Chapter 1326: The Remnants of the Ming Empire

“Hulu! Hulu! Huhu!…”

The aroma of meat porridge lingered on the river bank. Chief Mahagada held the pottery jar and poured it into his mouth in big gulps, almost without chewing. The warriors of the Fish Skin Tribe watched the chief’s eating show and couldn’t help swallowing their saliva. In just a dozen breaths, Mahagada finished a pottery jar of meat porridge. Then, he exhaled a long breath of hot air, his face flushed, and he raised the pottery jar with his big hands and was about to throw it down hard!

“Burp! What does it feel like? My tongue is hot, my whole body is hot, and I’m sweating... Tribe that made the boat, you really poisoned it!...Burp!…”

“Haha!... But this little poison is about the same as the mushrooms in the forest!... It’s not uncomfortable at all, but there is heat running through my body, making my bones looser! Huh! Delicious! Comfortable! Full of stomach! Hot!... Hahaha!…”

Mahaagada laughed and exhaled another mouthful of spicy hot air. Then, he looked at the pottery jar in his hand, hesitated, and did not drop it, but just put it down gently. His movements were forceful and careful, like a bear reluctant to part with a beehive without honey, with a sense of humor.

"Hey! Chief Fishskin, you are so burly, do you want another can of meat porridge? We still have a lot on our boat!... And your people haven't eaten yet! Friends of the Fishskin tribe, we can share it together!"

"Haha! This meat porridge is good, I don't know what's added to it! After eating it, it's not only warm, but also makes people feel more energetic!..."

Maha Aguda turned his neck comfortably, like a brown bear shaking his fur. But soon, his fierce and sharp eyes stared at Zuwaro again, and a disdainful smile appeared on his face.

"Boatman, I don't want your porridge! Our tribe won't be fooled!... Don't think I don't know, you are very cunning!... I saw you eat two bites of this can of porridge, and you really didn't do anything!..."

"But! Hunters go to the forest to hunt, but they all have to bait! This can of porridge is fine, maybe it's the bait you set, deliberately lowering our vigilance... and then murdering our entire tribe!... Haha! Don't think I can't see it! No matter how cunning a fox is, it can't hide from the tiger in the forest!..."

"Ahaha! Uh..."

Maha Aguda laughed fiercely, with the instinctive vigilance of a beast in his laughter, and the pride of seeing through his opponent. He laughed like this for a while, until Zuwaro picked up another can of meat porridge and started eating in front of him... The laughter suddenly stopped, like a dog strangled by the neck.

"Tribe of the boatman! What on earth did you put in this food? It feels spicy and comfortable, as if the swamp is not so wet..."

"You ask what this spicy taste is? Oh! It is a specialty of our tribe, very spicy peppers!..."

Zuwaro smiled and took out a small bag filled with specialties from his hometown, air-dried peppers shipped thousands of miles from the kingdom. Just add a little bit to the porridge, and the warriors of the kingdom will be happy all day long!

In the damp outer northeastern swamp like this, this kind of pepper that has never appeared before is almost a necessity for survival, which can relieve the cold and dampness that penetrates into the bones. And Mahagaguda only ate it once and obviously liked it.

"Boatman, you are very cunning! There are so many good things..."

Mahaagaguda squinted his eyes, staring at the small bag in Zuwaro's hand, and couldn't help but clench the heavy stone hammer. It's a pity that the big ship is parked in the river. Even the bravest tribal warriors could not wade and climb aboard the boat under so many shining bows and arrows...

"Lord God! What a delicious meat porridge! Japanese rice, Ainu salmon, plus the kingdom's peppers and spices!... Huh! I can eat another can!..."

"."

Maha Aguda stared silently for a long time, watching the boat-making tribe eating non-stop as if showing off. He was surprised at the abundance of food on the other side, and his suspicion of the purpose of this group of tribes gradually faded.

After all, in this vast and wild mountain forest swamp, only hungry beasts are the most dangerous. And a well-fed tiger is much gentler, and can even drink water by the river with the deer.

"Boat-making! Give us your food! Let us cook it ourselves!... If you give us food! We... won't fight you!..."

