Warlord: King of All Clans

The ancestral surnames of the North, such as Odaro, Lavade, and Basaka, are just like the Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li surnames in China. Over the hundreds of years, they have spread out and formed countless settlements.

Several hundred years ago, the Basaka people were unwilling to become part of the empire. After being defeated in the war, they hid in the forest of the Wolf-Driving Plain and became savages.

However, many branches migrated out again in the following hundreds of years, became naturalized citizens, and became citizens of the empire.

People in the south call themselves Basakal, and people in the north call themselves Basarov, both meaning "descendants of Basakal".

So when Leo saw the name, he associated it with the Basaka people.

Among the wild hunters in the river bend, there are several people with similar names. Although the pronunciation is slightly different, it is also Basarov when spelled in the imperial language.

Leo was a little curious, "Do the Basaka people also believe in the Holy Light?"

The Church of Holy Light has been developing in the North for hundreds of years, but it is only relatively popular on the south bank of the Anzeno River, and it is still a pan-belief.

There are very few people who believe in the Holy Light in the north, and it is difficult to see the Holy Light Church, especially in the countryside.

On the banks of the Arctic Ice River where Leo was, even the Holy Light had never been heard of.

Basarov waved his hands quickly, "I don't believe it! I don't believe it!"

A burly man over 1.9 meters tall tried hard to shrink his body to appear harmless.

At the same time, he put on a shameless face and showed a smiling face to a young junior.

This kind of expression and action often appears on Uliyan.

Therefore, Leo knew very well that such a person would do anything for his people.

If you hurt his people, he will do everything he can to kill you.

But as long as you give his people a chance to survive, he will worship you as an ancestor.

Most of the refugee leaders Leo had seen looked like this.

Most of them have served in the military, killed people, and seen the world. They have good martial arts skills, good brains, and very flexible moral bottom lines.

Without these foundations, I wouldn’t have been able to lead a hundred people to survive until now.

Leo couldn't help but laugh and said, "In my place, as long as it doesn't conflict with the decrees issued by the lord, every citizen has the freedom of belief."

"I allow you to believe in any doctrine, but you are not allowed to preach in public or force others to believe in religion."

"Yes, yes!" Basarov was very excited and nodded repeatedly, "Merciful sir, may the holy light protect you!"

As a believer in the Holy Light, what he feared most was that the lord would oppose the Holy Light faith and thus develop a dislike for him and his people.

"You should settle down here first and take good care of your people. When I have some free time, I will take you back to the Hewan Territory. There are also people of your tribe there."

Leo stood up to see the guests off, "Dinner time is almost here, get ready to eat, I have asked someone to prepare your food."

Basarov was a little skeptical. How could he get a meal without working?

But he was also a smart man. He didn't say much, but left the military tent with many thanks.

Before dusk fell, the cook in charge of cooking on the construction site pulled a cart of food to the gathering place of the refugees' tents.

He climbed onto the truck, holding up an iron spoon and yelling, "Line up! Line up! Get ready to eat!"

When the refugees saw the cart full of food, they rushed over like hungry wild dogs. Some of the young and strong refugees had rolled up their sleeves and entered combat mode.

Although more than half of them were of the same clan, and the rest of the vassals had lived and died together, when it came to food, their bestiality was still exposed, and they were not at all gentle, kind, respectful, or courteous.

Unexpectedly, they were blocked by fully armed infantry.

Under the cold swords and crossbows, the refugees huddled together in fear.

The cook was used to it and continued to shout, "Line up! Line up! Line up! You'll have food to eat!"

Some smart refugees have already started queuing, but more than half of them are still standing there in a daze, as if they can't understand what people are saying.

Basarov hurried forward and directed the tribesmen to form a long queue.

Sure enough, after they lined up, the infantrymen maintaining order made way for them, allowing only one person to pass at a time.

While distributing food, the cook continued to shout.

"Line up, each person can only receive one portion of food, no one can take food on behalf of others, and no one can fight for other people's food!"

The refugees who received food were directed to eat in another area, and had to keep their distance and not get close to start disputes.

According to the cook's distribution, each adult male among the refugees received a piece of wheat cake and a bowl of meat soup.

The elderly, the weak, women and children each received half a wheat cake and a bowl of meat soup.

During the meal, the cook continued to explain the rules of the camp as the refugees wolfed down their food.

If you can’t finish the food, you can throw it into the slop bucket, but you can’t share it with others.

Even those who are not full have to endure it and are not allowed to pick up even a piece of crumbs dropped by others.

Even the injured and sick refugees were carried by their companions and ate their food under the watchful eyes of the cook before leaving.

These rules are the experience accumulated by the River Bay Refugee Camp. Of course, they are not the optimal solution, but they are effective.

If the rules are not strictly enforced, the powerful group will always find a way to get food from the weaker group.

The vulnerable groups will always "voluntarily" give up food.

Looking at the wheat cakes as big as faces and the broth with oil floating in it - there was even a piece of meat in it, the refugees were a little bit unbelieving until they ate it.

Salt was actually added to the wheat cakes and broth!

Each person didn't get much food, and could only eat until they were 70% full.

Some of the strong men with big bellies could even eat three more wheat cakes, but the cook had already left with the remaining food.

Another day passed, and the newly arrived refugees were assigned some simple collective labor and had two more meals before Leo met Basarov again.

"My Lord, what do you want from me?"

This time, the respect on Basarov's face was replaced by true feelings, no longer the flattering look that could make the kobolds sneeze.

Three meals were more effective than any words and made the refugee leader surrender sincerely.

As long as he is not asked to take his people to die, it would be fine even if he were to become a bandit.

He was even prepared to be drafted into the army and become cannon fodder.

"I want you to take people to the western outpost to continue recruiting workers, starting with people you are familiar with and trust."

The progress of recruiting refugees by Hewan Laborers was slow and the results were minimal.

Every day only a few refugees are willing to try their luck, while those who stick together simply don't believe that such a good thing will happen.

In particular, some Hewan laborers who walked into the refugee camp with a savior mentality and looked arrogant were almost hostile to the new refugees.

The other party thought they were slave traders who wanted to take slaves for free.

If they hadn't been outnumbered and hadn't run away immediately when they saw the situation was not going well, these Hewan laborers with problematic mentality might have been surrounded and beaten to death.

The returning laborers kept complaining that the refugees had no moral principles and no manners, and their words and actions revealed their rejection of outsiders.

Leo found it outrageous. These workers were refugees just like the other side two months ago. They should have been helping each other, so how come they suddenly developed class confrontation?

Leo simply changed his strategy, bringing back the refugees from the river bay to participate in the construction, and re-sending the newly joined refugees such as Basalov to recruit.

They must have acquaintances outside who will listen to what they say to some extent.

Just think of it as a pyramid scheme. It is definitely easier to target people you know.