Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!
Chapter 855 - 476: Exploration of the Kingdom of the Lake, Gemstone Trade and Setting Sail Again

Chapter 855: Chapter 476: Exploration of the Kingdom of the Lake, Gemstone Trade and Setting Sail Again

Black coal dust spread over the plains, buried deep beneath the earth. A group of people stood on the coal hill, watching the firestone field ahead, discussing the first trade encounters between the tribes and the kingdom.

"Gemstones? Your tribe produces gemstones? Of all colors?"

Hearing Chiwaco’s words, Hawk Viejo was somewhat surprised. He carefully looked at the old militiaman’s simple attire and hesitantly said.

"If you really have red or green gemstones, the tribe’s chieftain and priests would like them, willing to trade firestone for them!"

The Yomei Tribe used firestone, revered the flames of their ancestors, hence they liked red or yellow ornaments. But the tribe did not lack gold or copper, yellow ornaments were very common, while red gemstones were precious. Rubies were also revered by the Wilderness Tribes of the East, representing the divinity of heaven and earth, just like the Guajili Canine Descendants.

As for emeralds, they were favored by coastal tribes, mountain tribes, tribes of the Mexican Plateau, and even various Maya tribes. It symbolized eternal life and held the wisdom of the spirit, revered by the noble chiefs, priests, and witch doctors! From this point of view, these coastal tribes, regardless of their geographical location, actually all belonged to the cultural circle of Central America.

At this time, trade between tribes was not very cunning. Most were straightforward, expressing their needs and directly bartering. Chiwaco nodded at the words, glanced at Puap, and instructed.

"Old Puap, give me two pieces of the gemstones you have!"

"Huh?! Old Chiwaco, how did you know I have gemstones on me!"

Puap was immediately shocked. He subconsciously extended his hand, pressed his chest, and felt the hardness and firmness of the gemstones under his outer robe.

"Ha! All the trade goods on the journey passed through your hands. How can a rat slip into the granary and still be hungry?"

Chiwaco squinted his elderly eyes and smirked. Then, he straightened his expression and said sternly.

"Stop dawdling. Give me one red, one green, quickly!"

"..."

Puap chuckled awkwardly. He reached into his bosom, touched a few gemstones, carefully looked at them, then put back the excess pieces. Then, he slowly extended his hand, grumbling.

"Going through life and death on this journey, taking some gemstones is acceptable... You owe me later!"

Chiwaco snatched the gemstones, glanced briefly, and handed them to Hawk Viejo.

"Friend, these are the gemstones from our Lake Tribe. Bright and lovely, pure and transparent, great!"

"Hmm?!"

Hawk Viejo took the gemstones, looked them over repeatedly, and exclaimed in surprise.

"Ancestor! Your tribe’s gemstones are indeed excellent! The colors are very bright and pure, and they are so big, like the eggs of a green trogon!"

Chiwaco smiled confidently. He closely observed Viejo’s expression, seeing no excessive greed in his eyes, he nodded secretly, feeling slightly relieved.

In fact, he had a few river-pebble-sized "top-grade gemstones" with him. After showing them once at Three Rivers City at the mouth of the Lerma River, they attracted an attack from the Northern Tekos Tribe. He never dared to take them out again afterward.

Before the fleet set off, His Majesty gave him a bag of gemstones. He thought it was a small cloth bag, but it turned out to be a big bag weighing dozens of pounds, filled with various gemstones! All of these gemstones were equally deep in color, equally pure, and very regular in shape!

Throughout the journey, Chiwaco was very careful, periodically checking these valuable assets himself. Seeing them more, he gradually had some guesses about the origin of the "gemstones" from the Lake Tribe. However, he kept these thoughts to himself, never mentioning them to anyone.

Chiwaco’s old face beamed with a smile, watching Viejo hold the gemstones tightly, he spoke kindly.

"Friend, if you like these two gemstones, take them!"

"Ah? Give them to me?"

Upon hearing, Viejo’s face lit up with joy. He hesitated briefly, then directly stuffed the gemstones into the quiver at his waist. Veteran warriors from the Northwestern Tribes generally mastered either the javelin or hunting bow. Relatively speaking, the hunting bow was less powerful but safer.

"From today on, you are a friend of Hawk Viejo!"

"Friend, good, good!"

The old militiaman nodded repeatedly, his wrinkled face beamed, making him seem very kind.

"Good friend, then your tribe..."

"We will trade! The chieftain and priests will agree to trade firestone for gemstones!"

"Great! How do we trade?"

"How to trade..."

Hearing this, Viejo thought for a moment, scratching his head. He was somewhat uncertain.

