The breeze is bright and the moon is bright, the sky is bright and the sun is rising. Day and night alternate, and messengers come and go. For several days, Shulot stayed in the camp outside the city, processing the messages sent back from all parties.
Only when dusk fell did he have time to go to the city to see Naxiu, who was growing weak, and his newborn but strong son. Then, when the morning sun rose, he returned to the camp and continued to handle military and political affairs with the assistance of the captain of the guard, Ekart.
"The head of the family, from the southern coast of the Kingdom, reported from the Black Rock Mountain Divine Enlightenment Office. The iron ore output of Black Rock Mountain is steadily increasing. The relatively cheap iron farm tools have saved a lot of manpower in this year's autumn harvest in the two southern counties. The two southerners The county governor sent thousands of laborers to the mining area to cut wood, burn charcoal, and excavate ore. The output of iron farm tools has almost doubled!"
"Well. Iron plows plow the land, iron hoes weed, and iron sickles harvest... There are also iron axes to cut wood, and iron knives to chop firewood. The promotion of iron tools can improve the kingdom's most fundamental production capacity! The importance of popularizing iron tools must be closely related to The same as agriculture, put it first!..."
Xiuluo nodded and gave clear instructions. However, the kingdom's iron ore reserves are still too small compared with copper, gold and silver mines. He couldn't help but think of the giant iron ore belt in Cuba and the deep iron ore belt in Colima, and asked in a deep voice.
"It's been almost a year, and there's still no news about the kingdom's exploration fleet?"
"Reporting to the head of the family, there is no latest news. The last information General Black Wolf got from the Totonak prisoners was that half a year ago, the exploration fleet left Hidden Snake City and headed east to Maya. And due to the war along the coast , the Mayan trade route was temporarily suspended, and there is no further Mayan information.”
"That's it! The exploration of Cuba... God bless you!"
Hearing this, Shulot lowered his eyes and prayed sincerely. Then, he touched his chin and asked in a deep voice.
"What about the Colima Mountains? How did Chief Colima respond to the kingdom's various requests?"
"The chief of Colima promised to mobilize a thousand tribesmen to excavate the volcanic ash near the Colima volcano to supply the kingdom's engineering construction. And as compensation, the kingdom would give him a thousand-man battalion of bronze spears and copper axes! ..."
"As for the search for iron ore, the hinterland of the Colima Mountains will be further opened to the team exploring the tribe's territory. As long as the team does not enter the tribe's most important sacred mountains and hot springs, other areas will be allowed to pass. !...Finally, he has a sincere request!”
"Huh? What request?"
"He requested that if the Alliance really finds the hard 'iron stone' that the ancestors used to forge magical weapons... then he doesn't want property or gems, as long as the kingdom opens a smelting and forging nearby in the Colima Mountains. A place! He can provide men, labor and guard warriors, and the iron produced will be divided between the Kingdom of the Lake and the Colima Tribe!"
"What's the share of iron? What's the ratio?"
"He said it's 50-50...but depending on what the messenger wants, we can discuss the details!"
"Ha! Joint development, win-win cooperation... Chief Colima is really a character! This request to lay eggs is made at this time... The kingdom really cannot refuse!..."
Hearing such a request, Shulot was a little surprised and sighed. He shook his head. He really didn't expect that Chief Colima who stayed in the mountains would have such knowledge!
If the kingdom finds iron ore, the best solution is to mine and smelt it nearby. The development of iron ore requires a large number of miners, blacksmiths and fuel. Given the relatively isolated terrain of the Colima Mountains, it is indeed inseparable from the support of local tribes.
The meaning of this request is that the kingdom provides technology and craftsmen, and the Colima tribe provides labor and resources to achieve the fastest development speed!
In this way, the Colima Tribe and the Kingdom of the Lake were more deeply bound. The closer the relationship between the two parties, the greater the common interests, and the smaller the possibility of war.
As for the complete pacification of the Colima Mountains, the subjugation of the Nantecos tribes, the re-establishment of stable order, and the mining of iron ore... the Kingdom's stall is currently too spread out and cannot concentrate its strength in a short period of time. This series of steps will take at least several years. At this time, what Shulot lacked most was time.
"Ekart, Yinmar, the chief of Colima, is over fifty, right?"
