In fact, the fact that the Indians from each village can come to this conference room in the fort openly today represents their trust in the Beihai Town Overseas Corps.
In the eyes of these Indians, these outsiders with the same skin color as themselves did not bully the tribes with the terrifying weapons in their hands, and their transactions were very fair and reasonable, much better than the Spaniards.
In the past, they needed at least ten beaver pelts in exchange for an iron pot from missionaries or fur traders, fifteen sharp daggers, and muskets. But now they only need to use half or even less beaver skins to get the same items, and there are more and better types.
What is particularly valuable is that these outsiders in Kinmen Town respect their tribal beliefs. They also worshiped the wolf god and the eagle god in their temples, which made the Miwok people feel both novel and touching.
The bad things done by the Franciscan missions over the years have made the Miwok people extremely disgusted. Although they have resisted, how can the arrows and stone axes in their hands withstand muskets, cannons and spears?
Ever since everyone in Katata's tribe saw with their own eyes the power of the guns and artillery of the overseas corps, and saw the mountains of food brought by the "Thor" and "Jaguar", after a little consideration, they collectively made the decision to stand against the overseas corps. On one side, they decided to fight against the Spaniards together.
For the Miwok people's request to obtain firearms, Kinmen Town's condition is to participate in military training. As long as you become a tribal militia and answer the call during war, you will be equipped with two muskets, one long and one short, a leather belt and armor made of cowhide, and a short sword; those at the level of squad leader can also be equipped with an officer's sword and a short sword. A metal breastplate.
Since defeating the Spanish army's invasion, Kinmen Town's most indispensable thing now is various hot and cold weapons. Thousands of flintlocks and matchlocks were seized while cleaning the battlefield, and there were even more piles of halberds, swords, leather breastplates, and the like. For this reason, Rucci had to have several warehouses built in the open space on the west side of the fortress to store these things. In addition, a large open space was fenced off to the south of Lonely Mountain in later generations for the purpose of housing captured war horses, pack horses, cattle and sheep. Those responsible for caring for the animals were Spanish prisoners of war.
Several other Miwok tribes saw that the first one to eat crabs could get so many benefits, so they also decided to join and sent their young men to participate in militia training. For them who only rely on hunting and gathering for a living, having muskets can not only better defend their homeland, but also obtain prey more easily; with sufficient food, children and elderly people in the village will not have to worry about winter and spring famine. starve.
In this way, the Miwok people were completely tied to the chariot in Kinmen Town, forming a close alliance with each other. Although their main purpose was to fight against the Spanish and obtain more supplies through trade with Kinmen Town, since they were allies, a marriage was logical.
However, when the interpreter finished speaking, the Indians present were stunned by the bride price given by Kinmen Town. If you don't agree to such conditions, you are absolutely a fool. But while I was excited, I then thought again, are there any fifteen-year-old unmarried girls in the village?
There are thirty-five Indians present today, belonging to twenty-eight villages of three tribes. The population of these villages ranges from nearly 300 to over 100. If the age standard for girls is lowered to two or three years, it will be no problem to select more than a hundred unmarried women from thousands of people. But the fifteen-year-old indigenous women are all like children!
It is said that Indians in primitive society develop relatively early, and girls reach marriageable age at the age of twelve or thirteen. They usually enter puberty after they are ten years old, and the tribe will hold an adult ceremony, allowing them to enter a special hut and live alone for 15 days to survive the menarche period. When the solitary life ends, it means that the girl has reached adulthood and can get married.
In fact, the increase in the age of marriage in human history is not only due to changes in ideas, but also the increase in average life span is a very important factor. In an ethnic society where the average life span is less than 50 years, or even only 40 years old, genes will force people to mature early to increase the labor force, and early marriage and early childbearing become inevitable.
Even in modern times, in some primitive tribes in Africa, it is common for people to get married and have children at the age of eight or ten. Since survival is precarious, propagating bloodline is the first priority.
If Beihai Town had not increased productivity through the large-scale use of agricultural machinery and equipment in the outer northeast in the past ten years, and spared no effort to improve education and medical security, the law on marriage and childbirth under the age of 16 would have been nothing but empty words.
The air in the conference room seemed to be frozen, and all the village representatives felt that this matter was difficult to handle. While pondering, some people looked at each other, and then started whispering. The content of these people's conversations was almost to form a group and go to other tribes to grab a batch. The key is whose family is better to grab?
The Apache tribe was outnumbered, and even the Spaniards dared to fight hard. How about choosing a Hualapai? But we all had a good relationship in the past, so it’s hard to start! Or maybe the Ruiseinho people to the south?
