Aztec Eternals

Time flows like a long river, sometimes turbulent, sometimes calm, only memory is precipitated in time, shining brightly when looking back.

The banquet on the festival day ended with a hearty drunk. The king danced the sword and recited poems, and his chest was relieved, making it unforgettable for everyone to watch.

Soon, ten days passed by in a hurry. Thanks to the day and night efforts of the painters in Prepecha, the grand scenes of the New Year’s ceremony and night banquet were painted and carved on the stone walls of the Palace of Winds, and the poems of the king were also recorded and sung among the poets in the capital. In the murals, there are also scenes of people dancing, sages bowing to the ground, and presenting the "Shenxia" sword to the king.

Two copies of these murals will be placed in the Shenwei Priestly University and the Divine Revelation Institute respectively to accept the admiration of the latecomers. It is not only a witness of the king's rule of the lake area, but also a historical symbol of the loyalty of the elites of Prepeca and their formal integration into the alliance.

After the New Year, the Divine Might Priestly University officially began to operate. Shulot presided over the opening ceremony of Shenwei University in person, and left behind the original religious classics, Ali Sutra, which he copied by himself. No matter how broad the future of Shineway University is in the long-term plan, the initial start is just a few sprouts.

There were no more than a hundred students in the first period, most of whom were Priests of Preepecha who surrendered to the Alliance, and a few local youths who were nominated. Their training direction is the grassroots managers with the biggest gap, missionary priests.

The missionary priest’s learning courses include the official language of Mexica, the basic new-style script; followed by the revised history of the alliance, the mythical promise of the main god; then the fundamental classics of Ali, common sacrificial rituals; finally, the religion of the alliance The law, as well as the New Deal reforms in the Lake District, such as the registration of households for Qimin, military and civilian settlements, promotion of military merits, and granting of land and titles.

After a one-year short-term study, they will officially become the grassroots officials of the alliance. Most people will participate in the governance of the feudal villages as first-level priests; a very small number of old priests in the lake area will be granted the status of second-level priests to participate in the management of large towns. In general, being able to be selected to study at the University of Priests is equivalent to entering the real fast track and gaining an important opportunity for class leaps.

The first batch of students in the school has just started teaching, and the selection of the second batch of students has already started in the army. There are about 200 students in the second phase, and the training direction will be mainly war priests.

70% of the students in this period will come from war priests and outstanding civilian young warriors temporarily promoted during the Western Expedition, and 30% will come from the Prepecha troops who performed well. Students will study for one to two years. In addition to learning characters, theology, and teaching methods, they also need to learn martial arts from senior warriors and master team tactics. In Xiulot's plan, they will provide a base of grassroots officers for the continuous advancement of military reforms in the future.

Generally speaking, the current curriculum of the Priest University focuses on literature, theology, teaching law, politics and military affairs, and the herbs that priests are good at will be added later. In his spare time, Xiulot started to write books. He recalled the textbooks he had studied, trying to compile an introductory textbook on natural science, sowing the seeds of rational thinking. Of course, everything is in the name of God, using divine language to explain the principles of science.

The Divine Enlightenment Office of Qincong Cancheng was also formally established after the year. The new Divine Enlightenment Institute is directly under the king's headquarters, and its headquarters is set up in a prince's mansion near the palace area of ​​the king's capital. It is heavily guarded and has high standards. Leaving the shackles of the old system of the alliance in the capital of the lake, the new God's Enlightenment is like a fast-growing American bison, galloping around the kingdom to its heart's content, expanding its larger and larger body.

As the most important research and production center, the Divine Revelation Institute of the Kingdom cultivates the priests of the Divine Revelation, integrates the newly arrived Mexican craftsmen and the old Kingdom Craftsman Group, and actually has multiple important bureaus and residences.

The first is the Industrial and Mining Division, assisted by Chief Nekali and the consultant of the metal family, responsible for the Qinganbat mining area in the southwest of the capital, including the coking and copper smelting workshops in the mining area. The mining area will regularly transport coke and copper materials to the capital, and report the latest production matters.

Then there was the Gunpowder Department. Esco stayed in the capital in the lake and was reused by Avitt. Only Talea came to the Lake District and became the director of the Gunpowder Department. The Gunpowder Department includes the nitrate-producing ponds in the eastern part of Fengguo, as well as the gunpowder workshop and experiment site on the small island in Lake Patzcuaro.

This is the season for sweeping nitrate, and large-scale sweeping and boiling of nitrate are in progress. Xiulot called in Moreno, the leader of the salt workers, and summoned him once. Moreno looked respectful, spoke clearly, and knew the process of making nitrate like the palm of his hand. He has worked hard on Tianhuo Island for three full years, and even lost a lot of his fierceness in his bones, and now he is ready to use. The king appointed him as the officer in charge of nitrate making, and managed thousands of related folks.

