Chapter 611 The Second Kingdom Exploration, Black Oil and Vanilla in Crow City

The warm wind of January blew across the tropical seashore of the Gulf of Mexico, bringing humidity and heat. The sea breeze blew westward along the Cat Owl River for seventy or eighty miles, and arrived at the southern ancestral land of the Huastec people, the prosperous riverside city-state, the Crow City of Papantla.

A few gray crows circled in the sky, looking down at the familiar fortresses, villages and temples below, as well as seven unfamiliar slender long ships. Hundreds of naked Huastec craftsmen were gathered at the edge of the long ship, holding black pottery jars in their hands, and busying themselves with their heads down.

After a while, a crow curiously lowered its altitude and stopped at the top of the mast of the long ship. Then, it stared with round eyes, turned slightly, and made a proud cry at the black wolf flag flying on the mast.

"Quack! Quack!"

"Hmm?"

Hearing the cry, the old militiaman Chihuaco raised his head and saw the crow standing on the mast, looking proud. The old militiaman's face suddenly turned into a smile.

"The crows fell, croaking! Good! It's a rare auspicious sign!"

Well, yes, it's really a good sign! At this time in Central America, crows often fell during sacrificial ceremonies. They are like messengers descending from the sky after praying to the gods, with mysterious divinity. Similarly, they will appear when the elderly are about to die, like messengers of the god of death, leading the souls of the deceased. Therefore, in the Central American tribes that worship death, crows are indeed auspicious birds.

"Damn! This hot coastal lowland is really much hotter than the plateau upstream of the Cat Owl River!"

Puap, wearing a wooden eagle helmet, looked up at the scorching sun and complained. Then, he looked at the busy Huastec craftsmen on the shore and shook his head.

"These Huasteks are all good dancers, and the women's waists are so soft that they almost kill our warriors. But is it possible to repair the ship? It has been more than 20 days, and they always say it's almost done."

It was early January, and more than a month had passed since the fleet entered the water at the end of November last year. The kingdom's exploration fleet first set sail from the Herb Lake, followed the upper tributaries of the Cat Eagle River, and merged into the mainstream of the Cat Eagle River. Then, they headed north and turned east, bypassing the steep waterfalls and bypassing the slower tributaries. If they encountered a waterfall that could not be avoided on the way, they had to go ashore and pull the boats down in the opposite direction to avoid the ship from being damaged.

It took the kingdom's fleet half a month to travel more than 600 miles of water before arriving at Crow City on the edge of the East China Sea. After arriving at Crow City, it was a long period of repair and waiting.

During the more than 600 miles of water, the altitude dropped by more than 2,000 meters! The surrounding temperature also rose a lot, from the warmth of the tropical plateau to the heat of the tropical lowlands.

"Huh! Coming down from the upstream is like peeing with the wind, fast and urgent. If it weren't for the slowdown, we could have traveled a hundred miles a day! The rock walls on both sides were very dangerous, and there were bumps and bruises along the way, and there were gaps everywhere on the boat. Several times, it almost fell apart! I heard that there are many storms in the eastern sea. If these seven long ships are not repaired, how can we go out to sea again?"

Recalling the difficult journey before, the old militia shook his head and sighed. The section across the Eastern Sierra Madre Mountains is really too big, and the navigation is very dangerous. This is just the beginning. After going out to sea, there are still more than 4,000 miles of sea!

Then, return from the sea, travel another 4,000 to 5,000 miles, then go upstream from the estuary, and climb such a high drop to return to Tlaxcala. Then from there, you have to sail on dry land, enter the Talzas River, and travel a thousand miles to return to the Kingdom of the Lake to see his son-in-law, daughter, and grandchildren who are unknown how old they are.

Thinking of all this, the old militia was filled with grief and his eyes were red. He looked at the western sky and cursed fiercely in his heart.

"This blind prince deserves to be struck by lightning!"

"Captain, the Huastec craftsmen said that the ship will be repaired in one day!"

Dark Snake lowered his head and approached carefully to report to the old militia. The four states of Tlaxcala are adjacent to Huastec, and there are many trade exchanges. Dark Snake himself can speak some daily Huastec language. The old militia arranged for him to participate in the communication of ship repair.

Many craftsmen and sailors of the expedition fleet were also arranged to repair the ship together. And the newly joined sailor Didi worked harder than anyone else from morning to night, forcing everyone to speed up.

