Henry Clark and Charles Webb were not mortal enemies; as for how Charles Webb viewed Henry Clark, Henry Clark himself was not sure. But Henry Clark's feelings toward Charles Webb were relatively complicated.

The Five Barbarians who caused chaos in China were the Jie, Di, Qiang, Xianbei, and Xiongnu.

Among them, the Jie are currently the ruling class in the Central Plains, with a total population that absolutely does not exceed five hundred thousand.

The Qiang are not the same Qiang people as in later generations; in ancient pre-Qin times, "Qiang" specifically referred to certain shepherds, so it did not refer to a particular ethnicity, but rather to a group with similar lifestyles.

The Xianbei came from north of Liaodong. They were originally part of the Donghu. Later, the Donghu were defeated and partially annexed by the Xiongnu chanyu Modu, and the Xianbei fled toward the Arctic Circle. By the end of the Eastern Han, the Xianbei moved south again, defeated the Wuwan people who occupied the area north of Liaodong, annexed them, and became the regional overlords of that area.

The Xiongnu, of course, refers to those Xiongnu who submitted to the Han dynasty. However, some historical records indicate that the Xiongnu during the Western Jin period were not simply the Southern Xiongnu who had submitted to the Han; rather, some Northern Xiongnu had returned east, united with the Southern Xiongnu who had migrated inland and some miscellaneous tribes, and then launched attacks against the Jin dynasty.

The Di were not the same as the Ba-Di; it's hard to say exactly how this group emerged, but the more plausible theory is that the Di split off from the Qiang.

Now, in the Central Plains, besides the Jie, Di, Qiang, Xianbei, and Xiongnu, there are actually far more miscellaneous tribes than these five major groups. It's just that the miscellaneous tribes have attached themselves to the major ones, so their presence seems much less significant.

Charles Webb looked once more at the crowds covering the hills and was already planning to slip away.

On the other side, Henry Clark was also considering what to do. He saw that among Charles Webb's two hundred or so people, at least half were mounted; clearly, wiping out such a force would be extremely difficult.

The two were not too far apart, close enough to see each other's facial expressions and even the look in each other's eyes.

Charles Webb clearly noticed the occasional flash of murderous intent in Henry Clark's eyes. He shouted, "I originally came to settle accounts with you, but seeing your tribe grow strong, I've changed my mind." As he shouted, he gestured for his men to prepare to withdraw, and shouted again, "If you can survive this time, we'll be friends!"

Henry Clark tugged at the corner of his mouth in a semblance of a smile, but alarm bells were ringing in his mind. He asked, "Who wants to come after me?"

Sensing some movement on both flanks, Charles Webb was already leading his men in a slow retreat. As he withdrew, he kept an eye on Henry Clark, and seeing that Henry Clark was not pursuing, he replied, "Who else could it be? Just think about who is in Buqi City and you'll know."

There were plenty of people in Buqi City, but Henry Clark understood what Charles Webb meant. He called out loudly, "I won't hold it against you for blocking the road this time. If I make it through, I'll consider you a friend too."

Charles Webb laughed heartily and shouted, "It's a deal then!" With that, he turned his horse and, with a cry of "Hyah!", galloped away.

The two hundred or so people turned and left. On both flanks, some people appeared—these were some Jin people led by Edward Blake and William Reed. In fact, there weren't many of them; it was just to create the illusion of surrounding Charles Webb's group, forcing them to leave rather than choose to fight.

"Your Excellency truly has great military strategy!" Samuel Grant started with some flattery, then asked worriedly, "That man said someone will attack?"

Henry Clark was busy canceling previous orders in the game interface in his mind, which to others just looked like he was deep in thought.

After a while, Edward Blake and William Reed also came over. They reported that the troops had regrouped and requested further instructions.

"Keep moving," Henry Clark said first to Edward Blake and William Reed, then looked at Samuel Grant, who was still waiting for an answer, and said, "There are only 500 Jie people in Changguang Commandery, but all the other ethnic groups in the commandery will follow the Jie. It looks like the Jie in Buqi City have already noticed us and will probably take action."

Samuel Grant's face instantly turned pale. He had served as an official under the Jie and knew their nature all too well: they did not produce anything themselves, and whenever they lacked something, they would simply rob others, living off "shearing the sheep" time and again. Muttering "What should we do," he lowered his head and paced in circles for a while, but when he looked up to say something, Henry Clark was already gone.

Some things simply can't be solved by worrying alone. Rather than waste time on anxiety, Henry Clark thought it better to first bring back the people he had gathered from all around. Then, he planned to prepare for battle while sending people out to gather intelligence, so that once he understood the situation, he could respond accordingly.

The Jin people these days were just too weak and timid. Charles Webb had only brought a little over two hundred men to block the road, yet out of more than thirty thousand Jin people, the majority were thrown into panic. Those who weren't panicking weren't brave—they just looked resigned to their fate.

After Charles Webb left with his men, there was no cheering from the Jin people. They simply received orders to keep moving, silently obeyed, and when they looked at Henry Clark, their eyes were filled more with fear and numbness than gratitude.

[What kind of environment must the Jin people of this era be living in, to turn a living person into this?]