Chapter Forty Five
With the disposition of the easterners finalized I was able to fully turn my attention to my nation and family. We had now lived in the city for a little over three years, and I had always focused on leading the city while also trying to be a good husband and father. The difference now was that for the first time since I arrived in this land eleven years earlier, I was not thinking about my next trip to explore a far land, or my next journey to conquer another tribe. For the first time ever, I was solely focused on leading my nation and taking care of my family.
I would walk throughout the city every day. I needed to see how people were working and how things were being done. While all of my leaders were quite intelligent, as a whole they did not always look to innovate and experiment the way I wanted. I constantly looked for better ways to grow, build and create to help the people. I tried to see the future and imagine what the tribe would need years from now.
One thing I knew with certainty was that nothing ever stayed the same. Change, for good or for ill, was constant. I tried to focus on changing things for the better, because I had learned that if left alone things often changed for the worse.
I would frequently go to the farms and spend the day observing and talking with the workers. Because of my curse I could not help with the work lest I cause the crops to die, but I enjoyed the sights and the smells. We continued to use many of the same methods I had taught the people years ago. They worked just as well for farming on the large scale that was required to support the city as they had for my family back in my homeland.
Irrigation was a very complex operation given the amount of land that needed to be watered. Sagan, who was in charge of the crops, excelled at making sure the plants received just the right amount of moisture to thrive here in the more arid open plains.
I also enjoyed spending time with those that cared for the livestock. Lataan continued to be my leader in this area, and he was incredibly knowledgeable about all the animals we kept for the tribe. He and his people had to know everything about raising and keeping the animals, as well as how many of each animal we needed to meet the demands of the city. This was more complex than one would imagine, as the city continued to grow at a rapid pace.
We kept a large number of pigs, sheep and goats. These animals provided much of the meat that was eaten by the tribe, as well as milk for making cheese and all the wool for our clothing. We also kept chickens for eggs and meat, as well as other fowl that was raised just for the meat. We had cattle for their milk, which was used for drinking and making cheese. We did not eat the cattle until they stopped producing, since they ate too much grass to be raised strictly for their meat.
We also had some large cattle called oxen that did not provide milk. Since pulling heavy loads was not good for dairy cattle, we kept a few of these large, strong animals to pull the carts that transported our crops and serve as draft animals in the fields. As the city had expanded, we now had many fields on the north side of the river. The oxen were needed to help prepare our fields and pull the heavily loaded carts filled with vegetables and grains from those fields to the storehouses.
We had built an additional bridge further down river to connect the northern fields to the farms and pastures on this side of the river. That bridge was used by the oxen and the farm workers to quickly reach those fields, which was where most of our grain was now grown.
As the tribe had grown we built several more storehouses for all the crops we needed to raise. The storehouses continued to be where everyone in the tribe went to get their food and the other necessities of life. This system continued to work well, though I knew it might become difficult to keep the supply of goods balanced with the demand for them as the city grew even larger. Catto was in charge of the storehouses, and his most important job was tracking what we had in them to insure that we had enough of everything that was needed.
In addition to new houses we also built more public areas where the people could gather in their free time. These were large spaces where we would plant trees and build an open, roofed structure. Here the children would play, the elderly could relax and visit, and the workers would gather in the evenings to socialize with their friends and family. We placed them in several locations throughout the city, so everyone had one near their home.
After my return from the east I continued to hold court once a week in the main public building, the large one in the center of the city. There I was available to all the people. They could come to me with any troubles they had, whether it be with their neighbor or the city.
This was when my wisdom was most tested. People sometimes brought problems to me that were quite complex; problems that required solutions that could impact every person in the city. I knew that once I established a precedent, I needed to continue enforcing the decision. The people had long memories and would know if I later tried to change my decision.
I tried to be fair in everything I did. Even when dealing with the most complex of issues, fairness is the great leveler. Though people would sometimes leave the court upset if they did not get their way, a solution that is seen as fair will normally allow those involved to be appeased.
I now realized that God had not been fair with me after I killed my brother. Fairness would probably have meant that I be put to death, something God could easily have done. But instead of getting what I deserved, God showed me mercy. He also showed generosity by giving me the mark that had protected me ever since. His mercy and generosity, which in my self-centeredness I had not even recognized, had been undeserved yet freely given.
As the King I had many difficult decisions to make, at times involving life and death. I tried to approach all my decisions with the thought of what God would do. Sadly, I realized that even if I wanted, I would not always do the right thing. I was human. I fought a never-ending battle in my heart between doing what God would want, and doing what I wanted. This was not always the same thing, but I was resolved to try to be the best person I could be.