Chapter 567: Soup is actually meat porridge (please vote and subscribe)
At about two o'clock in the afternoon, Yong and Xuan led Youfu and others to the tribe of Jiang.
After passing through the woods and walking to the open plain, Xuan looked up at the sun from time to time, and suddenly found a round flat stone with some star-like symbols engraved on it and a round hole in the middle. Then he took a wooden stick and inserted it into the round hole. The stick immediately cast a shadow on the stone plate, pointing obliquely to one of the symbols.
Then he adjusted it for a while, and when he confirmed the direction, he waved his hand and said to everyone, "Everyone go this way."
Youfu was very surprised to see this thing on the side. It seemed to be a smaller version of the sundial that the leader asked the rat witch to study. But isn't the sundial used to measure time? Can it also be used to measure direction?
"Xuan, what is this?" Youfu asked Xuan curiously as they walked.
"Oh, this place is a bit far from our tribe. Without this, we will easily go astray. With this thing, we can find the direction according to the shadow of the sun. As long as we have this thing, no matter how far our tribe members go, we can use it to find the way home."
Xuan proudly introduced it to Youfu. Although Youfu didn't understand many things he said, Youfu knew that this was indeed a tool for measuring direction.
However, Xuan soon realized a problem. Where is the tribe of Youfu's group?
"Youfu, where is your tribe? Is it far from here? How do you know the direction when you walk so far?
Oh, I know. You have always been walking along the river. Don't worry about the direction. When you want to go back, just follow the river back. Hahahaha, don't worry. When you go back, I will let Yonglai take you to the river."
Xuan first asked his doubts, but soon thought of something. Youfu and his group were walking along the river, so there was no problem of getting lost.
"Our tribe is called Han, and it's very far from here. You're right. We don't need to worry about getting lost if we follow the river, but we in the Han tribe also have our own tools for identifying directions."
You Fu said as he took out a square flat wooden box from a cowhide case hanging on his waist. It was only the size of a palm, and there were brass hinges and locks on both sides.
Xuan's eyes widened immediately. The people of the Han tribe always came up with a lot of very exquisite things. Although he had seen similar wooden boxes before, this one was even smaller and looked like a treasure, but he still couldn't see how to use it to identify directions. There must be something else inside.
As expected, Youfu opened the copper buckle and lifted the lid. The wooden box immediately split into two. There was nothing on the top, but the lower half of the box was inlaid with a small disc similar to the stone disc in his hand. I don't know what material it was made of. It was shining with a bright yellow light. There were several circles of protruding symbols on the surface. The outermost was a square symbol, and the middle was a circle of lines radiating outwards. Some of the lines and symbols were silver.
However, this thing was much more delicate than the Sun Shadow Stone in his hand, and there was no need to insert a small wooden stick in the middle. Instead, there was a diamond-shaped pointer lying on it. The pointer was shaking, and I didn't know how to use it.
"What is this? How do I use it?" Xuan was also curious. He thought that the Sun Shadow Stone of his tribe was already a black technology, something that other tribes around him didn't have. Now that he saw Youfu took out a better one, he immediately lost his composure and felt embarrassed.
"This was invented by our leader. He named it Luopan." At this point, You Fu complained in his heart. The leader's name was Luopan, and his surname was also Luo. He must want everyone to know that this was the leader's invention. He was really petty. What's the point? The leader invented many things. Does he have to name them
all after his surname "Luopan?" Xuan imitated the Chinese word.
"Yes, look at this needle. It will rotate, but it will always point to one direction. We use this to identify the direction."
You Fu fiddled with the pointer while speaking. After turning a few times, the pointer still stopped in the original direction. Then he turned the compass again, but the pointer still stopped there. Even if it shook a little, it soon stopped in the original direction.
"Hey? Really, how did they do this? This thing must be some kind of treasure, right?" Xuan was also stunned by this inexplicable magical phenomenon. He even thought it was some kind of divine object created by nature.
