Although it wasn't fully grown yet, judging by the shape of the leaves, it was definitely hemp. Although hemp contains narcotic properties, it has been used since ancient times as a material for making hemp clothing.
At that moment, 'Heavy Snowstorm', who was assisting me, followed my gaze and glanced at the marijuana.
"Chief! Is this your first time seeing sam?"
A question suddenly occurred to me at the word "sam".
"Heavy snowstorm! Do you know that plant?"
'Heavy Snowstorm' nodded and answered.
"Yes. In our tribe, the plant that we have to be careful of because it causes hallucinations is hemp. And I once heard from the village elders that among the tribes to the south, there is a tribe that grows hemp and makes clothes from it."
I don't know which tribe it was, but I was secretly surprised to hear that they made clothes out of hemp. In any case, for a country to develop and its population to increase, food, clothing and shelter must be addressed first.
The house seemed to be developing without any major problems based on my knowledge, and food supplies were showing signs of being gradually resolved with wild rice and sweet potatoes.
However, the clothes were in a state where no usable materials had been found. There are no sheep, and there is no cotton.
For a while, I couldn't help but feel suffocated by my clothes. But luckily, we discovered hemp, the material for making hemp clothes.
Sure, it's for summer, but it's better than the leather outfit I'm wearing now.
"Heavy snowstorm! Are there many Samis around?"
"It's not a common plant here, but you'll probably see more of it if you go south."
"Hmm! I see."
Before I knew it, my mind was filled with plans to make clothes out of hemp. After a while, he gave instructions to Baek In-jang, the mine manager, about some maintenance work to be done and headed out to the salt farm.
* * *
A few days passed. The units stationed in each region finished exchanging places with the newly dispatched units and arrived at the village one after another.
The Quiri Phi tribe and the Cold Tree and their troops who were in charge of the territory of that region, the troops stationed in the Mohawk tribe's territory, and the troops stationed in the border area with the Iroquois Confederate tribes all returned safely and reported to me.
The last to arrive, the 'Brave Wolf', saluted me with all his heart.
"With all due respect to Daechuchang! Loyalty!"
"Thank you for your hard work in stabilizing the Pequot tribe."
"no."
Let's check the 'Brave Wolf's' abilities with our eyes. He has been training steadily and has grown into a great warrior. I couldn't help but feel good about the growth of 'Brave Wolf', who is younger than me but is also my old friend.
"······This time, I have brought two hundred and seventy-two trainee warriors from the Pequot tribe to join the training camp. And as you instructed, I have divided the Pequot territory into four administrative districts and brought the Pequot chiefs to attend the council."
The council hasn't been launched yet, but it's scheduled to be created at this chiefs' meeting anyway, so it needed to be prepared in advance.
And the reports of the 'brave wolf' continued for a while.
"······I brought food and supplies allocated to the Pequot tribe."
After a while, the report of 'Brave Wolf' ended.
"I'm sorry I can't give you much vacation time."
"no."
"Just rest and do nothing for a few days."
"All right."
After 'Brave Wolf' withdrew, I sat in my quarters in the training camp for a moment, lost in thought.
"···The person who will be appointed as the Minister of National Defense must be the most trustworthy and reliable person."
To be honest, I wanted to concurrently serve as the Chief of the Supreme Council and the Minister of National Defense, but it was obvious that other powerful chiefs would have doubts and would oppose me.
"Yes. As the Minister of Defense, there is no one I can trust more than the brave wolf."
* * *
A 'very big' town. Training camp. Chiefs from each village were sitting tightly packed in the training ground, with no room to stand.
Finally, we are holding a chiefs' meeting today. As the chief, I went up to the podium and announced the start of the meeting.
"······The meeting will now begin."
First, I gave a brief explanation to the chiefs about the trainees who entered the training camp last year. After that, there was the war with the Pequot tribe, the assimilation policy of the Quiripee tribe, the issue of returning the Mohegan tribe's territory, the alliance with the Mohican tribe, etc.
