We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Chapter 543: Visiting the Clan

For these relatively easy-to-approach Amis people, Li Che's preferred approach is to establish friendship peacefully.

Li Che also had some understanding of the indigenous people on this island.

The main ethnic groups have a complex composition. Later generations once collectively referred to them as the Gaoshan people, but in fact the Gaoshan people is a collective name for nine ethnic groups: Ami, Atayal, Paiwan, Bunun, Rukai, Puyuma, Cao, Saisiyat, and Yami.

Among them, the Amis are the most populous indigenous ethnic group on the island, and among the many ethnic groups, they are relatively peaceful towards the outside world.

This is also the reason why Li Che has always adopted a conciliatory strategy after meeting them.

Here are the population resources that Li Che needs most, and making friends with them is obviously more in line with the interests of Fengguo!

The blazing flames amazed the Amis people even more.

Then, Li Che showed off several small items brought from Feng State, such as fine silk, sharp steel daggers, and colorful glass beads.

None of them are precious things, but to the Amis people, these things are as exquisite as if they were made by nature.

During this time, Li Che kept using gestures. Although the process was troublesome, he finally made his meaning clear to the Amis people.

He could use these things to exchange for their local specialties, such as tea, spices, and herbs.

Kawas finally understood Li Che's intention and realized that these people were not invaders. On the contrary, the things in their hands could greatly improve the lives of the tribe members. His attitude suddenly became more friendly.

He also invited Li Che and his group to go to the Amis camp in the distant valley.

Li Che had no objection and only left a small team to guard here, and raised his hand to call Ying Bu.

Ying Bu whispered, "Your Highness, you are looking for me."

"Although we have found the indigenous people, communication is still a problem." Li Che said, "You take a warship to the capital of Yizhou and bring back someone who is fluent in the indigenous people's language."

Yizhou was nominally the territory of Daqing, but Emperor Qing did not penetrate deeply enough to further consolidate his rule, and only built a provincial capital symbolically.

The state capital is more like an embassy than an administrative body.

Li Che thought for a moment, then whispered, "If the other party refuses to comply, use some tricks. There's no need to be so rigid."

"My subordinate understands."

After going through so many things, Ying Bu is no longer a weakling. He knows that extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.

Yingbu took his men away, and Li Che followed Kawas to their tribe.

The Amis camp is hidden in the arms of the crescent-shaped bay. Hundreds of bamboo and wooden houses are built on the reefs, and covered bridges tied with sea vines rise and fall with the tides.

A woman in an ochre-red linen skirt sat under the eaves, weaving a fishing net, a newly-picked orchid in her hair. A naked child chased crabs past Li Che, leaving behind only a string of silver bell-like laughter.

Judging from the surface, it is a paradise.

But Li Che still keenly noticed that there were more women than men in the camp, and almost all the male Ami were warriors holding spears.

Li Che and his group only wore armor and carried no other weapons except pepper shaker pistols.

But the looks these warriors gave them were still filled with rejection and vigilance.

"Your Highness, look at that water jar!" Li Sheng suddenly lowered his voice.

Li Che followed his gaze and saw several girls drawing water from a spring. The pottery jars on their heads were round in shape, and the bodies of the jars were engraved with totems similar to Taotie patterns.

"This pattern comes from the Central Plains. I have seen it in a book. It should be a common totem in the Zhou Dynasty." Li Sheng explained.

Li Che nodded slightly: "This is not surprising. The two places are so close, which can only mean that our ancestors established contact with them a long time ago."

"Is there anyone in this tribe who is fluent in Qing language?" Wen Zaiyin on the other side also spoke up, "Like the three tribes of Sauron?"

Li Che reached out and pushed aside the fishing nets hanging from the eaves, shaking his head and saying, "It's difficult. Sauron and Daqing are separated by land, while this place and Daqing are separated by a strait. It's even more difficult for our cultures to communicate."

At this moment, he finally realized why Qin Shi Huang's "standardization of the wheel gauge and the writing system" was his greatest achievement, even greater than his destruction of the six kingdoms.

After destroying the six kingdoms and carrying forward the legacy of the six previous generations, and building on the achievements accumulated by the previous six generations of Qin monarchs, it was inevitable that the Qin state would embark on the path of unification.

However, it is different with the same written language. Cultural barriers are not so easy to break. If people cannot write in the same script and speak the same language, any unification by force will sooner or later be divided again.

Li Che is now facing this problem. Whether it is the Mohe, Khitan, and Goryeo ethnic groups within the territory of Fengguo, or the more ethnic groups encountered on future sea routes, their languages ​​and writing are all different.

If you want to maintain stable rule, you must popularize the Qing language.

The process may be difficult, but the rewards are huge.

The biggest benefit is that children hundreds of years from now will no longer need to take English exams...

The salty wind was suddenly mixed with the smell of blood. Twenty shirtless young men came over carrying a mountain deer they had just hunted. The deer's antlers were wrapped with red and blue shells.

Kawas pointed at the mountain deer with a smile, gestured to Li Che, and used his hands to pull air into his mouth.

Li Che knew that the other party was telling him that he was in for a treat as he could eat fresh venison.

Li Che also smiled and nodded, indicating that he was looking forward to it.

As the tribal leader, Kawas built his longhouse on the highest reef.

At this point, the tribal warriors behind Kawas stopped.

Li Che thought about it and asked his personal guards to wait here, and went in with only Hu Qiang, Li Sheng and Wen Zaiyin.

The moment the sea breeze lifted the door curtain, Li Che felt as if he had stepped into the cave of a monster in "Journey to the West".

The entire wall was covered with various leathers, such as bearskin, deerskin, and wolfskin, and strings of dried flying fish hung from the beams of light that filtered through the shell window lattices.

There was a woman in her thirties and a chubby little kid in the house. They should be Kawas's family.

Seeing Li Che and others, the child looked at them with wide eyes of curiosity, and then was pulled by the woman to the back room.

Kawas threw the wooden spear aside and then sat down on the ground.

Seven or eight women in red came out from the back room, holding wooden bottles in their hands, from which some liquid occasionally spilled out.

Kawas held up the wooden barrel inlaid with shark teeth, the crimson liquid frothing with blood, and said in the Ami language:

"King of Qing, please taste our wine."

Li Che's Adam's apple moved, and he hesitated for a moment as he looked at the wine that looked like blood.

Although that thing doesn't look like it's drinkable, it shouldn't cause food poisoning.

He reached out to take it and drank it all in one gulp.

Ok?

You know what, this thing looks scary, but it’s not bad to drink, it’s even slightly sweet.

Kawas laughed and patted Li Che on the shoulder, seeming to like guests who could drink a lot.