Chapter 1287 North, North

The long river of Tulsas rushes southwest, flows through the Atoyak Lake where long sails take pictures, and reaches the mouth of the Western Sea. Billowing black smoke continues day and night, rising from the factories in the Black Rock Mountain iron ore area. The row of newly built iron-smelting shaft furnaces sucked in iron ore and charcoal like whales, and then spit out billowing hot and dark red molten iron!

"God bless you! Let's turn on the furnace!..."

In order to keep these shaft furnaces running, thirty miles away from the iron ore area, there are more than a thousand people working in the mining area, responsible for chopping wood and burning charcoal, and they have cut down a whole mountain top. And every few months, tons of high-quality coal from Leijin Town in the northern continent will be transported by the merchant fleet back and forth.

These coals from the later Sonora state had low sulfur content and low ash content, making them high-quality bituminous coal and anthracite coal. When they are used to smelt iron, they do not make the iron material significantly brittle like the coal in the Chinganbat mining area of ​​the Kingdom's Black Rock City, and they can replace expensive charcoal. It’s just that with the kingdom’s current transportation capacity and transportation speed, the quantity of these “Northern Firestones” transported is still too limited...

Of course, the new "master craftsman" Otani, the blacksmith who specializes in samurai, does not know the root cause of the brittleness of iron. If the quality of the iron coming out of the furnace was too bad, he would just order his craftsmen and apprentices to refill the furnace and smelt it again. When asked by the kingdom's divine priest, he always had a respectful smile on his face, praising the Lord God's blessing and the divine shaft, while complaining in his heart.

"O Lord God, the Great Bodhisattva! What a poor iron ore, what an excellent coal! What a poor local craftsman, what a hard-working civilian man! And these high-ranking priests don't worship gods and recite sutras every day. Watching me work and asking about these blacksmithing skills...it's really weird and scary..."

Otani's caution was not without reason. The entire iron smelting factory is like a large military camp. The division of labor is clear and military laws are strictly enforced. Thousands of people are required to supply raw materials and materials, and the scale far exceeds the traditional blacksmith workshops of the Republic of China.

At this moment, more than two hundred leather-armored warriors were guarding various parts of the factory carrying spears, carrying bows and arrows or throwing spears. The number of these samurai alone exceeds the size of the samurai owned by the Oyizaki clan. After all, the Uyizaki clan is just a small clan with only a few thousand people and about 10,000 koku. And coupled with the eight hundred samurai who guard the nearby mining areas and look after the mining slaves, the military strength of these Thousand Kingdoms' retired samurai is already close to half that of the head of the Oyizaki clan, the 60,000-koku Dewa daimyo Hiyama Anton clan! And this is just a fraction of the strength of the so-called "Kingdom in the Lake", just like a feather on an eagle's body...

"A powerful guardian daimyo...ah no, a truly honorable General of the East China Sea!...And I, Otani Kengo, am the general's royal family member, the highly regarded iron and iron monk...uh...no, I should return the favor. If I haven't reached the level of 'Fengxing', I'll probably still be a 'Group leader'... But with my skills, it's only a matter of time before I become the 'Following Officer'..."

Blacksmith Otani is full of confidence and is very satisfied with his current status as "master craftsman" and "head of the blacksmith group", and rarely thinks of the Ezo land thousands of miles away. He has married his wife Prepecha and is preparing to continue his suddenly rising warrior family in this distant "East China Sea Country". He also repeatedly asked the Tekos warriors with the "Luo" surname to see if there was a chance that he could be given the character "Luo" by "General Donghai" and then change his name to "Otani Luo Gang"...

"God bless you! A new batch of mining slaves has arrived! Hurry, take them all off the boat and bring them to the mining area as soon as possible! Feed the pumpkins and sweet potatoes first, keep them well for two days, and then go to the mines to work!..."

Not far south from the Black Rock Mountain Iron Mine is the port of Trout Town. Hundreds of canoes from the Southern Navy and more than a dozen galleys had just arrived. More than a thousand numb-looking Mixtec men were driven off the ship by the group of warriors. After being fed with grains, they were taken to the iron ore area of ​​Black Rock Mountain in groups, and officially became the slaves of this open-pit mine... At the moment, the open-pit iron ore in Black Rock Mountain has not yet been dug. Therefore, they can work in the sun without having to go deep into the dark underground like the Black Rock City coal and copper mining area, and they can live longer...

However, their fate has long been determined. They will use the work of the rest of their lives to become the fuel to promote the progress of the times and slowly light up the Iron Age in Central America.

