Aztec Eternals

Chapter 1242 The holy land on the west coast that the Ming Dynasty scholars dreamed of...

"The Lord God bless you! The Cloud Snake Ancestors bless you! Nieka, what was the result of this early spring capture, and how much did we lose?..."

"Chief, we defeated five small tribes of the Salinan 'Tree Tribe' and captured more than 600 young men and women, of which about 400 were fertile women... The number of safari tribes here is very small. The tribal warriors also had almost no decent weapons and organization, and seemed to have no experience in fighting in a large group. They were vulnerable to hundreds of warriors! ...The dispatched clan warriors only had more than 20 minor injuries, and four died in the battle and went to the Kingdom of God...The ancestors Bless you! With this large number of additional captives, every man in the clan will be able to marry a wife! And by the time of spring plowing this year, we should be able to cultivate another four to five thousand acres of farmland..."

"Okay, the casualties are indeed not big! The replenishment of this group of prisoners is very important, and it comes at the right time. Next, the clan will concentrate its efforts to prepare for the spring plowing in May!... We landed too late last year, what is this? The Oak tribe is not good at farming... In the end, they only planted several thousand acres of pumpkin cereals, along with the acorns and wild vegetables they collected, barely enough to keep the clan satisfied. Even the rations for the clan warriors to go on the expedition this year had to be obtained from the priest O'Hummingbird in every possible way, from the south. Borrowed from Sanshan Port... The water and soil here are so good, and there is a big river flowing through it, which is good irrigated land... The clan must cultivate at least 5,000 fields this year on the fertile land beside the river and transport it to the south! I will also use all the struvite fertilizers that come with me!…”

The bay is winding, and the lagoons more than twenty miles north and south are flashing with golden waves. From time to time, plump fish splash on the lake, attracting bald eagles to circle and watch. There is a meandering river in the upper southeastern reaches of this lagoon. It is also called the Oak River because of the many oak trees around it. At present, large areas of oak trees were cut down and dragged to the hills a few miles away, leaving them to dry naturally in the wind and sun. As for the weeds and shrubs along the river, they were all scorched by the fire. As for the large gray and black new fields, under the hard work of thousands of tribesmen, they have been digging out the entangled tree roots, grass roots and large and small rocks in the soil to prepare the land in advance for the next sowing. No matter where you are, cultivating new fields is a very tiring and hard work! …

The new fields by the river were cultivated to the east, while the west of the new fields were naturally the old fields. The old fields are full of various kinds of beans planted in late autumn last year, mainly black beans and kidney beans. The bean stalks are all turning yellow now, and it's almost time to harvest.

Of course, the harvest of these winter black beans and kidney beans is not expected to be much. It is mainly used to fertilize the fields and suppress weeds in early spring. After the harvest is completed next month, a fire is set in the field to burn the dry bean stalks, and then the seeds can be prepared for sowing in May. The corn grown at that time was the truly precious staple food for warriors!

As for the pumpkins and sweet potatoes in the mountains on both sides, they are scattered everywhere. They don't occupy any serious fields, and the yield is quite large. These are the daily rations of the tribesmen in the clan, and they are new crops brought by the Black Snake clan that landed. It's just that the black snake warriors of the clan are not willing to eat these miscellaneous grains. Because if you eat too much grain, it will become thin, which is really troublesome especially when you go out to capture prisoners.

Unfortunately, the Black Snake clan migrated to the desolate northern continent. The nobles and warriors lost the clan they supported, and had to lower their living standards, farm the land themselves, and struggle to survive.

Yes! This is the Black Snake clan that was the last of the tribes in Tlaxcala to convert to the main god. It is also a new west coast stronghold established by the kingdom last year. The large area of ​​low huts and tree houses, the numerous tribal people who were barely clothed and working in the fields, and the very crude stone altar to the main god, all illustrate the poverty of this clan stronghold.

However, the regular fields cultivated by the Black Snake clan, the masonry barns built, and even the stone tools, fired pottery, and large bows made... all show that the clan's heritage is not as simple as it seems.

In fact, this small and poor stronghold contains the last divine descendants of the Tlaxcala people, and there are also educated nobles and craftsmen who far exceed the proportion of the tribe. This is the fiefdom of the last descendant of Tlaxcala, the Black Snake Turcotte. It not only worships the only Mexica main god, but also worships the ancient cloud snake ancestors.

Black Snake Turcotte, the descendant of the Cloud Snake who opened the gate of the Cloud Snake Fortress with his own hands, received the promise of Shuluo, and finally survived by luck, only brought 1,400 terra in June last year. The remnants of Skala landed in this land of lagoons and oak trees that he had never heard of before and could not imagine.

Everyone set out from Trout Town in the south of the kingdom and sailed a long sea route of more than 6,000 miles before arriving at the vast and boundless northern continent. As for the remnants of Tlaxcala, which were not many in the first place, more than a hundred people died of illness on the road. It can be said that they were in a gloomy state, and there was no dog at the beginning.

