Aztec Eternals

"Haha, Nekali, my warrior warrior!"

Shiroute laughed. He took two steps forward, held the arm of the samurai captain, and motioned for him to get up.

"You have also been in charge of the main copper mine in Chingambat for four months. How is the situation on the mine?"

"His Royal Highness, the main copper mine is in normal operation. There are five miners in total, with about a thousand miners. One samurai brigade, two hundred people!"

Nekali stood up and answered loudly, as if being inspected by the marshal in the legion. He continued to report respectfully and in detail.

"In the later period of the Western Expedition, the Chingambat Copper Mine fell into chaos. The Tarasco warriors who guarded the copper mine were dispatched to the front line, and most of the old miners fled. The mining area began to recover after the victory of the Western Expedition. With the assistance, new miners have been recruited from all over the world... July and August are the peak of the rainy season. The rain is so heavy that the mine has been shut down for more than two months. A small furnace for ore smelting, and now a new batch of copper materials has been smelted and can be shipped to the capital at any time..."

Shilot took a step forward, and while listening to the report of the samurai captain, he strode towards the mine. The samurai commander whispered a few words, and the thousands of personal guards were divided into two teams. Half of them are stationed in the outside world, occupying high places to investigate, focusing on the south. The other half held the weapon with a cold expression and followed the figure of the king.

Amid the chilling footsteps of the guards, the black wolf king flag, which was deep and splendid, was also erected on the heights of the camp in the mining area. The warriors stationed there shouted loudly, and more than a thousand miners, like a swarm of worker ants, knelt on the ground while obedient. They bowed their heads deeply, clinging to the cold and muddy ground, daring not to make any sound, nor to peek at the king's face, but waited silently for the king's orders.

"Well, the expression is numb, the eyes are fearful, and the obedience is very good..."

Sherlot waved his hand after observing the performance of the miners.

"Let them keep working and don't delay production."

Hearing this, the samurai captain immediately became murderous and roared.

"The supreme king is coming to the mines! All the energy, go to work for me! If anyone can't achieve today's target, one of them counts as one, and they will be hung on the railing for me!"

The miners whispered in fear, like worker bees receiving orders. Soon, they bowed their heads again and got busy in silence.

Sherlot looked around and saw the so-called railing. It was a higher hill, with a row of wooden poles several meters long standing on it, and dozens of heads were hanging on the wooden poles. The autumn of the plateau is still hot, and the head is already rotten and unrecognizable. Large swarms of flies roamed around the head, and the faint scent wafted in the wind, spreading wordless deterrence.

"His Royal Highness, this is the first miner leader who made trouble and didn't want to go to the mine when we first resumed work! There are also some miners who were recruited and wanted to escape at night... I arrested them all the same day, in front of the miners. Beheaded one by one!"

Nekalion raised his head, applauding His Highness for his resoluteness.

"This group of miners refused to accept the discipline. Just as they wanted to make trouble, they were easily suppressed by me! After I captured the backbone of the leader and cut them down one by one, the other followers became much more obedient. We Mexica warriors are all corpses. Those who are killed in the sea of ​​blood, how can these humble miners have any room for arrogance! No matter how dangerous it is to mine in the mine, I have to be honest and die in the mine! …”

Shulot stared for a moment, then nodded expressionlessly.

Underground mining is considered dangerous at all times. And in this age of mythology and ignorance, it is even more so. It is generally believed that the underground is the realm of the dead, and deep underground lurks irresistible dangers and offends the majesty of the gods. Mining in mines, just like sailing at sea, is a profession that can only be engaged in when you have to go out, and there is no long-term and reliable future. The status of miners in the whole society is very low, and it is difficult to get married and start a family.

After the Western Expedition, nobles from all over the country were emptied, large tracts of farmland were abandoned, and there were many young women who lost their husbands in the countryside. As long as the miners lied that the refugees had fled to the village, they would be able to work in the public fields, marry happily and have children, and live a long and peaceful life. If there is no violent coercion and restraint, few miners will be willing to stay in the mine.

This group of skilled miners can be recruited, or rely on the strict management of military camps in the lake area. They were identified by the shrewd village elders, reported to the priest in charge, and then escorted here by the militia captains.

The king pondered for a moment, and said slowly.

"Nekali, mandatory restraint is indeed essential, but it cannot be just like that. Jaguars hunt wild deer, which will also leave life to the deer. The treatment of miners can be appropriately improved."

"As ordered, Your Highness."

The samurai captain bowed his head for the first time. Then, he said with a smile.

"His Royal Highness, the veterans of the Legion all know that you are gracious, and we all use you as the mountain we look up to! After the leader of the miners was executed, I specially distributed samurai drinks to comfort the group of miners. They also had enough food. , Your Highness, you can rest assured!"

