Dark clouds gathered, the sky was dim, and the seaside weather was unpredictable, in an instant it looked like drizzle was coming. The Zuwaro Priest looked up, gazed at the darkening sky, put on a wide-brimd straw hat, and covered the expression on his face.
"Yoreim Tribe Chieftain Kalan’s proposal... Yoi Great Tribe..."
Recalling the conversation of that day, the Zuwaro Priest touched his chin, pondering for a long ti, but still shook his head.
"The Yaji people’s Yoi Tribe controls nearly a thousand people, possessing three thousand warriors in the Northern Land Great Tribe. If there isn’t enough supply along the route, how many Samurais can the kingdom’s fleet carry three to four thousand miles away?... Such a bold proposal should be left for Your Majesty to decide!"
Thinking of this, the newly appointed priest let his thoughts wander, rembering the insights of the Yoi Great Tribe.
The Yoi Tribe, relying on the Great River upstream in the East, engaged in prosperous trade with the Oorta City-State further north in the mountains, and the Makuvi factions at the edge of the wilderness. The ancestral land of the Oorta City-State Alliance is Copper Mountain, producing a large amount of high-quality copper materials and tools. The Yaji people factions, especially the Yoi Tribe, control various Firestone coal mines, producing ample amounts of smoke coal.
It is because of the open-pit coal mines and the barrier of northern mountains that the Yoi Tribe doesn’t need to migrate when the cold snap arrives, allowing them to gradually grow to a scale of ten thousand people. And the riverside seaside plain where they reside has beco fertile land that various tribes covet. Even the usually friendly Guaiima Tribe harbors so envy, let alone the related Yoreim Tribe.
"The fleet conducted gemstone trade at the Yoi Tribe, loading over ten twin-hulled canoes with coal, totaling about several dozen tons. The Black Rock Mountain iron mine specifically wants this premium Northern Land coal, claiming that when traditionally refined, the resulting iron doesn’t beco brittle..."
The Zuwaro Priest tugged at his hair, pondering silently. Coal, iron... He studied Your Majesty’s Divine Revelation at Divine Power University but was completely clueless about the specifics of slting.
"The essence of divinity infused in the earth’s minerals, the more infused, the purer it becos, the higher the quality, and the easier to slt. Gold, silver, copper, coal, iron, and tin are all alike, differing by highland quality."
Thinking about this, Zuwaro slightly tilted his head, glancing at the twin-hulled boats transporting coal beside him. For trade convenience, these twin-hulled boats have planks laid between them that can hold people and goods, with additional extended rafts on both sides providing buoyancy and transport.
At this mont, both the planks for cargo and the auxiliary rafts were loaded with basketfuls of coal, pressing the boat hulls half into the water. Through such modifications, the maximum load of a twin-hulled boat increased to seven or eight tons. The only downside was its lack of agility, making it unsuitable for water combat.
"So, the Yoi Great Tribe is the furthest north that the rchant fleet reaches. The warlike Sri people further north don’t have special products for trade and are too dangerous. The fleet turns west at the Yoi Tribe, going to the long peninsula on the west to excavate the Bird Guano Stone designated by Your Majesty on small islands along the coast."
The Zuwaro Priest slightly turned, looking to the other side beside him. Baskets of varying sizes were filled with grayish-yellow Bird Guano Stone.
According to the Divine Revelation, these Bird Guano Stones were ford over countless years by the droppings of sea island bird flocks, containing vitality for cultivating crops. Within the entire fleet of over twenty twin-hulled boats, more than half of the load was used to carry this natural fertilizer.
"If a ton of Bird Guano Stone were ground and supplented into farmland, how much food could it ultimately produce?"
The Zuwaro Priest widened his eyes, staring at the ordinary Bird Guano Stone, unable to discern anything. But he knew, from upstream of Lake Ato, a small lake had been drawn out to build floating fields on the water, the Chinampa. This is technology unique to the xica Alliance, allowing year-round farming and harvests of over three tis, relying on ample fertilizer to sustain.
"Around the long peninsula, the islands are full of freely soaring seabirds, numbering in the hundreds of thousands. They incessantly produce fertilizer..."
The Zuwaro Priest squinted his eyes, recalling the overwhelming seabirds, the soul-stirring bird calls, and the "raindrops" falling from the sky, unable to help but wipe his forehead. He envisioned the splendid scenery and the ever-present Bird Guano Stone, a yearning rising in his eyes.
"Such Bird Guano Stones piled into mountains, stretching into land, who knows how many millions of tons are there! If Bird Guano Stone can indeed increase yields, then the kingdom’s food would be... Ah! Chief Divine’s blessing!"
