Zu Siming stepped on the snow that reached his calves.
He had reached the vicinity of the camp, which was a flat land deep in the mountains and old forests, and the surrounding trees had been cut down.
He saw people in the camp who were in poor health or with minor injuries. They were responsible for boiling water and cooking for everyone.
They shoveled the clean snow with wooden shovels and boiled it in a large pot to turn it into water.
This boiled water is the water they usually use for cooking and drinking.
When Zu Siming came to the camp, he first picked up a pot of water and drank it in a few sips.
“It’s still boiled water in the camp, drink it happily.
Now it's ice and snow, the rivers have frozen, and there is no living water to be found, so we can only gnaw on the snow to quench our thirst. "
As soon as he finished drinking the water, Song Xuewen brought over a basket of steamed buns.
"Master, these are pork buns.
We slaughtered the sick pigs directly and made them into big meat buns to improve the food for our brothers.
We entrusted the Chamber of Commerce to purchase a batch of breeding pigs from Zhao State, and planned to let the injured brother lead the group of captive natives to set up a pig farm.
Sooner or later, all the game in the woods will be gone. The thorny problem of food must be solved in advance. "
The issue that Song Xuewen is most concerned about is the placement of his injured brother.
The injured brother must be accommodated in order to maintain the stability of the team.
Otherwise, the people will be dispersed and this team will be difficult to lead.
Zu Siming nodded and said: "You did a good job in arranging the injured brother.
We cannot let these injured brothers feel cold.
The weapons of the indigenous tribes are too shabby, and we cannot afford to be careless.
Being hit by a poisoned blow dart is also fatal. "
Song Xuewen suggested: "Master, I think we should change the strategy of no armor.
The enemies of the empire are basically equipped with heavy artillery and large-caliber muskets.
These firearms have powerful armor-breaking capabilities. Armor equipped by the army is of no use at all.
But the opponents we face are indigenous tribes.
They also used cold weapons such as swords, spears and arrows, and the protective performance of their armor was very good. "
After Zu Siming heard the suggestion, he finished swallowing the meat buns in his mouth, shook his head and said: "Don't think about it, you can't buy it.
The empire and surrounding vassal states had lax control over muskets.
As long as you have the right reason, it's easy to buy a musket.
But they have very strict management of body armor and armor, which can protect against muskets and cold weapons.
I have already heard from the steward of the Chamber of Commerce that armor and other protective equipment are completely unavailable in the surrounding vassal countries.
Buying armor in countries such as Cao State is still a very serious crime, and no one is willing to take this risk.
We can only rely on ourselves for armor. I have entrusted the Chamber of Commerce to hire craftsmen at high prices.
Let's start with the leather goods and work out the armor bit by bit. "
Song Wenxue didn't understand this situation. He asked in surprise: "I heard that the situation in Xiangguo is chaotic. Could it be that even Xiangguo no longer makes armor?"
When Zu Siming heard this question, he couldn't help laughing.
"It is precisely because the Xiang Kingdom is in chaos that they do not need to make armor and other protective equipment.
There are mutually hostile forces in Xiang State. They all have firearms and there is no need to produce armor.
This armor has extremely poor protection against firearms and is also very bulky.
Only countries that fought against indigenous tribes on a large scale retained the ability to produce a large amount of armor. Among them, Zhao's leather armor and iron armor had the most perfect protective capabilities. "
Song Xuewen was good at accounting and logistics, but he didn't know much about the situation in the major vassal states.
He really didn't know that there were so many situations in the field of armor alone.
Song Xuewen saw the chief's confidant standing guard outside the tent.
He lowered his voice and asked quietly: "Master, you have just returned from visiting an indigenous tribe.
We really want to attack the indigenous tribes in the middle of winter.
We previously attacked a small indigenous tribe of one or two hundred people, and already had more than three hundred indigenous prisoners.
This large tribe has thousands of young and strong warriors. These are the people we have seen. The actual situation may be several times more than our pioneer group. The risk is too great. "
Zu Siming let out a long sigh. He placed his chopsticks heavily on the table, leaned his back on the war chair, tilted his head back, and looked at the roof of the tent.
“I know that it is very difficult for brothers to attack the indigenous tribes in this severe cold weather.
But there are reasons why we have to fight.
If we want to usher in great development in the spring, we must invest a lot of money.
Unless a gold mine is discovered, it will be impossible to accumulate enough funds just by seizing the property of indigenous tribes.
What happens next spring is extremely important and will determine whether we are a dragon or a bug.
The only option is to borrow money from the Chamber of Commerce.
This group of businessmen in the Chamber of Commerce are all extremely shrewd people.
You have to show enough value to be able to borrow money from them.
