We made you the chief, and now you've become the world's chief?

Chapter 126 The Importance of the Guillotine

"Chief of the Xia tribe, we..."

The true patriarch of the Wolfskin Clan looked at the bronze spears in the hands of the approaching armed men, and before he could explain, he was pierced through by the spear and died without knowing why.

Everyone unarmed and associated with wolf pelts, men, women, and children, perished on the spot.

His gaze swept over every person who had died in the chaos, beneath the bronze spears and halberds of the armed forces.

He did not mind meeting those pairs of unseeing eyes; power struggles are inherently bloody and cruel.

For the benefit of the majority, and even more so for their own benefit, if they need to die, then they must die.

Forty-eight...

After counting the total number of corpses, Xia Minghao counted the number of adults again, and it was only one less than the number of Wolfskin Clan members he had learned about from the Da Clan.

And that one person, of course, was Wolfskin, whose whereabouts were unknown.

Then Xia Minghao's gaze left the corpses and turned to the Xia tribespeople, who were either terrified or surprised.

"Chi, come here and tell everyone what the Wolfskin Clan did."

In order not to alert the enemy, Xia Minghao had only gathered the armed team members and told them the "truth," thus giving it a sense of legitimacy.

Now, Xia Minghao wants everyone to know the "truth" to prevent the large-scale killing of the Wolfskin Clan from causing widespread fear and affecting the social stability of the Xia Tribe.

"Yes, Wolfskin... clan, sent Wolfskin to find the Wolf Tribe, wanting to kill everyone in the Da clan, and also the entire Xia tribe."

Chi was still somewhat uncertain, as this was different from what he had seen, but since the chief had said so, he ultimately chose to believe the chief.

Upon hearing this, the fear on the faces of the Xia tribe members who had been living in the Salt Spring Mountain instantly turned into anger.

The original members of the Da clan also showed a hint of disbelief, and their unease remained.

“The people of the Wolfskin Clan should die.”

"Yes, otherwise we'd be the ones dying!"

Several angry voices of Xia tribesmen rang out, prompting a chorus of agreement from the rest of the Xia tribe.

Xia Minghao had been observing carefully, and only felt relieved after seeing that the purge had not produced the adverse effects he had anticipated.

He then handed the task over to Xima to settle the Da clan in the Salt Spring Mountain.

There was only one requirement: that Damon, Chi, and a dozen or so others be treated as Xia tribespeople, while the rest be treated as outsiders.

The reason, of course, is that the source of crocodiles has disappeared, and it is necessary to "reduce spending" as much as possible to avoid a food crisis.

For the time being, there are strong external conflicts, namely those within the wolf tribe, which greatly weakens the impact of internal conflicts.

As long as there is a meager supply of food, internal unity and stability can be maintained.

Upon hearing the order, Hima looked worried.

Xia Minghao could understand Xima's concerns. After all, the Da clan wasn't truly outsiders, but rather a primitive tribe with a certain level of civilization. It would be difficult for them to accept the current quality of life of these outsiders, which was like sleeping in a shed...

After seeing Hima leave, Xia Minghao went to the cave entrance and rearranged the layout.

I roughly estimated the defensive strength of the two caves.

Both caves have log traps and sharp log fence traps. The cave near the forest is not advantageous because it has no river to block it and its terrain is not advantageous. Therefore, all the giant bows were placed there.

Both caves were equipped with 15 tribal warriors armed with bronze spears and halberds, as well as 7 archers capable of fighting.

In this way, we can completely resist the attack of the wolf tribe.

only……

Just as he was relieved about the arrangement of the caves on both sides, Xia Minghao looked up at the top of Yanquan Mountain, his brows gradually furrowing.

The only question is whether this wolf tribe is planning to climb Salt Spring Mountain and then leap off to ambush them.

But then I thought about how the outer side of Yanquan Mountain is smooth and steep from years of heavy rain, and it seemed unlikely.

Even if it were possible, it would have to be one of the very few in the wolf tribe who could transform into a werewolf form for an extended period of time.

As he was pondering whether or not to build fortifications in response to this situation, he caught a glimpse of Hima approaching out of the corner of his eye.

Could it be that the Da clan couldn't accept the arrangement, and Hima encountered strong resistance, so she came to find him?
But looking at the smile on Hima's face, she didn't seem to be facing any difficulties.

"Chief, everything has been arranged. The Da clan members are not only willing to sleep under the rain shelter just like the outsiders, but they have also taken the initiative to build their own shelters."

