Chapter 1367: Chapter 1367

"Priest Mekate, the prophesied Mayari Iron Mine, oh, maybe it should be called the Moon Mother Iron Mine, what is the situation exactly?"

Starlight fell from the sky, and the oil lamps ignited starfire. The warm orange light illuminated the table, and the sweet scent of wine wafted through the palace. The monarch and subjects gathered to drink, discussing their maritime experiences in a friendly and harmonious atmosphere. As they lit candles to discuss the kingdom’s major affairs, they were filled with spirit and enthusiasm.

"Your Majesty, we cannot estimate the reserves of the Mayari Iron Mine... However, it is a whole range of black, gray, and red iron mountains, stretching as far as the horizon! Just the surfaced mining area alone extends for at least twenty or thirty miles. As for the subsurface mineral reserves, let alone speak of it! The quality of this great iron mine, after my careful examination, is obviously far superior to the Black Iron Mountain..."

Speaking of the majestic scene of the Mayari Iron Mine, Priest Mekate’s face was full of devotion and fervor.

"Praise the Chief Divine! I was initially worried about finding this prophesied iron mine... But to find it on such a massive scale, it’s just like the serpent mountain of the Chief Divine! Apart from this iron mine, we have also found several large copper mines and some other unidentified ore deposits..."

"Praise you, Your Majesty! The Cuba Snake Island, just as in the prophecy, is transformed from the divine body of the Feathered Serpent! This bountiful Snake Island flows with scattered divine power, and everywhere is a mineral deposit gathered by divine power. These mineral deposits, this Snake Island, are the blessings of the Chief Divine to the whole world!... Ah! Praise the Chief Divine! Praise the divine revelation of the prophecy!..."

Hearing this, Xiulote touched his nose and nodded discreetly. He also did not expect the scale of the great iron mine on Cuba Island to be so vast, being estimated at a reserve scale of tens of billions of tons. With such a mega-tonnage iron mine, there will undoubtedly be abundant rich ore! The quality of these rich ore deposits is certainly better than the Black Iron Mountain iron mine developed by the kingdom, that poor small mine with reserves of a million tons!

"In the Black Iron Mountain mining site in the south of the kingdom, quite a few three-meter-tall earthen vertical furnaces have already been used for high-temperature smelting to produce large amounts of cast iron... This smelting technology level is at most equivalent to the Warring States period of the Celestial Empire. And the quality of the iron ore is very low, with many impurities, making it difficult to smelt good iron..."

"Therefore, the iron produced in the Black Iron Mountain mining site ends up with low purity and quality, lacking uniformity and toughness. This iron, much like the iron from the Warring States period of the Celestial Empire, if made into iron weapons, would easily break in fierce combat, and is not as good as the kingdom’s bronze weapons! However, it’s sufficient for making iron farming tools to improve the kingdom’s productivity!..."

Xiulote stroked his chin, recalling the reports from the kingdom’s southern iron smelting institute in recent years, without any disappointment. The institute has been able to continuously increase its scale, producing iron farming tools in an endless stream, which was already satisfying enough for him!

Technological progress cannot be achieved overnight; it requires long-term exploration through practice. With his fragmented divine guidance and massive human and material resources, the kingdom’s iron smelting craftsmen have reached this point, which is commendable. To truly achieve a leap in technological advancement, they must rely on the gains from maritime exchanges, directly ’borrowing,’ not stealing, already mature technology!

"If we could obtain East Asia’s iron smelting and steelmaking technology, or capture European professional blacksmiths..."

Xiulote longed for a moment, then shook his head. These are still distant, while at hand is the high-quality large iron mine in Cuba. With better iron ore, the quality of ironware can naturally be improved by a notch.

"Yes! The Chief Divine’s protection! Controlling another key purpose of Cuba is to control this large iron mine, providing ironware for the entire Central American world!... Iron Bay Town, occupying the large iron mine, is the most core stronghold of the kingdom on Cuba Snake Island! This stronghold must be heavily developed into a large iron smelting site, expanding and constructing it into a solid stone fortress!... The kingdom’s iron smelting craftsmen and brick-burning craftsmen must be sent to Long Island in Cuba as soon as possible..."

Thinking of this, Xiulote pondered for a moment, then asked Mekate again.

