Chapter 1248 The Far North Route Connecting East Asia (Part 2)

The sea is frozen blue and white, and the distant mountains are covered with snow. The meadow under the snow rises and falls with the mountains, and the sparse cedars have straight trunks. Barren mountains, heavy snow, long grass, and sparse trees, nature uses the simplest and coldest strokes to outline a high-standing island mountain range and an "ancient ankylosaur" lying on the sea, just like millions of years ago.

From ancient times to today, the snow-capped mountains across the island seem to have never changed. No matter how many generations of hunting tribes have lived on this island, the wild appearance of the island has not changed. And now, the only change on the entire island is the natural harbor in the northeast corner, the small shed built, the potato field covered with snow, and the two longboats and dozens of canoes frozen in the harbor.

This is the kingdom's god, the Great Whale Port (N58, W152), and it is also the port where the Chimer High Priest chooses to spend the winter. The population of the tribe in the port has grown to more than 400 people, but compared to the 9,000 square kilometers of the island, it is still a tuft of hair on the short tail of a cottontail rabbit. And now in March, it is the season when the Great Whale Island is frozen. You can't hear the endless singing of whales in summer, and you can only hear...

"Woo! Oh! Oh!!..."

"Lulu!!"..."

"Ah! Master Priest, let the warriors pull the dogs away! Quick! The mare is going to be angry!..."

"Kowubao, go, pull the big dogs away!..."

"Yes!..."

Hearing this, the warrior captain Kowubao nodded and saluted, pulling two strong, long-haired black and white dogs, and retreated dozens of steps away.

"Lulu!..."

The horses' neighing eased a little, but their vigilant eyes were still fixed on the curious Chimer Priest. The other party obviously had the smell of "wolf" and was constantly trying to get closer, making them very uneasy! Especially at this moment, when they are pregnant with foals, they are most sensitive and slowest...

"Lord God, it's really strange! This four-legged beast that is bigger than a human is actually afraid of those two wolfhounds? The horse should be stronger than the wolfhound! Even the warriors were very scared when they saw the huge "horse" for the first time, thinking it was a legendary monster..."

"Master Priest, you...you are joking! No matter how big a horse is, it eats grass, and no matter how small a wolf is, it eats meat. What's more, the wolfhound is so big! It can stand up and The people are almost there, it's too scary! I've never seen such a big dog, oh, except for the group of barbarians in the tent who caught people on a sled..."

"Huh? Eat meat? ... No, Ichiro, you're wrong! I have always fed these two wolfhounds with my own hands. They not only eat meat and fish, but also potatoes and corn tortillas. They have good personalities, pull sleds very well, and obey orders very well. They are loyal and docile! ..."

Chimer's chief priest shook his head and patiently communicated with the horse breeder Zuichiro at a safe distance of more than ten steps. He turned around from time to time and looked at the two Alaskan dogs that were still scratching their paws and trying to rush over to protect him dozens of steps behind, with satisfaction and love in his eyes.

"Praise the Lord! What a loyal and wise big dog! Luo Heishi is really thoughtful!..."

Yes, these two black and white big dogs with "wise" eyes were specially presented to Chimer by Luo Heishi, the warrior leader in charge of the port, when Chimer anchored at Shen Dadi Port (N55, W163) last year.

According to Luo Heishi, these two big dogs, one male and one female, which are much stronger than the northern gray wolf, were exchanged from a Sugpia tribe migrating south when the longboat of Shen Dadi Port was fishing in the summer. The chief of that tribe told the Sugpia sailors on the longboat that the real source of these two big dogs was from the sled tribe on the snowfield further north, from a group of Inuit tribes who called themselves "snowfield people". As for the biggest role of these two big dogs, it is to pull sleds and tents on the snowfield in winter and run and migrate quickly!

The snowfields in the north are icy and cold, with several feet of snow all year round. There are eight months of cold winter in a year, but there are still migratory hunting tribes surviving, which surprised Chimer, who was "determined to explore the world"!

He liked these two big dogs that the alliance didn't have, so he took them on the boat and sailed westward. It was not until the end of summer and early autumn last year that he sent five support longships to the end of the island chain in the middle of the Shenqi Island Chain (N52, W174) in Shengaoshan Port, and returned to Shendajing Port in time before the ice came...

If Shenxuewan Port (145°W) is the most critical "Tiger Waist Port" on the Far North Route. Then going further west, Shendajing Port (152°W) is the "horse port" where the kingdom raises horses, and its location is equivalent to the navel. And the next Shendadi Port (163°W) is the starting point of the tail of the Aleutian Island Chain and is regarded as the "starting port". As for the Shengaoshan Port (174°W) at the front of the island chain, it can be seen as the front end of the tail, the "front tail port".

In fact, Chimer's third batch of support fleets left a long ship in Whale Port, Eagle Wing Port and these four ports, and stationed a new batch of kingdom headquarters. The population of the four ports also increased to 500 people in Shenxue Bay Port, 400 people in Shenda Whale Port, 400 people in Shendadi Port, and 300 people in Shengaoshan Port.

These four ports are mainly based on fishing and hunting. The potato fields planted have a low yield, but they can also provide a stable winter storage ration. The tribe has metal logging tools, large ships that can go into shallow waters to fish, and coal and stone fuel for the winter, which is much better than the surrounding extreme northern tribes!

Under the concept of "unifying the people and assimilating the northern tribes", the ports of various kingdoms are very happy to accept the surrounding tribes and behave very friendly. Therefore, the warm, rich and powerful Longboat Tribe gradually spread its reputation in the Far North and became the target of many small tribes around!

