Aztec Eternals

Chapter 281: Long-Lasting Hope, Shenwei University and Shenqi Institute

Time flows like a long river, sometimes with rough waves and sometimes calmly. Only memories settle in time and shine brightly when looking back.

The feast on the festival day ended with a hearty drunken moment. The king danced his sword and recited poems, feeling relieved and unforgettable for everyone watching.

Soon, the ten days flew by. With the day and night efforts of the Prepecha painters, the grand scenes of the New Year's Festival and the night banquet were painted and carved on the stone walls of the Palace of Winds. The king's poems were also recorded and sung by the poets in the capital. There are also scenes in the murals of people dancing, sages bowing to the ground, and presenting the "Shen Xia" sword to the king.

Two copies of these murals will be engraved and placed respectively in the Divine Priest University and the Divine Apocalypse for the admiration of later generations. It is not only a witness to the king's rule in the lake area, but also a historical symbol of the elites of Prepecha who bowed loyally and formally integrated into the alliance.

After the New Year, the Divinity Priest University officially begins operations. Shulot personally presided over the opening ceremony of Shenwei University and left behind his own handwritten copy of the original religious text, Ali Sutra. No matter how broad the future of Sunway University is in the long-term plan, the initial start is just a few sprouts.

There were only a hundred students in the first batch, most of whom were Prepecha priests who had surrendered to the alliance, and a few local young people who had been recommended. Their training direction is towards the grassroots managers who have the biggest gap, the preaching priests.

The study courses for missionary priests include Mexica as the official language, the basic new script; then the revised history of the alliance, the mythical promises of the main gods; then the basic scriptures of Ari, common sacrificial rituals; and finally the religion of the alliance Laws, as well as the new policy reforms in the Lake District, such as household registration and civilian settlement, military and civilian settlements, promotion of military merit, and the granting of land and titles.

After a one-year short-term study, they will officially become the grassroots officials of the alliance. Most people will participate in the governance of feudal villages as first-level priests; a very small number of old priests in the Lake District will be granted the status of second-level priests and participate in the management of large towns. Generally speaking, being able to be selected to study at the Priestly University is tantamount to entering a real fast lane and gaining an important opportunity for class advancement.

The school's first batch of students has just started teaching, and the selection of the second batch of students has already begun in the military. There are about two hundred students in the second phase, and the training direction will be mainly war priests.

Seventy percent of the students in this class will come from war priests and outstanding civilian young warriors who were temporarily promoted during the Western Expedition, and 30% will come from the Prepecha surrendered army who have performed well. Students will study for one to two years. In addition to practicing writing, theology and teachings, they also learn martial arts from senior warriors and master team tactics. In Xiulote's plan, they will provide a grassroots officer base for the military reform that will continue to advance in the future.

In general, the current courses of the Priestly University focus on literature, theology, religious law, politics and military affairs, and the herbal medicine that the priests are good at will be added later. In his spare time, Shulot began to write books. He recalled the textbooks he had studied and tried to compile an introductory textbook on natural sciences to sow the seeds of rational thinking. Of course, everything is in the name of God and uses divine language to explain scientific principles.

The Shenqi Institute in Qinchongcan City was also officially established later that year. The new Divine Inspiration Institute is under the direct control of the king, and its headquarters is located in a prince's palace near the palace area of ​​the royal capital. It is heavily guarded and has high standards. Freed from the shackles of the alliance's old system in the lake city, the new Divine Apostle was like a rapidly growing American bison, galloping freely throughout the kingdom, expanding its body into an ever-larger body.

As the most important research and production center, the Kingdom's Institute of Divine Inspiration cultivates divine priests, integrating newly arrived Mexica craftsmen and the old Kingdom's craftsmen group, and actually has multiple important departments and locations.

The first is the Department of Industry and Mining, headed by General Necali and assisted by advisors from the Metal Family. It is responsible for the Chinganbat mining area southwest of the capital, including the coking and copper-smelting workshops in the mining area. The mining area will regularly transport coke and copper materials to the capital and report on recent production matters.

Then there was the Gunpowder Department. Esco stayed in the lake capital and was reused by Avitt. Only Talea came to the lake area and became the director of the Gunpowder Department. The Gunpowder Department included the nitrate-producing ponds in the eastern part of the feudal state, as well as the gunpowder workshops and experimental sites on the small islands in Lake Patzcuaro.

At this time, it is the time to clean up the nitrate, and large-scale nitrate cleaning and boiling are underway. Xiulote called in Moreno, the leader of the salt workers, and summoned him in person. Moreno looked respectful, spoke clearly and knew the process of making saltpeter. He had worked hard on Tianhuo Island for three full years, and even the fierceness in his bones had lost a lot, and now he was ready for use. The king then appointed him as the officer in charge of making saltpetre, and managed thousands of related civilians.

