Aztec Eternals

"You lazy blackbirds! The brick kiln is already on fire, so sleep on the kiln and watch carefully! All the warriors in the county are waiting for bricks. If the bricks burn out, I will pull out your bricks." Bird feathers, hanging naked on a tree!"

Outside Apa County, in the newly built brick kilns, charcoal kilns are connected together, emitting green smoke like grave mounds. Dozens of tall kilns are lined up, large pieces of adobe are drying in the shade under the grass shed, and piles of charcoal are still piled up in the corner. A sturdy middle-aged leader, wearing a short jacket, stood in the middle with a stick. In front were more than four hundred bare-chested, sweaty, busy craftsmen and apprentices with their heads bowed.

In front of the kiln, the director of construction, Koskaci, stared, his voice hoarse and loud. His tanned face was as black as charcoal, and he yelled at the dark kiln workers under him, like the king of crows! He has a strong body, holding a bronze stick in his hand, swinging it vigorously, like a mighty warrior. When his stern gaze swept across the crowd present, hundreds of strong and strong men all lowered their heads, afraid to look at each other in fear.

Koskaci looked around and was satisfied with his power. In his opinion, the craftsmen in the workshop are different from the farmers in the field. The most important thing is to obey the rules!

How to make bricks, how to build a kiln, how to make a fire, how to look at the smoke, all must be done according to the instructions of the old craftsmen, and they should not be fooled at all. If he messes up the bricks and the kiln and misses the construction schedule, according to the kingdom's laws, he will be beheaded!

Of course, after giving a big stick, we should also give some hope. Koskaci took the stick, slapped his palms twice with the end of the stick, and grinned.

"The Lord God is looking at us, and we are all working hard! When the bricks from the kiln come out, everyone will have a day off and be given a bag of grain! In the surrounding villages of Tlaxcala, there are many women without husbands, many with With a half-grown child! With food, it will be easy for you to go there, whether it is to have a good day or find a partner."

"When the work is done before the rainy season, I will be busy. There will be rewards in the city of Apa! At that time, I will find a woman nearby to get married. Even the children are ready-made, and they can work for the family after two years of raising them! . There is hope for life Very, give me a good job, you hear me!"

"Yes, boss. Do it well, and I will listen to you!"

At this moment, all the craftsmen in the kiln showed joy and responded loudly. A quarter of them are journeymen, along with the leader, who came over from Lake Patzcuaro a few months ago to build a kiln outside the city of Apa. The other three-quarters are apprentices, recruited from Apa County, and they are all Prepeca people who have been obedient for many years.

In the two southern counties, 200,000 immigrants from the Eastern Expedition moved in this year. Immigrants are being resettled, building large and small villages, and the most important building is the brick barn! You know, people can live in wooden houses, straw huts, or even holes in the ground, but food is not. In the wet and rainy season in the south, it is necessary to have a barn with bricks and waterproof, so as not to prevent the grain from becoming moldy and spoiling. Secondly, there must be a masonry shrine to store sacred scripture tablets, as well as precious copper and iron tools.

Therefore, under His Royal Highness's order, Koskachi brought a group of people to the south of Apa City last year to build a large brick kiln and supply building materials nearby. The charcoal-burning charcoal field and the smoking kiln are all non-stop day and night, like giant beasts lying on the ground, breathing out the power to transform the Apa Plain.

With the continuous resettlement of immigrants, the scale of the kiln factory has also continued to expand, and more than 300 apprentices have been recruited. Most of these craftsman apprentices are single strong men who want to start a family on the spot and become craftsmen in the county. What is most lacking now is the wealth and wife to start a family.

Apa County has given rewards, and there are many single women among the captive immigrants. It is an opportunity to come here to work as a craftsman. If you do well, you can become a master craftsman, which is not far behind the respected military nobles.

