Chapter 740: The second exploration of the kingdom, preparations before the return trip, Cubas outstanding crops
The weather is sunny and the wind is gentle. The soothing September is coming to an end with raindrops, and the busy October is also coming with bright sunshine.
At the lagoon bay where the kingdom's longship docked, among the large palm trees and tung oil trees, a clearing has been cleared, and two simple wooden warehouses have been built, a row of huts and tents for warriors to live, and a small area for young men to live in.
Open-air straw bed. Among the two warehouses, one stores copper and stone tools for logging and mining, and the other stores food and fresh water. Both are guarded by armored kingdom warriors.
At a slightly higher point near the river, Chief Shuihua and his militiamen skillfully cleared a new field and planted the cassava seedlings they brought. The new field was roughly cultivated, only taller shrubs were eradicated, and some cassava seedlings were planted.
There are many low weeds left, the land is undulating, not very smooth, and there are even some stones.
But it doesn’t matter. Unlike most delicate and delicate crops, cassava is an exceptionally tough and outstanding crop. It does not require careful care, water and fertilizer, and can survive as long as it is planted. It even has the ability to deal with weeds in the field.
Extremely strong competitive advantage. As long as the climate is warm, it can grow tall quickly, up to 3 meters, usually around 2 meters. Under such a height advantage, weeds in the field will be deprived of sunlight and nutrients, and then
Wither and die.
What's even more exaggerated is that the yield per mu of such a tough and tenacious crop is surprisingly high, and it is called the "King of Starch". In this era, even without the application of chemical fertilizers, cassava could yield hundreds or even thousands of kilograms per mu. And later generations have
After supplementing with chemical fertilizers, it is easier to achieve an average yield of 2 tons per mu. Yes, you read that right, it is a terrifying figure of 2 tons per mu!
Moreover, the starch content of fresh cassava is about 30%, which is much higher than that of potatoes and sweet potatoes. More than two kilograms of cassava provides the same calories as one kilogram of polished rice. Of course, the taste of the two is incomparable. However, this
It is still food, the food that can keep people alive during times of famine. In the later Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, this was once a common staple food in the south of the Celestial Empire.
As for the only restriction on cassava, it is probably that it is a tropical crop and prefers a hotter climate. It can also grow in temperate environments, but the yield will be significantly reduced. The most suitable continent for this crop is actually south of the Sahara.
, Black Africa with a predominantly tropical climate.
In the 16th century, when this unusually high-yielding tropical crop spread to the sub-Saharan region, the population of various parts of Black Africa ushered in long-term and stable growth with the rapid expansion of cassava cultivation area! Until five hundred years later,
Cassava is still the lifeline of the African people and the only vital staple food for poor farmers, once feeding more than one billion African people!
At this moment, under the scorching sun, the old militiaman Chihuaco was also squatting in the field, busy planting the last batch of cassava with Chief Splash. He had been learning to plant it for several days, and he was very interested in this easy job.
High-yielding crops come from the heart and are loved from the bottom of your heart.
It wasn't until noon that everyone finished their work. Chihuaco, the old militiaman, wiped his sweat and took Chief Splash with a gentle smile and Kuba, the translator with a simple face, to the newly built grass shed. Then, he summoned a group of
Write about Dark Snake, a priest's apprentice who can draw, and ask him to record it carefully.
"Dark Snake, where are your pen and booklet? Take them out for me and remember what I said!"
"Ah? Captain dad, I haven't learned all the words of the alliance yet."
"It's okay. If you can't write, just draw pictures! Don't you also know how to write graphics? Anyway, just write them down and you can recognize them!"
"Uh, I'm ready, Captain Daddy."
"Ahem! Well, remember, when growing cassava, you don't need seeds, but seedlings. This seedling is..."
Having said this, Chihuaco paused, a little unsure. He looked at Chief Splash and Bowser, gestured and chatted for a while before speaking again.
"For seedlings, you need to select the ones with bud mouths and latex in the incisions from the main tubers. Cut off the second half of the tubers that are disease-free and insect-free. The tubers that are two or three palms long can be used as seedlings. Planting is also very simple.
Just dig a pit one palm deep, bury the seedlings upright, and then insert them."
"The planted cassava seedlings can be harvested stably after more than ten months to a year. When harvesting, dig the soil along the roots, take out only part of the tuber, and leave some to continue to grow. Be careful not to damage it.
Broken, this thing breaks easily.”
"Well, cassava is very easy to spoil! After digging it out, you need to peel it and cut it into pieces. Then soak it in water and soak it hard. Remember, this thing is poisonous. If you don't soak it in water, it can poison people! And soaking in water can detoxify.
When you eat it, be sure to boil it again in boiling water to remove any remaining poison, and then you’ll be fine.”
Chihuaco, an old militiaman, rambled on and explained all the details about growing and eating cassava. If there was anything unclear, he asked Chief Splash. He was so serious and careful as never before. The young man An She remembered
There are several pages and even pictures.
"Phew! How about it? Have you remembered everything?"
"I've recorded it all, Dad. It's all in this book!"
