"Tell me, how come these two mean the same thing?" Ma Shao looked directly at Lu Shou, his tone not very friendly.
When Deershou was stared at like that, his momentum suddenly weakened a lot. The duel not long ago was still vivid in his mind, and even the bruises on his face had not disappeared yet. He would never forget the terrible memory of being hung up and beaten.
Therefore, despite his instinctive resistance to Ma Shao, his tone instantly became much more restrained: "Aren't we all going to the Mianxiong Clan anyway? It's the same place."
"The place is the same, so the things are the same?" Ma Shao asked again. When arguing with others, asking more questions and answering less can give you a great advantage.
Lu Shou didn't know how to respond and didn't say anything for a long time.
Ma Shao retracted his gaze and continued, "Cities and clans are two completely different things. Their sizes are very different. A clan has at most two or three hundred people, while a city has at least several thousand or tens of thousands of people, and some can even have up to a million people."
"Millions of people!"
"That's right. For example, London, the UK, has a population of over one million, which is dozens of times more than the Apaches of all tribes combined," said Ma Shao.
"There is strength in numbers. The establishment of a city will make us richer and more powerful. Migration will of course take time and effort, but compared to the benefits that the city brings, this cost is nothing."
An old man hesitated and said, "But with so many people gathered together, what if there are not enough bison?"
Ma Shao replied, "There are abundant herds of bison near Mianxiong City, and there are also many fish and shrimp in the river. We are now catching both bison and fish and shrimp. Wheat and corn have also been planted on a large scale, and the first batch of wheat will be harvested soon."
"Also, we can buy some food from white people. So food is not a problem."
"Buying from white people?"
Ma Shao: "Mianxiong City controls a white town, which provides us with many conveniences. Through this town, we can buy various common materials, including food, from the white world at normal prices."
Everyone was amazed after hearing this, and felt their minds were opened up.
After all, according to the Apaches' past practices, there were basically only two ways to deal with white towns: massacre and looting.
They could neither control their own hatred and greed, nor the resistance and escape of the white people, and they knew nothing about the various technological accumulations of the white people.
The operation of reverse colonization has never been thought of, let alone put into practice.
People still have concerns.
"...The plains tribes have lived here for hundreds of years. Migrating here might offend the will of their ancestors." someone said.
Rainy Day smiled and said, "Don't worry, it won't happen. I promise you in the name of the high priest."
As the high priest, no one knows religion better than him. At least, no one has more say than him.
After a pause, he continued, "And you may not know that the Comanches have recently intended to provoke us. If the Comanches really want to start a war, it will be convenient for us to respond if we gather in advance."
Finally, the crowd stopped expressing opposition.
Ma Shao said, "Let's prepare a little bit and go to Mianxiong City in two days."
"Also, inform the other clans to move all clans under the Plains Tribe to Sleeping Bear City as much as possible. If there are any clans that cannot move, they must send their chieftains or shamans to explain the situation to me in person."
About ten days later.
Ma Shao returned to Mianxiong with more than 600 people.
Among the more than 600 people, in addition to the tribe, there were also people from two clans. Both clans were not far away, and after receiving the order, they set out directly with Ma Shao.
With the addition of this group of people, the population of the Sleeping Bear Clan exceeded 2,000 in one fell swoop. At this scale, it might be the largest human settlement in Kansas.
Before arriving at Mianxiong, people had some concerns to varying degrees, but when they saw the prosperous and lively scene here, most people felt much more at ease.
There are many wooden houses under construction or completed, neat and orderly regional planning, and large tracts of farmland in the distance, and more importantly, the smiles on people's faces.
All in all, there is a thriving atmosphere here.
After arriving, in addition to arranging accommodation for the new tribesmen, Ma Shao's first task was naturally to convene a council to officially change the "Mianxiong Clan" to "Mianxiong City" and adjust the personnel settings.
"From now on, we will only have a tribe, not a clan. This place will also be renamed 'Mianxiong City'." Ma Shao, holding a speech manuscript in his hand, said to the approximately seventy people attending the meeting.
"After changing to Sleeping Bear City, the clan council was renamed accordingly, and fourteen new members were added, and their responsibilities were also updated..."
"Of the six departments previously established, three departments, namely the Planting Department, Women's Department, and Cattle and Horses Department, will remain in Mianxiong. Another department, the Housing Department, will be added to be responsible for house construction. There will be a total of four departments in Mianxiong City."
"The Shamanic Department, the Writing Department, and the Military Department will be under the jurisdiction of the tribe, and their personnel and responsibilities will remain largely unchanged."
"Sleeping Bear City has a city chief, referred to as the 'mayor', who manages the four departments in the city. The mayor is appointed by the chief, and is currently held by Stone Crow."
After hearing this, Stone Crow couldn't help but ask, "If I become the mayor, what about the Shaman tribe?"
"Of course, the Shaman tribe will be left to the rainy day." Ma Shao said.
Then he continued to read the speech: "Set up a tribal council, referencing the original Mianxiong clan council, but with only ten members, and there will not be a significant increase or decrease. The members include six ministers, three centurions, and the mayor of Mianxiong."
Ma Shao made some adjustments to the system, making it a little more formal than before, but still relatively rough. After all, even now, the population under his rule is less than 2,200, and it is essentially still a big village.
He then asked carefully about the situation of corn and wheat. Food is very important, especially with the population boom.
The other end corresponding to food is also extremely important - the toilet.
In Ma Shao's opinion, if there is no wooden house, one can live in a tent temporarily, but if there is no toilet, it is not advisable to solve the problem in the wild. This is neither decent, nor hygienic, nor economical. After all, the feces have to be collected and used as fertilizer.
The Mianxiong clan had built a public toilet before, but now more than 600 people have come, and there will definitely be hundreds of people coming from other clans in the near future, so the existing toilets are naturally not enough.
Therefore, the first task of the Housing Department after its official establishment was to build public toilets.
Dry toilet.
The dry toilet is very simple, but considering Apache's current construction level and urgent toilet needs, it is the best option.
In fact, it is not that shabby. Ma Shao recalled that in the 1990s in the countryside, every household had a dry toilet. Even the incident that gave "Oli Gei" a noun attribute more than 20 years later also took place in a dry toilet.
He also had another task that needed to be completed quickly, which was to find out who contacted the Comanche tribe.
In fact, this is not difficult to find out. With a little inquiry from the people of the Twin Wolf Clan, they will know who has escaped.