Of course, there are also some smart people among the Indians present. People's thinking is that if they are fourteen or fifteen, then they have the final say. It's just like the girl in my family just turned thirteen this year, but what if I say fifteen? Indian girls develop early, and the difference of one or two years is not noticeable at all.
Li Shi didn't know that these natives would have so many thoughts at once. When he saw that everyone was talking in small groups and talking in low voices without expressing their opinions, he thought to himself that our betrothal gifts were already very generous. Isn't this enough?
Thinking of this, he asked the translator Su Ke who was standing beside him: "What are they talking about?"
Su Ke listened for a while, and then explained in plastic Mandarin. Li Shi was dumbfounded when he understood it. He got married at the age of twelve or thirteen, what a joke! This is not looking for a wife, it is clearly looking for a child bride!
It is said that the medical system in Beihai Town has been promoting health knowledge to the people through the primary medical system in recent years, and not to allow women to give birth before the age of seventeen. You must know that before the female pelvis is fully developed, giving birth is a very dangerous thing, and having an operation on the stomach is simply too scary for people of this age, and it is shocking to hear.
Ideal is full, the reality is very skinny. After Li Shi reported the situation to Lu Qi, Lu Qi felt that he should not bother with any marriage and simply wait until Li Chao immigrated. If it weren't for the batch of Koreans from the south bank of the Tumen River that the committee said they would send before, they never arrived, he wouldn't have come up with such an idea.
However, when things got to this point, it was no longer something he would just do if he wanted to. That afternoon, Katata's tribe sent a messenger to tell Kinmen Town to pick someone tomorrow. Lu Qi was unable to get off the tiger, so he had to ask Li Shi, who reported the situation to him, to make a hard trip tomorrow, bring a team of people with him, and get some gifts.
Li Shi was very depressed. There were so many officers in the base who were not looking for him, so he had to do the work of pulling strings. When he called Su Ke, who was the translator, and asked him to follow him to the other side of the strait tomorrow, Su Ke was very happy. It has been almost a month since he came to Kinmen Town, and he misses his family very much. However, as soon as he left the barracks with his front foot, he stepped back with his back foot.
When Li Shi saw this, he asked casually: "Is there anything else?"
Suk stepped forward and asked somewhat flatteringly: "Sir, do you want a woman?"
"Nonsense! I have a wife!"
Of course Li Shi has a wife and a two-year-old son. He even showed Su Ke a photo, which made him scream in shock. But from Su Ke’s point of view, your wife is on the other side of the sea, wouldn’t it be nice to find another one. Then he said with a smile: "Chief, one wife is not enough, not three. Our chief has four wives!"
"."
After speaking, this guy narrowed his eyes and looked at Li Shi without saying anything. He thought he was tempted, so he mustered up the courage to introduce: "My sister is sixteen years old, her husband just died, and she also has a son. Do you want her?" ?”
"Get out!" Li Shi was almost mad at this guy and waved his hand to tell him to get out of here!
——
The anchor point that Zhao Xin chose for himself was the "Fortress Park" located in another time and space. In order to avoid being startled by his sudden disappearance and appearance, he chose the specific location on Lonely Mountain, more than 400 meters southeast of the Fortress Park. This place is said to be a mountain, but it is actually a small hill with an altitude of more than 100 meters.
At noon, when the sun is at its strongest, there are very few pedestrians or vehicles on the streets at the foot of the mountain. Zhao Xin wore a large plaid short-sleeved shirt, jeans, a pair of tactical boots, a baseball cap and sunglasses, and a simulated beard on his philtrum and chin. He walked to a trash can at the intersection of Lonely Mountain, pretended to drink up the mineral water in his hand, and then threw the empty bottle into the trash can.
Taking advantage of this moment, Zhao Xin had carefully observed the surrounding situation. When a car slowly passed by him and drove more than 200 meters, he no longer hesitated and quickly got into a bush on the hillside behind him.
"Ah~~~!"
Zhao Xin, who had just returned to the 18th century, was still doing nothing when he heard a woman's scream from beside him, and then a big booted foot kicked his calf firmly. Caught off guard, the guy groaned and fell forward, rolling down the hillside for several meters before stopping.
After eating a mouthful of dirt, Zhao Xin felt that his right leg was numb. Just as he was about to try to get up, a hard and cold object hit the back of his head. Then he heard a man's voice with a slight southern accent: " Don’t move! Hold your head with your hands!”
Let me choke you! Zhao Xin's first reaction was that this was terrible. The dignified commander-in-chief of the three armies of Beihai Town and the future emperor was actually captured at gunpoint! He also dropped his sunglasses and didn't dare to look at the other person for fear of being recognized, so he lowered his head and said repeatedly: "Misunderstanding! Misunderstanding! It's one of our own! Be careful of an accident!"
