The southern tribes were smaller in general but more volatile than the northern tribes, which was impressive given that the northern tribes were plenty volatile. They had more interclan conflict as well, which was part of the reason their general population was smaller, despite the fact that there were twice as many southern tribes as northern ones.
They were shorter in stature, too, lithe and small due to their mixed heritage from their border with the Wasteland. They were brighter than the northern and central tribes, whose color pallets were based on what they had in everyday life, greens, reds, browns, and golds. The southern tribes covered themselves in brightly dyed cloth and feathers traded from the Wasteland empires, like the great trading city Bahl-Kha-Khet, which never cared if the Land of Sorrow or the Land of Song and Snow had ordered trade embargos against the tribes.
Unfortunately, it also meant that the southern tribes had picked up the practice of slavery from their neighbors, and the Camelia had always struggled with how to deal with that. The Land of Sorrow did not tolerate slavery, nor did most of the surrounding kingdoms and those further west. But the Land of Song and Snow, depending on which decade and which rulers were in power, did, and even when they didn't, they generally turned a blind eye and declared it wasn't their place to impose their practices on others.
A highly hypocritical claim, according to Mingzhe. The Camelia always freed any slaves they came across, but they couldn't do much to prevent them from simply being recaptured unless they wanted to join the Crimson Army. There simply wasn't enough money or food to give away to everyone, and there were too many security concerns to just let everyone join. The kingdoms in the Land of Song and Snow would claim they didn't create new slaves, but they never freed any either. Captured slaves were still slaves, and due to the intense, ingrained social hierarchy in the Land of Song and Snow, which had remained unchanged for thousands of years, there was no chance of ever advancing to freedom or anything else.
The slaves just ended up with new masters who were usually just as bad as the old ones.
It was one of the main reasons Sorrow and Song and Snow had never managed peace between them, and the borderlands remained one of the most contested territories on the Rock. Mingzhe had read plenty of histories and studies about the values, negative and positive, of slavery, but he'd never been able to stomach the idea himself. Everyone should have the right to try to improve their lives, and indentured servitude was not an acceptable way to pay back debts.
Falcon, one of Yuze's most experienced spies in the southern area, often included the number of slaves sold across the border in his reports, though it was rarely acted on. Falcon had a bitingly dark sense of humor, but had been around long enough that it only came out in very limited glances.
"They're on the move," he reported to Mingzhe as soon as their travels had converged. "A large group came over the border two days ago, mostly slaves. Nearly two thousand, all sold among the tribes."
"Workers?" Mingzhe had been hoping.
"Almost all of them fit and young. Fighters."
"Shoring up their numbers." Yang Hikari said. The oldest son of Lady Yang had been one of Mingzhe's few close friends as a child and had remained so even as they'd gotten older and pulled apart by their own responsibilities. He'd been Mingzhe's first choice among his sub-commanders, after they'd worked so well together during the last conflict.
"None of the recent reports indicated significant movement between the central and southern tribes. Or any mention of the increase in slaves." Mingzhe drummed his fingers on the table in a nervous tic. "Neither Lord or Lady Ye are expecting to face any in their regions."
Falcon shrugged. "Most of the slaves are remaining in the South, but not all. It should have been reported, because they're being sent armed and ready to fight."
"So why wasn't it?" Hikari couldn't keep the frustration out of his voice. Like Mingzhe, he hated being surprised. "Is our intelligence compromised?"
Mingzhe kept his mouth shut. While he trusted Hikari explicitly, it had been Chenzhou's order that kept everything they knew about Snake secret, and Mingzhe and Hikari took their orders seriously.
"The source of the report should always be taken into consideration," Falcon advised. "Every motivation is different."
"You all get paid the same." Mingzhe pointed out.
"We all took this job for different reasons," Falcon argued.
"It sounds like you don't trust your comrades." Hikari frowned, always sensitive to any sign of discord that could impede performance. A trait he'd inherited from his mother, who was well-known for her ironclad control over her soldiers.
"I don't trust anyone," Falcon pointed out. "That's the nature of the work. Nothing that is learned is fact; it's only someone's opinion of that fact."
Something about the conversation sparked concern in Mingzhe. Someone else pointing out that there might be a leak was too much of a coincidence to ignore. "Is there someone specific?"
But Falcon shook his head, paused, and then shrugged. "I don't spend much time with anyone but myself, but generally, betrayal is so effective because it comes from somewhere close, right?"
Hikari shifted uncomfortably, reaching up to fiddle with the medal pendant of his family's crest that hung around his neck.
Mingzhe nodded. Regardless of how he felt about it, Falcon's words were accurate.
"It's amusing," the spy continued. "That there's so much faith in Beng Shai's ability to deceive, when no one knew who he was a few months ago."
"Isn't that a sign of his ability right there?" Hikari pointed out. "He managed to take control of one of the largest tribes in the borderlands without us ever knowing."
Cold dread began to form in Mingzhe's stomach as Falcon's point slammed home.
How had they missed Beng Shai's rise to power in their most notable enemy among the tribes?
~ tbc