Chapter 766 The heavy-tasting native
The Makadao people, like other Pingpu aborigines living on the western plains of Taiwan, have a matrilineal social system dominated by women. In villages with "communities" as the unit, most of the important affairs are presided over by highly respected female members. For these indigenous tribes who are still in a relatively primitive social state, all decisions must be resolved through divination and other means. In the community, they are responsible for hosting memorial ceremonies, eliminating disasters and treating diseases, divination and exorcism. The aunt who manages affairs can almost be regarded as the person in charge of Ajia Society to a certain extent.
However, if the decision of how to deal with the arrival of the Haihan people is left to the wizards' divination, the results will be uncontrollable. This kind of risk is not something Haihan is happy to see. However, Qian Tiandun did not want to push the other party too hard during the first contact and cause unnecessary resentment, so he sent the indigenous representatives away politely.
Ajiashe is the closest indigenous tribe to the Dagou coast. Its population is said to be more than a thousand people. Although it is nothing compared to the giant Haihan, Qian Tiandun will not be able to live in peace with the future Haihan immigrants. I hope to use force to expel or eliminate these natives. And if it is not handled properly and triggers a backlash from the entire Makado tribe and even more indigenous groups, it will bring greater trouble to the establishment of the colony.
"These natives are really troublesome." Gao Qiaonan, who had watched the entire negotiation process with cold eyes, finally complained after the end: "I promised them so much and they were so arrogant. When I was in Hainan Island, Li Dong Miao Village No one is so difficult to deal with!”
"The people in Lidong Miao Village are willing to obey us not only because the conditions we offer are good enough, but also because the external environment is also favorable to us." Qian Tiandun patiently explained to Gao Qiaonan: "They have always been It is to obey the orders of the government, but when the government becomes us, the objects of their obedience will naturally change. The indigenous people here do not have the government to suppress them. For them, no one's instructions must be obeyed. , we can either use force to force them to obey, or we can only use inducements.”
Takahashi Minami responded: "These natives are poorly equipped and have not received formal training, so they have nothing to fight with. It seems that they like glass very much, so from now on we can hire them with glassware. We can Build a glass factory here and give them as much as they want!”
Qian Tiandun smiled and said: "You think too simply. They are only interested in glass because they have never seen it before and they feel it is novel. If this thing can be seen everywhere, how can they have any ideas? Do you know anything about glass wine? Are you interested in the bottle? ”
"My lord, you have taught me a lesson." Takahashi Nan thought that this was indeed the truth. He scratched his head and replied awkwardly: "But if the results of these natives' divination are that they do not agree to cooperate with us, then it is not a big deal. Trouble.”
"We have never had contact with the natives here, nor do we have any feudal grudges. They are unwilling to cooperate with us. It's probably just that the conditions are not in place. We can wait until they get a reply from them to discuss the specific conditions, and then talk about our actions. It’s not just glass and wine, they will always find something they can’t resist.” Qian Tiandun seemed confident.
Gao Qiaonan did not argue with Qian Tiandun on this issue anymore. Instead, he took the gift sent by the native from the side and looked at it: "This is obviously pickled deer leg, why is it called meat bamboo shoots?"
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The local fishermen who knew about it responded: "Master, the meat eaten by these natives is pickled with salt and eaten only after it becomes rotten and infected with insects. According to them, it tastes similar to young bamboo shoots, so it is called meat." For meat bamboo shoots.”
"Insects?" When Takahashi Nan heard this, he immediately threw the deer leg to the ground, covered his mouth and nose, stepped forward, and cut open the meat with a waist knife. Sure enough, he saw white maggots squirming inside. Even though he was killing people on the battlefield like chopping melons and vegetables, he almost retched when he saw this scene.
Even Qian Tiandun, who was well-informed, couldn't help but stood up from his chair in shock. This was the first time he had seen such a strong taste after traveling all over the country for so many years.
