Jinshan Bay at the end of July has both the warmth and pleasantness of spring and the dryness and clearness of autumn. The water chestnuts around the bay are blooming brilliantly, spreading out a sea of orange or golden flowers, like the fallen feathers of sunbirds, which is so beautiful that it makes people lose their mind.
This gorgeous flower has special divinity in the hearts of the tribes on the West Coast and is used in every aspect of tribal life!
Tribal priests, warriors and tribesmen all like to chew this fragrant flower and feel the rare sweetness. The pollen of calabash can be used as a pigment for tattoos and helps wounds heal easily. Its stems are a nerve-soothing herb, which can relieve pain and have a certain antibacterial effect. As for its more powerful roots and seeds, they are extremely important sedative drugs in sacrificial rituals...
In fact, in later generations, caltrop also had a more famous name, "California poppy."
Ten kingdom longships, carrying fully armed warriors and sailors, slowly sailed out of the harbor. Large galleys, boats of armored warriors, rows of shields and big bows, fell into the eyes of the Miwok tribesmen who were watching, and they turned into uncontrollable awe!
"Boom boom boom!"
The tiger crouching cannon on the long ship pointed at the sky and made a thunderous sound, also announcing the departure of the fleet. Under the thunderbolt of this sunny day, the Miwok leaders wearing feather crests on the shore suddenly looked horrified and their limbs trembled. Some people even knelt down and prayed loudly in the direction of the fleet, in awe of the unknown and powerful Southern Thunder God!
"Praise the Lord God! She protects us!"
On the leading flagship, Zuvalo, the exploration captain, and Mickey, the knowledgeable man, stood side by side on the bow. The two men straightened their spines, wore thick leather armor, and looked at the horrified crowd on the shore and the newly built simple village not far away, with smiles on their faces.
"Zuaro, you have a good idea! In the name of giving away gems and trading weapons, invite the Miwok chiefs and priests from a hundred or two hundred miles away here, so that they can see with their own eyes the power of the fleet! This time , they should have a clear understanding of the kingdom’s force! And after we leave, the villages in Xishan Port should be able to maintain stability for a long time..."
"Haha! Mickey, this is all thanks to you! If you hadn't persuaded Puiatti, the prestigious Cedar Chief of the Miwok tribe in the North Bay... he would send envoys and invite the leaders of various tribes... these I’m afraid it won’t be so easy for the tribe leaders to come!…”
Exploration captain Zuvalo was in high spirits, chewing the water chestnut in his mouth and answering with a smile. Although he came to the Golden Bay land not long ago, he had already learned this "good tradition" of the local tribe. From a certain perspective, chewing water chestnuts feels like chewing tobacco leaves.
“It’s all blessed by the Lord God!”
Mikey, the knowledgeable man, prayed and watched the green smoke from the Tiger Crouching Cannon gradually drifting away in the wind, heading to the southeast. He raised his brows and shook his head slightly.
"It's already the end of July, and the wind direction is still southerly!... It seems that we still can't borrow the wind for the next trip north..."
"Mickey, if you can't borrow the wind, you have to paddle hard! All the way north, for the past six months, it has been hard against the wind and the current. The whole fleet is used to it! ... But, here we are. Near the bay, the sea currents along the coast suddenly changed direction, from flowing southward to northward... I don’t know what the reason is?..."
"Haha! It can't be that, as Priest Miwok said, it's the undercurrent set off by the underwater water elf or some ocean goddess..."
"Well...undercurrent..."
After hearing this, Mickey the Knowledgeable thought for a while and had some vague inspiration, but he couldn't grasp it. After a while, he put aside this difficult doubt and said with a smile.
"Zuvarro, no matter what, this time we will go north according to His Majesty's prophecy to find another bay... We can at least borrow the current, and we will definitely go much faster!"
