Volume 1: Farming Chapter 16: My Emperor is always prepared for danger
Xiao Yun knew very well that it was impossible to make a fortune in business on the prairie. The reason was very simple. First, the prairie was extremely vast and sparsely populated. Second, the tribes on the prairie were not rich... The most powerful tiger tribe, that is, the king's tent on the prairie, according to what Xiao Yun learned from the tribe leader... was about the same size as the wealthy households in ancient feudal China. Er, no, the personal property and life enjoyment of the tiger king might not be as good as those of the local rich people in ancient towns...
Unless he could dump products to the human kingdom or even the orc empire in the east in the future, it would be impossible to make money by doing business. After figuring this out, Xiao Yun didn't bother with this aspect. He only thought about how to improve the living standards of his own small tribe. So the first thing he had to worry about for a long time was the issue of health and hygiene.
Wash hands before eating, and go to the bathroom to rub off mud on your body before getting on the kang (Xiao Yun has set a minimum bathing time, otherwise these guys will get wet in a few seconds and run out). The people in the tribe have gradually accepted these two points, but... they just regard this as Xiao Yun's personal stubbornness and follow it. They have no concept of hygiene. The most obvious manifestation is that every time they eat from the big pot, after eating, everyone's hands and even the rattan straw mats under their buttocks will be covered with grease, and the earthenware pots for vegetables and soup will inevitably be filled with mud, grass leaves and white hair of varying lengths...
The common sense that diseases enter the body through the mouth is known to all primary school students on Earth. However, it would be pointless for Xiao Yun to worry too much about teaching this common sense to the Snow Wolf People. After much thought, he decided to start from other aspects and indirectly influence the Snow Wolf People's eating habits. The method is: let all the Snow Wolf People hold their bowls to eat meat.
The Snow Wolf people cherished their supplies, and when they found that they could not hold the bowls with their greasy hands and would break them, it was natural for Xiao Yun to ask them to learn to use chopsticks or other tools instead of hands to touch food. For this reason, he could not wait to propose making pottery after building the mud brick house, and forcefully piled more than 20 clay pots of pottery bowls into the cave for the first pottery making, instead of making more water jugs or pottery pots that the tribe currently valued more.
I never expected that this plan would encounter a subversive crisis when it reached the final step...
"This bowl is made to be used, how can it not be used? The bowl can be used to hold wild vegetables and soup, as well as the allocated meat. Next time I will make some flat plates so that everyone doesn't have to put the allocated food on the rattan mat, which will make it more convenient for everyone to eat. Didn't we make pottery so that everyone in the tribe can use pottery bowls? Then why did we work so hard to make mud bricks and build kilns, collect firewood, grass and cow dung, and make these things?"
Xiao Yun became angrier as he spoke. He stretched out his claws and slapped the ground hard, raising a lot of dust.
The tribe leader sat cross-legged opposite him. He had asked people to collect all the more than 20 bowls he had made. Now he looked at Xiao Yun with a very disapproving expression and advised him earnestly: "Don't worry, Ayun, I can feel that you are thinking about the tribe members, but we don't have to use bowls to eat. Why risk damaging such beautiful bowls?" As he said that, he deliberately glared at Niu Jiao, indicating that Xiao Yun understood that there were many idiots like Niu Jiao among the tribe members. "How about this, let Qingcao and Dahe make a few black bowls like you made before, and let those who are willing to use them. As for these bright bowls, keep them until next year, so that we can exchange them for the salt that the tribe needs more, and maybe some cloth..."
"You don't understand what I mean, Chief. I also know that good pottery can be exchanged for what the tribe needs, but this batch of bowls is not a particularly successful product. We can make better ones in the next batch..." Seeing the chief's disapproving look, Xiao Yun could only take a step back and take a deep breath, "Okay, if the next batch of bowls is better, then we will use this batch of bowls for the tribe members to use, okay? From taking the clay to making the clay mold to firing the kiln, it only takes about eight days to fire a batch of bowls. Even if we want to trade them, no one will need to buy so many, right?"
