Zu Siming stepped on the snow that covered his calves.

He had arrived near the camp, which was a flat land deep in the mountains and old forests, and the surrounding trees had been cut down.

He saw people in poor health or with minor injuries in the camp, and they were responsible for boiling water and cooking for everyone.

They shoveled the clean snow with wooden shovels and boiled it in a large pot, turning it into water.

This boiled water is the water they usually use for cooking and drinking.

When Zu Siming came to the camp, he first picked up a pot of water and drank it in a few sips.

“It’s still boiled water in the camp, drink it happily.

Now it’s ice and snow, the rivers have frozen, and there is no living water to be found, so we can only gnaw on the snow to quench our thirst.”

As soon as he finished drinking the water, Song Xuewen brought over a basket of steamed buns.

"Master, these are pork buns.

We slaughtered the sick pigs directly and made them into big meat buns to improve the food for our brothers.

We entrusted the Chamber of Commerce to purchase a batch of breeding pigs from the State of Zhao, and planned to let the injured brother lead the group of captive natives to set up a pig farm.

Sooner or later, all the game in the woods will be gone, so the thorny problem of food must be solved in advance."

The issue that Song Xuewen is most concerned about is the placement of his injured brother.

The injured brother must be accommodated in order to maintain the stability of the team.

Otherwise, people's hearts will be scattered, and this team will be difficult to lead.

Zu Siming nodded and said: "You did a good job in making arrangements for the injured brother.

We cannot let these injured brothers feel cold.

The weapons of the indigenous tribes are too shabby, and we cannot afford to be careless.

If you are hit by a poisoned blow dart, it will be fatal."

Song Xuewen suggested: "Master, I think we should change the strategy of no armor.

The enemies of the empire are basically equipped with heavy artillery and large-caliber muskets.

These firearms have powerful armor-breaking capabilities, and the armor equipped by the army is of no use at all.

But the opponents we face are indigenous tribes.

They also use cold weapons such as swords, spears and arrows, and the protective performance of their armor is very good."

After Zu Siming heard the suggestion, he finished swallowing the meat buns in his mouth, shook his head and said, "Don't think about it, you can't buy it.

The empire and surrounding vassal states had lax control over muskets.

As long as you have the right reason, it's easy to buy a musket.

But they have very strict management of body armor and armor, which can protect against muskets and cold weapons.

I have already heard from the steward of the Chamber of Commerce that armor and other protective equipment are completely unavailable in the surrounding vassal countries.

Buying armor in countries such as Cao State is still a very serious crime and no one is willing to take the risk.

We can only rely on ourselves for armor. I have entrusted the Chamber of Commerce to hire craftsmen at high prices.

Let’s start with the leather goods and work out the armor bit by bit.”

Song Wenxue didn't understand this situation. He asked in surprise: "I heard that the situation in Xiangguo is chaotic. Could it be that even Xiangguo no longer makes armor?"

When Zu Siming heard this question, he couldn't help laughing.

"It is precisely because the Xiang Kingdom is in chaos that they do not need to make armor and other protective equipment.

The mutually hostile forces in the Xiang Kingdom all have firearms, so there is no need to produce armor.

This armor has extremely poor protection against firearms and is also very bulky.

Only countries that have fought against indigenous tribes on a large scale have retained the production capacity for a large amount of armor. Among them, the leather armor and iron armor of Zhao State have the most perfect protective capabilities."

Song Xuewen was good at accounting and logistics, but he didn't know much about the situation in the major vassal states.

He really didn't know that there were so many situations in the field of armor alone.

Song Xuewen saw the chief's confidant standing guard outside the tent.

He lowered his voice and asked quietly: "Master, you have just returned from visiting an indigenous tribe.

We really want to attack the indigenous tribes in the middle of winter.

We previously attacked a small indigenous tribe of one to two hundred people, but already had more than three hundred indigenous prisoners.

This large tribe has thousands of young and strong warriors, and these are the people we have seen. The actual situation may be several times more than our pioneer group, and the risk is too great."

Zu Siming let out a long sigh, placed his chopsticks heavily on the table, leaned his back on the war chair, tilted his head back, and looked at the roof of the tent.

"I know that it is very difficult for brothers to attack the indigenous tribes in this severe cold weather.

But there are reasons why we have to fight.

If we want to usher in great development in the spring, we must invest a lot of money.

Unless a gold mine is discovered, it is impossible to accumulate enough funds just by seizing the property of indigenous tribes.

What happens next spring is extremely important and will determine whether we are a dragon or a worm.

The only option is to get a loan from the Chamber of Commerce.

This group of businessmen in the Chamber of Commerce are all extremely shrewd people.

You must show enough value to borrow money from them.

The amount of money that a chamber of commerce can borrow basically has a fixed amount.

If we choose to make more efforts in the spring, it will be too late and we will miss this opportunity."

When Song Xuewen heard the headmaster say this, he had felt that the headmaster was very anxious before, as if there was someone behind him pushing him to do something.

He didn't expect that they were just thinking about how to survive this winter?

The boss has already considered the situation in the spring next year.

Song Xuewen immediately expressed his attitude and said: "The master has really long-term considerations. I will always support the master and clear up the doubts of the brothers who still have doubts."

Zu Siming was very happy to see Song Xuewen's statement.

Song Xuewen's status in the pioneering group was second only to him.

If the two of them communicate well, the matter will be settled.

The attitude of the core caravan brothers is unwavering. The newly joined brothers are all small groups and cannot form a joint force. His orders will be thoroughly implemented.

Zu Siming then walked out of his tent carrying a plate of pork buns and went to the bonfire outside.

He asked people to call all the idle brothers in the camp to the campfire.

Zu Siming looked at the brothers who came out. They were wearing big cotton-padded jackets and had a touch of oil on their mouths.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! He was holding the meat buns in the cold wind. The buns were steaming a lot, and the fragrance wafted around.

"Brothers, are the meat buns delicious?"

"tasty!"

"Brothers, do you want to eat meat buns every day from now on?"

"I think about it, I think about it so much."

Zu Siming raised his right bun with his right hand and said loudly: "Brothers, as long as we capture the indigenous tribes in front.

I promise everyone that there will be enough meat buns from now on, so you can eat as many as you want."

After Zu Siming said this, a massive round of applause immediately broke out around the campfire.

Song Xuewen took advantage of this opportunity and said loudly: "We all can see the reputation of the boss. When has he ever broken his promise?"

When the old brothers of the caravan saw that the first master and the second master had reached an agreement, they all spoke out to support the first master.

Others in the pioneering team saw this situation.

Some people feel that at this time, they should take it easy like other pioneering groups, and they dare not make suggestions at all now.

Zu Siming was also afraid that things would change if things were too late. He ordered that tomorrow morning, a large force would attack the largest indigenous tribe near their camp.

Early the next morning, Zu Siming personally led a team of more than 800 people to set off.

He had personally visited the site before, leaving hidden sentries along the way to observe the movements of the indigenous tribes.

The weather was too cold, and the indigenous tribes had no habit of guarding against enemies.

They were already close to the native tribe's nest and had not yet been discovered.

Zu Siming ordered: "Check the ammunition and crossbow arrows, and each team will attack the indigenous tribes in batches according to the order.

Shi Dashan, you first lead people to pretend to attack the indigenous tribes, and lure these stupid indigenous people into our ambush circle."

Zu Siming's tactics were very simple. He set up an ambush in a ravine not far from the indigenous tribes.
To be continued...