Chapter 270: Alliance Priest Group, Separation of Priests’ Divine Power!

Black Wolf's royal flag fluttered in the mountains, and messengers from all over went to the mining area to report. Where the king settled, the simple main copper mine seemed to have become a temporary palace, constantly gathering the power to command the feudal country.

Shulot was in high spirits and stayed in the mine. While overseeing the expansion of the mining area, selecting suitable locations for workshops and towns, he directed improvements to the coking process.

"Very good, the coking rate of the second batch of coking is 45%. It seems that the preliminary treatment of coal is the top priority."

In front of several newly built kilns, Shulot inspected the latest production results. After getting the latest data, a pure and sincere smile appeared on his face, like a focused and dedicated young craftsman. But soon, the king regained his majesty and issued orders to his followers who were surrounding him.

"The new workshop town should be located by the river, in the center of the various mines. Well, this is the location!"

Shulot put his finger firmly on the wooden map and said firmly.

"There are 90 miles from here to the capital in the lake, including 30 miles of mountain roads. These 30 miles must be built with convenient dirt roads that can propel small wheelbarrows. Well, cinders from coal mining can be laid to prevent vegetation. The growth!”

"Your Highness, what should we call this town?"

Hearing such a question, the king looked around. Dark clouds covered the sky, and black smoke rose from the mountains. Thousands of miners walked with ore on their backs. Looking at this profound picture, his heart moved.

"Well, let's call it Black Rock City!"

Then, Shulot looked seriously at the mine manager in front of him. Under the current circumstances, the heavy responsibility of the industrial zone can only be handed over to this military cadre.

"Necali, I will leave the mining area to you! I will allocate you another two thousand surrender troops and four hundred warriors! The surrender troops will mine coal in the mountains and the warriors will be stationed in fortresses in key areas. In this way, your men will There is an entire warrior camp of 1,000 people, managing 5,000 miners!”

Nekali was overjoyed and bowed to the ground. His Highness has only been here for a month, and he has been promoted to two levels in a row, saving many years of hard work, and a bright future is just around the corner.

"Your Highness, I will manage the mining area well and make the miners obey like docile turkeys!"

Shulot shook Nekali's hair, pondered for a while, and then warned carefully.

"While focusing on output, we must also set up a promotion mechanism among the miners. Miner leaders who are close to the alliance and work hard must be rewarded! Miners can be recruited as militiamen and promoted to officers. In addition, it is necessary to establish a promotion mechanism among the miners and the reduced army. Arrange secret informants, communicate more with the priests, and be sure to control them! "

Then, the king stretched out his hand and put his hand on Nekali's shoulder, speaking earnestly.

"Necali, as for yourself, you must spend time and energy to study hard, master the production of the industrial and mining areas, and become an expert here as soon as possible! I still say the same thing, you have a heavy burden, and your future is bright. Do not disappoint me!"

"Your Highness, the wings will obey the eagle's will, and I will listen to you in everything!"

Nekali agreed loudly and bowed to the ground again. The king nodded slowly.

In the next few days, Shulot modified the plan, once again increased the number of villages supporting the industrial and mining areas, and sent personal guards to be responsible for the transportation of food here. A new batch of blast furnaces were built, and some miners from the mine began mining coal.

Several small coal mines began to be built. Coal mining is much easier than copper mining, and the problem of collapse only occurs at depth. Soon, Necali reported a satisfactory figure: the current output of the coal mine is 200-300 kilograms per digger per day. Because there is no need for smelting, the proportion of mining workers accounts for about 50% of coal kiln workers. With effective management, the production capacity of a thousand people can be maintained at at least 10,000 kilograms per day.

At this time in the Celestial Dynasty, the output of Jinzhong Shenjing Coal Kiln was only 300-400 kilograms per worker per day. The improvement of large-scale mining technology needs to wait until the modern industrial revolution. At that time, rock drilling and mining could be blasted with explosives, railway tracks and coal cars could transport coal more efficiently, and pumps and exhaust fans could replace manpower in mines. Only then would the old coal kilns transform into new coal mines.

After hearing Nekali's report, Shulot smiled. It takes more manpower to cut down wood with the same calorific value than to mine coal. The future industrial center of the empire can be built where there is coal! The king was very interested and continued to participate in the burning of the third batch of coke until a messenger hurriedly came from the capital.

"Your Highness, the priest group from the alliance has arrived at the capital of Qin Congcan! Also accompanying them are craftsmen from the capital in the lake and the families of the Mexica warriors."

Hearing this, Shulot became energetic. Alliance support has finally arrived!

Black Wolf's royal flag finally moved again. Under the escort of two thousand warriors, the king returned to the capital a hundred miles away in the northeast with great dignity. A few days later, the majestic bluestone city walls of the royal capital came into view. Outside the city gate were the kingdom officials, legion generals, and newly arrived alliance priests waiting to welcome them!

Shulot scanned the crowd at the city gate and thought for a moment. Even though everyone had changed into Mexica costumes, three distinct groups could still be distinguished.

According to their status, the priests of the alliance stand at the front. A large number of priests of the main god wore feather crowns and sacrificial robes. At the head of the group were two fourth-level chief priests who led the team.

The kingdom's legion generals stood in the middle. They carried weapons, shields, and brightly colored uniforms. They were vaguely divided into two groups: Mexica officers and Prepecha officers. They kept their distance from each other according to their origins as nobles and civilians.