The clan leader finally nodded this time... but judging from his expression, he didn't seem to think Xiao Yun could really do it - the number of shiny tableware he had seen in the king's tent was also very rare. No matter what Xiao Yun said, he thought that the shiny bowls that came out of the kiln this time were just a stroke of luck...
So at dinner that day, Xiao Yun, who thought that his eyes would suffer less while eating, once again faced the daily routine of losing his appetite - all kinds of mud and grass leaves were brought into the soup pot for cooking bean sprouts by pairs of large, greasy hands, and then a group of snow wolves held the soup pot with countless ingredients and drank from it one by one... The snow wolves all knew that drinking hot soup could warm their stomachs when the weather was cold, but don't expect them to remember to use wooden spoons when they don't even use bowls.
Xiao Yun, who had been holding his breath, immediately found Qingcao and Dahe after the big pot meal and proposed his next cooking plan.
"You're looking for a special stone? How special? What does it look like?"
Dahe blinked and asked curiously. This adult female snow werewolf had a very handsome face, with a high nose, thick eyebrows, deep eyes, and sharp features. Her skin was a little rough from the wind and sun, and there was a slightly obvious beast claw mark on her brow bone... When she didn't speak, she was a quiet, cool and handsome man. But when she spoke, her aura was exposed, and her silly and cute temperament could not be concealed.
Xiao Yun used a branch to draw a rough outline of a cluster of quartz stones on the ground. "Stones like this are grayish white or whiter, or maybe yellow. They are either clusters of crystals or blocks with special patterns. They are smooth and harder than ordinary stones. Hmm... It seems that they can be used as a substitute for weapons. Have you seen them?"
Dahe, who showed her silly and cute temperament as soon as she spoke, was actually quite smart among the Snow Werewolves. She stared at the cluster of quartz stones drawn by Xiao Yun for a few seconds and said, "If you mean the kind of white, hard stones that are made up of many small stones next to each other, Hongye has them."
"Huh?" Xiao Yun was a little bit unconvinced.
Da He nodded vigorously: "The stone knife she used to sharpen bone arrows is made of this kind of stone."
Xiao Yun had no impression of the name Hongye, but when he mentioned bone-grinding arrows, he immediately remembered it - among the five warriors of the tribe, there was indeed a brother who would grind bone arrows as soon as he sat down.
This is really a textbook case of darkness under the lamp. Xiao Yun wiped the sweat off his forehead and did not have time to feel sorry for himself for being blind. He stood up and went to find the soldier Hongye.
Da He grabbed him and pointed at the kang on the other side of the room: "Where are you going? Hong Ye is there."
"Ah?" One of the tribesmen who had just laid down on the kang raised his head with his arm propped up, "Who called me?"
Xiao Yun: "..." Could he say that, apart from the few brothers in the tribe that he was more familiar with, he hadn't remembered the others...
Warrior Hongye is one of the adult female snow werewolves in the tribe. She is of the same type as the original owner Ayun's mother. Although she is female, she has chest muscles like a governor and a height that can compete with Yao Ming. She is two heads taller than Xiao Yun... When Xiao Yun was face to face with her, he could only see hard muscles when he looked up... With such a threatening physique, it is no wonder that Xiao Yun can't even remember her face. Anyway, as a man with dignity, it is difficult for Xiao Yun to establish a sincere friendship with such a strong person.
"I do have stone knives, but they are for my own use. I can't give them to you to play with." Understanding Xiao Yun's meaning, the soldier Hongye stretched out his big palm and patted his little shoulder kindly, "How about this, I'll give you a stone, and you can use it to sharpen it for fun."
Xiao Yun stared with dead fish eyes: "..." Okay, compared to his stupid brother Niu Jiao, Hongye does have some maternal characteristics.
"I'm not playing around. I need quartz to make pottery. This special stone can be used to glaze pottery and make clay, which can make better pottery." Xiao Yun explained, "The amount needed will be huge. I need to get more to make pottery. Where did you pick up this stone?"