The fisherman was not surprised and continued: "When we first settled here, the people of Ajia Society sent a lot of pickled fish, pickled rabbit and deer offal, all made in this way, as a sign of friendship. I thought they were using this to warn us and expel us, but later I found out that they actually regarded it as a delicacy.”
Gao Qiaonan turned his head and looked at the earthen jar containing the wine, and couldn't help but swallowed: "Isn't this wine... also something... weird?"
The fisherman responded: "There is no difference in wine. They are all made from grains. However, the natives like sourness, so the wine they brew also has a sour taste. We Han people don't like this taste, so we rarely follow it. These natives eat together.”
"I wouldn't eat with them!" Takahashi Nan covered his mouth and nose and handed the sword to his subordinate with a look of disgust on his face: "Take it for me and scrub it thoroughly. Don't leave any smell! ”
"Sour rice wine is served with rotten meat. I'm addicted to the strong taste." Qian Tiandun couldn't help but shook his head and sighed: "This kind of eating habit will probably only be developed when food resources are extremely scarce."
The fisherman responded: "My lord! In the early years, pirates would also be active in this area and plundered the villages of these natives. Later, they moved closer to the mountains. It is said that the habit of eating carrion gradually began at that time. The rise of the Dutch. Later, the Dutch settled in Damuan Port, and the pirates no longer moved around here. These natives moved back from the mountains and forests one after another. This Ajia Society has only been established in recent years. Moved back from the mountains.”
Qian Tiandun asked: "Do these natives know how to cook cooked food?"
"Yes, but they usually only cook the staple grains, and the dishes are still mainly raw food." The fishermen continued: "None of them have earthen kitchen stoves in their homes. When they need to cook food, they cook it in the kitchen." There is a rack on the ground to set up the pot.”
"That's all meat. You can eat it even if it's marinated. Then if all vegetables are eaten raw, wouldn't it be the same as eating grass?" Takahashi Minami asked in disbelief.
The fisherman responded: "The natives will mash the vegetables with a stone mortar, add coarse salt, garlic and other ingredients, mix them and eat them."
"After all, it's still cooked with salt." Takahashi Nan couldn't help but shook his head and said: "This can't even compare to the food in the hard labor camp. At least the hard labor camp eats cooked food every meal." Takahashi Nan entered the Haihan system The first stop was the hard labor camp. He did suffer a lot during that time, but even in the difficult environment at that time, the Haihan people did not feed the prisoners rotten food.
Of course, having said that, under the circumstances at that time, the time-travelers still relied on these hard laborers to complete the most arduous and dangerous labor tasks. If conditions allowed, they would try to ensure that their physical condition could bear the corresponding tasks. The intensity of labor is high, and they will not treat these hard labor prisoners with spoiled food at will. After all, they still have to work hard.
In comparison, the living standards of the local Makado tribe really deserve the word "hardship". According to what the fishermen said, the living habits of these indigenous people are also affected by the external environment to a certain extent. As a result, it is not that they are born to like eating sour food.
Qian Tiandun asked again: "Will these natives eat the food you cook?"
"Yes, of course." The fishermen nodded and replied: "As long as they come to the village to trade items and happen to meet us having a meal, they will also ask us for some food. Even if we don't have any cooking skills, we can still make it The food is at least much better than what they usually eat, but our own food is limited and we usually don’t give them much.”
"This is a breakthrough!" Qian Tiandun nodded thoughtfully.
In the process of expanding its territory, Haihan people are constantly dealing with the indigenous residents in various places. While offering various preferential conditions in exchange for the cooperative attitude of these indigenous people, the Haihan people are also constantly using advanced social systems and lifestyles to exert a subtle influence on the indigenous people. Members of indigenous villages like Fushandong in Sanya, which had early contact with Haihan, have already gradually integrated into the Haihan social system. Young Li people like Fu Li, who have received Haihan-style education and training, have even After entering the Haihan bureaucracy and becoming a senior cadre, his living habits and behavior are more similar to those of the Haihan people than to the traditional Li people living in Li Dong.
