Chapter 178 Collaboration

I tossed it in my hand, it looked like more than a jin. After pulling it out, the blade inside was very sharp, and the light of the fire reflected a golden gleam. The hilt of the knife was inlaid with two red gems.

It took me a long time to restrain my joy. If I had not been on a desert island, I would not have had this amount of jade and gold in my life.

Seeing the two masters staring at me, I immediately restrained my look and asked seriously: "Why do you want to give me such a good thing?"

The Lord of Tinya bowed and said, "We all know how powerful the chief is. You have beheaded Nanova.Now our kingdom is a mess, though there is no great war between the clans. But this is conceivable. We don't want to get involved in such troubled waters."

"Yes, chief." Zong Mu went on to say, "Now many of the great rulers have begun to transfer their property and population, occupying some fertile land outside the wall, and planning to rebuild the wall. Sooner or later the kingdom will fall apart. Our small master has set up another door, to protect themselves, it is very difficult. When Nath came back and told us the chief was here, we rushed to meet him. I hope the chief can protect our two small clans."

"We will reward the chief with food and cattle." "Added the Tinya patriarch.

"Can't your grand master protect you?" At this time of speech, it is very necessary.

They shook their heads together, and the Master explained, "What the chief does not know is that our great master has a population of over seven hundred and nearly a thousand slaves, and whenever the kingdom falls apart, he has appointed us to defend it. They'll be asking for more supplies from us. We have an obligation to give what we have to Da Zong."

"Not long ago, Dang took a hundred of my slaves."

"My family took dozens of them."

"How many of you are there each?"

"There are three hundred of us in the Dinya clan and over five hundred slaves."

"There are only two hundred of our clan and four hundred slaves."

I made a mental calculation and added a piece of fourteen hundred, leaving at least half of it, except for the elderly and children. It's a pretty big force compared to us.

"By the way, you wiped out all those little tribes on the other side of the island?"

"That was a month ago." The Dinya patriarch replied, "The great patriarchs, anxious to increase their own strength after fighting among themselves, rushed to destroy the tribes for fear that other great patriarchs would strike first."

"How many men did they get?"

Both men gasped, wondering whether in their minds slaves were unworthy of the word man as a unit of count.

Reacting, the Master said, "I think there are more than a thousand slaves. It's all divided up among the big lords."

"Make them slaves so that more people can work for you. Or, like Nanova, turn them into soldiers and work for you?" This was important, because if the big tribes allowed slaves to participate in the military, it meant that slaves had a way up the ladder.

This has one advantage and one disadvantage. The advantage is that the power of the masters is increased, but the disadvantage is that when the status of slaves is too high, the people of the big tribes will be affected, and there is even a potential crisis of slave rebellion and reversal.

"Let them work, of course." Zong Mu zong's expression and tone were full of disgust: "If slaves were allowed to take arms, they would not willingly be slaves any more. Nanova is a fool. I don't know how you made him king, chief."

I laughed and brushed it off, asking if any of Nanova's men had ever returned before.

"Dozens of them came back." The Master of Tinya said, "They came back with the news that the army of Nanova had been destroyed by your chief, and that you had tricked them into a sinkhole. They escaped with great difficulty, but because there was no big ship, some of them died on the way back."

"So what happened to them now?"

"All back to their own clans."

That means the guys haven't brought back any bad news, which is a good thing.

When I had asked them what they wanted to know, I told them that to come to my aid, they had to follow my orders. The order is a rule to be followed together, rather than obedience or outright loyalty.

I made several demands: first, let them release the slaves, grant them their clan names, and treat them as one of their own; second, accept my leadership, and I will give them territories and titles; third, after each rainy season, give me a proper portion of the food they grow.

When I had finished, both masters hesitated.

"Chief, if there are no slaves, who will work for us? Are we supposed to cultivate the land ourselves?" The tinya patriarch was very puzzled and his eyes were wrinkled.

I patiently explained to them what life would be like without slavery. Tell them I've invented a medium of exchange for things -- money. They could buy everything with money, and they could hire servants, but they had to pay for them. As masters, they could collect taxes from those below them.

I made it as simple as I could, and the two masters, when they understood it, found themselves still in the epicurean class, and were pleased to accept it.

"But where do we get the money from?" Zong Zong asked this question.

I pointed to myself and said, "Of course I did. The one of you who did the most good will get the more money. In time you will be richer than some of the great masters, who dare not oppress you even if they outnumber you."

He nodded, laughed at last, and got up on his knees. "I will abide by the rules set by the chief."

The Aden patriarch was afraid of being left behind and knelt down quickly.

I took out two coins of the Divine Right of Kings and handed them each.

Perhaps the captive chief Nath has explained to them the preciousness of this copper coin, they love to touch it repeatedly.

"There used to be such exquisite things in the world."

"I must keep it well and give it to my children and grandchildren."

Two people you a word I a sigh. After getting them up, I told them what I planned to do next. Tell them to go back and free their slaves and be ready to meet them. As soon as you hear the sound of gunfire, you will occupy the four gates and welcome us into the kingdom.

They promised again and again that they would never break their promise.

Having dismissed them, he was getting ready for another nap. Wu Wa came with five or six other men. He was clearly a slave in his dress.

They have crept over the walls and have known my instructions. Will summon all the slaves within the city to confront the great horde and welcome us into the city.

After some discussion with them, several of them simultaneously asked me for a token of the Divine Right of Kings. After getting, several people repeatedly thank and go. I made a deal with them that when they gathered the slaves, they would start a fire in the city, and when we saw the smoke, the three men would work together to take down the horde.

After seeing them off, I was so excited that I couldn't sleep. Everyone else had rested, and with no one to share the joy, they had to lie down.

The next day there was no signal from the slaves, and no word from either master to show that they had not yet fulfilled my task. I have to continue to wait patiently.

It was very late at night, and there was no message. I could not stay up any longer, so I had to go to sleep.

Just as he lay down, a sentry ran over. Wake me up, excited said: "leader, smoke in the city."

I got up and ran to the edge of the trees, where I could see, far away, a cloud of smoke rising into the sky. It looked very frightening against the starry night. It was as if the smoke was coming out of the ground.

I had them blow the horns and wake everyone up.

When they are assembled, let them all come out of the woods together, and shoot their guns into the sky.

Then wait for the wall to move.

For an hour or so the thick smoke of the city had disappeared, and a great army appeared on the walls, which were illuminated by torches.