The weather is sunny and the wind is smooth. The soothing September came to an end with raindrops, and the busy October also came in bright sunshine.

At the bay of the lagoon where the kingdom's long ship docked, an open space has been cleared among the large palm trees and tung oil trees, and two simple wooden warehouses have been built, a row of thatched huts and tents where warriors live, and a piece of adult living. Outdoor grass beds. Among the two warehouses, one stacked copper and stone tools for logging and mining, and the other stored food and fresh water, both of which were guarded by armored kingdom warriors.

On a slightly higher place near the river, Chief Shuihua led the militiamen to clear out a new field skillfully, and planted the cassava seedlings brought by Zhuzhu. The new field has been roughly cultivated, only the taller shrubs have been eradicated, and many low weeds remain. The land is also undulating, not very smooth, and there are even some stones.

But that's okay, unlike most delicate and delicate crops, cassava is an exceptionally tough crop. It does not require careful care, does not carry water and fertilizers, and can live after planting. It even has a strong competitive advantage in the face of weeds in the field. As long as the climate is warm, it can grow taller quickly, up to 3 meters, usually around 2 meters. Under such a height advantage, the weeds in the field will be robbed of sunlight, crowd out nutrients, and then wither and die.

What is even more exaggerated is that such a tough and tenacious crop has an astonishingly high yield per mu, and is known as the "King of Starch". In this era, even without the application of chemical fertilizers, cassava can produce hundreds of catties per mu. With the addition of chemical fertilizers in later generations, it is easier to reach an average yield of 2 tons per mu. Yes, you read that right, it is the terrifying figure of 2 tons per mu!

Moreover, the starch content of fresh cassava is about 30%, much higher than that of potatoes and sweet potatoes. More than two catties of cassava provide the same calories as one catty of polished rice. Of course, the taste of the two is incomparable. However, this is still food, food that can survive in times of famine. In the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China in later generations, this was once a common staple food in the south of China.

As for the only constraint on cassava, presumably it is a tropical crop that prefers hotter climates. It can also grow in a temperate environment, but the yield will be significantly reduced. The most suitable continent for this kind of crop is actually sub-Saharan Black Africa, which has a predominantly tropical climate.

In the 16th century, when this unusually high-yielding tropical crop spread to sub-Saharan regions, the population of various parts of Black Africa ushered in a long-term and stable growth along with the rapidly expanding cassava planting area! Until five hundred years later, cassava is still the lifeline of the African people, the only staple food of poor farmers, and once fed more than one billion African people!

At this moment, under the scorching sun, the old militiaman Chihuaco was also squatting in the field, busy planting the last batch of cassava together with Chief Water Flower. He has been learning how to plant it for several days, and he loves this easy-to-live and high-yield crop from the bottom of his heart.

It wasn't until noon that everyone was busy. The old militiaman Chihuaco wiped off his sweat, and took Chief Splash with a gentle smile, and Kuba, a translator with a simple and honest face, to the newly built hut. Then, he recruited Dark Snake, an apprentice priest who could write and draw, and asked the other party to record carefully.

"Dark Snake, where are your pens and booklets? Take them out for me and remember what I said!"

"Huh? Captain Daddy, I haven't learned all the characters of the alliance yet."

"It's okay. If you don't know how to write, you can just draw a picture! Don't you know how to write graphic text? Anyway, write it down, as long as you can recognize it!"

"Uh, I'm ready, Captain Daddy."

"Cough cough! Well, remember, this cassava is planted without seeds, but with seedlings. What about the seedlings, yes"

Having said that, Chivaco paused, a little uncertain. He looked at Chief Splash and Kuba, gestured and chatted for a while before preaching again.

"The seedlings should be selected from the main tubers with bud openings, those with milk in the incisions, and those that are free from disease and insects, cut off the second half, and the tubers that are two or three palms long are used as seedlings. The planting is also very simple. Just dig a palm-deep pit, bury the seedlings upright, and insert them well.”

"The cassava seedlings planted can be harvested stably after growing for more than ten months to a year. When harvesting, you have to dig the soil along the roots, take out only a part of the tubers, and leave some to continue to grow. Be careful not to damage them Broken, this thing is easy to break"

"Well, cassava is very easy to spoil! After digging it out, you have to peel it and cut it into pieces. Then soak it in water and soak it vigorously. Remember, this stuff is poisonous. If you don't soak it in water, it can poison people to death! But soaking in water can detoxify When eating, be sure to boil it again in boiling water to remove any remaining poison, and it will be fine.”

Chihuaco, an old militiaman, babbled and recounted the details of cassava planting and eating. If he was unclear, he asked Chief Splash, and he was serious and careful like never before. The young Dark Snake memorized several pages and even drew pictures.

"Huh! How about it, have you memorized everything?"

"It's all there, Father. It's all in this book!"

"Well, it's not very safe to write it down in the booklet. Dark Snake, you have a good memory, memorize it all for me. If you encounter big waves when you go back and get wet in the booklet, you can also recite it again."

