Chapter 415 The King's Gift

Spring is deep in April, orioles are singing thousands of miles away, green vegetation is growing in the endless wilderness, and bright flowers are blooming in the plains of the lake area. When travelers return from a long journey and see the picturesque spring scenery in the surrounding fields, they will forget the troubled times they live in.

After the first rain fell, the pink cicada flowers smiled for the first time in the gentle water town, welcoming the king's triumphant return. The black smoke of burning wasteland rose from every village where military and civilian settlements were located, and the singing of busy farmers was loud and clear in the newly reclaimed fields. The season of spring plowing has arrived, and the entire kingdom in the lake is glowing with life through hard work.

Hulot led the Guards Corps northward from the mouth of the Tarsus River and first stopped in Culamo City for a day. He ordered the veteran Etalik to concentrate manpower and material resources and give priority to the development of the Heiyanshan iron ore at the mouth of the river. Then, he took a slight detour and stayed for a day in the Chinganbat mining area. He summoned Nekali, the director of industry and mining, and asked him to send skilled miners and craftsmen to assist in the mining and smelting of the river mouth iron ore.

The southern part of the kingdom has finally calmed down, and both the Prepecha farmers who have been incorporated into the Mintun and the Tekos tribesmen who have been incorporated into the flag corps are busy busy with spring plowing. This is the top priority of the year and determines the food and clothing survival for the next year.

Ezpan sent an envoy to report back, and thousands of southwestern tribesmen poured out from the mountains of Coalcoman and surrendered to the royal army in the plains of Apa. After they finished eating their crops, if they didn't want to starve to death, they had no choice but to submit to the kingdom and be incorporated into the flag team village.

It took a month for Xiulote to return to the capital of Qincongcan from the mouth of the river seven hundred miles away. He immediately met with the chief minister Jatiri. In the sage's exclamation of wonder, he told the story of the southern campaign and entrusted the government affairs of the kingdom. Because, he will soon leave for Tenochtitlan, the capital of the lake, to get married.

At the end of April, the king issued military orders to all the legions in the kingdom. The First Lance Corps guards Hekou County, the Gyeonggi Corps guards Gyeonggi Province, the Second Lance Corps guards Apa County, and the Purple Grass Corps guards Shicho County. The Guakili Corps returned north to Hekou County to rest and be ready to be called up again at any time. The Guards Corps will go to the Alliance with the King in early June.

After arranging everything, Shulot settled down and started preparing the congratulatory gifts to bring to the alliance.

"The most precious gift, the grandest celebration, and the most unforgettable surprise for Alyssa!"

On the way back to the royal capital, he had thought about it for a long time and had roughly made up his mind.

"First of all, it's a gift to the alliance, 20 boxes of jade, 20 boxes of obsidian, 20 boxes of bronze, 20 boxes of gold, 20 boxes of silver, and 20 boxes of gems. Well, this time I won't use the Prepecha gem, I will use the Prepecha gem. exchanged for traditional gems.”

In Mesoamerican culture, 20 is an auspicious number, the number of days in each month of the solar calendar, and symbolizes the sacred gathering. And 18 is the number of months in the solar calendar, symbolizing different divinities.

"Then there are expensive gifts for the royal family, 18 pieces of purple sand pottery, 18 pieces of agarwood furniture, 18 boxes of fine cotton cloth, 18 boxes of feathered clothes, 18 bundles of vanilla and spices. Count all the treasured luxuries!"

Shulot picked up a pen and made a large outline of the kingdom's inventory, making sure that it was both rare and valuable, and that it was in sufficient quantity.

"Then there are tribute gifts to the king, 365 pairs of bronze cloth armors, 365 bronze Qin swords, and 365 five hundred long bows."

Similarly, the number of days in a year, 365, is also an auspicious number. Then, Shulot paused for a moment, blinked, hesitated for a while, thought of his grandfather's hint, and wrote down.

"Add 36 Tiger Crouching Cannons and 4 Condor Cannons!"

The Cannon Casting Bureau can cast 1 condor cannon and 10 squatting tiger cannons every month. In the six months since Wang Zhe went south, the inventory of Crouching Tiger Cannons increased by sixty or seventy. It was not a big deal to take out 36 of them. The real pain for Shulot was the Condor cannon. The casting success rate of this 2-pound cannon was too low.

"Finally, a gift for Alyssa! First, a travel album that I drew by myself, recording my experiences in the north and south of the kingdom; hundreds of strange flowers and plants, collected from the northern wastelands and southern mountains; a fist The best fire opal of all sizes, with sunset-like flames inside, is a tribute from the chief of Colima. Well, the Colima mountainous area has always been one of the world’s most famous sources of rare opal.”