"Yes! The first golden bay land, as predicted by His Majesty, appeared between 35 and 40 degrees north latitude! Then the next warm bay land should be between 45 and 50 degrees north latitude! As long as it is If we find it before winter comes, this year's voyage will come to an end. We can also truly feel what the terrible northern winter in the prophecy is like!"
Having said this, exploration captain Zuvalo touched his chin, raised his head, and looked towards the north.
The north is the junction between the coast and the mountains. The endless sea extends to the northwest, and the high mountains surround this long and narrow bay area, blocking the cold waves from further north. And if what His Majesty said is true, then this long and narrow bay area is the most pleasant and fertile land in the entire northern voyage, and it is also the place where the fleet needs to focus its operations!
"Mickey, you are good at math, do the math for me...how many acres of farmland have been cultivated in the villages in Xishan Port?"
"Witness the Lord God! I have calculated it before. Five hundred of us have been cultivating for a month, and the warriors and sailors have all started working together. We have burned wasteland, cleared the fields, and sown seeds... Well, each of us has cultivated about two acres... A total of five hundred acres have been cultivated. Potatoes, three hundred acres of mixed corn, pumpkin, beans, and three hundred acres of sweet potatoes..."
"Oh! That's right! I heard from the local Miwok people that the yield of corn and beans here is not very high. And sweet potatoes are not very cold-resistant, so the harvest is expected to decline... The only thing we can count on during the autumn harvest is that His Majesty calls us by name. The potatoes I brought... are only so small, I don't know if they are really cold resistant..."
By this time, potatoes had reached Central America from their origins in the Andes, across the narrow Isthmus of Panama. In fact, Mayan fleets brought potatoes back from Chibucha hundreds of years ago.
However, potatoes did not show sufficient crop advantages for the warm and rainy tropical climate of Central America, and they have not been able to cross the Mexican plateau to the truly suitable North American continent. The potatoes planted by the exploration fleet this time are crops suitable for cold climates. For the first time, they have taken root in the vast northern continent to feed more tribes!
"Ha! Mickey, the various settlements we set up along the way north... The first half was very dry, and we could only grow sweet potatoes. The second half, when the temperature was not high, we mainly grew potatoes... It seems that our future staple food will have to come from It’s time to choose one of the two!…”
"No. Choose one of the three... The Miwok people said that in this bay, the pumpkin production is not bad. In addition, they also grow bitter melons and collect almonds and pine nuts..."
"Oh! That's sweet potatoes, potatoes and pumpkins...that's really..."
Exploration Captain Zuvalo raised the corners of his mouth and smiled helplessly. Then, he reacted.
"Lord God? You just said that each person only cultivated two acres? Two acres in one month?"
Having said this, Zuvalo was stunned for a moment, pulled his hair hard, and cursed in a low voice.
"Damn! The samurai must be lazy!..."
"Uh...Zuvarro, it is difficult to open new fields in woodland and grassland! We have only arrived for a month and a half. We have to cut down trees, build wooden houses, and dig underground caves to keep warm. The time is also limited. Insufficient…"
Mickey the Knowledgeable blinked and defended the warriors in the fleet.
"What's more! After traveling five thousand miles north and sailing arduously for half a year, the Prepecha warriors of the Kingdom are still able to pick up farm tools and cultivate in a land far away from home!...Their faith and loyalty are already world-famous. It’s rare!…If it were any other warrior, even the Mexica warriors from the Alliance, I’m afraid they wouldn’t be able to go to the ground…”
"Phew! You are right! The Prepecha warriors who go out to explore the sea all believe in the Lord God devoutly, and they are also His Majesty's most loyal warriors!..."
Exploration Captain Zuvalo nodded and regained his composure. He had a leisurely look on his face, recalling his journey northward and couldn't help but sigh.
"God bless us! We traveled five thousand miles north and sailed for half a year!... Along the way, we were like fur seals climbing the rock wall at the seaside, moving forward bit by bit, but never rested for a moment!"
