The warm wind in January blows across the tropical coast of the Gulf of Mexico, bringing humidity and heat. The sea breeze blows westward along the Owl River for seventy or eighty miles, and it arrives at the southern ancestral land of the Vastyk people, the rich city-state by the river, the crow city of Papantla.

A few gray crows circled the sky, looking down at the familiar city walls, villages and temples below, as well as seven unfamiliar slender ships. Hundreds of bare-chested Vastec craftsmen were gathering around the edge of the longboat, holding black clay pots in their hands, busy with their heads down.

After a while, a crow curiously lowered its height and landed on the top of the longship's mast. Then, it stared at the round eyes, turned around a little, and uttered a triumphant cry at the black wolf flag fluttering on the mast.

"Quack! Quack!"

"Um?"

Hearing the call, the old militiaman Chivaco looked up and saw the crow standing triumphantly on the mast. On the face of the old militiaman, a smile suddenly turned into a flower.

"The crow landed and croaked! Good! It's a rare auspicious omen!"

Uh, yes, that's a good omen! In Mesoamerica at this time, crows would often descend during sacrificial ceremonies. They are like messengers descending from the sky after praying to the gods, with mysterious divinity. Similarly, they will also appear when the old man is about to die, like the messenger of death, picking up the soul of the deceased. Therefore, in the Central American tribes that worship death, the crow is indeed an auspicious bird.

"Damn it!... This hot coastal lowland is much hotter than the plateau above the Owl River!"

Wearing a wooden eagle helmet, Puap looked up at the hot sun and complained loudly. Then, he looked at the busy Vastec craftsmen on the bank and shook his head.

"These Vastecs are good at dancing, and the women's waists are so soft that they are killing us warriors... But is it possible to repair the ship? It took more than 20 days to repair it, always To say the least..."

It was early January at this time, and more than a month had passed since the fleet entered the water at the end of November last year. The kingdom's exploration fleet first set sail from Herbal Lake, followed the upper tributary of the Owl River, and merged into the mainstream of the Owl River. Then they headed north and turned east again, bypassing steep waterfalls and detours by gentler tributaries. And if you encounter a falling waterfall that you can't get around on the way, you have to board the shore and pull the fiber down in the opposite direction to avoid damage to the boat...

It took half a month for the kingdom's fleet to travel a total of more than 600 miles of waterway before arriving at Crow City on the edge of the East China Sea. After arriving at Crow City, it was a long repair and waiting.

In the more than 600 miles of waterway, the altitude has dropped by more than 2,000 meters! The surrounding temperature has also risen a lot, from the warmth of the tropical plateau to the heat of the tropical lowland.

"Phew! Coming down from the upstream is like peeing with the wind, fast and urgent. If it weren't for the speed, you could even travel a hundred miles a day! The rock walls on both sides are very dangerous, bumps and bumps along the way, and there are gaps everywhere on the boat. Several times, they almost fell apart!...I heard that there are many storms in the eastern sea. If these seven longships are repaired, how can they go to sea again?"

Recalling the previous difficult voyage, the old militiaman shook his head and sighed. In the section beyond the Sierra Madre Oriental, the drop is indeed too large, and the navigation is dangerously tight. This is just the beginning, when we go out to sea, there are still more than 4,000 miles of sea journey!

Then, return from the sea, travel another four to five thousand miles, and then go upstream from the mouth of the sea, and climb such a high drop before returning to Tlaxcala. Then from there, you have to sail a thousand miles on dry land before you can return to the Kingdom of the Lake, where you can see your son-in-law, daughter, and grandchildren who don’t know how old they are...

Thinking of all this, the old militiaman felt sad and his eyes turned red. He looked towards the western sky and cursed fiercely in his heart.

"This blind Highness deserves to be struck by lightning!..."

"Captain, the craftsman of Vastec said that the ship can be repaired in one day!"

Dark Snake lowered his head, leaned over cautiously, and reported to the old militiaman. The four states of Tlaxcala are adjacent to Vastec, and there are many business exchanges. Dark Snake himself can speak some daily Vastec language. The old militia arranged for him to participate in the communication of ship repair.

The craftsmen and sailors of the expedition fleet also arranged many to repair the ship together. And the newly joined sailor Didi worked harder than anyone else from morning to night, forcing everyone to speed up.

"It's almost fixed?"

