"Mintun villages in the North...village communities that work together..."
The sun was setting in the west, illuminating the sky with red clouds. Woodpecker Aipei led the tribe's archer battalion and walked more than fifty miles in one day. He was really exhausted. The same goes for the surrounding kingdom officers. On the other hand, the lightly-armed tribal archers, although tired and hungry, still showed no complaints. They were like obedient and stoic worker ants, with only a set of paper armor on their bodies and leggings on their legs, as if they could walk another night.
"It's getting dark! Rush to the surrounding villages, have a good meal, and have a good rest!..."
The royal officers of the battalion discussed with the leader of the nearest village for a long time before he agreed stiffly. When the Tlaxcala Archer Battalion arrived at the village, they saw a warm "welcome" scene.
At the entrance of the village, more than 400 people from the village were all mobilized. The faces of these young men were full of vigilance, and their expressions were simple and ruthless. Each of them had a two-meter spear, mostly made of sharp obsidian, and even dozens of shiny copper spears. The militiamen in the front row all held simple shields and stood shoulder to shoulder. Looking at their formation, it was even vaguely more orderly than the archer camp of Woodpecker Ai Pei!
"Lord God! Have these village militiamen from Hekou County also trained spear formations?"
The woodpecker Aipei looked at it in surprise for a while, and then he realized that the really neat thing was actually the outermost circle, which was more than a hundred trained militiamen who had participated in the kingdom's conquest. And further inside, there are "old men" in their thirties and forties, "children" in their twelfth or thirteen years old, and "caigua" with blank faces, all wrapped in a circle around the outside, and they are probably not very successful.
But no matter what, Hekou County fights every year. These trained militiamen have actually been on the battlefield, and the formations listed are also the formations that can really fight. The appearance of this "welcome" scene immediately acted as a silent shock to the tribe's archer camp.
"Damn! Do these northern villagers think that we are bandits to guard against? This is within the kingdom, and the battalion leaders under my command are all well-trained... uh... okay!..."
The woodpecker Ai Pei was stunned in place, angry for a few breaths, and then came to his senses. What he has now is not a reliable Mexica warrior or a local Prepecha warrior, but a newly recruited tribal archer. These Tlaxcala archers have only been loyal to the kingdom for more than a year. Just two years ago, they were still fighting to the death against the Alliance army. And their parents and ancestors were probably like this... It is really not surprising that the villagers of Hekou County are so vigilant and wary.
"Okay! It's not a bad thing for the villagers to be on guard and to frighten the tribal camps..."
Thinking of this, Woodpecker Aipei felt a little relieved. After all, he was also worried that these tribal archers were only obedient on the surface, but secretly caused him some trouble for robbery, especially in the hinterland of the kingdom when the big festival was about to be held.
"Praise the Lord God! I am the preaching priest Tuniao in the village. Respected military nobles, your residence is the village chief's longhouse. And your officers have separate huts. As for these tribal warriors who are good at fighting...the village has already Dozens of straw huts and storage yards for drying grain were vacated..."
Facing the kingdom officer who led the team, the person who came out to talk to the village was naturally the village priest with the highest status. During the Western Expedition that year, Hekou County was the front line of repeated battles and underwent strict liquidation. The old nobles of the Kingdom of Tarasco were almost uprooted, with no family left. After the old aristocratic territories were destroyed, more than a hundred villages in Hekou County were basically established as civilian villages and became directly under the kingdom.
The highest-ranking person in the village is the village priest who presides over the sacrificial ceremony. These village priests often contacted the kingdom's priesthood and received "divine revelation" guidance to reform agricultural technology and promote compost, new farm tools, and field management.
The village priests brought spiritual comfort, increased food production, and orders from the royal government, and naturally occupied the highest position of power. In fact, in the ignorant Central American world, they are the masters of advanced culture and advanced productivity. Without them, there would not even be a single person in the village who could read the Ali Sutra and be familiar with the Kingdom's teachings.