"This needle doesn't point to the east, south, west or north. Look at this silver line. You have to align the needle with this silver line to confirm the direction on the compass. This is accurate. Our leader calls this magnetic declination.
And this thing is a treasure, but it's not the only one. Our tribe has a lot of it. Our fleet alone has six. I have one, and the captain of each ship has one. There are two spares for the reconnaissance team that goes ashore.
This is made by our tribe. We have as many as we want. It's something invented by our leader."
Xuan was already in a state of shock. The main reason was that he couldn't imagine how the Han tribe made such a magical thing, and they could make so many more. What was its principle? Why did the needle always point to one direction when there was nothing moving it? What on earth was it?
"Then why does this thing always point to that place?" Yong on the side asked curiously. Xuan also immediately stared at You Fu and waited for his explanation. He wanted to know what it was, what principle it used, and whether there was any trick or divine power?
"This, I can't explain to you, because I don't really understand it myself, I just know how to use it. Our leader said that it was made using magnetism. He said that the earth under our feet has a force that we can't see, and it always moves in a fixed direction. The iron needle on it is affected by magnetism and can point to the same direction as the magnetism.
I can't explain it clearly, and it's hard to understand, mainly because we can't see that kind of force, but our leader said it exists. He also said that many birds flying in the sky use this to confirm their direction."
You Fu said a lot, but the people of Jiang's family were confused when they heard it. Not to mention that they didn't understand much Chinese, even You Fu, who was fluent in Chinese, didn't know what he was saying. He just repeated what the leader said at the time. In fact, he didn't understand it very well, mainly because he couldn't see it.
Science is a thing, there are many invisible things, some of which are very simple principles, but they just need a little imagination. Unfortunately, You Fu is not a person with a rich imagination.
"In short, our leader said that this is not divine power, but a kind of power that everyone can master, but you need some tools to use it."
Xuan and Yong didn't quite understand what they heard, but they understood that this thing was not divine power, but a magical power that could be used with the help of tools, but people couldn't see it, so Xuan asked again.
"So what tools did your tribe make with it? Are they useful?"
"No, for now, there is only this compass. Our leader said that if we want to borrow that kind of power, we need a lot of things, which are not what our Han tribe can do now, but maybe in the future.
The leader said he could show me some small things, but they are of no practical value. Anyway, he didn't show me. But our leader is very powerful. He made a lot of things. Since he said it's okay, then I believe him. He is still very trustworthy. He has never lied about what he said he could do."
Several people from the Jiang family looked a little disappointed, but also a little relieved. It seems that the Han tribe is not good at everything. There are still things that they can't make.
And Youfu's words also directly told them a message that the Han tribe is indeed very good at making things, which further strengthened Xuan's determination to keep a few people from the Han tribe. They are all living technology libraries.
The group chatted as they headed towards the Youjiang tribe. However, because they spent a lot of time talking on the road, they still couldn't get back to the tribe before dark. But now they were not far from the tribe, and there was no need to spend the night outside. They could reach the settlement in half an hour at most. So Xuan suggested to continue on their way and have a hot meal when they got back.
The sky in the wilderness was still very dark. Fortunately, it was a sunny day today, and there was a moon and stars in the sky, so it was not pitch dark. However, in order to illuminate the night and prevent attacks by wild beasts, the group stopped to make a few torches, grease, hay and sticks. The way to make fire was flint. From this point of view, there was not much difference between the Youjiang tribe and the Han tribe. It was just that in addition to flint, the Han tribe also had a steel flint to use with it, which made making fire more efficient.
However, at night, You Fu originally thought that without the sun, when the Sun Shadow Stone could not be used, some of the Jiang family members would definitely ask him to borrow a compass to identify the direction, otherwise at night, the visual range would be limited and they would definitely get lost. But it turned out not to be the case.
He saw them occasionally looking up at the sky, and then without hesitation, they led their people forward, saying things like, "Go this way, not far away, we will be there soon." This time, You Fu was surprised. How did they identify the direction at night? As soon as this question came up, You Fu immediately asked his doubts.
