Chapter 365: Inspecting Spring Plowing, the Kings Ideal
In May, tropical migratory birds stop migrating to the north and nest in the mountains and forests of the lake area, singing and flying happily.
The songs of birds spread outside the mountains and forests, and tens of thousands of Prepecha farmers were busy in the fields. They worked hard to clear the land with rocks and trees and sowed corn seeds. On the best fields in the village, two figures were vaguely visible.
The human-operated plow is plowing the soil slowly and forcefully. In the Lake Kingdom, metal agricultural tools are expensive and limited, and are kept by the village priests, with priority being used for farming fertile land by the river.
On the bank of the river, newly built canals lead the water, slowly soaking into the nearby farmland. A few small man-made overturning vehicles stand erected by the river. A few strong men are sweating, and they are working hard under the hot sun.
They pedal and overturned in turns to pump precious river water into the canals. Water is the foundation of agriculture and the key to determining the harvest! Providing sufficient water sources during the growth of crops can effectively ensure a year's harvest.
At the edge of the fields near the village, there are scattered straw huts. There are two poles and several large buckets filled with salt water in the huts. Farmers can come here and drink a few drinks during their busy farming breaks.
Cool well water with salt added to the mouth. As for why salt is added to the water? It is naturally because "salt is a gift from the Lord God, which gives believers vitality under the scorching sun."
Under the big trees in the corner outside the village, there are several large well-drained pits. As soon as Fang gets closer, a strong smell hits his nose, making people retreat. This is some kind of "compost" place in the village, where the priest
It was dug out under the strict requirements of the villagers. In the eyes of the villagers, this was probably a strange altar. In the big pit were the daily excretion of the villagers, rotten vegetable leaf peels, river mud salvaged from the lake, and some autumn food.
Dead leaves and hay, covered with a shallow layer of soil on top.
The villagers did not understand the principle, but as part of the religious ceremony, they regularly piled the "vital energy" requested by the Lord God here, waiting for the Lord God's power to come. According to last year's experience, these "vital energy" will ferment for several months.
What kind of "fertilizer" does it turn into under the power of God? And when the corn begins to joint at the end of June, the "fertilizer" will be put into the field to add crucial "vitality" to the crops.
During spring plowing last year, the villagers were hesitant and followed the guidance of the priest of the Lord God and spread fertilizer on some fields. As a result, the yield increased by nearly 30%! The villagers truly witnessed the power of the Lord God. Since then, their faith has suddenly increased.
I have become much more pious. This year, I have arranged extra personnel to guard the composting area to prevent people from neighboring villages from stealing. Because the compost in the village is always very limited, it can only be applied to the best fields.
It is worth mentioning that in this era, the economic basis of various tribes in the world was mainly tribal communes under collective public ownership. The chiefs and priests had the most important say and were directly connected with the kingdom. The land in the villages was still cultivated collectively, and the harvest was uniformly distributed.
.In general, the village is the smallest tribute unit, not the household of the dynasty.
Since the collapse of the ancient Teotihuacan empire, the world has been plunged into war for thousands of years! Tribes have been fighting each other every year, and human sacrifices have continued. The development of the Stone Age reached its peak, and social productivity has stagnated for a long time. Tributes were heavy and corvee was frequent.
The nobles occupied most of the wealth and land, lived a comfortable life, and the priests had developed herbal medicine to treat diseases. It was not uncommon to live to the age of fifty or sixty. However, the average life span of the vast majority of the lower class people was only twenty.
Many people have lost their fathers and mothers since childhood, and have no wives or children throughout their lives. Household units cannot last long, and collective parenting is the most common situation.
At this moment, Xiulote was leading two hundred personal guards to inspect spring plowing in a village near Hekou County. Under the guidance of the village chief, he first inspected the village's altar of the main god, the stone brick barn, and the stone treadmill.
Afterwards, he listened to the feedback from the village priest, learned about the spread of the faith of the Lord God, the progress of this year's spring plowing, and the popularity of new agricultural tools, and gave him verbal praise.