The amount of money that a chamber of commerce can borrow basically has a fixed amount.
If we choose to make more efforts in the spring, it will be too late and we will miss this opportunity. "
When Song Xuewen heard the headmaster say this, he had felt that the headmaster was very anxious before, as if someone was pushing him from behind to do something.
He didn't expect that they were just thinking, how should they survive this winter?
The boss has already considered the situation in the spring next year.
Song Xuewen immediately expressed his attitude and said: "The master has really long-term considerations. I will always support the master and clear up the doubts of the brothers who still have doubts."
Zu Siming was very happy to see Song Xuewen's statement.
Song Xuewen's status in the pioneering group was second only to him.
If the two of them communicate well, the matter will be settled.
The attitude of the core caravan brothers is unwavering. The newly joined brothers are all small groups and cannot form a joint force. His orders will be thoroughly implemented.
Zu Siming then walked out of his tent carrying a plate of pork buns and came to the bonfire outside.
He asked all the idle brothers in the camp to be called to the campfire.
Zu Siming looked at the brothers who came out. They were wearing big cotton-padded jackets and had a touch of oil on their mouths.
He was holding the meat buns in the cold wind. The buns were steaming a lot, and the aroma spread around.
"Brothers, are the meat buns delicious?"
"tasty!"
"Brothers, do you want to eat meat buns every day from now on?"
"I want it, I want it too much."
Zu Siming raised his right bun with his right hand and said loudly: "Brothers, as long as we capture the indigenous tribes in front.
I promise everyone that from now on there will be enough meat buns for everyone to eat as much as they want. "
After Zu Siming said this, there was a huge round of applause around the campfire.
Song Xuewen took advantage of this opportunity and said loudly: "We all can see the reputation of the boss. When has he ever broken his promise?"
When the old brothers of the caravan saw that the first master and the second master had reached an agreement, they all spoke out to support the first master.
Others in the pioneering group saw this situation.
Some people feel that at this time, they should slow down like other pioneering groups, and they dare not make suggestions at all now.
Zu Siming was also afraid that something might change if it was too late. He ordered that tomorrow morning, a large force would attack the largest indigenous tribe near their camp.
Early on the next morning, Zu Siming personally led a team of more than 800 people to set off.
He had personally visited the site before, leaving hidden sentries along the way to observe the movements of the indigenous tribes.
The weather was too cold, and the indigenous tribes had no habit of guarding against enemies.
They are close to the nest of the indigenous tribe and have not yet been discovered.
Zu Siming ordered: "Check the ammunition and crossbow arrows, and each team will attack the indigenous tribes in batches according to the order.
Shi Dashan, you first lead people to pretend to attack the indigenous tribes, and lure these stupid indigenous people into our ambush circle. "
Zu Siming's tactics were very simple. He set up an ambush in a ravine not far from the indigenous tribes.
Let Shi Dashan lead more than a hundred people to provoke the indigenous tribes and lure the young men of the indigenous tribes into an ambush.
The only variable in this process is that the indigenous tribes do not have a large number of long-range weapons.
Shi Dashan wiped the sweat from his head, thinking about seeking wealth in danger.
He immediately asked someone to pick up the head of this indigenous tribe warrior on a bamboo pole and swing it in front of the indigenous tribe's stronghold.
According to the news he read in the newspapers, it would be difficult for the indigenous tribes to withstand his provocation.
There are not many of them, especially the indigenous tribes here are stupid and don't know the power of firearms.
The progress of the matter was exactly as Shi Dashan expected.
The indigenous tribes were very angry when they saw this situation. The chief personally led most of the warriors, a total of more than 800 people.
He wanted to come out and teach this new tribe that had no respect for their local overlords and migrated from afar.
In the eyes of the chiefs of the indigenous tribes, the pioneers were cowards who escaped from the south.
They are few in number and very much like a small tribe.
There were few women, children or old people in the tribe, so they seemed to be running away in a panic.
They have encountered such migrating tribes in the north more than once.
Many people from such tribes seek refuge with local tribes.
When the tribal chief saw this new group of fleeing tribes, their attitude was extremely bad and he wanted to challenge the tribe's prestige in this area.
The indigenous chiefs knew that they must not be allowed to succeed.
Only then did he lead most of the young men in the tribe to teach these outsiders a lesson.
Shi Dashan saw many young and strong people from the indigenous tribes who had just arrived.
Many of them held bone swords and arrows in their hands, mixed with some bronze and iron objects.
He estimated that given the civilization of the indigenous tribes, bronzes might be produced by oneself, while irons could only be purchased from outside.
