Chapter 269: Choice

The morning sun was faint, emerging from the distant east, illuminating the bright and tortuous road ahead. Soon, thick smoke rose from the eyes, and the noisy voices of people rang out again in the mining area.

Standing on a high place, Xiuluot looked at the busy mining area, as if looking at the new buds sprouting in the soil, imagining the appearance of towering trees. After a long time, the king exhaled deeply.

Even though he had a vision that transcended the times, he could write down the technology tree of the oracle and draw up a grand blueprint for a hundred or even two hundred years. But at this moment, he still had to return to the reality of lacking scientific and technological theories and professional talents, and start from scratch.

The progress of science and technology requires foundations in all aspects. Education needs to cultivate talents for generations every ten years, technology needs to accumulate experience for decades, and society needs a hundred years of development to cultivate the soil for new changes. Everything still needs a long time.

Xiuluot looked calm and looked at the fiery morning sun again. Then he sent his personal guards to summon Ezpan.

With the discovery of coal, the importance of the Chingambat mining area has been raised again. At present, coal can replace wood for burning, and coke can replace charcoal for metallurgy, thus further liberating manpower and improving metallurgical efficiency. Moreover, coal mining is much easier than copper mining, so it is worth arranging manpower immediately.

Considering these, Xiuluot decided to expand the number of miners and warriors again, build a mining town here, and add bronze and gunpowder workshops. As the first industrial zone of the kingdom, Qinganbat will be planned and developed. Under such a vision, as the person in charge of the area, although Nekali, who was born as an elite scout, is loyal and hardworking, he is still slightly lacking in experience.

During the days of traditional coking, Ezpan personally participated in the production and performed very well. He has the experience of a miner, a deep understanding of the mining industry, a quick mind, and is very flexible in mythological beliefs. In the heart of the king, this is a more suitable candidate.

While Xiuluot was thinking, Ezpan was already smiling and walking quickly. He was still wearing the uniform of the Mexica Legion Commander, with the amulet of the main god of the sun hummingbird hanging on his chest, and he knelt down respectfully to salute from a distance of four or five meters.

"Your Majesty, your loyal guard salutes the incarnation of the sun! The rising sun is just like your glory!"

Xuluot smiled indifferently, but felt quite comfortable in his heart. He waved his hand and signaled the loyal guard to stand up.

"Ezpan, you have helped me to make coke in the past two days, which is very helpful. Do you want any reward?"

"Your Majesty, in the past two days, I have been full of joy in serving the gods! Being able to dedicate to you is the greatest reward!"

Ezpan bowed his head again. He has now been promoted to a hereditary noble, and is also the commander of the Tarasco Legion, which controls 10,000 people. With both status and power, wealth and beauty are naturally indispensable. At this moment, there is really nothing to ask for in front of His Majesty.

"Well. Ezpan, what do you think of the mining area?"

"What do you think of the mining area?"

Ezpan was slightly startled, and the unbearable memories of his youth came to his mind again. Soon, he restrained his emotions, looked at the expression of His Highness, and answered carefully.

"Your Highness gave the guidance of divine revelation, and the mining area has the blessing of the gods. It will naturally contribute endless power to the prosperity of the kingdom!"

"Very good!"

Xuluot smiled and nodded, and then said lightly.

"Ezpan, you have been in the mining area for many years and are very familiar with it. I attach great importance to this place and plan to expand the mining area. Do you want to be the general manager?"

The calm words suddenly exploded in Ezpan's heart like thunder. In an instant, he was horrified and knelt down on the ground, raised his left hand with only four fingers, and swore to the gods earnestly.

"Your Highness! The Lord God bears witness that my loyalty to you has long been integrated into my blood! I am willing to hold a weapon and shed my last drop of blood for you. I am willing to hold a shield and defend your majesty with my life. Your Highness, I have no second thoughts!"

Xuluot had a blank expression on his face, and a myriad of thoughts surged through his mind.

Although Ezpan was born a miner, he seemed to be extremely repulsive to this place. Miners have always been regarded as the bottom of society, while warriors are the backbone of society. No matter how much the king values ​​it, in people's minds, the general manager of the mining area is not a glamorous and noble position, while the powerful legion commander is the pinnacle of society that everyone yearns for. Ezpan is now the legion commander of the enfeoffment, and is also the earliest benchmark among the Prepecha people to serve. If he is transferred from the legion to manage the industrial and mining area, in the eyes of everyone, it should be no different from being degraded.

