We made you the chief, and now you've become the world's chief?

Chapter 64 Diplomatic Policy
Watching the busy people of the tribe, Daka pondered for a moment, then a look of pride appeared on his face.

"We, the Da tribe, are the same as your tribe, no, we are even more numerous! We have more men, fewer women, and more children!"

“There are not two of your tribes, but our Da tribe has more people than yours.”

After hearing Daka's account, Xia Minghao roughly understood that the Daka tribe probably had more people than his own, but not by a significant margin, probably less than two hundred...

Having obtained this number, Xia Minghao felt somewhat relieved.

Actually, two hundred people are fine, as long as they don't have an absolute numerical advantage over our side.

The reason is simple: everyone is trying to survive, prioritizing survival over risking their lives.

This is the first principle of primitive times: all actions are ultimately for the survival of the tribe and for one's own survival.

Unless they are pushed to the brink, they are unlikely to risk the deaths of a large number of tribe members to attack them.

Xia Minghao then began to ask more questions, including some extremely detailed ones.

Whenever Daka seemed hesitant to speak or couldn't remember the question, Xia Minghao would deliberately show doubt and use reverse psychology to get more information out of Daka.

This was also because of the obvious pride on Daka's face when he introduced his tribe.

For these kinds of people, provocation is often the easiest tactic, especially since these primitive people are simple-minded and won't utter a sound once you use them.

At the same time, Xia Minghao also realized that this feeling of pride in his tribe was very useful in building tribal cohesion.

He already had an idea in mind and decided that when he found the right opportunity, he would also make all the people in his tribe feel this sense of pride that comes from belonging.

Listen to Daka recount how, under the guidance of a wise man, he cultivated taro, crafted stone tools, built houses, hunted birds, and did all sorts of other things.

Xia Minghao's smile grew brighter and brighter.

He estimated the other party's taro production in his mind. If the Da tribe were to cultivate it with all its might, a tribe of two hundred people could produce enough taro to feed three or four hundred people.

This is not because the Da tribe has a high level of cultivation. In fact, as Daka just mentioned, the Da tribe's way of growing taro is still quite primitive.

The reason why the yield was so high that this group of people had the time and energy to build the "countless" wooden houses that Daka mentioned is probably because the environment for taro is very suitable.

If he could one day take control of the Da tribe, Xia Minghao would not mind imparting more scientific planting experience, and was even confident that he could increase the taro yield several times over.

But it's unclear when that day will arrive, as we can see from Daka's experience that his tribe has a very strong sense of unity.

The difficulty of getting the Da tribe to join him and come under his control is worlds apart from that of those smaller tribes.

For the time being, we plan to use this tribe as our granary first, and then gradually make our move.

But when he heard Daka mention that there were few wild animals in the vicinity, Xia Minghao's brows furrowed involuntarily.

Wild animals are scarce, which means that obtaining meat is extremely difficult...

No wonder when I first met Daka, he was given meat, and although his eyes lit up, he didn't eat it but put it away.

I decided to stay because I saw the mountain of flesh in the tribe.

The fact that the Da tribe cannot obtain meat is, in theory, a good thing, since meat is plentiful and easily available on their side.

They can't even finish eating wolf meat now, let alone killing bears, and bear meat will take their tribe a long time to digest.

But Xia Minghao considered another problem.

Meat was hard to come by, and the tribe was so large, meaning that almost all of their food came from taro.

This raises a problem—severe salt deficiency!
No wonder they go through all that trouble, walking for three days and risking their lives to frequently collect salt.

Therefore, the significance of this salt spring is even greater for the Da tribe.

In other words, the threshold for establishing peaceful relations with the Da tribe has become higher.

If relationships cannot be established, all talk about grain reserves and "potential labor" is just empty talk.

After pondering for a long time, he realized that he was still talking to Daka, and that there was a hunting team standing behind Daka, ready to turn them into a hornet's nest.

Xia Minghao simply put the matter out of his mind for the time being, looked at Daka kindly, and had Xima, who was waiting nearby, give each of them a piece of meat.

Seeing this, Shifa and the others put away their weapons and dispersed.

This was certainly not a meal to mark the end of the journey. On the contrary, Xia Minghao told Xifa and the others that seeing him handing out meat meant that there was no need to kill anyone.

Daka and the others accepted the meat with gratitude on their faces, feeling that the people from this other tribe were quite kind.

Based on Daka's account, Xia Minghao was basically certain that the other party would not only not pose a substantial threat to the survival of his tribe, but would also be of great help.

As for the salt spring as a hurdle, Xia Minghao gradually came up with an idea, such as producing more refined salt for exchange.

