Chapter 363 Overview of the King's Life and Kingdom
April in the tropics is the end of the dry season. The cloudy weather gradually increases, and there is a hint of moisture in the wind. As the top priority of the year, the busy spring plowing is coming.
Waves of messengers ran in the Lake Kingdom. They headed north, crossed the fields full of vitality, passed the lakes where fishing boats shuttled, and finally arrived at the estuary fortress, delivering reports from all over the kingdom to the hands of the king.
In the courtyard in the center of the fortress, Shulot sat cross-legged and flipped through documents from all over the kingdom.
Although it is called a document, it actually looks like an illustration with text. On the tough bark paper, there are little people in different actions, some holding weapons, some holding farm tools, some holding cotton cloth, some holding corn, some mining stones, some smelting metals, and some praying. Next to the little people, there are different counting symbols and local kana, and a few Chinese characters marked with squares. The kingdom's writing has been popularized for less than two years. Even the simplified local kana is only mastered by some priests, and even fewer people are familiar with Chinese characters.
The writing has not yet been popularized, so the "illustration book" is a bit lengthy. Large volumes of documents were piled up on the two desks in front of the king, one pile had been read, and the other pile was waiting to be checked.
The two desks were low, flat, solid wooden blocks with a hard texture and a dark green base. The wood surface had a natural unique texture, and the color changed with the wood grain. At first glance, the two solid desks looked like dark jade, heavy and simple. In fact, because the wood was too hard, the craftsmen of the kingdom used the method of processing jade to polish them. This is the high-grade precious wood that is priceless in later generations, the precious Mexican ebony, black persimmon wood.
In this era, black persimmon wood is also a relatively precious tree. Because it has a peculiar fragrance, it is given religious significance and is often planted near temples. The texture of black persimmon wood is varied and gradually dyed dark, like the surface of silk, and like a natural ink landscape painting.
Xiuluot liked the texture of this wood very much, so he asked the craftsmen to make some furniture in his memory and put it in the palace where he lived. These can remind him of his distant homeland. He read the documents for a while, then reached out and picked up a deep purple teacup from the black persimmon wood table beside him.
The deep purple teacup was the latest product of the official kiln in the capital. In order to supply the royal family, the craftsmen used heated coke to burn a stoneware between pottery and porcelain. Although Xiu Luote pointed out the direction, the craftsmanship of porcelain is still a long way off, and even the glazing technology is still under exploration, only occasionally some exquisite fine stoneware will be produced.
"The unglazed fine stoneware is somewhat like Yixing purple sand pottery."
Xiu Luote looked at the beautiful granular texture on the surface of the teacup, as well as the faint purple luster, and smiled. Under the guidance of the divine priest, the kingdom's pottery making technology is slowly improving, just like other handicrafts. Then, he lowered his head and drank a sip of the kingdom's specialty hibiscus tea. The sour taste immediately echoed in the mouth, with a faint floral scent, which made people feel refreshed.
Hibiscus is also known as Roselle (Flor de Jamaica), which is mainly produced in tropical Africa, but there are also native plants in America, especially the Jamaican variety is the most famous. In later Mexico, it is a common popular drink, and dried hibiscus tea can be seen in any market. It also has a slightly refreshing effect, and the king uses it to relieve fatigue.
Two steps away, Bertard also sat cross-legged, with a bronze sword beside his legs. In front of him was a table, on which were paper, pens and seals. The political structure of the kingdom was rough and simple, and important matters were decided by the king.
"Bertard, documents from all over the country have arrived one by one, reporting the number of people and preparations for spring plowing. Only the report from Zicao County in the south is vague."
Xiuluot frowned and threw the wooden atlas in his hand onto the table. This atlas is still the traditional style of the alliance and the kingdom, with heavy wooden boards and abstract pictures, and several ancient graphic texts marked next to it, without any specific numbers or explanations. The king took a quick look and felt unhappy.
"Your Highness, Etalik, who is stationed in Kuramo City, wrote to say that the great nobles in Zicao County are submissive on the surface, but in fact they are obstacles to the administration of the kingdom. The nobles, led by the two honorable nobles Gu Lamo and Zotor, secretly formed a group. Under their obstruction, the spread of the main god's faith was extremely slow, and the priests could not control the village and were often attacked by bandits."
Bertard looked calm and told the details of the south one by one.
"Last year, when the army marched north, the southern nobles had unusual movements and frequent exchanges and gatherings. They reduced the tribute after the autumn harvest in the name of the flood in Talsa. Fortunately, the second spear corps of Ezpan was stationed in the south of the capital, so the southern nobles did not dare to make big moves."
"Gu Lamo of the Zicao family and Zotor of the Palm family are all honorable nobles who surrendered after the westward expedition?"
Hearing this, Shulot asked in a deep voice with cold eyes.
In Nahua language, "Zotor" is palm, and "Gu Lamo" is Zicao ragwood. The Zicao County in the south is named after Kuramo, which shows how old these families are.
