Xu Chen was riding a horse and standing on Maogong Ridge, looking far into the distance.
Surrounded by vast and intertwined mountains and forests, it is absolutely impossible to see where the Hu and Muya tribes are, but based on the mountains and the direction of the river valleys, the approximate directions of the two tribes can be roughly distinguished.
When I first visited the six tribes, I followed a rugged and inaccessible trail from the Hu tribe to the Muya tribe.
This path intersects with the road from the Wu tribe to the Ji tribe, heading northwest. In fact, no matter which road leads to the Ji tribe, you can reach the Ji tribe.
It's just that all year round, the Ji and Cang people go directly to the Wu and Ba people by going directly over the Maogong Mountains in groups. Otherwise, if they go from the Muya people, they have to take a detour of seven or eight miles.
The pass in front of us is not high, and there is no problem in building the road. However, because the slope is slightly long, at least two miles, it is not easy to drive a car through it.
Although the fork road leading to Muya Clan is a bit rugged, in fact the trees on both sides are sparse and the slope is gentle, so the passability is still very good. It should not be difficult to build a road.
Moreover, this kind of practice can connect the Muya clan together and promote the development of the Muya clan together.
In addition, Maogongling can build a simple trail that does not use vehicles. If the two tribes do not need horse-drawn carriages to communicate, it will still be much closer by horseback.
Once the two roads intersect in this way, there is another advantage, that is, some people from the Muya tribe or the Ji tribe can migrate to build houses and reclaim wasteland under the Maogong Mountains. In this way, not only the six tribes of the Ba Alliance must pass through here, but also the Gonghuo tribe and Youzu tribe.
The poor people who come to the Ba people to participate in various gatherings or trades also have to pass here. The various ethnic groups from east to west, north and south come and rest. Over time, it will form a lively township.
After a moment of observation, Xu Chen came up with some new ideas. He got off his horse and asked Gu and Ju to take out the map of Ba country they had drawn before, spread it out on a stone, and use their hands to measure and draw it to judge the distance.
A group of people gathered around to watch. Xu Chen gestured for a while and said, "Don't rush to the Ji Clan. It's still early. Let's go to the Muya Clan first."
"I'm hungry, the Muya people have a lot of pepper, so they can roast meat and eat up!" A hunter shouted with a smile.
"Gudong~"
A group of people swallowed a mouthful of saliva almost at the same time, wiping their mouths full of mouths and scrambling to get on their horses. Then a group of people changed direction and rode their horses straight to the northwest along the rugged river valley.
Arriving at the Muya Clan, there was naturally another burst of lively cheers.
The Muya people live on a gentle mountainside. The valley below is a small river that flows all year round. It flows northwest along the valley and joins the Ji Cang River not far from the upper reaches of the Ji people.
The Muya and Ji tribes travel along this valley trail.
Although they were all alliance tribes in the past, there was actually very little communication between the tribes, and they basically stayed away from each other until death. Even if they did communicate, they were usually through the two alliance gatherings, the Mother's Day or the Witches' Blessing Conference, and there were very few.
There are private exchanges between tribes.
The main reason is that the wilderness is dangerous, the weapons are crude, and the foot strength is not conducive to long distance travel and communication.
But since each tribe has had horses in the past two years, the exchanges between tribes have increased significantly.
At least the Muya tribe, which has the most rugged and difficult living environment, can now go to the Ji tribe and Wu tribe quite quickly by horseback. It used to take a whole day to travel, but now it can take most of the day to go back and forth.
Therefore, human living scope and survival territory are actually closely related to transportation capabilities.
Building roads is the best way to expand horizons and enhance communication.
In fact, after returning from the Wu Zhu Conference, the clan leaders and hunters of each tribe regarded Xu Chen's plan to build roads as a top priority, and almost all the tribes had hunters communicating with each other on horseback.
Although these trails are not often traveled, the terrain conditions of their respective hunting areas are still relatively clear.
Surrounding a bonfire and drinking hot aphrodisiac fruit tea, Xu Chen took out a map and communicated with a group of leaders including the leader of the Muya tribe, while Feng Ze led a few hunters to follow the hunters of the Muya tribe to hunt.
After more than an hour, I listened to the excited shouts from the hillside. Soon more than a dozen hunters came back on horseback, leaving behind a huge forest deer and a lynx. Both beasts had several arrows stuck in their bodies.
, the blood dripping down is still hot.
"Quack, good luck, fragrant deer."
“Quick peel and grill!”
"Get some pepper!"
A group of hunters dismounted and shouted with excitement. Soon someone pulled out a sharp bronze dagger and started skinning and disemboweling. Another Muya tribesman quickly asked the woman to get pepper.
A group of children gathered around and cheered, but they did not rush forward to suck blood like before.
Although the tribes are still short of salt, they have some reserves, and they put a little bit in when making porridge and soup every day. With the supplement of salt, and Xu Chen's reminder, it is extremely uncomfortable to suck blood while it is hot.
Hygienic habits are slowly disappearing from tribes.
"Be careful, don't cut the sachet!"