More importantly, the industrial area determines the future of the kingdom! Under this barbaric foundation, if you want to develop the industrial and mining industry, the general manager must be willing and wholeheartedly committed to it. He must have the strongest and most proactive execution! Xiu Luote couldn't give this position to someone who didn't value the industrial zone.

"This is the future Minister of Industry of the Empire."

The king shook his head in his heart, stared at Ezpan silently for a moment, and then said with a smile.

"Well. Ezpan, I know your loyalty. I am relieved to leave the legion to you! You have followed me for many years, and it is time to start a family. There are still unmarried Mexica nobles in the Holy City, and I have already said hello. You should prepare and marry one of them as your wife before the end of the year."

Hearing this, Ezpan felt relieved. But soon, the king's plain words came again, making him sweat like rain and his hands and feet tremble.

"Ezpan, you know my ambition. As a loyal legion commander of the alliance, you can accept bribes, but you can't get too close to the old nobles of Tarasco. You will be of great use in the future!"

"Ah, Your Highness! I will go back now, return the property of the old nobles, and dismiss the beauties in the south."

"Very good! You need to have this understanding, but don't take action."

Xuluot watched for a moment and said lightly.

Since entering the capital of the lake, the old nobles of Tarasco have shown the softest attitude, trying to make friends with the upper forces of the kingdom and looking for opportunities to integrate into the ruling class. Among them, the southern nobles who retained their land and wealth were the most generous and proactive.

As a surrendered general from Tarasco, Ezepan, with a large army, naturally became the object of active wooing by the southern nobles. Gorgeous clothes, treasures, spices, beauties, all cater to his preferences. All of this was seen by the intelligence personnel of the kingdom, and some secret information came from the confession of the priests who intentionally guided it.

Although Ezepan did not have any unfaithful movements now, the king still had to give him a little warning. This is both a reprimand at the moment and a long-term care. And smart people can naturally understand the meaning of it as long as they think about it a little.

The king smiled calmly. He stepped forward, shook the other's hair, and spoke in a slightly gentler tone.

"Ezepan, my loyal guard, you are a smart man, keep an eye on my surrendered generals! As for the old nobles in the south, don't alarm them."

"Your Highness, obey your will!"

"Go down!"

Under the king's calm gaze, Ezepan walked back more than ten steps before turning and leaving. The sun rose to the middle of the sky, and his body was soaked with sweat, but his heart was like a big stone falling to the ground.

"The new sun rises to the middle of the sky, shining more and more, but also extremely hot!"

Ezepan looked at the sky above his head, sighed, and continued to lower his head and returned to the busy coking site. The second batch of coke in the mine is being intensively burned.

The golden October passed in the harvest, and the peaceful November came in the sunshine. The tribute for the autumn harvest has just been collected, and it usually starts to be shipped in mid-November. This year's harvest is good, and the farmers in the kingdom can finally take a break. They enjoyed the hard-earned peace, the safety from war, and the satisfaction brought by the abundance of food.

In their spare time, religious rituals were the most important sustenance. The chanting of prayers continued to echo in various places in the lake area, and the belief in the Lord God began to take root.

In the Chingambat mining area, the flag of the Black Wolf was still flying high. The warriors, craftsmen, miners and food supported by the capital had arrived, and the expansion of the mining area began immediately. There were two thousand elite soldiers stationed in the main copper mining area, of which five hundred were wearing bronze armor, which could suppress the rebellion of less than ten thousand people in time. A large number of scouts were also sent out to monitor the movements of the army within fifty miles nearby.

There was also a small episode in this. At the edge of the copper mining area, the scattered scout team caught several Trapanic merchants who were spying.

According to custom, foreign merchants of unknown origin were caught in such places and were treated as foreign spies and beheaded on the spot. As a result, the leading merchant shouted loudly, saying that he had seen His Majesty! After a discussion, the scouts spared his life for the time being and escorted him to the center of the mining area to meet the supreme king.

"You said you have seen me?"

Xuluot stared at the pale and slightly fat merchant in front of him with a blank expression. He felt vaguely familiar, but couldn't remember for a moment.

"Ah, yes, Your Highness, no, Your Majesty!"

The slightly fat merchant looked nervous and sweating. He glanced at Ezpan, who was guarding next to him, with some fear, raised his left hand with only three fingers left, and answered carefully.

"More than half a year ago, in the city of Ivachio in the east, I reported to you the news of the Mexican reinforcements!"

"Hmm?"

Xuluot remembered it. He glanced at Ezpan, and the other nodded affirmatively.

"Your Highness, this merchant is quite cunning"

"Hmm."

Xuluot stared at the merchant lying on the ground with a blank expression.

"The kingdom has issued an order to ban Trapanic merchants. Who sent you here?"