In addition to meat, this will fully satisfy the other person's salt needs.

In essence, this provides a sufficient material basis for solving this problem.

But as for the specifics of how to proceed... Xia Minghao wasn't going to take the initiative, but rather be passive.

Having seized the salt spring, we have already gained the upper hand. We should observe how the other party reacts, respond accordingly, and remain steadfast in the face of change.

At the same time, Xia Minghao also roughly formulated a diplomatic policy with the Da tribe.

Deterrence-based peaceful diplomacy.

Essentially, it's about demonstrating sufficient strength to deter the enemy in exchange for peace.

The reason for this deterrence is because Xia Minghao strongly agrees with the saying, "A weak nation has no diplomacy." Everything must be built on the foundation of tribal strength. Only with strength can one have at least an equal status and thus a voice.

It can also scare the other party away, preventing them from retaliating against you.

As for peace, Xia Minghao naturally considered his own true advantage, which is the knowledge and wisdom of modern people.

Modern wisdom, when confronted with these primitive people who lack even civilization, can be overcome by proceeding cautiously and carefully, avoiding making wrong judgments due to arrogance.

Under the premise of peace, it is not difficult to make arrangements for these primitive people.

But if a battle breaks out, that would be troublesome.

Without revolutionary advancements in weaponry, the battle will still be fought based on numbers, and the situation will inevitably spiral out of control.

The difficulty of performing micro-operations will also increase significantly.

I've roughly learned the situation from Daka, but this is just for reference for now.

To be on the safe side, Xia Minghao decided it was best to wait until he witnessed the situation of the opposing tribe firsthand before making any decisions.

Otherwise, there's a fear that Daka, this "proud Da tribesman," might be exaggerating, leading to a misjudgment.

Of course, going to the Da tribe would have to wait until Daka returned and told their "wise man," and see how they would react to his occupation of the salt spring.

Only after the relationship is stable can we conduct an on-site inspection to see what level this Da tribe has reached.

After reviewing the information Daka had given him, Xia Minghao began to inquire about the specific situation inside the salt spring after Daka and the others had finished eating the meat.

When the salt spring was mentioned, Daka's earlier pride in talking about his tribe vanished instantly, replaced by a sense of fear.

Xia Minghao continued to listen carefully and quickly got a general idea of ​​what was going on.

There aren't many human-faced bears in the mountains, which is undoubtedly good news; there are only three: two large and one small.

However, the terrain in the mountains is flat, resulting in insufficient cover, and a large number of people approaching would inevitably attract the attention of the bear.

With spear throwers and the presence of the Li tribe, killing a bear wouldn't be difficult if proper planning was made.

But it's hard to say whether killing a bear can be done without any casualties.

Just as he was about to ponder the battle plan, Daka suddenly asked in confusion.

"Are you here to collect salt?"

Seeing Daka's puzzled expression, Xia Minghao didn't intend to hide anything.

Telling these people directly that you are going to kill a bear is equivalent to telling them about your tribe's courage, which is also a form of deterrence.

A tribe that has the courage to kill a bear is naturally a tribe not to be trifled with.

"No, we must kill the bear!"

"Kill a bear?"

"What, you don't believe it?"

Seeing the growing doubt and surprise on Daka's face, Xia Minghao thought for a moment and then waved to Liba, asking him to bring over the giant wolf carcass that hadn't yet been skinned.

Upon seeing the seven wolves, Daka's face was filled with surprise.

"What you just ate was wolf meat. We killed more wolves than you have two arms and two legs."

"Meat! Wolf meat!"

Daka exclaimed in surprise, and the others reacted as well, starting to whisper among themselves.

Isn't this the wolf that used to try to ambush them?

It was the presence of wolves that allowed their salt-harvesting team to grow from 8 people to its current size.

And now, all of these wolves are dead!

He was killed by people from a tribe that was inferior to his own.

Seeing the reactions of Daka and the others, Lipa's face revealed a pride no less than that of Daka before.

"So, do you believe me now?"

After the murmurs of the dozen or so people subsided, Xia Minghao asked again.

Unexpectedly, Daka and the others still shook their heads.

“Even our tribe can’t kill a bear, how do you expect to?”

Upon hearing this, Lipa's pride turned into anger, and he was about to retort.

But Xia Minghao raised his hand to stop him, and instead smiled at the group of Daka.

"Then you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see us kill the bear!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, but no one answered.

Xia Minghao's expression remained unchanged, but he thought to himself.

Daka, oh Daka, when you see it, don't forget to tell the people of your Da tribe.

Let them know just how powerful a tribe has taken over the salt springs!
(End of this chapter)