Chapter 362 Soft Power
Podamochi pondered for a moment and said in a deep voice: "We, the Iron Core Tribe, have lived here for hundreds of years. No matter how fertile the river plain to the south is, it is difficult for us to be greedy.
Like other Noriki tribes, we like to be next to the mountains, like to listen to the sweet sound of forging iron, and like to face the blazing fire and watch the red iron finally turn into a beautiful piece under the hammer. Ironware...
For hundreds of years, we have witnessed the Skodist conquering the Pannoni, and later the Pannoni enslaved the Skodist... During this process, our Iron Core Tribe has never interfered with any party, No matter who is our neighbor, as long as they have good intentions, we will sell iron. "
Alacosia immediately took over the conversation and said knowingly: "It is precisely because of the goodwill your tribe has always shown to the outside world that our Knicks sent me here, hoping to establish friendly relations with the Iron Core Tribe. In the future, the Knicks will I regularly buy iron ingots made by your tribe, but I don’t know if you want us to exchange them for gold and silver coins?”
"Food! Of course, in exchange for food!" The leader Si Feili in the living room couldn't help but interjected.
Bodamoch glanced at Sfili, and now that he had spoken, he said straightforwardly: "Our Noriki territory is rich in iron ore and of high quality, and there are a large number of people who are good at smelting and forging iron. Therefore, it can fully meet the needs of other tribes for iron tools.
But we are located in a mountainous area and there is a lack of farmland. Fishing and hunting alone are not enough to fill the stomachs of the people. In the past, we often used iron tools to trade grain with the Skodisci and later the Pannoni. However, starting from the second half of last year, the Segestica tribe traded much less grain with us. Only later did we know That’s because you have occupied the core territory of the Segestika tribe. This year, in order to defend against the invasion of the Yabods, the Segestika people completely stopped the food trade with us——"
When Bodamoch said this, he smiled slightly: "Of course, this is not a disaster for our Iron Core tribe. Although the tribes of Noriki live scattered, they are very united. Every year, the Romans come from our Noriki tribe. The Ki people bought a large amount of iron tools and gave us a large amount of food at the same time. This is the most important trade for our entire Noriki race.
Since there is no way to exchange food in the south, we can also ask for help from our fellow tribes in the west that are close to the Roman territory and receive some iron orders from Roman merchants in exchange for the food we need. However, the distance is longer and requires more effort. After all, with our The location of the tribe makes it easier to trade with the south, right? "
"Of course." Alakosia responded: "The situation of our Nix tribe is somewhat similar to that of your Iron Core tribe. When we settled on the banks of the Kupa River, we established our own iron workshop, and the iron ore came to us. We purchased it from our ally Aldiyi tribe. The farm tools used by the tribesmen and the weapons used by the soldiers were all made in our own workshops. After we defeated the Segestika tribe, our territory expanded and the population increased sharply, so we had no need for iron. Demand has also increased significantly...
As you just said, for the new territory of the Sava River owned by our Nicks, your iron core tribe is closer and it is more convenient to buy iron ingots. So I came here this time, first of all, on behalf of our Nicks. I would like to express my friendship to the Iron Core Tribe, and then I will come to discuss with you the purchase of iron ingots.
However, we have just ended the war, and the food in the tribe is a bit tight. There may not be too much trade at the beginning, but after the autumn harvest in September, the food for trade will definitely increase greatly! We in Nix have enough fields and enough people. The key is that we also have very good farming technology. In the future, Nix’s food will be much richer and can fully meet your food purchase needs! "
"Okay! War will only bring destruction, and trade will usher in prosperity!" Podamochi said with a smile.
Bodamoch felt that he had figured out the attitude of the Nix people, and a stone in his heart finally fell to the ground. He said happily: "We, the Iron Core Tribe, are willing to accept the kindness of the Nix Tribe, and let our two tribes live in harmony from now on. , to promote friendship through trade.”
"Thank you, Sage Podamochi!" Alacosia was also happy that he had initially achieved his mission. He turned to look at the wooden box he had brought and Sphy, who was sitting neatly at the first place under Podamochi. Li rolled his eyes and said loudly: "This is a gift carefully selected by Maximus to give to the Iron Heart tribe! I hope this gift can strengthen the nascent friendship between our two tribes!"
Bodamoch looked at the wooden box with interest and said, "Can I open it now and take a look?"
"Of course." Arakosia motioned to the two men, who immediately carried the wooden box to Bodamoch.
