Chapter 274: Borrowers of Food (Seeking votes and subscriptions)
Speaking of the Han tribe’s market, since Luo Chong decided to use animal skins as a universal trading item, the Han tribe currently has a very rich reserve of animal skins. While satisfying the needs of all tribesmen, the Han tribe can also use idle animal skins to make some luxury goods, that is, cowhide drums. There was
only one cowhide drum during the sacrifice last spring, but now there are eight of the same specifications, which are placed on both sides of the four city gates as warning tools for city defense. A total of more than a dozen soldiers are assigned to guard the four city gates, four at each city gate. Two of them burn fires in the city gates to keep warm, and the other two patrol on the city walls, and they will rotate every once in a while.
It is impossible to fight a war. With such a tall city wall, even if the enemy attacks, they can’t get up, unless the other party has a ladder, but Luo Chong has not heard of any tribe that has built a ladder, so these city defense soldiers are just decorations, just to open and close the city gates.
On the seventh day after the second heavy snow in winter, when Luo Chong was casting a large iron pot for the oil mill with Da Zui, the big drum at the south gate of the Han tribe suddenly sounded. The sound of the drum spread throughout the entire Hanyang City, which scared Luo Chong. When he was still wondering what was going on, he listened carefully to the drum and found that only one drum was beating, so he felt relieved.
There are two drums at each gate of Hanyang City. When encountering an enemy attack, both sides must be beaten together. If only a small number of people come to the city and it is judged that the other party is not an enemy, then only one side can be beaten. This is the rule set by Luo Chong before, so Luo Chong can judge the situation outside the city through the drum sound.
"You continue to cast pots. Those outside are not enemies. Don't worry. I'll go to the south gate to check."
"Yes, we know, be careful, leader."
Luo Chong told Da Zui a few words, picked up his sword and went straight to the south gate, climbed up the city wall, and the soldiers guarding the city stopped beating the drums when they saw the leader coming.
"What's wrong? Why are you beating the drum? What are those people doing outside the city?"
Luo Chong climbed up the city wall, poked his head out of the slit and looked down. He found eight strangers wandering outside the south gate, looking up at the tower.
"Chief, those people are new here. They just walked around outside. When they saw someone on the city wall, they gestured to us, as if they wanted to trade. I heard them shouting that they were going to the market." A soldier explained to Luo Chong.
"Trade? They came to trade in the middle of winter? I don't think they brought anything. What are they trading?" Luo Chong poked his head out again and looked at it, and said in confusion.
"We don't know either, so we don't know whether to open the door or not, so we beat the drum." The soldier replied.
"Open the door, lower the drawbridge, these few people can't make any big waves." Luo Chong thought for a while and said to several soldiers.
"Yes, chief."
After hearing the order, several soldiers hurriedly turned the capstan to lower the drawbridge, and then followed Luo Chong down the city wall, ready to open the door to ask about the situation.
The eight people outside the city were warriors sent by a small tribe of less than a hundred people. They had been to the market of the Han tribe before, but because the prices in the Han tribe were too expensive, they could not afford many animal skins, and there were no special products that Luo Chong liked, so they did not trade. They just came here to take a look and left.
But now their tribe's food reserves are seriously short, and they can only hold out for a month at most. They originally wanted to go out hunting and dig out some hibernating small animals to fill their stomachs, but a sudden heavy snow covered the entire earth. They had no choice but to try their luck in the Han tribe and seek some help.
But when they first arrived at the Han tribe, they were a little dumbfounded. They had come to the market once in the fall before, when the city wall had just been built, and only a circle of moat was more eye-catching. Now they saw that the moat had long been frozen, but there was a tall city wall rising from the ground. If they hadn't found a suspension bridge protruding from the middle of the city wall, they would have almost lost the gate.
After careful observation, they saw that there were people on top of this tall building, and they were Han people with tied hair. They were sure that they had not found the wrong place.
After the two sides exchanged words, the sound of drums could be heard again on the city wall, which almost scared the people away. If it weren't for the tribe's continued survival, they might have run away. This Han tribe was too scary, with strange things everywhere.
After waiting for a while, they found that the drums stopped and the suspension bridge was slowly lowered. The part blocked by the suspension bridge revealed a red lacquered gate. After a moment of surprise, they gathered in front of the suspension bridge, but still didn't dare to go over.
Inside the city wall, Luo Chong led four soldiers holding bronze spears to the doorway, removed the solid wooden bolts as thick as calves, and creaked the door open halfway, so they could see the eight people outside carefully.
They were wearing leaky animal skin clothes, their noses and ears were frozen red, their hands and feet were covered with frostbite, and they stood at the other end of the suspension bridge, shivering with stone spears and bone guns, looking at Luo Chong and several soldiers at the city gate with fear.
Luo Chong held the long sword on his waist and waved at them, signaling them to come in. Several people stepped onto the suspension bridge tentatively, then came to the door, and surrendered their weapons at Luo Chong's request. They were then taken into the city. The group entered an empty house where no one lived. Each of them brought a bowl of meat soup prepared for slaves, and Luo Chong began to question them.
"You said you came here to trade? What for? You didn't bring anything worth exchanging?"
"Leader of the Han tribe, this, this, is like this. Our tribe doesn't have much food. It snowed heavily this year, and it's hard to find prey, so we want to borrow some food from the Han tribe. Although we don't have anything to exchange now, we will definitely return it to the Han tribe when we have prey next year. Do you think this is okay?" The leading man asked Luo Chong tentatively.
Haha, Luo Chong laughed out loud. Is there even food to borrow these days? When I was a child, I only heard of people borrowing salt and soy sauce in the village. Now I actually met someone who came to borrow food. Is there anyone who can return this thing after borrowing it? You can't even feed your own tribe, and you still expect them to have surplus food to pay you back next year? You must be kidding.
"It's impossible to borrow. Although our Han tribe has enough food, we won't lend food to others. But I can understand your difficulties, and don't say I won't help you.
How about this, didn't you say you came to trade? Then let's trade some food. It doesn't matter if there are no animal skins and specialties. Don't you still have people? Since your tribe can't feed itself, why not just give these people to our Han tribe, and we will also give you some food in exchange.
This will not only reduce your burden, but also give you more reserves. Isn't it killing two birds with one stone? What do you think?"
(End of this chapter)
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