In mid-March, the gentle spring breeze went south, crossed hundreds of miles of long rivers, and came to the edge of the endless great lake. The blue Pacific Ocean stretches as far as the eye can see, the waves are shimmering, and the tide rises and falls day and night, which is breathtaking.

"What a vast sea! What a man's romance!"

Shulot stayed on the edge of the sea in a canoe, looking at the ocean and sighing. For the blue sea, he also has an ideal of exploration in his heart, but this life is doomed to be hopeless.

Hundreds of canoes dock at the mouth of the Tulsas River. Two thousand elite Imperial Guard Corps landed immediately and began to defend for more than ten miles. When the king climbed to the west bank of the Ta River, he immediately saw Puapu, who was wearing leather armor and had a fat face.

The scouts arrived one step ahead, and Huitu Puap was stationed at the mouth of the river and had been waiting for a long time. As soon as they met, he threw himself on the ground excitedly and saluted the king.

"Lord God bless! Your Majesty, your loyal general, Huitu Puap salutes you! Even on the edge of the endless lake, I am always ready to dedicate my life to the kingdom!"

Shulot smiled faintly, staring at the gray nobles who were exiled on the border without speaking.

"Your Highness, General Huitu made a great contribution to discovering the divine stone this time. He is devout and fearless against evil gods. Although his martial arts and fighting ability are mediocre, he has a rare kind of ruthlessness and courage!"

Black Wolf Toltek took a step forward and said a few good words for Huitu.

Xiulot nodded slightly and waved his hand.

"Puap, get up! You have served the kingdom for only a few months, and you have made a contribution. It is indeed worthy of use!"

Hearing the evaluation of "worthy of use", Huitu Puap burst into tears with excitement. He has been blowing the sea breeze for four months on this seaside, and he is accompanied by sand and trees all day long, without seeing any prosperous scenes. In addition to eating seafood in different ways every day, and directing the villagers to work, the whole person is hopelessly fatter. He saluted again respectfully.

"Your Majesty, the Lord God witnesses, I am willing to live and die for your will!"

Then, the king looked around the kingdom camp by the sea. The camp has begun to take shape, and some wood has been accumulated. Under the watchful eye of the Prepecha warriors, hundreds of Tekos villagers cut down nearby forests with distributed bronze axes.

Shulot nodded in satisfaction. Then, he ate a delicious seafood meal in Trout Village, and he couldn't wait to lead the guards and headed west. Everyone stepped on the green grass in spring, smelling the fragrance of wild flowers, and came to Tekos Mountain, ten miles west of Trout Village.

To the north of Mount Kinabalu is the remaining vein of the Sierra Madre del Sur. Compared with other peaks, the holy mountain is not high, but the forests are sparse, and the birds and animals are rare.

Shulot carefully inspected the holy mountain. He saw the scorched black left by a large number of lightning strikes, and his face showed joy. He walked around the entire mountain, looking up from the bottom circle. Whenever he saw exposed reddish-brown rocks or large dark blue rocks, he took out the magnet and felt the corresponding magnetic force on the rocks.

"Leave five people, bring the prepared bronze pickaxe, and dig into the mountain here! Dig the soil, and stop when you encounter a hard rock. Pick a rock, record the distance, and then report to me!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Every time he ascended to a height of ten meters, Shulot left five guards behind, asking them to dig out the soil on the surface of the mountain and extract rock samples. The more he inspected, the more happy his face became. Until he climbed to the top of the sacred mountain, he was sure that there was a small magnetite under this low sacred mountain! An iron mine that he has been looking for for a long time that can change the times!

"The lord **** blesses! God bless the kingdom!"

Shulot stood on the high place of the sacred mountain, praying to the sun in the middle of the sky with a solemn expression.

Although he doesn't know the quality of the iron ore and the specific reserves, iron ore is iron ore. No matter how small the iron ore is, there are millions of tons of it, which is enough for the initial mining and use of the kingdom. The exploration of iron smelting technology can finally get on the right track!

At this moment, the call of the Iron Age, like the sound of the tide in the Pacific Ocean, has truly appeared in his ears.

In fact, in later generations of Mexico, this iron mine was the Las Truchas Iron Mine (). There are only a small number of exposed mineral veins in the sacred mountain on the ground, and its real mineral vein layer is distributed from 20 meters to 100 meters below the surface. Its surface reserves are about 11 million tons, with an average quality of 37%, and it is in a small iron-poor mine that can barely be mined.