"Very good! I will give you a sufficient amount of drinks. Nekali, since you were adaptable and seized the gate of the royal capital, I have valued your ability and placed high hopes on you! Excavating copper mines is a major event for the confinement of the country. , I'll leave it to you, I'm very relieved!"

Shilot nodded with a smile, and patted the other person's shoulder affectionately.

Miners in this era are extremely tired and hard, and they are always in danger of life. They are highly organized, and can escape surveillance in underground mines, secretly connect in series, and have bronze picks for mining in their hands, making it easy for riots to occur. They are the most dangerous class of civilians and require equally tough leaders to manage.

Nekali is a veteran scout, with excellent martial arts skills, able to survive brutal battles, and proficient in Prepecha. His methods are flexible, resolute and ruthless, he can not only suppress the warriors he leads, but also suppress the rioting miners in time.

Sherlot took a fancy to his past performance and appointed him as the head of the mine. Now it seems that this candidate is very suitable!

Thinking of this, the king's smile became gentle.

"Nekali, my samurai, do you have a habit of staying in the mines? If you have any needs in life, you can tell me directly, or mention it to the logistics officer who transports grain and grass in the future!"

"Ah, Your Highness... A samurai must restrain his desires and polish his body. I don't have any requirements in life, I just have an idea in my heart..."

The samurai captain's expression moved. He hesitated for a moment, and when he saw His Highness's encouraging smile, he carefully changed his name to a more cordial name.

"Marshal, I am a veteran who has followed you for many years, a senior warrior who has been beheading and promoted, where have I touched a copper pick... I want to return to the legion, participate in the conquest of the country, and continue to fight for you! ...this kind of boring job guarding the mines is so sore on the buttocks..."

"Ha ha!"

Hearing Nekali's request, Shulot laughed dumbly. After thinking about it for a while, he straightened his expression and commanded.

"Nekali, the western expedition has just stopped, and the feudal country needs to rest and recuperate. There has been no major war recently. Even if the military is used on the frontier, it is just going out to capture prisoners and supplement the sealing of the country. Time is spent on marching and escorting the prisoners. There's nothing interesting about it."

"My samurai, copper mines are the foundation of the feudal kingdom, and this mining area is very important! I came here this time for on-the-spot investigation and expansion of the mine's excavation scale. Soon, the number and output of the mining area will far exceed that of the tower. The heyday of the Rasc Kingdom!...Nekali, you have a heavy load!"

The king slowed his tone and said with a smile.

"Of course, I see all your credits in my eyes, and I'm ready to use it. As long as you do well, in the future, I will give you more than a dozen mines in this mining area and let you be the general manager! "

"Yes, Marshal!"

Hearing the word "big use", Nekali was refreshed and answered loudly. Then, he muttered to himself with some frustration.

"The general manager of the mining area? That's not mining..."

"Ok?"

"Never disappoint your expectations, Marshal!"

Nekali immediately shouted loudly, trying to cheer up.

The samurai chief next to him shook his head slightly. He knew the status of the copper mining area in His Royal Highness's heart, and also knew the scale of the planned mining area. As the general manager, Nekali has actually been promised a career equivalent to that of a legion commander.

"What a lucky guy..."

Thinking of this, Bertard smiled, but did not speak for His Highness.

The king just stretched out his hand, shook Nekali's hair solemnly, and said solemnly again.

"Nekali, introduce the specific situation on the mine, let me see how much you know about the things here!"

"Yes, Marshal!"

Nekali bowed his head and saluted, straightening his back and speaking loudly.

"The Chingambat copper mine is located 100 miles southwest of the capital, 60 miles southwest of Patzcuaro, and 40 miles southwest of Ivacio. This main mine is by the river between the mountains. Around the entire mining area, The terrain within fifty miles is mountainous, the march is slow, and the food route is difficult. The bulk transportation can only rely on narrow rivers..."

Nekali continued to describe according to the experience of scout detection.

"The mining area is mainly copper ore with jaguar spots, both above and below ground. The above-ground ore at the main mine has been almost excavated by the Prepecha people, and there are still some small mines nearby. According to According to the mining information these days, the underground ore is of higher quality, and more copper can be smelted!"

Hearing this, Xiuluo nodded his head, thinking farther.

The Chingambat mining area is a large-scale porphyry copper mine that has been mined until later generations. The copper-bearing belt reserves in the surface layer are at the level of tens of millions of tons, and the deep layers are difficult to measure. Deeper there are huge extended ore seams, accompanied by a considerable amount of gold and silver. It's just that in Central America, where there is no shortage of gold and silver mines, these gold and silver associated with copper have no value for mining for the time being. Because in the territory of the Union, there are many rich deposits of gold and silver that are easy to mine.

