Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 447: The Meriya Tribe's Transition from Matrilineal to Patrilineal

Zou Mingda said, "We definitely can't rush into the city to trade with them... Let's send someone back to report to the king and see what instructions he has."

"Alright."

Liang Xiong immediately asked three people to go back and report the situation.

Zhu Chong has already reached the shore.

Upon learning that the native tribe in the forest had built a city, and a stone city at that, Zhu Chong was also surprised, and then he burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, I thought I had to build a city from scratch when I came here to establish a vassal state, but I didn't expect the locals had already built it for us!"

Yang Qian said, "Your Majesty, we should first understand the situation of this native tribe before making any decision. Even if we want to start a war, we must be able to capture them all in one fell swoop. Don't let them escape and gather friendly tribes to attack us."

Zhu Chong laughed and said, "Mr. Yang, you are too cautious. In a place like India, Lao Si dared to attack a city with a population of 100,000 with only a few thousand soldiers."

"I started with as many troops as he did. If I don't dare to capture a single native city, I'm afraid people will laugh at me if word gets back to the Ming Dynasty."

"As for more natives coming to attack—with the city in our hands, why should we fear an attack from the natives? We'll kill as many as come. No, we should capture as many as come and use them as forced labor for the construction of the royal city!"

Yang Qian thought to himself, "How can you compare with the Prince of Yan? You really have no self-awareness at all."

After the mockery, Yang Qian had to help Zhu Chong with his plans.

"Your Majesty, war is a dangerous undertaking. Even if we truly wish to capture this city, we must first fully understand their strength. I suggest that Zou Lushi and his men disguise themselves as merchants, trade with the natives as planned, and then enter the city to investigate their strength."

Zhu Chong accepted the suggestion this time, "Okay, I'll listen to Mr. Yang."

···
The Meriya tribe migrated from the upper reaches of the river and have settled here for more than a hundred years.

They are a branch of the Mapuche people who combine farming with hunting and fishing. They have mastered the techniques of smelting gold, silver, and copper, and are able to forge low-quality bronze weapons. The tribe is currently in the final stages of matriarchy and is showing signs of transitioning to a patriarchal system.

Therefore, the person in power in the Meriya tribe today is the female leader Meriyanika, but under her is the priestess Memanda, the great elder Tuke who assists in handling tribal affairs, and the combat commander Amaru who is responsible for fishing, hunting and fighting.

Melianika is twenty-one years old and inherited the position of leader from her mother two years ago.

Although she was outstanding in appearance and was the best female warrior in the tribe, and had mastered a lot of knowledge and skills in farming and hunting, she was still too young.

The great elder Tuke looked down on her and often spoke to her as if she were a junior; the battle commander Amaru was even more dissatisfied with her and had other intentions towards her; only the priest Meimanda, her mother's good friend, had always supported her.

In this case, Melianika can be said to be conscientious in her position as leader and strives to do everything well.

This morning.

After Melianika came back from inspecting the cornfield outside the city, she began to teach the children again - mainly teaching them knowledge about farming and skills of hunting in the wild.

Suddenly, Wakashi, who was in charge of guarding the city gate today, ran over and shouted, "Chief, there are some strange people outside the city."

"Weirdo?" Melianika wondered. "What kind of weirdo?"

Wakashi: "They look like warriors from a powerful tribe, but they also seem to want to trade with us."

"How many people are there?" Melianika asked directly.

"There are... about as many people as there are on ten hands."

One hundred people?

Melianika, who had a certain knowledge of mathematics, thought to herself and relaxed at the same time - even if there were really a hundred warriors, she would not be afraid of the Melian tribe with thousands of warriors.

When she saw Wakashi was about to leave, she shouted, "What are you going to do?"

"The captain also asked me to notify the Great Elder."

Melianika frowned, but still waved her hand: "Okay, go ahead."

She went straight to the city gate.

