Chapter 248: Blueprint

Baifeng already had a basic conception of the tribe's future blueprint; this location would one day become a place similar to a capital, though their population is still too small now, merely a self-contained town with complete industries.

In the future, the tribe will develop along both banks of the Dahe River, whether farmland or housing, eventually forming a long, narrow belt-like city.

Once the population grows larger, they will gradually move away from here to establish small villages or towns, connected by the Imperial Road.

Moreover, they now use cattle as transportation, increasing speed; cattle are no longer just for meat and farming, their numbers have grown enough that farmland is sufficient, but after plowing, they cannot be left idle.

Thus Baifeng first made ox carts by simply tying oxen to handcarts with ropes, using oxen as a power source to help pull carts; the tribespeople who transport ore were the first to benefit from this innovation.

Later, warriors tried using oxen as mounts, but these oxen were indeed not so docile when trained for riding, and they initially met strong resistance.

The tribe's first true riding ox was Su's white ox, which Su had ridden since childhood and had fully adapted to; plus Su is not heavy, so that white ox showed no resistance at all.

The young ox Baifeng earliest raised is now in its twilight years, its frame has grown thin, and it can no longer manage the herd, having been defeated by a stronger ox.

It can no longer survive in the herd; in the wild, it would have long become prey to beasts, but now Baifeng is here and would not let it suffer too much.

After the new ox tribal chief appeared, the young ox left the tribe and entered within the city walls, though Baifeng's tribe now seems somewhat unfamiliar to it, as it has not entered for many years.

Seeing the bustling crowd, the young ox was not afraid but still felt uneasy, only able to loudly call for Baifeng.

Baifeng learned the news through Mu's mouth, immediately put down his work to go see the young ox, and upon seeing its dirty, coarse fur, he still felt a mix of emotions.

Finally he brought the young ox back, had people rebuild a cattle shed beside his current house, spread dry grass, and then together with Su, gave it a thorough bath and brushed its coat, after which it looked much more spirited.

Yulong and Changle also waddled along behind to watch; the young ox seemed to understand the relationship between these two little ones and Baifeng, and when they pulled its neck, it not only did not resist but even stuck out its rough tongue to lick Yulong, whereupon the two little children were frightened and ran off.

Later, when Baifeng placed the little children on the young ox's back, the ox did not resist and appeared very steady; thus Baifeng made a saddle for it and let the two children ride it daily to play, estimating the ox had only a few years of life left.

After the tribespeople understood the principle, whenever a calf was born, they would rush to the cattle pen to vie for the chance to raise it, starting from infancy, hoping to one day own a riding ox.

Baifeng did not stop them but instead encouraged them; in future wars, simply riding oxen in armor would frighten all enemies into hesitation, not daring to advance—this is practically a dimensional strike; even if oxen are not fast, their sheer size alone could scare off crowds.

Warriors urged Baifeng to also train one, but he said nothing, merely gazing at the ox playing with the children; the warriors then understood his meaning, fell silent, for to speak of training oxen before the Tribal Chief would be self-humiliation.

However, Baifeng's thoughts go beyond this; during exchanges with other tribes, he unexpectedly heard someone speak of having seen a tall, strong, and swift wild beast, which they called "shanzi," because they thought it was as free as a mountain's son.

Baifeng knew that beast must be a horse or donkey, certainly one of the two, but since he had never seen it himself, he could not be certain; his mount goal is a horse, not a clumsy ox.

Moreover, hearing those tribes' locations, they are not far from here, but he himself cannot go to capture them personally, so he placed orders with those tribes: whoever can catch a live shanzi without serious injury may trade with them, preferably young ones, quantity no matter.

Baifeng estimates that although there are none here now, expanding their territory will surely allow them to find wild horses, for wild horse populations are naturally abundant and widespread; it's just that this area is mainly forest, unsuitable for raising good horses, like the horses of the southwest mountains, which are small, sure-footed mountain ponies, even smaller than donkeys.

Actually, regarding hunting, Baifeng is torn, for he does not know whether to assign this to the Agriculture Department or the Animal Husbandry Department; hunted goods are immediately used as food, so should belong to Agriculture, but since they are animals, they seem to belong to Animal Husbandry.

Furthermore, those who go hunting are all from the Military Department, making this matter troublesome; Baifeng thought long and still decided to first make it independent, continuing as before by the old method, having the Military Department send people, also treating it as training, with income directly tallied by the Finance Department.

The Construction Department remains busy; houses are being built, and under Baifeng's demand, they have already begun preparing materials, waiting for the dry season of the Dahe River to repair the river dikes.

Every flood season, the waters overflow the riverbanks partially, and during great floods even reach beneath their city walls; repairing the dikes is something Baifeng has long wanted to do, but lacked ability; now they have manpower, materials, and are exploring the technology, fully capable of beginning construction.

Their waterwheels are already lined up along the riverbank; during drought they can draw water for the tribe, and normally help artisans work; to avoid disputes over waterwheel use, they simply built several at once, the carpenter, relying on his skill, built two for them, while other artisans had to grudgingly accept, for who let that man be the elder brother?

The blacksmith has one, the stonemason also has one, and there is one dedicated to grinding flour, inside which is a huge stone mill; most of the flour the tribe eats comes from here, otherwise relying solely on human power to grind would be nowhere near enough for the tribespeople.