribes have all risen, and are definitely major threats. However, are they only targeting the Xia?"

…...

Fang Yuan picked some blueberries and put them into his mouth. When he bit down, he tasted both sweet and sour. It was a delicious mixture of pulp and juice.

"Everything is going wrong!"

If the other territories had to deal with these external troubles, in addition to their internal conflicts, they would most certainly be torn apart.

But to Xia, it was but a tiny problem, as long as the Hidden Dragon Guards stayed out of it.

"Yuan! You're still in the mood to eat!"

Wei stomped in.

"As one of the Xia lords, you will definitely be summoned when war breaks out!"

"Yeah!"

Fang Yuan picked up a string of red berries.

"How's the training going along for our soldiers? Also...is the Greek fire ready?"

"Yes sir, everything is going according to your plan. One section will consist of five men. There will be a five-troop commander and ten-troop commander, who will be nominated by the soldiers. They will report to their ten hundred-troop commanders, who will in turn answer to us directly, all with different responsibilities…...and the Greek fire has already been tested. It can burn on water and it is extremely difficult to put it out. We need to train a team of one hundred to specialise in utilising this weapon!"

It was apparent that Wei was looking forward to trying it out.

"My lord! The Xia envoy is here!"

An attendant led the envoy in. The envoy was dressed in black, and appeared to be quite agitated. As soon as he saw Fang Yuan, he presented the bone tablet in his hand to him. Fang Yuan read it.

"Ah...so King Xi has ordered me to mobilise the troops and rendezvous with the northern army. We must defeat the Hule Division and send reinforcements to Yang City! Of course...I will be the commander-in-chief!"

In truth, the message included one strand of spiritual will from the dream masters, who had given him more information and missions.

"Although the one thousand soldiers we have are fresh out of training, we have no time left. Order them to form up, and prepare to march off!"

Wei raised his hands and shouted.

"Mmm, I'll go too! Me too!"

"Alright, you shall go, but only as far as the Hule Division. Don't go to Yang City!"

Fang Yuan nodded his head and made his decision.

…...

North of Xia.

The land was vast and flat for as far as the eye could see.

On the great plains, a tribe of about a hundred thousand was moving south.

"We, the Hule Division, were once an ally of the Xia. And yet after peace had returned to the Nine Regions, we were only given the poor lands of the northern plains for our trouble!"

"Crops cannot be cultivated here, and many of us die every winter from the cold! This is all the fault of the Xia!"

"That's right, this is why we are moving to the south, to take everything from them!"

…...

"Hehe, Great Leader Mu. Look, your people are facing the south!"

At the front of the herd, a man in black robes gave a deep laugh. His eyes stood out from his cowl like two greenish flames.

"Don't worry. Since we, the Hule Division, have agreed to the Alliance, we would not renege on our promise!"

Mu, the leader of the Hule Division, looked to be in his forties. His sideburns were slightly grey, but his complexion was a healthy pink.

"Rest assured Leader Mu. If you settle your part of the deal, the lands to the north of Yang City will all be yours!"

The man in black robes was overjoyed.

Immediately after, Mu waved his hand and rushed forward on his steed. Another steed caught up with his, with an old man mounted on it.

"Mu...I've never doubted your decisions. But moving the whole division to the south and challenging the Xia people...it's too risky!"

"Our shaman has consulted the heavens and received blessings…what is there to worry about?"

Having said that, Mu smiled wolfishly.

"I know, whether it is the Jiuli, Xia, Sangjie or other tribes, they are all our enemies...hehe...they can give us all the lands north of Yang City, but we don't need that! We, the Hule people, were raised on horseback. The grasslands are ours!"

As an ambitious leader, he was aware of the great cultural disparity, and had no intent to submit to Xia rule. All he wanted was to maintain the status quo, to protect something very precious.

"Then why are we still moving south?"

The old man did not understand.

"How do the hunters of the grasslands hunt? They move forward relentlessly and force their prey to spend all of their energy on surviving. And when that happens, they will sweep up their prey effortlessly. This is our strategy!"

Mu bit off the cover of the leather pouch in his hand and gulped down the wine.

"We have to pillage all we can during our time in the south so that we can make it through winter on the grasslands. If we do succeed in weakening Xia this time, then we will harass them every year. One day, I want the King of Xia to acknowledge my status as Lord of the plains!"

There was something else too, but he kept it in his heart.

Once the Hule had consolidated its power, and when the Xia had fallen into a war on multiple fronts, they would be able to build a nation. The Hule might even assimilate the culture of the central plains and lord over them!"

Although it might take a long time for Mu to achieve his dreams, he had the determination of the wolf!

"Alright!"

The old man sighed.

"I thought you had been taken in by that envoy, but it seems like you are still our greatest leader! Don't worry, your generals and the shaman are behind you!"

"Excellent!"

Mu was overcome with happiness.

"I, Mu, hereby vow that I will lead our people towards a brighter future!"

Or even become the Lord of the Nine Regions!"

Mu steeled himself.