Hearing this, the old militiamen were a little surprised. Wearing a straw hat, he walked to the side of the boat and saw that the craftsmen of Vastek were using a dark, sticky liquid, accompanied by some black soft gravel, in various places on the long boat. . And those damaged planks and holes were filled with these black oil gravel, and then solidified into a hard appearance.

"What a strange black oil. It smells even worse than swamp mud! ...Well, but after repairing it, it really does not leak."

The old militiaman sniffed his nose and smelled the pungent smell of black oil. Then, he touched the filled gap, feeling the stickiness of his fingertips, thoughtfully.

The Vastyk craftsmen had told him long ago that this is the "black oil" produced in the underground pits, it is the essence of the Mother Earth, and it can resist the divine power of the God of Storms on the Eastern Sea! For hundreds of years, the coastal Wastec tribe has used this black oil and soft gravel to repair broken canoes.

And if Shulot came here and saw these black oil and soft gravel, he would be greatly surprised and call out their two names in later generations.

"Oil and Bitumen!"

Yes, the Crow City of the Vastecs is located on the oil fields along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Hundreds of miles to the north of it is the Tampico oil field with huge reserves, and hundreds of miles to the east is the Cantarell oil field in the sea, one of the largest oil fields in the world!

In fact, the entire coastal Bay of Campeche, from the Huastec lowlands to the Totonac rainforest, is rich in oil. There is even so much oil here that it can emerge directly from the deep pits in the ground, which will make the future generations of the heavens shed tears! Natural bitumen is also a common associated mineral in large oil fields.

The old militiaman lowered his head and inspected the dark long boat for a long time. He tried waterproofing first, then hardness. After all these repairs, the toughness of the longship is even better than before! The only downside is that the ship is a bit heavier, and the load has been slightly reduced... A smile finally appeared on the face of the old militiaman.

"Okay, it's great when it's fixed! Dark Snake, go for a run and inform the tomato priest in Crow City and the long-headed Mayan merchant. Tell them to come back early and get ready to go!"

"Yes, Captain."

Dark Snake nodded, and ran towards the Crow City more than a dozen miles away with a bronze spear in hand. On the outskirts of Crow City, along the Owl River with plenty of water, a large area of ​​farmland has been reclaimed. In some farmlands, beans have even been planted. In the perennially hot tropical lowlands, there is no longer a strict time limit for the cultivation of crops, and even three crops can be grown a year. However, the shortage of fertilizers in the farmland severely restricts the number of tillages. The only thing that can be cultivated many times is the nitrogen-fixed and fertilized kidney beans.

Soon, when they reached the edge of Crow City, a faint fragrance came oncoming. Dark Snake looked curiously, and saw some well-tended small fields with low vanilla growing on them. Seeing this, Dark Snake pursed his lips, recalling the taste of vanilla venison, and secretly swallowed.

Crow City is the origin of many Central American vanilla, and the domestication of vanilla began thousands of years ago. If there is no vanilla here, the milk tea of ​​later generations will probably lose its soul.

The Dark Snake kept on stepping, UU Reading www.uukanshu.com showed the token of the fleet, and led by the Vastyk warriors, they came to the big tent of the leader of the Silver Crow. Well, there are too many coastal storms, and every two years, a hurricane passes through. However, due to the lack of construction technology, tall wooden and stone buildings are not safe. Instead, tents, grass sheds and caves are the most common here.

In the big tent, the aroma is tangy. Evangelist Priest Tomat smiled and took a sip of cocoa with vanilla. Opposite him, a middle-aged chieftain was sitting cross-legged, wearing a golden sun amulet around his neck, looking at the straw mat on the ground, thinking.

Afterwards, Priest Tomat stretched out his hand and pointed to the "Ali Sutra" unfolded on the straw mat, and while sketching the picture of the main **** on it, he explained in a deep voice.

"...Cold comes and goes, autumn harvests and winter hides. The Lord God controls the changes in the temperature and temperature of the heaven and the earth, and the storms of the sea and land! She bestows rich harvests on those who obey, and brings divine disasters to those who disobey. Those who die from divine disasters will sink into the abyss of the earth, and will never be able to escape!..."

"Respected Chief Papata, the Silver Crow Tribe can only obtain God's blessing, survive continuous hurricanes, and even obtain a god-given harvest!"