Aztec Eternals

"3600 catties per day?"

Shulot suddenly lost color. He looked at Nekali in shock. As the most important copper mine in the closed country, the daily output of 1,000 miners is only 3,600 jin of copper, and only 30% of them can actually participate in the mining. This kind of production efficiency is far lower than his expectation. You must know that the copper materials produced here not only supply the entire feudal country, but almost half of the world!

Seeing the king's shock, Nekali looked proud.

"Yes, Marshal. Under my management, the miners have never slacked off and have used all their strength! The mining volume of each excavator has reached the highest level in the Kingdom of Tarasco in the past ten years! "

Hearing this, Shulot looked at Ezpan who had been by his side but rarely spoke.

"Your Highness, the person in charge of the mine has managed it very well, and the output is indeed very high."

Ezpan sighed, recalling the past memories. He stayed in this mine for a long time, and many things were deeply imprinted in his mind like instinct.

"In this mining area, excavation is impossible in July and August when the rainy season is the heaviest, and at least half of the people are required to drain water in June and September when there is heavy rainfall, and at least 30% of the manpower is required for drainage in April, May, October, and November. .Only in December, January, February, and March in the dry season can full mining be done, and underground springs must also be taken into account. At that time, the output should be at the highest level of 6,000 jin of copper per 1,000 people per day. On average in the rainy and dry seasons of the year, basically Up to 4,000 catties per day for thousands of people."

Shulot didn't speak. He lowered his eyes slightly, thinking of the mining efficiency in modern Europe, he immediately felt dissatisfied.

"How can the output be so low? How can the efficiency be so low!"

In fact, this time it was Xiulot who misunderstood. Mining is a highly cooperative group work that requires high technology and management, and digging hard copper mines is far more time-consuming and labor-intensive than mining coal. In the classical era when there was a lack of machinery, the excavators who could actually participate in the excavation in the mines were usually less than half of the total number of miners.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, even with high-quality ironware and mature technology, the daily output of excavators was only 20-30 catties of copper ore. Of course, this is also because there are many lean ores in Yunnan Copper, which are difficult to excavate and of low quality.

In fact, eight of the top ten copper mines in the world are located in western America on the Pacific Rim, and Chile and Peru in South America account for six of them. Compared with them, the reserves and quality of the copper mines of the Celestial Dynasty will make the emperors who are short of money cry.

Xiulot looked serious and did not speak, and the surroundings became silent. He looked up at the sky, thought carefully about the video and text materials in his memory, and determined to improve the production facilities of the mine. After a while, he stretched out his hand, and the samurai commander will send a pen and paper with satisfaction.

Nekali bowed respectfully and stood aside, his eyes widened, looking at His Highness's "divine revelation" in awe.

"Firstly, a straight vertical shaft goes down, and then according to the direction of the rock formation, inclined shafts and flat lanes are extended at different heights. At every interval, or in unstable rock formations, wooden derricks are used to ensure the stability of the mine structure. .The wooden frames were riveted to each other, and sometimes the points were nailed into the stone wall."

Xiulot first drew the well and alley with simple strokes, and then focused on drawing the wooden support frame of the well and alley. He thought about the underground caves he had traveled to before, and emphasized again.

"The reinforced wooden frame must be neat and uniform. In the inclined shaft, the wooden frame must be nailed into the stone wall to prevent slippage. In the broken mine belt, stones often fall, and the wooden frame must be kept closed."

Nekali looked at the picture and nodded blankly, obviously not understanding.

Seeing this, the king pondered for a while, and said seriously.

"My warrior, these pictures contain the principles of the gods! The god of vegetation is the child of the mother god of the earth, who bears his mercy and protects the life of the miners. The wooden frame can stabilize the underground world. The most important foundation in excavation. You have to follow the diagram I gave you, and be as serious as building an altar, and make sure the bracket is strong!"

Only then did the warrior captain put a serious face on his face, and solemnly promised.

"Obey, Marshal! You are a divinely inspired priest, and I will definitely do as you say!"

Shulot smiled lightly. He then drew a vertical ventilation shaft above the extended alley.

"Only the powerful Tlaloc, the god of wind and rain, can restrain the evil in the ground and bring life to the underground mines. With the extension of the mine, there must be a special shaft hanging from the surface for access to the power of the wind god. Multiple ventilation shafts can be dug at different heights to form convection under different wind pressures. You can also light torches and charcoal under the ventilation shafts, sacrifice vegetation, artificially heat the underground air, and create convection.”

