Aztec Eternals

"Haha, Nekali, my warrior!"

Shulot laughed. He took two steps forward, supported the warrior captain's arm, and signaled him to stand up.

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

"Your Highness, the main copper mine is operating normally. There are five teams of miners in the early thousand, and one team of warriors with two hundred people!"

Necali stood up and answered loudly, as if he was being inspected by a marshal in a legion. He continued to report respectfully and in detail.

"In the late period of the Western Expedition, the Qinganbat Copper Mine fell into chaos. The Tarasco warriors guarding the copper mine were transferred 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 were constantly recruited from all over the world. July and August are the peak of the rainy season. The rain was too heavy, and the mine was shut down for more than two months. It was officially mined in mid-September. There are ore smelting in the mine. Small furnace, now a new batch of copper material has been smelted and can be transported to the capital at any time."

Shulot stepped forward, and while listening to the report of the warrior captain, he strode towards the mine. The samurai commander whispered a few words, and thousands of guards were also divided into two teams. Half of them are stationed outside, occupying a high place for investigation, focusing on guarding against the south. The other half held the weapon and followed the king's figure with a cold expression.

Amidst the chilling footsteps of the guards, the deep and majestic Black Wolf King Banner was also erected at the height of the camp in the mining area. The warriors stationed shouted loudly, and more than a thousand miners knelt down obediently like a large group of worker ants. They bowed their heads deeply, clinging to the cold and muddy ground, not daring to make any sound, nor did they dare to peek at the king's face, but waited silently for the king's order.

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

After observing the performance of the miners, Xiulot waved his hand.

"Let them keep working and not delay production."

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

"The supreme king has come to the mine! All of you must be energetic and go to work! If anyone can't complete today's target, one counts as one, and hangs on the railing!"

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

Shulot looked around and saw the so-called railings. It was a relatively high hill, and a row of wooden poles several meters long was erected, and dozens of heads were hanging from the wooden poles. Autumn on the plateau is still hot, and the heads have already rotted beyond recognition. A large swarm of flies hovered around the head, and the faint smell drifted with the wind, spreading a wordless deterrent.

"Your Highness, this is the leader of the miners who was the first to make trouble and refused to leave the mine when work resumed! There were also some recruited miners who wanted to escape at night. I arrested them all on the same day, and in front of the miners one Behead!"

Neckarion raised his head, expressing credit to His Highness for his decisiveness.

"This group of miners were disobedient. When they wanted to make a fuss, I easily suppressed them! After grabbing the backbone of the leader and chopping them off one by one, the other subordinates became more obedient. We Mexica warriors are corpses. Those who were killed in the sea of ​​mountains and blood, there is no room for these lowly miners to be unrestrained! No matter how dangerous it is to go down to mine, you have to be honest, and you will die in the mine!"

Xiulot looked at it for a moment, then nodded expressionlessly.

Going down to mines is considered dangerous in any era. And it is even more so in this age of myth and ignorance. It is generally believed that the underground is the kingdom of the dead, and there are irresistible dangers lurking deep underground, which also offends the majesty of the gods. Going down the mine to mine is the same as sailing, it is a profession that you have to do only when you have to, and there is no long-term and reliable future. The status of miners in the whole society is very low, and it is difficult for them to marry and start a family.

After the Western Expedition, nobles from all over the country were wiped out, large tracts of farmland were abandoned without owners, and there were still many young women who had lost their husbands in the countryside. As long as the miners falsely claim that the refugees have fled to the village, they can participate in public land labor, get married happily and have children, and live a long and peaceful life. If there is no violent coercion and restraint, few miners would be willing to stay in the mine.

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

The king pondered for a moment, then spoke slowly.

"Nekali, mandatory restraint is indeed necessary, but it cannot be done blindly. Jaguars hunting wild deer will also leave life for the deer herd. The treatment of miners can be appropriately improved."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The warrior captain immediately bowed his head and took orders. Then, he said with a smile.

