Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 16 "Neighbors"

“The Indians are coming!”

On November 11, a heavy snow fell, and the snowflakes gently covered the branches, as soft as feathers, covering the forest with a layer of silver.

Sunlight filtered through the sparse branches, casting dappled shadows that lit up the snow. Snowflakes slowly slid down the tree trunks and dripped into the unfrozen soil.

The small animals seemed to sense the tranquility and cautiously poked their heads out to search for fruits scattered on the snow. Their footsteps left a trail of footprints of varying depths on the snow, adding a touch of vitality to this white world.

In the distance, the snow on the treetops of the jungle swayed gently in the wind, and occasionally a few snowflakes fell, like fragments of time frozen, quietly falling.

In this world of snow, everything seems so pure and peaceful. Even the wind seems to have become gentle, gently blowing the snow-white curtains, occasionally bringing one or two distant birdsong, making this winter afternoon seem even more peaceful and tranquil.

Yes, on this day when snowflakes were falling, the construction work of Shixing Fort also stopped temporarily, allowing the tired people to take a break and enjoy a rare day off.

Of course, without the heavy labor, everyone's meals were cut short, and the portions were halved.

Without too much consumption, there is naturally no need to waste excess food.

In the afternoon, the snowflakes began to become sparse and gradually showed signs of stopping.

Just as everyone was wondering whether to resume production and start work again, the observation post on the watchtower sounded the alarm, alerting people outside that someone was approaching the camp.

The fully armed cadet soldiers, holding muskets and spears, quickly assembled into teams and waited in battle formation behind the village wall.

But when the attacking enemies slowly approached, they were surprised to find that they were people from a nearby indigenous tribe.

There were about seven or eight people, covered in thick fur and with bright feathers on their heads. Each of them carried prey on their shoulders or a pile of furs in their hands, and came to trade with the Chinese.

They need salt!

A long time ago, well, it should be thousands or tens of thousands of years ago, the North American Indians and their ancestors, including those on Vancouver Island, did not eat salt. Even the South American Indians living in warmer areas did not eat salt.

The salt they get mainly comes from the sodium content in natural foods to meet their body's needs, and they live an extremely "ordinary" life.

It was not until the arrival of the Chinese that, through a simple transaction, they suddenly had access to delicious food, which instantly awakened their taste buds that had been dormant for thousands of years.

It turns out that food can be so delicious!

People used to eat raw meat and drink blood, swallow food alive, or roast it over fire, just to fill their stomachs and survive. It was an instinctive reaction to replenish energy.

However, once salt is added to food, it can actually make something that was once bland become more delicious and flavorful.

In an instant, eating became a wonderful enjoyment.

This group of new neighbors is amazing. Not only do they make the food taste better, but they also use magical tools and various operations to make the food take on more shapes, more colors, and more flavors.

They never thought that the oil from the seals hunted on the seashore could be used to refine a golden liquid, which could then be used to fry more crispy, softer and more fragrant food.

I never knew that a simple campfire barbecue could create a mouth-watering taste.

It is even more difficult to imagine that lush green grass (vegetables) can be placed in a hard container (iron pan) and stir-fried to create a delicious meal. Of course, in addition to being able to prepare food, these people also knew how to hunt, fish, build shelters, and perform various other magical operations.

For example, after only a month away from the camp they were staying in, they discovered that the camp had almost doubled in size and had more houses.

Well, it seems like there are more people here.

Compared to his own shabby thatched house, the house built by the new neighbor was simply a perfect and solid cave. It was square and could shelter from wind and rain, and resist attacks from all kinds of wild beasts.

Oh, and there is this tall wooden tower. I don’t know how these wood pieces of different lengths are built and spliced ​​together.

The new neighbors in the camp readily accepted the deal, took out the granular substance that made the food more flavorful, and quickly reached a consensus through gestures and body movements.

Soon, the new neighbors gestured and asked if the tribe had more game and furs that they could exchange for soft cotton cloth.

The tribal leader couldn't let go of the wearable item. Although he liked it very much, considering that he had to store enough food to survive the long and cold winter, it was impossible for him to trade the extra prey, so he reluctantly rejected the other party's trade request.

"Why didn't the Chinese kill these natives and then steal their food and furs?" Adro Papu Gomez asked curiously as he watched the Indians happily depart with the salt they had traded for. "They're so powerful, they should be able to do this. I don't understand why they treat them so kindly and fairly."

"Perhaps they have a similar appearance," Harvey, the former boatswain of the St. Louis, shook his head. "Of course, it's also possible that the Chinese ultimately want to assimilate or subjugate them, making them their vassals and thus increasing their strength. ... Haven't you noticed? They only number about fifty, not much different from us."

"However, the Native Americans are primitive and ignorant, barbaric and barbaric. It is impossible to completely assimilate and absorb them." Gomez said, "Our Spanish Kingdom has ruled the Americas for so many years, but we still haven't assimilated the Native Americans there into our own people. Can the Chinese do that?"

"Oh, I'm afraid only God knows!" Harvey shrugged his shoulders, but his eyes were fixed on the Chinese man who was walking towards him.

"Lin, nice to see you." Gomez also noticed the man, his mouth twitched, and he forced a smile, and greeted him actively and enthusiastically.

"Yeah." Lin Afu nodded slightly with a straight face, then walked straight to Harvey and said solemnly in his heavily accented Spanish: "Our leader wants to see you, come with me."

"Hmm?" Harvey was a little nervous when he heard that, and looked at him pleadingly, "Lin, the big boss wants me to come over, is there something wrong?"

Damn it, this former Ming Dynasty trainee sailor, relying on the fact that he had the same appearance and spoke the same language as the Chinese, suddenly rose to a very high position among all the Spanish captives, and became their main messenger, conveying various orders and requests to these Spaniards from time to time.

In this snowy weather, the Chinese rarely let them take a break. They originally thought they could have a good nap in the wooden house to refresh themselves and recover their energy.

I ate half a dried fish this morning and my stomach feels really empty. Lying in the haystack might help reduce my energy consumption, right?
However, he didn't expect that the Chinese people would suddenly call him over, and he couldn't help feeling a little panicked.

Over the past month, five of these captured Spanish sailors have died one after another due to illness, overwork or accidents. Seven or eight are bedridden. The rest are mostly weak and extremely tired. They can only barely hold on when working and often delay. This has made the Chinese extremely angry, and they have punished more than ten people in succession.

Yesterday, after dinner, with everyone's unanimous recommendation, he bravely made a request to the Chinese, hoping that they could appropriately reduce everyone's workload and increase the supply of each meal, so as to avoid more people getting injured.

After hearing his request, the two Chinese leaders did not respond at that time, but just nodded slightly to show that they understood what he meant and let him go to rest.

But today, they suddenly sent someone to summon him over, and it was unknown whether they would give him a reply to yesterday's proposal.

Or, punish him to warn him and all Spaniards not to resist the Chinese labor arrangements.

It is reported that in the mines and plantations in Mexico, if the Indians working there dared to disobey orders and refuse to work, they would be treated extremely brutally.

So, how will the Chinese treat us?
(End of this chapter)