The tribe’s firestone was different from gold and copper ore, it was not difficult to extract and was all mined from open pits without any danger. Just send a few tribespeople with stone shovels, and they could collect dozens of baskets in a day.

However, according to the tribe’s rules, the firestone field was the legacy of the ancestors and always had warriors patrolling and protecting it. Apart from what the tribespeople needed, it could not be mined casually. And when trading with outsiders, sufficient compensation had to be obtained.

After a while, Viejo came up with a number he felt was fair and reasonable to decide on his own.

"Friend, firestone is, after all, a gift from the ancestors, and there are rules in the tribe... Let’s say one gemstone for two... no, three baskets of firestone?"

"One gemstone for three baskets of firestone?..."

Chiwaco showed a look of surprise. This number was more than he expected.

"..."

Viejo pressed his lips, thinking that Chiwaco found it too little. After all, firestone was as abundant as mud in the area, and it was very easy for the tribe to dig it up. He bit his lip, embarrassed, and revised his offer.

"Considering our friendship, let’s add half a basket! Trading firestone is strictly regulated... One gemstone for three and a half baskets of firestone!"

"Uh... three and a half baskets, that is..."

Chiwaco scratched his head. He estimated a basket of firestone to weigh around seventy pounds, so three and a half baskets would be two to three hundred pounds?

Puap watched Chiwaco’s expression and chuckled.

"Old Chiwaco, can’t you calculate that?"

Chiwaco blushed. He was a militiaman after all, unlike Puap, who was more knowledgeable and had learned some arithmetic. He glared at Puap, secretly determining to ask the camp priest for help in learning math when he returned.

"Friend, good, great! One gemstone for three and a half baskets of firestone, deal! We want to trade for twenty baskets, so we’ll give you... uh..."

"Six gemstones!"

Puap interjected with a smile, feeling proud. In the entire fleet, aside from the ship priest MeKate, he was the most learned.

Viejo counted with his fingers, roughly estimating. Six gemstones, two for the chieftain, two for the priests, one for the witch doctor, and one for himself.

"Good! Friend, it’s a deal! Let the ancestors witness, just like how deer meet in the mountains, they touch foreheads... We are friends exchanging goods, not enemies fighting!"

Saying this, Viejo bowed his head, touching his forehead to Chiwaco. The old militiaman paused, thinking of Chief Kalan’s deer head, and quickly understood. He also lowered his head and touched foreheads with Viejo, pressing firmly.

"Let the ancestors witness! Good friend, good deer, good friend!"

After exchanging local rituals, the two descended from the coal hill. The Kingdom Fleet then traded twenty baskets of coal and added some food and water, filling their three large oar-sail ships to the brim.

After the trade was completed, they did not hold a celebration ceremony, and Chiwaco did not linger. He only took a deep look at the large coastal village, watched the thick black smoke of the burning firestone.

"Firestone... coal... firestone field... big coal mine... three thousand tribal warriors..."

Chiwaco muttered. He had a vague premonition that His Highness’s emphasis on the coal mine might exceed gold and silver. After a long time, the old militiaman sighed and issued an order to the sailors on board.

"Divide into two teams, row alternately! Next, stick to the coast, continue to the northwest! Praise the Chief Divine, let us cross the waves!"

"Praise the Chief Divine, let us cross the waves!"

The sailors and warriors shouted in unison, full of piety. Then, the kingdom’s exploration fleet set off again, heading to the unknown northwest, extending the boundaries of the world.

Three days later, the fleet reached a bay more than two hundred miles away, where they encountered a small coastal tribe, Guaymas. Chief Kalan had mentioned that Guaymas was a tribe of the Yaji People, showing loyalty to the Yomei Tribe but intermarrying with the Seri. Their lifestyle consisted of settling by the rivers to farm while sending out people to fish and hunt.

The Kingdom Fleet made a brief stop to replenish some fruits and, with the help of their new guide, Mountain Bird, inquired about the northwest sea area.

"Islands full of seabirds, the great turtle-turned island, is not far to the northwest! Follow the coast, you will see it. You definitely will!"

Upon hearing this news, the entire fleet cheered. Chiwaco was delighted that finding the seabirds’ holy land meant the way home was near! However, he still held some doubts about the local tribe’s words.

"Follow the coast, and you will see it?"

The old militiaman suppressed his doubts and led the fleet further. The waters were calm, and the surface was exceptionally smooth, maintaining a good speed.

The fleet sailed for another three days, covering three hundred miles. The vast number of flying birds, like clouds in the sky, first caught everyone’s eyes! The sailors and warriors were all excited, mustered their strength, and sped up rowing. Within fifteen minutes, an exceptionally grand gray-white island, like a giant turtle resting on the sea, emerged before the Kingdom Fleet!