Chapter 111: Mexico 'will be a young manor': Longbow and papermaking
Early the next morning, Shulot was awakened by the rhythm of his body. He looked out the window, the morning light was faint, and the sounds of the city were faintly heard in his ears. In this era, civilians always work early in the morning to make full use of every sunrise.
Minutes of sunshine. Last night's dream was of the glorious Maya. Today, in front of us is a prosperous capital city, and the fire of civilization is rising.
The boy then got up and went to the courtyard full of flowers and trees. In the cold morning, Bertard had prepared a tank of cold water. First, there was a half-hour cold bath, then an hour of physical training, and an hour of fighting.
practise.
The hard training was long and busy. It wasn't until sweat flowed from his forehead to his feet and the explosive power of his muscles was completely exhausted that Shulot collapsed on the bench. The guards handed over nuts and boiled eggs to supplement protein to maintain physical fitness.
cocoa drink. The maids came forward to massage the whole body. The boy relaxed his body while thinking about today's itinerary.
The martial arts of a samurai need to be accumulated over time, and the iron will needs to be constantly polished. As long as conditions permit, the young man's training will never be interrupted. In his view, the strength of a person lies in self-discipline, and the most important thing is to control one's own life. And Mexico
The Japanese warrior tradition also placed temperance and self-control second, next to devotion to the gods.
By the time Shulot had breakfast, the old carpenter Kuaud was already waiting in the front yard with several craftsmen. The young man put on a high-level priest's uniform and nodded to the new director of craftsmen. The two of them were standing beside the captain of the bodyguard and the elite warriors.
Under their protection, he headed straight for the craftsman district of the capital.
Today's plan is to examine the capital's artisan production and mining industries, simply called "industry."
Shulot wore a priest's robe and walked in the bustling market. Along the way were warriors who bowed their heads in greeting, and civilians who knelt down to salute.
Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce. In Mexica society, the highest status was the priests and warriors. The remaining peasants, craftsmen and merchants had equal status, and they all belonged to the dominated rulers. The peasants had no freedom at all and were subordinate to the nobles everywhere.
High-level craftsmen have a certain degree of freedom and are controlled by the royal family and the priesthood. Merchants have the highest degree of freedom and the least security.
The first stop is the craftsmanship center responsible for military production, the Mexica's "general master". The craftsmanship center is located in the northeast of the capital, between the Armory of the Fire Temple and the War Spear Throwing Temple, close to Texco
By the Lake Ke. This location can take advantage of the waterway to facilitate the transportation of raw materials.
The morning sun reflected the lake and the causeway in a golden color. Shulot looked towards the lake. Under the supervision of hundreds of warriors, dozens of large boats loaded with thousands of people were heading to the Tampen River in the north. Their
Most of them were stone axes, and a small part were precious bronze axes. Next, they were going to the logging camp in the north to cut high-quality wood for the alliance's longbow production. They were not allowed to return even in the New Year.
Also setting off was a fleet of navy ships loaded with food, headed for the Xilotepec camp in the north. No matter how the capital changed, the brutal sieges continued in the northern city-states. The Greeks, who had been abandoned by the Otomi Alliance,
The city of Lotepec can no longer hold on for long. And on the lake farther away, there are a series of large boats, dragging long pieces of wood, returning from the north.
Shulot's heart moved. He carefully observed the expressions of the civilian husbands and warriors, but only saw simplicity and obedience. There was a faint noise in the wind.
The young man took a few steps forward and listened to the conversation of the people. Even after a few weeks, the people still praised the grandness of the enthronement ceremony, regretted the missed New Year's sacrifices, and subconsciously sang praises to the gods. Even though the war brought
Despite the labor, taxes and death, Mexica society still sings and dances in sacrificial celebrations.
Under the comfort of the gods, the Mexica people have long been accustomed to war. They long for victory and blood, hate defeat, but never tire of war.
Shulot listened quietly for a moment and finally understood the spiritual power the elder said.
"We are a true militaristic society. Mexica people are either preparing for war or on the way to war. The bloodthirsty god is so powerful that he maintains the hearts of society and makes war a part of life."
