At the end of September, the wind was clear and the clouds cleared, and the sun was shining brightly. The humid southeast wind gradually subsided, and the dry and cold air came from the northern plateau. The rainy season left and the dry season came. The fields are lush and fragrant, and the villagers are busy. The pumpkins were drying, the beans were harvested, and the corn was just ripening.

On the shore of Lake Texcoco, a traveling royal team is winding its way along the harvest fields to the holy mountain of Estella in the west. All the villagers along the way bowed to the ground and saluted. Priests and village chiefs greeted from a distance, not daring to take a step closer without authorization.

Five hundred imperial guards warriors wore bronze helmets, leather armor, bronze spears and longbows on their backs. They held high the banner of the black wolf, and also guarded under the banner of the royal family, two noble god-born couples, Shulot and Alyssa.

The two were newly married for one month, searching for secrets every day, cloudy and starry every night. The inner and outer surroundings of the capital in the lake, all the sights worth seeing have been visited. The purpose of this trip is to go to the holy mountain dozens of miles west of the capital to pray and offer sacrifices to the Sun Temple on the top of the mountain. Then, they will spend their holidays in the Holy Land of Union under the holy mountain, visit the flowers and birds in the mountains, enjoy the geothermal hot springs, rest for a week or two, and draw the end of their newly-married honeymoon.

Shulot didn't wear any armor, just a loose short robe, and he was walking in the fields in early autumn. He looked around and saw the busyness and joy before the harvest everywhere. A sincere smile appeared on the young man's face, and he remembered a sentence of unknown origin in his mind, so he recited it in a low voice.

"Going out and wandering in the wilderness, if you don't know how to farm and the people are poor, and don't know the labor of the people, the land and the people, then you will be embarrassed..."

"Huh? Shulot, what are you talking about?"

Alyssa was dressed in a white robe, a pair of delicate cloth shoes, and a silver ring for her hair. Looking at it at a glance, the pure and beautiful girl has not applied makeup, but is as beautiful and moving as a snow lotus. When she heard her lover whispering, she blinked curiously.

"Haha, I mean, if you want to manage the alliance and the people well, you must know the details of farming, the poverty of the village, the production of the land, and the hard work of the people! As the heir of the alliance, if you don't know these things, you should be punished. Whip whipping..."

Xiulot replied with a smile, but his expression was full of seriousness. He gazed at the harvest in the fields, and pondered the foundation upon which the kingdom rested. The so-called plowing war, plowing before the war is the root of everything.

"Um...whip?"

Hearing this, Alyssa blushed when she looked at her lover. She licked her lips and asked softly like a seductive little fox.

"Sholot, who will whip you?"

"Of course it's me! As the suzerain priest, I will regularly conduct introspection in front of the sign of the lord god..."

Shulot took it for granted, with a loud voice. After a while, he stared blankly and looked at the shy girl.

"Alyssa?...you..."

"Well... In mythology, the monkey **** "Ozumatri" is the companion of the **** of music and dance "Shuqipiri". But ah, the monkey **** has always been passionate and lively, and it is difficult to restrain his desires... If he steals food outside, the goddess Shuqipili will take out a moving snake whip, snap..."

Alyssa blushed and whispered, her voice gradually inaudible.

Xiulot couldn't believe it. He looked at the delicate girl and murmured.

"Punishment for stealing?...Alyssa...you want to...uh, not no..."

"Ah, don't talk about this!"

The girl's neck turned red from embarrassment, and she stomped her feet angrily. Then, she turned her head as if fleeing, and looked at the fields on both sides.

"Sholot, look, the corn in the field is already ripe. Why do these people sleep by the field, but don't harvest the corn in the field?"

Hearing this, Xiu Luote smiled and looked at the vast farmland of Siye. The vast Milpa is full of mature corn. There are tens of thousands of Mexica villagers in Siye, and they all mobilize the whole village to sleep in the fields. From time to time, villagers in the distance waved wooden sticks, and some militiamen even shot stones to drive away the birds and beasts that were watching the corn.