Fortunately, these last 1,400 people have all experienced the siege of Yun Snake that lasted for several years. They were able to survive to the end of the siege because they were physically strong and selected from tens of thousands of Tlaxcala tribesmen. Among these 1,400 people, more than 80% are men, and among them are fully 600 elite Tlaxcala warriors who have been fighting for a long time. They are inconspicuous among the various tribes in Central America who are fighting in melee, but on the northern continent, they are quite a powerful clan force!

With the armed and logistical support of the Lake Kingdom, Black Snake led the Tlaxcala tribe to the coast and launched a surprise attack. In just a few days, they forcibly annexed the Salinan Oak Tribe with nearly a thousand people, officially raised the banner of the Black Snake in the Cloud, and established a new Black Snake clan! Then came large-scale ethnic intermarriage and the complete reorganization of the entire clan.

And when everything stabilizes, it will be the end of July. The Black Snake clan, which already has more than 2,000 people, has no time to grow the staple food of corn. They can only grow some pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and some beans from the fertile fields. Together with the Salinan people's traditional lagoon fishing, they can barely get by. The first winter in "California"...

"Blessed by our ancestors! This year's new fields by the river will still use the intercropping of the 'Three Sisters'. We can't expect much from the newly reclaimed fields, we can barely make ends meet... These dried oak trees can be used to build some canoes. Fortunately, there is fishing in the lagoon and the coast! By the way, there are a lot of oak trees in this area. This autumn, we can collect more acorns, grind them into powder, and mix them with grains to eat... As long as we survive this year and wait until the third autumn harvest, we can With more food, we can spend more manpower to build sturdy and usable wooden houses, and the clan can have a large number of babies, allowing us Tlaxcalans to once again embark on the path of prosperity that our ancestors have walked!…”

Black Snake Turcotte looked around, looking at the newly cultivated fields and dilapidated huts, but his weathered face was full of expectation and hope. As a glorious aristocrat who used to be luxuriously dressed and commanding, now the corners of his eyes are full of wrinkles, there are some white hairs in his black hair, and his expression is full of calmness. And he no longer had any bright feathers on his body. He only wore simple and old battle clothes, dressed like a civilian warrior, and no longer showed any nobility.

After so many years of fighting life and death, and witnessing the demise of the Tlaxcala Alliance, Black Snake has already taken a dim view of it and has returned to its original nature. As the clan leader, what he longs for most is to be able to farm the land with peace of mind, so that the Black Snake clan can truly take root, continue the sacred bloodline of its ancestors, and revitalize the people of Tlaxcala...

good! In the hearts of these Tlaxcala nobles, although the Four-State Alliance has been destroyed, millions of Tlaxcalas have been scattered all over the place, and have been annexed and ruled by the Mexica tribes... But as long as their divine blood is still there, then The legacy of the Cloud Snake continues, and the Tlaxcala people are still alive! On the contrary, if their last divine blood dies, even if tens of millions of lower-class tribesmen are still alive, the Tlaxcala people will be considered dead!

After all, in the eyes of these Yunshe survivors who came from noble families, divine blood is the symbol of the tribe and everything to the tribe! And the Burakumin at the bottom are not that important...

"The Lord God bless you! Nieka, there are many oak trees in this area, there is no shortage of good bow materials, and there are also skilled bow makers in the tribe. We Tlaxcala people should practice bows and arrows more and follow the traditions of our ancestors. It's just that To prosper the tribe, metal tools are still needed, including various copper wares, bronze wares, and the newly made iron wares made by the Prepecha people..."

Black Snake Turcotte looked to the east. The trees in the green mountains were generally tall and had a deep, rough and vibrant atmosphere, which was completely different from the dense mountain forests of the Mexica Plateau. He opened his mouth and stared greedily for a long time before solemnly asking his cronies.

"This time you went out to capture prisoners. Did you find any metal ores from those tree camps? For example, golden-green or yellow-green copper stone, or gray-black or crimson iron stone?..."

"Clan leader, I personally visited those camps and found no metal ore. I also asked the captured prisoners and they didn't see them either..."

The Black Snake Warrior and close confidant Nieka shook his head, with some regret in his expression. The Mexica Confederacy smelted large quantities of bronze, which was no secret to their old enemies, the Tlaxcala tribes.

What's more, Priest O'Hummingbird, who spreads the faith of the main god in the clan and guides compost farming, is from Tlaxcala. He studied at Qincongcan Shenwei University for two years and was one of the first batch of Tlaxcala priests to graduate quickly. Due to his devout faith, O'Hummingbird even gave up his former name of Tlaxcala and took the name of Hummingbird, which symbolizes the main god. Finally, he was selected by the Qin Congcan priest group in the royal capital and sent to the Black Snake clan as a preaching priest!

After the chief priest came to the Black Snake Clan, he really helped the clan a lot, and also brought a lot of new insights into the Lake Kingdom, including how to find copper and iron ore... Unfortunately, in the territory where the Black Snake Clan settled, There doesn't seem to be any metal deposits...

"Hey! May the Lord God bless you! May the ancestors bless you!..."

