Chapter 518: Contentment is the greatest happiness (Please subscribe and vote)
"This, I heard that he is the leader of the Han tribe. I heard that he is very powerful. He is not very old, but very smart. He taught the tribesmen many things they didn't know before.
For example, making salt, weaving, building cars, planting and raising animals, these are all taught by this leader. To the people of the Han tribe, he is like the god of the Han tribe.
And there is a saying in the Han tribe that this leader is the child of God, which is why he is born to understand the uses of all things and how to use them. Even if it is a piece of stone, he can refine iron from it, and he can also use iron to make useful tools and sharp weapons."
The indigenous leader explained, but there were some things he still didn't say. He had seen many tribes around him, and also came into contact with more tribes in the Han tribe. Everyone had their own beliefs, from flowers, birds, fish and insects, to fire, wood, water and soil, to the sun, moon and stars in the sky, and even dead ancestors.
But it was the first time he heard of the Han tribe worshipping a living person. However, judging from the various deeds of the leader of the Han tribe, it was okay to worship him as a god. Maybe he was sent by God to benefit mankind.
Niu Wei listened carefully and learned something that made him feel very magical. That is, the leader of the Han tribe seemed to know everything. Was he really a child of God, sent to benefit mankind?
It was hard to say. Moreover, in this era of serious pantheism, there was no such thing as "there are no gods in the world".
Putting aside these strange ideas, Niu Wei no longer thought about it and reaffirmed his original intention. It didn't matter where those technologies came from. He just wanted to learn those technologies, of course, if possible.
The two groups set out on the journey north again. During this period, they met other tribes and people. After communicating, they found that some of them wanted to work in the Han tribe, and some were ready to join the Han tribe, and there were even only dozens of people.
There are also some with more complex composition, ranging from a dozen to a hundred and eighty people, all of which are made up of "savages", that is, those poor people who live in groups of three or five and don't even have a tribe.
These savages were gathered by "ideal" people, who said that they would be taken to a place where they could have enough food and no danger, and they only had to help the tribe work every day.
Those savages also received benefits, such as animal skins, food and white salt, in short, things that could win their trust, hoping that they would follow them.
Niu Wei was very curious about this matter, so he pulled a leader to the side, and after bribing him with a bronze dagger, he knew the purpose of these people.
"The Han tribe wants savages. As long as they are healthy, even if they have a little disability, it's okay as long as they can farm and work."
"Don't you know? The conditions for the Han tribe to accept new people are different from before. Those who don't have supplies or don't have many companions will be regarded as savages. They can only help the old tribesmen to farm. They have to work for two years before they can get the treatment of formal tribesmen. That thing is called, called, oh, yes, it's a household registration.
But it's okay for large tribes to join. As long as the population is more than 20, they can also get different titles according to the number of people and the amount of things they carry, whether they are useful or not."
"What is a title?" Niu Wei asked puzzled and curious.
"Well, I can't say what it is, but it's similar to the status in the tribe. For example, the leader can distribute food and women first, and others are second, third, and so on.
The title is similar. The higher the title, the more things you get, but the Han tribe will not distribute women and food. They distribute land that can grow food."
"Then what benefits can you get from bringing these savages over?" Niu Wei asked again.
"Hey, of course I make money. I sell it to people with high titles. You don't understand. People with high titles in the Han tribe have more land, more food, and more money, but they also have a lot of work to do. They can't do it at home, so they can only find wild people outside.
But these people with titles are not ordinary people in the Han tribe. They are basically small officials or something, that is, the kind who manage people, like the team leaders in other tribes, the leaders who lead people to hunt or gather, but they manage different things.
These people have endless things to do, so they don't have time to go out to look for wild people, so I help them find them, just in exchange for some money."
The man took the bronze dagger given by Niu Wei and liked it very much. After all, metal things are rare, especially weapons. The Han tribe will not easily sell them.
Niu Wei frowned and pondered for a while, and when he understood it almost, he asked another question.
"Then how do you know all this? It seems like you are very familiar with the Han Tribe."
"Hehehe, of course. I was one of the first people who worked in the Han Tribe. It has been almost two years now, but I have never joined the Han Tribe." "
Why, didn't you say that the Han Tribe is very good?" Niu Wei asked again.
"Well, didn't I just say that when I first went there, I just worked, and then I could exchange some things when I left. If I joined the Han Tribe, I would also be given a house, and everyone would farm together and share the food.
It was so tiring, and there was endless work to do every day. I found that those who worked with me at the beginning, after joining, except for having a house, did not live as comfortably as I did.
They did as much work as us, but they did not get as much as us. Moreover, not only did the Han Tribe provide us with food and accommodation, but we were also given food when we left. Every day after work, someone would prepare meals for us, and I only had to eat.
As for them, after joining, they not only had to work during the day, but also had to find firewood. I have to figure out my own way, I have to cook my own meals, I have to wait for the tribe to give me meat, if I don't want to wait I have to raise livestock, but after raising livestock I have to spend time feeding them, I am busy all day long
. This year, the leader of the Han tribe has changed again, everything is privatized, the land is divided, food is not distributed, how much to eat depends on how much I grow, I feel worse than us outsiders working, at least we are still fed by the Han tribe.
But the title is a good thing, the higher the title, the higher the things and status you get, but that thing is only for the Han tribe itself, if outsiders want to get the title, they can only see how many people and useful things they can bring when they join. "
"So you brought these savages, firstly to exchange for money, and secondly to get a title with these people?" Niu Wei speculated.
"Hehe, that's about it, but I haven't saved enough money yet. When I have more money, I will find a group of savages to bring them to join."
