Chapter 1 Ye Wenxuan's Hunting Team

Ye Wenxuan and his group didn't head directly to the starting point for the hunt. Instead, they took a detour to the wool mill in the south of Benlang Plain. Originally a solitary factory, it had now grown into a sizable town built around the factory. This town, entirely centered on the wool textile industry, hadn't been officially named yet, but it was garrisoned by about two thousand warriors from several tribes and boasted a nearly completed airship mooring station and a newly operational telegraph office. It was quite complete.

Ye Wenxuan wanted to come here because Xue Jian, who was in charge of the town, was a well-known hunting enthusiast with several excellent mastiffs. Ye Wenxuan, who also owned a mastiff, was very interested in this. But when they sought out Xue Jian, it made him dizzy. When the wool mill was first established, Ye Tao had visited many times, and Xue Jian, who was only in charge of certain affairs at the time, knew Guan Huan, Zhe Luo, and others. Xue Jian had never seen the Ye family's children, but it would be strange if he couldn't guess their identities, seeing as Guan Huan and Zhe Luo were protecting them. The Ye children were easy to deal with. He found a technician who had just come to report and hadn't left yet to show Ye Wenji around the factory. Ye Wenxuan was led to Xue Jian's yard to see his four mastiffs and the puppies that were only two or three months old. Ye Wenyun wasn't interested in the mastiffs, but when she heard there was a sheep breeding area next to the factory, her eyes lit up...

While accompanying the eldest son of the Ye family to see the mastiffs, Ye Wenxuan suddenly asked, "Uncle Xue, are you going to the hunt this time?"

Xue Jian said with a bitter smile, "I don't have time. ...When your father sent me here to manage things, I was happy, because I couldn't have become a technician in the workshop. I'm better at dealing with people. But now, I'm so busy that I don't even have time to take these guys out for a run every day. It's good that it's not sheep-shearing season now, so the work is going smoothly. But going to the hunt would take more than a month, even if I rushed, and I can't afford that."

Ye Wenxuan nodded and said, "Then, Uncle Xue, can I borrow your treasures?"

Xue Jian asked doubtfully, "Borrow them? Are you going to participate in the hunt?"

Ye Wenxuan nodded again and said, "I just wanted to take a look, but I thought with so many adults going, there wouldn't be room for children. Later, I found out that not everyone can go. Only the tribal chiefs and the famous families can go. Father is too busy, so the Ye Family Stronghold's spot will be empty. Although I'm small, I can go. This is a big event in Yunzhou. Although I don't know how to play, it wouldn't be right if the Ye family wasn't there."

Listening to Ye Wenxuan's childish voice, Xue Jian's eyes filled with affection. His own boy was already ten years old, but he spent his days playing with the young masters of the tribes, and although his riding and archery skills were good, he would probably just be a martial artist in the future. But Ye Wenxuan, who was so young, already realized that the Ye family shouldn't be absent from such a big event. Either way, Xue Jian had no reason to refuse Ye Wenxuan. He chuckled and said, "Sure. I can't go, so it's good for you to take my treasures to relax, but can you manage these guys?"

Ye Wenxuan said confidently, "I have my dog. It can manage them."

Xue Jian laughed. Although Xue Jian liked raising mastiffs, he knew that his mastiffs, which he only had time to hunt with in the surrounding grasslands and mountains, were only above average. The problem wasn't with the mastiffs' bloodline, but that he didn't have time to train them. He was now responsible for the production of the entire wool mill, and the various products from the wool mill accounted for almost thirty percent of the tribes' annual income. To avoid Xue Jian being targeted by the Third Civil Affairs Department, people naturally didn't dare to send gifts casually, but giving a few mastiffs with good bloodlines was just a friendly gesture and suited Xue Jian's taste. But the mastiffs given to Ye Wenxuan were of a different level. The mastiff beside Ye Wenxuan was a circle larger than Xue Jian's, its fur faintly glowing with a purple light, and it was incredibly majestic. And although Ye Wenxuan was young, there were many experts in Ye Family Stronghold who knew how to raise mastiffs. Ye Tao's guard team had a lot of guys who used to be the best hunters in the tribes. Either way, there was no question that Ye Wenxuan's mastiff could lead these guys. And Ye Wenxuan's words showed that he understood canine habits very well.

It's unknown when Ye Wenxuan had the idea of organizing a team to participate in the hunt and make a small appearance, but from the day he asked Xue Jian to borrow the mastiffs, Ye Wenxuan's little team began to expand. Ye Wenxuan could indeed borrow things: mastiffs, falcons, horses, manpower, weapons, and tools. Ye Wenxuan even ran around the headquarters of the Jingyun Cavalry and borrowed twenty fully armed elite soldiers and two airships from Xu Yao, who was left in charge of the camp. Actually, Xu Yao never cared about anyone's face, even in front of Ye Tao or Tan Xiaopei, he always spoke his mind, but he lent the elite soldiers and airships to Ye Wenxuan because he thought this kid might be able to do something interesting. And the words "The Ye family has to participate, we can't be absent" really touched a nerve with Xu Yao.