"Don't you use mud to make pottery? Can stones be made as well?" Hongye asked curiously.
"If I can find other special stones, I can make a lot of things out of them~" Xiao Yun sighed. If he could make ceramics, he could also make glass. It's just that making glass requires more materials, and he has nowhere to find them... Limestone and feldspar are relatively common minerals, but he can't do anything with soda ash and boric acid.
Although the stingy tribe leader refused to let his people use bright bowls, he did let them appreciate the tribe's own homemade bowls, which drew a lot of admiration - even ordinary pottery bowls on the grassland were worth a lot of money, so smoother and brighter ones were naturally more valuable. Hongye had also seen those beautiful bright bowls, so she cooperated with Xiao Yun's request much more than before. She immediately told Xiao Yun where she had picked up the quartz stone and promised to take Xiao Yun there the next day.
"Hongye, the place you're going is so far?" Xiao Yun was shocked to hear that it would take more than four hours to reach Hongye's patrol area. Snow werewolves have strong endurance and resilience , and their running speed is at least five times faster than that of humans. This must be a hundred kilometers away, right? !
"That's the farthest patrol area. We only need to go there once every five or six days. There are passages leading to the underground world around there." As soon as they sat down to talk, Hongye took out a piece of bone from his waist bag to sharpen arrowheads. "There are also holes dug by goblins nearby. We drove those guys away when we migrated here."
"..." Xiao Yun was dumbfounded. The creatures on the prairie were also very diverse. He knew there were tiny tribes like goblins, but, "Underground world?"
Hongye was stunned and looked at Qingcao and Dahe: "Has no one told Ayun about this?"
"Ayun used to be nonchalant ." Dahe cutely told the truth.
Xiao Yun: "..." Wait, how much does the autistic child of the original owner lack common sense of this world? Why do they all look like Ah Yun is so stupid and naive? !
"In short, it's... the underground world." Hongye seemed to have a headache. "It's a world similar to the world above ground, the territory of the dark elves... and the dark elves' vassals, the gray dwarves, black dwarves, and goblins... When those underground creatures are hungry and crazy, they will run out from various exits to rob the residents above ground. But this has nothing to do with us snow wolves. They are no match for us snow wolves."
Xiao Yun was confused... Well, the reason why this piece of grassland near the water source and lush grass that our small tribe chose has been idle for many years is that there is a threat from the underground world...
Hongye thought Xiao Yun was frightened and comforted him: "Don't be afraid, we Snow Werewolves are naturally not afraid of magic and piercing, and are the nemesis of the Dark Elves."
"Wait, let me sort this out." Xiao Yun pinched his brows and turned over the world structure that he had discussed with Sartao in his mind. This world was not a peaceful era. The Human Kingdom and the Orc Empire had not fought a national war because of the prairie and the sea. However, minor frictions and conflicts were inevitable, and the Human Kingdom was also at odds with itself... With the productivity of this world, it was good enough that humans were not conquered by nature, let alone transforming nature. Then the habitable space would definitely not be that large, just like China on Earth, although its land area is large, before humans entered modern society and had the ability to transform nature, it could only support a maximum of 100 million people. In that case, why didn't the Human Kingdom and the Orc Empire consider conquering the vast prairie with its flat land?
Never mind that the grassland peoples are tough and good at fighting, or how good the snow werewolves are at fighting, their total population is less than ten thousand. The tiger tribe, which is more capable of fighting, can mobilize three thousand warriors, which is the strength of the entire tribe. As for the cat tribe, it is said that the individual combat effectiveness varies greatly. As for the tauren, firstly, they love peace (after all, they are herbivores), and secondly, their total population is not that large... So the question is, all the grassland races combined have definitely less than 100,000 people. With such a small number of people occupying the entire grassland, can they really scare the Human Kingdom and the Orc Empire into giving up the war?
"Hmm... Hongye, the biggest security threat on our grassland is the underground world?" Xiao Yun was completely unable to make a judgment due to the limited information he knew.
