Chapter 904 The prosperous kingdom, the filled barn and the village chiefs incense burner
"Mintun villages in the North...village communities that work together..."
The sun was setting in the west, illuminating the sky with red clouds. The woodpecker Aipei led the tribe's archer camp and walked more than fifty miles a day. He was really tired. The same was true for the surrounding kings and officials. However, the tribesmen were lightly armed.
Although the archers were tired and hungry, they still had no complaints on their faces. They were like obedient and stoic worker ants. They only had a set of paper armor on their bodies and leggings wrapped around their legs. They seemed to be able to walk for another night.
"It's getting dark soon! Rush to the surrounding villages, have a good meal, and have a good rest!..."
The royal officer of the battalion discussed with the leader of the nearest village for a long time before he agreed with a stiff face. But when the Tlaxcala Archer Battalion arrived at the village, they saw a warm "
Welcome" scene.
At the entrance of the village, more than 400 strong men from the village were all mobilized. The faces of these strong 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 queue, they were vaguely larger than the woodpeckers.
The archer camp should be more organized!
"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 consisted of more than a hundred trained militiamen who had participated in the kingdom's conquest. And further inside, "
The "old man", the ten-year-old "child", and the "caigua" with a blank face are all wrapped in a circle on the outside, and I guess they are not very good.
But no matter what, Hekou County fights every year. These trained militiamen have actually been on the battlefield, and the listed formations are also the formations that can really fight. The appearance of this "welcoming" scene immediately became a kind of feeling to the tribe's archer camp.
Silent shock.
"Damn it! 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 Ape was stunned in place, angry for a few breaths, and then came to his senses. Now, the ones he has under his command are not any reliable Mexica warriors or local Prepecha warriors, but newly recruited tribal archers.
.These Tlaxcala archers have only surrendered to the kingdom for more than a year. Just two years ago, they were still fighting to the death with the Alliance army. And their fathers and grandfathers were probably the same... Villagers of Hekou County
It is indeed not surprising to have such vigilance and caution.
"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 just obedient on the surface and secretly caused him some robbery trouble, 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 leader of the team, the king's official, the one 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 it was strictly cleaned up. The old kingdom of Tarasco
The nobles were almost uprooted, with no family left. After destroying the old noble territories, more than a hundred villages in Hekou County basically established villages and were directly under the kingdom.
The highest status in the village is the village priest who presides over sacrificial ceremonies. These village priests often contact the kingdom's priesthood and receive "divine revelation" guidance to reform agricultural technology, promote composting, new agricultural 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 were the ones with advanced culture and advanced productivity.
Masters. Without them, there would not even be a single person in the village who could read the Ali Sutra and understand the teachings of the Kingdom.
Below the village priest, there 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 are often old or injured retired warriors, and they are also the roots of the kingdom's political power in the countryside.
The "divine power", "political power" and "military power" controlled by the three cooperate with each other to form the most basic rural order. This rural order of "devotment to gods", "strict laws" and "samurai supremacy",
There are definitely many flaws, and there is no fairness at all. But the establishment and maintenance of a 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 appropriate, so he smiled and nodded in response.
"Very good! With the blessing of the Lord God, let's do it like 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 little cold at night in late autumn. Let's pile up more thatch in the hayloft and 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 smiled and nodded, and was about to turn around to make arrangements. But before leaving, he thought of something and turned back to remind him.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "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, next to the latrine is a large compost pit, which is very deep and 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!...Priest Tuniao, 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 various counties and villages. And for these villages, the accumulated manure could fertilize the fields.
An extremely precious wealth that must be collected by all means.
Around Qincongcan, the royal capital, there will be many neighboring villages that send people into the city every morning to dig dung in public latrines. What is even more outrageous is that there will be militiamen from the communities in the city standing in front of the public dung pits, asking people to
Farmers who come to dig out manure ask for "remuneration". These rewards are usually local goods 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 bit off. But to be fair, the promotion of composting technology, the establishment of public latrines, and the strict implementation of sanitation laws in the city have indeed made the city's sanitation much better.