"What, what is convection, you ask? Convection is the wind that connects the underground and the surface. It is the flow of divine power, bringing the vitality of the surface into the underground."

Xiulot thought for a while, and then drew a mine blast box again, which was similar to the iron smelting bellows, but bigger.

"In some places, it is not easy to dig ventilation shafts. You can use this to blow air into the wind god's power, but it will take some manpower."

Nekari nodded his head heavily, engraved these mysterious knowledge into his mind, and executed them as the precepts of faith.

"Afterwards, there is lighting improvement. In each group of miners, someone must wear a special wooden helmet, and a half-open pottery oil lamp is hung on the wooden helmet. This is the vision of praying to the Lord God, to bless the work of the miners, so that they will not Fear. If the oil lamp quickly dims or goes out, it proves that there is evil hidden in front. You must retreat quickly, and then summon the power of the wind god to the front."

"Of order, Marshal! But there are so many religious ceremonies, should we arrange two priests for the mine? The miners probably don't have the ability to communicate with the gods."

Hearing this, Shulot changed his expression and said with a smile.

"Okay! I will send a few priests to preside over these important ceremonies. The number of miners is huge, and priests are really needed to guide their beliefs and calm their hearts. With the prayers of priests, miners can better overcome the difficulties of going down the mine. fear. Sometimes it’s the fear itself that really scares you.”

"Then, it is necessary to build a labor-saving lifting system at certain heights in the mine. Simply relying on the miners to carry the ore is slow and less. A lot of manpower is wasted on transportation."

While talking, Xiulot drew a potter's wheel for fetching water.

"Building a potter's wheel in the mine is responsible for the transportation from bottom to top. The current depth of the mine is more than ten meters, and a single potter's wheel is enough. As the mine becomes deeper and longer, graded potter's wheels will be built later, layer by layer. Transporting ore saves manpower to the greatest extent."

Seeing this, Nekali finally showed a sudden expression on his face. The pulley saves effort, he naturally knows it.

"Finally, the most important thing is drainage improvement. Remember, balance the power of the God of Wind and Rain, drain water, and turn it into wind. The potter's wheel responsible for lifting ore can also be added with buckets to fetch water. In the low-lying water accumulation in the mine , you can also build additional drainage wells. Of course, there is another useful drainage device for you"

Having said that, Shulot paused. He recalled the pressurized wells in the countryside in later generations, which were simple manual reciprocating pumps, or hand pumps. The principle of this thing is the reciprocating movement of the piston, which creates negative pressure to absorb water, and then presses it out from the water outlet at the upper end. Using the principle of the pump, a similar water diversion device is made of bamboo tubes, which is the "bamboo dragon".

Nekari cheered up and watched carefully. He watched as His Highness first drew an irregular bamboo tube, with an opening on the upper side of the bamboo tube. Then I drew a nested movable round stick inside the bamboo tube, and finally drew a strange crank handle. The whole picture is simple and abstract, like sacred and mysterious priest symbols.

"It's roughly like this."

Xiulot looked at his rough stick figure and pursed his lips. His painting skills really needed to be improved.

"The nested bamboo tube is easier to get. It doesn't matter if you don't have this labor-saving hand crank. The operation is also very simple, just lift and press to pump the water up. If there is any damage or looseness, you can use the rubber for kicking the ball." Just stick it together."

"Okay, reinforcement, ventilation, lighting, lifting, and drainage. There are five items in total. Do as I say! Nekali, there will be priests to help you calm people's hearts. What you have to do is to improve facilities and equipment, dig deep Let’s try our best to increase the production! I’ll give you a small goal, first increase the average monthly production by 1/2, to 6,000 catties per thousand people!”

"Ah, 6,000 catties for a thousand people? I obey, Marshal! I obey your will and am willing to die for you!"

Nekari took the order loudly, bowed to the ground and saluted, as if accepting military orders on the battlefield.

Xiulot nodded in satisfaction, and stretched out his hand to shake the other person's hair again. The advantage of using loyal officers as managers is that they can follow the orders of their superiors and carry them out without hesitation. Their disadvantage is that they are not professionally proficient enough to think for themselves.