For these indigenous people with very low living standards, once they are exposed to the bright and beautiful world outside, most of them will choose to adapt to the new environment and lifestyle. After all, it is human nature to pursue better enjoyment. What the Haihan colonists had to do was to show these uncivilized or semi-civilized locals the living conditions they would get in the future, so that they would obey and cooperate with Haihan's arrangements and instructions.
The actual operating results of this method in the past few years are quite good. Most of the indigenous residents in Haihan's newly expanded territory have chosen obedience rather than confrontation. The Ministry of Civil Affairs and the military have continued to promote and implement it. After all, the risks and costs of peacefully resolving the interest disputes between the colonies and the indigenous peoples are much lower than those through combat. Senior military generals like Qian Tiandun would not bother to use the blood of these natives to improve their own records unless they encountered an opponent taking the initiative to attack like the last time at Zhuoshui River.
Based on the performance of the natives who have come into contact with the Ajia Society so far, Qian Tiandun believes that the possibility of peacefully resolving differences of opinion is still very high. If Haihan can find the right way of contact, there may be hope of gradually turning it into a A force that can be driven or hired by Hainan, just like what was done to the Li and Miao indigenous people on Hainan Island in the past.
However, the small gift sent by the natives really spoiled the appetite of the officers who witnessed this scene. Takahashi Minami didn't even eat lunch, so he went back to his tent to rest. He must have been crawling in the deer's legs at that time. The maggots left a profound psychological shadow on him.
Originally, Qian Tiandun and the Dutch had agreed to meet again in two days. Logically speaking, they should return to Taiyuan Port today. However, in order to wait for the reply from the Ajiashe natives, Qian Tiandun decided to station the fleet here for one more day, and by the way, he also collected a more complete picture of the environmental conditions in the surrounding area. When the immigrants are transported to settle here in the future, the rules will not be messed up.
The natives of Ajiashe still have a relatively good sense of time and integrity. The next morning, the three envoys came to the Haihan temporary camp on the seaside again to ask for an audience.
"Adhering to Alizu's will, the people of Ajia Society welcome you to come to this beautiful land and live with us." The native representatives brought good news. Apparently, according to the divination results after they returned yesterday, the people in the society The sorcerer probably chose to agree to the proposal to allow the Haihan people to settle locally. Of course, it is still unknown whether this choice is related to the "Sanya Special Brew" offered by the native representatives to the god Alizu. Maybe the witch made the decision just because he was satisfied with this offering. Such a decision was made.
"Believe me, the decision you made is the wisest decision in the history of the Aga Society. Your descendants will thank you for the decision you made today." Qian Tiandun said without concealment.
"For such an important moment, we should celebrate with a glass of good wine." Qian Tiandun raised his hand and snapped his fingers and ordered: "Bring the wine!"
The guard immediately brought the wine glasses filled with wine, and there were also several dishes to go with the wine - which Qian Tiandun specially designated the cooking class to prepare in advance. Although the cooking class equipped by the fleet does not have any powerful methods and the materials on hand are relatively limited, dishes that are very popular in Haihan, such as seafood risotto, barbecue, and sashimi, can still rely on local materials, such as molding. Made it decently. Although the details such as knife skills, heat, and seasoning are far inferior to those of the chefs at Fort Victory, Haihan's exclusive seasonings and spices are enough to fool these natives who have always eaten rotten food in the past. Compared with the seafood they had eaten at Han fishermen’s homes in the past, the cooking method was so high.
Once the three natives tasted the food, they couldn't stop eating. Qian Tiandun looked at the way they put their hands together and kept stuffing food into their mouths, and knew that his trick should work. To conquer a nation, you may not necessarily have to rely on weapons. Sometimes delicious food can also play a big role.
"Even if they had any defense against us before, I think it should be gone after having a good meal." While the three of them were immersed in eating, Qian Tiandun lowered his voice and said to Gao Qiaonan next to him.
"My lord, this is indeed a clever move. I never thought that I could conquer these uncivilized natives with delicious food." Takahashi Minami gave a thumbs up and sincerely admired.
(End of chapter)