It was past noon, the sun was shining coldly on the earth, and there was nowhere to hide. The white clouds were floating high in the sky, elusive. The autumn wind passed by slightly, and there was a chill in the dryness. Under the sun, the warriors were surrounded by armor and weapons.
The hostile city, the world was filled with strife.
After coming out of the big tent, Shulot first went to visit his father.
After a month of recuperation, Xiu Suoke was able to get up and move around. His face was slightly rosy and he seemed to be in good spirits.
Shulot said hello to his father, and the two chatted for a few words, and then naturally the topic shifted to Trakaeler, who had made a comeback.
"Father, what kind of person is Elder Tracaelal?"
Shusok thought for a moment, looked at the sky outside the tent, and then spoke slowly.
"Elder Trakaeler is the sun in the sky and a symbol of majesty. I grew up hearing his name. His eyes are above the clouds, and he never cares about the birds and beasts fighting under his feet. His thoughts
As high as the clouds, it is difficult for ordinary people to comprehend. The only thing that is certain is his strong will! Like the autumn sunshine, it falls from the sky with coldness and murderous intent, making the subjects obey solemnly, unable to avoid or change.
"
Shulot thought in his mind, chatted with his father for a few words, and then hurriedly left the tent.
He recruited the old carpenter Kuaud, whom he had not seen for a long time. Since he took on the responsibility of making longbows, the old carpenter's status has rapidly improved. He has now been appointed by Avitt as the chief craftsman of the army, and he is protected by several warriors when he travels.
"Master Priest, during the more than twenty days you went on the expedition, fifty new longbows were made in the camp, and they can be delivered to you now."
Kuaud reported respectfully, followed by several new disciples.
Xiuluo nodded. Due to the lack of metal tools and high-level craftsmen, the manufacturing of high-quality longbows was extremely slow. Excluding war losses, he has only managed to save two hundred. He has ordered Kuaud to recruit more apprentices.
Concentrate more copper tools to increase efficiency as much as possible. If you want to obtain a breakthrough increase in output, you can only obtain the huge craftsman population in the capital.
"Kouod, choose a high-quality longbow and add fine decorations and patterns for me. I want to use it as a gift to the elders. Then help me make a small wooden trebuchet, half as tall as a man."
Finally, did you do what I told you before setting off?"
Kuaud called an apprentice to ask, and then answered with a smile.
"Master Priest, you asked me to soak the excess bark from bow making in a pond of lime water. It has been soaked for three weeks now. As for the fine linen mat you mentioned, it has already been prepared."
Hulot then went to the pond of bubbles under the leadership of Kuaud. Yes, he had the idea of making paper for a long time. He had also given the task of making bubbles several times, and now he finally had the urgent need and time.
, to light up papermaking technology.
It is worth mentioning that lime water is a necessity for survival in Central America, and it is widely used in the ashing process of corn. Natural corn is not a nutritionally comprehensive food, and it lacks niacin that can be absorbed, that is,
Vitamin B3. Eating unprocessed corn as a staple food can lead to anemia and pellagra, and severe skin inflammation. If the diet is not improved, pellagra patients will die within five years.
In fact, there is enough niacin in corn, but it is just compounded with hemicellulose. If the corn is soaked in lime water and heated, the hemicellulose will be hydrolyzed and the niacin will be released. This treatment can also soften the
Corn improves the taste and is a prerequisite for making delicious masa flour.
Hulot recalled the process of papermaking. In his memory, the essence of papermaking was: breaking up plant fibers to form pulp, processing the pulp to reorganize the fibers, and the pulp uniformly condensed into paper.
In order to break up the plant fibers and remove impurities, there is a process of soaking, washing, and cooking the materials. In order to reorganize the fibers, the slurry must be pounded into a paste using manpower or water. Finally, the paper is evenly distributed and used
Bamboo curtains or linen mats are picked up and dried into shapes.
This is all about papermaking in Shulot's memory. As for the sun-bleaching process, papermaking techniques, bamboo clay paper baking, and drying temperatures, they all do not exist. He still has the impression that it is called clinker.