"Farmers' output comes from the fields... Everything that can increase yields and harvests is a blessing from the Lord God!... If your own manor wants to increase output, it can't be done by relying on the manure of dozens or hundreds of people.
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..."
"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. However, Shenqi ground these stones and buried them in the fields, which actually increased the yield by several percent! ... I don't know,
When will the kingdom be able to obtain a large amount of... Lord God! It’s such a mysterious sea, these strange and weird things, just like in mythology..."
The woodpecker Aipei was thinking randomly as he finished his dinner. The food in the village is very simple, consisting of three staple foods: corn, pumpkin, and beans, and oh, there are also sweet potatoes with a little sweetness.
As night falls, bonfires are lit. Food is carried out in baskets from the barn, and the aroma of the food fills the village. To feed a thousand tribal warriors who can eat, at least one or two thousand kilograms of food will be needed. Because
There was no oil and water, and the march was tiring. It was ordinary for the soldiers to eat one or two pounds of pumpkin and bean paste in one meal.
However, it seems that Mintun has done well in the past two years, and the harvest of the fields has been sufficient. Although the faces of the villagers were sad, they did not show any signs of desperate efforts. Because the grain reserves in the village were still sufficient.
It is enough to last until next year's autumn 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 Mintun villages in the Kingdom adopt the traditional collective village system. A village is a whole, or a "tribe". Villagers farm the land collectively, use the village's farm tools, and the harvested food is also stored centrally to supply the entire village.
of villagers.
This tribal village community model is the tradition of various tribes in Central America. Because a single individual family cannot cope with the difficult natural environment at all, let alone the fighting tribes. Even the children in the village are raised collectively
, and then taught by the elders or priests in the village.
Of course, this kind of traditional collective village community does not just eat from a big pot. It will naturally have 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 the food and drink expenses are
They are all the best. The next level down are the warriors, militiamen, hunters in the village...these men who are strong and capable of fighting and hunting. If there can be smart priest apprentices, then this second level
The highest status in the hierarchy. And further down, there are the farming men, strong women, and the 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 reserves, the children can have enough to eat, and can even receive training from warriors and hunters. Let's see. Can you cultivate some good seedlings...
"Huh? This village chief's longhouse looks pretty good!"
The woodpecker Ai Peck 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 there was even a coarse cloth on the mat. There was a blanket. There was an empty shelf by the wooden wall behind the straw bed. He approached it and carefully looked at the scratches and ropes on the shelf, and he understood in his heart.
"Bows and arrows...bronze 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, Woodpecker Aipei smiled helplessly. Then, he looked at the shrine to worship the gods. Inside was a stone sculpture of the main god, surrounded by ceremonial cocoa beans, shells, and bird feathers, and a silver sun talisman was enshrined in the middle. , in front is a gray pottery incense burner.
There was a faint scent of rosin in the whole house. After searching carefully for a while, the woodpecker saw 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 burner, it was obvious that he often prayed. appearance.
"Retired warriors of the kingdom, devout farm leaders, prosperous village life..."
After seeing these places in the house, Woodpecker Aipei knew what he was doing. He rubbed his tired legs for a while, found the remaining half of rosin and lit it, and then he 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, well-fed villagers, and well-lived village chiefs... 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 across the vast fields like green leaves. They are filled with the harvest’s grain, like incense burners filled with rosin!…Praise 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, and I need to complete three paragraphs... What should I write another paragraph?..."
The slightly burning rosin relaxes the mind. The quietness of the campfire warms the whole body. The woodpecker Ape thought about the unfinished poem, lay on the comfortable straw bed, and soon fell asleep. And tomorrow, he will have to cheer up , continue on the road. Pay special attention to the flag troops that will pass by those dog-origin tribes who have settled down. I don’t know what they look like...
