CHAPTER 448: CHAPTER 326: PROMOTION

"Yes!" Maximus praised Alacocia for his quick reaction.

Alacocia had no doubts anymore and said admiringly, "Leader, you have really thought it through! This way, we can not only delay time but also sow discord among the various Pannonian tribes and disrupt their unity. But I wonder if these three tribes might privately negotiate peace with us?"

"Well, it depends on whether they value the interests of the entire Pannonia more, or their own tribe’s interests more," Maximus said with a meaningful smile, and then asked, "By the way, has the envoy from the Alde Tribe left?"

"He’s gone," Alacocia replied. "Coincidentally, just after he left, the envoy from the Pannonian Tribe Alliance arrived. Before he left, he also looked at our big bridge construction, and he understood that you, Leader, were too busy here to go to the Aldean Main Camp."

Maximus wasn’t concerned about the attitude of the Alde envoy. He then asked, "Did the team led by Kefisofon also depart together?"

Upon receiving the sincere invitation from the Alde Tribe to attend the funeral of the former Great Chief and the inauguration of the new one, Maximus politely declined on the grounds of having "just occupied the Segestica Territory, the situation was still tense, and he dared not leave easily."

However, with the Nix Tribe currently facing pressure from the Pannonian Tribe Alliance, having friendly relations with the ally Alde has become more important than ever, as it relates to the stability of the Nix Tribe’s rear (referring to the territory along the Kupa River). Therefore, after discussing in the Political Affairs Hall, it was decided that the Chief Officer of the Cultivation Department, Kefisofon, and the Commerce Department Supervisor, Pigeris, would lead a group to attend the ceremony at the Aldean Main Camp with five carriages of weapons (seized in the war) and over a hundred sheep (from the seized properties of various Segestica tribal leaders and nobles) as gifts, to show the Nix Tribe’s importance to the alliance.

The choice of Kefisofon was because at this stage the Cultivation Department had relatively few tasks, and he himself was interested in the funeral and inauguration ceremony of the Alde Tribe’s Great Chief, wanting to learn by observing and enrich and improve the ceremonial culture of the newly established Nix Tribe.

Alacocia responded, "Yes, Kefisofon left with the team escorting the gifts along with the envoy. He will meet Pigeris in Snowdonia before heading to the Alde Tribe."

Maximus nodded: he knew about Pigeris not being in Ophelia but in Snowdonia because he had previously sent Pigeris back to remind Budocaribas that they needed to handle the iron ore issue well.

From the Alde envoy, he already learned: Budocaribas, Xisaites, they had already obtained the approval of the Alde tribal meeting and would lead their tribesmen to migrate here, and the iron ore would be entrusted to his old friend Alxipengpas to manage... this was the news from the Alde that he was most concerned about.

Everything went as Maximus wished, and in his joy, he could imagine how much his in-law Alistacas must be feeling choked, although he didn’t know exactly what happened in the Alde tribal meeting, any ambitious Great Chief would not allow the sub-tribes to slip out of control...

It seems that this Alistacas cannot control the situation of the Alde... Maximus subconsciously stroked his chin and suddenly recalled another matter: "Damn, I’ve been so busy I forgot there’s still someone at home, I must attend Chief Acooupaigos’s funeral!"

"Leader, are you referring to Lady Geniandra?" Alacocia immediately reacted.

Maximus quickly instructed, "Yes, you go and catch up with Kefisofon, tell him that after reaching Snowdonia, let Geniandra also go to the Aldean Main Camp and try to make her the primary representative."

..................

Under the azure sky, the soft sunlight shone on the land with only sparse withered grass remaining, making the earth appear less desolate.

Although it was still early for spring planting, the villagers of No. 21 Village had already started working on the newly allotted fields of their own.

They need to plow the land before the snow arrives so that the winter cold can kill the insect eggs turned up to the surface and the snowfall can nourish the soil deeper down.

There were now six oxen in the village, once private property of the village leader and nobles, but now belonging to the entire village. However, there was only one curved plow, which Village Chief Pro had requested from the Agricultural Department officer stationed at the Ophelia Western Fortress based on his old relationship there.

Though the war with the Pannonians had temporarily come to a halt, and the Nix Tribe’s Iron Workshop had returned to normal operations, the curved plow was not easy to make, and there weren’t enough craftsmen in the workshop’s daily necessities department, so production was low. Even with the inventory, it could not be distributed to all the villages on the west bank of the Sava River.