"Look at the stars. The moon and the stars can guide the direction. Just like that star, look at that one. That star will never move. It will appear there every night."
Xuan pointed to the northeast sky while speaking, saying that there was a star there, but Youfu was confused. There are so many stars in the sky over there. You just point at it and I know which one you are talking about.
However, Youfu also admired those who could observe the sky. They were all crazy. Just like the rat witch, he looked at the moon every day and watched the moon for his whole life. What else could this be if not crazy? The moon was fine, at least there were only two. This star-watching was even more abnormal. There were so many stars. How did you distinguish them and remember one of them at the same time?
However, he was not interested in this aspect, so he did not continue to delve into it. In his opinion, doing the same observation task every day was extremely boring, and he, Youfu, was just not a person who could be honest and content. He was active by nature, so he liked to venture everywhere, go to more places, see a wider world, and be a man like the wind.
In fact, he was very grateful to Luo Chong for giving him such an opportunity. He was not bound by the tribe and did not have to worry about the trivial matters of his tribe. He could leave his wife, daughter and son in the tribe, and did not have to worry about material supplies. He was also equipped with the best means of transportation. In the past, it was a carriage, and now it was a sailboat. With these supports, he did see places that he could never reach in his life.
The group lit torches in the dark and walked for more than half an hour. Finally, they came to a huge residential area full of light. Many people were cooking in the tribe. The scene was still spectacular.
Youfu and the others were also stunned. They had guessed that the Youjiang clan was a large tribe before, but they never thought it would be so large. According to the cooking fires, it can be seen that the houses here are still very wide, at least the size of a village, and the population is at least thousands of people.
However, because it was night and it was not very clear, Youfu still made a mistake in judgment. The population here was more than a thousand.
"Ah, you're finally back. Haha, we're cooking right now. You're in for a treat. Come on, come over here and drink some water and take a rest. I'll have someone make you some soup and let you taste the millet."
As soon as he arrived at his tribe, Xuan's spirit came up. Here, he was the host. He immediately entertained Youfu and the others warmly. He had to entertain them well and let them feel the prosperity and strength of the Jiang family, so that they could be sure to stay.
"Okay, then I'll trouble you. We've brought our own food. Let's try our Han tribe's specialties tomorrow."
When Youfu heard that there was that kind of new food to eat, he naturally stopped being polite. The reason why he agreed to come here was that he wanted to know all the relevant information about millet. Now that he had the opportunity to eat millet, how could he refuse.
"Yong, come here. I remember your sister has grown up, right? Let her cook for the people of the Han tribe. I think the Youzhi who saved you is pretty good. He is young, has done you a favor, and has a good relationship with their leader. He must have a lot of things. Go and make some arrangements. Make sure to keep that Youzhi."
After Youfu and the others sat down around a big tree stump, Xuan immediately pulled Yong aside and whispered.
"Ah? My sister, she..." Yong said in surprise.
"What's wrong? You don't agree? Didn't that Youzhi save you? And he is the youngest among them. He looks like he has just grown up not long ago. He is strong and not ugly. Why don't you like him? Your sister promised him, so she won't suffer any loss. If you don't agree, I will arrange for another girl to go. Don't say I didn't take care of you then." Xuan immediately threatened and induced.
"Ah, no, I didn't say I don't agree. I just don't know if they can stay. Okay, I'll go ask my sister." Yong thought about it and finally agreed reluctantly.
"Well, that's right, let's go."
Xuan walked away happily, and returned to the tree stump, chatting with Youfu and the others while waiting for dinner. After a while, a young girl came over with a three-legged pottery pot and began to serve them soup.
The people of the Han tribe were immediately amused. What soup is this? Isn't it the meat porridge of the Han tribe? They often eat meat porridge, but they always use rice. This porridge made with millet is indeed something they have never tasted before.
(End of this chapter)
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