"The ocean from late spring to early autumn is a gentle lakeside girl. She has a demure and shy smile, silently extending an invitation. She will let you hold her, and let you stretch out your paws wildly, wandering around the beautiful coast Exploring...but if you miss the time and come to the end of autumn..."
"The gentle lakeside girl will suddenly transform into a ruthless ice and snow banshee (windego) without warning! She will shoot out sharp cold wind and ice arrows, freezing you and your boat into ice cubes. . Then, she will use her thunderous claws to tear you apart from head to tail and eat you bit by bit!..."
Mickey, the knowledgeable man, looked serious as he relayed the inherited poems of the Cedar Shaman and also relayed the other party’s warnings.
"So, explorers heading north, please hurry up! Because now is the best and last time. If you delay it any longer, you will have to wait another year!..."
"Ah? A gentle lakeside girl, a ruthless ice witch?"
Exploration captain Zuvalo frowned and suddenly had a bad guess. This way up north, although the boat sailing on the west coast is slow, it has been very peaceful. Could it be that this is not what this coast really looks like?
"Mickey, please speak more clearly! We must be fully prepared for our exploration. What is this Miwok heritage poem specifically talking about?"
"Witness the Lord God! To put it simply, the climate on the west coast is completely different from that of the Kingdom, even completely opposite."
Mikey the Knowledgeable touched his chin, his eyes were full of concentration and wisdom.
"April to October here is warm and dry, which is a suitable season for sailing. Just like these two months, there is very little precipitation, no wind, rain, and no storms! Therefore, when we went north, it was calm all the way. , not even a heavy rainstorm..."
"But after October, the climate will be cold and rainy, and storms will suddenly appear! The cold north roars in, and when it comes to the warm sea, it will set off continuous rainstorms! And the terrible rainstorms are accompanied by thunder,
It can last for more than half a month, and the temperature will plummet overnight. When sailing at that time, there will not only be strong winds, waves, thunderstorms and heavy fog, but also ice floes floating from the north! …”
"Therefore, if we want to go to the big port in the north, we must leave as soon as possible and settle down before October! The fleet's time is very tight, which is also an important reason why I agreed to so many cooperation transactions..."
"O Lord God! The summer is dry with little rain and no storms. The winter is cold and rainy with thunderstorms? And the mild climate only lasts until October?..."
Exploration captain Zuvalo was stunned for a moment, and then immediately jumped anxiously.
"It's already mid-July, and we are still slowly building Xishan Port! No, if this is really the case, we must at least reach the big bay predicted by His Majesty before October!"
"Yes! I think so too!"
Mikey, the knowledgeable man, nodded and suggested in a deep voice.
"Cedar Shaman invited us to repair ships in the North Bay, but I haven't agreed yet. Later I will take three long boats to the North Bay and bring their craftsmen and wood. Then, we will go to the West Mountain Outside the camp in the harbor, repair the longship!"
"They will send a group of hunters and tribesmen to come to the camp to help, which can be considered as further contact with us. By the way! There are three shaman apprentices who will stay in the camp to teach us local herbalism and learn the language of the kingdom. . Well, they also want to learn mathematics... You ask the preaching priest Jia Shu to take them, and use the "Ali Sutra" as the teaching material to see if they can convert the descendants of these tribal inheritances!..."
"First-level preaching priest Jia Shu? Do you mean to let him stay here and stop going north? Well, indeed..."
Hearing this, the exploration captain pondered for a moment and agreed. When the Kingdom's fleet headed north from Leijin Town, in order to ensure the command of the two men, they brought with them all first-level preaching priests.
Priest Jia Shu is considered the one with the highest knowledge and status among these first-level priests. Because he is the chief minister of the kingdom and one of the grandsons of the sage Jatiri. He is named after the "book" that symbolizes knowledge. Sage Jatiri personally sent his grandson to the exploration fleet that traveled thousands of miles away and narrowly escaped death. This was not only a promise to the king, but also an example of supporting the northward exploration. However, the two of them can't really keep the chief's grandson on the front line of exploration and use it to his death...
"Okay! Then let Jia Shu stay here, and together with the warrior leader Shi Jian, take charge of Xishan Port! The main force of the fleet will go north, leaving two ships for them..."
"Zuvarro, continue to explore north. We don't need so many ships, and we can't bring so many people with us!"
Mickey the Knowledgeable shook his head. He had been chatting with Cedar Shaman for so many days, and it was not just one-sided investigation. He also got a lot of information about the north and learned more about the living conditions of the tribes.
"Most of the tribes along the northern coast have hundreds of people, and hunting and fishing are the bulk of the food. They can save very little food! This time we go north, we can only bring six boats and three hundred people at most... so Even if you are trapped in a certain tribe by an ice and snow storm, you can barely survive. According to the advice of the Cedar Shaman, it is best to have less than two hundred people..."
"Witness the Lord God! Six ships went north, and four ships stayed behind... That means leaving 240 or 50 people in Xishan Port to develop..."
Exploration captain Zuvalo pondered for a long time, remembering His Majesty's prophecy of the difficult Far North and his intention to learn from the local tribes, and finally decided to follow the advice of the Cedar Shaman. However, before the main force of the fleet leaves, he still has one important thing to do to ensure the safety of Xishan Port!
"Mickey! Go to the North Bay again and make a request to the Cedar Shaman! A request from an ally, please make sure he agrees!"
】
"Ah? What are you requesting?"
"The fleet has just arrived. I have prepared some gems and cloth as gifts, and I also want to exchange weapons for some food... Please ask him to send invitations to the tribal leaders two hundred miles around to come here! After giving away the gifts, we will continue Go north and explore the cold Far North!…”
"good!…"
Distant thoughts are like the sunshine of Golden Bay at the end of July, penetrating into the clear sea. And the memories of the past few months flashed clearly in Zuvalo's mind like illuminated sea water. He turned around and looked at the ten mighty longships behind him and the smoke rising from the longships. Six of them will go to the north, while the remaining three will visit the surrounding tribes to trade more food and furs. As for the last ship, it is to spread the news of the construction of Jinwan Land to Sanshan Port, more than a thousand miles away in the south.
The deafening sound of the cannon echoed in the distant mountains like thunder. Further back on the coast, the Miwok leaders wearing feather crowns looked horrified, their hands and feet were trembling, and they even fell to the ground to pray. Among the prostrate people, there was only one old shaman who stood up straight and was as strong as a bear. He was staring at the thundering "bronze beast" on the longboat, his face full of disbelief and shock.
"Hahaha! Even a well-informed old fox can only be shocked when encountering this unprecedented 'Lord God Thunder', and doubt the gods!"
Exploration Captain Zuvalo laughed and patted Mickey on the shoulder with satisfaction. At this moment, the cedar shaman on the shore must have a lot of questions to ask, but if he wants to know the answer, he has to wait until Mickey comes back.
"Haha! Just let this cunning old guy suffer for a few months!"
Exploration captain Zuvalo turned his head, full of energy, and looked at the majestic Western Mountains in front of him, as well as the narrow harbor that gradually passed through. And the truly vast and boundless sea is right in front of the fleet, waiting for divine exploration!
"God bless you! The fleet is heading north at full speed to find the prophesied great bay!"
"Praise Your Majesty! We are getting closer to the new continent thousands of miles to the west!"