"Well, it's not safe to write it down in the booklet. Dark Snake, you have a good memory, memorize it all for me. If you encounter a big wave when you go back and the booklet gets wet, you can memorize it again."
"I know, Dad. I'll memorize it tonight."
"Good! So good! Praise the Lord God!"
After all this was done, the old militiaman took a long breath and prayed sincerely. Then, he took a large basket of prepared cassava seedlings from Chief Shuihua and held it tightly in his arms.
"Tsk, tsk! That blind Highness finally opened his eyes. As long as I bring this basket of cassava seedlings back to the land in the lake, I will die this time, and it will be considered worthwhile! This kind of non-picking and high yield
If these precious things could be grown in my hometown, how many more people would live!"
"No, it won't work. There's only one basket, and it's still not very stable. When I get to the west of Cuba and prepare to cross to the Maya, I'll have to find the local tribe and ask for another basket of fresh ones that will sprout easily."
While the old militiamen were busy preparing for the planting of cassava, priest Tomat also made new progress. He took several preaching priests and the divine priest Mecat and worked hard for more than ten days.
, built a clay charcoal kiln and fired the first batch of charcoal.
Speaking of which, the island of Cuba is rich in minerals, and there is plenty of oil and gas along the coast. The only thing lacking is coal. The kingdom's fleet has circled most of the island, and has never heard of any "black stone" that can burn. Priest Tomat
We also sent out manpower to search, but unfortunately there was no success. Therefore, if Tiewan Town needs to burn bricks to build temples and smelt iron ore, it can only rely on the general method taught in Shenwei University, burning charcoal.
"Hey! God bless you! This small Malabu tree never produced much smoke when burning charcoal. I thought the kiln had failed, but I didn't expect it."
Priest Mekat's eyes widened and he looked at the charcoal being tested beside the earthen kiln. The charcoal was black with white in it. It burned with an amazing amount of fire, but there was still no smoke. Obviously, according to the standards of the Institute of Inspiration, this was the best quality.
Good charcoal, smokeless white charcoal!
"It has so much firepower and no smoke. It is indeed the best charcoal!"
Priest Thomas touched his chin and looked at the charcoal fire in front of him, his expression suddenly became excited.
"This must be a blessing from the Lord God! It was specially prepared for us by the Lord God in order to allow us to smelt iron ore! By the way, what is the name of the small tree where we burn charcoal?"
"Well, the Taino people call it 'Marabou'. It is said to be a small tree, but in fact, based on its thickness and height, it can only be regarded as a shrub. According to the guide Black Stone, this kind of small tree grows everywhere on the island of Cuba.
, more than palm trees, growing like crazy.”
Priest Mekat scratched his head and chatted a few words with the newly converted Maria tribe hunter and guide Black Stone. Then, he showed his face and patted the other party's shoulder, praised him with a smile, and looked at Tomat again.
priest.
"Heishi just said that the hunters who go out to hunt like to cut down this kind of small tree as firewood in the wild. Because after this kind of tree is cut, it is oily inside and has enough fire to burn. So he knows that we need to burn firewood.
, I specifically recommend this kind of wood!.”
The "Marabu" tree known to the Taíno population is actually a native tree species on the island of Cuba. In later generations, it was called jatropha or tung oil tree. This tree is rich in oil, and its branches and trunk can produce the highest quality charcoal.
.And its seeds, with an oil content of up to 40%, are almost the best type of oil crops. In the field of new energy in later generations, the kernels of the tung oil tree are one of the main raw materials for producing biodiesel and have been widely introduced.
Planted in tropical Africa and India.
"Okay! Very good! Guide Heishi, you have made a great contribution!"
Priest Tomat nodded, reached out and groped in his arms for a while, and then took out a silver sun hummingbird amulet. Then, he solemnly put the amulet of the main god on the neck of the guide Black Stone and spoke in Taino language.
Declared in a deep voice.
"The Lord God protects you! This is the blessing of the God, and it will guide your soul to the beautiful Kingdom of God after death!"
The guide Blackstone bowed his head respectfully and accepted the blessing from the powerful longship priest. He touched the shining and cool silver emblem, which was exactly the same as the emblem engraved on his forehead. Blackstone closed his eyes and prayed devoutly.
After two sentences, there was a surge of heat in his heart. Then, he opened his eyes, thought of something again, and responded excitedly.
"Praise to the mighty Lord God! Praise to the mighty longship priest! That, the Malabou tree, the trunk is very good and easy to burn! And, their seeds are even better! Lots of oil, lots of oil!"
"Huh? Oily seeds?"
Hearing this, Priest Tuomat was stunned for a while, and his eyes suddenly shone with light. He grabbed the guide Black Stone and shouted excitedly.
"Quickly, go quickly! Show me the seeds of the Malabu tree!"
"Conquests are the top priority in the kingdom. Bows and crossbows need to be oiled for maintenance, bronze weapons need to be oiled, and leather armor and shields also need to be oiled. The most lacking military resources at the moment is oil! The most lacking thing in the kingdom is also oil crops.
.”
"If there is such a small oil-producing tree, I must give Captain Chihuaco enough tree species to him before he returns!"