Below the village priest are the field leaders who allocate manpower and supervise the construction of canals and roads, and the militia captains who train the village militia. These two were often old or injured retired warriors, and they were also the roots of the kingdom's political power in the countryside. The "theocratic power", "political power" and "military power" controlled by the three cooperate with each other to form the most basic rural order. This kind of rural order of "devotment to gods," "strict laws," and "warrior supremacy" must have many flaws, and it is far from fair. But the establishment and maintenance of stable order alone is better than the chaos everywhere in Central America!
"Praise the Lord God! Greetings to you, respected Priest of the Lord God! I am the commander of the kingdom's thousand-man battalion, Woodpecker Aipeck!"
Facing the young village priest, Woodpecker Aipeck lowered his head slightly, his expression showing respect.
"Well...I live in the longhouse, the officers live in thatched huts, and the archers live in haylofts and threshing floors..."
Then, he thought about the arrangement in the village and felt that it was quite suitable, so he smiled and nodded in response.
"Very good! With the blessing of the Lord God, let's do this! Thank you, Priest Tuniao!"
"God bless you! Commander Aipei, is there anything else that the village needs to do?"
"Well...it will be a bit cold in the late autumn nights. Let's pile up more thatch in the hay shed and the grain field...In addition, we must keep our battalion well-fed tonight, as we have to go on the road tomorrow!"
"Okay! The village has collected a lot, enough thatch to keep warm. This year's autumn harvest is good, and there are enough pumpkins and mashed beans!..."
The young village priest Tuniao nodded with a smile and turned around to make arrangements. But before leaving, he thought of something and turned around to remind him.
"Dear military nobles... The latrine in the village is just on the edge of the field to the west. There is a row of dug holes... Please tell the battalion to leave fertilizer there... In addition, there is a big pit for compost next to the latrine, which is very deep. It's very sticky, like a swamp. You must be careful not to fall in. If you really want to fall in, don't struggle, but shout for help to avoid drowning..."
"Uh!...Picture Bird Priest, I understand!"
Hearing this, the corners of Woodpecker's mouth twitched and he reluctantly nodded. He knew that the Kingdom's composting technology had been promoted by the priests to every county and village. For these villages, the accumulated manure can fertilize the fields, which is an extremely precious wealth that must be collected in every possible way.
Around the royal capital Qin Congcan, there will be many neighboring villages, and people will be sent into the city every morning to dig manure in the public pits. What's even more outrageous is that militiamen from urban communities will stand in front of public cesspits and demand "remuneration" from farmers who come to collect excrement. These rewards are usually local products produced in the countryside, such as a basket of pumpkins or corn, which are traded in front of the manure pit...
Thinking of this, the woodpecker's appetite became a little bad. But to be fair, the promotion of composting technology, the establishment of public latrines, and the strict implementation of hygiene laws in the city have indeed made the city's hygiene much better.
"Farmers' output comes from the fields... Everything that can increase yields and harvests is a blessing from the Lord God!... If my own manor wants to increase output, it is useless to rely on the manure of dozens or hundreds of people. Yes. The Alliance also has a method of burning bones to grind bone fat, but there are not many sources of bones, it takes too much manpower and firewood, and it is not very easy to use..."
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"That's right! Those stones brought back by merchant ships from the south were said to be bird droppings, but they had no smell at all. And the Shenqi Institute ground these stones and buried them in the fields, and they actually increased the yield by several percent! ... I don't know, When will the kingdom be able to obtain a large number of... main gods! What a mysterious sea, these strange and weird things, just like in myths..."
The woodpecker Apei was thinking randomly while finishing his dinner. The meals in the village are very simple, consisting of three staple foods: corn, pumpkin, beans, and, oh, sweet potatoes with a little sweetness.
The night was getting dark and the bonfire was lit. Baskets of food are shipped out of the barn, and the aroma of food fills the village. To feed a thousand tribal warriors who can eat, at least one or two thousand kilograms of food would be needed. Because there was no oil and water, and the march was tiring, it was common for the soldiers to eat one or two pounds of pumpkin and bean paste at one meal.