The only difference between paper making and raw material paper making is that the clinker needs to be boiled and the raw material needs to be crushed.
Hulot once carefully analyzed that Central America is in the tropical zone where plants flourish, and the sources of raw materials for papermaking are very wide, making it easy to develop a large-scale papermaking industry.
The most common raw materials for papermaking are various hemp plants. The cheapest is naturally jute, which is widely distributed and has a large fiber output. Then there is sisal agave, which is used daily. The ropes used by warriors to capture prisoners are made of sisal.
Next is cotton. America is the home of cotton, with a wide planting area of various cotton types. However, in various parts of Mexico, cotton cloth is often used as currency, and the cost of making paper from cotton is obviously too high.
Next is the bark of various trees, such as the bark of sandalwood that is used now. There is no shortage of trees in Central America. What is lacking is the metal tools for cutting down trees and peeling them. Then there is bamboo. There are very few types of bamboo in Central America.
Concentrated in the eastern region, the various bamboo utensils of the Celestial Dynasty were not developed, but were used by tribesmen to make blowguns. Finally, they were used for various fodders, such as reeds in coastal areas.
Xiulote had seen corn stalks and was a little unsure whether such a large amount of material could be used to make paper. The corn stalks felt very hard and had many nodes, so they were probably not a good paper-making material. He could let the craftsmen try it later.
.
Thinking of cotton and linen, Hulot thought of Mexica armor. Due to the lack of domesticated large livestock, strong leather armor was often only owned by senior warriors, and cotton armor was the most widely used equipment by warriors.
Armor is the symbol that distinguishes warriors from militiamen. The standard equipment of warriors is Ichikawipili, "cotton top", which is a kind of light armor made of cotton and linen. It looks like a thick vest, and each layer is made of cotton and linen.
Jute is mixed and woven, and then multi-layered and pressed into shape. Cotton serves as cutting protection, and jute has a heat dissipation and sweat absorption effect. This kind of cotton armor can effectively improve the protection of warriors against obsidian war sticks and stone arrowheads.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! As the level of warriors rises, and after reaching the second-level Vastek Hunter, they begin to equip traviztli, "battle clothes", and full-body
A light armor. The armor is usually worn over the Ichikawipili, and is also made of a mixture of cotton and linen. As the level of the warrior continues to increase, the armor will be painted with various patterns, becoming more and more gorgeous and powerful.
The fourth-level senior warriors began to wear various feathers, sew various animal skins, and depict the patterns of eagles and jaguars on their uniforms. When they reach the noble eagle and jaguar chapters, their uniforms will be upgraded to ones with hanging feathers.
Leather armor.
As for head protection, low-level warriors will wear various cotton, linen or leather pointed hats, while high-level warriors and commanders will wear various animal-shaped helmets. The animal helmet Kukaratra is a symbol of honor. In fact,
It's made of wood, not bone.
The beast helmet that Shulot often wears looks extremely majestic, with a brightly colored and lifelike tiger head, but it is actually extremely thick and breathable. This makes him always give orders majestically and coldly, while sweat pours from his face.
Once he obtained the copper mine in Tarasco, he planned to make a bronze helmet first. Wooden animal helmets were not good in terms of defense and comfort. The bronze armor was a bit heavy, and he initially made reference to the half-length shape of ancient Greek armor, with the addition of a skirt.
Armor and leggings. Only after the shallow iron deposits in Colima are developed can more advanced scale armor, pierced armor, and chain armor be considered. As for the most advanced plate armor technology, it seems that it is still far away.
Under the command of Schlott and the operation of the craftsmen, the first papermaking experiment was carried out gropingly.
The preparation of the ingredients for soaking has been completed, and the next step is to cook the ingredients. The craftsmen built a wooden stove with a stove, and first boiled the bark with lime water for a day. Xiulote pinched the bark with his hands, and the fibers were not completely dispersed.
. He thought about it for a while and asked the craftsmen to replace it with more alkaline plant ash and cook it again. After another day, the bark finally became a suitable pulp.
The next step is to wash the material to remove the lime residue and some dissolved substances in the pulp. With enough manpower, Xuelote only needs to watch it until the pulp is pure enough before he is satisfied.
