Chapter 207 The First Real Ship
A few days after the old witch came back, the people of the Mountain Turtle Tribe went to the trading area of the Teng Tribe to trade, and Shanjia took the opportunity to visit Jiang Xuan.
Jiang Xuan was very happy and personally prepared a table of delicious food for the pangolin.
After filling their stomachs, the two began to talk about business.
"Although the Raptor Tribe is gone, the tribes in the Western Wilderness are still migrating here. There are already several small tribes around the Great Swamp, and there are also medium-sized tribes, but they continue to migrate south and do not stay here."
Shan Jia said worriedly: "We have dealt with medium-sized tribes before, so I am not afraid of them. But if we encounter a large migrating tribe, can we hold on?"
Jiang Xuan nodded and said, "Based on the current situation, there will definitely be large tribes migrating from the Western Wilds to the Southern Wilds in the future. However, you don't have to worry too much. The large tribes will definitely not look down on our place."
A large tribe with a population of at least ten thousand. The edge of the Southern Wilderness is definitely not their destination, but the more fertile central part of the Southern Wilderness.
Even if we can't reach the center, we have to at least be close to it.
To put it bluntly, in an era when hunting and gathering were the main activities, the edge of the Southern Wilderness was only suitable for the survival of a few small tribes and could not support the large tribes.
Only places that are larger and more abundant in resources are suitable for the survival of large tribes.
Shanjia shook his head and said, "I'm afraid the big tribe will come here to replenish their food and kill us in the process."
Jiang Xuan smiled and said, "What is coming cannot be avoided. There is no point in thinking too much. We should work hard to develop and grow stronger. Then even the big tribes will not dare to touch us easily."
"That's all we can do."
The pangolin picked up a piece of dried fruit on the table and threw it into his mouth, using food to calm his anxious mood.
"By the way, Chief Panther, I have found out what you asked me to find out last time. The remains of your old turtle god are indeed still there."
Hearing Jiang Xuan's words, Shan Jia swallowed the dried fruit in his mouth with a gulp, and then asked anxiously: "Chief Xuan, is what you said true?"
"Of course it's true. Do you know the Red Ant Tribe?"
Hearing the words "Red Ant Tribe", Shan Jia immediately gnashed his teeth and said, "Of course I know that the Red Ant Tribe is the mortal enemy of our Mountain Turtle Tribe. Every member of the Mountain Turtle Tribe will never forget it!"
"That's right. The remains of the old turtle god are in the Red Ant Tribe. They built a house there to show off to people from other tribes."
Jiang Xuan repeated the old witch's words.
"Damn those red ants! How dare they do this to the remains of the old turtle god!"
The pangolin was instantly furious, because the Red Ant Tribe's actions were undoubtedly a severe humiliation to the Mountain Turtle Tribe.
However, after his anger, Shanjia felt an extreme sense of powerlessness in his heart, because the Red Ant Tribe was still a large tribe and had lasted for many years.
But 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 the pangolin go from explosion to silence, and naturally knew what he was thinking.
Jiang Xuan patted Shanjia on the shoulder and said, "Chief Shanjia, don't be discouraged. As long as you work hard to expand the tribe, you may have the opportunity to return to the central region in the future and destroy the Red Ant Tribe for revenge."
Shanjia thought Jiang Xuan was just trying to comfort him, so he forced a smile but didn't say anything.
Not long after, Shanjia said goodbye to Jiang Xuan and returned to the tribe with the warriors of the Mountain Turtle Tribe in a depressed mood. Shanjia didn't even have the heart to study those beautiful knife coins.
…
March 16th, at the shipyard on the east bank of the Teng tribe.
"Chief, our first wooden boat has finally been built and will be launched for sea trials soon."
"The new boat is five meters long and one and a half meters wide, which is much larger than any canoe we have built before."
"According to the leader's request, important parts of the new ship are made of mortise and tenon joints and reinforced with bronze nails."
The shipyard soldiers excitedly introduced the situation of the wooden boat to Jiang Xuan. The completion of the new ship was a great breakthrough for them.
Jiang Xuan walked around the wooden boat. Although the structure was relatively simple, just splicing all the wooden boards and keels together, it was already a huge breakthrough for the Teng Tribe.
Jiang Xuan stroked the gaps between the wooden boards that had been filled, and asked curiously, "How did you fill these gaps? Will they dissolve after being soaked in water?"
"Chief, we used a kind of tough bark to peel off, tear it into thin strips, and slowly fill these gaps."
"But that wasn't enough, so we burned snail shells into ashes, mixed them with a very sticky tree sap, and then filled the gaps little by little."
"We have tried it. We mixed the sap and snail shell ash evenly, dried them, and then soaked them in water for ten days. It worked fine."
Jiang Xuan nodded and said, "It's good to have tried it. Human lives are at stake and there is no room for error."
"Show me the sap you used."
A soldier immediately brought a clay jar. After opening it, a brown liquid was revealed with a pungent smell, a bit like raw lacquer, but not raw lacquer.
Jiang Xuan had seen this kind of tree sap before. It was a kind of peculiar material belonging to this world.
Some tribesmen use it to paint the pillars and walls of wooden houses to prevent insects and decay.
Unexpectedly, it has now become one of the important materials for shipbuilding.
Then, Jiang Xuan carefully checked various parts of the wooden boat, including the oars, and found no problems, which made him very satisfied.
"Since there is no problem, let's go in the water and give it a try."
Although there seems to be nothing wrong with the appearance, whether the ship can sail or not will only be known after it is launched.
"rise!"
Six shipyard soldiers ran to both sides of the new ship, growled, 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 dug specifically for the sea trial of new ships. The artificial lake is connected to the Feiyu River. As long as the new ship has no problems in the artificial lake, it can go directly to the river along the waterway.
After the soldiers at the shipyard lifted the new ship out, they did not launch it 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 boat.
This large stone, called a ballast stone, is essential for an empty ship sailing.
If there is no ballast and the wooden boat is not loaded with enough cargo, it is easy for the boat to capsize on the water when people are getting on or off the boat, or even during the voyage.
After the ballast stones were placed, the new ship was finally pushed into the water.
“Clatter…”
When the new ship entered the water, it hardly shook because of the ballast stones and was very stable.
"I'll go up first."
Jiang Xuan boarded 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 soldiers went up. Each of them took a paddle and started rowing.
As the oars were rowed, the new ship broke through the water and slowly moved forward.
The artificial lake was not very big. After the new ship had circled in it for a few times, Jiang Xuan directly ordered the new ship to be driven into the Feiyu River.
Only after entering the Feiyu River did the new ship really begin to play its role.
Compared with the previous simple canoes, the new boats are easier to row, more flexible to turn, and have a larger carrying capacity. The advantages are obvious.
After a trial voyage in the Feiyu River for a while, the new ship returned to the artificial lake and Jiang Xuan also got off the boat.
Facing the expectant gazes of the shipyard soldiers, Jiang Xuan said with full energy: "I declare that the trial run of the first new ship of the Teng Tribe has been successful!"
"good!"
"Very good!"
…
The soldiers in the shipyard cheered excitedly. They had waited for this moment for too long!
Thanks to book friend "JKcolin" for the reward of 5,000 book coins.
Thanks to the hall master "Hao Qingtian" for the reward of 1,500 book coins.
(End of this chapter)
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