"I'll do it." Sphili stood in front of Bodamoch, and after the two of them retreated, he opened the lid of the box.
Inside the box were four pieces of pottery and a long wooden box.
Si Feilixin picked up a piece of pottery, rubbed the pottery surface, then reached out and patted the pottery body hard, making a thick sound: "This pottery pot is very well made, better than our tribe's own. Look, this There are patterns painted on it——"
Sphili's words came suddenly, and his eyes were fixed on the clay pot. There was a beautiful picture painted on the black surface of the pot: a group of forest deer were drinking water by the river, and a black deer was prostrate in the grass next to it. Leopard……
Except for the river water which is slightly light blue and the grass which is slightly green, most of the colors are red. Black pottery with red painting is a typical production of pottery. However, compared with the popular bottle paintings on the market today that use simple lines to outline people or objects, the pattern on this black pot is quite different: the images of forest deer and black panthers are painted vividly, and their expressions are different. The elegance and vigilance of the deer and the cunning and cruelty of the panther are fully revealed, which deeply attracted Sfeli's mind, and even involuntarily imagined that he could not bear the bloody scene that might happen next.
"This painting... is so good!" Sfeli couldn't help but exclaimed loudly.
"Let me see it." Podmochi stretched out his hand.
Sfeli handed him the pottery jar and reached out to take out a large pottery basin from the wooden box: "I have never seen the shape of this pottery before. What is it used for?"
"It can be used to hold water for washing the face and body, and it can also be used to hold soup and porridge. It is more convenient than eating in a pot. This is made by the potter of our tribe according to the requirements of Chief Maximus. It took a lot of effort to make it.
Look at it. It is so big, but it can still maintain a perfect circle. The pottery wall is not straight, but arc-shaped. This requires very advanced technology to make it..."
Alakosia introduced proudly. He remembered that the craftsman who made the pottery basin was praised by Maximus and commended by the Ministry of Personnel.
Sfeli was not interested in pottery. His eyes were once again attracted by the pictures painted on the pottery wall. The red pattern covered the entire pottery wall, but this time it was not an animal, but a group of people chasing and fighting around a ball. The vivid picture made the tense and warm atmosphere overflow from the pottery wall. He stared at it intently, and from time to time he clenched his fists and frowned, completely immersed in it.
Finally, he couldn't help asking: "Is the thing painted on this bottle the ball game you often play by the village on the south side of the mountain?"
"Yes, it's the kind of game they play. Chief Sfeli has been there to see it?" Alakosia asked casually.
"Of course I didn't, how could that be possible!" Sfeli quickly denied: "It was when the tribesmen were hunting and chasing prey to the south of the mountain, they saw your tribesmen playing this game, it seemed very interesting, and they came back and told us about it."
"Oh." Alakosia continued the conversation: "This ball game is called rugby by us, it was invented by our leader Maximus, it is really fun! Now our entire tribe likes to participate in this sport, and we have even held rugby matches for the entire tribe!
Chief Sfeli, if you are interested in rugby, I can let my men teach you. How do you play rugby? In the future, our two tribes can also have rugby matches! "
"I think this is a good idea." Sfeli's eyes lit up, and he looked at Podmochi and asked, "Sage, what do you think?"
Podmochi did not respond immediately. He took two steps forward, took the pottery basin from Sfeli's hand, and carefully observed the pattern on it, and then said, "If the envoy doesn't find it troublesome, we hope to learn this kind of rugby and play against the Nix tribe in the future. This will also help promote the friendship between our two tribes!"
"No trouble, we are happy to do this!" Alakosia said happily.
Podmochi said again: "I just felt from your words that the leader of your tribe is a very talented person. He can not only lead you to victory, but also teach you how to make pottery and invent this rugby game-"
"That's because our leader Maximus is favored by the goddess Danu!" Alakosia said loudly. He was reminded by the chief priest Aymerich before coming, so he did not mention "Maximus is the offspring of the goddess Danu" to avoid being too shocking and being questioned by the other party.
"Goddess Danu?!" Podmochi was surprised: "You Nix is an Illyrian tribe, and your leader should also be an Illyrian! How could it be?!-"
"The Pannoni are also a branch of the Illyrians, which does not prevent them from worshipping the sacred stone and the sacred forest." Alakosia replied calmly: "There is a large team of druids in our Nix tribe. They are from Scodischi and Pannoni. They all agree that leader Maximus is favored by the goddess Danu! Oh, by the way, here is the most favorable evidence!"
