Chapter 048: From Musket to Cannon

With the snow ceasing, the brick-making resumed at the modest kiln by the river, capable of firing only a few thousand bricks at a time due to their size, necessary for fortification construction. If these were bricks for housing, the kiln could accommodate over ten thousand.

After personally overseeing two kiln firings, Luo Chong delegated the task to the villagers. It was not a daily chore; typically, it spanned three to four days: loading the kiln, firing for a day, followed by water quenching and cooling which took another day, then unloading the bricks and loading fresh brick molds.

Luo Chong initially thought that no one would want to work in the cold, but to his surprise, it became a sought-after task. He later realized that this was because those involved in the physically demanding job of moving bricks were not docked any food and were fed three meals a day. Those who didn't participate had to stay back and learn Chinese characters, with the risk of having their dinner ration cut in half if they performed poorly. Hence, everyone vied for the brick-moving job—a rather unexpected twist.

Days passed with routine studies of Mandarin and characters, caring for the maral deer and rabbits, and the occasional brick shifting—mundane yet fulfilling. Conversations flowed in Mandarin; it was unavoidable as many terms could only be expressed in the language Luo Chong taught, with the tribal tongues falling short for the newer concepts.

Some took to adorning themselves with ornaments—interestingly, mostly men. This included bone necklaces, stone necklaces, and feather decorations. Luo Chong was puzzled by this preoccupation until the elder explained that it was preparation for the springtime mate selection gatherings among tribes. Men displayed their strength and their tribe's wealth through ornate bone decorations which indicated their ability to hunt large beasts and by extension, the abundance of their food resources.

This made perfect sense to Luo Chong, though it humorously paralleled animal courtship rituals where physical attributes or nest-building skills play a crucial role in attracting mates.

However, Luo Chong found the men's enthusiasm misplaced as the Han tribe did not lack women; rather, it was short on men. Misinterpreting their zeal, he later realized that crafting ornaments had simply become a winter tradition, not necessarily linked to the need for finding mates from outside.

To distinguish leadership and initiate a semblance of rank, Luo Chong introduced crowns and combs. Crowns, or circlets, made of copper or tin—materials symbolizing nobility but more accessible than gold—became a new norm for the tribal leaders and distinguished men. Ordinary members fashioned their circlets from leather, wood, or bone, decorated with carvings or inlays.

Women, equipped with wooden combs, adopted varied hairstyles indicating marital status or maturity, using combs and pins for adornment. Metal, a strategic resource, was reserved for awards for significant contributions to the tribe, reinforcing social hierarchies and recognizing achievements.

With these reforms, one's social status or contributions could be discerned just by looking at their headgear. Go-Bing, rewarded with a copper-clad comb for his quick mastery of the new language, exemplified how even children could achieve recognition.

Luo Chong's focus on decorative items was not purely for hierarchical structuring but also in anticipation of the mate selection gatherings—not for courtship, but as an opportunity to interact with other tribes and perhaps, engage in trade.

Formerly, the Han tribe obtained salt through trade with the Che Ding tribe. Now dissolved, Luo Chong sought new trade partnerships to secure a vital resource, considering using the tribe's prized pottery as a bargaining chip, hoping to acquire salt and perhaps new members to populate his burgeoning settlement.