The fleet of ships in the distance gradually approached, and finally arrived at the lake shore. Then, the wood was replaced by a small boat to be towed, and they went inward through the intertwined waterways. The two followed the small boat and entered the large-scale craftsmanship center.
The craftsmanship center was full of fully armed warriors. Under the command of the warrior captain, the boat docked at a special location, and dozens of civilians swarmed on board, dragged the wood ashore, and sent it to a special place for drying. Shulot waved his hand,
He stopped the samurai captain from saluting and continued to observe silently.
The place where the wood is dried is a simple earthen kiln. In order to save time, it is dried manually. Xiulote looked at the shape of the earthen kiln and remembered the plots that passed by in some books. He knew that there was a lot of tricks in it.
, but didn't know how to do it specifically. In the end, he could only say a few vague words, "Hot air drying, the temperature should not be too high...".
The old carpenter who had been in the industry for decades said respectfully, with a half-smile on his face. The young man blushed slightly and said no more.
Then, the peasants took out the dried wood from the earth kiln and transported it to the processing point. Shulot recognized it for a moment and sighed slightly.
"Kouod, is this a cedar tree?"
"Yes. Your Highness, the processing of sandalwood and ironwood consumes too much manpower and tools, and only bronze axes can barely handle it. In order to complete the number of longbows required by the king and you, we can only process fir and oak.
host."
Kuaud responded respectfully.
Xiuluo nodded. He and Avitt had long ago reached a consensus to make longbow production the top priority of the alliance. For this reason, he even asked the elders for instructions to slow down the expansion of the Great Temple to gather more craftsmen.
.
The elder looked at him with calm eyes for a long time, and then nodded slightly. He once again told the young man to prepare for war. The war to ascend the throne after the autumn harvest is the first war after the religious reform, and it will also be a war that will destroy the country. Only
You can win, you can't lose.
"What is the current daily production of longbows?" Shulot asked seriously.
Kuod calculated for a moment and answered cautiously and conservatively.
"I now have two to three thousand civilians and three to four hundred craftsmen. I can make forty to fifty high-quality longbows and thousands of arrows every day. I am also responsible for making paper from bark and scrap wood. The main production limit is skilled bow craftsmen.
There is also a shortage of metal tools. There is no shortage of high-quality wood."
Shulot frowned slightly. This efficiency was much lower than he expected. This time the alliance went on an expedition, he planned to form at least an eight thousand-man regiment of longbow warriors. If losses were included, more than ten thousand longbow warriors would be needed.
Bow. In the future, he plans to make the long bow a standard equipment for warriors and let them practice it from an early age.
After thinking for a moment, the young man laughed slightly at himself. A longbow requires decades of practice to truly take shape. Mexica warriors have always despised bows and arrows. Among the longbow guards he formed, most of the warriors were from civilians and poor families. Therefore, they grew up with
Bow hunting helps subsidize the family's bow and arrow foundation. If an organized longbow corps is to be formed, it is still unknown whether eight thousand warriors who are familiar with bows and arrows can be gathered.
Shulot's thoughts were running wild. He remembered the old hunter and the girl he had seen when he first captured prisoners. The tribesmen and village hunters in the mountains and forests could shoot birds with simple hunting bows, which was a good source of longbow soldiers.
.They do not need to be armored and can be used as a raiding force similar to the Welsh Longbow Militia.
"I just received a batch of copper ore from the merchants of Tarasco yesterday, and I have allocated it to you to make bronze tools! I will give you two hundred more craftsmen, and the daily production of high-quality longbows will increase to at least sixty. In one month, it will be
To a hundred!"
He made up his mind that the more longbows he had, the better. Archers could be recruited from all over the place, but if that didn't work, the warriors would be able to get close and shoot. Shooting with a coverage of fifty meters should be able to hit the target.
"I will send a hundred warriors to supervise. Each bow will be marked with the name of the craftsman, and rewards and punishments will be evaluated. For outstanding and diligent craftsmen, rewards will be made of cotton cloth, gold and silver, craftsman positions and even land, and their children will be accepted as warriors! For lazy and inefficient craftsmen,
, be whipped, and detain family members. If the bow breaks three times, the craftsmen will be beheaded and the children will be demoted to slaves!"