"God bless you! All the prisoners have been transported smoothly... Hurry! Now load the ship with food and military supplies!... Load more miscellaneous grains, don't load so many corn cakes! This batch of military food is for the Alliance Legion... Ha! Two full rations Thousands of people are at the beach, surrounding the Mixtec city of Hedou, and they all want to eat our food... How can we not have so many tortillas for them to eat? ..."

The warehouse at the port was opened, and baskets of food that had been prepared were loaded into the ship. Soon, the sound of rowing was heard, and the kingdom's southern navy also set off again. And Hedou City, which is besieged by a large army, has to cross the conquered Eastern Coast, and cross Haenyeo City and Fuyuan City, which have long since surrendered to the kingdom, and are far away, 1,100 miles away!

Of course, the supply cost of transporting thousands of miles by water is almost one-tenth of that of transporting thousands of miles by land, and the loss of food is completely incomparable. Without food support from the sea, it would be an impossible task to penetrate deep into the vast Mixtec mountains and forests by land and besiege the city-states defending the seaside...

"The wind is blowing! It's south wind heading north!..."

Howling from the south to the north, blowing from sea to land. It first arrived in the Colima Mountains and saw several small iron mines that had finally been discovered and had just begun to be excavated, as well as the busy volcanic ash mines and magical natural cement under the towering Colima volcano.

A new white palace has been built around the volcanic hot springs and reinforced with natural pozzolana cement. Chief Colima soaked in the hot springs, looking old and strong. Chubby Xiao Yanshan also soaked in the hot spring, young and strong. The two of them were sitting side by side, one chattering and telling tribal stories, and the other responding sporadically, shouting "Yes!" Then, the old chief would burst into laughter with joy...

The strong wind did not stop, blowing past the Colima volcano and reaching the center of Great Lakes County, the middle section of the lower reaches of the Leman River, the ancient city-state that controlled the tribes of Northern Tekos, Lake Stone City Techitlan.

A flag of the divine monkey was flying at the top of Hushi City. But Dahu County Yin and Monkey Chief Kuruka were not in the city. He was wearing a short coat of coarse cloth, carrying a straw basket on his back and a hoe, and was busy weeding in the newly cultivated fields. The spear corps, which frightened all the Tekos tribes, also stuck their golden bronze spears in the fields and followed their legion commanders, busy in the farmland on the outskirts of the city. Further outside, there are more Beitekos tribesmen, forming a flag team and plowing in the vast fields. And this endless farmland is the land of North Tekos, the beating heart of the kingdom...

"Farming and clearing up wasteland strengthens the hearts of the people. Intermarriage and marriage bring peace and tranquility... With the successful completion of this season's autumn harvest, the people of the Northern Tekos tribes will be able to settle down a little! And only after two more autumn harvests can be successfully passed, can I say that the kingdom His rule has been officially stabilized on the fertile soil of the lower reaches of the Leman River..."

"At that time, we can recruit people on a large scale, build canals and dams along the river, and irrigate more good land... And the reclamation potential here is not inferior to the fertile fields of the Apa Plain, and may even be better!..."

Of course, if you want to grow good land and produce more food, you must first look at water, secondly fertilizer, thirdly insect pests, and fourthly land... But the monkey Kuruka is still thinking about the north. More than a thousand miles away in Nandorishi Village, those "white gold" that can be converted into several times the weight of food, the natural and excellent struvite fertilizer...

"Ding...bang...ding...bang..."

Outside Nantorishi Village, struvite stones are piled up into small hills. However, the sweet potato fields outside the village were sparse and did not grow much at all. There is no other reason than too much drought and lack of water. Places that can produce struvite are barren lands with annual rainfall of 100-200 mm, or even less. Most of the time, Nantonishi Village's food needs to be supported by Leijin Town, the largest town in the northern continent across the strait, which is built on the river.

"Lord God! What the hell?... The last Feather Clan in the Kingdom of Tarasco actually came to the Northern Continent?! What kind of Feather Prince Peng Guali sent me a clan messenger with a message? A graphic letter of surrender?…”

In the red-brick main temple of Leijin Town, the Songbird Priest frowned, turned over and over, and looked at the bark letter in his hand. There was a pile of grain drawn on the letter, and a little man kneeling with feathers on his head. It was obvious that he was here to borrow grain. The feather messengers who came were wearing the emblem of the main god and reciting the name of the main god, indicating that everyone in their clan had converted to the main god. The envoy also said that they were not borrowing for free, but were willing to become a hired legion, using the clan's "two thousand elite warriors" and the axes and spears in their hands to "work" for Leijin Town in exchange for food!

