Chapter 611: The Second Kingdom Exploration, Black Oil and Vanilla in Crow City
The warm breeze of January blows across the tropical coast of the Gulf of Mexico, bringing humidity and heat. The sea breeze blows westward along the Cat Eagle River for seven to eighty miles before arriving at the southern ancestral homeland of the Huastec people.
A prosperous riverside city-state, Crow City Papantla.
Several gray crows circled the horizon, looking down at the familiar city walls, villages and temples below, as well as seven unfamiliar slender long ships. Hundreds of shirtless Huastec craftsmen were gathered around the edge of the long ship.
, holding a dark clay pot in his hand, lowering his head and busy with something.
After a while, a crow curiously lowered its height and stopped at the top of the longship's mast. Then, it stared at the round eyes, turned slightly, and squawked triumphantly at the black wolf flag flying on the mast.
.
"Quack! Quack!"
"Um?"
Hearing the cry, the old militiaman Chihuaco raised his head and saw the proud crow standing on the mast. The old militiaman's face suddenly turned into a smile.
"The crows have fallen and croaked crisply! Good! It's a rare good omen!"
Well, yes, this is really a good omen! In Central America at this time, crows would often fall during sacrificial rituals. They were like messengers descending from the sky after praying to the gods, carrying the mysterious gods.
Sex. Similarly, they will also appear when an old man is about to die, like the messenger of death, guiding the soul of the deceased. Therefore, in various Central American tribes that worship death, crows are indeed an auspicious bird.
"Damn it!...This hot coastal lowland is much hotter than the plateau upstream of Cat Eagle River!"
Puap, wearing a wooden eagle helmet, looked up at the blazing sun and complained. Then he looked at the busy Huastec craftsmen on the shore and shook his head.
"These Huastecs are all good at dancing, and the women's waists are so weak that it would kill us warriors... But is it possible to repair the ship? It took more than 20 days to repair it, and it was always...
Almost..."
It was early January, and more than a month had passed since the fleet entered the water at the end of November last year. The Kingdom’s exploration fleet first set sail from the Herb Lake, followed the upper tributary of the Cat Eagle River, and merged into the Cat Eagle River.
Then, they headed north and then turned east, bypassing steep waterfalls and slower tributaries. If they encountered an unavoidable waterfall on the way, they had to board the shore and pull the fiber in the opposite direction.
to prevent the ship from being damaged...
It took the kingdom's fleet half a month and traveled a total of more than 600 miles of waterways before arriving at Crow City on the edge of the East China Sea. After arriving at Crow City, there was a long period of repairs and waiting.
During the more than 600 miles of waterway, the altitude dropped by more than 2,000 meters! The surrounding temperature also increased a lot, from the warmth of the tropical plateau to the heat of the tropical lowlands.
"Phew! Coming down from the upper reaches is like peeing in the wind, so fast and urgent. If it weren't for the speed, we could even travel a hundred miles in a day! The rock walls on both sides are very dangerous, there are bumps and bumps all the way, and there are gaps everywhere on the boat.
. Several times, they almost broke apart! ...I heard that there are many severe storms in the eastern sea. How can these seven longships go to sea again unless they are repaired?"
Recalling the difficult voyage before, the old militiamen shook their heads and sighed. The gap across the Sierra Madre Oriental Mountains was indeed too great, and the navigation was dangerous. This was just the beginning. There were still more than four thousand miles to go before we left the sea.
sea route!
Then, we return from the sea and travel another four to five thousand miles. Then, we go upstream from the mouth of the sea and climb up such a high drop before we can return to Tlaxcala. From there, we have to sail on dry land again.
It took me a thousand miles to return to the Kingdom in the Lake and see my son-in-law, daughter, and grandchildren who don’t know how old they are...
Thinking of all this, the old militiaman felt sad and his eyes turned red. He looked at the western sky and cursed fiercely in his heart.
"This blind Highness deserves to be struck by thunder!..."
"Captain, the Vastek craftsmen say that the ship will be repaired in one day!"
Dark Snake lowered his head, cautiously approached and reported to the old militiaman. The four states of Tlaxcala are adjacent to Huastec, and there are many business exchanges. Dark Snake himself can also speak some daily Huastec language. Old Militiaman
He was then arranged to participate in the communication on ship repairs.
Many craftsmen and sailors of the expedition fleet were also arranged to repair the ship together. Didi, the newly joined sailor, worked harder than anyone else from morning to night, forcing everyone to speed up.
"It's almost fixed?"
