The weather is sunny and the wind is gentle. The soothing September comes to an end with raindrops, and the busy October also comes with bright sunshine.
At the lagoon bay where the kingdom's longship docked, a clearing has been cleared among the large palm trees and tung oil trees, 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 grass 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 led his militiamen to skillfully clear a new field and plant the cassava seedlings they brought. The new fields were roughly cultivated, only the taller shrubs were eradicated, and many low weeds remained. The land was also undulating, not very smooth, and there were 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, does not require water and fertilizer, and can survive as long as it is planted. It even has a strong competitive advantage against weeds in the field. As long as the climate is warm, it can grow tall quickly, up to 3 meters, usually around 2 meters. At such a height advantage, weeds in the field will be deprived of sunlight, squeeze out nutrients, and then wither and die.
What's even more exaggerated is that for such a tough and tenacious crop, the yield per mu is surprisingly high, and it is called the "King of Starch." In this era, even without the application of chemical fertilizers, cassava can produce hundreds or even thousands of kilograms per acre. With the addition of chemical fertilizers in later generations, it was easier to achieve an average yield of 2 tons per mu. Yes, you read that right, that’s the 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 amount of calories as one kilogram of polished rice. Of course, the taste between the two is incomparable. However, this is still food, food that can survive during times of famine. In the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China in later generations, this was once a common staple food in the south of China.
As for the only constraint on cassava, it is probably that it is a tropical crop and prefers hotter climates. It can also grow in temperate environments, but the yield will be significantly reduced. The most suitable continent for this crop is actually Black Africa south of the Sahara, which has a predominantly tropical climate.
In the 16th century, when this unusually high-yield 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. It once fed more than one billion African people!
At this moment, under the hot sunshine, the old militiaman Chihuaco was also squatting in the field, busy planting the last batch of cassava with Chief Splash. He has been learning to plant it for several days, and he loves this easy-to-live, high-yielding crop from the bottom of his heart.
It was not until noon that everyone finished their work. Chihuaco, an old militiaman, wiped his sweat and pulled Chief Splash, who had a gentle smile, and Kuba, the translator with a simple and honest face, to the newly built thatched hut. Then, he recruited Dark Snake, a priest apprentice who could write and draw, and asked him to record it carefully.
"Dark Snake, where are your pens and booklets? Take them out for me and remember what I say!"
"Ah? Captain dad, I haven't learned all the words of the alliance yet."
"It's okay. If you don't know how to 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 planting cassava, you don't need seeds, but seedlings. This seedling is..."
At this point, 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. If there are no diseases or insects, cut off the second half of the tubers, which are two or three palms long, and use them as seedlings. Planting is also very simple. Just dig a pit about a 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 you dig it out, you have to peel it and cut it into pieces. Then soak it in water. 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 recounted the details of growing and eating cassava. If there was anything unclear, he would ask Chief Shuihua, and he was more serious and careful than ever before. The young man An She memorized several pages and even drew 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 book. Dark Snake, you have a good memory, memorize it all for me. If you encounter a big wave when you go back and the book gets wet, you can memorize it again."
"I know, Dad. I'll carry it tonight."
"Good! So good! Praise the Lord God!"
After finishing all this, 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. It is worth it! This kind of land is not picky and is very productive. 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, so they can sprout."
While the old militiamen were busy preparing for the planting of cassava, there was also new progress on the part of the Tomat priests. He took several preaching priests and the divine priest Mecat, and worked hard for more than ten days. He built a clay charcoal kiln and burned the first batch of charcoal.
Speaking of which, the island of Cuba is rich in minerals and has abundant oil and gas along the coast. The only thing it lacks is coal. The kingdom’s fleet circled most of the island and had never heard of any “black stone” that could burn. Priest Tomat also sent out manpower to search, but unfortunately there was no success. Therefore, in order to burn bricks to build temples and to smelt iron ore in Tiewan Town, they could only rely on the common method taught in Shenwei University and burn charcoal.
"Hey! God bless you! This small Malabu tree didn't emit much smoke when burning charcoal. I thought the kiln had failed, but I didn't expect it."
Priest Mekart's eyes widened and he looked at the charcoal being burned 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 Shenqi Institute, this is the best charcoal, smokeless white charcoal!
"It has so much firepower and no smoke. It is indeed the best charcoal!"
Priest Tuomat 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's 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 Mecat scratched his head and chatted a few words with the newly converted Maria tribe hunter and guide Black Stone. Then, he showed his face clearly, patted the other party's shoulder, praised with a smile, and looked at Priest Tomat again.
"Heishi just said that their 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. , specially 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. Its seeds have an oil content of up to 40%, making them almost the best oil crop. In the field of new energy in later generations, the kernel of the tung oil tree is one of the main raw materials for producing biodiesel and has been widely introduced and planted in tropical Africa and India.
"Okay! Very good! Guide Heishi, you have made a great contribution!"
Priest Thomas nodded, reached out and fumbled in his arms for a while, and then took out a silver sun hummingbird amulet. Then, he solemnly put the talisman of the main god on the neck of the guide Black Stone and declared in a deep voice in Taino language.
"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 shiny and cool silver emblem, which was exactly the same as the emblem engraved on his forehead. Heishi closed his eyes and prayed a few words sincerely, feeling heat surge 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 Malabu tree, the trunks are 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. He grabbed the guide Heishi and shouted excitedly.
"Quickly, go quickly! Show me the seeds of the Malabu tree!"
"The top priority in the kingdom is conquest. 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 are such small oil-producing trees, I must give enough tree species to Captain Chihuaco before he returns!"
(End of chapter)