In the royal capital, there are the Engineering Department and the Military Industry Department, which are divided from the Kingdom's craftsman camp.

The Industrial and Manufacturing Department is responsible for the production of cotton cloth, clothing, pottery, woodware, stoneware, jadeware, gold and silverware, and ordinary bronzeware. It has the authority to manage various types of private manufacturing industries and recruit craftsmen from various places to serve the royal family when necessary. The manager of the Industrial and Manufacturing Department needs to have a good understanding of the situation in the kingdom and maintain contact with the leaders of various civilian industries. It is best to appoint senior local bureaucrats.

After some consideration, Shulot chose the local nobleman, Surata, who was recommended by Chief Jatiri as the director. The king summoned the other party once and asked some practical production and management issues before nodding with satisfaction.

In the Prepecha language, "surata" means cotton. As the name suggests, the inherited name of Surata represents an ancient family that has been engaged in cotton weaving for generations. Surata is around forty years old and has always been cautious. When the city was broken, facing the inspection of the Mexican Legion, he hid among the craftsmen he usually managed. Because he was always kind to others and his family had a good reputation, he was not reported by the craftsmen and was lucky enough to escape from the war stick.

The Military Industry Department is responsible for the manufacturing of military equipment, including traditional war sticks and shields, copper axes and spears, cotton and leather armor, as well as new longbows and crossbows, bronze cloth armor, and bronze artillery that are currently being manufactured.

The director of the Military Industry Department is Cuxinki, a Mexican bow maker from the alliance headquarters, and the deputy director is Chalape, a locally born technocrat. The old carpenter Kuaud was greatly used in the alliance and was in charge of the craftsman center. Naturally, he would not come to work in the feudal country in the lake. On the contrary, Kushinki did not want to succumb to his old rivals and came to the Lake District to form his own independent company. The king readily accepted it and granted him a great appointment.

Under the Military Industry Department, there are two manufacturing bureaus that focus on investment. One is the crossbow bureau, whose director is Prepecha bowsmith Kundili, and the other is the bronze bureau, whose director is the casting master Tiripi.

Tilippi is now busy day and night, staying in the bronze workshop for food and accommodation. As the deadline for the bronze cannon approached, he became increasingly stressed and often became angry with the craftsmen. Shulot summoned the spies deployed in the workshop, and after learning about the difficult progress of the artillery casting, he prepared to secretly give the other party some grace. In the following February, the king will go to the north to form an alliance with the Otomi people to jointly deal with the southward raids of the Chichimec dog descendants. At least two or three months later, he will return to the capital to take charge of spring plowing matters.

On the outskirts of the capital, there is the Construction Department, Printing Bureau and Special Trade Goods Bureau.

The Construction Department has workshops for making charcoal and bricks, and has thousands of people under its jurisdiction. The director of the Construction Department is Koscach, the leader of the alliance's charcoal workers. The foreman with a hoarse voice was actually very clear-sighted. He followed the priests without hesitation and defected to His Highness, who was on the independent side. Shulot admired it very much, but since he was short of knowledgeable manpower, he gave him the responsibility of construction.

The Printing Bureau has two workshops: papermaking and printing. The director of the printing bureau is Sipac, a young priest in charge of papermaking, and the deputy director is Equila, a Mexica jade craftsman in charge of printing. Well, they are all Shulot's old acquaintances. As long as you keep following His Highness, no matter what your background is, you will take a shortcut to development in life!

At this moment, hundreds of religious classics and legal documents are being continuously produced from the printing bureau, spreading the alliance's beliefs and will at a speed unimaginable by all ministries in the world. This department thus has a de facto propaganda capacity.

Considering the long-term plan, the king listed the Printing Bureau separately and placed it under his direct control. In the future, the printing bureau will continue to upgrade and expand its reach outwards, truly assuming the responsibilities of publicity and education.

The Special Trade Products Bureau is also referred to as the Special Trade Bureau. Literally understood, it means being responsible for manufacturing special trade goods. The current Special Trade Bureau only has a general framework. The person in charge is the stonemason leader Lozano, who owns a highly confidential glass workshop.

Lozano burned glass for three full years. After obtaining newly made coke, he finally made a preliminary breakthrough: according to His Highness's prompts, he added lead ore and barite to quartz sand, and successfully burned a small amount of glass. Clear lead glass!

After receiving the good news, Shulot happily put down his government affairs and rushed to the workshop at sunset. Under the afterglow of the setting sun, light green glass beads of different sizes sparkle, colorful and gorgeous, crystal clear and bright.

