Rome must fall.

Chapter 362 Soft Power

Bodamochi groaned for a moment and said in a deep voice: "We, the Iron Core Tribe, have lived here for hundreds of years. No matter how fertile the river plains to the south are, it is difficult for us to be greedy.

Like other Noriki tribes, we like to live next to the mountains, listen to the pleasant sound of iron forging, face the blazing fire, and watch the red-hot iron block being hammered into a fine piece of ironware...

Over the past hundred years, we have witnessed the Scotish conquer the Pannoni, and then the Pannoni enslaved the Scotish… During this process, we, the Iron Core Tribe, have never interfered with either side. We will sell iron to anyone who is our neighbor and has good intentions. "

Alakosia immediately took over the conversation and said knowingly: "It is precisely because of the goodwill your tribe has always shown to the outside world that we, the Nix, sent me here, hoping to establish friendly relations with the Iron Core Tribe. In the future, the Nix will regularly purchase iron ingots made by your tribe. I just wonder if you will accept gold and silver coins? Or do you hope that we will exchange them with other materials?"

"Food! Of course we'll exchange it for food!" Leader Sfeli in the living room couldn't help but interrupt.

Bodamochi glanced at Sfeli, and since the conversation had already been opened, he also said directly: “In our Noriki territory, there are abundant iron ore with high quality, and there are also a large number of tribesmen who are good at smelting iron, so we can fully meet the needs of other tribes for ironware.

But we are located in the mountains, and there is a lack of farmland. Fishing and hunting alone are not enough to fill the stomachs of our people. In the past, we often traded food with the Skodischi and later the Pannoni using iron tools. However, since the second half of last year, the food traded between the Segestica tribe and us has decreased a lot. Later we learned that it was because you occupied the core territory of the Segestica tribe. This year, in order to defend against the invasion of the Yapod people, the Segestica people completely stopped trading food with us——"

Podmochi smiled slightly when he said this: "Of course, this is not a disaster for our Iron Core Tribe. Although the tribes of the Noriki live in scattered areas, they are very united. The Romans buy a large amount of ironware from us Norikis every year and give us a large amount of food. This is the most important trade for our entire Noriki race.

Since we can't exchange food in the south, we can also ask for help from our fellow tribes in the west, which are close to the Roman territory, and accept some iron orders from Roman merchants in exchange for the food we need. It's just that the journey is long and it will be more laborious. After all, given the location of our tribe, it is more convenient to trade with the south, don't you think?"

"Of course." Alakosia responded, "The situation of our Nix tribe is somewhat similar to that of your Iron Core tribe. When we settled on the banks of the Kupa River, we established our own iron workshop and purchased iron ore from our ally, the Aldei tribe. The farm tools used by the tribesmen and the weapons used by the soldiers were all made in our own workshop. When we defeated the Segestica tribe, our territory expanded and the population increased dramatically, so the demand for iron also increased greatly...

Just as you said, your Iron Core Tribe is closer to our new territory on the Sava River, and it is more convenient for you to buy iron ingots. So I came here this time, firstly to express friendship to the Iron Core Tribe on behalf of our Knicks, and secondly to discuss the purchase of iron ingots with you.

However, we have just ended the war, and the food in the tribe is a bit tight. I am afraid that there will not be much trade at the beginning, but after the autumn harvest in September, the food for trading will definitely increase greatly! We have enough fields and enough tribesmen in the Nix, and the key is that we also have very good farming technology. In the future, the food in the Nix will be greatly abundant and can fully meet your food purchase needs!"

"Great! War will only bring destruction, while trade will bring prosperity!" said Bodamochi with a smile.

Bodamochi felt that he had figured out the attitude of the Nix people, and a stone in his heart finally fell to the ground. He said happily: "We, the Iron Core Tribe, are willing to accept the kindness of the Nix Tribe. From now on, let our two tribes live in harmony and enhance friendship through trade."

"Thank you, Sage Podmochi!" Alakosia was also happy that he had initially achieved the purpose of his mission. He turned his head to look at the wooden box he brought and Sfeli, who was sitting in the first seat under Podmochi. His eyes turned and he said loudly, "This is a gift carefully selected by us Maximus for the Ironheart Tribe! I hope this gift can strengthen the friendship between our two tribes!"

Bodamochi looked at the wooden box with interest and said, "Can I open it now?"

"Of course." Alakosia signaled to his two men, and they immediately carried the wooden box to Podmochi.