"Then why do you save so much money? What's the use?" Niu Wei was very eager to learn more about the Han tribe.
"Haha, what do you think? Money is a good thing. With money, you can buy cows, horses, cars, and buy food and clothes. If you don't save more now, you will have no chance to join the Han tribe in the future.
Do you know how the people in the Han tribe live? To use cows to plow the land, you can only go to the government to rent it, and the cows are not yours. It's even harder to buy a car. It's not something that ordinary people can afford. A four-wheeled car is more expensive than a boat.
The most critical thing is not the value of those things, but the ordinary tribesmen spend most of their time on farming every day. How can they have time to do other things to make money? If they want to buy a two-wheeled cart and a cow for work, I don't know how many years it will take to save money.
Will I be poor like them? No, I won't. It's good now. I'll save more money first. I'm not controlled by the Han tribe. I have plenty of time to make money. When I save enough money for my future life, I'll join the Han tribe to get a title and a position that doesn't require any work. Wouldn't it be more comfortable this way? "
After saying this, the savage leader played with the bronze dagger in his hand and walked away. Niu Wei didn't chase him, but chewed on the meaning of these words on the spot
. At the same time, he also had a better understanding of the Han tribe. It seems that the bottom of the Han tribe is not living well, so why are there so many tribes taking the initiative to join it? Regarding this question, Niu Wei raised his doubts to the original indigenous leader in the next journey.
"Why do you say we join the Han tribe? It's not simple. Of course, we go there to live a good life."
"But I heard from others that the Han tribe also has titles, and those ordinary people don't live well?" Niu Wei asked his own question.
"Hey, then you have to look at what you want. The lives of those ordinary tribesmen have their own land and their own food. They can eat as much as they want, and they can sell the leftovers for money.
Although the money is not much, it is definitely enough to live on. As long as they don't want to be a city lord or a county governor, what's the point of having so much money?
Just like those ordinary tribesmen in the Han tribe, although they have no horses or cars to go out, why do they want to go out?
I don't know what others think, but the tribesmen in our tribe are willing to go. There are almost four hundred people in my tribe. We don't know how to grow food, raise animals, or weave cloth. We can only rely on hunting and gathering to get food and animal skins every day. But for a tribe of hundreds of people, it is too difficult to have enough food every day and to live safely every day.
But it's different in the Han tribe. There are many people there. , it is safe enough, no enemy can beat so many of us, there are walls there, no wild animals can kill us, and it is stable enough.
We farm and can eat our fill every day without gathering, we raise livestock and can eat meat without risking hunting, and without animal skins, we can weave cloth to make clothes.
Even if you really don't want to live this kind of life and want to be a leader, there are plenty of jobs in the Han tribe. If you learn some skills, you will have plenty of opportunities in the future, and you can also work in the workshop to earn wages, which is dozens of yuan a month. What is better than being hungry now? "
Niu Wei nodded thoughtfully, and then quickly figured out the problem. This is the difference in needs, and the conditions for satisfaction are also different. People don't think about it at all. They just want to have a safe place to live, fill their stomachs every day, eat meat every now and then, not freeze to death in winter, and have a woman who can give birth to children.
The person they met before was not new to their Xin tribe. This kind of person is just lazy and always wants to get the same amount of materials no matter how much he works. He is too lazy to grow food himself, and he fantasizes about becoming a superior person and suppressing others to satisfy his inner arrogance.
From this point of view alone, the Han tribe is similar to their Xin tribe. There are all kinds of people, and the tribe members' ideas are not monolithic.
"This should be a common feature of large tribes with many people." Niu Wei finally concluded.
However, it also discovered a crisis from this incident, a threat from the Han tribe. The Han tribe is more technologically advanced than them, but the key is that the Han tribe is still rapidly expanding its population in many ways.
How many people are there in the Han tribe now? Niu Wei didn't know, but he understood that along the way, he had met one or two thousand people who wanted to join the Han tribe, and he didn't know how many such people there were. After all, this was only one direction he was going. What about other directions of the Han tribe? Are there other ways to absorb population?
This population growth rate is really terrible, much more terrifying than that of the Xin tribe.
After all, the Xin tribe is an island. There are only a few tribes on the island, and they have long been ruled by the Xin tribe. Although the names of the tribes are different, the Xin tribe has actual control. In general, the population is only more than 80,000.
Although there has been some growth in recent years, it has not exceeded 90,000, and this is just an estimated number. The Han tribe has household registration and identity, and there are special officials to take charge of these matters, but the Xin tribe does not. The writing tools such as bamboo slips, charcoal pencils, and clam knives alone limit the use and popularization of their writing.
The more Niuwei compares in small matters, the more he can feel the strength of the Han tribe. It seems that the Han tribe has more mature management methods than them in any situation.
In short, the Han tribe is more efficient, energetic, and growing rapidly than their Xin tribe.
However, due to its own geography and other reasons, the Xin tribe has limited its development ceiling. If it continues like this, even if the Han tribe is not a match for the Xin tribe now, it will not take long for the Han tribe to achieve a comprehensive reversal, even in terms of population.
Such a Han tribe must not be made an enemy. They really can't afford to offend them. It seems that this time when they go to the Han tribe, they should try to lower their status and act like a weak person. No matter how big the situation is, they must not yield, but they must also have a correct attitude. The Han tribe is stronger than them. This is an undeniable fact. They must not be arrogant. Otherwise, let alone learning technology, it will be a problem whether they can return alive.
Just thinking about it, following the footsteps of the natives, after more than a month of long journey, Niuwei and his party finally arrived at the legendary Han tribe in midsummer at the end of May, a large settlement called Liuyang County.
(End of this chapter)
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