In the capital of the kingdom, there are the Division of Manufacturing and the Division of Military Industry separated from the kingdom's craftsman battalion.

The Manufacturing Department is responsible for the production of cotton cloth, clothing, pottery, woodware, stoneware, jadeware, gold and silverware, and common copperware. It has the right to manage various types of folk manufacturing industries and recruit craftsmen from all over the world to serve the royal family when necessary. The manager of the Manufacturing Department needs to have a good understanding of the situation in the kingdom, and keep in touch with the leaders of various civil industries. It is best to appoint local senior bureaucrats.

After some consideration, Xiulot chose the chief of the department, Surata, a local nobleman recommended by Chief Jadiri. The king summoned the other party once, asked some practical production and management questions, and nodded with satisfaction.

In Prepeca language, "surata" means cotton. As the name suggests, the inherited name of Surata represents an ancient family that has been engaged in cotton weaving for generations. Surata was about forty years old and had always been cautious. When the city was broken, he hid in the group of craftsmen he usually managed in the face of the inspection of the Mexica Legion. Because he was always kind to others and his family had an outstanding reputation, he was not denounced by the craftsmen, and he was lucky to escape from the baton.

The Military Industry Department is responsible for the manufacture of military equipment, including traditional battle sticks and shields, copper axes and copper spears, cotton armor and leather armor, as well as new-style longbows and crossbows, bronze cloth face armor, and bronze artillery that is being manufactured.

The director of the Military Industry Department is Kuxinji, a master bow maker from Mexico in the Alliance Headquarters, and the deputy director is Chalape, a local technocrat. The old carpenter Kuod was greatly used in the alliance, and he was in charge of the artisan center, so naturally he would not come to the lake to hold a post in Fengguo. On the contrary, Cusinki did not want to succumb to his old opponent and came to the Lake District to become an independent portal. The king readily accepted it and bestowed him with great responsibility.

Under the Military Industry Division, there are also two manufacturing bureaus that focus on investment. One is the Bow and Crossbow Bureau, headed by Prepecha bowsmith Kundili, and the other is the Bronze Bureau, headed by foundry master Tilipi.

Tiripi is now busy day and night, staying in the bronze workshop for food and lodging. As the deadline for the bronze cannon approached, his pressure increased, and he often lost his temper with the craftsmen. Shulot summoned the spies in the workshop, and after learning about the difficult progress of the cannon casting, he planned to secretly give the other party some time. In the following February, the king will go to the north to form an alliance with the Otomi, and jointly deal with the plundering of the chichimek dog descendants. At least two or three months later, he will return to the capital to preside over the spring plowing.

On the outskirts of the capital, there are the Construction Division, the Printing Bureau, and the Special Trade Products Bureau.

The construction department has workshops for burning charcoal and making bricks, and has thousands of people under its jurisdiction. The head of the construction department is Koskacchi, the charcoal leader of the alliance. The hoarse-voiced foreman was actually very quick-sighted, and he followed the priests without hesitation, and defected to His Highness on the independent side. Xiulot admired it quite a lot, but he was short of people who knew the basics, so he handed over the responsibility of creation to him.

The Bureau of Printing has two workshops under the jurisdiction of papermaking and printing. The director of the printing bureau is Sipak, a young priest in charge of papermaking, and the deputy director is Equila, a jade craftsman from Mexica in charge of printing. Well, they are all Shulot's old acquaintances. As long as you follow His Highness all the time, no matter what your background is, you will take a shortcut to life development!

At this moment, hundreds of religious classics and legal documents are being continuously produced from the printing bureau, spreading the belief and will of the alliance at an unimaginable speed in all parts of the world. The department thus acquired a de facto propaganda capacity.

Considering the long-term planning, the king listed the printing bureau separately and brought it under his direct control. The printing bureau in the future will continue to upgrade and expand its tentacles outward, and truly assume the responsibility of publicity and education.

The Bureau of Special Trade Products is also referred to as the Bureau of Special Trade. Literally, it is responsible for the manufacture of special trade goods. The current Special Trade Bureau only has a general framework, and the person in charge is Lozano, the chief stonemason, who owns a highly confidential glass workshop.

After burning the glass for three full years, Lozano finally made a preliminary breakthrough after obtaining newly made coke: according to His Highness's prompt, he added lead ore and barite to the quartz sand, and successfully burned out a little Clear lead glass!

After receiving the good news, Xiulot happily put aside his government affairs and rushed to the workshop at sunset. In the afterglow of the setting sun, light green glass beads of different sizes shone brilliantly, colorful and gorgeous, crystal clear and bright.

