We made you the chief, and now you've become the world's chief?

Chapter 123 Consolidation of Power
In the dark wooden house, E still kept her eyes open, gazing at Xia Minghao not far away by the embers of the firewood.

Before long, it was dawn, and a faint light shone through the cracks in the wooden barrel house into the room.

And it was in this dim light that E discovered the body of the Xia tribe chief lying there...

E had seen it before; she knew what it was.

Things she previously had no energy to think about suddenly popped into her mind.

Food and sex are basic human needs, but food always comes first...

After hearing the stories told by the lower-class people in the Da tribe, Xia Minghao also had doubts in his heart.

In the Da tribe, violent incidents are frequent, but there is not a single case of coercion caused by "lust".

After a moment's thought, Xia Minghao immediately understood the reason.

The upper and middle classes of the Da tribe, who had just escaped the stage of food shortage, still did not have the conditions to support mating that was not for the purpose of reproduction.

This is the decisive influence of matter on consciousness.

If the latter is to occur, then it is estimated that the productivity level of the Xia tribe must at least reach that of the Xia tribe.

As for E, who was at the bottom of the Da tribe, she didn't even have the energy to consider this matter.

But now, because of the crocodile meat that Xia Minghao brought back, E suddenly realized something and stared at it in a daze.

Unable to resist licking her lips, E, like a little fox, crept stealthily toward Xia Minghao as if possessed.

Then she couldn't resist moving closer, her little nose twitching as she sniffed.

The taste was strange, but for some reason, it fascinated E.

While she was engrossed in the moment, E suddenly noticed that Xia Minghao's breathing had changed.

This was just a perfectly normal situation when a person is sleeping, but it startled E, who was feeling guilty at the time. She immediately darted back into her haystack and turned away.

It seems nothing happened...

Only when she heard steady breathing again did E turn around.

Perhaps it was because of her lucky break last time that E had even bolder ideas.

When she moved closer again, she was no longer satisfied with just smelling it...

……

……

……

Xia Minghao stretched and sat up.

Seeing that the two siblings were still asleep, they naturally didn't intend to disturb them.

Looking at the light shining through the cracks in the wooden barrel house, I wondered how long I had slept.

Yesterday's crocodile hunt was physically demanding, but somehow I feel even more tired after taking a nap.

And I vaguely remember having a strange feeling when I was sleeping just now.

Spring dreams leave no trace.

Xia Minghao smiled faintly, not because of the dream, but because he clearly felt that his body had recovered quite a bit.

After all, the last time I had that kind of dream was when I was still Xiao Chunan in middle school.

It seems that the illnesses caused by overwork in modern society were recovered during this period in primitive times.

After putting on his raincoat, Xia Minghao pushed open the door of the wooden barrel house and headed straight for the family where Liba had stayed.

Liba hadn't woken up yet, but that was understandable, since he had put in the most effort and made the greatest contribution yesterday.

After waking Liba, Xia Minghao and Liba split up and found everyone they had brought, without missing a single one.

But today's task is not to engage in the tiring and dangerous crocodile-hunting operation.

As long as meat can be brought to the people of the tribe, they will have the motivation to obtain meat.

The people he leads only need to create traps to make the Da tribe dependent on him from the perspective of means of production, and this dependence will allow him to gain control over the Da tribe.

Moreover, once you get a giant crocodile, you have to slaughter it. If you use stone tools to slaughter it, it will rot before you can finish it.

This further tightened the noose around the Da tribe's neck, increased their dependence on the Xia tribe, and solidified their power within the Da tribe.

Red salt, pottery, and the capture and processing of giant crocodiles—all these factors combined forced the Da tribe to become the Da clan, thus becoming part of the Xia tribe.

The only ones worth worrying about are the wolf-skin group.

Once he has enough power in the Da tribe, he can indeed kill these people directly.

But this requires a gradual, subtle influence; otherwise, it would be tantamount to killing indiscriminately and would not win over the public.

What Xia Minghao needs is not a group of slaves, but people who can take initiative and protect the Xia tribe that he created.

Unless some opportunity arises that allows him to legitimately slaughter the Wolfskin Clan and eradicate them completely.

However, such an opportunity was too rare, even something that could only be encountered by chance, so Xia Minghao naturally didn't have high hopes for it.

The group worked together in the rain to deal with the giant crocodile, but in the end they only managed to take down half of its body.

The remaining half was impossible to finish, and another bronze saw had become dull. There was only one left, which was definitely not enough.