"Your Highness is divinely enlightened, he values ​​artisans, and the treatment is generous! Becoming a craftsman of the divinely enlightened institute, your good life is coming! From now on, you don't have to worry about food and drink, and you can work in the kiln with peace of mind. Just wait a dozen After 20 years, you can become a skilled craftsman, and the cost of food and clothing is no worse than that of samurai! After 20 years, you can become a senior craftsman and support seven or eight wives and children! If you can figure out new improvements , and great rewards, maybe even like me, standing above others, becoming a master craftsman, a craftsman priest! Tsk tsk! You can leave the village and work in the factory, it is really a blessing from the Lord God!"

Koskaci shook his head, waved his big stick, and pointed patiently, educating him for a while. He spoke out, speaking with sincerity. The kiln workers under him also nodded their heads in anticipation, and their whole body gave birth to the strength to work.

The current Kingdom of the Lake has a population of more than 1.2 million people. The Kingdom of the Lake is full of vigor and vitality, expanding every year, constantly plundering population and wealth from the outside, and reclaiming and colonizing the inside. This place is different from the alliance in the east, the upward path is very wide!

The first smooth way to rise is naturally to join the army. In the kingdom, after thousands of new priests and nobles were removed, the highest status remained were the 50,000 warriors in the seven legions! The samurai lords fought abroad and won every year, and the booty they plundered was full of boats and houses. They were able to award fields and titles for military merits, occupied one-third of the kingdom's land, and owned more than 300,000 serfs, which were the most important pillars of the kingdom!

However, for this smooth road, one has to carry one's head up and work hard, and one needs to have a good skill. Generally speaking, only well-to-do civilian families can provide for the training of soldiers from an early age. Or you have to be a hunter in the mountains, have the skills of shooting and hunting, and be able to become an archer. The kingdom has sufficient military resources, there are a lot of tribal barbarians who dare to work hard, and a lot of surrendered soldiers with war experience. If there is no such foundation, they can only become militiamen at most, and it is difficult to be selected into the legion and go out as a warrior.

"In Apa County and Zicao County, I heard that they are recruiting soldiers again to build a Long Snake Army. Among the Tlaxcala immigrants, those tribal fighters who have fought wars all popped up. And the Terkos Banner The militiamen in the army are also clamoring to join. The county governors of the two counties are fighting for the distribution of soldiers. I don’t know where this army will be stationed in the end. It can’t be half of a county, right? "

Koskaci stroked his chin, looked at the busy kiln workers, and thought about the situation in the two southern counties. He intends to send his own children into the army. It's just that it has only been seven years since he followed His Highness and started his career as a commoner. The family background is insufficient, and the youngsters trained are very average in martial arts.

The kingdom's legion fights every year, with ax and spear, fighting with blood. It is fair to only look at strength and luck on the battlefield. The army is full of desperate barbarians, so it doesn't matter. With the ability of my own children, it is always difficult to take the lead on the battlefield.

"It doesn't matter! The kingdom has never lost a war, and there are no thousands of dead warriors. If the family wants to gain a foothold, it is always worse to be a craftsman. They don't have the ability to be priests. In the end, they still have to send They're going to join the army! Well, spend some money and get bronze armor for the little ones. As long as they don't die, they can be promoted!"

Koskaci thought for a moment and made up his mind. The kingdom's bronze production has increased rapidly, and new copper mines have been opened in two counties, and the control of copper armor has been relaxed. As an old man following His Highness, and also the director of the Department of Divine Enlightenment, if he wanted to buy a few pairs of bronze armor for self-defense for the children of the clan from the Military Industry Department, there was still a way.

In the Kingdom of the Lake, the second way to rise is to participate in the selection of the temple at the age of fifteen and become a priest apprentice at the Shenwei University. Afterwards, they will study at Shinway University for several years and successfully graduate as priests of various departments in the kingdom. This road is also open to common people. But to be honest, most of the places will be occupied by children of noble and priestly families.

Among other things, just the literacy competition in the first month, the children of nobles and priests were all educated by their elders since they were young, and they have been studying for several years, and they are familiar with the enlightenment scriptures. As for the children of common people, most of them can't read a few words, so they have to learn from scratch. Unless you are really talented, there is no comparison at all. As for the next math competition, one has been taught and the other knows nothing, let alone.