Next, the king summoned the village militia captain, watched the militiamen's training, and asked about the surrounding bandits. The surrounding bandits have disappeared, but a few turkeys have been lost in the village recently, and they are suspected to be newly arrived canine descendants.
What he did. When he heard the news, the king frowned slightly and kept it in his heart.
Finally, the king looked at the simple huts of ordinary civilians, refused the village chief's request to hold a banquet, and left directly with his guards.
The king walked out of the village and stood on the edge of the vast field, looking at the dark clouds in the sky. The seeds for spring plowing had just been sown, and the precious spring rain was about to fall. The corn would sprout soon, bringing hope for a whole season.
"Your Highness, it will rain soon. Do you want to return to the village where you were just now to take shelter from the rain and have a meal?"
Bertard waited for a while, looked at the dark clouds getting closer, and stepped forward to ask.
"No, let's go back to the Hekou Fortress."
Xiulote shook his head. It has only been two years since Hekou County settled down from the war. The village in front of him has just recovered a little bit of its vitality, and the farmers' huts are still dilapidated. If the two hundred bodyguards had to eat a meal of finely ground sesame,
With just a few grains, the whole village could be impoverished.
"Bertard, you know, I just took a careful look around the village and asked the village chief and the priest."
The king looked calm, but there was some emotion in his words.
"There are more than a thousand people in the village, and among those over forty years old, there are only two members of the village chief's family and the two priests!"
Bertard was silent. After a while, he whispered.
"Your Highness, during the Western Expedition, the Kingdom of Tarasco took away the villagers' food rations, and the old and the weak basically starved to death. After all, the Kingdom has not been established for a long time..."
"What about the villages in the alliance? How many are there who are over forty years old?"
The king sighed and continued to ask.
Bertard lowered his eyes and said nothing. He roughly knew the number, but saying it would only increase His Highness's troubles. After a while, he spoke calmly.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Your Highness, this is the case in all departments in the world. In the eyes of the nobles of the world, civilians are like ants and dry firewood. They are so busy that they have no strength and cannot do anything.
If you are alive, you should die, or be burned like firewood. Farmers over forty years old are old people, and they are burned firewood. It is difficult to keep old people in the village, and there is no need for useless firewood ashes..."
The two of them were speechless for a moment. It didn't take too many realistic words to cause ripples in people's hearts. It wasn't until the spring rain fell and wet the king's long hair that he spoke softly.
"Bertard, I have always had an ideal."
"Your Highness, you say it and I listen."
"I hope that in the villages under my rule, not counting the babies who died in infancy, one in ten people will live to be sixty years old."
As he said that, Shulot looked towards the sky. In the prosperous dynasty of the distant Eastern motherland, there were approximately this proportion of old people in ordinary inland villages. It was the richest and most civilized place in the world. In this
The end of the 15th century.
"One in ten people lives to be sixty years old?..."
Bertard repeated softly and couldn't help but lower his eyes. Even in the most absurd dreams, he had never thought about it like this. The world has never had such a prosperous age, only endless blood and fighting. Even in this
In the ancient myths, there are only heroes and gods, and civilians are never seen.
After a long time, the warrior commander sighed and said in a deep voice.
"Your Highness, it's raining heavily, you should go back."
Xiuluo nodded and said no more. Some words are more powerful if left unsaid than said. He calmed down his emotions and remembered the militia captain's complaint.
"Bertard, please arrange your itinerary. After the inspection of the surrounding villages is completed, I will go to the Guakili village to check."
"...Yes, Your Highness."
Bertard's eyes moved slightly. He wanted to inspect the Guakili village, so he needed to be prepared in advance.
"Your Highness, do you need to inform the two chiefs Red Frog and Red Monkey?"
"Inform them and take Black Wolf with you."
"Follow your will, Your Highness!"
Shulot nodded slightly. He looked at the bodyguards who were standing in the rain, waiting silently, and felt strength in his heart again.
"It's raining heavily, let's go. It's raining and windy, and we've just started on the road!"
"Your Highness, your journey is when the sun reaches its highest point. When the sun is warm enough, weeds can grow luxuriantly!"
"Well, spring has arrived and summer is not far away. Let's go~"