"Well, Alyssa, it is like this. Although the corn in the field is ripe, it is not ripe. The birds and animals are attracted by the aroma of the ripe corn. The villagers want to drive away the birds and animals while waiting for the harvest of the corn." cooked."

Shulot pondered for a while before explaining in detail. Unlike other crops, corn is not easy to fall off after maturity, and it will complete the post-ripening effect on the plant to absorb the last nutrients of the plant, thereby increasing production. As long as one or two weeks of harvesting at night, the yield can be increased by nearly one-tenth!

In this era of low yields, every bit of increased food production is precious. Therefore, this is the hardest time before the autumn harvest. Villagers have to sleep on the edge of the fields for a week or two, tending to the ripening grains, letting the fresh tender corn fully ripen and turn into sunken old corn.

Hearing the knowledge about farming, Naxiu's eyes flickered, and she kept her mouth shut. She looked at His Highness quietly, and seemed to recognize a new side of her master.

Bertard was a few steps away, guarding the periphery. Hearing what Xiulot said, he smiled and praised.

"Your Highness is right! You have to wait a little longer before you can harvest more corn. It will take about until the milk line of the corn kernels disappears completely, the kernels become hard, and the bracts are dry, white and loose. At that time, the priests in the village And the elders will urge the villagers to harvest day and night."

Alyssa blinked and nodded. She is good at growing flowers and herbs, and knows a thing or two about farming.

"Sholot, I understand! As you and I have said, the vitality of crops comes from the sunshine of the sun god, the rain and dew of the wind and rain god, and the nutrients of the mother **** of the earth. Corn takes longer to mature, and the harvest is naturally faster. Just more. And now the sun is shining, there is no rain, and there is no need to worry about mold!"

"good!"

Xiulot nodded in satisfaction, stretched out his hand, and gently pinched his lover's face. The group of people walked non-stop, passing through the continuous corn fields, and then came to a large cotton field. And the scenery in front of him also changed from the endless yellow and green to the interweaving of gray and white and bright green.

"Your Highness, this is the cotton field of the Alliance. Not far to the west is the towering holy mountain, surrounded by not only steaming hot springs, but also extremely fertile land. Most of these lands belong to the nobles and warriors of the capital, occupying the best water canals , growing valuable cotton."

Hearing what the warrior commander said, Shulot nodded slightly. He stopped and stared at the low cotton bushes, his eyes twinkling with thought.

Cotton is a very water-intensive and land-consuming crop. In the Union of Mexico, naturally the more productive Mexican fine-staple cotton is grown.

Compared with Indian coarse-staple cotton in the Old World, the growth period of Mexican fine-staple cotton is more than ten days shorter, the yield is much higher, and the quality of lint is much better, making it easier to weave into cloth. This was the coveted economic crop in the Old World, and it was also the key to the explosion of cotton production in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

Cotton cloth woven from cotton is a global trade product. In the world of Mesoamerica, cotton cloth is the same currency as cocoa, and can be used directly as money in the villages and towns of various parts.

The banner of the black wolf fluttered, surrounded by the warriors in awe. Xiulot stopped for a moment, and the busy crowd in the cotton field stopped and saluted the royal team. Most of the people prostrate themselves on the ground, performing the etiquette of common people. A few people knelt on one knee, which turned out to be the etiquette of warriors.

Xiulot watched from a distance for a while, then asked in a deep voice.

"Bertard, have you ever picked cotton?"

"I picked it, Your Highness."

The samurai commander replied quietly, with a look of reminiscence on his face.

"Cotton in the alliance is usually planted in April. If the land is not fertile enough, it will be planted more sparsely. By the end of August, the first batch of cotton can be picked. Then every five to seven days, cotton will gradually mature. , Generally, it can be picked until the end of October, and can even be picked until the end of December. However, generally, the further you go, the worse the quality of cotton..."