"Hey! Priests serve the main god, receive divine grace, and preside over one party. Even if they can't be preaching priests, they are god-inspired priests of craftsmen, and they start on the mountainside, climbing from the top of the craftsmen! This road, But it is also a smooth road!. Well, the children under ten years old in the family, who are smart, have to be sent to the community sacrificial center as soon as possible, give some gifts, and ask the community priests to teach! There is no family inheritance, and this is the only one who learns culture There is a way."

Koskaci held the copper rod, looked at the busy kiln workers under him, and shook his head invisibly. For most civilians, without culture, mathematics, and knowledge, being able to become a master craftsman is already a manifestation of the Lord God and the blessing of their ancestors. And the god-inspired priest who graduated from Shenwei University belongs directly to His Highness, can directly learn various gods, and even accept His Highness's teachings!

Yes, in the Kingdom of the Lake, the third way to rise is to become a craftsman. There are two types of this path, one is the difficulty of the upper level of the Kingdom of God, and the other is the difficulty of the lower level of the Abyss.

The difficulty of the kingdom of God is that ordinary students graduate as young priests of divine enlightenment, or outstanding students graduate as first-level divine priests, and join the workshops of divine revelation institutes in various places. They started out as leaders in charge of dozens of people, and then they rose to the first, second, third, and fourth priest levels. In the end, it was the senior officiant in charge of one department and one bureau! As for the shortcut of following His Highness from the beginning, and then taking off all the way, like Koskaqi, it will never exist again.

Another difficulty of the abyss is to join various workshops or artisan camps as an artisan household. Then work hard for four years, the skills and experience are enough, and recognized by the master craftsmen, they will be counted as formal craftsmen. This step will probably eliminate half of the people. In other words, at least half of the craftsmen must do the most basic work, such as making bricks or burning charcoal. Of course, apprentices who have been eliminated can be assessed again every four years, so there is always something to look forward to.

Next, the craftsmen will work for another four years, and will be promoted from the lower rank to the upper rank. In another four years, pass the assessment and be promoted to a skilled craftsman. In this selection, half of them will also be eliminated. After being promoted to a skilled craftsman, there will be rewards every year, and the treatment is not much different from that of a second-level warrior.

Skilled craftsmen are promoted in four years, and evaluated in eight years to be promoted to senior craftsmen. In this step, 60 to 70% will be eliminated. Among craftsmen, the proportion of senior craftsmen usually does not exceed one-tenth. After being promoted to a senior craftsman, he can lead a team of apprentices to take charge of construction projects in various places. At that time, their income, both bright and dark, was comparable to that of senior warriors. However, in terms of social status, it is far behind, and there is no land that can be passed on to future generations.

In general, if all goes well, apprentices who work for twenty years will be able to choose one in ten to become a senior craftsman. And from here on up, there are rare master craftsmen. It's not that you can be promoted by accumulating qualifications, you have to make great contributions and come up with real technological breakthroughs and improvements!

The promotion of a master craftsman, even His Royal Highness will have a look at it, and often grants fields. And after being promoted to a master craftsman, he will automatically become a divinely inspired priest. As an honor for class leapfrogging, he is successfully promoted to a member of the ruling class!

"Master craftsman! If one of the two hundred kiln workers can independently improve their craftsmanship and become a master craftsman, then as their leader, I will also have merit and be rewarded!"

Koskaci thought for a while, smiled and shook his head. Breakthroughs in new technologies are easy to say, but if you really want to achieve them, how easy is it?

Like the large kiln mentioned by His Highness, ventilation and fire passages are designed to produce bricks all the time without stopping the kiln. He led his senior craftsmen to toss and toss for five or six years, but he just had some clues. If this technology is made, at least two master craftsmen can be sealed!

".However, there is really a chance right now! His Highness has revealed another divine revelation, and after just over a year of research, some results have been achieved. If this technology is made, there will definitely be a generous reward! With His Highness's attention The level is enough to be promoted to two or three master craftsmen! But, who should give this opportunity to two outstanding apprentices?"

Koskaci stroked his chin, silent. After a while, he put the bronze stick back into his waist, left the kiln workers in the kiln, and strode towards the camp behind. There, a freshly built white wall, was shining in the sunlight to look like masonry.