"Let me do it." Sfeli stood in front of Podmochi, waited for the two men to leave, and then opened the lid of the box.

There were four pieces of pottery and a long wooden box in the box.

Sifeili picked up a piece of pottery and stroked the surface. Then he reached out and patted the body of the pottery, making a heavy sound. "This pottery jar is well made, better than the ones made by our tribe. Look, there are patterns on it--"

Sfeli's words came to an abrupt end. His eyes were fixed on the pottery jar. On the shiny black surface of the jar was painted an exquisite picture: a group of forest deer were drinking water by the river, and a black panther was crawling in the grass beside them...Except for the river water which was slightly light blue and the grass which was slightly green, most of the colors were red. Black pottery with red painting is a typical production of pottery, but compared with the bottle paintings that are popular in the market today that use simple lines to outline people or objects, the pattern on this black jar is quite different: the images of forest deer and black panther are painted vividly, and their expressions are different. The elegance and vigilance of the deer and the cunning and cruelty of the panther are all revealed, which deeply attracted Sfeli's mind. He even couldn't help but imagine and felt sorry for the bloody scene that might happen next.

"This painting... is so well done!" Sfeili couldn't help but exclaim in praise.

"Let me see." Bodamochi stretched out his hand.

Sfeili handed him the pottery jar and reached out to take out a large pottery basin from the wooden box. "I have never seen the shape of this pottery before. What is it used for?"

"It can be used to hold water for washing the face and body, or for soup and porridge, which is more convenient than eating in a jar. This was made by the potter of our tribe according to the requirements of Chief Maximus, and it took a lot of effort to make it.

Look at how big it is, yet it can still maintain a perfect circle, and the ceramic wall is not straight, but arc-shaped, which requires very advanced technology to make..."

Alakosia introduced proudly that he remembered the craftsman who made the pottery basin was praised by Maximus and commended by the Ministry of Personnel.

Sfeili was not interested in pottery, and his eyes were once again attracted by the pictures painted on the pottery wall. The red pattern covered the entire pottery wall, but this time it was not an animal, but a group of people chasing and fighting around a ball. The vivid picture made the tense and warm atmosphere overflow from the pottery wall. He was staring at it, and he would clench his fists and frown from time to time, completely immersed in it.

Finally, he couldn't help asking, "Is the thing painted on this bottle the ball game you often played near the village on the south side of the mountain?"

"Yes, it's the kind of game they play. Has Chief Sfeli been there to see it?" Alakosia asked casually.

"Of course I didn't. How could that be possible?" Sifeili quickly denied, "It was when the tribesmen were hunting and chasing prey to the south side of the mountain, they saw your people playing this game and thought it was very interesting. After they came back, they specifically told us about it."

"Oh." Alakosia continued, "We call this ball game rugby, which was invented by our leader Maximus. It is really fun! Now all the people in our tribe like to participate in this sport, and we even hold a rugby match for the entire tribe!
Chief Sfeli, if you are interested in the sport of rugby, I can have my men teach you how to play rugby, and in the future our two tribes can even play rugby games!"

"I think this is a good idea." Sfeli's eyes lit up, and he looked at Bodamochi and asked, "Sage, what do you think?"

Bodamochi did not respond immediately. He took two steps forward, took the pottery basin from Sfeli, and carefully looked at the pattern on it. Then he said, "If the envoy does not find it troublesome, we hope to learn this kind of football and play against the Knicks tribe in the future. This will also help promote the friendship between our two tribes!"

"No trouble, we are happy to do it!" Alakosia said happily.

Bodamochi continued, "From what you said just now, I feel that the leader of your tribe is a very talented person. He can not only lead you to victory, but also teach you how to make pottery and invent this rugby game-"

"That's because our leader Maximus has been favored by the goddess Danu!" Alakosia said loudly. He was reminded by the high priest Emmerich before coming here, so he did not mention that "Maximus is the offspring of the goddess Danu" to avoid being too shocking and causing doubts from the other party.

"Goddess Danu?!" Podmochi was surprised: "You Nix are an Illyrian tribe, your leader should also be an Illyrian! How could it be?!——"

"The Pannoni are also a branch of the Illyrians, but that doesn't stop them from worshipping the sacred stone and sacred forest." Alakosia replied calmly, "There is a large team of druids in our Nix tribe, they come from Scodischi and Pannoni, and they all agree that Chief Maximus is favored by the goddess Danu! Oh, yes, here is the most favorable evidence!"

(End of this chapter)