Chapter 1343: Chapter 1343

In November, the far north is cold, gray, and silent, much like a grizzly bear preparing for hibernation. However, the sunlight stretches over a thousand miles, crossing thirty latitudes, and reaches the Kingdom of the Lake, which has just completed its autumn harvest and is in the midst of festival season.

The Mexican Plateau at this time of year is warm, bright, and prosperous, making it the perfect time to mobilize large-scale human labor. From a high vantage point, the entire basin and the kingdom within the lake appear like a vast and flourishing anthill, bustling with people moving and working!

"Yiya Yohei!... Bang!"

With a coordinated shout, two or three hundred civilians exerted their strength, all shouting in unison. They worked in groups of ten or more, simultaneously pulling up the large wooden piles in their hands with ropes. Moments later, the massive piles forcefully slammed down on the newly paved second-level county road, which was a road of rammed earth, creating a thunderous "bang bang" sound! With the impact of the wooden piles, the somewhat loose road surface was steadily hammered solid.

"Witness the Chief Divine! Be careful, tamp down repeatedly, tamp hard! Make sure the roadbed is so firm that even a pinky finger can’t penetrate it! We must finish tamping at least two li today, and any failure to meet the requirements will result in five lashes, followed by overnight work!"

Dust filled the air, and voices roared. The leader of garrison Tai Shishan carried the village’s banner, shouting and commanding loudly while meticulously inspecting back and forth. Following the village priests’ instructions, they gathered able-bodied men in each village unit, assigning each village a section of the road. If any issues arose, the village would be held accountable. At that point, Tai Shishan would be the first to face whipping, punishment, or even beheading!

"Damn! You bunch of clumsy turkeys! How did you dig the drainage ditches on both sides? They need to be straight! How could you dig them slanting, hitting the stone foundation of the road? Can’t you see this gray mess?!"

With one eye glaring, Tai Shishan fiercely looked at the civilians digging the channels. His murderous aura from past killings frightened them to the point of trembling, barely able to hold their wooden shovels. Tai Shishan was once a Prepecha Warrior and was injured during the northern expedition, losing an eye to the Canine Descendants. He then became the leader of a directly controlled village in Rivermouth County, essentially serving as the village head.

In the Kingdom of the Lake, with most of the old nobility in the countryside cleared away, most villages are directly controlled by the kingdom. Many injured retired soldiers like him became village heads or militia captains, as their loyalty is the most reliable and can maintain order in the countryside!

"Chief Divine, what kind of work is this? The priests said these two ditches are for drainage during the rainy season, and they need to be dug below the road level! The ditch should be level with the road, and the bottom must be flat for the water to flow well! If water accumulates and soaks the road for too long, the foundation will be destroyed! Then you will not only receive lashes but also have to rebuild..."

Tai Shishan scolded harshly for a few sentences before explaining carefully to these villagers. After all, they were from the same village, essentially his "soldiers," and he needed to be somewhat lenient. If it were the Kingdom’s Warriors or Temple Guards inspecting, the lashes could be deadly.

"Watch closely, see how I dig! Remember, dig as carefully as you would dig irrigation channels in the fields!... You bunch of stupid turkeys, last year we repaired for half a year, and you all forgot after the farming season this year!"

Saying this, Tai Shishan swung his iron shovel, excavating a short section of straight, neat, and deep ditch. Though he had lost one eye, he was stronger than the lean civilians at work. The iron shovel he wielded was produced by the Black Rock Mountain of the kingdom’s south, distributed to the village by the priests, and only a few leaders had them.

Truth be told, these iron tools were not as durable and reliable as bronze ones, but they were certainly better than stone tools. The priest said these things were mainly advantageous because of their abundance and would become increasingly common!

"Witness the Chief Divine! Just , dig, dig fiercely!... The team that does well will be rewarded with an extra cake when eating lunch at the post station! Cornmeal!"