Hearing this, the old militiaman was a little surprised. Wearing a straw hat, he walked to the side of the boat and saw Huastek craftsmen using a dark, sticky liquid with some black soft crumbs.
Stones and lakes are found in various places on the longboat. The damaged wooden boards and the holes made by the collision were filled with these black oily gravels and solidified into a hard shape.
"It's really a strange black oil. It smells weirder than swamp mud! ... Well, after repairing it, it is indeed no longer leaking."
The old militiaman sniffed his nose and smelled the pungent smell of black oil. Then he touched the gap that had been filled and felt the adhesion on his fingertips, thoughtfully.
The Huastec craftsmen had long told him that this was the "black oil" produced in underground pits. It was the essence of the Earth Mother Goddess and could withstand the power of the Storm God on the Eastern Sea! For hundreds of years, the gas along the coast has
The Turk tribe used this black oil and soft gravel to repair damaged canoes.
And if Shulot came here and saw these black oil and soft gravel, he would definitely be surprised and call out their two names in later generations.
“Oil and asphalt!”
Yes, the Crow City of the Huastec people is located on the oil fields on the Gulf Coast. Hundreds of miles to the north is the Tampico Oil Field with huge reserves, and hundreds of miles to the east is Canta on the sea.
Leer Oilfield, one of the largest oil fields in the world!
In fact, the entire coastal Bay of Campeche, from the lowlands of the Huastec people to the rain forests of the Totonac people, contains rich reserves of oil. There is even so much oil here that it can be directly extracted from deep pits in the ground.
When it emerges, it will make the dynasties of later generations shed tears! Natural asphalt is also a common associated mineral in large oil fields.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The old militiaman lowered his head and inspected the dark long boat for a long time. He first tested the waterproofing and then the hardness. After this repair,
The longship's toughness is even better than before! The only drawback is that the ship is heavier and the load capacity is slightly reduced... A smile finally appeared on the old militiaman's face.
"Okay, it's good after it's fixed! Dark Snake, go and inform the tomato priest in Crow City and the long-headed Mayan businessman. Let them come back early and be ready to go!"
"Yes, Captain."
Dark Snake nodded, carrying a bronze spear, and ran to Crow City, which was more than ten miles away. On the outskirts of Crow City, along the abundant Cat Eagle River, a large area of farmland was reclaimed. Some farmland has even been planted with
Here comes the kidney beans. In the tropical lowlands that are always hot, there is no longer a strict time limit for the cultivation of crops, and it can even be harvested three times a year. However, the lack of fertilizers in the farmland strictly limits the number of cultivations.
The only thing that can be cultivated multiple times is beans that fix nitrogen and increase fertilizer.
Soon, when they arrived at the edge of Crow City, the faint fragrance greeted them. Dark Snake looked curiously and saw some carefully tended small fields with low herbs growing on them. Seeing this, Dark Snake sipped
He pursed his lips, recalling the taste of vanilla venison, and swallowed secretly.
Crow City is the origin of many Central American vanillas. The domestication of vanilla began thousands of years ago. Without the vanilla here, the milk tea of later generations would probably lose its soul.
The Dark Snake kept walking, showed the fleet's token, and then, led by the Huastec warriors, came to the Silver Crow leader's tent. Well, there are too many storms along the coast, and hurricanes will pass through every two years.
Due to insufficient construction technology, tall wooden and stone buildings are not safe. Instead, tents, huts and caves are the most common here.
In the big tent, the aroma was fragrant. The priest Thomas smiled and took a sip of cocoa with vanilla added. Opposite him, a middle-aged chief sat cross-legged, wearing a gold necklace around his neck.
Sun Talisman looked at the straw mat on the ground, thoughtfully.
Then, Priest Tomat stretched out his hand and pointed to the Ali Sutra unfolded on the straw mat. While sketching the picture of the main god on it, he explained it in a deep voice.
"...Cold comes and summer comes, autumn harvests and winter hides. The Lord God controls the changes in the cold and warmth of the heaven and earth, and controls the storms of the sea and land! She bestows rich harvests on those who obey, and sends divine disasters on those who disobey, causing the earth to fail to harvest and all humans and animals to die.
Those who die from divine disasters will sink into the abyss of the earth and will never be able to escape!..."
"Dear Chief Papata, only by completely converting to the Lord God and completely abandoning the belief in the Quetzalcoatl... can the Silver Crow Tribe obtain God's blessing, survive the continuous hurricanes, and even obtain a harvest from God!"