"Of course not." Hongye said naturally, "The passage to the underground world on the grassland is just a remote exit, far away from the dark elves' hometown. Those roaming monsters are more troublesome."
"Then why hasn't the Orc Empire in the east attacked the grassland? Don't they even want to attack the human kingdom across the inland sea?" Xiao Yun asked.
"This... I haven't thought about this question. I don't know." Hongye scratched his head. "If they want to attack us, we will also fight back. The king's tent will summon warriors from all tribes to fight back. Ah Yun, why do you care about this? I have never heard of anyone attacking the grassland in all these years."
"Ayun, you are so weird." Dahe said cutely.
"Ayun, what's wrong with you? Why do you suddenly think of such a strange question?" Qingcao also tilted his head.
Xiao Yun: "..." Well, it's too ...
But this matter still left a thorn in Xiao Yun's heart. If the Human Kingdom and the Orc Empire were wary of each other and were not willing to go to war with the difficult grassland tribes easily for fear of being "persuaded to fight" by the other side, then Xiao Yun could understand it. Making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby ones was only applicable to a multi-country melee. If the three forces were to border each other, starting a war lightly would not end well. Any prior agreement would be nothing but a piece of waste paper in the face of the interests between countries.
However, if we insert an underground world with offensive channels into the mix, the problem becomes more complicated… The grassland tribes being too poor is not a get-out-of-jail-free card from being attacked. The history of wars on Earth has proven that the poorer and more backward an area is, the more likely it is to be targeted by predators. The fact that the grassland tribes occupied such a large, habitable plain is itself an original sin - in other words, there must be a deeper reason why the Orc Empire, the Human Kingdom, and the underground world did not invade the grasslands, and that reason… might be an active volcano that cannot even be mentioned.
"I feel more pressure... I can't be so lax. I have to increase my tribe's ability to withstand risks as soon as possible. I can't die so easily." Xiao Yun silently sweated and made up his mind - he must increase his voice in the tribe as soon as possible so that he can carry out the farming and population development in the tribe. At the very least, he had to quickly solve this time-wasting trivial matter of arguing with the tribe leader over whether to use the cooked bowls.
To be honest, this was not the first time Xiao Yun had thought of this problem, but he always had a leisurely mentality of taking his time and not feeling any urgency... Now he has decided to speed up the pace, but of course it will not get to the level of internal strife. After all, there is no class oppression within the tribe, and the clan leader works hard every day like the tribesmen, so there is naturally no need to carry out a small internal revolution; what's more, it's not that the clan leader cannot accept Xiao Yun's series of actions, he is just willing to support him only where he thinks it is good. This is a contradiction in concepts among the people and is not irreconcilable.
"It's impossible to seize power, but I can make the tribe leader more influenced by me and increase his initiative to cooperate with me in farming and population. Otherwise, the health and hygiene habits of the tribe will be delayed for ten days or half a month, and it's hard to say what will happen in the future..."
Lying side by side on the warm kang with his fellow tribesmen, Xiao Yun stared with eyes wide open as he pondered and formulated his plan to transform the clan leader, and reflected on his various actions during this period of time.
"Now it seems that I made a mistake. There is no point in asking Ashan to accompany me to burn the kiln on impulse. Ashan doesn't like doing such boring things at all. He is almost going crazy after being pressed for a day and a night. It would be better to call the tribe leader to burn the kiln with me. If he participates in the process, he should be more confident in using the bowl."
"In this case... the ceramic firing thing can no longer be done as I thought before, where I just quietly read the bar and wait for the results to come out before looking for the clan leader to slap him in the face... Oh, how could I have such a naive mentality?"
"Uh... Speaking of which, I think I was a bit pretentious when I deliberately asked the tribe leader to make bricks... Well, I even called Niu Jiao an idiot. I am also quite immature..."
In the darkness, Xiao Yun's old face turned red and he slapped himself in the face.
“I examine myself three times a day: self-criticism, self-criticism, and self-criticism!”