"Yes, head of the family! Yinmar, the great chief of Colima, was a contemporary of your grandfather. Although he is younger, he must be over fifty years old! He is getting stronger with age and has dozens of wives and concubines. He is sixteen or seventeen There are two sons, and a similar number of daughters, who are all married to various tribes in the mountains...In the Colima Mountains, the Colima Chief can be said to be the one who speaks the truth and has a profound influence!"
"Tsk tsk! More than fifty years old, more than thirty children!..."
Hearing this, Xiulote looked leisurely and felt a little envious in his heart. So many descendants mean that a huge family can be divided and expanded to a wider land! Of course, numerous descendants also mean that conflicts over inheritance rights are almost unavoidable.
"If Chief Colima dies early, the tribe will inevitably be in civil strife. At that time, the kingdom can take advantage of the situation to go south, completely conquer the tribes of Nantecos, and bring them under the direct control of the kingdom! But the current situation is that he is in good health and has a deep foundation. He is not good for a while. Take action. And if a new iron mine is discovered and the Colima tribe and the Lake Kingdom jointly develop it, then I have to hope that the tribes in the mountainous area will be stable, and I hope he lives longer!"
There was no one around except Eckart, the captain of the guard. Shulot smiled and spoke without hiding his feelings. If possible, he really hopes to bring the fertile Colima mountainous area under the direct control of the kingdom as soon as possible.
The captain of the guard, Ekart, had a look on his face, and he could clearly hear His Highness's ambition. He pondered for a moment and reminded him softly.
"The head of the family, Yin Lian, the daughter of Chief Colima, has been at Shenwei University for three or four years. She has almost completed her courses and is already twenty years old. She is an old girl..."
"Master, there is still a shortage of manpower for the clerical work of the personal guards in the camp. It is better to transfer her to his side... Chief Colima also mentioned it to the kingdom's envoy in private. He wanted to bring the tribal chief The position will be passed on to the grandchildren..."
"Huh? The hint from Chief Colima...his daughter, the girl Yin Lian?..."
Hearing this, Shulot raised his brows and remained silent. He recalled the young girl with pretty eyebrows, pursed lips, bare feet, and wild body, and his heart moved a little. More than three years passed through his heart like water. In these three years, he has experienced too much and changed too much. The price of a king...
"Well, then...then bring her here!"
"Yes, head of the family!"
The captain of the guard, Eckart, bowed his head in salute, his expression unchanged. He saw His Highness's hesitation, but as a family warrior from the Holy City line, he never had a king in his eyes, only the Holy City line! As for the growing royal family and the descendants of the growing family, who else is His Highness?
"Witness the Lord God! Since Chief Colima has such a vision, then agree to him! As long as he provides enough labor and 50-50 iron tools, I will also agree to him!"
Shulot thought for a moment and then boldly agreed.
"Of course, such conditions are only limited to the iron ore that he has developed together with the kingdom. As for the iron ore that has not been developed, we will wait until later..."
Hearing this, the guard captain Ekart's eyes moved and he understood. However, he was still a little worried and asked softly.
"Master, the prospecting team has been searching for several months, but still hasn't found anything... Is there really iron ore in the Colima Mountains?"
"The Lord God testifies that I have received divine revelation! Deep underground in the Colima Mountains, there must be a large iron ore belt of unimaginable scale!"
When he mentioned the divine revelation, Shulot looked solemn and solemn. The captain of the guard, Ekart, bowed his head respectfully, his eyes filled with respect from the bottom of his heart. He has witnessed too many divine revelations from His Highness and has long been convinced.
"It's just that the Colima Iron Ore Belt is too deep! With the current technology of the Kingdom, it does not have the ability to mine on a large scale. However, the ore belts in the earth will always change in depth and continue to extend. The Colima Mountains On the surface, as long as you search carefully, you can always find small open-pit or shallow mines!”
After saying that, Shulot smiled confidently and confidently.
"These small-scale iron mines are enough for now... just wait patiently! Now that the Colima Ministry has taken a step forward and opened up the hinterland forests to the kingdom, it won't take long for the prospecting team to have new ones. The discovery!”
"Yes, head of the family!"
The captain of the guard, Ecate, nodded without any doubt. He flipped through the paperwork again and read another important item.
"In addition, the Black Rock Mountain Shenqi Institute also requests you to allocate a batch of new granular gunpowder to assist in the mining of the mountain... and the director of Shenqi, Talaya, the director of the Gunpowder Department, has personally led the people to mine in the southern purple In the open-pit copper mining area of Caoxian County, we tried 'blasting mining'!"