"Well, I will summon Chalape when I go back, and send miners from two metal families to assist."

Shulot's thoughts turned, and he looked at the warrior commander again. The facilities of the mine need to be improved, and the scale of the mine must be further expanded.

"Bothard, how many working men can the nearby villages supply?"

Bertard pondered for a while. There were too many villages in the lake area, but he couldn't remember them for a while. He took out a picture album that he carried with him, flipped through it and said.

"Your Highness, within a radius of more than 20 miles, there are seven or eight settlements, with a total of more than 15,000 people. If the village's autumn gifts are transported to the nearest mine, it can supply three to four thousand people for labor. This distance The mountain roads are rugged, and labor labor for transporting grain has to be collected from the villages.”

Shulot pondered for a while, and ordered.

"Collect taxes and labor from nearby villages to support the Qinganbat mining area! Contact the village priest to reduce or exempt part of the tribute. Then, from the resting South Road Army, 2,000 people will be transferred to the mining area. By the end of October, the mine will have three Thousands of people are digging, and by the end of December, the output of copper materials in the mining area will be tripled! Necali, do you have confidence?"

"Obey, Marshal! The capacity of the main mine is limited and needs to be improved. There are still several small mines around, and I will develop them all!"

Necarly said yes. Then, he whispered.

"Marshal, mining has always been regarded as a dangerous way, and the status of miners is also very low. The surrendered soldiers have held weapons, formed battalions, and some have blood on their hands. I am afraid it will be difficult to manage them if they are forced to work as miners. These people are both There is a risk of rebellion, and there is also the ability to rebel. Can it be replaced with a slave that is easy to use?"

Hearing this, Xiulot thought for a while and shook his head.

"Nekali, you are right, but the people in the feudal country have set up villages, and I don't have any slaves for you. Well, there will be officers and priests close to the alliance in the surrender army to help appease you. In a few months, The legion is dispatched, and all the dog descendants captured from the north will be sent here!"

The king thought about the organization of the descending army. There may be some warriors who are good at fighting in it. The risk is indeed not small.

"Well, I'll give you two more brigades, four hundred warriors! Six hundred warriors manage three thousand miners, which happens to be the limit nekali supplied by the nearby villages. Work hard! Starting today, I will promote you to be the commander of the warrior battalion. These people are entrusted to you to lead!

"Thank you Marshal! Willing to be your wings!"

Nekari was overjoyed and fell to the ground again to accept the order. The king also smiled. The two agreed with each other and set the rules and requirements of the mine.

The sun set in the west, leaving a golden-red afterglow on the rolling hills. The curling smoke rises from the mountains, intertwined with the red clouds faintly, like the belt of the gods dancing. Before I knew it, it was time for dinner.

Bertard had no time to watch the magnificent sunset over the mountains. He just watched vigilantly the miners who gathered and started to light a fire and cook. Soon, thick cooking smoke rose from the corner of the rear camp. The smoke was very thick, and according to the common sense of a samurai, it was like preparing meals for three or four thousand people.

The warrior commander frowned. After saying something to His Highness, he drew out his baton and went to check with more than a dozen personal guards. Hundreds of cooks are busy in the back camp, preparing fragrant tortillas for the warriors and enough miscellaneous grains for the miners. There are also several guarding warriors who are watching.

Bertard checked briefly. In order to ensure safety, His Highness's food was brought from the palace by his personal guards, and these pancakes were mainly supplied to some of the accompanying troops. He looked at it for a moment, nodded, and then his attention was drawn to the cooking stove.

"Come here, what is this?"

The samurai commander asked curiously. What was burning under the stove was not firewood, but black stones. The fire was very strong, and there was a lot of smoke. And the cook in front of him is still adding this kind of fuel into it.

Facing the question, the cook took a step back and fell on the ground in awe. Thick smoke rose from the flames of the black stone, already blackening his face.

"My lord, this is the coagulated blood of the underground monster we dug up. It contains the dead fire of the world of the dead. Although it is considered unclean by the priests, it can burn. My lord."

Hearing this, Bertard took out a black stone and examined it carefully in his hand. This kind of black stone is soft, and when it is squeezed a little, it will shatter into pieces. Soon, Black Stone stained his hands black too. The warrior commander frowned, then held the black stone and walked towards His Royal Highness Shenqi.