Black Snake Turcotte sighed regretfully. Although he also knew that if there were any easily discovered metal deposits here, the Lake Kingdom would not be able to entrust him here. The metal weapons and tools from the Sea Kingdom fleet trade are the biggest weapons to restrict the Black Snake Clan! The Black Snake clan already owes the kingdom a lot of supplies on credit, but there is very little output that can be used to offset the debt. If this continues...

"Clan Leader! Although we didn't find metal ore, we found this from the tree tribe's camp!..."

While he was talking, his close friend Nieka took out a small cloth bag from his arms. And as soon as he opened the bag, several pieces of emerald green jade and a few yellow-green gems reflected in the sunlight, dazzling the eyes of Black Snake Turcotte!

"Ah this? Lord God! This?... This is the best jade! It is crystal clear chrysoprase!..."

Black Snake Turcotte held up the jade and looked at the sun for a moment, then suddenly opened his eyes. As a former glorious nobleman, he is very familiar with this kind of top-notch jade. The tribes on the Mexica Plateau all respect jade, especially the divine turquoise, which is regarded as the best burial object for nobles!

"Okay! It's really the blessing of the Lord God and the blessing of the ancestors!...Nieka! Where do these fine jade stones come from? Have you found the real source of jade mines?..."

Black Snake Turcotte looked expectant and his tone became urgent. As a Tlaxcala survivor whom his uncle didn't care about and his grandma didn't love, he didn't have the long-term support from the kingdom's navigation system. The priest of O'Hummingbird has very little qualifications and is from Tlaxcala, so he cannot attract much support from the Kingdom of the Lake...

Therefore, a territorial specialty product that can be used for trade and can be produced stably is really crucial to the development of the Black Snake Clan! And for such a valuable jade, even if the price is reduced by half by the kingdom's merchant fleet, it can still be exchanged for a lot of precious food and bronzes!

"Haha! Blessed by the cloud snake ancestors!..."

Close confidant Nieka also looked uplifted and prayed with a smile. Since the Black Snake clan has converted to the only supreme god Huitziloppo, Miscuatl, the former god of hunting, can no longer be publicly prayed by the clan. Therefore, the main hunting god of the Tlaxcala people was deliberately demoted from "god" to "human" by the Black Snake clan, and continued to receive sacrifices in the clan as the "ancestor of the Cloud Snake".

Regarding this flexible change, Priest O'Hummingbird chose to turn a blind eye and let the ancestors return to the ancestors and the gods to the gods. After all, the source of the Black Snake clan's cohesion and their most stubborn glory is the so-called Cloud Snake God blood flowing in their bodies! …

Perhaps, only when the next generation of the Black Snake tribe grows up and replaces these stubborn old gods. Only then can they completely forget everything about the old gods, truly establish a devout belief in the main god from the bottom of their hearts, and integrate into the unified Jiaoren nation! …

"God bless you! The origin of these jades is in the coastal mountains more than a hundred miles away in the northwest. The origin of gems is in the mountains two hundred miles due north... Chief, you can't even imagine that I am on the coast in the northwest What did I see in the mountains? The towering seaside cliffs were full of emerald streams. The scene was unparalleled in beauty. It was obviously a rich source of jade and gemstones! And among the local Salinan people, it was called ' Shining Greenstone Bay'…”

Nieka narrowed her eyes and recalled the beautiful seaside scene, her face full of yearning from the bottom of her heart. The stream of light on the cliff contrasts with the turquoise sea water, like a resting sanctuary shrouded in turquoise. It is really an excellent cemetery that all tribes on the plateau dream of! If you can be buried there after death, you will surely be able to ascend to the Kingdom of God and have your soul become as immortal as jade, right?

"Ah! Shining Greenstone Bay?"

After hearing the description of his confidant, Black Snake Turcotte was obviously moved. At this time, the two of them did not know that this shining greenstone bay would later become the largest jade producing area in North America, the famous "Jade Cove"!

As the name suggests, "Jade Bay" is a bay formed by the jade mining belt. Here is the world’s only underwater deposit of high-quality nephrite with huge reserves! From the cliffs tens of meters high to hundreds of meters underwater, stretching for more than ten miles, there are rich jade mineral belts. There is also a large amount of jade produced in the surrounding mountains.

The green jade, sapphire, ruby ​​jade and grape jade produced in Jade Bay are extremely clear ice species due to long-term infiltration and erosion by sea water. At this time, East Asia was simply hard to find. And if these easily mined sea jade are transported to East Asia in large quantities, I am afraid it can completely change the jade market in the Ming Dynasty, really bring down the price of jade, benefit the scholar-officials, and allow all poor scholars to use good jade. ! …Ahem! Of course, one cannot be too poor. After all, the quality of jade is here, and poor scholars still have to work hard...

"Ah! There is such a strange treasure land!... Praise the Lord God! Nieka, I want to go with you in person! Go and see the shining Greenstone Bay, and see the future hope of the Black Snake Clan!..."

The jade shone with aura, dwarfing the dazzling gems. Black Snake Turcotte couldn't hide his excitement and stuffed the bag containing jade into his arms. Then, he ordered several clan elders to personally take his confidant Nieka and fifty black snake warriors and hurried to the northwest coast.