Unknown Knight

However, as time went by, more than a month had passed, and Aix and his party not only did not return to the city in disgrace, but also sent Borcha and others who were said to have defected to Aix back to the city to purchase reed poles, pottery jars, tools and other items.

At first, the masters in the city did not react. They only restricted the purchase of food and drinking water. They did not expect that the people of Aix would buy other things. When they realized that they had also restricted the purchase of these things, the people of Aix stopped purchasing even these things. Could it be that they have already solved all their life needs?

Not only that, the locals discovered that there were almost two hundred fewer outsiders enslaved by them at the bottom of the city, and the number was decreasing. They couldn't even find a few suitable slaves to do the work, so they had to pay several times the price to hire locals to do the work.

These outsiders who are played around by the masters do not require any effort on their part to take care of them. They can be driven at a very small cost. They are very cost-effective and very easy to use, even better than the livestock they raise. They have always been regarded as the exclusive property of the local masters, but now nearly half of them have been taken away by others, and there is a trend of them being taken away completely.

This made the masters still tolerate it, and they immediately launched a trade blockade against Aix's forces. After some discussion, they joined forces to capture Borcha and others who were still active in the city, robbed them of the goods they bought, and even stripped them of their clothes, and drove them out of the city, and told them to tell Aix:

The city of Zion will never sell even a piece of straw to Aix again, so they can just wait to starve to death in the wild.

Bolcha and others fled back to the base in a panic. After reporting the situation to Aix, Aix was also in a dilemma for a moment and didn't know what to do.

He originally wanted to develop slowly, but he didn't expect to be discovered so soon. Not long ago, he had just bought more than thirty slaves from Rogge, plus more than twenty dying people who were sent over together. In addition, outsiders who had received the news in the city during this period also came to seek refuge one after another. Now he has more than two hundred and sixty people on his side.

Even though they had recently made a deal with Rogge and bought 200 bags of food, it would not be enough to feed these people for long. Even if they ate them with vegetables, their food would run out in two months at most. They didn't know if anyone in the city would come to seek refuge. What if Rogge's food supply line was cut off? Wouldn't they really starve to death in the desert?

Seeing Aix's worried look, several chiefs who came after hearing the news were prepared to die if their master was humiliated. They offered suggestions one after another in an attempt to comfort Aix.

James spoke first:

"Master Mochou, I have been investigating around us for some time and found a kind of cactus that can be eaten directly. This kind of cactus has fleshy thorns and tastes good. It can be eaten as a vegetable or fruit. It is not afraid of exposure to the sun and can grow quickly with only a small amount of water. It is very suitable for large-scale planting in the Gobi Desert."

James' words reminded Aix that this was a tropical desert, and not all crops could be grown there. This crop that was suitable for the local climate could be promoted on a large scale. He nodded in approval of his suggestion and said to him:

"This crop is very good. As long as you don't waste too much water, you can grow it, especially the kind that has a short growth period and matures quickly."

"Sir, if you want to get food, you don't have to rely on planting."

Mathilde, who usually spoke very little, looked up and said, seeing Aix looking at her with hope:

"We can use our sampan to fish. I've tried the water temperature changes here and I think we should be able to catch fish. We just need to make a fishing net."

After hearing this, Aix looked at Bembo who could weave. He stood up and patted his chest and said:

"Don't worry, my lord. Just tell me what kind of fishing net Ms. Mathilde needs. My men and I will do our best to make it for you.

And sir, I was too busy to report to you recently, but I can actually make a kind of fishing cage. I can put it in the shallow sea and put some bait in it. Although I can't catch any big fish, I can still catch some edible small fish and shrimps."

Aix was very happy when he heard it. As the saying goes, if you live by the mountain, you can eat from the mountain; if you live by the water, you can eat from the water. He had too many things to consider and his focus was only on obtaining food from the land. He forgot about the vast ocean behind him. Isn't this like being in front of a treasure mountain and not knowing it?

Aix, feeling much better, looked at the simple craftsman in front of him with admiration beyond words. This Bambo made a great contribution to the construction of the base. Without him, the drinking water problem would not be solved so smoothly. His exquisite craftsmanship can also make a variety of daily necessities, which always brings surprises to everyone. We must cultivate him well in the future. Thinking of this, Aix patted Bambo's shoulder with satisfaction and said:

"I heard that you still live with other craftsmen. You are a chief after all. This is my negligence. James will arrange a separate room for Chief Bumble. It would be best if it is next to yours. This way you can communicate more. Chief Bumble, your idea is very good. Just go for it. If you need anything, just tell me and Old Jim."

These words brought tears to Bambo's eyes. He had been branded as a low-class person since birth, but when had he ever been recognized by such a noble person? Now he was even allowed to enjoy the treatment of a leader. He silently swore in his heart that he would serve the master until death. Now there were mountains of swords and seas of fire ahead, and he dared to take the risk as long as it was Aix's request.

Seeing that Banbo, who was also a newcomer, was taken seriously, Bolcha was not to be outdone. He scratched his head and thought for a while, then took a step forward and said with a guilty conscience:

"My lord, I have an idea. In fact, Zion City does not produce much food. More than half of the food in the city is produced by settlements in several river bends upstream of this river. They use camels to pull the harvested food to Zion City and sell it. It is mainly used to exchange for some salt, tools, pottery jars, cotton cloth, fruits, vegetables and other items.

If we need food, we can go directly to them. We just need to lead them to the road outside Zion."

Bolcha's words opened up a new direction for everyone. Velen thought about it and continued:

"This is a good idea. Although it will offend the masters in Zion City, they have already blocked our trade and are not prepared to make peace with us. They will attack us sooner or later, so we must prepare early.

Not only that, the construction of the mound is not so tight right now, so we can free up more manpower. We can put the manpower into producing snow salt. I have seen the salt in Zion City. It is nothing more than the other impurities precipitated out of fresh water. The quality is far different from the snow salt in your original territory. We can completely compete with them with the snow salt we produce, and use it to exchange for their food, horses, camels, dried meat, furs, reeds, wood and other goods. "

"Yes, yes, we can also make pottery jars. The pottery jars in the city are made by outsiders like us. Some of my subordinates know how to make pottery jars. When the time comes, we can exchange them for food and other things."

Old Mike added excitedly, and not only him, but also Zhebu excitedly continued:

"In fact, some of these people who come to trade are the heads of the settlements and clan leaders. They come to the city not only to trade materials, but also to drink some sweet water that is only available in the city, drink some beer, and eat some delicious food. Our water is sweeter than that in the city, and our caves are cooler and more comfortable than the taverns in Zion. We can open a restaurant and make sure these clan leaders spend all their money here."