Vorenus had already discussed this matter with Capito.

Capito decided that once the Ophelia Wooden Bridge is completed, a large number of carpenters will be diverted to the daily necessities department of the Iron Workshop to expedite the production of curved plows and greatly increase their output, as the wooden plow body is the most difficult part to manufacture and time-consuming.

However, as distant water does not quench present thirst, villagers were still primarily using straight plows for farming. But No. 21 Village had over 200 households yet only six oxen, making allocation a major challenge.

Pro gathered the villagers and proposed a suggestion: everyone in the village should unite to help each other, with young and strong villagers (mainly from the Skodisqi people and some First Legion soldiers with no current tasks) using the oxen to take turns plowing all the village’s land, while the elderly, weak, or disabled villagers (mostly Segestica people) clean the debris (grass roots, insect eggs, stones, etc.) from the plowed soil, and the women in the village prepare meals and provide water...

Although the tension between the Segestica and Skodisqi villagers had eased since they vowed at the Nu Temple, many villagers were hesitant about working together.

The hesitation, rather than outright opposition, was because Pro’s fair and community-minded actions had earned him the trust of the villagers within less than a month, making it difficult for anyone to openly oppose him.

While most villagers were still hesitant, Pro began to take action. He first gathered the Nix Veterans, Scodisiqi New Soldiers (who had been in the Nix Tribe for over a year and had become accustomed to working with the Segestica people), the only Segestica Recruit (Nikocus), and Siris, along with a few Segestica families that Siris managed to persuade, who were severely lacking labor force... and had them start according to his proposed method.

These people cooperated with each other, each fulfilling their duties, and with Pro’s favoritism (allowing them more use of the oxen), their farming efficiency was significantly better than the other villagers.

Seeing this, the other villagers became increasingly tempted, and their animosity from different tribes was gradually overcome by practical benefits, prompting them to request joining this mutual aid group from Pro.

As more villagers joined, Pro then divided the working villagers into three groups, with a reasonable mix of the elderly, middle-aged, young, and women, two oxen per group, each selecting a person with higher prestige as the leader, and he supervised coordination.

This way, the villagers farmed in a more orderly manner, ensuring efficiency.

At this moment, Siris was plowing a field, which belonged to a new Skodisqi villager. The Nix Veteran who had been plowing earlier felt a bit tired, and he voluntarily stepped forward to take over.

His enthusiasm was not without reason — being the leader of this group, he needed to set an example; after being treated by the Nix Medical Team, his leg injury was healed, and his energy and strength had greatly recovered, so he believed plowing for a while shouldn’t be a problem; and he was using a curved plow, the new plow inspired by the Danu Goddess and created by Leader Maximus, which had attracted the eager attention of the Segestica citizens, with everyone scrambling to use it.

Siris held the plow with one hand and the cow whip with the other, urging the oxen to move forward at a steady pace without stopping.

The more he used this curved plow, the more he liked it: it was so convenient! Unlike the straight plow, which was tiring and sometimes required two people, he could control the plow head with one hand now. Not only was it light, but it was also easy to turn, and its iron plow head was expertly crafted, thus plowing deeper without adding much weight...

After plowing an acre, Siris stopped, closed his eyes slightly, and offered a heartfelt prayer thanking the Danu Goddess.

Then, still eager, he was preparing to continue plowing when he heard someone calling him. Turning around, he saw Pro waving at him from the field’s edge.

Reluctantly, he passed the plow to the new Skodisqi villager coming to replace him, reminding him, "Feed the ox some fodder first to restore its energy before plowing again."

"Village Chief, what’s the matter?" Siris asked, rubbing mud from his hands as he approached Pro.

Pro said, "A Guard soldier has come to the village and specifically asked for you."

"A Guard soldier?" Siris was puzzled.

"It’s Maximus’ Guard!" Pro smiled and said, "I’ve asked him; he was ordered to take you to Ophelia to assist in managing foreign settlers. Congratulations, Siris! You’re being valued by the tribe!"

"I’m going to the main camp to help manage foreign settlers?!" Siris was stunned. He had seen Nix Soldiers being promoted during this time and learned about some situations of the Nix Tribe. He knew that ordinary tribe members like him could also become tribal nobles, and he had often fantasized about making a name for himself in the new tribe. But when the opportunity suddenly came, he found it a bit unbelievable.