Soon she saw the strange people Wakashi had mentioned. They looked very strange indeed—although they looked similar to them, they were clearly a little different.

Furthermore, the strange people were wearing clothes made of some indeterminate fabric, which looked very exquisite. They were wearing silver hats on their heads and holding strange sticks in their hands. Could they be weapons?

Finally, Melianika's eyes fell on the leader.

The man looked young and was dressed very differently from his companions. He looked neither like a warrior nor a priest. He was gesturing and saying something to Pacha, the captain guarding the gate.

Pacha obviously didn't understand what the other person was saying, or didn't want to understand.

Seeing this, Melianika walked forward.

When Pacha and others saw Melianika, they stood up straighter and handed the bronze spears to their left hands - this was their etiquette to show respect to the leader, usually only used on important occasions.

Zou Mingda, Liang Xiong and others' eyes lit up when they saw Melianika.

The two had seen many beauties in the Ming Dynasty, but they still felt amazed at this moment.

Because the beauty of the native woman before them was completely different from any they had seen before.

First of all, this native woman was wearing very little - her upper body was a short vest-like coat made of coarse linen and animal skins; her lower body was a loose animal skin skirt that only covered her thighs.

The woman's skin was not white, but a healthy wheat color, her hair was black and slightly curly, her facial features were majestic yet delicate, she wore an exquisite gold necklace around her neck, and a silver headband inlaid with gems on her head, she looked bright and had a simple and noble air!

Seeing the guard at the city gate saluting her with an expression of respect, Zou Mingda couldn't help but wonder: Could this woman be the daughter or wife of the city lord?
While Zou Mingda was stunned, Melianika began to speak while gestures.

Zou Mingda naturally didn't understand at first, but he knew how to seize the opportunity. With a few gestures, he took out one of the items he brought with him - a small wooden box filled with needles and thread.

In Zou Mingda's opinion, the workmanship of this wooden box is very ordinary, it is just painted red.

But when he took it out, Melianika's eyes lit up, because in her opinion, this wooden box was quite exquisite.

After she gestured for a while, she took the box, opened it and saw dozens of sewing needles and several balls of thread of different colors inside. Her eyes lit up even more - Meriya also had sewing needles, but they were either copper needles or bone needles, much thicker than these strange "silver needles", and could not sew clothes delicately at all.

As for the cotton and silk threads of various colors, they were materials she had never seen before.

"It seems these people are really businessmen, but I don't know what they want to exchange."

Thinking of this, Melianika returned the box to Zou Mingda, and then repeatedly made a gesture to invite them into the city.

Zou Mingda understood and immediately said to Liang Xiong, "I will take ten people and the goods in. You take the rest of the people outside the city gate and keep vigilant."

Liang Xiong nodded and said, "Zou Lu, be careful. Not all the locals are simple and honest."

"clear."

Seeing that most of the weirdos were unwilling to enter the city, Melianika didn't force them - it was understandable that strangers would be cautious around a tribe that owned a city.

When she entered the city with Zou Mingda and others and walked less than ten steps, they met the great elder Tuke.

"What do these people do? Why did you bring them in casually?" Tuke asked with a frown.

This tone of voice used to speak to the younger generation again - Melianika felt disgusted when she heard it.

"Great Elder, they are merchants from a foreign land, bringing valuable goods with them. Isn't it right for me to bring them into the city so we can trade with you?"

Tuke's frown deepened. "We all know the caravans that have come to our tribe in the past, but who are they? Who can guarantee their credibility? Who can guarantee that they aren't enemies who covet our territory?"

Melianika laughed in anger. "There are only about a hundred of them, and only ten of them entered the city. What is the Great Elder afraid of? Besides, they really did bring some good stuff. The Great Elder will take a look and make his decision."

Tuke glanced outside the city and said, "I'll go get Pacha and the others to close the city gates first. Be careful and vigilant, and then we'll come and see what you said."

Melianika nodded, "Grand Elder, please do as you wish."

(End of this chapter)