Chapter 723 The Second Kingdom Exploration, Warblers and Red Soil

The black-feathered warblers flew by the sea, their golden shoulder feathers flashing. This small songbird is so swift and beautiful, and so fond of bustle. They blinked their small eyes, landed on the nearby mudflats, and curiously watched the longboat they had never seen before.

After a while, the longboat docked at the seashore. The familiar two-legged beast jumped to the shore, waving its exceptionally slender claws, and made a strange and rhythmic cry.

"Lord God bless us! We are on shore again!"

Seeing this scene, the timid warblers all shrank the bright feathers on their heads and necks. Then, they turned around in a hurry, chirping to remind each other, and their wings quickly fled into the jungle, disappearing in a moment.

"Ah! Praise the Lord! This is the warbler from my hometown, symbolizing a good omen of success! I didn't expect to see it here!"

Seeing the golden feather light of the warbler flying away, Putun warrior Mokai was stunned, and a long-lost smile bloomed on his face.

After a long voyage, more than a hundred Putun warriors on board had lost forty or fifty in fighting and disease. As the leader of the Putun warriors, Mokai felt heavy in his heart. Although he was known for his perseverance and was accustomed to death, he still felt an irrepressible boredom with this endless voyage exploration.

The Purepescha warriors and sailors on the same ship, the warriors of the Silver Crow tribe, sailed for a longer time, even close to a year. They also felt deeply exhausted by this long voyage exploration. Even though the belief in the Lord God inspired everyone, the priests on the ship often comforted them, and the villages along the way provided sufficient water and some additional comfort, the morale of the entire exploration fleet was still inevitably declining.

Because the sailors had been bumping around for too long and trekking for too long. They longed for stability, even if they just stayed somewhere on the island and rested, it would be a hundred times more comfortable than constantly drifting on the sea. Sailing in this era, even sailing along the coast, is a hard and tiring torture.

Until a few days ago, the trustworthy Captain Chihuaco solemnly announced that the fleet had turned back to the west, and the destination of the voyage was not far ahead! The morale of the people was slightly improved. And Mokai also had some interest, carrying a sharp javelin and looking at the flying birds in the sky.

"Awoo! The elders of the tribe said that encountering warblers is a good omen for hunters!"

With Mokai's joyful shouts, the Putun warriors on several ships also howled happily, followed by the silver crow warriors under Osprey, and then the sailors of various tribes rowing.

In the Campeche region of the central Maya, you can also see the nimble flying warblers. This beautiful and colorful bird is almost everywhere along the Caribbean coast, and is a creature that all coastal tribes love. In the entire fleet, only the warriors from Purépecha looked at each other in bewilderment, not recognizing this beautiful bird that did not exist on the plateau.

"Praise the Lord! Encountering the oriole is a good omen for the fleet!"

Priest Tomat was the first to react. He had heard Tikalo's translation, so he was excited, holding up the scriptures and shouting to everyone.

"This is the will of the Lord and the blessing of the Lord! He told us that the destination of the voyage is just ahead! Praise the Lord! God bless us!"

Soon, the old militiaman Chihuaco also responded with the backbones on the ship. Then, the shouting turned into cheers, gradually spreading far and resounding throughout the exploration fleet.

"Praise the Lord! God bless us!"

The deafening cheers continued and soon attracted the attention of the coastal Taino people. Dozens of Taino militiamen approached cautiously with spears and communicated with the fleet's translator Kuba for a while.

Then, these simple Taino villagers also showed joy on their faces. They held up their wooden spears and called out the names of the local tribes.

"Yaya! Piragua'? Guarico Ke'? The great spirit of the Gods welcomes the longboat visitors to our land! The beautiful warblers welcome their fellow tribesmen from afar. This is the 'Red Soil Cassava Tribe', the Red Soil Tribe!"

The Red Soil Tribe is located on the coastal plains, relying on a large river flowing out of the inland, and there is also a lagoon with rich aquatic products outside the bay. Seeing such a terrain, Chihuaco knew at a glance that this must be a large tribe! On the Snake Island of Cuba, the necessary conditions for a large tribe are plains that provide food, rivers that provide fresh water, and coastal lagoons or inland lakes that provide fish. The population of each large tribe is about 2,000 to 3,000 people. The population of each tribe is not particularly large or small, and it seems very even, which is estimated to be the limit of natural carrying capacity.

The fleet traveled three thousand miles along the Cuban Snake Island, making a full half circle, passing through more than a dozen large tribes, but did not encounter a particularly large tribal alliance. This means that there has been no large-scale fighting or brutal annexation wars between the major tribes.

For thousands of years, the peaceful and kind Taino islanders have maintained almost the simplest social form and the most gentle ethnic relations, and have never taken a step further to transform into a higher organizational form.

This also suggests that the exploration fleet did not see a tribal alliance or the embryonic form of a kingdom on the three thousand mile Cuban Snake Island. There are no warriors who specialize in fighting in the Taino villages, nor have the nobles of higher status and great power been born from the warrior tribe. The status of the villagers is more equal, working and celebrating together, and raising children together.

The tribe lacks herbal medicine, loves to smoke sacred cigarettes, and because of the lack of processing technology, has long consumed slightly poisonous cassava. Therefore, the life span of the villagers is often very short, and the elders in the tribe are only in their thirties or forties. This high mortality rate of population renewal has steadily maintained the population balance on the island, and even retained the characteristics of the ancient matriarchal clan.

Everything is the oldest and most simple. Everything is stagnant in place, as if freezing time, just like thousands of years ago.

"Well, the Red Earth Tribe has also formed a patrol militia with wooden spears!"

The old militiaman Chihuaco's eyes swept across the welcoming Taino militia and immediately found something different. There was a bit of speculation in his eyes. He looked at the Tomat priest, and the other party nodded affirmatively.

"The fish pond outside the village was empty. The villagers were initially vigilant, and the canoes in the village were parked together. There were special people guarding the Red Earth Tribe, and they must have been harassed by the Siguayo people!"

"Then we will adapt to the situation and see the attitude of the local chief!"

"Okay!"

The local chief did not show anything special. They soon determined that the long ship that came from afar had nothing to do with the Siguayo bandits, but was related to the former Mayapan caravan.

"Praise the Moon Mother Goddess! Praise the God of Cassava! Praise the Storm Goddess! Praise the God of Death Ancestor! You are friends, not enemies!"

Since it was a friend's visit, the welcome dinner came as expected. The fleet worked hard for another night, with a smile of pain and happiness on their faces.

The next day, the priest Tomat got up early and couldn't wait to wake everyone up. Then, he announced excitedly.

"I chatted with several girls from the Red Earth Tribe all night! They told me that the reason why this place is called the 'Red Earth Tribe' is because the land is red! And in the south of the tribal village, there are several red earth and stone mountains!"

"Pu A Pu, call a team of warriors! Let's go and see if there are any minerals needed by the kingdom in these red earth mountains!"