novelraw Chapter 1123 - 335: Civilization’s Ladder (Part 2)
Chapter 1123 - 335: Civilization’s Ladder (Part 2)
After Chen Yan read the records of the Earth Worshiping Tribe, he knew that the result might be predestined.
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As expected, one entry in the records of the Earth Worshiping Tribe said this.
The structure of the Earth Worshiping Tribe is that if the population exceeds fifty men and women, it forms a "party."
Ten "parties" can form a "settlement," and then occupy a large area of land for farming.
And the Earth Worshiping Tribe had more than eighty "settlements."
This means that the population of the Earth Worshiping Tribe, conservatively estimated, was at least over forty thousand!
This was only during the mid-stage of the Earth Worshiping Tribe’s records, far from their peak era.
And with this population, it already exceeded the population records of the Hunting Tiger Tribe that Chen Yan had read, outnumbering the Hunting Tiger Tribe by at least five times!
During the expansion process of the Hunting Tiger Tribe, they finally encountered the Earth Worshiping Tribe.
In the early stages of the collision, the Hunting Tiger Tribe emerged victoriously, defeating the Earth Worshiping Tribe, seizing many spoils, and acquiring some grain.
The two sides engaged in at least ten conflicts and wars, all ending in victories for the Hunting Tiger Tribe.
The Earth Worshiping Tribe expressed their intent to submit to the Hunting Tiger Tribe.
They offered to submit to the powerful Hunting Tiger Tribe and provide them with a portion of grain and food annually as tribute. At the same time, they made a gesture to win the trust of the Hunting Tiger Tribe.
They were willing to give half of the sacrificial meat used in their annual ancestor worship ceremonies to the Hunting Tiger Tribe.
In that era, this was a sign of absolute submission.
The Hunting Tiger Tribe gladly accepted this submission.
In the eyes of the Hunting Tiger Tribe, this was a very advantageous deal.
They could avoid fighting, avoid shedding blood, and sacrificing strong warriors, yet receive annual grain and the submission of a tribe. Similarly, Earth Worshiping Tribe’s sacrificial meat could be used to boast to other tribes, as a symbol of their strength.
They could then turn their attention to conquering tribes in another direction.
When Chen Yan read this, he understood that the noose was already around the neck of the Hunting Tiger Tribe.
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The Earth Worshiping Tribe was quietly growing, continuously expanding, while the Hunting Tiger Tribe was busy boasting about their martial prowess, busy arming more metal weapons, mining, and conquering tribes further away, the Earth Worshiping Tribe concentrated all their strength on one thing: occupying more land.
Except for agrarian tribes, land had little value for other tribes.
There were no minerals, no forests to cut down, no wild animals to hunt.
The land was just soil.
The Earth Worshiping Tribe quietly developed, occupying more land, sowing more, producing more grain, and gaining more population.
Meanwhile, because of their deal with the Hunting Tiger Tribe, they could even hire Hunting Tiger Tribe warriors to work for them.
For instance, if they wanted a piece of land occupied by another agrarian tribe, they could pay with grain to call in Hunting Tiger Tribe warriors to help conquer it.
Their terms were simple: the more land I acquire, the more grain I offer annually as tribute.
The Hunting Tiger Tribe even became enforcers for the Earth Worshiping Tribe.
And during this process, the Earth Worshiping Tribe completed the most important and critical step.
They learned how to refine metal.
Chen Yan also read a very interesting record.
In the honeymoon period of their relationship, the Earth Worshiping Tribe sent people to propose a trade to the Hunting Tiger Tribe’s leader.
Exchanging an equal weight of grain for an equal weight of metal.
This deal was seen as very favorable by the Hunting Tiger Tribe.
Because metal was much heavier than grain!
A cart of metal could be exchanged for several carts of grain!
The Hunting Tiger Tribe believed they had struck a great bargain.
The Earth Worshiping Tribe also expressed great satisfaction.
Unlike the Hunting Tiger Tribe, which used all acquired metal to enhance weaponry,
the Earth Worshiping Tribe, after obtaining metal, began experimenting with refining metal themselves.
They acquired enough metal but did not use it on weaponry.
Instead, they used it on farming implements!
They discovered that tools with metal components made it easier to till the soil, easier to farm! It saved labor and allowed them to cultivate more land!
Upon reading this, Chen Yan realized that the Hunting Tiger Tribe was doomed.
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The outcome did not surprise Chen Yan.
The Hunting Tiger Tribe could receive a portion of grain annually from the Earth Worshiping Tribe, adding a stable yield—this yield could have allowed a slight increase in the Hunting Tiger Tribe’s population.
But the belligerent nature of the Hunting Tiger Tribe led them to continually wage wars externally, and even with military advantage, they suffered losses!
The population growth from the stable grain tribute from the Earth Worshiping Tribe was offset by the heavy consumption of frequent external warfare.
The Earth Worshiping Tribe also had a tradition of not liking intermarriage with outsiders—of course, there was no marriage system during that era, but that’s the idea.
The Hunting Tiger Tribe believed only members of their tribe could produce offspring that met the Hunting Tiger Tribe’s standards of strength.
Other tribes were too weak, and even captured populations were driven into the mountains for mining. Women were unnecessary; they didn’t need weak women from other tribes to bear children for the Hunting Tiger Tribe. They believed that children born that way would be weak!