"Huh?..."

Zuwaro's ears moved, and he looked at the fish skin chief who made the first request. He waved his hand with a smile, and a warrior rowed a small boat and put a thick iron pot on the shore. In the iron pot, there was a bag of rice, a bag of salt, a can of rice wine, and a small bag of precious chili peppers, all of which were prepared in advance.

"A-choo!"

Maha Aguda opened the small bag, smelled the chili peppers, and couldn't help sneezing. Then, he put the chili peppers down with some fear, and looked at the salt he knew, the wine he could identify, and the grains he couldn't identify in the iron pot. After a long while, he turned his head and instructed the fish-skin warriors next to him.

"All are collected! Let the dog taste it before eating to see if there is a strong poison..."

"Yes! Aguda!..."

"Don't eat it secretly!"

"Uh!... Got it, Aguda!..."

After accepting the gift from the boat tribe, the hostility on Maha Aguda's face finally dissipated. He narrowed his eyes, looked at Zuwaro on the longboat, and asked again.

"Shipmaster! You said before, what are you going to worship, what 'altar' in the collection?..."

"Yes! I heard that the altar of this southern tribe is very effective. We want to pray for a good harvest and a warm winter!..."

". Worship? The altar of the guardian spirit?..."

Maha Aguda frowned, thought for a while, and then shook his head.

"Shipmaster, I roughly know what you are talking about! This set is what we just captured, and there is indeed a half-collapsed house inside! The previous tribe hid in that house and fought with us until the end..."

"If the altar really had a guardian spirit, we would not have occupied this set! And the previous tribe would not have been destroyed by us, leaving only some slaves and women..."

"Forget it! If you want to worship the altar, come down and worship!... However, you can only bring a warrior of one palm!... If you are brave, come down and return to the camp with me!..."

Faced with the invitation of Chief Yupi, Zuwaro pondered for a long time until the other party became a little impatient, and then he agreed generously.

"Okay! Chief of Fishskin, I believe in you! I'll come down and go with you!"

"The guardian spirit of the river and thunder, guard our boat! With His protection, I have nothing to fear!..."

"Boom!"

As he spoke, Zuwaro waved his hand, and another cannon shot from the longboat, which shocked Maha Agu and made him retreat like a brown bear. Horses neighed and dogs barked in the camp. Then, he looked at the people who were unharmed, staring at the longboat in confusion, staring at the golden long tube that emitted a huge thunder.

"What kind of beast is this? It doesn't look big, but it roars so loudly, even like thunder?..."

Yes, in the eyes of the ferocious Fishskin tribe, the artillery that has always shocked people is just a "strange beast" or some kind of "natural monster". They have not yet developed the worship and fear of gods, and are much more ignorant than the Ainu tribes, as ignorant as the dogs in the wilderness...

"Shipmaster! Stop the beast on your ship from barking, it's scaring our horses again!... Don't threaten me here, I'll invite you to be my guest and I won't eat you!..."

"Ha! What a cunning and cowardly chief of the shipmaster! I don't know why those strong warriors would follow you with your body?..."

"Let's go! Walk across the river beach and follow me through the gap in the wall!... Be careful! Those are the barnyard grass that can be harvested, and they are about to ripen! Don't step on them!..."

Zuwaro stopped and looked at the strange barnyard grass field in front of him. He didn't know that this was once the field of the empire. After sixty years of cold, damp and unattended, the local tribes had sown barnyard grass seeds and turned it into a barren and tenacious barnyard grass field. He stared at the collapsed earth wall in front of him, looked at the solid and rammed foundation, imagined how they looked when they were built, and the warriors who once guarded the wall.

At this moment, the traces of mottled and vicissitudes came towards him. He smelled the wind that passed away sixty years ago, and smelled the sea that once surged, a bright and red!

The remnants left by a distant empire, like shells buried in the soil, fell on the mudflats after the tide passed. Then, a man wearing feathers came here, picked up the shell, and put it in front of his eyes. Through it, he saw the sea in the south, very big! And the very big empire is receding.

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