Follow the Qinghe River from the territory of the United Ant Nation, first pass through the territory of the Leafcutter Ant Nation on the north bank, and soon you will reach the territory of another civilized ant tribe.
This is the territory of the black fire ant clan. It takes about 10 days to walk from their main nest, and it only takes two or three days to reach it by going down the river! It is already a civilized ant clan very close to each other.
The black fire ants are different from their close relatives, the red fire ants, in that their individual combat effectiveness is not that strong, and they do not use ant lions as a means of nest defense.
However, they have excellent organization and can use black technology such as fire. In addition, there are no strong external threats near their living area. The black fire ant clan is the well-deserved overlord of the local area.
Today's black fire ant country has millions of ant colonies, a vast territory, and several vassal forces. It is a vague hegemon in the upper reaches of the Qinghe River.
This status may be the fundamental reason for the arrogance and arrogance of the black fire ants. In the past, the Leafcutter Ant Nation, as the guardian species of the sacred tree in this region, was often attacked by the Black Fire Ant Nation - especially when the Leafcutter Ant Nation was defeated by the Red Fire Ant Nation every time.
But recently, the target of the Black Fire Ant Nation's fight has become the United Ant Nation most of the time!
The conflict between the two sides mainly focuses on the remnants of the Northern Expeditionary Army. The Black Fire Ants consider themselves the protectors of the remnants of the Northern Expeditionary Army who are also the "Vulcan Heritage". However, the protagonist sees the remnants of the Northern Expeditionary Army represented by the traitor "Flying Eagle". Just get angry...
The protagonist has complicated feelings about the remnants of the Northern Expeditionary Army. He does not want to kill all these old ants, but he cannot tolerate the other party's constant disgust at him under the influence of another powerful force...
However, politics is politics and trade is trade. The protagonist can still understand this point clearly. He is not ready to break with the Black Fire Ant Kingdom yet!
In particular, the Black Fire Ant Nation is currently an indispensable partner of the Ant Alliance Nation!
Limited by the dispersion among civilized ant tribes, before the Ant Alliance joined the trade network, international trade among civilized ant tribes relied entirely on air transportation. The trade volume was very small, and the types of trade were concentrated on a small number of luxury goods or important resources. The status of international trade is not that important yet.
However, when the Ant Alliance joined the trade, it not only greatly upgraded the size of the flying caravans, but also opened up some trade routes other than air transport routes, and the volume and importance of trade increased greatly.
For example, there is a lot of overland trade between the Ant United Kingdom and the neighboring Leafcutter Ant Kingdom on land. However, just one leaf-cutter ant country is not enough to supply the foreign trade materials needed by the ant alliance, nor is it enough to absorb the ant alliance's export quota.
At this time, the importance of the Black Fire Ant Country was revealed.
In terms of geographical location and distance, the black fire ant nation is the closest civilized ant tribe besides the leafcutter ant nation.
In terms of transportation, the two sides have opened a land-based trade route connecting the main nest of the Black Fire Ant Country. The Black Fire Ant Country has also mastered the walnut ship technology and can open up a new, fast, and direct new route with huge transportation volume via waterways. route!
The most important thing is that the Black Fire Ant Country can supply food, coal and other materials that the Ant Alliance urgently needs, and can also digest the honeydew and gold produced by the Ant Alliance.
Therefore, the protagonist attaches great importance to the new trade system with the Black Fire Ant Country.
"Little Flower" also encountered hostility during the negotiations, and it was not easy to complete the mission.
The protagonist quickly received a reward from "Little Flower". The Black Fire Ant Country agreed to a new trade agreement, including the export of grain and coal, with the Black Fire Ants responsible for transportation, while the Ant United Country paid with honeydew and gold, and flew caravans. transport.
The black fire ant country's asking prices are higher this time, with grain quotations 20% higher than those of the leafcutter ant country, and coal quotations 30% higher than before the war. But considering that the Black Fire Ant Country is responsible for the transportation, the protagonist still feels that there is a profit and can agree.
However, the Black Fire Ant Kingdom put forward an additional condition, which surprised the protagonist and found it difficult to accept.
The Black Fire Ant Nation proposed that at the next Civilized Ant Tribe Conference, the Ant Alliance Nation should support the remaining members of the Northern Expedition Army to join in the name of the "Big Head Ant Kingdom" and the "Vulcan Heritage".
The protagonist thought for a while and wondered why the Black Fire Ant Nation was obsessed with the identity of the civilized ant tribe of the remaining members of the Northern Expeditionary Army.
He couldn't understand it, but he understood the risks involved.
The remnants of the Northern Expeditionary Army and the Ant Alliance are historically from the same sect. They are both descended from the old Big-headed Ant Kingdom, and both claim to be orthodox; in terms of ethnic composition, both sides are dominated by Big-headed Ants; in terms of civilization inheritance, both will To use fire, even though the Ant Alliance still calls itself the "Thunder God Heritage", all races already know that the Ant Alliance can use fire. This is irrefutable evidence of the "Vulcan Heritage".
If the remnants of the Northern Expeditionary Army are recognized, one day in the future, it is not impossible to kick out the Ant Alliance, which is similar in nature but has more enemies, from the ranks of the "civilized ant tribe". At that time, the external environment of the Ant Alliance will be greatly deteriorated.
Maybe it's unfounded, but the protagonist has to be responsible for his own country and ethnic group, so it's impossible to accept this suggestion.
So he asked "Xiaohua" to go on an envoy again to negotiate a new agreement, and vetoed the clause that required the remaining members of the Northern Expeditionary Army to join the "civilized ant tribe".
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The day "Xiaohua" went on his mission was already at the end of October.
The protagonist bid farewell to "Little Flower," left the palace, got on the fly mount "Xiao Hei", and rushed to a place.
Today is the big day for the completion of the pontoon bridge. Although there is no completion ceremony, the protagonist still inspects it in person.
The weather at this time of year can already clearly feel that winter is approaching, especially when the nights are long and cold. But now it's almost noon, and the sun is still warm enough that the ants can still have several hours of outdoor activity.
If another half month passes, these days will disappear, and the ants can only hide in winter.
Not long after the protagonist flew westward, he saw an eye-catching floating bridge on the river, like a curved bow stretched across the river.
The protagonist lowers his flying altitude, and now he can see clearly.
The bases of these floating bridges are walnuts floating on the water, arranged in pairs, so that even if one walnut completely sinks in water, there will be another walnut to provide support. What's more, these walnuts are not hollow inside. They are filled with wood chips, insect wax and other substances that can provide buoyancy, making them difficult to sink.
On top of the walnut, there is a road surface made of wooden sticks and fibers. There are protective nets on the top, left and right sides. Even if the passing ants fall, they will not fall into the water.
This pontoon bridge is currently being impacted by the current of the Qinghe River, showing an arch shape that curves downstream, while the bridge deck is still undulating up and down. Although the ants passing by were hesitant due to fear, they were in danger.
Soon, the first batch of ants arrived at the south bank from the north bank of Qinghe River via a floating bridge. This was the first time in the history of Qinghe River that a bridge spanned both banks, and it was also the first time that ants crossed this natural chasm by land!