Shulot's face was majestic, and his tone was full of murderous intent. The upcoming war put great pressure on him, and he must do his best to improve the combat effectiveness of the army. Because the goal of this war is to possess bronze weapons and equipment
, the powerful Tarascans.
The gradually strengthening religious reform has begun to make the nobles dissatisfied. Only a strong central army and only a glorious war victory can have absolute power and prestige to further promote the reform!
Looking at the young man's stern face and feeling the formidable gaze, Kuod's heart shivered and he felt deep awe. The once innocent boy had grown into a majestic divine enlightener. Thinking of this, he put away his smile and respectfully
He lowered his head and saluted solemnly.
The surroundings were quiet for a while, and the craftsmen all knelt down in fear and saluted. Shulot waved his hand and asked the craftsmen to continue. He continued to watch for a while. The craftsmen used rulers to draw marks, sawed the wood with copper tools, and made the bow body.
, practice the bow one by one. Then use hemp fiber as the new bow string, among which sisal rope is the toughest. Finally, it is bonded with bone glue.
The completed longbows are sent to a special school for testing by longbow warriors. Those that pass the test are stored in a special warehouse, waiting for the guards to pick them up. The remaining bark and miscellaneous materials are transported to the papermaking workshop and soaked in ponds of lime water.
Carry out pre-degumming treatment.
The old carpenter arranged the workshop area in a clear order, and everything was orderly. The large craftsmanship center was full of supervising samurai, busy craftsmen, and civilians transporting raw materials. Further inside, there are cotton armor, wooden shields and
The production center of obsidian weapons. For these traditional arms manufacturing, the Mexicans have decades of mature experience and no need for outside guidance.
Shulot nodded slightly. He then turned around, no longer affecting military production, but heading to the papermaking workshop not far away.
The scale of the papermaking workshop has expanded tenfold, and there are hundreds of busy craftsmen. Hundreds of people are constantly transporting bark, burlap, bamboo and reeds. Under his suggestion, special water tanks and alleys were also built.
When set up, the former is used to swing materials into the curtain, and the latter is used to dry paper.
Load after load of paper was made into shapes and given priority to the priesthood of the capital. Here the paper would be copied by the deacons into the first books, and then distributed to the Kalmykak noble school. Now, the professor of writing has just graduated from the priests
The regiment has developed into a noble school, and it is still early for it to spread to civilian military schools in various communities.
Hulot smiled. Words and books are the foundation for the prosperity of civilization. For the emerging Mexica civilization, investment in education is a top priority. At the same time, he has recruited several outstanding pyramid mural carvings.
The preliminary experiments of engraving and printing began. When the compilation of religious classics is completed, they will be printed as quickly as possible and spread into the hands of every priest.
Later, the boy picked up the newly made paper and inspected it carefully. Under Mexico's strict regulations, the toughness of the paper was guaranteed, but it was generally thicker. The color of the paper was still mixed with yellowish, grayish or even
Brownish.
Xuelote scratched his head a little. The color of the paper comes from the lignin in the pulp, and papermaking should have a bleaching process. How to do bleaching? The young man thought hard for a long time. It seems that sunlight exposure, microbial decomposition, and plant ash treatment can achieve bleaching.
.
He then continued to order, and the old carpenter bowed his hands.
"Offer a reward to the craftsmen! The person who discovers the paper bleaching craft will be promoted to a senior craftsman, recruit a royal warrior from the family, and be rewarded with a hundred bolts of cotton, ten hectares of milpa, and a box of gold and silver! Prioritize the methods of sunlight, soaking, and plant ash processing.
"
Upon hearing this reward, the craftsmen present instantly turned red-eyed. They knelt down and saluted respectfully and silently, but there was a different kind of twinkle in their eyes.
Xiulote shook his head slightly. The status of craftsmen was limited. Chinampa could only be granted to warriors, priests and nobles, because craftsmen could not keep their jobs at all.
"Go back and discuss with Avitt. The alliance must set up a special craftsman warrior title and formulate a promotion system for craftsmen to accommodate the increasingly important craftsman groups in the future."
"After all, science and technology are the primary productive forces."
Thinking of this, the young man smiled and strode away. Next, he would inspect the production of private industry and mining. At the same time, he would look for sources of soldiers to form a new army.