The rest is fine too. After we've dealt with the issues with the Da tribe, we can take them back and handle them. Once we're back in the Xia tribe, we'll have plenty of bronze artifacts.

“Liba, go tell Damon that today every member of their clan will receive the same treatment as the Xia tribespeople, and they will all have meat to eat, and it will be meat they can eat to their heart's content.”

"Yes, Chief!"

Upon hearing that he could eat crocodile meat again, Liba became particularly energetic and strode off to find Damon's barrel house.

Xia Minghao then ordered the remaining people to have most of them pull the half of the giant crocodile away, while the other half carried the crocodile meat cut into pieces in baskets on their backs.

When they reached Damon, they saw that Damon had already opened the door and was standing at the door, eagerly waiting.

When they saw the giant crocodile and the baskets full of meat on everyone's backs, their eyes instantly filled with shock and astonishment.

It's actually true!
"Chief, you killed the giant crocodile! And you even managed to cut its flesh!"

Having spent so many years on this land, it must have seen dead crocodiles.

However, it was never included in the Da tribe's recipes because they simply didn't know how to prepare the animals for slaughter.

The fact that the meat could be divided into so many small pieces surprised Damon even more than obtaining a dead crocodile.

"Of course, and I can also help you catch giant crocodiles, so you'll have an endless supply of giant crocodiles to eat in the future."

After speaking, seeing that Damon clearly didn't understand, Xia Minghao simply waved his hand.

“Damon, now find someone to tell everyone in the Da clan that their chief has given them meat to eat, and tell them all to come and collect it.”

Before Damon could react, Xia Minghao had already placed the earthenware pot on the fire.

Whether the meat is cooked in an earthenware pot or roasted over a fire doesn't matter, since it's not for us to eat, nor for Liba and the others.

It was eaten by the Da clan, who had rarely seen meat. Whether it tasted good or not was not important; as long as it was meat, that was enough.

As for how to make it delicious, Xia Minghao naturally knew, and he had already gained some insights yesterday.

The seasonings are incomplete; it has to be grilled crocodile meat to taste good.

The main problem is that there are many steps involved in cooking the meat, many seasonings, and it's quite difficult.

If I can gather all the necessary seasonings in the future, then I can truly savor the deliciousness of boiled crocodile meat.

The first batch of cooked food wasn't ready yet, but the baked food was already done. I counted the number and was just about to bake the second batch when...

Xia Minghao glanced outside the door and was surprised to find that the place was packed with people despite the heavy rain.

Came so fast?
It seems these unfortunate people from the Da tribe are really suffering from a severe lack of meat.

That's good, it solves the problem all at once. More and more people came over, and the crowd grew until it filled Damon's doorway.

Xia Minghao also spotted Wolfskin among them and could clearly identify which members of the Wolfskin clan were among them.

Normally, their faces are full of longing, and their eyes never leave the meat in the fire.

The Wolfskin Clan members all wore grim faces, looking as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

Xia Minghao smiled faintly, first putting the dark, charred pieces of meat he had taken from the fire into his basket, and then walked towards the group.

“The Da clan belongs to the Xia tribe. If the people of the Xia tribe can eat their fill of meat, then the people of the Da clan should also be able to eat their fill of meat.”

After saying this, he finally attracted everyone's attention.

Another flash of lightning streaked across the sky. Xia Minghao waited for the thunder to pass before continuing.

"Not only can I make sure you have enough meat this time, but I will also tell you how to eat your fill of meat every day."

"I will tell you how to kill the giant crocodile, and you will not be harmed."

"Kill... a crocodile!?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the Da clan was startled.

They wouldn't even dare to think about killing a giant crocodile.

Having anticipated this reaction, Xia Minghao waved his hand, and Liba and the others came up and carried out the giant crocodile carcass from the wooden house.

As soon as the giant crocodile's head appeared, the people in the front row all started running backward, causing the others to scatter and flee as well.

"Hey……"

Seeing the group's reaction, Xia Minghao sighed helplessly and shouted, "Come back!"

Those who heard it stopped and turned around, only to be startled by the sudden clap of thunder and shrink back in fear.

Only then did everyone realize that the crocodile only had half a body.

“Anyone who wants to learn how to kill a giant crocodile, come and get the meat.”

"Furthermore, in the Da clan's hunting team, anyone who stops hunting crocodiles will no longer be a member of the hunting team!"