This vein is a hydrothermal vein, formed by the mutual extrusion of the Pacific and American plates, and contains a large number of irregularly shaped magnetite. The underground main vein is about seven kilometers long and two kilometers wide. There are other mineral vein layers deeper, but the mining cost is too high, and it is obviously beyond the mining capacity of the times.

"Lord God bless! God bless Your Majesty!"

Seeing the king praying, Huitu Puap approached quickly and cautiously, and praised loudly. Hearing his cry, the warriors of the imperial guard also prayed loudly to bless the king.

After a while, Shulot finished praying. He glanced at Puap with a smile, his serious eyes softened.

"Huitu, you have indeed made a contribution!"

The king said with a smile.

"What reward do you want?"

"Ah?! Your Majesty, I would like to return to the Gyeonggi Legion and lead the warriors for you again to fight against the enemy!"

"oh?"

Hearing this, Shulot shook his head with a smile.

"No! You have just been dismissed, and you are not allowed to lead the legion again."

"Uh...I am willing to obey His Majesty's arrangement!"

Huitu's eyes flashed, thinking of what the old militiaman said, he fell to the ground, expressing his obedience to the king.

"Um."

Shulot pondered for a while before speaking.

"This sacred mountain is a mine, similar to Chinganbat's mine. I intend to set up a mine supervisor here, who belongs to the Ministry of Industry and Mining and is responsible for mining things."

"Is Shenshan a mine? Digging in Shenshan?"

Hearing this, Hei Lang opened his eyes wide in surprise. Until now, he still has a little awe of the mountain **** in the holy mountain, and is worried that the mountain **** will send down thunder.

"Exactly. The name of this mineral is iron. Iron is a gift from the mother **** of the earth, which attracts the thunder and lightning of the main god. The so-called Tekos mountain **** does not exist, but the Tekos people do not know the power of the main god, and attach to it Above false gods..."

With a solemn expression, Xiulot explained the "theological" truth in a serious manner. Manpower for mining iron ore must be recruited from nearby villages. The fear of everyone must be dispelled before the resistance can be eliminated and the iron ore can be developed as soon as possible. With this in mind, he continued to speak in a deep voice.

"Everything in the world is regulated by the Lord God. It follows certain natural laws and cannot do what it wants. A large amount of iron ore will attract each other with lightning. This is because there is the essence of the earth in the iron, and the essence of the sky in the thunder. It is the law of nature to be in harmony with the sky... Therefore, when mining iron ore here, you need to avoid the thunderstorm season, and there is no harm in the dry season! Of course, everyone must pray to the Lord God regularly! I will also send the Lord God The priest is here."

Bertard took out a pen and paper, and quickly recorded His Highness's narration. His Highness often talks about some laws of nature, in his opinion, it is the same as the hadith. These maxims and teachings must be compiled into a book and placed in the Shinway University for future generations to learn.

"Praise Your Highness! Your Highness is wise and enlightened!"

After listening for a while, Hei Lang suddenly realized. He had no doubts about His Highness's words, so he spoke bitterly at this moment.

"Damn Priest Terkos, dare to threaten me with empty words! Next time I meet the priests of the evil god, I will kill them!"

"Haha! From today onwards, this mountain will not be called Shenshan, but Black Rock Mountain! Black Rock Mountain Iron Mine!"

Xiulot smiled and returned to the topic again.

"Puap, now you have two places to go."

"Ah? Your Majesty?"

Huitu raised his head in surprise and anxiety.

The king paused, staring into Huitu's eyes.

"One is to stay in Hekou and manage the Black Rock Mountain Iron Mine for me. The scale of mining here will gradually increase, and the number of warriors stationed here will also increase. In a few years, there will be another Black Rock City in the mining area here."

"...er, to be a miner's boss?"

Hearing this, Huitu Puap was disappointed.

The world has been in war for thousands of years, and both the Mexica Alliance and the Kingdom of the Lake respect military force. In the traditional concept of warriors in the kingdom, no matter how many miners they manage, there is no status like a warrior battalion commander. The former is just an ordinary civilian manager, while the latter is a distinguished warrior leader.

