Unlike other rice varieties, the color of the rice grains was slightly different. Wild rice usually has dark red grains, but this rice had a slightly lighter yellow color.
"It's a mutation."
Honestly, I never thought I would find wild rice that mutated so easily. You could say that I was that lucky.
"It definitely doesn't look like the Japonica species I know."
However, if this mutant wild rice was properly bred, it seemed possible to mass-produce it as a food substitute. After calming down my excitement, I checked to see if there were any more mutant wild rice.
But unfortunately, there were no mutant wild rice.
"Did I expect too much?"
First, we marked the locations of the mutant wild rice.
* * *
As autumn came, food and leather supplies from each village began to arrive.
"Come this way."
"Ten baskets of corn, one basket of beans, and three baskets of pumpkins."
"There are twenty pieces of leather and five baskets of jerky."
"Thank you for your hard work transporting these."
At a food warehouse set up near the training camp, dozens of warriors were carrying baskets and checking the quantity.
And twin sisters, known as geniuses by the townspeople, were helping the warriors. At that time, my twin sister, 'Warm Spring', spoke with a frustrated expression.
"Mister Warrior! There's less jerky in the basket than I thought. Shouldn't there be four baskets instead of five?"
The twin sister, 'Hot Summer', nodded and agreed with her sister's opinion.
"Mister Warrior! I think we'll know for sure if we put that basket of jerky back in."
"Is that so?"
The warrior who had been reprimanded by the twins scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed expression and began putting the jerky back in the basket.
After a while, just as the twins had said, the five baskets of jerky had been reduced to four baskets.
"What happened?"
When the warrior asked questioningly, the man who brought the jerky answered with a puzzled expression.
"I don't know. I just took whatever the chief gave me."
"······."
"You don't think I'm stealing it in the middle, do you?"
"That could be the case."
The warrior in charge of the jerky looked at him with eyes full of suspicion.
"What does this person think of me?"
"Even so, isn't it too much to have a difference of just one basket?"
The twins who had been listening to their conversation looked at each other's faces and then stepped forward simultaneously.
"I don't think you two need to fight about this issue."
"That's right. There is no exact reference point for quantity or weight."
"I think I should suggest this to the chief."
The warriors and people around them looked dumbfounded at the twins' conversation.
"Well, the reference point is vague."
"Haha! They're smarter than us."
"I will become a great person in the future."
* * *
A 'very big' town. In the village hall, warriors were helping the 'Swift Deer' to conduct a census of each village. Perhaps it wasn't too long before it took place, perhaps because of the last two censuses.
"One person died, and the number increased by three?"
"Yes."
"Yes, that's fine."
I looked at the sight with a pleased look and continued talking with the villagers located in the middle reaches of the Hudson River.
"···The tribes that settled around Lake Ontario formed the Iroquois Confederacy. It is said that they raided Mohawk villages and expanded their territory, centered around the Mohawk tribe."
"Chief! Our village is close to the territory of the Iroquois Confederacy. Nothing has happened yet, but our villagers are nervous that they might invade."
After hearing the difficulties faced by the surrounding tribes and villages, I spoke with a cautious expression.
"I will soon lead a force of warriors to the village and meet with the Iroquois Confederates to ensure the village's safety."
The villagers who had confided their troubles to me all had expressions of relief on their faces.
"···I would appreciate it if you could do that."
As they withdrew, other villagers who had finished their census approached me.
"No matter what you say, please feel free to talk."
"···Recently, a Kuguaku (puma) snatched a child from the village. Fortunately, the village warriors chased after it and killed it, but the child had already been eaten by it."
"Oh! What a pity."
After a while, I got up from my seat after hearing information about the surrounding tribes and the difficulties of the village from each villager who had arrived today.
"Is it over?"
Just then, several warriors, along with the twins, entered the town hall.
"Chief! I have come to report something urgent."
"What's going on?"
I sat down again. The twin sisters spoke calmly about what had happened in the food warehouse for a while.
"Wouldn't it be nice to have an exact reference point for quantity or weight?"
"Yes, Chief!"
Once again, I was struck by the genius of the twins and fell into deep thought for a moment.
'I can't solve everything.'
They too needed to develop themselves. He spoke calmly, looking at the twins.
"I'll give you some homework. You guys try to solve it."
"Us?"
"Okay. If you feel like you can't find an answer, you can come to me and ask."
"······."
The twin sisters looked at each other and answered vigorously at the same time with expressions of amusement.
"I'll give it a try, Chief!"
"Understood, Chief!"
He said, patting his twin sister's head.
"You can do it. I'm looking forward to it."
* * *
Ting! Titi ting! Ting!
The sound of hammers striking was heard repeatedly from the blacksmith shop.
"You have to hit it with a certain amount of force."
"It's slow."
"Sprinkle some water."
Fifty warriors, who had just finished their morning training, were hard at work making iron weapons under the guidance of 'Lazy Beaver' and his assistants.
"Now. Sprinkle limestone powder."
"All right."
"Put it back in the stove."
At that moment, when I showed up in the blacksmith shop, 'Lazy Beaver' quickly came running.
"Are you here, Chief?"
"How are the warriors newly assigned to the blacksmith shop this time?"
'Lazy Beaver' answered without hesitation.
"I wonder how you found such warriors, Your Majesty... They are skilled and quite useful."