"Your Highness, all the veterans of the legion know that you have always been tolerant, and we all regard you as the mountain to look up to! After the miner leader was executed, I specially distributed the soldiers' drinks to comfort the group of miners. They also had enough food , Your Highness, you can rest assured!"

"Very good! I will set aside a sufficient amount of wine for you. Nekali, since you took the city gate of the royal capital by adapting to the situation, I have valued your ability and have high hopes for you! Mining copper mines is a major event for the country , leave it to you, I am very relieved!"

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

The miners in this era were extremely tired and hard, and their lives were in danger all the time. They are well-organized, able to escape surveillance in underground mines, secretly connect with each other, and they have bronze pickaxes for mining, so riots are prone to occur. They are the most dangerous category of civilians and require equally tough leaders to manage.

Nekali was born as a senior scout, with excellent martial arts skills, able to survive the brutal pre-battle, and also proficient in Prepecha. He is flexible, decisive and ruthless. He can not only suppress the warriors he leads, but also suppress the rioting miners in time.

Shulot took a fancy to his past performance and appointed him as the person in charge 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 the habit of staying in the mine? If you have any needs in life, you can tell me directly, or ask the logistics officer who transports grain and grass in the future!"

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

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

"Marshal, I am a veteran who has followed you for many years. I have been beheaded and promoted. I have never touched a copper pickaxe. I want to return to the legion, participate in the conquest of the country, and continue to fight for you! . The boring job of guarding the mines is such a boring job that you get sores on your ass."

"Ha ha!"

Hearing Necali's request, Shulot laughed dumbfounded. He thought for a while, straightened his expression, and ordered.

"Nekari, the Western Expedition has just stopped, and the country needs to recuperate. There has been no major war recently. Even if troops are used on the frontier, they are just going out to capture prisoners and replenish the border of the country. Time is spent on marching and escorting prisoners. There's nothing interesting about it."

"My samurai, the copper mine is the foundation of the feudal kingdom. This mining area is very important! I came here this time to conduct field inspections and expand the scale of excavation at the mine. Soon, the number of people and output in the mining area will far exceed that of the tower. The heyday of the Kingdom of Lascaux! Necali, you have a heavy burden on you!"

The king eased his tone and said with a smile.

"Of course, I have seen all the credit you have made, and I am ready to use it. As long as you do well, I will hand over this mining area, large and small, to you and let you be the general manager! "

"Yes, Marshal!"

Hearing the word "great use", Nekali was refreshed and replied loudly. Then, he whispered to himself in frustration.

"The chief person in charge of the mining area? That's not mining."

"Um?"

"Never fail your expectations, Marshal!"

Nekari immediately shouted loudly, trying to cheer up.

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

“What a lucky guy”

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

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

"Nekali, tell me about the specific situation in the mine, and let me see how much you know about the things here!"

"Yes, Marshal!"

Nekari bowed his head and saluted, straightened his back and replied loudly.

"The Qinganbat copper mining area is located 100 miles southwest of the capital, 60 miles south west of Patzcuaro City, and 40 miles southwest of Ivacio City. This main mine is by the mountain river. Around the entire mining area, Within fifty miles are mountainous terrain, the march is slow, and the food road is difficult. Large-scale transportation can only rely on narrow rivers."

Nekali continued to describe based on the experience of the scouts.

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

Hearing this, Xiu Luo nodded his head, his thoughts drifted away.

The Qinganbat mining area is a large porphyry copper mine that has been mined until later generations. The reserves of copper-bearing belts in the surface layer are at the level of tens of millions of tons, but it is difficult to measure in the deep layer. At greater depths there are huge extensions, associated with considerable quantities 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 mining value for the time being. Because in the territory of the alliance, there are many rich gold and silver mines that are easy to mine.