"That's right. They were all great frontier nobles who were granted fiefdoms in the early days of the Tarasco Kingdom. The two families have been passed down for more than 200 years and have deep roots in Zicao County in the south, and have intermarried with many nobles."
Bertard took out a scroll of atlas and unfolded it for inspection.
"Your Highness, after the autumn harvest last year, Zicao County had a population of more than 200,000, but the tribute it paid to the kingdom was only a quarter of that of the capital. The great nobles only paid some symbolic tribute. It is said that they were like this in the era of the Tarasco Kingdom. No tribute or tax, control of the population and land, just some military service."
"Well, I see."
Xuluot lowered his eyes, nodded, and stopped talking. The noble forces in the south have always been in his mind, but the northern expedition happened suddenly, and it took nearly a year, delaying the previous plan.
After drinking hibiscus tea and refilling it, all the documents were reviewed. The king unfolded a newly made map of the kingdom and patiently marked the reports from various places on the map one by one.
The Kingdom of the Lake has been established for two years, and the situation of each county has been sorted out.
After settling 60,000 dog descendants, the Hekou County in the north has a population of about 210,000, all under the firm control of the preaching priests. The noble forces in this land have been cleansed most completely, so the vast majority of the population have been registered as citizens and incorporated into the kingdom's civilian settlement system. Farmers pay 30% of taxes every year and obey the dispatch of corvée.
The belief in the Lord God spread rapidly in Hekou County, and composting and new farm tools began to become popular. Last year's autumn harvest increased by 20%, and the yield of each acre of milpa increased to nearly 100 kilograms of corn and beans, and 200-250 kilograms of pumpkins. In this way, only 3 acres of land can support about one adult. And with the current land yield, if the kingdom reduces the tax from 30% to 25%, each household can raise one more child.
After thinking for a while, Xiuluot marked "210,000 people, 50,000 people, directly under the kingdom, a large grain county, and a shipyard on the Leman River" on Hekou County.
Next is the capital of the Patzcuaro Lake area, with a population of about 280,000. With the participation of the sage Jatiri, more and more Prepecha elites have joined the rule of the kingdom and managed all aspects of the capital. As a prerequisite for the participation of the Prepecha elites in politics, the belief in the Lord God has completely covered the upper class of the kingdom.
A large number of military settlements were settled in the capital area, which gathered the best craftsmen from various kingdoms. The copper and coal mines in the southwestern Chingambat were vigorously mined, and the first university in the kingdom was established.
The capital city of Chincongcan is a political and religious center, as well as a workshop and cultural center. The city of Ivachio in the south of the capital is an important commercial center and the largest copper and gem trading place in the world. It can be said that the output of the capital almost supplies the standing army of the entire kingdom and provides the best bronze equipment.
Xiuluot drew a few circles and then marked "280,000 people, 70,000 people, directly under the kingdom, copper mines, coal mines, bronze, gems, workshops, markets, universities."
Then, Zicao County in the south has a vast area, abundant rainfall, and reserves of copper and silver, but it is the weakest place in the kingdom. The southern boundary of Zicao County is the Tulsa River. The forks of the river irrigate the land along the way. The agricultural conditions are excellent, and the fishery and mining resources are also rich, but they have not been developed. The county seat of Kuramo City is along the Tulsa River. It is an important trade center in the world and has frequent exchanges with various southern tribes.
Xiuluot recalled the data estimated by Etalik and wrote down "200,000 people, 40,000 people, noble autonomy, details unknown. Foreign trade center, estuary."
The west side of the Tulsa River leads to the estuary that flows into the Pacific Ocean. It is only more than 300 miles away from Kuramo City in Zicao County. It is the closest passage to the ocean. Thinking of this, many exploration plans flashed in his mind, and there was a person who flashed by. After a moment, the king raised his head slightly and turned his eyes to the north.
The three northern Otomi states have long been marked. Ottopan State "200,000 people, 30,000 people, noble autonomy, mountain city ancestral land", Guamare State "140,000 people, 20,000 people, noble autonomy, western Guamare dog descendants." The northernmost Pams State is "80,000 people, 15,000 people, semi-autonomy, wilderness outpost."
Although these data are only estimates, they can show the kingdom's control over the local area. In total, the three core counties of the kingdom have nearly 700,000 people and 160,000 men. If the subordinate Otomi forces are also counted in the lake kingdom, then the new kingdom has a population of more than 1.1 million, more than 200,000 men, 500 miles from east to west, and nearly 1,000 miles from north to south!
The king's heart was burning with ambition. His expression changed, and he couldn't help but reach out and touch the lake capital in the east, Tenochtitlan, which has the largest population, the most fertile valley, and the most powerful alliance in the world.
Then, his hand gradually moved westward, caressing the scope of the Lake Chapala area, which has equally fertile land. It is the "Stone River" and "Fortress Valley" of later generations, and the location of the Guadalajara metropolitan area. Finally, the king finally put down his pen and drew a heavy red circle on the city of Curamo.
"After the autumn harvest, I will visit here!"