Chapter 683 The Second Exploration of the Kingdom, the Taino People’s Welcome, the Cohiba “Lance”!

"God bless us, set sail!"

The morning light was bright, and the sea was shimmering. Two intact longboats set sail under the rising sun and rowed eastward. The old militiaman Chihuaco, with the seafaring priest Mecart, determined the wind direction and raised the cross sails at the bow and stern.

The cross sail has a relatively small wind receiving area and a small angle for receiving wind, but it is the simplest to manufacture and apply. At present, the alliance's navigation technology is still at a relatively low level. For example, complex triangular sails, longitudinal sails and even ball sails may take a long time to explore.

The two longboats used the wind power, and the sailors on the boats paddled hard. However, after two hours, after traveling fifty or sixty miles, a large green island suddenly came into everyone's sight. Around the large island, some small canoes can be vaguely seen, as well as the nearest seaside village on the island.

"Captain Chihuaco, this is the Scale Island! Those small boats are all Taino fishermen. Their fishing skills are always excellent. And that village is the settlement of the Taino people. Kuba said that we can visit directly and they will be happy to welcome us!"

Speaking of "welcome", the Mayan merchant Ticarlo hesitated. All the way from the plateau, the "welcome" from various tribes along the way was terrifying. Chihuaco turned his head and looked deeply at Kuba, only to see the joy of seeing the village on the face of the Cuban guide.

As the fleet approached, the village on the shore became clear. The Taino village was in full view, without fences and walls to cover it. Perhaps it can be described as a settlement. Most of the settlements are low huts, and in the middle are several large huts with round pointed roofs. There is no iconic temple or altar in the center of the entire settlement. Instead, there are some wood carvings, pottery carvings, and stone carvings around the large huts, with unclear patterns painted on them.

Outside the settlement, there is a circular square surrounded by stones, and no one knows what it is used for. Further out, there are small fields near the river, scattered and widely distributed. There seem to be many strange mounds in the fields. On the mudflats near the sea, there are several small dams, and something seems to be moving in the dams.

From a distance, one or two hundred Taino villagers are busy in various parts of the village, and the atmosphere is very peaceful. Several fishermen who were fishing in canoes were the first to discover the traces of the longboat. They waved and shouted at the fleet, and then sent two people to notify the village. But in a moment, the village was boiling, and there were people walking everywhere.

"Lord God bless! Put on armor, set up bronze spears, and raise longbows! Prepare for battle!"

Seeing the changes in the Taino village, Huitu Puapu's expression became fierce. He had murderous eyes, gave orders in a deep voice, and was ready for battle.

The four canoes seemed to be unaware and paddled closer and closer, entering the range of the bows and arrows, until they reached the edge of the longboat. The Taino fishermen on the boats then put down their oars and stood up, revealing their tall figures and naked upper bodies. The leading Taino fisherman looked at the longboat warriors and sailors who had set up their weapons and raised their longbows, smiled brightly and simply, and shouted loudly.

"Yaya! Piragua'? Guarico Ke'? Ana Tanama! Uicu'? Veycosi?"

"Ah? What is he saying?"

The old militiaman Chihuaco touched his head and looked at Tikalo and Kuba. Kuba looked at the fishermen, stayed for a while, and translated it word by word.

"The great spirit (Yaya) of the Godhead! The long boat (Piragua')? Come (Guarico) to our land (Ke')? Flowers (Ana) and butterflies (Tanama)! Wine (Uicu')? Cassava juice (Veycosi)?"

"What? What does this mean?"

Chihuaco looked confused, and Kuba spoke directly to the surprised and delighted Taino fishermen in Guanahani. Then, he relayed with a complicated expression.

"The great spirit blesses everyone! Long boats, are you coming to our village to be guests? Beautiful flowers will welcome flying butterflies! Come on, do you want to drink newly brewed wine or newly squeezed cassava juice?"

"."

Hearing Kuba's translation, the old militia Chihuaco and Huitu Puapu looked at each other, and their expressions changed a little. The Taino people seemed very friendly, and it was unknown whether it was true or not. Huitu Puapu thought for a while, then made a gesture for the warriors to lower their weapons. Chihuaco touched his chin and said gently.

"Tell him that we are friends from the Mayan land! We want to go to the village, talk to the village chief, and trade some water. Please don't let the villagers be nervous and alert, we have no ill intentions."

Kuba and the Taino fishermen exchanged a few more sentences. The fisherman was obviously confused. He scratched his head, rowed a small boat, led two long boats, and sailed to the coast where the crowd gathered. It was not until he reached the edge of the coast that the old militiaman Chihuaco was surprised to find that the one or two hundred villagers gathered on the beach had no vigilance at all!

The Taino villagers did not hold wooden spears or stone spears, nor did they hold stone axes or hunting bows. They had no weapons except flint knives! The dozen villagers standing in the front held several large straw baskets, which contained long cassava cakes, fresh palm fruits and guavas, and pottery jars filled with clear water!

"Friends sitting in long boats! Flowers welcome butterflies, and trees welcome birds. We welcome you to our village!"

An elderly Taino village chief, wearing a short feather crown, raised his hands and came forward happily. On his face was a simple and sincere smile. In his hand, there was no spear either, only a bunch of tobacco leaves rolled into long strips, and the tobacco leaves were rolled into a spear, the "Cohiba Spear".

"Come on, friends! Light up last year's tobacco leaves, let us share the divine tobacco, Cohiba, and communicate with the gods! The great spirit of the gods, the immortal ancestors, are watching the meeting of the two tribes. With the blessing of the mother goddess Atabeyra, let us drink water together, wait for the moon, and continue the tribe!"

"Ah? This welcome is really different from the previous ones!"

The old militiaman Chihuaco landed on the shore and looked at the Taino people's enthusiastic welcome. His smile was a little dull at first, but soon became sincere.

The tall Taino village chief opened his arms and gave him a hug. Then, the elderly village chief couldn't wait to light a long Cohiba, put it in his mouth, took a deep puff, and immediately became energetic. Then, he lit another "tobacco spear" and stuffed it into Chihuaco's mouth, laughing and shouting.

"Cohiba! Blessings from the Mother Goddess and ancestors! Tobacco of the Guanahani people! Welcome friends!"

"Hiss! This smell?. Cough cough!"

The old militiaman Chihuaco widened his eyes, took a deep puff of the rich divine smoke, and then couldn't help coughing. The surrounding Taino villagers all laughed kindly, and the village chief demonstrated spitting smoke again.

Amid laughter and divine smoke, the old militiaman took a few more puffs, and his whole body gradually relaxed. His thoughts became active, and his spirit was a little trance. He couldn't help but smile on his face, and an inexplicable thought flashed through his mind.

"Sincerely welcome friends to share the sacred cigarettes and food. It turns out that the Taino people are really a kind tribe! However, if such a kind tribe encounters the white-skinned evil demon predicted by your majesty, what will happen?"

Note: Cohiba is the name of tobacco by the Taino people, and it is also the source of the name of Cuba's top cigar, Cohiba.