Aztec Eternals

The latest website: At the end of April, spring and Jingming, all things flourish. Pillars of burning smoke rose across the kingdom. Under the guidance of the village priests, the peasants leveled the land, prepared grains, repaired farm implements, and nervously made preparations for spring ploughing. In order to complete the strictly required reclamation area, some villages are even more anxious and have even started farming.

In this busy season, Shilot was not idle either. With two hundred armored guards, he left the estuary fortress and went straight to the dock on the river bank.

Not long ago, the Northern Shipbuilding Division sent a piece of good news. After more than a year of exploration and manufacture, the first Kingdom's galley has finally been launched!

The king traveled all the way, stepping on the spring grass, and soon arrived at the estuary dock.

The craftsmen of the dock were already waiting outside, and the leading master boatmaker, Pukuta, had gray hair, an obsidian necklace around his neck, and a robe of a priest of divine revelation on his body. Yes, after the establishment of the Northern Shipbuilding Department, Pukuta, as the most senior master shipmaker, has been promoted to the second-level priest of divine enlightenment. He actually dominated shipbuilding in the north and became one of the rulers of the kingdom.

"Your Majesty, Pukuta greets you!"

Pukuta knelt down to salute, and the craftsmen of the dockyard fell to their knees. The senior shipmakers in the front row also wore the robes of a first-level priest of divine revelation. With this status, they can reduce taxes, reduce labor, and enjoy the same status as the missionary priests of the village.

Shilot looked at the crowd of excited boatmen and nodded with a smile.

"Get up! Where are the newly launched boats?"

Pucuta neatly got up from the ground. He straightened his back and smoothed his priestly robes. The robe is plain as a whole, simple and elegant. The hummingbird mark of the main **** is painted on the left chest, and the two small square characters of "Knowledge" are embroidered on the right chest, as the symbol of the second-level priest. The senior boatmen behind him also got up together, revealing the neat "exploration" on his chest.

The robe of divine revelation was of course designed by Shulot. In fact, when designing the robes for the priests of divine enlightenment, the first symbol that appeared in his mind was the blue "beaker", and the second symbol was the "atom" with an orbit. These symbols, as symbols of scientific research, represent the king's ardent hope for the priesthood of divine enlightenment.

The reason why he broke the resistance and set up the system of priests of divine enlightenment is to attract craftsmen and scholars from various industries, so that they can rely on technical research to obtain wealth and status, and become the driving force for the development of productivity.

Pucuta stretched out his hand confidently and pointed to Lake Quetzeo outside the dock.

"Your Majesty, please come with me!"

Everyone moved their footsteps and soon came to the lake. The first thing that caught Shirot's eyes was a two-body canoe. It consists of two small canoes framed on wooden beam decks, meticulously spliced ​​together.

"Your Majesty, this wind canoe is about 7-8 meters in length, plus two decks, 2-3 meters in width, and can carry 24 paddlers. If an extended deck is added, the load can be as high as several tons."

Hearing this, Shu Luo nodded. He pondered for a while and asked.

"The carrying capacity of this canoe of the wind seems to be similar to that of the kingdom's large canoe warships."

"Indeed!"

Pukuta nodded. He gestured the distance from the bow to the stern of the boat and explained.

"However, this catamaran does not require a large log. The kingdom's large canoe needs a tough log that is more than 15 meters high and 2-3 meters in diameter, and the preparation of the wood is extremely long. This catamaran needs a small log of 7-8 meters. That's it. At the same time, the design of this catamaran makes the boat faster and more stable, and the draft is very shallow."

Having said that, Pukuta took two steps forward, boarded the catamaran, and explained to the king carefully.

"Look at your majesty! The foundation of this boat is two canoes made by hollowing out the center of the trunk. Then, on the outside of the canoe, design an outboard oar frame. After that, connect the two boats with wooden beams. , fixed with tenon joints and copper nails. After that, a deck was laid between the two ships, and the front and rear masts were erected, reinforced with rigging, and sails made of sisal..."

Shirot watched carefully, looked at the woodworking craftsmanship connecting the two ships, and nodded again and again. After a while, Pukuta stopped talking and asked expectantly.

"Your Majesty, what kind of enlightenment do you have to guide the craftsmanship of this ship?"

"Well... this ship is the same front and rear, symmetrical left and right, the bow and stern can be interchanged, and it is very flexible on the battlefield... The form of the sail can be adjusted properly, you can try both the jib and the horizontal sail..."

Shirott hesitated to deal with a few words, then asked with a solemn expression on his face.

"Pukuta, what is the speed of this wind canoe?"

"...Your Majesty is wise."

Hearing this, Pukuta lowered his head and complimented him expressionlessly. Then, he suggested.