When Ye Wenxuan arrived at the assembly point for the hunt a month later, he had actually pieced together a mixed force of more than three hundred people. Among them were about a hundred active soldiers from various Yunzhou units, who couldn't violate military orders, but each unit could "find" some elite soldiers on "vacation" to participate. In addition, there were elite soldiers from various tribes, and even travelers and rangers who were always wandering around the grasslands. Ye Wenxuan didn't even know that among the rangers they met who were interested in joining them, there were Lei Huang and several warriors from the Zongmo Troupe. However, Guan Huan and Zhe Luo recognized Lei Huang. Although they despised Lei Huang for pretending to deceive children, they had to admit that dozens of Zongmo Troupe warriors were a considerable force. Ye Wenxuan, a child who was not even five years old, had easily recruited a very powerful team with combat capabilities comparable to the same number of Yunzhou's Guards. This force also had fourteen mastiffs, two trained homing falcons, and nine hunting eagles. As for standard equipment such as telescopes and signaling lamps, they had everything.

Someone would naturally report Ye Wenxuan's actions along the way to Ye Tao, and when Ye Wenxuan and his party arrived at the assembly point and took in the sea of tents, Ye Wenxuan carefully sought the opinions of Guan Huan and Zhe Luo before raising the Ye family's banner. Although the makeshift team made Ye Wenxuan a little uncomfortable, since they were used to seeing the Guards and the Imperial Guards, the Imperial Guards were more tolerant of the individual personalities of the guards, but the Imperial Guards, who needed to be both a military review and a guard of honor, were so uniform that they seemed like one person, which was always shocking and moving to watch.

However, to the surprise of Ye Wenxuan and Ye Wenji, who were somewhat proud, not long after they raised the Ye family's banner, a low and melodious bugle sounded in the camp, and teams of knights rushed out of the camp, lined up on both sides of the road, and quickly formed a welcoming line that was a mile long. The knights neatly drew their cavalry swords from their waists and extended them diagonally, forming a sword gate with wide spacing. When welcoming enemy envoys, the sword gate was used to threaten and show strength, but when used on one's own people, it was a sign of respect, very high respect. Ye Wenxuan was stunned for a moment, turned to Guan Huan, and asked, "Uncle Guan... what... what's going on?"

Guan Huan chuckled, didn't answer, just pointed towards the camp with his mouth. Ye Wenxuan turned his head and saw that Ye Tao's marshal flag was raised on the flagpole in the middle of the camp.

This time, even Ye Wenyun, who was being held by Zhe Luo and riding a horse, knew what was going on. Ye Wenyun asked softly, "Uncle Zhe Luo, is Father here too?"

Zhe Luo nodded, his rough palms usually didn't dare to touch Ye Wenyun's skin casually, for fear that Ye Wenyun would feel uncomfortable. He touched Ye Wenyun's hair and said, "Lord Ye should have arrived a while ago."

Ye Wenxuan rolled his eyes and said with some dissatisfaction, "You all kept it from me. You must have known!"

Ye Wenxuan wasn't angry. He roughly guessed that his father knew everything he had done along the way, but he didn't expect Ye Tao to arrive at the camp before him.

After passing through the magnificent sword gate, they entered the camp. The situation in the camp was very different from a normal military camp. The teams from the various tribes and families that came here were allocated their own territory and set up camp according to their own habits. Each family's hunting eagles circled in the sky above the camp, and from time to time, the barking of various hunting dogs could be heard in the camp. Good hunting dogs rarely barked randomly, but the density of hunting dogs in the camp was a bit high, and they were all very powerful hunting dogs, and it was inevitable that each family would pass through the territory of other hunting dogs when walking their dogs. When the dogs' self-esteem exploded, it was quite a headache.

Ye Tao's camp was right in the middle of the entire camp. Ye Tao and Dai Qiuyan had arrived here more than ten days ago and had held many rounds of consultations with the various tribes. Some hesitant representatives of the northern tribes were conquered by Ye Tao's gentleness and firmness, and by the unique, unpretentious, and non-oppressive leadership qualities in Ye Tao. In these days, the messengers of three northern tribes had expressed their submission to Ye Tao personally on behalf of their tribes. Two tribes closer to Benlang Plain had simply raised their flags here and participated in this hunt. Basically, this meant that they had made it clear that they were breaking away from the leadership of the major tribes led by the Ke'erka tribe on the northern grasslands and joining the Benlang Plain group. Among the people brought by the various tribes, it was probably difficult to avoid people who were flirting with the Ke'erka tribe, but in the current situation, whether it was Ye Tao, Ge Lan, or those northern tribes who had turned to Yunzhou, they probably didn't care much.