"Your Majesty, what is the other destination?"

"Another place to go..."

Seeing Huitu's expression, Shulot knew it. He didn't force it either, just smiled unexpectedly and deeply. Before he exiled Huitu to the mouth of the sea, he had already prepared a place for him.

"You will lead the navy for me, starting from Haikou, and exploring along the boundless lake. For the kingdom in the lake, you will constantly search for new and rich lands and conquer them!"

"Ah! Commander of the navy in the south, conquer the land along the coast!"

Hearing this, Huitu Pu'apu's heart skipped a beat. This moving choice sounds much better than the miner's leader. Without hesitation, he saluted again.

"Praise Your Majesty! I am willing to lead the navy and die for the kingdom!"

"Ha ha!"

Shulot laughed. he said with a smile.

"Puap, this is a choice that requires courage, don't regret it!"

"The Lord God testifies, never regret it!"

"Okay! The Lord God witnesses!"

Xiu Luo nodded and said no more. He looked aside, the samurai commander who smiled calmly.

"Bothard, we need to arrange a loyal mine director here. It is best to be devout and familiar with the customs and language of the Tekos... Do you have any recommended candidates?"

The samurai leader was silent, recalling the relevant personnel. The Heilang next to him changed his expression and spoke suddenly.

"Your Highness, I have a suitable candidate!..."

After a while, the personal guard Mavic was uneasy and was summoned by the king. Heilang patted Mavic on the shoulder with a smile, and introduced to the king.

"Your Highness, he is my personal guard, Mavic, who is from Tekos and was born in Trout Village not far away. He believes in the Lord God, has joined the Royal Army for many years, and served in the Imperial Guard Corps as a vanguard Throwing, participated in the battle of the dog descendants of the Northern Expedition. Later, he came with me to the Guajili Army, and he was an important guide during the southwest raid..."

"Oh? Terkos personal guard..."

Shulot carefully looked at Hei Lang's bodyguard. Mavic is in his early thirties, with a solid build and a calm expression, with the typical appearance of a Terkos. Although he seemed a little nervous, he could still see a bit of competence.

"Marvic, how many years have you been in the Royal Army?"

"Lord God bless!"

Mavic subconsciously grasped the Sun Hummingbird rune around his neck, trying to calm himself down.

"Your Majesty, I am a surrendered soldier who was captured when the North Route Army captured Huayamo Fortress. It has been four years since I joined the Royal Army!"

"Four years..."

Shulot was slightly surprised. This qualification has surpassed many Prepecha warriors. Afterwards, he questioned Mavic for a while, and studied a few Ali scriptures, and finally nodded with satisfaction.

"Very good! Mavic, are you willing to stay here and manage the mining area for me and mine the ore in the mountains?"

"Huh? Stay here and manage the mining area?"

Mavic was startled, and asked subconsciously.

"Your Majesty, is the trout village under my control?"

"Of course! The villages around the mining area are under your jurisdiction. You have to recruit at least a thousand Terkos miners to mine the iron ore in the mountains during the slack dry season! I will recruit experienced miners from the Qinganbat mining area to come Assisting you. The scale of subsequent mining will be expanded, and a furnace for smelting ore will be built nearby, and coke will be transported... Your work will be very heavy!"

"Ah, Your Majesty! To obey your will, I am willing to do my best to manage the entire mining area for you!"

Hearing the management of Trout Village, Mavic didn't hesitate, bowed his head and fell to his knees. Being able to become an official in his hometown, return to his hometown with honor, and trample under the feet of those who once opposed him, it is simply not too pleasant. What's more, the trout and whitebait soup in my hometown is really nourishing!

"Very good! The Lord God bears witness, from today onwards, you are my warrior, the supervisor of the Black Rock Mountain Iron Mine Area!"

Shulot nodded with a smile. He solemnly stretched out his hand, shook Mavic's hair, and accepted Mavic's allegiance.

After the simple allegiance ceremony, the king ordered Mavic to wait for a while. For the mining and smelting of iron ore, he has many plans, which are just to be realized slowly.

Huitu looked at Mavic who had been ordered by the king, and suddenly felt envious. Then, he shook his head vigorously and told himself firmly.

"No, the head of the miner is definitely not as good as the head of the navy!"