"Got it, Dad. I'll recite it tonight."

"Good! Great! Praise the Lord God!."

After finishing all this, the old militiaman let out a long breath and prayed sincerely once in a while. Then, he took a large basket of prepared cassava seedlings from Chief Shuihua and held them tightly in his arms.

"Tsk tsk! That blind Highness finally opened his eyes. As long as I bring this crate of cassava seedlings back to the land in the lake, I will die this trip, and it will be worth it! If my precious things can be planted in my hometown, how many people will live!."

"...No, no. There is only one basket, and it is still not safe. When I get to the border of Cuba and prepare to cross to the Maya, I will still find the local tribes, and I will ask for a basket of fresh ones that will germinate."

While the old militiamen were busy preparing for the planting of cassava, Priest Tomat also made new progress. He took a few missionary priests, and the divine revelation priest Mecate, and worked hard for more than ten days to build a clay charcoal kiln and burn out the first batch of charcoal.

Speaking of which, the big island of Cuba is rich in minerals, and the coastal oil and gas are abundant. The only thing lacking is coal. The kingdom's fleet circled most of the big island, and had never heard of any "black stone" that could burn. Priest Tomat also sent people to search for it, but unfortunately it has been fruitless. Therefore, if Tiewan Town wants to burn bricks to build temples and smelt iron ore, it can only rely on the general method taught by Shenwei University, which is to burn charcoal.

"Hey! The Lord God blesses you! When this kind of Marabu tree burns charcoal, it doesn't emit much smoke. I thought the kiln failed, but I didn't expect it."

Priest Mecate stared wide-eyed at the charcoal being tried by the kiln. The charcoal was black and white, and it burned amazingly, but there was still no smoke. Obviously, according to the standards of the Divine Enlightenment Institute, this is the best charcoal, smokeless white charcoal!

"With so much firepower and no smoke, it is indeed the best charcoal!"

Priest Tomat touched his chin, looked at the coal fire in front of him, and suddenly became excited.

"This must be the blessing of the Lord God! It was specially prepared for us by the Lord God for us to smelt iron ore! By the way, what is the name of the little tree we use to burn charcoal?"

"Uh, the Taino people call it 'marabu'. It is said to be a small tree, but in fact it can only be regarded as a shrub in terms of thickness and height. According to the guide Heishi, this kind of small tree grows everywhere on the island of Cuba. , more than palm trees, growing like crazy."

Priest Mecate scratched his head, and chatted with the newly converted Maria hunter and guide Heishi. Then, with a clear face, he patted the other person on the shoulder, praised with a smile, and looked at Priest Tomat.

"Heishi said just now that the hunters they go out to hunt like to cut down this kind of small tree as firewood in the wild. Because after cutting this kind of tree, the inside is oily, and it can be burned well. So he knows that we need to burn firewood. , specially recommend this kind of wood!."

The "marabu" tree in the Taino population is actually a native tree species on the island of Cuba. It was called jatropha or tung oil tree in later generations. This tree is rich in oil, and its branches and trunk can burn the highest quality charcoal. And its seeds, with an oil content of up to 40%, are almost the best type of oil crops. In the field of new energy in later generations, the seed kernel of tung oil tree is one of the main raw materials for the production of biodiesel, and has been widely introduced to tropical Africa and India for planting.

"Okay! Very good! Guide Heishi, you have made a great contribution!"

Priest Tomat nodded, reached out and groped in his bosom for a while, and then took out a silver sun hummingbird amulet. Then, solemnly, he put the talisman of the main **** on the neck of the guide Heishi, and announced in a deep voice in Taino language.

"The Lord God protects you! This is the blessing of the gods, and it will guide your soul to the beautiful kingdom of God after death!"

The guide Heishi bowed his head respectfully, accepting the blessing from the powerful longboat priest. He touched the shiny and slightly cool silver emblem, which was exactly the same as the emblem~lightnovelpub.net~ tattooed on his forehead. Heishi closed his eyes, prayed a few words devoutly, and felt a surge of heat in his heart. Then, he opened his eyes, thought of something again, and responded excitedly.

"Praise. The mighty Lord God! Praise the mighty longboat priest! That, the marabu tree, has a good trunk and is easy to burn! And, their seeds are even better! More oil, more oil!"

"Huh? Oily seeds?"

Hearing this, Priest Tomat was stunned for a while, and his eyes suddenly brightened. He grabbed the guide Heishi and shouted excitedly.

"Quick, go! Show me the kernels of the marabou tree!"

"All over the kingdom, conquest is the top priority. Bows and crossbows need to be oiled, bronze weapons need to be oiled, and leather armor and shields must also be oiled. The most lacking military resources right now is oil! What the kingdom lacks most is also oil crops. .”

"If there is such a small oil-producing tree, I must give enough tree seeds to Captain Chivaco before he returns!"

(end of this chapter)

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