"Mekate, how is the smelting and brick-burning technology of the Taino people?... Oh, well! A blank slate... Hmm, then there’s still a large space for productivity development, which can also be seen as a good thing... As the Chief Divine witnesses! What do you think, what does the kingdom lack most on Cuba Snake Island? Can the Taino strong men who have converted to the Chief Divine be trained into Samurai?..."

"Your Majesty! The Taino are a very peaceful and diligent tribe, with a faith that is a blank slate, urgently needing the Chief Divine’s guidance. They are good at farming and fishing, very tall, and are excellent labor for tree cutting and mining!... However, training them for warfare, instilling in them the habit of fighting in battle formations, might cost too much and is not easy... Therefore, what is most lacking on Cuba Snake Island right now, apart from various manufacturing craftsmen, are reliable Samurai and evangelizing priests!"

At this point, Priest Mekate, with a passionate expression, generously requested.

"A fleet of two hundred from the kingdom can convert two Taino Great Tribes of three thousand each, occupying dozens of miles of the large iron mine! If we could have two thousand Samurai, over a hundred priests... Priest Tomate and I could convert hundreds of thousands of the Taino tribe for the kingdom, controlling the richest 800 miles of the 3,000-mile Snake Island!"

"Two thousand Samurai... over a hundred priests... the 3,000-mile-long Cuba Snake Island!..."

Xiulote pondered for a moment, slowly shaking his head.

"Mekate, two thousand Samurai are not nearly enough! Just Cuba Snake Island alone is 3,000 miles long. And opposite Snake Island, there is the equally vast Haiti Island, as well as a string of islands further east... The Kingdom of the Lake must continuously transport a full 8,000-man Warrior Corps to Cuba Snake Island! And my Head Warrior Bertade will also personally go to Snake Island to oversee Cuba!..."

Hearing this, Priest Mekate exhibited a look of surprise. He surely knew the status of the Head Warrior, almost the most trusted minister of the kingdom by His Majesty. Even Guard Commander Ecatl’s eyes flickered, and he couldn’t help but touch his nose. In the end, he became the Guard Commander beside His Majesty exactly because Bertade needed to go and secure the Eastern Sea...

"The Chief Divine witnesses! The white-skinned demons across the sea are coming! The kingdom must prepare, the Alliance must prepare, and the whole world must prepare! This is not a one-off battle, it’s not a fight of one or two years, but will persist for dozens of generations, spanning centuries, going through repeated great plagues, destined to be an apocalyptic divine war with endless casualties!"

Xiulote, with a serious expression, warned everyone once again, and also himself. He knew very well that the most terrifying aspect of Western colonizers was not the current power of the European countries but the speed at which the European countries were developing!

The Renaissance has already spread in Europe, with calls for religious reform brewing. The knowledge and culture spread by universities, increasing literacy rates, and the prosperous commodity economy are accelerating the progress of all Europe! To resist all of this, to resist the continuous invasion from the West, and to protect the American Natives’ America, is destined to be a long, arduous divine war with no visible end in sight...

"The naval advantage of the Kingdom of Spain has destined it to take absolute initiative in the tussle with the Alliance! Even if fortresses are established on Cuba Island, they can only defend key areas and cannot completely drive Spanish colonizers out of Central America..."

"And what is the true entity that could spill all of Spain’s blood, destroy Spain’s naval dominance?"

Xiulote pursed his lips, his thoughts drifting far away to the continent of Europe. In these years of governance, he gained a deeper understanding of politics and war. And standing on the shoulders of history and the great figures of later generations, he understood the potential future direction of Europe better than anyone else of this era!

"To spill Spain’s blood, to destroy Spain’s naval dominance... it absolutely won’t be the Mexica Alliance or Central America’s Empire... but only strong continental European countries!"

"The Portuguese people are savvy merchants, rivals to Spaniards, but also hold naval control and desire for the New Continent! And for an empire based in America, to fight against the rising maritime powers of Europe and the continually arriving colonizers, the most reliable and powerful ally is naturally the continental powers of Europe!..."

"So, the one who can defeat Spain, defeat Portugal, defeat future Netherlands and United Kingdom... the one who can throw chaos upon Western Europe’s maritime countries and kill the most Christians... must only be the most devout ’Filial Son’ of the Lord, the blasphemous ally of the Christ..."

Thinking of this, Xiulote’s mouth curved up, and in the flickering lamplight, he silently mouthed a word.

"France..." Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel⁂fire.net