The king was slightly startled, then picked up the glass bead and examined it carefully. This kind of glass was completely different from what he expected. The transparency was very low, the texture was light and brittle, and the strength was not strong enough. However, the color was very beautiful, more like the early ancient colored glaze of the Celestial Dynasty.

"Lozano, there is still a gap between this kind of glass and my requirements."

His Highness frowned and looked at the happy mason leader.

Facing His Highness' gaze, Lozano's knees suddenly became weak and his whole body trembled.

For the past three years, he has been studying colorless glass day and night. Countless stones, sand, and ores were burned, and it was difficult to make any progress. Even my hair was almost burned. And His Highness has made countless military exploits and killed people without calculation outside, and his majestic voice is like a spirit in mythology. When I saw him, His Highness was calm and majestic. He was no longer the aristocratic young man he had first met, but an authoritative king whose eyes could make people tremble.

As his thoughts swirled, the leader of the masons gritted his teeth. He approached the king carefully and whispered.

"Your Highness, I, Lozano, feel that these light green glass beads are very similar to the precious emeralds in the world."

"Um?!"

Hearing this, Shulot's expression changed and his eyes flashed. He pondered for a while, thinking of the huge army that the kingdom worked hard to maintain, the huge military expenditures, and the rapidly depleting treasury savings. After a while, the king lowered his eyes and asked in a deep voice.

"Lozano, can you burn gems of other colors?"

"Your Highness, if you add different crystals and metals, I, Lozano, should be able to do it!"

Shulot didn't speak, just nodded slightly. He patted Lozano on the shoulder and turned to leave.

The next day, hundreds of loyal direct warriors came to the glass workshop, controlled every apprentice, and guarded the place airtight. Accompanying the warriors was a document from the king promoting Lozano to a hereditary noble.

Soon, the Special Trade Bureau of the Divine Revelation Office was quietly established and directly under the King. Then, the news that "God blesses the Kingdom of the Lake, and a huge gem mine is found in the Patzcuaro Lake area" began to spread among the people. A few days later, the first batch of emeralds in the lake area were exclusively sold by royal merchants, and limited quantities flowed into the market, and were continuously sold to foreign merchants in exchange for a large amount of food and supplies.

This emerald is not large in size, bright in color, and faintly crystal-like, with ripples like water. It is also called "Green Jade in the Lake".

Based on this name, many foreign merchants concluded that the origin of the gem should be in the Patzcuaro Lake. Some merchants risked being discovered by the Kingdom's fleet and searched for the origin in the vast lake, wanting to trade directly with the miners who mined jade. As a result, they all returned empty-handed, but left a few lives in vain.

In summary, the Divine Revelation Office is under the Industrial and Mining Department, Gunpowder Department, Industrial Manufacturing Department, Military Industry Department, Construction Department, Printing Bureau and Special Trade Bureau. These five departments and two bureaus are responsible for most of the production departments in the feudal country, controlling tens of thousands of craftsmen and civilians, and making the Divine Revelation Institute more and more powerful.

As the highest clergy leader in the Lake Parish, Xu Luote naturally serves as the general manager of the Divine Revelation Institute. In his plan, the Divine Revelation Institute, a production and research and development institution similar to the Ministry of Industry, will gradually grow into a real behemoth, becoming the driving force for the development of the entire kingdom, and will also become an important source of power in the hands of the king.

Therefore, the deputy director of the Divine Revelation Institute, who summarizes various matters, must use loyalty as the primary selection criterion. Xu Luote hesitated for a long time, and finally chose Talaya, who had always been loyal to him and deeply loved him. The king knew that once he let the other party take such an important position, she would only be a lonely vassal of the royal power for the rest of her life.

"Talaya, are you willing to dedicate your life to the Lord God?"

In the dim stone hall, Xu Luote looked calm, but looked at Talaya with deep eyes. After not seeing each other for a long time, time passed like a spring, washing away the fire in the girl's eyes, but leaving behind some kind of longer persistence.

Talaya smiled. She looked at the majestic highness in front of her, nodding without hesitation.

"I am willing, my sun god! I am willing to dedicate everything to you!"

Xiuluot nodded slightly with a complicated expression. Then, he turned around and strode to the exit of the stone hall. There was the sound of running footsteps behind him. He paused for a moment and felt a tight hug from behind. The king shook his head and was about to break free, but heard a gentle whisper.

"Your Highness, it's been three years. Just a moment is enough"

Hearing this, Xiuluot froze and stood still. After a while, he calmly left the stone hall, leaving only a staring figure.

"The real king is determined to rule the world, his heart is as hard as stone, and he will never have too many private feelings. And I have just started!"

Chapter 288/1598
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Aztec EternalsCh.288/1598 [18.02%]