Just now, a tall black figure suddenly appeared in front of him out of thin air, making Katata scream in fright. He Xiyang on the side was also startled, but because he had been practicing martial arts since he was a child, he instinctively raised his feet to give him a blow.
Katata did not return to the village last night, but stayed with a few girls who came with her in the tents of fellow villagers in the trading market. It was a market during the day and turned into a campsite at night. It was surrounded by wooden fences and there were soldiers standing guard on the watch tower of the nearby fort all night. It was quite safe.
When lunch was served inside the fortress at noon, He Xiyang did not go to the canteen, but took it out in a lunch box. Because there were many people in the trading market, the two of them ran to the hilltop they often visited. As soon as they sat down and didn't eat, Zhao Xin came.
He Xiyang, who was holding a revolver, heard that the other party was speaking in Mandarin, and his first reaction was that the big man was one of his own. Because whether they are Spanish prisoners of war or Indians, their Mandarin is not so smooth, and they also have the unique childish accent of Beihai Town.
He Xiyang looked at Zhao Xin from head to toe, and when he saw the boots on the other person's feet, he was sure that he was not running away. Only people from Beihai Town can have these kind of boots! Katata also has a pair as a gift from himself.
He felt that the tall man in front of him looked familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before. As soon as a face appeared in his mind, he immediately rejected it instinctively.
Just kidding, how is that possible!
He Xiwen put away the revolver and said angrily: "Get up. Are you from the engineering team? Why are you here?"
"Hey, no, don't you want to find a higher place to see the sea?" Zhao Xin breathed a long sigh of relief and deliberately spoke in a hoarse voice. While he was getting up, he had already seen the military uniform on the opponent, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the frightened alien girl not far away.
Unexpectedly, when he stood up, He Xiyang and Katata were startled again, thinking that this man was really tall. He Xiyang is 1.6 meters tall and Katata is a little over 1.5 meters tall.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you two continue, I'm really sorry!" Zhao Xin had no time to delay, and was afraid that He Xiyang would see the flaw. He tilted his head and raised his hand over his left shoulder, and hugged the two people behind him. , endured the pain in his legs and walked quickly towards the fortress in the north.
"Who is this person? Where did he come from?" Katata looked at the retreating figure, walked to He Xiyang and held his hand.
"It should be a guy from the engineering team. He was probably taking a nap just now. He was so reckless!"
"He's really tall."
"Yeah. He's quite tall." He Xiyang said smoothly and began to think about who was a big man in Kinmen Town.
Zhao Xin walked more than 200 meters in one breath, watching the Golden Gate Fortress getting closer and closer to him, then he stopped and bent down to rub his knee sockets a few times, and then looked at the fortress carefully.
Different from the buildings with red tiles and white walls in another time and space, the Golden Gate Fortress in Beihai Town almost completely replicates the "Middle East US military base" in the movie of another time and space.
The entire Kinmen Fortress covers an area of nearly 30,000 square meters, slightly larger than four standard football fields in later generations. The outer wall of the fortress uses a "foldable explosion-proof wall" made by Beihai Town. Each unit has an elevation of 1.2 meters and a width of one meter. There are canvas bags filled with sand and gravel. After filling, they can be stacked upward. Here is the Golden Gate Fort There are three layers of walls. On the outside of the wall, silver-gray explosion-proof wall panels covering the entire front wall were installed.
When Luqi and the others made preparations before setting off, they considered that the Kinmen area was full of sandy soil, with neither hard stones nor trees, otherwise the Spanish fortress would not be an adobe building. After some deliberation, it was finally decided to follow the example of the US military base, using blast-proof walls for the perimeter and prefabricated houses inside.
From the outside, the buildings inside the fortress are very tall, and they are all gray-white square buildings. Inside each side wall, there are four ten-meter-high sentry towers, all made of steel pipes and angle steel, with an observation cabin on the top.
At this time, on a sentry tower within the fortress wall, Lu Qi was looking around with a telescope. According to Zhao Xin's telegram, the other party should arrive today. But when we arrived, we had no idea where we were coming from.
After lunch, he couldn't sit still, so he took the guard to the sentry tower and wandered around. Thinking that he was condescending, if Boss Zhao came, he would be able to find out in time.
Suddenly, a figure wearing a plaid shirt flashed across the field of view of the telescope. Lu Qi was stunned for a moment, raised his binoculars and hurriedly looked back. Finally, when he found the figure again, Zhao Xin had already walked more than a hundred meters away from him, and the man had already seen Lu Qi, so he smiled and waved.
(End of chapter)