"As for the specific ship speed... The craftsmen apprentices in the dock are familiar with ships and can demonstrate a thing or two to His Royal Highness."

Shulot nodded in agreement. The two walked off the boat and replaced two teams of 24 apprentice craftsmen as rowing paddlers. Soon, Pukuta waved the flag with his own hands, and the apprentices raised their cheeks and tried their best to row towards the lake. From time to time, the boat will turn flexibly, even changing head and tail, rowing backwards.

The king stretched out his arm and measured with one eye closed, roughly estimating the speed of the ship.

"The paddlers were pushing hard, the limit speed was 20 kilometers per hour, which is about 6 meters per second. Of course, this speed lasted for a moment at most, and the normal travel speed should be half the limit. The current of Lake Quetzeo Basically stationary, the speed of the boat in the downstream and upstream should be subtracted from the flow rate. The rotating sail can use the wind to save the physical energy consumption of the rowers..."

"In general, this is a small, flexible and stable boat, similar to the Polynesian catamaran. It is mainly used in rivers and lakes, but it can also try to sail offshore. Archers can also be carried on the deck for water warfare."

After watching for a moment, Shilot nodded in satisfaction.

"Pukuta, you did a great job! This kind of ship is cheap, can be manufactured on a large scale, and can be added to the kingdom's navy. I will reward all craftsmen!"

Then, he looked to the other side of the dock and asked impatiently.

"That large longship, the newly launched galley?"

"Exactly!"

Pukuta nodded proudly. He first waved the command flag to signal the wind's canoe to return. Then he personally took the king to the brand new galley.

"His Royal Highness, this is the result of the shipbuilding division's efforts over the past year, a powerful warship that the kingdom has never seen before, the crocodile galley!"

"...Alligator Galley?"

"Yes! Its shape is as graceful as a crocodile in the Leman River, and it is as strong and brave as a crocodile! And its speed is far more than that of a crocodile!"

Shilot stopped, narrowed his eyes, and looked at the "giant" ship in front of him. The galley was much larger than he had estimated. Its shape is long and slender, with a very shallow draft, like an enlarged version of a giant canoe, with a long mast in the middle from which hangs sails.

"...Isn't this a Viking longship? 'Skei' riding the wind and waves..."

"His Royal Highness is wise! The crocodile **** longship riding the wind and waves!"

Pukuta stood beside him and raised his head proudly after listening to half of it. He stretched out his hand and introduced it to His Majesty.

"Your Majesty, this large sailboat is about 20 meters long and 5.5 meters wide in the middle. It can accommodate 40 paddlers on both sides of the hull. It can carry 40 soldiers in the middle, or 30 tons of cargo! Its top speed is even More than the wind canoe, the average speed is 10-16 kilometers per hour!"

"A warship that can accommodate 80 people, with a load of up to 30 tons, and an average speed of 5-9 knots!"

Hearing this, Shulot was a little moved. He stepped forward immediately, and examined the structure of the ship carefully. Pukuta also stepped forward and explained them one by one proudly.

"Your Majesty, according to your guidance, we first selected a large oak over 20 meters long from the dock stock as the main keel running through the front and rear. The processing of this oak alone took several months! Then, the craftsmen It took them several months to rely on the main keel, mortise the keel frame on both sides, build the symmetrical bow on both sides, and fix it with copper nails. After all this is done, the craftsmen can rivet the deck to the frame, And add supporting ribs..."

"Further back, I erected the mast and sails in the center of the galley by hand, and they were 10 meters high! At the stern, I set up two fixed rudder oars according to the rudder idea you mentioned, Easy to steer. Then, after constant testing and tweaking, I finally completed this 'giant ship' that I never had before, and named it the Alligator Galley!"

Pukuta introduced his masterpiece, as powerful as a crocodile.

Shulot listened intently, didn't say anything, just kept nodding. Although this kind of long ship has been widely used by Vikings more than a thousand years ago, shuttled in the waves of the North Sea, but in this era, in the world of Central America, it is indeed a powerful "giant ship that has never been seen before". ", capable of crushing the navy of all ministries in the world!

It was not until Pukuta finished speaking that the king handed him his kettle and said with a smile.

"Pukuta, don't let anyone show one or two!"

"Okay! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Pukuta unscrewed the kettle and took a few sips, which turned out to be hibiscus tea with honey added, which was very sweet and sour to quench his thirst. After drinking, the old boatman waved his hand.

"You, you, you... all go up the boat and demonstrate to His Majesty!"

Forty apprentices boarded immediately. With their backs to the bow, they sat down on wooden piers on either side of the ship. The apprentices held wooden oars several meters long in their hands, stretched their legs slightly, and pushed on the edge of the wooden pier in front of them. On the sides of the ship, there are also small racks specially designed for the placement of wooden oars. If in war, a row of shields can be tied to the sides of the ship.