"This cunning Feather Prince... was all from Prepecha. He has framed so many nobles! From the Prepecha Lake District to the Chapala Lake District, and then to the North Tekos States, countless nobles who refused to die in peace have Cursing him in the abyss...Who can he deceive now? Even if I believe that the old turkey can fly to the treetops, I will not believe that this old feather will be good..."

"But the Feather Clan, which has thousands of families and families, is known as the 'Two Thousand Warriors', and they have all survived ten years of fighting on the plateau... Sigh! This is really a big trouble! The commander of the Monkey Army is invincible, why? How could he miss such a cunning old guy and let him escape all the way here with the clan warriors?..."

Thinking of this, the Songbird Priest had a headache. It is now the spring plowing season. Although there are nearly ten thousand tribes in Leijin Town, the tribesmen in each tribe are busy with farming and it is difficult to recruit them. Moreover, the only people in the town who can really fight are more than a thousand warriors from the kingdom, who are more than enough to defend the town. But it was beyond their power to go out in large numbers to hunt down the Feather Clan who could run away. But Feather was short of food right now, so he was furious. If he really waits until the opponent divides his troops to burn, plunder Mayo villages and small tribes everywhere, and he is unable to send troops to protect them, then he will be in big trouble.

"It took the kingdom several years to finally convert nearly 10,000 Mayo tribesmen, establish a powerful image of the Lord God, and establish the basis of rule in the Leijin Town area! ... If the Feather Clan is such a disaster, even in the end If he is defeated and expelled, the tribes and people in Leijin Town will be unable to deal with it..."

"Anyway, let's give him a batch of food first and coax this guy away... For the sake of Prepecha's fellow tribesmen, I won't beat him, and he won't mess with me... I'd better give him the information about the various Yaqi tribes. Let him go to the great tribe of Yome in the north and harm the Yaqui people!”

After deliberation for a long time, the Songbird Priest sighed helplessly and gave instructions to his trusted temple guards.

"God bless you! Go and invite that feathered messenger here! They are all from Prepecha. I will not leave him alone... Well, let's talk about it... Use the ax and spear in your hand to do the work Exchange for food'…”

The trusted guards hurried away. After a while, a feather messenger wearing the amulet of the Lord God, hanging the Lord God's ornaments, and with three hummingbirds painted on his forehead and cheeks, came to the temple respectfully. He glanced at the singing bird priest at the top, and then knelt down with a "thump", shouting with great piety.

"Praise the great and tall Lord God! Praise the great and tall priest! The humble Feather Clan is willing to serve the great northern priest, and begs you to stand on our shoulders and become bigger and taller!..."

".Get up! Don't kowtow. Let's talk about business!...Can you represent the Feather Clan with full authority? If not, let Feather come here in person!..."

"Reporting to the great and tall priest! I am the youngest son of the Feather Clan Chief, Little Feather. If you have any instructions, just tell me! Dad took the tribe and hid in the nearby mountains. He was very careful, fearing that he would offend the temple of the Lord God and the tribes that farmed under you... He said that as long as you give us food, you are my uncle, my father's father! If the uncle gives orders, our clan will do it! "

"I heard that the Yomei tribe in the north has always been at odds with you... As long as you tell us how to fight, our Feather Clan will fight to the death with all the warriors, and we will definitely defeat this shitty tribe that does not believe in the Lord God! ..."

Seeing this shameless spirit, the Songbird Priest had a headache again. He was not afraid that Feather could fight, but he was afraid that he was cunning and shameless, slippery and without any bottom line. And the next negotiation would not be so easy!

After thinking for a long time, the Songbird Priest frowned and asked the most important question that he was most concerned about.

"Ancestors, witness! Little Feather! You, the Feather Clan... have fled so far, where do you want to go?... Or, in other words, where is the fief you want after you surrender to the kingdom?"

Hearing this, Little Feather, who was dressed like a hummingbird, knelt on the ground again, kowtowed more than a dozen times, and then respectfully stretched out his finger and pointed to the north.

"Father said! The Feather Clan dare not offend the kingdom and fight for the seaside territory... The fief we want is in the north... Even norther than the Yomei tribe... Until the mountains in the north!..."

Hearing this, the Songbird Priest suddenly raised his head and squinted his eyes to the north.