I couldn't say it was because of my deep thoughts, so I just smiled calmly. And for a while I was reporting to the 'Lazy Beaver'.
"···For now, we are just making spears as the Great Chief instructed. At the current rate, we will probably be able to supply iron spears to the warriors in each garrison in two months."
He nodded once and asked.
"How much quantity do we have now?"
"A little over five hundred."
"Then, I would like you to supply spears to my direct unit first."
"All right."
* * *
Quiri Pi Tribe Garrison. 'Cold Tree' finished training three hundred warriors in the morning and was checking the food and supplies from the four villages one by one.
Since the village had just been formed, the quantity was not that large. However, as our warriors protect the Quiri Pi tribe people, they too must fulfill their duties.
"Move the jerky!"
"Check how many pieces of leather there are!"
The warriors moved busily at the direction of the 'Cold Tree'. After a while, the three hundred men who had left the garrison returned.
"···I brought along the Curie P people who were not lucky enough to get a seat. There are thirty-two of them."
'The cold tree' said happily.
"great job."
"no."
"But, sir! While on patrol, I happened to run into some Mohegan warriors who were out hunting."
"okay?
"Yes. Fortunately, they knew we were Lenape, so there was no fighting with the Mohegans. However,…"
The 'cold tree' looked at Baek In-jang with curious eyes as if telling him to continue talking.
"The Mohegans were hunting in our territory. I tried to calmly explain to them that it was our territory so there would be no misunderstanding, but the Mohegan warriors did not look too happy."
'Cold Tree' heard the story and predicted that there would soon be a conflict with the Mohegan tribe over territory.
"I think I should report this separately to the chief. Thank you for your hard work."
"no."
* * *
Pequot tribe encampment. Two white companies took turns patrolling the Pequot villages near the camp. And as fall came, food and supplies began to arrive one by one from each village of the Pequot tribe, just like from the Lenape tribe.
'Brave Wolf' conducted a census of each village and checked the quantity of food and supplies. The warriors moved busily, carrying food and supplies to the warehouses built in the garrison.
"This is food for us to eat, so we must transport it carefully."
"Check again that the quantity of leather is correct."
After a while, when evening came, the white man who had gone out returned and reported to the 'brave wolf'.
"······I patrolled three villages in the south. There were no signs of rebellion."
"Thank you for your hard work. You can switch with Sa Baek-in tomorrow."
"Understood, Master Cheon In-jang!"
When the white chief stepped down, the 'brave wolf' was left alone in the barracks where he was staying, and his eyes glowed coldly.
"They say nothing has happened so far, but... we'll have to keep an eye on the Pequot village for a few months."
* * *
A 'very big' town. After the morning training was over, these one thousand warriors dispersed to their respective tasks.
"The mine is this way."
"The salt farm is here!"
"Warriors in charge of the road, go that way."
After a while, me and 'Swift Deer' took a thousand warriors and started to build a road to connect to the village of 'Big Foot'.
"Cut down the tree with an axe."
"Put the fallen tree to one side."
"As you all know, the ground needs to be leveled."
"Put the stones in the cart."
The tens and hundreds of soldiers ran around, giving orders to their warriors. And the warriors had a good division of labor, so it seemed like they had only made the road once or twice.
Is that why? Work on building the road was progressing rapidly. At that moment, the 'fast-footed deer' next to him grumbled with a disgruntled expression.
"Chief! It's good that there are many warriors to work with… but the work never ends."
"Then, should I send you to another garrison?"
The 'fast-footed deer' quickly waved his hand.
"Hahaha! Chief! Why do you say such a sad thing? If the village is to run well, don't you need me? Chief! Use me as you wish. I will work hard."
I didn't miss the opportunity and patted the 'fast deer' on the shoulder and said,
"I have some work to do, so I think I should go back to town. Could you please take care of this?"
"Don't worry. I will take responsibility for it, finish it well, and return."
After a while, I returned to the village and the first thing I went to was the house where 'Moon Rises' and my daughter were.
"What's going on? Didn't you say you were coming late today?"
"I stopped by to see you and my daughter before I went to the blacksmith shop."
The moon rose, showing a face that seemed to agree with my flattering words.
"Where are the stars in the sky?"
"I just finished eating and was about to go to sleep."
Before I knew it, she came over carrying her daughter who was lying on the bed. As soon as the 'star in the sky' was held in my arms, it smiled brightly, as if it recognized its father.
"Hey! How pretty! Whose daughter is she to be so pretty? Is your daddy worn out? Does she take after your mommy?"
"······."
The lovely hand of 'Star in the Sky' wiggled and grabbed my little finger.
"The moon is rising! Did you see my daughter grab my finger just now?"
"I saw it. But, is my daughter that much prettier than me?"
"······."
For a moment, I swallowed my saliva because I felt nervous without realizing it.
"Haha! In my eyes, you are the prettiest."
"really?"
"then."
When 'The Moon Rises' smiled brightly without saying anything, only then could I breathe a sigh of relief.
'Whew! I'm alive!'
* * *
Western part of the middle reaches of the Muhekunnetuk River (Hudson River). He led a force of three hundred men and toured the Lenape villages in the north one by one.
And without forgetting, I marked each village on the map window and moved towards the northernmost village. At that time, the scout unit that was reconnoitring the front returned urgently and reported.
"Chief! There are Iroquois warriors not far from here."