The Zuwaro Priest took a deep breath, his face reverently low as he prayed.
The kingdom’s rchant fleet traveled along the long peninsula southward, encountering nurous Bird Guano Stone islands all the way to the peninsula’s southernmost point. But the fleet wouldn’t reach the southernmost edge due to the lack of large villages for replenishnt along the route. The Kochimi factions on the peninsula have always been small in scale, the largest numbering only a few hundred people, and spare food has always been scarce. After traveling south for six hundred miles, the rchant fleet replenished food and water at the Kochimi’s largest fishing village, Chimi Village (today’s Tripuí). Outside the village, there was an almost enclosed lagoon (today’s Puerto Escondido), abundant with fish, thus able to support a large village.
Heading east for three to four hundred miles from Chimi Village, they returned again to the Northern Continent, right at the location of the Yoreim Great Tribe. The kingdom’s rchant fleet resupplied once more at the Yoreim Great Tribe, bid farewell to the yearning gray cat Putu wanting to escape misery, and embarked on the southward return journey along the sa route.
"This is the complete northern trade route! Starting from Trout Town at the Talsas River Mouth, passing sequentially through the Southern Ticos’ Brown Sturdy Town, the Northern Ticos’ Three Rivers City, the Huichol people’s Torpan River Mouth, the Toto people’s Fish Mountain Village, the Mayo people’s Yoreim Tribe, the Yaji people’s Yoi Tribe, then heading west through the Bird Guano Stone islands, reaching the Kochimi people’s Chimi Village, and then returning east to the Yoreim Tribe."
The Zuwaro Priest closed his eyes, summarizing in his mind. These navigation nodes, distances of 500-700 miles, make convenient replenishnt spots. One coastal journey fits neatly into four thousand miles outbound and four thousand miles returning, taking approximately four months.
Along the way, from south to north, the Ticos people’s Brown Sturdy Town and Three Rivers City produce food and cloth, exchanging for the kingdom’s gemstones. The Huichol people at Torpan River Mouth have the ability to provide tin ore, Jin Shi, and Silver Ore, but they don’t accept gemstones, only cloth and weapons.
The Toto people’s Fish Mountain Village is quite sufficient in food, favoring daily product trade, showing little interest in gemstones. The Mayo people’s Yoreim Tribe especially prefers Bronze Weapons and refined leather armor, able to provide high-quality copper ore, Jin Shi, and Silver Ore.
The Yaji people’s Yoi Tribe produces a lot of smoke coal, copper ore, Jin Shi, accepting gemstone trade. Within the Yoi Tribe, there are rchants from the Oorta City-State Alliance who can provide high-purity red copper to trade for Bronze Weapons. The mountain-based Oorta Alliance is facing plundering aggression from the fierce Apache Alliance on the plains, having an almost limitless demand for weapons and leather armor.
"The price for exchanging red copper from the Oorta is only one-third of the Alliance. The coal from the Yoi Tribe is just human labor cost. While weapons, leather armor, and cloth within the Northern Continent’s tribes can command a markup of several tis. As for the gold ore that every tribe has, it’s usually worth four to five parts of the Alliance’s value, sotis even a basket of Jin Shi for a basket of cotton cloth..."
The Zuwaro Priest calculated slightly, and his eyes subtly turned red. The profit from this northern trade route is at least six tis! The kingdom’s rchant fleet going north with weapons, leather armor, and cloth, then fully loaded with gold, silver, copper, coal, tin, and Bird Guano Stone heading south...
"Oh no, wait! If they carry Lake Gem northward, exchanging for abundant cotton cloth on the lands of the Southern and Northern Ticos... this trade route’s profit is exactly tenfold! Praise the Chief Divine!"
Thinking of this, Zuwaro showed exhilaration, his lips smiling with reverence. He excitedly rubbed his palms and loosened his wrists, with eyes gleaming.
"Your Majesty said that thirty percent of inco from each transaction would be shared among the fleet’s crew! After making a few trips, the Samurais and sailors on the ship, as well as , will all be bathed in the Chief Divine’s Golden Light! Haha!"
Joyful laughter resounded in the dim sea and sky, sincerely religious yet filled with intense desire. Zuwaro made up his mind that after returning, he would rest for half a month in Zicao County before heading north again with a fully loaded cargo.
The newly appointed priest stood up, positioned at the prow. He gazed at the vast ocean, his heart brimming with thrilling excitent. After a long while, a sudden thought struck, directing his gaze to the distant East.
"The world is so vast, and the tribes are so diverse. After the kingdom’s first exploration, the Northern Land remains endless. And now, who knows where the kingdom’s exploratory fleet heading east has reached? What exactly are the tribes like in the distant East?"
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