However, it seems that Mintun has done well in the past two years, and the harvest from the fields has been sufficient. Although the faces of the villagers showed regret, they did not show any signs of desperate efforts. Because the village's grain reserves are still sufficient, enough to last until next autumn's harvest, and there is even a surplus. The food supplied to the army will also be recorded by the priest Tuniao to offset part of the tribute shipped to the county.
The kingdom's Mintun villages adopted the traditional collective village system. A village is a whole, or a "tribe". The villagers farm the land collectively, using farm tools from the village, and the harvested food is also stored centrally to supply the entire village.
This tribal village community model is the tradition of various tribes in Central America. Because a single individual family simply cannot cope with the difficult natural environment, let alone the fighting tribes. Even the children in the village are raised collectively and taught by the village elders or priests.
Of course, this kind of traditional collective village community is not about eating from a big pot, and naturally has obvious status and hierarchy. The "three elders" in the village, the village priest, the farm leader, and the militia captain are the highest level, and they have the best food and drink expenses. The next level down are the village warriors, militiamen, hunters...these men who are strong and capable of fighting and hunting. If a clever priest apprentice can be produced, he will have the highest status in this second level. Further down, there are men farming, strong women, and frail old people.
As for the children raised collectively in the village, their treatment depends on whether the village's food reserves are sufficient. Just like now when there is a lot of food stored, children can have enough to eat, and can even receive training from warriors and hunters to see if they can cultivate some good seedlings...
"Huh? This village chief's longhouse looks pretty good!"
The woodpecker entered the longhouse, lit the fire pit, and put some dry firewood to make the wooden house warm and bright. He looked at the soft and thick straw bed, which was covered with a sisal mat and even a coarse cloth blanket on the mat. There is an empty shelf beside the wooden wall behind the straw bed. He came closer and took a closer look at the scratches and ropes on the shelf, and he understood in his heart.
"Bows and arrows...copper axes...leather armor...the leader of the field in this village seems to be a retired warrior from a kingdom. And now these weapons and armors...well, they are still guarding us!"
Thinking of this, the woodpecker Aipei smiled helplessly. Then, he looked at the god-worshiping shrine. Inside was a stone sculpture of the main god, surrounded by ceremonial cocoa beans, shells, and bird feathers. A silver sun amulet was enshrined in the middle, and in front was a gray pottery incense burner. .
There was a faint pine scent in the whole room. The woodpecker Apei searched carefully for a while, and saw the rosin that had been burned out in the incense burner in front of the statue of the main god. Looking at the dust on the pottery stove, it is obvious that he prayed frequently.
"Retired warriors of the kingdom, devout farm leaders, prosperous village life..."
After seeing these places in the house, the woodpecker Aipei knew what was going on. He rubbed his tired legs for a while, found the remaining half of rosin and ignited it, then lay down comfortably on the straw bed and covered it with a soft cloth blanket.
"Witness the Lord God! There are trained militiamen with bronze soldiers, harvested collective farmland, accumulated field fertilizers, villagers who can eat well, and village chiefs who can live well... Of course, the most important thing is the village barn filled with food. !…”
"This is the prosperous farming village of the kingdom. It is the prosperity that belongs to the common people and also comes from the land!..."
"Hmm... let me think about it, how should I recite it? The poets in the royal capital don't have poems praising the common people..."
“There you have it!… The barns of the villagers are spread out over the vast fields like green leaves. They are filled with the harvest’s grain, like incense burners filled with turpentine!… Praise be to the Lord God and the King!”
"Haha! I am really a born poet! I want to dedicate this poem to Your Reverend Highness!... However, there is still one paragraph left. I need to make up three paragraphs... What should I write another paragraph?..."
The rosin slightly burns and relaxes the mind. The bonfire is quiet and warm. The woodpecker Ape thought about his unfinished poem, lay on the comfortable straw bed, and soon fell asleep. And tomorrow, he will have to cheer up and continue on his way. Pay special attention to the flag troops that will pass by those dog-origin tribes who have settled there. I don’t know what they look like...
