In two years, the task of transforming the Ba people has basically been completed.
The development of the six ethnic groups has also been on the right track. After this autumn and winter, Xu Chen believes that other tribes will start building houses and farming on a large scale.
The Gonghuo Tribe Alliance has now learned almost all new skills except spinning, weaving and making pottery. In a year or two at most, it will catch up with the development pace of the six tribes.
Perhaps, he had been living in the Ba clan for too long, and even God couldn't stand it anymore, so he asked the little witch to send a message to him, asking him to go out to the jungle and upgrade as soon as possible.
Xu Chen decided to follow the instructions of the gods and the guidance of the witch and prepare for a long journey in the cold winter.
The first is to strengthen ties and exchanges with the tribes in the downstream Gonghuo Alliance.
The second is to inquire about the distribution of tribes on both sides of the Wulong River.
The departure time is arranged around the beginning of winter.
In more than ten days, the annual Witch Lords Conference will take place.
We just took this rare opportunity to conduct a military competition among the seven tribes, including the Gonghuo Alliance, to once again integrate military forces and form a more powerful combat capability and a tight command system.
In addition, in order to make traveling more convenient, the Ba people have to adapt to crossing the river by boat.
Some time ago, a lot of trees were cut down for the construction of temples and roads, and they were left to dry for a few months, just in time to make rafts.
So under Xu Chen's order, Ba men and a group of prisoners carried all the wood to the mouth of the small river outside the valley, and began to build a dock and build a raft.
Autumn and winter are the periods when the river is at its shallowest and most stable. It may be a little cold when you fall into the water, but savages are not very afraid of the cold. They can survive in the winter with a piece of fur that can't even cover their buttocks. The real hardship is for the old people.
and infants.
What's more, winter is still nearly a month away, far from the coldest month of winter.
There are many people who enjoy winter swimming on the ice, and autumn is not a problem.
Besides, he doesn't go rowing every day, so it's definitely not him who fell into the water, so there's nothing to worry about.
Maybe falling into the water a few more times would just cool down these hot-blooded guys, lest they really think they are invincible.
It's easier to get things done when there are more people.
In the blink of an eye, a few days later, a simple dock made of wood and stone appeared near the bend where the small river mouth meets the big river, and several simple rafts were set up.
Basically, without Xu Chen's arrangement, a group of hunters started scrambling to practice, holding long wooden poles and paddling lively in the shallow water of the river bend.
In February of the first spring, I went to the Gonghuo Clan to participate in the inheritance conference. When the Cang Clan built a raft for the first time, many hunters had already come into contact with it.
It can be pulled more or less a few times.
However, the scales of Wulong River and Jicang River are quite different.
Even in the current autumn and winter, the width of the river is still more than fifty meters. The water flow in the middle of the river seems to be stable, but in fact it is deep and fast. It is impossible to control it with only slender poles. Therefore, Xu Chen asked several carpenters to make paddles to make it easier.
To control the direction, he also invented the oar.
The paddle imitates the strokes of a fish's fins.
The oar is actually a large oar, but it is placed at the stern of the boat to imitate a fish tail. While it uses rocking to push the boat forward, it can also use the turbulence of its blades to adjust the boat's forward direction.
In fact, on relatively calm rivers and canal lakes, just using the oar will suffice.
However, in large rivers, due to the complex turbulence of the water, the poles and oars are often unable to adapt to changes in the situation, so greater external force is necessary to change the speed and direction of the boat, and oars are a must.
Just like a dragon boat, when dozens of people paddle together, the boat can reach amazing speeds.
After several rafts were built, a group of hunters and prisoners trained while Xu Chen continued to improve them. As oars and oars were added, the rafts looked more and more complex, but the division of labor and training became more strict and serious.
The big-bodied spear throwers and some iron fools with funny heads were basically incorporated into the rowing team to act as muscle engines. Those with more flexible minds learned to control the direction of the boat with poles and oars. Each raft was specially designated
A guy with the best water skills serves as the captain and is responsible for unified command.
Once the division of labor is clear, stricter cooperation will naturally be required.
When to row, when to use the pole, and when to pull the oar, the boatmen need to coordinate according to the captain's instructions.
Every time during training, Xu Chen would stand on the shore and give instructions loudly.
They are just a group of primitive savages who have just started to learn how to operate a boat. Various situations will inevitably arise during training.
The situation was similar to what Xu Chen expected. The rafts capsized almost every day, and savages fell into the water every day. Especially when the two ships met or were about to dock, they used poles and wood pulp to support each other and rowed wildly, and then they started to cry and howl.
The sound of dumplings falling into the water.
Xu Chen could only look at the messy water with a dark face and sigh.
Fortunately, the training area was strictly limited to the shallow water area of the river bend. Although everyone fell into the water and got up with water mist flying from their fur, there were no casualties.