The setting sun was gradually setting, and Shulot stood on the top of the mountain, looking at the setting sun in the western sea. The scene of the setting sun is so magnificent, like the sea and the sky, all dyed with rays of light. The king stared at it for a long time, his eyes slightly lowered, and he saw the stone tablet of the black wolf recording his achievements.

"Huh? This is..."

Xiulot strode forward, carefully reading the crooked words.

"Black Wolf Toltek, Fire Stove Hand Snake City, and Po Tekos people, credited on the mountain!...Huh? There are corresponding pictures below."

Xiulot smiled and watched for a while, first shook his head, then nodded.

"Hei Lang, not bad! The picture is not bad!"

"Haha! Thank you, Your Highness, for the compliment!"

Hei Lang held his head high, triumphantly.

"But the word, the writing is wrong."

Shulot stopped smiling and criticized seriously.

"Look at these two words! It's burning, not stove. It's smashing, not shattering...I'll go back to Trout Village later, ask the warrior chief to give you a pen and paper, and copy the two words hundreds of times!"

"Ah! Your Highness!"

Hei Lang's eyes widened, and his smug smile suddenly collapsed.

"A hundred times..."

"Hmm. Give me a bronze carving knife!"

The king nodded and said with deep meaning.

"I will fill in the words that Heilang lacks by myself!"

After the sunset, the last light falls on the hard stone tablet, illuminating the brand new marks. Kings and generals have all left, chasing the glimmer of a new era with new hopes.

In the next few days, Xiulot stopped in Trout Village. Unexpectedly, the personal guard Mavic is very good at craftsmanship, and the village chief Maho is also good at lighting fires. The king said that the delicious fish soup suits his taste very well.

The guards excavated in the Black Rock Mountain returned with samples one after another. The iron ore is distributed sporadically from the halfway up the Heiyan Mountain, and gradually extends to the bottom of the mountain, forming more and more obvious veins. According to this trend, the real vein should be under the Black Rock Mountain.

Hearing this, Shulot frowned slightly. The veins of the Heiyanshan Iron Mine are still a little deep, and mining is a bit difficult. If it is placed in later generations, the hill can be directly blown up. In this era, we can only use a lot of manpower to dig slowly.

In late March, sporadic iron ore was mined and piled up at the foot of the Black Rock Mountain. Terkos villagers were also mobilized and began to build simple small furnaces. If time permits, the king even wants to stay here for a few more months, watching the furnace being built and the first batch of scattered iron ore being smelted.

At the end of March, however, Union emissaries arrived at the mouth of the Tulsas River. He first came from the capital in the lake, along the Leman River west, then landed from Hekou County, and went south to the capital of Qin Congcan. Then, following the king's trail, he went south to Zicao City, west to Apa City, and finally got on a boat and went south hundreds of miles to the mouth of the Tarsas River.

"I traveled all the way for fifteen hundred miles, and finally I caught up with His Highness here!"

The emissary was emaciated and almost lost his shape due to exhaustion. He took out three orders from his pocket and read them out one by one.

The first is the will of the elders.

"...call His Royal Highness Lott to the capital in the lake, and officially marry Princess Alyssa...After the wedding ceremony, prepare for the Eastern Expedition."

The second is the will of King Avit, which simply repeated the elder's words, and then added a sentence.

"...Hurry up and prepare for the grand ceremony. Alyssa's wedding must be glorious to all nations!"

The third is the will of the Chief Priest, UU Reading www.uukanshu.com added another sentence.

"...Bring the most precious gift and marry the princess!"

Then, the messenger took out two more private letters and handed them to Xiulot.

The first letter was left by his father Xiusoke. It was roughly some wedding arrangements, and mentioned the plan of the alliance army to march eastward to Tlaxcala after the autumn harvest.

The second letter is in beautiful handwriting, with a faint fragrance. On the front of the letter was a picture of a boy holding a girl's hand, sitting side by side on a pyramid, looking at the stars in the sky. Below the painting are a few lines of missing words.

After reading the words, Shulot felt his heart surge, with a smile on his face and longing in his eyes. Then, he turned over the back of the letter, only to see a light hickey of carmine.

Seeing this, Xiulot's inner longing could no longer be suppressed. Standing on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, looking towards the mountains in the northeast, he shouted in his heart.

"Here I come! Alyssa, my love!"

Please remember the first domain name of this book: . :