In reality, the people who can actually use the hunting traps at that time are the members of the Da clan hunting team.

Xia Minghao's true desire was to incorporate the members of the hunting team into his own ranks.

This would not only solve the problem of available manpower for crocodile traps, but also directly eliminate the power brought about by the wolfskin clan's most crucial hunting force.

After the words were spoken, not long afterward, someone finally mustered the courage to stand up.

"I want meat, and I'll do as the chief says."

Are you from a hunting party?

"I'm."

"Alright, now you're part of the Da clan's hunting party, remember that."

After emphasizing that it was the Da clan, not the Da tribe, Xia Minghao had the person repeat it as well.

Because I had heard from others that Wolfskin did not allow anyone to mention the Da clan, now that he had to say it himself, it was a kind of "pledge of allegiance".

Sure enough, this did challenge the authority of the Wolfskin Clan. The member of the hunting team who had turned to the light, upon hearing Xia Minghao's request, first glanced at Wolfskin, but upon seeing his fierce gaze, hesitated.

But after looking at the meat Xia Minghao handed him and at Xia Minghao's eyes, he still spoke up.

Once the first person was there, a second and a third immediately followed.

The first group of people quickly finished off the roasted crocodile meat.

The grilled meat was all gone, but there was still some raw meat.

Most of those who remain are elderly, weak, sick, or disabled. Even if they were willing to go, Xia Minghao lacked the confidence to do so.

Of course, these people are still useful. In the future, we will have to rely on them to raise wild ducks and grow taro.

They simply put it another way: as long as you admit you're a member of the Xia tribe, you can get the meat.

So many people have already broken the rules set by the Wolfskin Clan, and even the least courageous among them have now gained some "courage".

Before the meat was even distributed, there were still more than thirty people standing in the rain.

These people were noticeably stronger in physique, as if they had never gone hungry.

Xia Minghao still remembered a few of them; they were the faces of the men, women, and children of the Da tribe who had surrounded and killed him.

These people are estimated to be all the members of the Wolfskin Clan, more than imagined, even exceeding one-tenth of the total tribe population.

Even Damon's entire family, plus Dali's mother's clan, only amounted to one-tenth of the total population of the Damon tribe.

With this many, we either don't kill them, or we have to eradicate them completely in one go, otherwise things might get out of hand.

In fact, Xia Minghao quite admired this group of people. They had actually figured out how to conduct power struggles. If he hadn't had enough strength, he might have really fallen into their trap back then.

If I hadn't shown up, the Da tribe would probably have lost its rule to these people sooner or later.

Unfortunately, it was still too primitive and too simple.

You're playing childish tricks, while we're playing a perfectly legitimate scheme.

They have now completely isolated the Wolfskin Clan and can only watch helplessly as their power diminishes.

Unless, kill yourself.

Watching the wolf-skin clan leave with gloomy faces, Xia Minghao touched the wooden box around his neck.

But is there really a chance to kill oneself?

At the same time, he looked at the Da clan members who were eating meat in the heavy rain. If he really wanted to kill them now, these people would never agree.

He ordered Liba to lead his men to create new traps.

Xia Minghao then took the cooked meat and went to find the wise man himself.

Seeing the old man huddled alone in the dimly lit wooden hut, Xia Minghao felt a headache coming on.

Please don't die! We'll need you to hold the rear during the migration.

First, he inquired in detail about the Wolfskin Clan's situation. After gaining an understanding, he noticed that the wise man didn't seem very energetic, so he gave him some instructions regarding the Wolf Tribe.

Although in theory the wolf tribe shouldn't be able to reach the Da clan, it's always better to be safe than sorry.

When he stepped outside, he saw that dusk had fallen. Xia Minghao sensed that the rain had lessened considerably, as if the rainy season was nearing its end...

……

……

……

E was standing at the doorway, aimlessly shrouded in the misty rain.

Her dazed eyes swept across the room, but she ultimately failed to spot the figure she was hoping for.

Just when he was feeling disheartened, Xia Minghao appeared in the rain.

He was also holding a large piece of cooked crocodile meat in his hand.

E licked her lips, but her gaze wasn't on the meat, nor was she thinking about the delicious crocodile meat she had eaten yesterday.

Instead, I thought of...

P.S.: Some readers have commented that the pacing is too slow, so I've decided to finish this section in one go.

The plot will progress at an increasingly faster pace and become more and more exciting, ensuring the best possible reading experience for our readers.

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(End of this chapter)