A Ba hunter stood next to the disemboweled forest deer and shouted a warning.
"Don't worry, it won't break!"
The hunter, whose hands were full of blood and was skilled in peeling the skin, answered and quickly handed a fluffy sachet to the Ba hunter next to him. Then the Ba hunter hurriedly took it to Xu Chen for inspection.
Seeing the bloody mass, Xu Chen couldn't avoid it. He waved his hand and asked the hunter to find a place to hang it to dry. Then he smiled at the Muya tribe leader and said:
"This musk is a very good spice and medicinal material. It can relieve pain and repel snakes and insects. If you encounter it in the future, cut it off and dry it. I can exchange this sachet for you for a two-pound copper vessel, or two
Bronzeware weighing less than one pound..."
"Wow!"
There was a burst of excitement and exclamation all around.
The old patriarch of the Muya tribe was also very surprised, but he quickly shook his head and said: "This is the harvest brought by His Majesty the Witch King. We can't take it. If we get musk in the future, we will definitely dry it and preserve it and send it to His Majesty the Witch King."
!”
"You're welcome, old patriarch. This kind of musky deer is rare. I've only gotten three of them so far. They're very valuable. It's a fair deal to exchange them for one or two pieces of bronze that you urgently need. You don't have to refuse!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Witch King!"
Seeing that Xu Chen was serious about what he said, the old patriarch agreed excitedly and asked two older women with feathers on their heads to hang it in the room and put it away.
The year before last, the Muya tribe received Xu Chen's guidance and began to plant and collect pepper. They harvested a lot for two consecutive years. Last year, the witch chiefs' conference sent the Ba tribe to exchange for a lot of pottery. This year, the shaman chiefs' convention sent the Ba tribe to exchange for some pottery.
and several sharp bronze axes.
Although the amount of each transaction is not large, pepper has indeed brought a way for the Muya tribe to increase their wealth, and the current situation is much better than that of the Hu and Ji tribes.
Although it is difficult to hunt forest deer with sachets, if you succeed, you will instantly get a huge fortune.
You must know that two pounds of copperware and two pounds of pepper are almost the same price.
The Muya tribe's annual pepper production is only about ten kilograms.
The wealth gained by this deer was equal to the harvest of a group of women who worked hard for several days to pick pepper.
What's more, pepper cultivation also consumes a lot of manpower and time.
During the lively conversation, Xu Chen revealed his plan to build a road from Maogongling to the Muya tribe and then to the Ji tribe. At the same time, he also expressed the hope that the Muya tribe could relocate part of the road to Maogongling to build houses and reclaim wasteland.
suggestions, and also explained in detail the impact of the interactions between tribes on Maogong Ridge after the road is built in the future. The group of people listened with surprise and excitement.
Because all the Muya tribe members did not expect that Xu Chen would plan to detour through their own tribe.
Nor did I expect that the Muya tribe would be proposed to relocate.
Currently, the Muya tribe is located in the northwest, and it is inconvenient to communicate with other tribes. There is almost no interaction on weekdays, and it is quiet and closed.
But after moving to Maogongling, people from various tribes will come and go by horseback and carriage all year round. There will be too many opportunities for communication, and it will also become very lively.
When there are many people and it is lively, the safety will be greatly increased.
But many others are also worried. After all, they have lived here for hundreds of years and have become accustomed to everything nearby. They feel nervous and afraid of moving elsewhere.
Therefore, facing this incredible plan put forward by Xu Chen, the Muya tribe divided into two factions amidst the noise.
One group is headed by a group of elite hunters. They are all Xu Chen's die-hard supporters. They have followed him out several times and their horizons are much broader. They all know that what Xu Chen said makes sense. Maogongling has flat terrain and convenient transportation.
, relocation in the past was indeed beneficial to the development of the tribe.
The other group is dominated by many old and weak men and women. They are mainly worried and afraid that they will not be accustomed to life.
Although there was no result in the debate until the meat was cooked, Xu Chen was not in a hurry and said that this was just a suggestion, not a requirement.
In fact, human migration is constantly changing with the times and environmental changes. If the Muya tribe does not go, maybe the Wu tribe, Ji tribe, and Hu tribe will be interested. Even if he doesn't say it, there may still be tribes willing to move in the future.
In the past, this natural change was just too slow, and it might take ten, a hundred or more years.
God can wait, but Xu Chen can't wait.
Now that this idea has been raised, he will still try his best to complete it as soon as possible.
After all, the Muya Tribe currently has hundreds of people, and it is already considered a large ethnic group. Even if it is divided into two and migrates over to form two tribes, it will still develop in the future.
Furthermore, the division and spread of tribes has always been the main direction of the development of human civilization in the early stages. Only during the large-scale fusion wars in the patrilineal clan stage and the emergence of kingship did humans slowly begin to gather and form towns around large tribes.
Therefore, the current task is to continuously break up large tribes and spread them to more areas for farming and settlement, so that they can develop faster, and then rely on some transportation nodes and use transactions to form some small tribes with certain social functions.
Gathering points, using points to lead to areas, forming a new social pattern.