Chapter 678 Rich Mineral Resources, Bold Proposal

There are layers of clouds overlapping in the blue sky, and sparkling waves in the blue sea. The mountains and forests along the coast are freshly green, and the long river is like a jade belt. The scenery of the northern coast is like the most magnificent painting of nature, outlining a colorful future.

The new priest Zuwaro looked at the mountains and seas along the way, sailing all the way home, but his thoughts drifted leisurely to the north.

Not long ago, after an unexpected encounter with the Tolpan tribe, the fleet stayed for a full day. In the first meeting, the two sides did not reach any in-depth agreement, but just confirmed their friendship and expressed closeness. He gave the leader Visaka ten bundles of cotton cloth, ten bags of cocoa, and ten spears as gifts from friends. The leader Visaka gave back two baskets of unused gold, silver, and amphibole, several bags of fur, and some mineral red dyes. As for the lake gems that the kingdom had been invincible in the southern tribes, the leader Visaka said that he could not use them, so he might as well exchange them for a bag of food.

According to tribal tradition, in the next six months, the Tolpan tribe will cultivate at the river mouth and plant a season of corn. If the harvest is good, they may establish the Tolpan River mouth as a stable migration site, return every spring and move away in autumn.

"Our merchant fleet will trade regularly and bring you the goods you need."

The Zuwaro priest said to the Visaka leader with sincerity.

"You can consider building a village at the river mouth and settle down from then on. Or, at least leave some people to maintain the existence of the camp."

"Food is always in short supply in the wilderness. In the autumn when we can't farm, we must expand the search range, find more prey, or fight with other tribes."

Visaka leader clenched the copper spear in his hand and thrust it into the ground with force, and it was half a foot into the soil. Then, he looked at the copper spear that was obviously sharper, thought for a moment, and promised.

"Brothers from afar, if you can come regularly and bring us useful goods and weapons, there will always be someone staying in the camp at the mouth of this river."

"Even if the tribe migrates, it will only follow this Tolpan River to the wasteland upstream. There are more Huichoer tribes there. They also have more furs, dyes, gold stones, silver stones and amphibole. The tribe will try to bring back as many as possible and trade with you."

The so-called amphibole is cassiterite and yellow tin ore associated with sphalerite, which also exist in hydrothermal vein-type deposits. These tin ores are abundant in the territory of the Huichoer people, just like the silver ores that can be seen everywhere in the northwest of Zacatecas, and the gold ores that are not rare. However, there are tin ores in this area, but no copper. The Red Crow tribe discovered the Copper Mountain, but no tin.

The three thousand miles of wasteland in the north is very barren, with few rivers and rainfall, and extremely rich mineral deposits, but unevenly distributed. The exchanges between the tribes are often dominated by fighting, and large-scale trade is difficult to carry out, and there is no way to develop ores. The deeper into the wilderness, the more fierce and barbaric the hunting tribes become, and the more they migrate.

Therefore, the use of these minerals by the Huichoer tribes is limited to grinding them into dyes or using them for decoration. They are isolated from other tribes, and there are no tribes that have established city-states around them, so they have not learned smelting. Or, they once learned it, but they forgot it while migrating in the wilderness with a lack of fuel.

"Deep in the wilderness, the Huichoer tribes speaking ancient Aztec are located in the mountains in the northwest of the world."

The Zuvaro priest pursed his lips, staring at the simple eyes and brave tattoos of the Visaca leader, and also felt the fierceness and murderousness of the wilderness warriors. Many thoughts rose and fell in the heart of the new priest. After a while, he nodded and made a farewell agreement with the Visaca leader.

"The Lord God bears witness! Brothers of the Tolpan tribe in the mountains, I will leave ten crew members stationed here. They will help you farm and build camps. When we return to the kingdom and repair the ship, we will go north again in two or three months, and we will definitely meet again before the autumn harvest."

"Okay! The gods are watching the promise on the ground in the red sky. The tribes on the ship, we will meet again and trade again as friends and brothers!"

The leader of Visaka nodded and agreed. He did not have as many ideas as the other party, nor was he afraid of the tribes on the ship staying. Even if there is a threat at the seaside in the future, it will only be a long-distance migration, and it will be fine if it turns a few hundred miles. But at the moment, this kind of trade that is beneficial to the continuation of the tribe must always be grasped in hand and is worth doing!