Especially before the arrival of winter, many hunting tribes will come to request a joint camp to spend the long and harsh winter together. When the spring of May comes, the small tribes will disperse and hunt everywhere, but they often leave behind some injured men and children who can't be raised, or simply separate the families of the tribes to join, so that the number of people in the port grows rapidly. The belief in the Lord God began to spread among the tribes under the practical name of "God of Fire and Potatoes"...

"The Lord God is my witness! These two four-legged beasts are indeed very intelligent! They look very smart, as wise as the two big dogs! They shook their heads and necks vigorously, but their pregnant bellies did not move. Is it to protect the fetus in their belly?..."

"Uh... Master Priest, you are really wise! These two Far North horses are very smart, and their tempers are actually much better than that Jurchen horse... If they were not pregnant, they would be very smart. Normally, they can be ridden... But now they are already ten months pregnant and are about to give birth, so we must not scare them! If they miscarry, then the ten months of serving day and night will be in vain! …”

“And sir, you have the smell of wolfhounds on you... So these two horses are very scared! These northern horses are good at running and strong, they are not afraid of big bears in the mountains, and rarely encounter tigers, but the only thing they are afraid of is wolves! …”

Zhu Yilang carefully persuaded the "head monk official" with a distinguished status in front of him. While he was talking, he continued to comfort the two Yakut horses and feed them tender grass dug out of the snow, which was even more serious than serving his wolf-like wife.

These two mares, which were traded from the Shanta tribe and transported thousands of miles here, are the "source of wealth" for Zhu Yilang, more important than the gold talisman on his neck! And these ten months of busy serving also made Zhu Yilang look old. But if you look closely, his figure is much stronger, no longer like the skinny fawn at the beginning. This is obviously due to adequate nutrition, high status in the port, and frequent access to meat.

As for the dozen tribal apprentices who learned to raise horses under him, they were gradually brought out to help take care of the horses, especially the Jurchen horse that was raised separately. And when the two foals are born, two apprentices can be promoted to raise foals from an early age, so that people and horses can communicate with each other and become the best riders...

"Ah! So that's how it is!..."

Qimeier raised his arm and smelled the dog smell on his palm, and curiosity appeared on his face again. This kind of "horse" that can be ridden on four legs actually takes longer to be pregnant than humans. I'm afraid that the vitality "Ihotel" absorbed is also stronger than that of ordinary people. But the reproduction time of this horse is so long. How long will it take to really reproduce hundreds or thousands of horses to form the "warriors who ride horses and fight" mentioned by His Majesty?

"Zukeichiro, how long do these two mares need to rest after giving birth to foals before they can give birth again?"

"Ah? Rest?...No, Master Priest! Horses are different from humans. They don't need to rest and can get pregnant and give birth continuously...In fact, after giving birth to foals, their bodies will heat up within ten days and they will go into heat again! As long as they can afford it, this is the easiest and most suitable time for pregnancy. Stallions can get pregnant as soon as they lie down!...Calculated, it is estimated that they give birth to one baby every year, and each baby gives birth to one horse..."

"Lord God! It's like this! One baby a year, one at a time..."

Qimeier's eyes flashed, silently calculating the reproduction rate of the horse herd. After a moment, he remembered something and asked again.

"Then, Zuichiro, how long does it take for a newborn mare to start reproducing?"

"At least three years old! In fact, it's best to be four years old, so that the horse's body is the strongest and it won't give birth to a weak pony... and if the pony doesn't die before the age of three, it can live a long time, at least it can reproduce for ten years..."

"Well, it can reproduce in three to four years, and its life span is ten years?"

Qimeier blinked, and he had already figured out the answer in his mind. It will probably take about ten years for the herd to reproduce to a scale of a thousand horses. It will be slow at first, but it will grow rapidly later. As long as it reaches a scale of hundreds of horses, the herd will be stable. At that time, there will be no need to worry. Not only can they be allowed to reproduce on their own on the island, but they can also go further south to open up several large horse-raising islands in the kingdom. For example, Haida Gwaii, the Haida people's island opposite the Condor Wing Port, is larger than the Great Whale Island and is very suitable...

"Bless the Lord! Cultivating a herd of horses that can be ridden is a long-term task, but it has a promising future! Well, we still need to bring back a few more mares from the continent of the West Sea! Double the number of horses at the beginning as soon as possible to save a few years of accumulation..."

Thinking of this, Chimer looked longingly and looked at the snow-capped mountains in the west. And behind the snow-capped mountains that stretch for hundreds of miles is the frozen and shining West Sea. At this moment, on the continent of the West Sea, what is the exploration captain personally appointed by His Majesty, the chief priest Zuvaro, doing? ...

"Bless the Lord! The long ship heading west for support should have arrived smoothly, right? After all, I chose to be safe, suppressed my curiosity about the West Sea continent, and continued to be responsible for the management of the Far North route... In any case, I still don't have the courage of Captain Zuvaro who resolutely abandoned his wife and children of the tribe for the Lord God and fearlessly explored forward!

"It must be very difficult for the Zuwaro priest to live on such a difficult and cold peninsula, on the land of death as the Unanga people call it. May the Lord bless you! May this northern route continue to bring back technical talents, domesticated livestock, and new crops from the West Sea!..."

I have been working in the fields these two days and I am quite tired. I slept for ten hours yesterday and got up to write a chapter. Thank you for your tolerance and support, fellow readers!