As the flag waved, all the apprentices pulled the wooden oars to row the water and pushed the boat forward. Then, the wooden paddle rises out of the water, makes a half-arc under the push, and falls into the water again. Repeating this cycle, the long ship pierced the water like a sharp arrow, rushing forward!

"Haha, good, good!"

Seeing the long ship moving fast, Shiloh waved his arms excitedly and laughed heartily.

The appearance of this long ship means that the kingdom has finally broken through the restrictions of the times and has the first ship that can truly sail on the sea! The Baja California Islands, the Isthmus of Panama, and even the islands of the Caribbean, the coast of the Inca... The magnificent maritime world, with endless hope for the future, finally embraced the king.

After a while, Shiloh turned around in satisfaction and looked at Pukuta who was also excited.

"Pukuta, I want to reward you generously! Witness of the Lord God! From today, as the chief of the shipbuilding division, you are the third-level priest of divine enlightenment, the wood driller! In the kingdom, your status will be hereditary with the second-level hereditary. The nobles are equivalent, and 2,400 acres of land are granted!"

"Ah! Praise the Lord God! Thank you, Your Majesty for the generous reward!"

Pukuta was startled, overjoyed. He fell to his knees suddenly and paid homage to the king. Since then, his family has jumped up, completely entering the ranks of the upper class nobles, and resting with the kingdom.

Hearing such a reward, the craftsmen behind also all had red eyes. Sherlot glanced at them and promised generously.

"The shipbuilding department has made great achievements in developing new ships, and all craftsmen will be rewarded! The kingdom will give you gold, silver, precious stones, cotton cloth and cocoa! And in order of merit, the best three are promoted to second-level wood drillers, and the next seven are promoted to first-level. Explorer!"

A low exclamation sounded in the group of craftsmen. The king's reward is very generous! Once granted the priesthood, artisans can change their status and become part of the ruler of the kingdom. This is a smooth way to change fate!

Shirot watched the crowd with a smile, hope flowing in his heart. Then, he asked expectantly again.

"Pukuta, how was the study of the sandboat chart I gave you?"

"His Majesty..."

Pukuta hesitated for a while before speaking bluntly.

"Your second volume of ship drawings, the shipbuilder can't make them."

"Ok?"

Shirot frowned slightly and looked at Pukuta calmly.

The heavy pressure hit his face, making his knees go weak. Pukuta gritted his teeth, still straightened his waist, and shook his head affirmatively.

"Your Majesty, the shipbuilder doesn't understand the flat keel you are talking about, so he can only try slowly. Shipbuilding is about experience and technology. Without experience and technology, if you can't build it, you can't build it. The master boatman joins."

Speaking of which, Pukuta looked confident. In his opinion, only the Mayan tribes in the far east are the only ones in the world whose shipbuilding technology may surpass the people in the lake. Among the people of the lake, there is definitely no shipbuilding level that can surpass him.

"The only way is to keep trying to build new ships, and then after trial and error, improve and rebuild. I have carefully studied the ship type you mentioned, and if I want to have a rough finished product, start at least ten years!"

Afterwards, Pukuta paused, looked at the face of the king, and said cautiously.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, there is still a lot of room for improvement in the current Crocodile galley. The shipbuilder is sure to continue to improve and make it bigger, faster and stronger! As long as you can always provide sufficient manpower , wood and copper..."

Shilot was silent for a moment, UU reading www. uukanshu. com let out a long breath. He also understands that the shipbuilding industry is the industry with the most accumulation and the most difficult to overtake in corners. At present, relying on the copper materials and craftsmen of the kingdom of the lake, being able to build catamaran canoes and Viking longships is already a huge progress, and it can even be said to be the pinnacle of the shipbuilding industry in the world!

The king showed a gentle smile, stretched out his hand, and pressed Pukuta's shoulder.

"Pukuta, do it well, think carefully! Professional people manage the professional department. Since the shipbuilder is in your hands, you must practice shipbuilding more, accumulate more wood, and don't worry about the consumption of materials. As long as I am here, the kingdom I will always support you! I still say the same thing, the shipbuilding industry is very important, and the vast future of the kingdom lies in your hard-working hands!  …”

"Your Majesty, you are the real sun!"

Hearing this, Pukuta's old face showed a rare admiration. He knelt down, bowed his head deeply, and in the courtesy of allegiance, gave his hair to the king.

With a solemn expression, Shirlot reached out and held the old boatman's gray hair. The young and the old are opposite each other, but it is Bole Xiangma, and the ruler and the minister get each other. And the voyage era of the people of America is waiting for the opening of the two!