Opal is a colorful gemstone that is formed by the solidification of melted silica deposits. It is similar to amber to some extent, but its formation conditions are more demanding. Before the discovery of opal in Australia, the rarest opal origin in the world was in the southwest mountainous area of ​​the kingdom.

".Coupled with a 60-carat pigeon-blood ruby, which comes from the Mixtec trade; and a pair of crystal clear jade bracelets, which come from the tribute of Mayan traders. Haha, girls should all like these sparkling jewelry. Yes. Yes, there are two unique surprises in the new era! ”

Thinking of the cloud-like girl, Shulot smiled sincerely. The value of these gifts in later generations is inestimable, but to the king of the Lake Kingdom, they are not very valuable. What worries the king most are the two surprises of the new era, which require his personal participation in the production. After sketching for a while, he threw down the pen and paper, took a few personal guards, and headed to Shenwei University.

Divine Power University is located in the palace area of ​​the capital. It was converted from a mansion of the glorious nobles of Tarasco, not far from the Palace of Winds. This priestly university was established together with the Kingdom of the Lake, and it has been three years now. By this time, the first batch of quick-service missionary priests had graduated and were serving in various villages and communities. The latter two groups of students need to study for more than three years and flow to different branches of priests.

Compared to when it was first established, the university has expanded a lot. The number of students admitted each year is about 200. These people come from a wide range of sources. 40% are descendants of nobles and priests at all levels, 30% are from various warrior families, 20% are merchants and civilians and their children, and 10% are descendants of noble chiefs from various states of Otomi. Now, at the request of the king, the various tribes of Tekos will also send the children of noble chiefs to receive the teachings of the kingdom.

In the eyes of the people in the capital, this Shenwei University is a real way to the sky. As long as you can enter the university, it means that you have the status of a reserve priest, and from then on you will become a reserve of the ruling class.

The king came to Shenwei University with a light outfit and dozens of guards. The vice president of the university, the third-level chief priest Bravo, has been waiting for a long time.

"Bless you, Lord God! The chief priest of God's inspiration, the supreme priest king, Bravo greets you!"

Bravo looked solemn and saluted respectfully. His character was not so solemn, but now he was in the key position of vice president of Shenwei University, and was envied and scrutinized by many senior priests, so he had to be cautious and strict.

"May the Lord God bless you! Priest Bravo, are the priests of divine revelation and senior craftsmen ready?"

"Ready, Priest. The two experimental sites are there."

Bravo smiled and nodded, pointing to the vast training ground behind the university.

"According to your previous instructions, the priests and craftsmen have been busy for half a month. The two experimental sites, materials and experimental products are all ready."

"Good!"

The king looked around and nodded with a smile.

"Call the students of the Divine Revelation Academy. I want to conduct an open experiment and tell them about the natural principles of the Lord God. Students from other academies can also listen in."

"I will obey your decree, Priest."

Bravo bowed and nodded, and immediately asked several priest apprentices who followed him to pass on the message.

Shenwei University trains priest apprentices for the kingdom. According to the kingdom's priest system, it is also divided into: the Scripture College for studying astronomy, teachings, scriptures and rituals, the History College for studying mythology, epics, history and literature, the Preaching College for studying administration, preaching, confession and sacrifice, the War College for studying herbs, medicine, combat and sacrifice, and the Divine Revelation College for studying equipment, engineering, mysterious reactions and natural principles.

In simple terms, it is the Theological College, the College of Literature and History, the Administrative College, the Military College and the Polytechnic College. The subjects that all colleges must learn are reading and writing, basic doctrines and common mathematics.

With the announcement of the priest apprentices, the whole Shenwei University was boiling. Students came from all over the university, wanting to see the dignity of the priest king and listen to the teachings of the divine revelation. It would be best if they could leave some impression in front of the king.

The Tekos girl Elaine blinked her eyes and ran agilely accompanied by two guards. She had a ponytail, a white apprentice robe, and a copy of the Ali Sutra in her hand.

Elaine had just enrolled in the most mysterious Divine Revelation Academy. As the daughter of the chief of Tekos, the other academies meant nothing to her. Only the strange creations in the Divine Revelation Academy were the most fascinating and possessed infinite power.

"And the only place where the chief of the god of death personally taught was the Divine Revelation Academy!"

Elaine smiled brightly, revealing the fighting spirit of a female leopard.

"I must master the most powerful mysterious power in the Northern Kingdom!"

Thinking of this, the Tekos girl quickened her pace and ran towards the mysterious venue in the training ground. In the past half month, there have often been loud sounds, brilliant lights, and flying wonders there. The guarding warriors were strictly on guard around the venue and did not allow close-up peeping. As for the mystery in it, she was like being scratched by a cat's paw from time to time, curious and awed.