The king listened to the report, but looked at the busy miners not far away. He saw hundreds of human fires burning the coppery walls of the rock. There are hundreds of people who are about to enter the mine, all of them look gloomy and fearful, as if they are going to the terrible abyss.

"what are they doing?"

Xiulot asked, pointing to the miners who were burning the fire.

"Marshal, they are using the traditional method to break the rock wall. First burn the rock wall red with torch, and pour cold water from the small pool of the mountain spring. This is to trigger the conflict between the god of fire and the god of water, and it will be broken in the battle of divine power. Hard rock formations, and take out the copper-bearing stones!"

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

Shulot thought for a while, 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 ten meters. It is difficult to calculate the length. It is estimated to be more than one mile? According to myths and legends, the depths of the ground are very dangerous, and there are monsters and ghosts hidden. These evil things When the attack came, the torches and oil lamps would be extinguished for no reason, and everything would be plunged into darkness. The miners would also be sucked out of life in the darkness, their faces flushed, and they would fall to the ground and die inexplicably, without a single wound on their bodies. Even if they were killed If you are lucky enough to be rescued, but because of the loss of vitality, you will be crazy and foolish like a dementia."

"And digging further down, it is 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 suppressing underground, or offending the majesty of the Mother God."

Having said this, Nekali showed deep awe on his face. This veteran warrior who is not afraid of life and death on the battlefield, killing people like mowing grass, also has to be trembling and bow his head to retreat when facing the unknown mythical power.

Shulot remained calm and shook his head slightly. He thought carefully about the details in the warrior captain's narration.

"The flame went out for no reason, his face was cherry red, and he fell to the ground to die. This is due to lack of oxygen. At the same time, he was poisoned by carbon monoxide. The ventilation problem needs to be solved. The passage so deep as the vibration and landslide still needs wooden brackets to fix it."

While Shulot was thinking, he saw another group of miners coming out of the ground. Their expressions were numb and they didn't say a word. With clay pots on their backs, they walked quietly to the side of the small pond, and then poured water out of the pots with a "crash".

"Eh? The pot is full of water?"

"Yes, Marshal. This is the drainage of mines. There is too much water in the rainy season, and the drainage is done every day, and it requires the most manpower. Sometimes, drainage is even the only job in the rainy season. You see, the mines of the mountain springs There is a shallow channel in the small pond, and the overflow water is led from the shallow channel to the small river, and finally flows into the lowest lake Zilahun."

Hearing this, Xiulot was a little surprised.

"Flooding in the mine is indeed dangerous. But, does it take so many people to drain it?"

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

Xiulot thought for a while and asked patiently.

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

The samurai captain thought about it, and calculated with his fingers.

"A team of 200 warriors, and five teams of 1,000 miners. Among the five teams, one team consists of 200 people, responsible for logistics, 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 ore. They must first be busy in the small river, wash the ore with a wooden chute, and screen out qualified ore nuggets. Then crush the ore nuggets, usually the more broken the better .Finally put into a small clay furnace, leave air holes, put charcoal into it and burn it. Finally, after the fire is turned off, the charcoal ash will be washed with water, and you will get ocher yellow copper material. This is also the finished copper material delivered to the capital. directly forged into bronze."

"Not bad! You are very attentive!"

Shulot smiled affirmatively, expressing his satisfaction with Nekali. The warrior captain racked his brains and continued to recall.

"Then a team of 300 and a half people, carrying clay pots, went in and out of the mine to drain water. When they were almost busy, there was the last team of 300 people. They would carry bamboo baskets into the mine, and use bronze picks to dig hard On the stone wall, blue-yellow copper ore was excavated. This work is very hard and dangerous, and the miners take turns to do it.”

The king nodded and listened patiently to the end. Nekali clenched his fists, slapped his chest forcefully, and announced proudly.

"Marshal, on average, 300 people dig, and each person is required to mine 20 catties a day. After smelting, they can get 12 catties of copper material. With 1,000 miners in the mining area, they can produce 3,600 catties of copper material per day!"