A few days after the old witch came back, the members of the Shangui tribe went to the Teng tribe trading area to do business, and Shanjia took the opportunity to visit Jiang Xuan.
Jiang Xuan was very happy and personally cooked a table of delicious food for the mountain turtle.
After filling their stomachs, the two began to talk about business.
"Although the Raptor Tribe is gone, the tribes from the Western Wilderness are still migrating here. There are already several small tribes around the Great Swamp, as well as medium-sized tribes, but they continue to move south and do not stay here.
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Shanjia said worriedly: "We have already dealt with medium-sized tribes, so I'm not very afraid, but if we encounter a large migrating tribe, can we withstand it?"
Jiang Xuan nodded and said: "Based on the current situation, there will definitely be large tribes migrating from the Western Wilderness to the Southern Wilderness in the future. However, you don't have to worry too much. The big tribes will definitely look down on our place."
A large tribe with a population of at least over 10,000, the edge of the Southern Wilderness is definitely not their destination, but the more fertile central part of the Southern Wilderness.
Even if you can't reach the middle part, you must at least be close to the middle part.
To put it bluntly, in an era dominated by hunting and gathering, the edge of the Southern Wilderness was only suitable for the survival of some small tribes and could not support the large tribes.
Only places that are wider and richer in materials are suitable for the survival of large tribes.
The mountain armor shook his head and said, "I'm afraid that if the big tribe wants to replenish food here, it will kill us easily."
Jiang Xuan smiled and said: "We can't avoid what is coming. It's useless to think so much. We might as well work hard to develop and grow. Even the big tribes won't dare to touch us easily."
"That's all it can do."
The Golin picked up a piece of dried fruit on the table and threw it into his mouth, using food to soothe his anxious mood.
"By the way, Chief Shanjia, I found out what you asked me to inquire about last time. The remains of your old Turtle God are indeed still there."
Hearing Jiang Xuan's words, Shanjia swallowed the dried fruit in his mouth with a bang, and then asked eagerly: "Chief Xuan, are you telling the truth?"
"Of course it's true. Do you know about the red ant tribe?"
Upon hearing the words "Red Ant Tribe", Shanjia immediately gritted his teeth and said: "Of course I know that the Red Ant Tribe is the mortal enemy of our Shangui Tribe, and every member of the Shanjia Tribe will never forget it!"
"That's right. The old turtle god's remains are in the red ant tribe, and they built a house to show off to the people of other tribes."
Jiang Xuan repeated the old witch's words.
"Damn red ants! How dare they do this to the remains of the old turtle god!"
The Mountain Turtle was instantly furious because what the Red Ant Tribe did was undoubtedly severely humiliating the Mountain Turtle Tribe.
However, after the anger, the mountain beetle felt an extreme sense of powerlessness, because the red ant tribe was still a large tribe and had lasted for countless years.
And their Mountain Turtle Tribe has now become a small tribe. Even if they are angry, what can they do to the Red Ant Tribe?
Jiang Xuan watched Shan Jia go from erupting to silence, so he naturally knew what he was thinking.
Jiang Xuan patted Shanjia on the shoulder and said: "Leader Shanjia, don't be discouraged. As long as you work hard to strengthen the tribe, you may not have the chance to return to the central part in the future and destroy the red ant tribe for revenge."
Shan Jia just thought Jiang Xuan was comforting him and smiled reluctantly, but said nothing.
Soon after, Shan Jia said goodbye to Jiang Xuan and returned to the tribe with the soldiers of the Shan Gui Tribe in a depressed mood. Even Shan Jia had no intention of studying those beautiful swords and coins.
…
March 16, east coast of Teng tribe, shipyard.
"Chief, our first wooden boat has finally been built and will be ready for trial sailing soon."
"The new one is five meters long and one and a half meters wide, making it much larger than any canoe we have ever made."
"According to the leader's request, important parts of the new ship are made of mortise and tenon structures and reinforced with bronze nails."
The soldiers at the shipyard excitedly introduced the situation of the wooden ships to Jiang Xuan. The completion of the new ship was a great breakthrough for them.
Jiang Xuan circled around the wooden boat. Although the structure was relatively simple, just splicing all the wooden boards and keels together, it was already a very big breakthrough for the Vine Tribe.
Jiang Xuan stroked the filled gaps between the wooden boards and asked curiously: "How did you fill these gaps? Will they dissolve after soaking in water?"
"Chief, we use a kind of tough bark to peel off these gaps, tear them into thin strands, and slowly fill them up."
"But this alone wasn't enough. Later we burned the snail shells into ash, mixed it with a very viscous tree sap, and then filled the gaps bit by bit."
"We have tried it. Mix the sap and snail shell ash evenly. After drying, soak it in water for ten days and it will be fine."
Jiang Xuan nodded and said: "As long as you try it, it's a matter of human life and there is no room for any mistakes."
"Show me the sap you use."
A soldier immediately brought a clay pot. After opening it, a brown liquid was revealed with a pungent smell, a bit like raw lacquer, but not raw lacquer.
Jiang Xuan has seen this kind of tree sap before, it is a strange material belonging to this world.
Some tribesmen use it to smear the pillars and walls of wooden houses to prevent insects and corrosion.
Unexpectedly, it has now become one of the important materials for shipbuilding.
Then, Jiang Xuan carefully inspected all aspects of the wooden boat, including the rowing oars, and found no problems, which made him very satisfied.
"Since there is no problem, let's go into the water and try it."
Although there seems to be nothing wrong with the appearance, whether the ship can sail will not be known until it is launched into the water.
"rise!"
Soldiers from the six shipyards ran to both sides of the new ship, roared, and then lifted the entire new ship up.
The soldiers were very strong and had no problem lifting a wooden boat.
Outside the shipyard, there is an artificial lake that was specially dug for the trial voyage of new ships. The artificial lake is connected to the Feiyu River. As long as there are no problems in the artificial lake, the new ship can be driven directly to the river along the waterway.
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After the soldiers from the shipyard carried the new ship outside, they did not launch it into the water immediately. Instead, they placed it on the ground first. Following Jiang Xuan's instructions, they placed a large, flat stone in the cabin in the middle of the wooden ship.
This large stone is called a ballast stone and is essential for sailing without a ship.
If there are no ballast stones and the wooden ship does not carry enough cargo, it will be easy for the ship to capsize on the water when people are getting on and off the ship, or even during the voyage.
After placing the ballast stones, the new ship was finally pushed into the water.
"Crash..."
When a new ship enters the water, due to the presence of ballast stones, it hardly rocks and is very stable.
"I'll go up first."
Jiang Xuan got on the ship without hesitation. At this important moment, Jiang Xuan must show enough confidence in the soldiers in the shipyard, so that they will work harder in the future.
After Jiang Xuan went up, two more warriors came up. Each of them took an oar and started rowing.
With the rowing of the oars, the new ship broke through the water and slowly moved forward.
The artificial lake was not very big. After the new boat made several turns in it, Jiang Xuan directly ordered the new boat to be sailed into the Feiyu River.
After entering Feiyu River, the new boat really begins to play its role.
Compared with the crude canoes of the past, the new boat saves effort in rowing, can turn flexibly, and has a larger carrying capacity. The advantages are too obvious.
After a trial period in the Feiyu River, the new ship returned to the artificial lake, and Jiang Xuan also got off the ship.
Facing the expectant looks of the soldiers in the shipyard, Jiang Xuan said angrily: "I announce that the first new ship of the Vine Tribe has successfully completed its sea trial!"
"good!"
"Very good!"
…
The soldiers in the shipyard cheered excitedly. They have been waiting for this moment for too long!