Chapter 676 Kingdom Merchant Fleet, Northern Trade Route

As April comes to an end, the sea breeze becomes more humid and the weather becomes hotter. Zuvalo, who was tanned, stood on the bow of the boat and looked around. The vast sea is endless, the long journey comes and goes, and the familiar scenery comes into view. Not far away, three long rivers come from the east, converge and separate, and flow into the boundless West Sea together. And a low and prosperous city-state appeared on the fertile land intertwined by long rivers.

"Hoo! Praise the Lord God! It traveled four thousand miles north and returned three thousand miles. It took more than three months to travel seven thousand miles back and forth. The fleet finally returned to the land of the Tekos people and arrived at Trois-Rivières! And from here it was After traveling a thousand miles to the southeast, we returned to the seaside of the kingdom and the mouth of the Talsas River. This shocking and long journey is finally coming to a successful end."

Thinking of this, Zuvalo felt emotional. As a Prepecha priest who was born in Apa County, in the past twenty years, the largest lake he knew was the Ato Lake, which is more than 100 miles long. The longest road he had ever walked was just over 300 miles from Apa County to the capital of Qincongcan, where he went to study at Shenwei University.

However, after he graduated from Kamui University in the royal capital with excellent grades, an order came from the chief minister, Sage Jatiri. The order itself came from His Highness's will. In all affairs of the kingdom, young priests who graduated from Shenwei University will always be given priority.

"Witness the Lord God! Travel four thousand miles north, investigate the information along the way, station people in familiar tribes, trade coal and stone, and dig out struvite."

The newly minted priest Zuvalo was full of piety and embarked on a long journey to lead the merchant fleet and improve the northern route. A vast world that he had never imagined suddenly arrived and came towards him. At this moment, after traveling a full seven thousand miles, he had lost weight and was tanned into a black charcoal, leaving only a pair of bright eyes, always looking into the distance.

"Supreme Lord God, thank you for protecting me! What a vast sea, what a boundless north, what a raging waves!"

Zuvalo prayed lowly and looked at the more than twenty catamaran canoes around him, at the cargo carried on board, and at the warriors and sailors with weathered faces. Scenes of memories of sailing flashed in his mind.

"More than three months ago, I took thirty-four catamarans and more than four hundred warrior sailors, carrying gems, weapons and spices, and set out from the mouth of the Tarsus River. We first arrived at the land of the Nantecos , trading along the coast of the Fire River Plain. In the past few years, the tribes of Colima have surrendered to the Kingdom of the Lake, and trade between the two parties has been very frequent. A trading town, Cuyutlán, also known as "Palm", has emerged along the coast. "The land of the fruit of the tree", Zongshi Town. The area around Zongshi Town has been infiltrated a lot by long-distance merchants from the south of the kingdom. According to the tradition of the kingdom, long-distance merchants must shoulder the mission of collecting intelligence."

Zuvalo squinted his eyes and looked to the distant southeast. Brownshi Town is located on the seaside six to seven hundred miles away. It is the first key town on the northward trade route. The second key town is Trois-Rivières, where the fleet is located.

"At Trois-Rivières, Trali, a Trapanic merchant who surrendered to the kingdom, took sixty-seven ships and seventy or eighty people and separated from the group. His mission was to give gifts and make friends with the chiefs in Trois-Rivières. , to find out detailed information about the tribes of Northern Tekos. Although this businessman does not have enough faith in the main god, he has had friendship with the tribes of Northern Tekos for many years, and is very afraid of the kingdom and His Majesty, so there should be nothing wrong with him."

Zuvalo pondered for a moment, thinking in his mind. Some chiefs in Three Rivers City once planned attacks by the Kingdom's expedition fleet. One of the tasks of the merchant Trali is to investigate the tribes and chiefs involved in the attack and seek asylum from other chiefs. Before any reliable news comes, the merchant fleet he leads will bypass Trois-Rivières and supply supplies at a Tecos village dozens of miles away, where the leader is more reliable.

"Witness the Lord God! When the kingdom's army arrives, these tribes and chiefs who dare to offend will be sent to heaven one by one to see the Lord God!"

Zuvalo held the sun amulet and prayed silently, feeling secretly angry in his heart. He sent a small boat with a few sailors to notify Trali, a merchant in the Trois-Rivières area. Then, the kingdom's merchant fleet set sail again, passing through Trois-Rivières without entering.

"The Northern Sea Route is desolate after all. The Three Rivers City of the Northern Tekos people is the last city-state on the shipping route. After passing the land of Northern Tekos, along the coast, six hundred miles northwest, there is a large river that flows into the West Sea. This The moderately located river mouth is the third important node on the route, where the fleet can camp, replenish fresh water, catch game fish, and hunt birds and animals that come to drink water."

"However, when we reached the mouth of the river and set up camp, we encountered a fierce Huichol and Teopan tribe on the banks of a large river where game was abundant."

Zuvalo looked to the north, his expression flashing. Ten days ago, they returned from the Yushan Village of the Tuotome people. After rowing for more than 400 miles, they finally stopped at the mouth of a large river for repairs. But no one expected that the Tolpan tribe had just migrated to the river mouth area and were holding the ancient and sacred Mitote ceremony.

This inherited ritual has a distinct atmosphere of the wilderness. The Torpan tribe of more than a thousand people first migrated for dozens of days, and then hunted huge bison or groups of gray wolves. After obtaining the entrails and skulls of these beasts, the tribes will follow the guidance of the wasteland priests to find a vast or towering sacred place.

Then, the wasteland priests will offer sacrifices to the gods and earth mothers in the sacred place, praying for their divine power. The wasteland warriors picked special cacti, sat against nearby trees or rocks, and took hallucinogenic cones. These tribal warriors would sit quietly with their eyes closed, whisper to themselves, try to communicate with the gods in their dreams, and gain enlightenment from heaven and earth. As for the leader of the tribe, he will work with the wilderness priests to use the skulls and blood of beasts to divine whether to settle here.

For the Huichol people who are constantly migrating, this kind of ceremony is very important and will last for several days to decide the migration, settlement, war, and even survival of the tribe. No outsiders are allowed to disturb them. Around the ceremony site, the Torpan tribe sent many alert scouts, lurking in the mountains and forests, to ensure that the ceremony went ahead.

When the Kingdom's merchant fleet went north, they replenished fresh water here and surveyed the surrounding situation. So when they returned from the south, they boarded the river bank with almost no precautions and set up camp to rest. And in the evening, when night falls, danger strikes. The merchant fleet camped on the shore were directly surrounded by hundreds of fierce Torpan soldiers.

"Huh! It's really the blessing of the Lord God! In the situation at that time, the spears of both sides were facing each other's foreheads. There was only a little difference, and I was going to the Kingdom of God!"

Thinking of that evening with hidden murderous intentions, sweat broke out on Zuvalo's forehead and his heartbeat accelerated slightly. He shook his head vigorously, thinking about the reaction of the Huichol people, and couldn't help but feel doubtful.

"It's really strange! Why does this tribe say so?"