The king listened to the report, but looked at the busy miners not far away. He saw hundreds of people set on fire, burning the copper-bearing rock walls on the surface. There are hundreds of people who are about to enter the mine, all of them looking gloomy and fearful, as if going to a terrifying abyss.

"What are they doing?"

Sherlot pointed to the miners who were burning fire and asked.

"Marshal, they are breaking the rock wall with the method of inheritance. First, use the torch to burn the rock wall red, and then pour cold water from the small pool of the mountain spring. This is to trigger the conflict between the **** of fire and the **** of water, and it will shatter in the battle of divine power. Hard rock formations, and then take out the copper-bearing rocks!"

"Fire and water, um, this is to use thermal expansion and cold contraction to crack the stone layer."

Shilot thought for a moment, and then pointed to the mine not far away.

"How deep is the underground excavation? How long is it?"

"The deepest part of the mine is about 20 meters, but the main area is about 10 meters. It is difficult to calculate the length. It is estimated that it is more than one mile? In myths and legends, the depths of the ground are very dangerous, and there are monsters and monsters hidden. These evil things When it strikes, the torches and oil lamps will be extinguished for no reason, and everything will be plunged into darkness. The miners will also be sucked out of life in the darkness, their faces will be cherry red, and they will fall to the ground inexplicably and die without a single wound on their bodies. If you are lucky enough to be rescued, it will also be like a dementia due to the loss of vitality."

"And if you dig further down, it's easy to offend the Mother Earth, causing vibrations and landslides. Therefore, the miners who go down the mine never dare to dig too deep, for fear of disturbing the demons that suppress the underground, or angering the majesty of the Mother Goddess... "

Speaking of this, Nekali's face showed deep awe. This veteran warrior who is not afraid of life and death on the battlefield, and kills like mowing a lawn, has to bow his head and retreat with trembling in the face of the unknown mythical power.

Shirot remained calm and shook his head lightly. He mulled over the details of the samurai captain's remarks.

"The flame went out for no reason, the complexion was cherry red, and he fell to the ground and died... This is due to lack of oxygen, and carbon monoxide poisoning at the same time, and the ventilation problem needs to be solved. Vibration and landslides... Then the deep passage needs to be fixed by wooden brackets."

While Shulot was thinking, he saw another group of miners coming out of the ground. Their expressions were numb, and they kept silent. They carried the clay pots behind them. They walked quietly to the small pond until they poured out the water from the pots with a clatter.

"Huh? The clay pot is full of water?"

"Yes, Marshal. This is draining the mine. Too much water comes in during the rainy season. Draining is done every day and requires the most manpower. Sometimes, drainage is even the only work in the rainy season. You see, the mountain spring's There is a shallow canal in the small pond, and the overflowing water is led from the shallow canal to the small river, and finally into the lowest lake, Zirahuun..."

Hearing this, Shulot was a little surprised.

"It's really dangerous to get water into the mine. But does it take so many people to drain it?"

"Yes, Marshal. Thirty percent of people are draining water today, and even more when it rains. Drainage is the most important thing in mining. Miners can only dig when the water is almost drained!"

Shilot thought for a while and asked patiently.

"How exactly are the miners arranged? What is the daily copper output?"

The samurai captain thought for a while, then estimated with his fingers.

"One team of 200 warriors and five teams of 1,000 miners. Among the five teams, one team of 200 people is responsible for logistical affairs, including logging, burning charcoal, lighting fires, cooking and other miscellaneous tasks."

"A team of 200 people is responsible for the screening and smelting of copper mines~www.readwn.com~ They have to work in the small river, wash the ore with wooden chutes, and screen out qualified ore nuggets. Then the ore nuggets are crushed. , usually the more broken the better. Finally, put it into a small furnace of clay, leave the pores, put in charcoal and smolder it. Finally, when the fire is turned off, pass the charcoal ash with water, and you can get the ochre yellow copper material... This is also The finished copper material delivered to the capital can be directly forged into copper ware."

"Not bad! You are very attentive!"

Shilot smiled affirmatively, expressing satisfaction with Nekali. The samurai captain racked his brains and continued to think.

"Then a team of 300 and a half people, carrying clay pots, kept going in and out of the mine to drain water. When they were almost busy, the last team of 300 people would enter the mine with bamboo baskets on their backs and use bronze picks to dig hard The stone wall, excavated blue-yellow copper ore. This work is very hard and dangerous, and the miners take turns..."

The king nodded and listened patiently to the end. I saw Nekali clenched his fists, slapped his chest forcefully, and announced with great pride.

"Marshal, on average, 300 people excavate, each requires 20 kilograms of copper per day, and after smelting, 12 kilograms of copper material can be obtained. 1,000 miners in the mining area can produce 3,600 kilograms of copper material per day!"