He exchanged opinions with the chiefs, explaining various issues.
"······Your Majesty the Great has done a great service by winning the war against the Pequot tribe without a single casualty."
"······I'm really glad that the Quiri Pi tribe is also assimilating well."
"······It seems that we gave the territory back to the Mohegan tribe too easily."
"······How long will the alliance with the Mohawk tribe last?"
"······They say there are no problems with the Iroquois Confederated Tribes yet, but we will need to continue to watch and be on guard."
Certainly, with so many chiefs, the meeting was bound to be long.
'It's frustrating.'
After a while, when the mood had warmed up, I winked at the 'brave wolf'.
"Bring me a map."
"All right."
'The Brave Wolf' brought a large wooden board with a few warriors and set it up in front of the stage so that all the chiefs could see it.
On one side of the wooden board was pasted a paper map of the Lenape tribe. The map showed not only the terrain and geography, but also each village in great detail without exception.
The chieftains looked at the map with wide eyes.
"We have our own village."
"Is that the Lenape River?"
Boom boom!
After clearing up the noisy room, I calmly discussed my policies and tried to persuade the chiefs.
"······It's difficult to meet even once a year, and there are many things to discuss when implementing various policies, so I think we need to manage the entire tribe in a more systematic way. Okay! Let me explain while looking at this map."
He divided the administrative districts by grouping the villages marked on the map as planned in advance and continued to explain this to the chieftains.
"······In each administrative district, the chiefs of each village will form a council to discuss the current affairs and problems of the region. Then, one representative will be elected from the council to hold a general assembly here every season to decide the direction of the tribe."
Boom boom!
The chiefs were all surprised by my groundbreaking policy and exchanged opinions.
"Dividing the regions into councils? That's a policy I've never even thought of."
"It seems like the village's problems could be resolved directly through the council without having to go all the way to a 'very big' village."
"More than anything, I like the idea that the council will decide the direction the tribe should take."
All the chiefs responded positively and asked questions.
"···Who elects the representatives to the National Assembly?"
"···How many years is the term of office of the National Assembly?"
"···Can the issues raised by the council be supported by the General Assembly?"
I answered those questions calmly, one by one, so as not to cause any misunderstanding. After a while, the sun set and it began to get dark.
"Okay! Then, let's start voting by raising hands."
"······."
"Let us form a council and a representative assembly. Those chiefs who are in favor of this policy, please raise your hand."
I quickly glanced at the chiefs who had raised their hands with slightly nervous eyes. Two hundred and twenty-two. The agenda of the council and the assembly was passed with the overwhelming support of the chiefs.
'Whew! One more finished.'
I gave my directive immediately, along with a speech thanking the chiefs for supporting my policy.
"······Then, from now on, the chiefs belonging to each administrative district should gather separately and elect a representative to attend the general assembly by tomorrow and report to me."
"Understood, Chief!"
* * *
The next day. Representatives from each administrative district were appointed to attend the National Assembly. As expected, I saw several familiar names among the names of the representatives written on the paper.
'Calm Lake', 'Cool Wind', and 'Wide Land', who ran as candidates for the position of Chief with me, were elected as representatives to the Assembly.
And my father-in-law, the 'Forest Hunter', also became a member of the council. I called out the names of the delegates representing each region one by one in front of all the chiefs.
"······A calm lake! A hunter of the forest."
The chiefs gave a brief applause to the delegates who rose from their seats each time their names were called.
"···I hereby announce that the National Assembly has been launched today, as delegates representing each region have been elected."
After a while, all that remains is to elect the people for the administrative organization, which is my direct organization.
Ministry of Finance, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
I briefly explained each department and who I would like to see appointed. And just like yesterday, questions filled with curiosity poured out among the chiefs.
"Can you hold the positions of both a president and a delegate?"
"We can't do it together. We can only do one seat."
"How many years is the term of office for each department head?"