So obedient?

Xia Minghao walked towards the location of the Da clan and, sure enough, saw that the group of people were setting up a tent under the guidance of the Xia tribespeople.

At the same time, Xia Minghao noticed a hint of obedience on the faces of these people when they looked at him, obedience tinged with a touch of fear.

In an instant, Xia Minghao suddenly understood why the people of the Da clan were so obedient beyond imagination.

It was the massacre of the Wolfskin Clan that just happened.

Not only did they eliminate the hidden dangers, but they also seemed to have increased their power...

This is a completely different approach from Xia Minghao's previous methods of centralizing power. As a modern person who has never been a chief, but merely a proud worker, he inevitably relies on theory and makes some assumptions when governing a tribe.

Now, after experiencing it firsthand, Xia Minghao has gained a deeper understanding.

He once thought only of consolidating his personal rule through others' dependence on him, but in fact there was another way to consolidate his rule.

That is to make those being managed fear you...

This is the true meaning of combining kindness and severity.

Xia Minghao now has a completely new definition of power.

Perhaps the essence of power is to create a stable inertia of obedience among the ruled, caught between "depending on the ruler for survival" and "fearing the ruler's punishment."

Killing is a good way to increase the fear of the ruled.

Of course, one cannot kill indiscriminately, otherwise one will become a tyrant. If a stable habit of obedience has not yet been formed, indiscriminate killing will only dig one's own grave.

Once a stable habit of obedience is formed, indiscriminate killing may create a false impression of "absolute power" in the short term, but in the long term it will lead to an explosive emergence of resistance.

They are like King Zhou of Shang and Nero of the Roman Empire, notorious tyrants in history.

All of them achieved the absolute power through violence.

However, tyranny ultimately leads to the loss of popular support and the rebellion of the elites, resulting in the downfall of dynasties or empires.

The core reason is that the people's excessive fear of the rulers completely destroyed the legitimacy of power and the foundation of their rule.

Therefore, it is necessary to use the word "kill" to make oneself have a stronger sense of dominance.

But we cannot kill indiscriminately; we must kill less. Since the number of killings is small, we must kill in a reasonable, exciting, and shocking way.

How can we kill effectively?

guillotine!
This execution tool, which Xia Minghao had only seen in movies, immediately came to mind.

There's nothing more awe-inspiring than seeing the prototype of cutting a watermelon.

Now, Xia Minghao needs a guillotine!

……

……

……

The wolf tribe has not reappeared for two days, but Xia Minghao was able to obtain general information about them through the leaves.

It seems to be circling around Salt Spring Mountain.

Wolves are often synonymous with cunning and treacherous, and Xia Minghao also gave them sufficient attention in terms of tactics.

I've been personally overseeing things these past few days, checking the defenses of the two caves at least three times a day.

As for the interior of Salt Spring Mountain, just as Xia Minghao had guessed, as people developed a fear of him, things calmed down considerably.

Even Liba's security team hasn't swung a single baton in the past two days, unlike before when they would occasionally perform what it meant to "strike six times in one second".

"What if the wolf tribe attacks from another cave?"

"The chief said we should stay."

Hearing Lipa's answer, Xia Minghao nodded in satisfaction.

The cave's defenses are now sufficient to withstand attacks from the wolf tribe, provided there are no gaps in its defenses.

The real danger lies in a situation where one side is under attack while the other side comes to its aid.

Therefore, Xia Minghao came up with some countermeasures, making sure that all the armed team members remembered them clearly, in order to prevent all sorts of possible situations.

After inspecting the two caves, Xia Minghao found Ye Zi.

"Where is the direction you sensed? Or is it still not moving?"

Upon hearing the chief's question, Ye Zi sensed the situation again and nodded.

Xia Minghao frowned, deep in thought.

Does the wolf tribe really intend to wage a war of attrition against me and trap me?
This is what Xia Minghao is most worried about. Now that everything is ready, he is not afraid of them coming; he is just afraid that the wolf tribe will not come.

Even if the rain stops, there will be considerable risks in obtaining food resources from the swampy areas by river transport if they don't come.

It could even expose the ten tribes on Aisha's side, bringing about their annihilation.

Just as I was feeling very troubled, I suddenly heard a commotion coming from the cave near the river!

Xia Minghao immediately took out a high-powered flashlight and shone it on the situation at the cave entrance from a distance.

One werewolf after another leaped over!

The wolf tribe has finally launched its attack!

(End of this chapter)