Chapter 67: Centurion

Many tribesmen have begun to use US dollar coins and Spanish silver dollars as currency, but some people are still not very familiar with this.

"These are the coins." Bu Jiu shook a few coins. There were gold coins, silver coins, and of course more cents.

"Why use white people's coins? Aren't shell beads good?" some people commented.

But more people have accepted these gold, silver and copper coins with numbers printed on them: "These coins are made of metal and have numbers on them. They are much more useful than shell beads! Who still uses shell beads in this day and age?"

"You don't know numbers yet, do you?"

"No way, there really are people who don't know numbers?"

Even if some people don't know numbers, they are naturally embarrassed to admit it. But they should be a minority. The minimum requirement of the literacy class is to make everyone know numbers and their own names.

Bu Jiu said, "These coins are indeed more convenient. The chief said that we will have our own metal coins in the future, but now we can only use white people's... In fact, this purchase of spirits is also to promote currency. Most of you know numbers."

"If you really want the shell beads, I can give them to you. Just don't come to me if you suffer any loss in the future."

Some who wanted to use shell beads or barter were discouraged and had to accept the US dollars or Spanish silver dollars from the liquor and pharmacy like most people.

A large bag of liquor cost four dollars. The liquor and drug store purchased more than four hundred bags in total, paying nearly two thousand dollars for them.

The tribe lost their liquor, but suddenly gained a large amount of good and easy-to-use currency.

In the past, people used barter, which was very inconvenient. Now that there is a more convenient currency, many people have suddenly become enthusiastic about doing business and want to discuss the price of anything they see.

The economic activities within the Mianxiong clan gradually became more prosperous.

About another month passed.

April.

spring.

During this month, Ma Shao's life was still busy, even busier, because two more Apache clans joined in, which expanded the size of the Mianxiong clan and brought him more affairs.

He had to exercise, handle tribal affairs, learn English, study Manche, teach, train soldiers... He had to do all these things.

At the same time, for long-term considerations, sleep is also essential, so he has almost no time for entertainment. If he wants to entertain himself, he can only do so with his tribesmen, such as holding a party.

Extremely busy, barely enough sleep, and almost non-existent entertainment.

Fortunately, Ma Shao in this life has abundant energy and strong execution ability far beyond that of ordinary people. If it were the fat man in his previous life, with this intensity of work, he would probably have to lie down for a week.

As his work progressed, he could feel that his people's recognition of him was gradually deepening. In the past, his admirers were mainly from the military, but now the whole tribe began to admire him more and more.

He does not reject people's admiration for him, and probably no one would reject such a thing.

But this kind of worship is always mixed with all kinds of weird and superstitious things, which makes him feel conflicted, but he doesn't know how to deal with it.

Choosing to admit or acquiesce goes against one's own beliefs.

If I choose to explain, it is difficult to explain it clearly to so many people. It is hard to explain it clearly in the first place. For example, Ma Shao once said that he had never seen the Great Spirit, but the tribesmen who heard this still believed that he was the messenger of the Great Spirit - what does it have to do with whether you have seen the Great Spirit or not? I don't care, you are the one appointed by the Great Spirit.

Choosing to stop it by force may hurt the feelings of the tribe members and undermine one's own authority.

So on this issue of faith, Ma Shao once again chose to let it go, which was a bit of an evasive move.

But at least for now, this escape has not brought him any harm. His authority in the tribe is still growing day by day, and no one dares to express disrespect or opposition to him...

In the clan square, nearly three hundred warriors were neatly arranged in a square formation, surrounded by a large number of clan members watching.

The soldiers were not on horseback, for it was infantry time.

Everyone was dressed in simple linen shirts and jeans, including the horse whistles standing at the front of the queue, which was the current military uniform of the Sleeping Bear Clan.

Judging from their attire alone, if it weren't for the feathers on their heads, these Indian warriors would be dressed almost like white people.

Ma Shao didn't really like this style. He preferred the various military uniforms of later generations, but that was not practical for the time being. This shirt and jeans outfit was at least much better than the tribesmen's previous look.

In the past, the tribesmen wore either simple and loose leather clothes or rough and ragged cloth clothes. When the weather was slightly warmer, they would expose their upper bodies and often paint their skin with various pigments to show their power.

Ma Shao set an example by abandoning all these elements that made the army look messy, and replaced them with simple and practical clothes, retaining only the feathers on his head.

"Sergeants, you should already know the results of the cultural assessment." Ma Shao shouted to the soldiers.

Before he finished speaking, many squad leaders showed nervousness on their faces, but they were already familiar with military discipline, and they still held their heads high and said nothing.

Ma Shao continued, "Today is the drill assessment. The total score of the two assessments combined will be the result of this month's sergeant assessment."

"In addition, three centurions will be born today!"

Centurion!

Ma Shao had told the soldiers about this position a few months ago. Upon hearing the news, the centurions' eyes lit up.

"You should still remember the rules for selecting centurions. Let me say it again. The three people who have the highest cumulative assessment scores over the past few months and have no record of disciplinary violations will be centurions."

"Okay, now the assessment officially begins!"

The content of the assessment includes formations, physical fitness, combat, tactics, etc. It starts with the infantry assessment, but more importantly the assessment is on horseback.

The assessment lasted for the whole morning. Ma Shao recorded the results of each squad leader in each assessment, and also paid attention to the performance of the soldiers.

In every assessment, some soldiers with outstanding performance would also receive rewards, mainly eagle feathers.

After the assessment, Ma Shao used the lunch break to organize the scores and then announced the results in the afternoon.

"The top three in the total score are Prairie Wolf, Thick Shoulders, and Du Tiao. From today on, you will be the centurions of the clan army!" Ma Shao announced.

He then awarded each of the three centurions a blue shirt and an armband as the centurion's symbol.

The three centurions were very happy, and the tribesmen who were watching were also very excited.

Ma Shao also breathed a sigh of relief. The three centurions had reached a good level in all aspects, enough to share a lot of military work with him. He was really too busy recently.

"Steppe Wolf."

"Here!" The prairie wolf who had just become a centurion responded excitedly.

Ma Shao nodded: "I'll assign you a task."