The king was slightly taken aback, picked up the glass beads and examined them carefully. This kind of glass is completely different from what he expected, with low transparency, light and brittle texture, and not strong enough. It's just that the color is beautiful, more like the colored glaze in the early days of the ancient Chinese dynasty.

"Lozano, there is still a gap between this glass and my requirements."

His Highness frowned, and looked at the chief stonemason with a happy face.

Facing His Highness's gaze, Lozano's knees suddenly became weak, and his whole body trembled.

For the past three years, he has been researching colorless glass day and night. All kinds of stones, sand, and ores have been burned countless times, and it has been difficult to make any progress. Even my hair is almost burned away. And His Highness has made countless military exploits outside, and killed countless people without counting. His majestic voice is almost like a fairy in mythology. Seeing him at this moment, His Highness was calm and majestic. He was no longer the noble boy he first saw, but an authoritative king whose eyes could make people tremble.

While thinking about it, the chief stonemason gritted his teeth hard. He approached the king carefully and whispered.

"Your Highness, I, Lozano, feel that these light green glass beads are very similar to the precious emeralds in the world."

"Um?!"

Hearing this, Xiulot's expression changed and his eyes flickered. He pondered for a while, remembering the huge legion that the kingdom had worked so hard to maintain, the huge military expenditures, and the rapidly depleting treasury savings. After a while, the king lowered his eyes and asked in a deep voice.

"Lozano, can you burn gemstones of other colors?"

"Your Highness, if you add different crystals and metals, I, Lozano, should be able to do it!"

Xiulot didn't speak, just nodded slightly. He patted Lozano on the shoulder and turned to leave.

The next day, hundreds of loyal direct warriors came to the glass workshop, controlled every apprentice, and kept the place tightly guarded. Along with the warriors, there was also a king's document promoting Lozano as a hereditary nobleman.

Soon, the Special Trade Bureau of the Divine Enlightenment Institute was quietly established, directly under the king's own control. Then, the news that "God blesses the kingdom in the lake, and a huge gemstone mine was discovered in the Patzcuaro Lake area" began to spread among the people. A few days later, the first batch of emeralds in the lake area were monopolized by the royal merchants, and they entered the market in limited quantities, and were continuously sold to foreign merchants in exchange for a large amount of food and supplies.

This kind of emerald is small in size, bright in color, faintly flowing with crystals, with ripples like water, and is also called "green jade in the lake".

Based on this name, many foreign merchants concluded that the origin of the gemstone should be in Lake Patzcuaro. Some merchants risked being discovered by the kingdom's fleet, looking for the place of origin in the vast lake, and wanted to conduct private trade directly with the jade miners. In the end, they all returned without success, but left a few lives in vain.

To sum up, the Shenqi Institute has the Industrial and Mining Department, the Gunpowder Department, the Manufacturing Department, the Military Industry Department, the Construction Department, the Printing Bureau and the Special Trade Bureau. These five divisions and two bureaus commanded most of the production departments in Fengguo, controlled tens of thousands of craftsmen and peasants, and made the Shenqi Institute even more powerful.

As the highest clergy leader in the Lake Diocese, Xiulot naturally served as the head of the Divine Inspiration Institute. In his plan, the Divine Enlightenment Institute, a production and R\u0026D institution similar to the Ministry of Industry, will gradually grow into a real behemoth, become the source of power for the development of the entire kingdom, and also become an important source of power in the hands of the king.

Therefore, the deputy director of the Divine Enlightenment Institute who summarizes various matters must take loyalty as the primary selection criterion. Shulot hesitated for a long time, and finally chose Talea, who had been loyally following and deeply in love with him. The king knows that once the other party is allowed to hold such an important position, she will only be a vassal of the kingship alone for the rest of her life.

"Talaia, are you willing to dedicate your life to the Lord God?"

In the dim stone palace, Shulot looked calm, but looked at Talea with deep eyes. It's been a long time since we saw each other, and time passed like a clear spring, washing away the flames in the girl's eyes, but leaving behind some kind of longer-lasting persistence.

Talea smiled. She looked at His Highness who was as majestic as a god in front of her, and nodded heavily without hesitation.

"I am willing, my sun god! I am willing to dedicate everything to you!"

With a complicated expression, Xiulot nodded slightly. Then, he turned around and strode towards the exit of the Stone Palace. Then came the sound of running footsteps. After a short pause, he felt a tight hug behind him. The king shook his head and was about to break free when he heard a soft whisper.

"Your Highness, it's been three years. Just a moment will be fine."

Hearing this, Xiulot froze and stood still. After a while, he left the stone palace calmly, leaving only a staring figure behind.

"A real king has his ambition in the world, his heart is like a stone, and he never has too many personal affairs. But I'm just on the road!"