Chapter 725: Second Kingdom Exploration, First Cuban Outpost

The sun sets and the stars are sparse, birds and animals are singing in the forest, and the jungle on the tropical coast is full of vitality. Everyone lit a bonfire, set up camp in front of the spectacular iron ore belt, took out the wine and food they brought, and celebrated wildly until dawn. From the second day, it was a careful and busy exploration.

Under the guidance of Priest Mecart, everyone roughly determined the surface range of the Mayari Iron Ore Belt. To be honest, the scale of this open-air iron mine really exceeded everyone's expectations. The northernmost end of the iron ore belt is only thirty miles away from the nearest coast. The southern end of the iron ore belt has penetrated deep into the mountains and forests, and the range is extremely wide. The surface alone is at least twenty or thirty miles.

After all, the Mayari Iron Ore Belt is one of the largest shallow iron ore belts in the world. The iron ore here, both in terms of reserves and quality, ranks among the best in the world. And what is more precious in later generations is the "chromium" rich in the iron ore belt, an indispensable key element in special steel.

Along the way, nickel, cobalt, manganese, chromium, iron, and copper, six kinds of rich mineral deposits, are all concentrated in the eastern part of the Cuban Snake Island, the snake head area with a radius of 400 miles. In addition to the sleeping tungsten mine on the Scale Island, there is also the "Cuban Rich Mine" of oil in the offshore Gulf of Mexico, which is truly worthy of its name.

"Praise the Lord! Praise Your Highness! The reserves of this iron ore belt are enough for the entire alliance to dig for an era! And the quality of the ore here is also much higher than that of Black Rock Mountain!"

Three days later, Priest Mecart gathered all the information and gave a decisive conclusion. Even though it has been several days since the discovery of the large iron ore, the excitement and excitement on his face have not subsided. Because every day, the exploration team will bring new discoveries and expand the new boundaries of the iron ore area.

"The Maria Iron Mine must be firmly in the hands of the kingdom! We must establish a permanent camp to control this piece of mountains, forests and coasts that are vital to the kingdom!"

Hearing this, Priest Tomat and the old militiaman Chivaco looked at each other and nodded at the same time. Then, the priest Tomat grasped the sun amulet around his neck and spoke firmly.

"May the Lord bless us! Since we have found the large iron ore predicted by His Highness, the kingdom's fleet needs to establish the first permanent base and the first main temple on Cuba Island here! The glory of the Lord must be spread on the Snake Island of Cuba, and the suppression of Quetzalcoatl must also be completed by the main temple!"

At this point, the priest Tomat looked solemn and his will was indestructible.

"Praise the Lord, I will dedicate my life to you! I will stay in Cuba, preside over the construction of the base and temple here, and preach to the surrounding Taino villages! And the several Lord priests on the ship will also stay!" Hearing the words of the priest Tomat, the old militiaman Chihuaco lowered his eyes, his heart full of emotion. The priest Tomat chose to stay, which was what he should have meant. But after staying here this time, it’s a long voyage of 8,000 miles. I don’t know when I will be able to return to the kingdom.

“The devout priests of the Lord God! They are really a group of... well, a group of moths willing to fly into the fire.”

Chihuaco was in a complicated mood and remained silent. To be honest, if he was asked to devote the rest of his life to the gods and bury his bones overseas, he couldn’t do it.

“The kingdom fleet sailed here, and the sailors on the ship died and were replaced. Warriors of the Putun tribe were also recruited along the way. There are now a total of 400 people in the fleet. Among these 400 people, only more than 200 are warriors and sailors who set out from the kingdom.”

Chihuaco didn’t speak, and the priest Tomat spoke again, stating the cold truth.

When the fleet set out from the kingdom, there were more than 300 loyal Purépecha warriors and sailors. And now, at the destination of Cuba, these initial personnel have lost a full third! Storms, diseases, fighting, and getting lost. Each of them will continue to take away lives. The difficulty of long-distance voyages can be seen from this.

"The kingdom needs to establish a permanent base, build warehouses here, store food, cut wood, build temples, and even mine iron ore to lay the foundation for the arrival of more people! To do all this, not only do we need money and materials to mobilize the manpower of the surrounding tribes, but we also need sufficient military force to control the surrounding areas."

Priest Tomat remained solemn. He looked around at the leaders of the fleet, and spoke out the will of His Highness word by word.

"Before I set off, His Highness gave me the power to make decisions! I need a fleet, leaving three long ships, at least half of the manpower, that is, more than 200 warriors and sailors, to stay with me in Cuba! Among these more than 200 people, at least 100 people must be reliable Prepecha headquarters. Well, most of the gems, goods, weapons, armor, and cloth and property in the fleet should also be left as much as possible."

After Priest Tomat finished speaking seriously, he first looked at the captain of the exploration team, the old militiaman Chihuaco.

"Captain Chivaco, what do you think?"

"Leave two hundred people behind?"

Chivaco pursed his lips and pulled his hair. Familiar young faces flashed through his mind. At this moment, he will decide the fate of these young men, whether to stay here or embark on the journey home. After a long time, he nodded and promised.

"I will leave three ships and select one hundred reliable Purépecha boys, um, eighty sailors, twenty warriors. The remaining one hundred gaps. More than fifty people from the Putun tribe are familiar with the tropical jungle environment, and they can all stay. And among the more than thirty people from the Silver Crow tribe, half are shipbuilders, familiar with carpentry work, and they will be left to you! As for the last twenty or so people"

Chihuaco paused, wanting to keep the newly added manpower in the Mayan lowlands. In his heart, he still had a partiality and wanted to bring back as many of his compatriots from Prepecha as possible.

"For the last twenty or so people, let's choose the loyal Prepecha warriors!"

Priest Tomat raised his brows, saw what Chihuaco was thinking, and interrupted decisively. He looked into the eyes of the old militiaman and said sincerely.

"I believe that the Prepecha warriors who can participate in this voyage have no doubt about their loyalty to the main god! Cuba needs reliable manpower! And the return journey is still eight thousand miles long and difficult by sea. . It’s actually easier and safer to stay here than to return to the kingdom!”

The eight-thousand-mile-long sea route is, indescribably, the separation between life and death. When the fleet came, nearly a third of them were dead, and when they returned, the number of dead would definitely not be less.

Thinking of this, the old militiaman was silent for a while and looked at the deputy captain Huitu Puap. Puap nodded indifferently and agreed. In his opinion, there is nothing wrong with letting Prepecha's warriors and sailors stay here. There is no need to worry about eating and drinking, women just jump on him, and there is no need to fight a difficult battle. If it were him, he would be happy

"Bah! I, Huitu Puap, am a man who has been valued and entangled by both the Condor and the Serpent! Your Highness has promised me that I am destined to become the commander of the legion, so how can I stay on this deserted island in Cuba! Well! , I still have a dozen young wives in my hometown in Huzhong.”

Thinking of this, Puap touched his chin with a rare look in his eyes. After this voyage, he suffered so much from the mental torture of the curse that he never wanted to go to sea again.

"God bless you! When I return to the kingdom this time, I will fight bravely, kill Prince Maya, and discover the large iron mine. No matter what I do, I have to ask Your Highness not to send me out to sea to explore."

The old militiaman's eyes flashed, looking at Huitu Puap's expression, he pursed his lips again. He knew Puap very well, so he shook his head secretly and said nothing. Then, the old militiaman looked at Priest Tomat with a solemn expression, and asked a question that he cared about very much and was equally important.

"Dear Priest Tomat, you stayed in Cuba to establish a kingdom stronghold and spread the glory of the Lord God. Then, how are you going to get along with the simple Taino people?"