"...Picking cotton is a really laborious job, much harder than farming. Of course, the benefits of growing cotton are incomparable to farming. The great nobles of the alliance will enslave a large number of serfs to be responsible for the planting, picking and weaving of cotton , to directly obtain cotton cloth that can be used as currency. In the families of civilian warriors, if there is a lush and fertile Chinanpa, they will also grow some cotton... After all, corn is only food, and cotton is money.”

Shulot nodded slowly. Cotton picking is extremely cumbersome and takes a long time, which consumes a lot of manpower. The triangular trade in the Atlantic Ocean was so prevalent in later generations, largely because of the endless demand for manpower in the cotton fields, sugar cane fields, and tobacco fields in tropical America.

"Botard, how many catties of cotton can be harvested in a season for one acre of cotton field in the alliance?"

Hearing this, Bertard thought for a long time before giving an uncertain answer.

"Chinanpa, which is not a high-yield country, can produce nearly 20 catties of cotton in one acre of cotton fields along the lake. It can probably make one or two pairs of strong cotton armor for the warriors at home."

"20 catties per mu?"

Xiulot raised his voice, a little surprised. He looked at the league's cotton fields again, with a smile on his face.

"The hinterland of the alliance is really fertile, and the cotton yield is so high!"

Yes, in this era, 20 catties of cotton per mu is an absolute high-yield figure, and it will crush India in the old continent and Ming Dynasty in this period. This should be attributed to the excellent varieties of Mexican short-staple cotton, as well as the climate of rain and heat in the tropics. The domestication of various crops by the ancestors of Central America has really benefited the entire human civilization.

Bertard smiled quietly. He thought for a while, and then reminded him again.

"Your Highness, the Alliance is located on a high plateau and attaches great importance to food production. It does not produce much cotton. Among all the ministries in the world, the ones that produce the most cotton are Mistra and Zapotec in the southern rainforest, and the cotton in the eastern rainforest. Maya."

"Well. The Mayan merchant Ticaro also told me that the city-state of Tutulxiu in the north of the Yucatan Peninsula is a rich and rich state rich in cotton."

Shulot turned around and looked towards the far east, lost in thought for a long time.

With the current navigation technology, to go to the Cuban Islands, the safest navigation route is still along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, all the way to the Yucatan Peninsula in the south-east. After reaching the northern part of the Yucatan Peninsula, turn to the east and travel three to four hundred miles by sea, and you can reach it smoothly. This route along the coast has long been in the hands of the Mayans, and the chance of getting lost is very small. However, to take this route, you must first obtain a temporary foothold on the Yucatan Peninsula.

"Otter City, Tutulxiu City...Eastern Airline..."

Alyssa turned her head sideways, her bright eyes flickering. She looked at her thinking lover, as if she was reading an incomprehensible book, mysterious and fascinating.

"Sholot, what are you thinking about? Well, I can think with you..."

"Haha! I was thinking..."

Shulot came back to his senses and smiled slightly. He stretched out his hand, hugged Keren in front of him, and kissed deeply.

"I was thinking, by this time tomorrow, we can soak in the hot spring together and watch the sun go down!"

"Ah! A lot of people's..."

Alyssa exclaimed, UU Reading www.uukanshu. A blush appeared on com's face again. She pursed her lips and hid in her lover's arms. Then, the girl spoke softly, her voice was as thin as a mosquito.

"So, what happens after the sun goes down?..."

"After the sun goes down... of course, watch the fish swimming in the water!"

"Huh? There are no fish in the hot spring."

"Yes. If you don't believe me, I'll show you when the time comes..."

"Ugh...bad monkey!..."

"Ha ha!"

The youth's laughter spread far and wide, and the black wolf's banner moved again. Loyal warriors surrounded the king and queen as they headed for the sacred mountains of the West. There, there is the oldest Sun Temple, and the never-extinguished inheritance sacred fire, which has been burning from the long past to today and the future!