"It's almost fixed?"

Hearing this, the old militia was a little surprised. Wearing a straw hat, he walked to the side of the ship and saw that the Huastec craftsmen were using a black, sticky liquid, accompanied by some black soft gravel, to paste various parts of the long ship. The broken wooden boards and the holes that were broken were filled with these black oil and gravel, and then solidified into a hard shape.

"What a strange black oil, it smells weirder than the mud in the swamp! Well, but after it is repaired, it really doesn't leak."

The old militia sniffed his nose and smelled the pungent smell of black oil. Then, he touched the filled gap, feeling the adhesion of his fingertips, thinking.

The Vastek craftsmen had told him long ago that this was "black oil" produced from underground pits. It was the essence of the Mother Goddess of the Earth and could resist the power of the God of Storms in the Eastern Sea! For hundreds of years, the coastal Vastek tribes have used this black oil and soft gravel to repair broken canoes.

If Xiu Luote came here and saw these black oil and soft gravel, he would be very surprised and shout out their two names in later generations.

"Oil and asphalt!"

Yes, the Huastec Crow City is located on the oil field along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Hundreds of miles to the north is the Tampico oil field with huge reserves, and hundreds of miles to the east is the Cantarell oil field on the sea, one of the largest oil fields in the world!

In fact, the entire coastal Campeche Bay, from the lowlands of the Huastecs to the rainforests of the Totonacs, is rich in oil reserves. There is so much oil here that it can come out directly from the deep pits underground, which makes the later generations of the Celestial Empire cry! And natural asphalt is also a common associated mineral in large oil fields.

The old militia lowered his head and inspected the black longboat for a long time. He first tested the waterproofness and then the hardness. After this repair, the toughness of the longboat is even better than before! The only drawback is that the boat is heavier, which slightly reduces the load. The old militia finally smiled.

"Great, it's good to be fixed! Dark Snake, go and inform the tomato priest in Crow City and the long-headed Mayan merchant. Ask them to come back early and get ready to go!"

"Yes, Captain."

Dark Snake nodded, picked up a bronze spear, and ran to Crow City, which was more than ten miles away. Outside Crow City, along the abundant water of the Cat Eagle River, large tracts of farmland have been reclaimed. Some farmlands have even been planted with beans. In the tropical lowlands with year-round hot weather, the cultivation of crops is no longer subject to strict time limits, and even three crops can be harvested a year. However, the lack of fertilizer in the farmland has strictly limited the number of times it can be cultivated. The only crop that can be cultivated multiple times is the nitrogen-fixing and fertilizing bean.

Soon, when they arrived at the edge of Crow City, a faint fragrance came to them. Dark Snake looked curiously and saw some well-tended small fields with low herbs growing on them. Seeing this, Dark Snake pursed his lips, recalled the taste of vanilla venison, and swallowed his saliva secretly.

Crow City is the origin of many Central American vanillas, and the domestication of vanilla began thousands of years ago. If there were no vanilla here, milk tea in later generations would probably lose its soul.

Dark Snake kept walking, showed the fleet's token, and then, under the leadership of the Huastek warrior, came to the tent of the Silver Crow leader. Well, there are too many storms along the coast, and hurricanes pass through every two years. Due to the lack of construction technology, tall wooden and stone buildings are not safe. Instead, tents, straw huts and caves are the most common here.

In the big tent, the aroma was fragrant. The preaching priest Tomat smiled and sipped a sip of cocoa with vanilla. Opposite him, a middle-aged chief sat cross-legged with a golden sun amulet around his neck, looking at the straw mat on the ground, thinking.

Then, the priest Tomat extended his hand and pointed to the "Ali Sutra" unfolded on the straw mat. He sketched the picture of the main god on it and explained in a deep voice.

". The seasons change, and the harvest is harvested in autumn and stored in winter. The main god controls the changes in the temperature of the world and the storms of the sea and land! He grants those who obey him a rich harvest, and brings down divine disasters on those who disobey him, causing the land to be barren and all people and animals to die. Those who die in divine disasters will sink into the abyss and never be freed!"

"Respected Chief Papata, the Silver Crow Tribe can only obtain God's blessing, survive from the continuous hurricanes, and even obtain God's blessing if they completely convert to the main god and completely abandon the belief in the feathered serpent!"