He shouted loudly: "As long as you are not entangled by the indigenous tribes, try not to use your guns. Everyone retreats while fighting and uses crossbows to meet the enemy."
Zu Siming used a telescope to observe the movements of Shi Dashan's team.
In addition to purchasing muskets and ammunition, he also purchased a batch of crossbows and crossbow arrows.
He bought the crossbow mainly to prevent the shortage of ammunition, which would cause his pioneering regiment to lose its combat capability.
Just buy a crossbow instead of a bow. This is because the crossbow is simple and easy to use.
Most people use it together. They don't need to be accurate. They just rely on feeling. There will always be a few crossbow arrows that can hit the enemy's vital points.
Bows and arrows are more powerful, but it takes three to five years to train a qualified archer.
How could they have three to five years and the crossbow is still cost-effective.
Half of the hundred-man team led by Shi Dashan held guns and half held crossbows.
According to the tactics set by Zu Siming, the person holding the gun is responsible for guarding, and the person holding the crossbow is responsible for attacking the indigenous tribes.
They fought and retreated, and at the same time continued to provoke the indigenous tribes.
The indigenous tribes also behaved very unwisely. They felt that they had the upper hand and chased Shi Dashan.
Shi Dashan led this group of indigenous tribes directly into the valley.
When Zu Siming saw this situation, he couldn't help laughing.
Pointing the pistol in his hand toward the sky, he immediately pulled the trigger.
The red signal flare blasted into the sky with a roaring sound.
There was a crisp gunshot and a bright signal flare.
The soldiers of the pioneering group knew that this was a signal to attack, and they fired their weapons halfway up the mountain and down the mountain.
Shi Dashan also immediately became energetic.
He yelled: "Shoot, we'll fight back.
These stupid natives really thought we were running away.
We are just afraid that these natives will escape. These are the best slaves. "
The pioneering group truly showed its strength, and the indigenous tribes had no chance of competing.
The gunfire lasted for a short while, and only a few natives in the valley were killed. Most of the natives chose to squat on the ground and surrender.
Because of the language barrier between the two parties, Zu Siming could not learn about the relevant conditions of the indigenous tribes from the indigenous people.
But he believed that this indigenous tribe must have suffered a serious injury after losing more than 800 people.
Zu Siming assigned some people to take care of the indigenous captives.
Among these indigenous captives, the smart ones will become the lower class serving the pioneer group, and the unsmart ones will become slaves.
Even if these people are sold to countries such as Zhao State, they can still be sold at a good price, so they must be taken good care of.
He led his men to fight directly towards the aboriginal village. In a very easy battle, the pioneering team completely captured the aboriginal village.
Zu Siming captured the village, but he saw a strange situation.
There are almost no elders in this indigenous tribe.
He originally thought that this indigenous tribe was surrounded by mountains on three sides. He blocked the only exit. This indigenous tribe was the turtle in the urn.
After he came in, he discovered that this was a gourd-shaped valley.
To the north of the indigenous tribes, there is also a larger passage that allows the indigenous tribes to escape far away.
However, he found that these natives did not escape to the north at all.
He felt something strange and immediately asked Shi Dashan to lead some people to check to the north.
Zu Siming was worried about a larger indigenous tribe in the north.
This made the indigenous tribe in front of them fearful, and they did not choose to flee north.
Shi Dashan returned soon. His face turned sallow, but his expression was very excited.
"Master, look what I found? Hot springs. There are hot springs in the north.
However, the hot spring released a pungent smell, and there were many corpses on both sides of the hot spring pool.
I thought it should be the cemetery of an indigenous tribe. I drank the disgusting smell and searched carefully for a while, but found nothing of value.
I casually cut out a dark yellow piece by the pool.
Boss, tell me, will this be a gold mine?
If it is a gold mine, then we will make it. "
When Du Guangyou saw what was in Shi Dashan's palm, he blurted out: "This is sulfur, where did you find the sulfur ore."
It was precisely because of the lack of raw materials that his gunpowder workshop never started.
Saltpeter can be used to build greenhouses, and nitrate can be made from human and animal excrement. Charcoal is everywhere in the forest.
The only raw material that is difficult to find is sulfur.
Black powder is considered a very cost-effective gunpowder here in America.
The gunpowder raw materials here are not only expensive, they are simply priceless.
It is simply impossible to outsource sulfur, and the cost is unbearable.
We can only try our luck and see if there is such ore around the expansion group?
He didn't expect that he would get what he wanted today and discover a sulfur mine.
Zu Siming's eyes widened and he asked in disbelief: "This is really a sulfur mine!"
He certainly knew the significance of the sulfur discovery.
This meant that the biggest chain that bound their pioneering team was immediately lifted. (End of chapter)