However, this chaos is getting better as time goes by.
It's mid-September in the blink of an eye, and there are only three days left before the witchcraft conference.
After a period of training, a group of hunters and captives gradually started to behave in a decent manner. Although they still had to panic and howl in emergencies, most of the time they were able to make relatively standardized actions according to some simple trained commands.
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A total of six rafts were woven in front and back, each raft can carry six people, and a total of thirty-six people can be carried.
The captain stands at the front holding a long pole and is responsible for controlling the direction and giving instructions. There are four oarsmen on each side and one person is responsible for operating the oar.
After forming a formation of six rafts and conducting a day of integration training, Xu Chen decided to conduct a practical exercise across the Wulong River.
The Wulong River outside the mouth of the Ba Valley is not very wide. The situation on both sides is similar, but there are no traces of savage activities on the opposite side. There is no need to worry too much about the danger after crossing the river. The most dangerous place is the middle of the river.
The water is deep and fast, and if the raft capsizes, everyone may be killed.
It's just a mule or a horse, it has to be taken out for a ride.
If this peaceful little river cannot be conquered, then how can we conquer the larger rivers downstream or even the sea.
Therefore, whether he is nervous or worried, Xu Chen feels that as long as he is prepared, there won't be any big problems.
After all, the Cang Clan only trained for two days before they traveled more than a hundred miles down the river to the Gonghuo Clan, and no one was injured.
The current Wulong River is not much larger than the Jicang River after spring, but the current is faster and deeper.
As long as you safely pass through the deepest and most dangerous area of more than ten meters in the middle of the river, there will basically be no danger.
In order to practice crossing the river, Xu Chen specially prepared for an extra half day and reinforced all the rafts. All bows, arrows, spears and other weapons were tied together, and the poles, oars and oars were fixed to the rafts with ropes, including each boatman's
Safety ropes were also tied around the waist.
And before the crossing started, Xu Chen once again reiterated the discipline of crossing the river.
Don't panic when encountering anything. You must perform your duties without confusion. If someone falls into the water in the middle of the river, don't rush to rescue. Instead, try to get through the middle of the river as much as possible and then think of a solution. The only goal is to ensure that the raft does not capsize.
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After all the captains and crew members ensured that they understood Xu Chen's request, Xu Chen ordered the horns to be blown to launch mankind's first large-scale crossing exercise in the wild.
"Woo~wu~wu~~~"
A loud and long horn sounded.
Several flags fluttered in the fierce river wind.
Six rafts were lined up at the river bend pier, and all the boatmen were already standing or sitting in their positions, holding oars and oars in preparation.
"One boat, let's go!"
With the command flag in his hand waving, the naked captain pushed the raft on the first raft with a pole, and the raft swayed slightly and pushed out of the water, leaving the pier and slowly heading towards the center of the river.
Dozens of people on the shore gathered near the pier, holding their breath and clenching their fists.
Most of these guys are not good at water or are simply landlubbers. Otherwise, they are full of fear of water and can only be bystanders at the moment.
After the first raft was drawn out of the river bend, it started paddling and sprinted. Under the impact of the flowing water, it had drifted dozens of meters down the river, but it seemed to be in good condition and very stable.
The four oars were flying up and down together. With the cooperation of the front and back sculls, and with the neat sound of oars, the raft was rapidly drifting downward with the river water, and at the same time, it was constantly moving towards the other side.
Under the nervous gaze of dozens of pairs of eyes, the raft soon passed the place where the current was the fastest. The drift speed obviously slowed down quickly, and it got closer and closer to the other shore.
"嘢嚯~~"
There was a warm cheer on the pier and in the river bend.
Everyone knew that the first raft had successfully crossed the river.
With the successful performance of the first raft, the people on the subsequent rafts became much more relaxed.
Then as the order was given, the second raft also sailed away from the river bend and slowly rowed towards the center of the river. Under the gaze of dozens of pairs of eyes, the first raft and the oars began to accelerate and sprint. After breaking into the center of the river, they then
While drifting downward with the rapid water, it was also rowing hard to the other side. Soon, the raft also successfully passed through the middle area of the river, and passed the most dangerous place without any danger.
"嘢嚯~~"
On the Hewan Pier, a burst of warm cheers erupted again.
At this time, the first raft that successfully crossed had already docked, and the hunters on the boat could not wait to escape into the river and rush to the river beach.
"嘢嚯~"
"嘢嚯嚯嚯~"
Six naked savages were shouting and jumping excitedly on the opposite river beach, making sounds like ghosts crying and wolf howling.
Although there is nothing on the other side, it is just the same barren river beach and withered weeds as here.
But to them, it has always been a strange and mysterious world.
Seeing it on a daily basis and actually standing on it are two completely different moods.