Since they didn't know about sun-whitening, they went directly to the mixing process after washing the materials. Dozens of civilian workers used thick and long wooden pestles to pound the slurry repeatedly in stone mortars, while picking up impurities and coarse materials.
After hours, the paper pulp was finally pounded into mud. Xiulote looked at it and felt that it was not much different from the paper pulp in his memory, except that it was slightly yellowed.
Then there is the papermaking process that requires technology. The paper pulp is dissolved in the water tank, and then spread evenly on the hemp mat to form a thin wet paper. Despite Xuelote's strict requirements, the wet paper in this process is still uneven in thickness.
The accumulated wet paper should need to be gently squeezed out of water, but he didn't remember this item, so he went directly to the next step of drying the paper.
Shulot first baked it directly over a campfire. When he saw the cracks and deformation of the paper, he immediately realized that the drying temperature should be uniform and not too high. He asked the craftsmen to build an earthen drying fireplace, and slowly attached the wet paper to the outer wall.
Dry. Of course, he still doesn't know the polishing process.
For several days, each link was revised and repeated repeatedly. When Shulot finally got a piece of bark paper that was rough, tough, thick, yellow and gray, he had mixed feelings in his heart.
"This is a small step for me, but also a giant step for Indian civilization!" The young man thought quite complacently, temporarily ignoring the unevenness and thickness of the paper.
Papermaking technology was introduced to Arabia in the eighth century and to Europe in the twelfth century. Today, Europe still uses both parchment rolls and paper. At this point, America still has enough opportunities to catch up with Europe.
Hulot ordered the craftsmen to continue making paper and not stop. He needed a sufficient amount of paper to prove the superiority of the new technology. Then he used a brush to carefully copy a thousand commonly used Chinese characters on the paper.
During this period, he visited the little golden eagle a few times. As soon as he met, the little golden eagle called "chirp" enthusiastically and flapped its wings. Then with a smile on his face, Avit gently stroked the little golden eagle's head.
Lott immediately became silent and obedient.
Shulot smiled happily. It seemed that Avitt and the little golden eagle were getting along well. The young man turned and left, ignoring the "affectionate" expectations and desires of little Avitt. Avitt stood at the door of the wooden house with a smile.
The little golden eagle was covered by his shadow.
Ten days later, Shulot looked at the gifts in front of him with satisfaction: an exquisitely decorated longbow, a small trebuchet model, and a set of wooden boards with corresponding "oracle bone inscriptions/hieroglyphs" and Chinese characters.
A thousand-character paper book and three loads of paper.
During this time, Avit also successively rewarded and dismissed the city-state warriors of the seven states. The captains of each state and commanders at all levels respectfully bid farewell to Avit, and then led the warriors on the long-awaited journey back home.
Orosh and the Teotihuacan Army also bid farewell to Shulot and left. Shusok gave his son a gentle hug and then left weakly in a small boat.
Two days later, Gillim finally came from the capital. He was tired of traveling, and when he saw Awit, he paid homage to him.
"Your Majesty, the Immortal Sun Tlacaeler summons you to the capital. You are required to stay at least 20,000 Mexica warriors and continue to besiege the city of Xilotepec until it falls."
"What did the ancestors say?" Avitt's face was serious and his eyes were bright.
"Congratulations to the king! The elder has agreed that you will inherit the throne, but he needs to meet with you once. It should be to draw a conclusion on Tisok's death to avoid affecting the majesty of the royal family. It may also mediate the conflict between you and the chief priest Kechar.
"
Gilliam saluted solemnly again.
"Okay, without further ado! Gather ten thousand warriors, march south along the waterway, and set off as soon as possible!"
Avitt smiled confidently. Things were exactly as he expected, and he was the only suitable heir.
Gillim bowed and left. He tilted his head slightly, looked at Shulot's joyful smile, and sighed slightly in his heart.
"Your Highness, for the sake of the king, I have no choice but to apologize to you!"
The next day, two thousand noble battle groups and eight thousand direct warriors boarded thousands of mighty boats and sailed upstream to the majestic capital city on the lake.
This chapter has been completed!