Upon hearing the reward of a "cornmeal cake," the able-bodied men building the road swallowed their saliva, and more strength filled their hands. In recent years, under the guidance of the village priests, they piled compost, used tools, and also repaired some irrigation channels. The farmland not only expanded but also increased yields by two to three percent. This road construction opened the village granary, allowing everyone to eat three meals a day, enough pumpkin and bean paste to be full. However, corn cakes, usually reserved for warriors, were only available to the best-performing teams.

"Cough, cough! Chief Divine, the smoke is so thick, it’s suffocating!"

A gust of wind carried the black smoke of burning wood, along with a faint stinging smell. Tai Shishan lowered his head, covered his mouth and nose, and coughed hard a few times. His one eye was so irritated that tears almost flowed, and he quickly circled around to avoid the direction of the wind before coming to a group of civilians about a few hundred steps away, shielding their mouths and noses while working diligently.

"Cough! Is the burnt lime ready?"

"Almost ready, sir, look, these white lime stones are all swollen, even the big stones are cracking into many small pieces... Estimating that by evening, after cooling overnight, they’ll be ready for use tomorrow!"

"What! We have to wait until tomorrow?"

"Yes! It’s an order from the priest, the one with two words on their clothes!"

"Hmm? It’s an order from the Divine Revelation Priest... well, okay! They say a set of things, even though I don’t understand them, but it must have been taught by Your Majesty, so it must make sense..."

Upon hearing this, Tai Shishan scratched his head, looking at the site where the burnt lime was being produced. Large piles of limestone chunks or powder were stacked by the civilians into a small hill shape, with a small fire opening left at the center. Such large piles of burnt lime were not solitary; multiple piles were simultaneously smoking.

Upon closer look, wood was being carefully placed in the small openings, fueling a moderate fire, continuously baking the surrounding limestone. Occasionally, a civilian carefully, using a long wooden tong, added wood to the central bonfire.

"Huh? The white lime stone swelled? How can you tell it’s swollen?... Hmm... the big stones are indeed cracking, and these small stone fragments look just like the cured materials for road construction!"

This burnt lime is the most crucial adhesive in constructing the rammed earth road. It can react with the clay in the soil, tightening the bond between soil particles, making the road tougher and more durable. Similarly, burnt lime increases the road surface’s water resistance, lowers soil erosion, and prevents weeds from growing. Thus, in the Kingdom of the Lake, where rain is prevalent, adding burnt lime during road construction is much more than in dry regions! This was the experience and insight discovered by the Divine Revelation Priests after completing the road and enduring a rainy season the previous year, rapidly spreading to all regions.

"Simply burn ordinary white lime stone, turning it into road-building burnt lime... Ah! Truly the Chief Divine’s power, praise the Chief Divine!"

In the volcano-active region of Central America, limestone is abundant, and production is plentiful. This white-gray stone is more than common.

Tai Shishan approached for a closer look, getting so hot that he broke into a sweat all over. Looking around at the civilians, they too were drenched in sweat, as if just pulled from the water.

"Where is the water?"

"Over there, sir! Covered with a lid, fetched from the post station’s well this morning, brought by wheelbarrow!"

Tai Shishan walked away from the burning lime heap, striding to a row of large barrels. He lifted a lid, and walked to a row of large wooden barrels. He lifted the lid and drank heavily. The well water, fetched that morning from the post’s well and carried by wheelbarrow, was quite refreshing, and the kingdom required a few specific regulations.

"Praise the Chief Divine! You did well! This task of burning lime is no small feat... when you go to the post station for lunch, I’ll add an extra cake for everyone!" Check latest chapters at noveⅼfire.net

"Ah! We get a cake?... Praise the Chief Divine! Praise you, sir!..."

Tai Shishan finished drinking his water and promised another batch of cakes before striding towards the post station four or five li away. Noon was approaching, and the newly installed post station was truly envious!... Getting close to noon and working hard all morning, everyone was probably exhausted. He needed to hurry to see how the midday meal was being prepared. This new post office is very envious!