The sun rises and sets, and another day has passed. The merchant fleet sailed into the sea and sky, and the estuary returned to calm. From south to north, after the Brown Town of the Southern Tekos and the Three Rivers City of the Northern Tekos, the Tolpan River estuary where the Huichol people migrated is the third node of the northbound route.

Continuing north, the fourth node is Yushan Village of the Totomé people, where food and fresh water can be replenished, and gold and stone can be traded on a small scale. When the merchant fleet returned, more than a dozen crew members were stationed here. Six or seven hundred miles northwest is the fifth node, the Yorem tribe of the Mayo people.

Priest Zuvaro sat at the bow, thinking of what he had seen and heard in the Yorem tribe, and the corners of his mouth could not help but curl up.

When the kingdom first explored, a Purepesha warrior, the gray cat Putu, was left in the Yorem tribe. Last month, when the gray cat Putu saw the arrival of the kingdom's merchant fleet, he was so excited that tears came out of his eyes.

"Lord God bless you! You are finally here! Respected priest Zuvaro, please take me away. I can't live like this anymore!"

When they met again, the gray cat's figure was obviously much thinner, and his face had become weathered. As a tribal warrior in exchange, his most important task was to preserve seeds to improve the bloodline of intermarriage within the Yorem tribe. On weekdays, he was pestered by the women in the tribe, and he almost never stopped. In less than a year, he already has four confirmed children, and as for the uncertain ones, I'm afraid there are even more.

Putu's request was naturally rejected by the Zuwaro priest. The kingdom needs envoys who are familiar with the north and will be stationed among the tribes in the north. He chatted with the hard-working Prepecha warriors for a while and learned more about the large Yorem tribe. Then he laughed and watched Putu being dragged away by several strong women.

Then, there was a secret conversation between Zuvalo, the kingdom's new priest and merchant captain, and Chief Kalan, the leader of the Yorem tribe.

"Ancestors witness! Friends from the sea, your weapons are very useful, very good! We need more. Well, gold, silver, copper, and flint can all be exchanged and accepted."

Chief Callan wears his signature deer head and has a genuine smile on his face. He had long known about the power of the southern tribes from the gray cat Putu, and his attitude became more and more friendly.

"The Lord God witnesses! The divine will guides our meeting, which is the reunion of brothers. This distant sea route connects us and brings light and prosperity!"

Priest Zuwaro looked sincere and communicated with Chief Kallan on an equal footing.

"Dear Chief Kallan, your copper and stone are very good, your gold and stone are of good quality, and they are all of high quality. The fleet will trade with you, and will also leave some manpower to station in Yorem. In addition, the ships will bring , and there are two priest apprentices of the main god who will stay in Yoremu Village to guide the tribe in farming, construction and smelting."

"In addition, Chief Kalan, I hope to obtain a piece of land belonging to the kingdom around the Yorem tribe to build a shrine to the main god and enshrine the emblem of the main god. Similarly, I also need to build a warehouse to Store the goods traded.”

"Oh? Keep manpower, acquire a piece of kingdom land, and build a shrine and warehouse?"

Upon hearing such a proposal, Chief Karan raised his brows and remained silent. After a while, he answered with a smile.

"In the eyes of our tribes in the north, land is a gift from heaven and earth, and it can only belong to heaven and earth, not to humans. Therefore, we Mayo people and Yaqui tribes do not occupy the land, but only use it. , to obtain the gift of the Mother Goddess of the Earth. Tribes from the sea, you can use the free land to build sacrificial halls and warehouses, but it cannot be fertile soil suitable for farming by the river. "

"Praise the Lord God! Thank you for your kindness, respected Chief Kallan!"

Upon hearing Chief Deer Head's promise, Zuvalo nodded with satisfaction, his face showing joy. This area is so rich in minerals and the copper and gold are of extremely high quality. The Kingdom intends to gradually lay down its roots here and spread its faith. Of course, the high-quality coal producing areas further north, the large Yomi tribe of the Yaqui people, cannot be spared either.

"The ancestors are watching us! Friends and brothers from the sea, the Yorem tribe is willing to be kind to you, and we also hope to receive kindness in return."

Chief Kallan put away his smile and looked serious. He looked at Priest Zuvalo, his voice became deeper, and there was also a hint of solemnity in his words.

"I have a bolder proposal, related to the large Yomei tribe in the north."