"The term of office is not set in stone. And as the chief, I can appoint and dismiss the heads of each department with my authority. If the appointed heads have good abilities and skills, I plan to continue to trust them."
"Chief! A chief appointed from another village must settle in the 'very big' village?"
"Yes. Meetings will be held frequently. Also, in order to quickly process and support the agenda decided by the General Assembly, it would be best to stay in this village."
As soon as all the questions were answered, a vote for or against the motion was held. This time again, my direct administrative body was passed with overwhelming support.
After a while, I exercised my power of appointment in front of the chiefs and called out the names of the heads of each department one by one.
"First, I will appoint the 'brave wolf' who recently became a general as the Minister of National Defense."
Boom boom!
The 'Brave Wolf', who was a direct descendant of the wolf clan and had a good reputation among the chiefs, was appointed Minister of National Defense without much opposition.
"···I will serve the tribe well by the chief's side."
Instead of the letter of appointment, he received a necklace, the symbol of the Lenape tribe, and the 'brave wolf' stepped back with a slightly embarrassed expression.
Next is the Treasury. There were geniuses among the warriors training at the training camp. I, who had been keeping an eye on him, said without hesitation the name of the person who would be appointed as the Minister of Finance.
"I will appoint a 'deep and clear' person who excels in mathematics as well as languages as the Minister of Finance."
Boom boom!
Unlike the 'Brave Wolf', the chieftains all had puzzled expressions and were gossiping among themselves, asking who the 'Deep and Clear' was.
"···I will not waste the food and supplies of the tribe."
I began to appoint heads of each department without paying attention to what the chiefs said.
"I will appoint a 'lazy beaver' as the head of the Ministry of Construction."
"I will appoint 'Wind and Cloud' as the Minister of Education."
'The Lazy Beaver' and 'The Wind and the Clouds' gave their impressions as chapters, then took the necklace from me and left.
Up until now, the head of each department has been filled with my people. By this time, discontent could have erupted among the chiefs against me, who held a monopoly on power.
To allay that discontent, it was necessary to fill at least one seat with someone else.
"The Minister of Foreign Affairs has relations with other tribes, so I would like to hear recommendations from the chiefs here."
As expected, the names of the leaders of each faction were mentioned, with the delegates giving up their seats. 'A calm lake', 'a cool breeze', 'a vast land'.
After checking their abilities once again with my mind's eye, I slowly opened my mouth with a serious expression as if I was thinking about something.
"They are all so talented… It was a difficult decision to make."
"······."
"I will appoint 'Wide Land' as the Minister of Foreign Affairs."
A person who is good at speaking and diplomacy. The 'vast land' came forward with shouts of joy.
"······I will help the chief and contribute to the well-being of the tribe."
"Please take care of me."
"I will serve you faithfully."
As the 'vast land' retreated, he offered words of comfort to the two chieftains who were sitting with shit-eating expressions on their faces after failing to be appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
"···There are many opportunities. If you perform well in the National Assembly as a delegate, we will appoint you as head of a new department that will be created in the future."
"All right."
"Then, as a delegate, I should actively participate in the meeting."
As if nothing had happened, the 'calm lake' and 'cool breeze' sparkled in their eyes, giving them motivation.
"Lastly, I think the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry should be a woman who manages crops, so I will appoint 'Dal-i-ri-da'."
* * *
A 'very big' town. The chiefs of each village left, and several days passed. In the town hall, heads of each department gathered to begin their first meeting.
"Okay, let's start the meeting."
Before I could finish speaking, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 'Wide Earth', raised his hand. In normal times, I would have ignored him and yelled at him.
But, I felt a burning passion in his eyes.
"Go ahead."
"Thank you, Chief!"
'The Vast Earth' stood up and spoke in a slightly excited voice.
"Chief! After thinking about it for a few days, I have come to a conclusion that if we do it right, we can diplomatically unite the Nanticoke tribe."