Ye Tao and his party didn't have many people, only about thirty including the guards. But they occupied a considerable amount of space in the middle of the camp, and had already set up tents and prepared food and accommodation for the entire "Ye Family" team participating in the hunt. Ye Wenxuan didn't have any complaints about his father being so considerate. Ye Wenyun ran to cling to her mother, while Ye Wenxuan and Ye Wenji stayed by Ye Tao's side. Ye Wenji asked enthusiastically about what he had seen and heard along the way, especially the various things he thought were fun in the factories and military camps. Ye Wenxuan stood aside with a pout, very depressed.

"What's wrong?" Ye Tao asked, "I didn't say you were bad, did I? Why are you so unhappy?"

Ye Wenxuan glanced at his father and snorted, "You and Mom are bullying me..."

"You have to manage the hunting team you brought yourself. I don't have the energy to play with you." Ye Tao said with a smile, "Do you think I'm going to embezzle your team?"

Ye Wenxuan tilted his head and asked carefully, "Really?"

"Really. But you're not allowed to ride a horse alone. You've been riding since you were a child, and your skills are good. But this hunt is like a war, and they won't be able to take care of you if it really gets chaotic. You follow your Uncle Guan Huan. And this time, you said it yourself, it won't work if the Ye family is missing, and you pulled up the team yourself. Since you said that, you have to be responsible to the end. You're raising the Ye family's banner behind you. If you lose the Ye family's face, I'll spank you when you get back." Ye Tao said gently.

Ye Wenxuan, at a young age, already had a bit of leadership temperament, which was very encouraging. He was good at calculating, good at dealing with people, and had a little bit of arrogance and independence, and he had a strong sense of protection for the people around him. With persistent training, he should be able to continue the huge business Ye Tao had created in the future, right? When he came to this time and space, even when he first met Tan Weixin, Ye Tao couldn't help but have a feeling of self-abandonment and playing the world, thinking, "After I die, let the floods rage." But now, everything was different. He might be able to help Tan Xiaopei unite the Middle Earth Continent in his lifetime, and create a brilliant era with Tan Weixin and the many talented people of Dongping, but after all, he had his own family, his own children, and many people who relied on him to live and survive. Ye Tao didn't think he was old, but in the short term, having a good assistant, and in the long term, having a good successor, felt very good.

A flash of light flashed in Ye Wenxuan's eyes, and he said seriously, "Well, Father, don't worry."

"I also made a bet with a chieftain of the northern tribes. Their son is also leading the team, but that kid is nine years old, more than twice your age. I don't care about winning or losing, but if you can win, all the prizes are yours. And I'll give you a small guard team and an allowance every month, and you can decide where to go and how to play. How about that?" Ye Tao tempted Ye Wenxuan a little.

Ye Wenji didn't say a word, looked at Ye Wenxuan and then at Ye Tao, with an envious expression. And Ye Wenxuan's eyes were full of intense anticipation. Ye Tao's family never lacked anything. They had everything others had, and even things others hadn't even thought of. Compared to what he could win, Ye Wenxuan was obviously more interested in the freedom that Ye Tao would give him. Being able to run around and control something himself was something these children had known for a long time. That's how the Tan family did it, and they could live on their own and manage the people and things around them from a certain age. The Ye family would naturally retain this interesting tradition, but he was only four years old now, and Ye Wenxuan never thought he could enjoy this freedom in advance. And behind the freedom, what was even more enjoyable was his father's strong trust in him. Ye Wenxuan then calmed down and asked, "Father, you're not kidding, are you? Don't go back on your word then."

Ye Tao shrugged and said, "No manners, when have I ever gone back on my word?" And Ye Tao said to Ye Wenji, "If you're willing to go, I'll let Uncle Jin take you. But you don't have this condition. Do you think the workshops at home aren't fun enough? After we go back this time, you'll go to Gondor with me." Ye Wenji nodded repeatedly, but he wasn't playful at all, and shook his head to indicate that he wasn't going to the hunt. Participating in and commanding the hunt didn't appeal to him much.

The current hunt was really a game for these people. In order to make this hunt a success, Ge Lan and others had put in a lot of effort. Starting at the beginning of the year, they drove the wolf packs to concentrate in this pure pasture with few other animals, so that the number of wolves would increase and it wouldn't be meaningless to eliminate them all in one fell swoop. They even provided the wolf packs with some food to keep them active. They were no longer a part of the grassland fighting to the death with the wolf packs, but had become the masters of the grassland. Even this time, they wouldn't kill the wolf packs, but planned to leave about half of them. This was also to allow other species on the grassland to remain active. It was precisely because of this playful composure that Ye Tao could let Ye Wenxuan have a good time. Ye Tao didn't care much about the bet with the northern tribes. Everyone was planning to use this method to give gifts to each other, exchange things, and exchange feelings. Only by sending their own reckless children to lead the team could this absolutely "friendship first" bet be full of fun.