Finally, there are a considerable number of kingdom officials. Most of them were newly surrendered Prepecha surrenderers, and they generally looked reserved and bowed their heads slightly. Only Jatiri stood at the front wearing the chief minister's fine attire with a calm expression.

Shulot pondered for a moment. These three groups of people represent the distribution of power within the feudal country and are also equivalent to the political structure of the feudal country.

There is no need for the legion general to say more. They hold the military power of the kingdom. They are all close direct descendants who have experienced battles and are loyal to the Marshal King. Soon, as the reform progresses, the kingdom's army will be divided into three parts: tens of thousands of militiamen guarding villages and towns, tens of thousands of surrendered troops who have transformed their fields, and more than ten thousand warriors who have been entrusted with land.

The troops stationed in the field and the samurai enfeoffed will be reorganized into ordinary standing troops and elite field troops respectively to participate in constant foreign wars. Because of inheriting and maintaining a large number of legions from the Kingdom of Tarasco, the military-civilian ratio of the Kingdom has been completely unbalanced. Continuous expansion war is the inevitable and only choice!

The priests of the main god held the greatest religious power and participated in the administration of the kingdom. They determined the astronomical calendar, held prayer ceremonies, and dispatched priests to implement the alliance's teachings and manage communities in towns and villages. Among the people, regular confessions were being promoted, with priests of different ranks saving the souls of nobles and commoners respectively. In the legion, there are also priests who accompany the army to appease the hearts of the warriors and militiamen.

As the supreme leader of the feudal theocracy, Shulot was well aware of the depth and influence of this class. Priests are based on the hearts of the people and are related to the stability of the kingdom, and the rapid expansion of the priest's power is inseparable from his long-term full support and the reforms he personally planned.

For this powerful theocratic class, Shulot had already laid the groundwork and divided the priests into different branches. Each branch is relatively independent, and promotion of priests between branches is prohibited. Theocratic authority centralized the power of various places in the center, controlled by the highest god-king, and kept it separate within the priests.

Among the priests, one branch is the scriptural priests responsible for astronomy, teachings, and rituals. They have a high status and are not involved in government affairs. Their status is similar to Taizhu in the Western Zhou official system.

One branch is the priest who is responsible for mythological epics and recording historical events. They are responsible for telling the "truth" of history to all people, integrating the cultures of various ministries, and uniting the hearts of all ethnic groups. Their status is similar to that of Taishi in the Western Zhou official system.

One branch is a group of preaching priests who radiate from the capital, participate in central administration, and are responsible for community management of villages and towns, spreading faith, and holding confessions. They participated in government affairs and influenced various ministries in distant places. They were truly theocratic civil servants, similar to the ministerial offices in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Among them, the village priests are the local ruling branches of the kingdom center and are the symbols of royal and divine authority stationed in distant places.

One group is a war priest directly affiliated with the royal family, holding weapons and entering the grassroots level of the army. They are responsible for comforting and controlling the morale of the military, and are an extension of royal and divine authority in the military. They also preside over large-scale sacrifices before and after wars, conduct funerals that guide souls, and inspire the fighting spirit of the legions.

The last branch is the divine priest who is affiliated with the Institute of Divine Enlightenment and presides over practical technological inventions and basic scientific research. They mainly come from young priests trained in schools, supplemented by senior craftsmen and older workers. Shulot was going to calm down and write two popular science textbooks using semi-mythical language to describe the basic laws of nature. Then, the teaching materials will be distributed to schools and divine institutions to gradually cultivate the seeds of new thinking.

Shulot gained inspiration from the mature official system of the Celestial Dynasty. Relying on the current situation of the times, he divided the theocratic priesthood into relatively independent scripture priests, historian priests, preaching priests, war priests and divine revelation priests, leaving room for future reforms. These five priestly branches will each assume some of the functions of the government, control all aspects of the country, and build a centralized and powerful theocratic country!

Thinking of this, the king moved his eyes to look at the last kingdom official. These Prepecha elites include tribal sages who control cultural inheritance, priests of the three gods who have just converted to the main god, leaders who actually manage the villages, group leaders in charge of forestry and fishery, aristocratic concubines in charge of business statistics, and The leading masters of various craftsmen's trades are the most numerous backbone among the kingdom's ruling group.

In Shulot's plan, these elites come from different groups, participate in all aspects of the kingdom, and are organizers and producers in various fields. They can be compared to the officials, gentry and rural sages in the Chinese tradition. The theocratic civil service system will be open to them and absorb the most outstanding part of it, just like Jatiri who serves as the chief minister and is also appointed as the fourth-level chief priest and the chief priest.

"The establishment of a theocratic civil service system is an urgent need in reality, but it must also seep into the sand from different sources and establish different branches and factions. There must always be opportunities for future reformers."

The king smiled calmly, and the political system of the kingdom flashed through his mind one by one. This plan had been planned for countless days and nights, and the reality of the background of the times had been fully considered.

Then, he nodded slightly and walked majestically forward along the path he had already decided. There, the two chief priests of the Alliance Priests were already waiting. He also saw a complacent and "innocent" smiling face that he had not seen for a long time.

This is a chapter from yesterday. After reading some books about the Western Zhou Dynasty, I was so fascinated that I was late in writing. It’s a new January, so work hard! ^_^