Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: From Primitive Era Chieftain to Space Age Emperor
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I divided them into four teams for settlement exploration.
We currently had twenty able-bodied warriors available.
Even this number included boys and old men, so it was woefully insufficient as a population for survival.
Here, I drew on more knowledge from the future.
We were already short on people, and we desperately needed men who could fight as warriors.
If we ran into a hostile tribe or wild beasts during the exploration, the losses would be devastating.
That was why we had assembly signals and bonfires.
We'd follow the river, assembling at midday and at dusk as the basic plan.
If we encountered danger and had the spare time, we'd light a smoke signal.
Just in case, we marked the path with tree branches and kept the distance between teams to no more than a kilometer.
This was possible because the primitives knew the local terrain like the back of their hands.
They wouldn't have survived this long if they were dumb enough to get lost.
"The search criteria are fourfold."
"We're listening!"
"One: It has to be on high ground that can withstand the river flooding even in heavy rains. Two: There needs to be a salt deposit nearby. Three: Abundant game. Finally: Avoid areas with beasts if possible, but if it's worth claiming after dealing with them, consider it a candidate. Got it!?"
"Woooh!"
The primitives raised their weapons high.
I'd assigned one archer to each team.
We only had four bows right now, but as production ramped up, every warrior would get one.
"Let's move out!"
The exploration dragged on for over three days.
During the day, we scouted and hunted sporadically to stockpile meat. In the evenings, we distributed bows as they were made and ran light archery drills.
Shields seemed like a good addition too, so I had them craft primitive round shields and equip them.
In three days, every warrior had a shield, bow, and spear. They wouldn't go down easy against ordinary foes.
Of course.
Shields were easy to imitate, so if we encountered another human tribe, we'd have to smash them and absorb survivors somehow.
The women and children processed the game, smoking and storing it.
After about a week, we even managed crude leather armor. Against an equal number of enemies, I was confident we wouldn't lose.
Our equipment had improved, but our skills were still lacking. That could be fixed with training.
I personally scouted at times and headed straight to candidate sites upon reports from team leaders to evaluate them.
"No windbreaks—winter winds would whip right through. Ground's too muddy too."
"We'll look elsewhere!"
Maybe I was being too picky.
There was plenty of good land that other tribes would snap up in time, but it didn't meet my standards.
Since I'd decided to build a proper tribe, I wanted perfection.
Heading north from the cave revealed some prime land, but the puddles everywhere raised worries about bug infestations.
That was out too.
Mosquitoes might seem trivial, but a few were one thing—an infestation could spark epidemics.
We kept scouting for nearly ten days.
It wasn't without gains, though.
We'd thoroughly mapped the surrounding terrain.
Knowledge was power, an asset.
Remarkably, this era had an artist(?) who could paint murals, so we sketched maps on thin stone slabs.
And on the eleventh day.
We found it—a jaw-dropping piece of land.
A wide river curved in a huge C-shape around a central plain.
It sat on high ground above the river level, with a broad river width.
No bridges in this era, and beasts wouldn't dare cross.
Secure one side, and it was a natural fortress.
The downside? No easy retreat. But rafts on standby would solve that.
A high plateau ringed by rivers on three sides.
Plenty of room for thousands, with fertile soil a bit back from the riverbank.
The uneven current would make fish traps easy, a huge plus for seafood.
Of course.
It checked every other box too.
Salt mine nearby, no beasts.
Even if there were beasts, it was worth hunting them for—this was the perfect settlement.
"We'll build here."
With ideal conditions secured, it was time for basic planning.
Start small like a village, but zone it for future growth into a city-state.
No luxuries like sewers or walls yet.
But someday, so factor it all in now.
This took a few days too.
I called in the mural artist and started designing on thin stone slabs.
"This isn't easy."
"Whirlwind!"
"Yeah?"
I'd buried myself in work for nearly half a month.
The others seemed content, preparing for the future, but White Flame was different.
"Here... it itches."
"......"
But it wasn't all work.
The primitives worked like mad by day and partied hard at night, so I had to sow my seeds with White Flame till dawn.
Yet she still wanted more.
Lately, I fully got the middle-aged guy's heartache when his wife bathed too long.
Could a chieftain show weakness(?)?
Day or night, when White Flame pounced, I'd snort and charge.
After days of this.
Nosebleeds finally forced a three-times-a-day limit.
'I underestimated primitive stamina......'
Designing felt like my head might explode.
But it had to be done.
Center around a plaza with the 'communal fire.'
We managed fire with flint for now, but a dedicated communal fire was best for a village.
Radiate main roads east, west, south, north from there, with drainage ditches in between.
Primitives didn't care about drainage, living rough, but I knew better.
No drains meant floods ruining stored food.
Bad for house durability too.
Used charcoal to rough-sketch symbols: straight lines for roads, waves for drains, triangles for watchtowers, squares for warehouses, spirals for basic workshops.
This was advanced for an era without settled concepts.
I'd sketch roughly in charcoal; the artist refined it.
Finally, toilets.
Crucial.
Fine for foragers to go anywhere, but not in a village.
Essential facility.
Could drain to the river since it was nearby.
'Human waste makes great fertilizer, right?'
Fertilizer was peak overtech.
Dumping raw waste was stupid; ferment it first.
Easy with knowledge.
Fertilizer in the primitive era.
Knowing its impact, my chest swelled already.
Design done, we rushed housing first.
Facing south, of course.
South-facing homes were eternal truth.
Back to winter winds, max sun exposure.
Ignore it, and mold or freezing deaths followed.
For now, log walls plastered with mud, but come spring, mud bricks.
Log and mud brick combo.
Bricks meant primitive walls possible, right?
Of course.
Just a thought—our scant manpower made it impossible to try.
Wooden palisades would have to do.
"Mix soil, sand, and dry grass 3:1:1!"
They didn't grasp ratios, so I taught from one to ten.
Log frame and walls filled with mud mix—way comfier than pit huts.
Spring plan: demolish and replace with brick houses one by one.
Each house got a small clay stove standard.
U- or L-shaped firebox with a small chimney to vent smoke.
Botch the chimney, and smoke killed sleepers—do it meticulously.
Houses were simple temporary builds, so construction flew, but winter loomed.
Felt like snow in a month or forty days, and manpower was short.
Black Stone and Blue Tree pointed it out.
"Chieftain! We need to capture people!"
"Capture people?"
"We're strong now. These bows, shield work—we can smash enemies easy."
"Black Stone's right. Labor's too scarce. To build your 'village' by autumn, we need at least fifty more."
"Hm."
I agreed.
Plans too grand for our population.
Zoned village with seventy souls.
No cranes, poor tools—pure manpower.
Less developed societies needed more labor, naturally.
I acknowledged the limit.
"Any tribes in mind?"
"Of course. Blue Ear scouted today—downriver, a tribe of fifty."
"Fifty?"
"About fifteen warriors."
"Hoo."
Men were few this era.
Wars and hunts culled them.
Used to mean heavy losses.
But now, armed with cutting-edge(?) gear, different story.
"Let's start a war."