As the king spoke, Ezepan drew out his obsidian dagger, pressed the merchant to the ground, and grabbed his right hand.

"Ah, ah! Your Majesty, I was not sent by any force, don't cut, don't cut! I'll tell you! The kingdom bans copper trade, I came to the mining area to see if I can get some copper from the previous channels and sell it to the west!"

"Hmm?"

Xuluot waved his hand, and Ezepan stopped. The sharp obsidian blade was already pressed on the merchant's little finger, and a faint blood line seeped out from the tip of the blade, accompanied by the merchant's low howl of fear.

"West? You mean the Colima Mountains?"

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty! The Colima tribes are close to the Trapanic tribe, and there are often trade exchanges between the tribes. I once took a small boat to the west of the Colima Mountains."

"Hmm? Colima. Small boat?"

Xuluot was slightly moved and asked majestically.

"Merchant, have you sailed on the Great Lake of the West?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I set out from Cihuatlan and went northwest along the lakeshore. Passing the mouth of the Balsas River, and continuing up three or four hundred miles, you will reach the Colima Mountains."

"Balsas River Mouth, three or four hundred miles by sea"

Xuluot's expression moved. Zicao County in the south is on the Balsas River, and the river mouth is about two hundred miles south. This route is unexpectedly appropriate! It is more convenient and easier than the mountain road in the southwest, and it saves Chapala's expeditions than the waterway in the northwest. The king nodded slowly, deciding the fate of the merchant.

"Merchant, what's your name?"

"Ah, Your Majesty, my Mexica name is Tlali, 'the soil of the earth'. I come from the Tlapanic tribe of Cihuatlan. My father is the head of a village in the plains, and I am the second son in the family."

Hearing the king's question, Tlali breathed a sigh of relief. No one would care about the name of a dead person. He explained everything in detail.

"Tlali, I'll give you a chance to serve the great alliance and the sacred royal family."

The king spoke lightly. Tlali's eyes suddenly shone. The Kingdom of Tarasco has perished, and the old backers have collapsed. Merchants cannot be without the powerful behind them, and being able to directly serve the king of the alliance is the dream of ordinary merchants like him. It's just that you have to worry about being eaten up. In this situation, he would have been bitten by a beast long ago.

"Ah, Your Majesty! The Supreme Lord is my witness, I am willing to die for you!"

Tlali shouted with all his might, and even squeezed out tears from his eyes.

Xiuluot looked unmoved. The merchant's oath was meaningless. Only interests and threats could control him for a long time. He looked at the scout captain who was escorting the merchant.

"Where are his companions?"

The scout captain was stunned and bowed his head to answer respectfully.

"Your Highness, they have all been sent to the Kingdom of God as usual."

"Well, then return all his and his companions' belongings to him."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Xiuluot looked at Trali. Hearing the words of the scout captain, the merchant's face did not show any sadness, but a hint of joy, just as he did in Ivachio before.

"Well, very good, this is a natural guide. Colima, Trapanic may have unexpected gains."

Xiuluot thought calmly, and then gave an order in a deep voice.

"Trali, I will return all your belongings to you, and even give you 100 kilograms of copper!"

"Ah, this, thank your majesty for your generosity! I will definitely do it for you."

Trali's eyes flickered, and he bowed to the ground in a hurry.

"I have an order for you!"

The king interrupted the merchant with an unyielding majesty.

"You have to go to the Colima Mountains in the west by water to trade with the local noble chiefs. I will send several Mexica warriors to accompany you! You must not conceal anything about the waterway signs and tribal conditions along the way!"

"Ah, Your Majesty, this, this."

Trali looked terrified. This kind of spying mission, if caught by any force, is a dead end.

"As long as you complete this task, you can gain a foothold in the alliance and become one of the merchants allowed by the royal family, and you can legally trade some of the materials controlled by the alliance. Even in the near future, with the support of the alliance, you will have the opportunity to return to your hometown and become a powerful feudal noble!"

Trali's heartbeat accelerated instantly. Then, the cold and majestic voice came from above again.

"If you can't complete this task, even if you flee to the horizon, the alliance's scout team will send you to where you should go!"

"Ah, Your Majesty! I am willing to die for you!"

Xuluote nodded, and the other party finally made the right choice. He left with his last words and turned away.

"Ezepan, the rest is up to you!"

"I will obey your will, my Most High Sun!"

Ezepan bowed his head respectfully. He looked up at Tralee, who was terrified, until the king disappeared from his sight. The pace of the times is rolling forward, and everyone needs to make a choice, including himself.