Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1512 - 1057: Homeward Bound Laden with Spoils, a Snowy Road Ahead—Let Me Recite Two Verses

"Master님! I was wrong! I was blinded by lard! Spare me, I won't dare do it again!..."

"Haha! Chief Divine protects! Gold Shipwright, is this complicated-looking sea ship really designed and built by you? Excellent! Truly excellent! You have real skills, unlike that blacksmith named Otani. When we reach the Kingdom of the Lake, as long as you diligently build ships for His Majesty, you'll definitely receive great rewards!..."

"Master님! Spare me, don't kill me, I'll bow to you!... Bodhisattva, I beg you to save me!..."

"Chief Divine! Stand up! Why did you kneel again? I'm not punishing you... I mean, as long as you convert to the Chief Divine and build large ships for the Kingdom! You can be granted military merit nobility or even hereditary noble status, marry a noble lady of the Kingdom, all tangible! You see, the Kingdom's Master Craftsman Pucuta, was appointed as Director of the Shipyard by His Majesty because he designed and built the Kingdom's longship, overseeing thousands of craftsmen and civilians in the north and south! He was directly promoted to Third-Level Divine Revelation Priest, granted a fief of two to three thousand acres, equivalent to a hereditary noble's rank!..."

"Ah! Master wants me to rise? Uh... Thank you, Master, for sparing me, I'll bow again... Uh! No bowing? No kneeling?..."

The five-masted Ocean Shielding Ship rests on the snowy shore, like a grounded Giant Whale on a white beach. At this moment, Zuwaro stands atop the Giant Whale, filled with excitement and pride. Truth be told, the shipbuilding technology of this sea ship is obviously superior to the Kingdom's by far more than a notch. And now, the master craftsman who can build such a ship, and the sail maker who can make sails, are all in the hands of the Kingdom, right before his eyes!

The Kingdom values craftsmen, such skilled Master Craftsmen have at least a starting status as military merit nobility in the Kingdom of the Lake. Those who possess unique skills, such as ship and cannon making, bow and armor crafting, gemstone and glassware creation, can lead a subordinate division of the Divine Revelation Place and become hereditary nobles of the Kingdom!

His Majesty has always valued shipbuilding, since the Gold Shipwright can truly build complex ocean ships. In Zuwaro's eyes, he must be a future hereditary noble who can directly write to His Majesty! Therefore, his attitude now is kind and approachable, no longer allowing the other to kneel. Actually, in the Kingdom of the Lake, such Master Craftsmen have high status, strong opinions, with rather big tempers, which the Kingdom's Divine Revelation Priests are well accustomed to seeing.

"Haha! Chief Divine Witness! Gold Shipwright, it's normal for skilled Master Craftsmen to have big tempers! It's your previous behavior, kneeling and bowing all the time, that only lowers your status!"

"Uh?... Master님! You're not angry?... Strange, this barbarian chieftain smiles even when I insult him. If it were the heavenly Two Classes Great Masters, they'd surely drag me out and beat me to death!... Sigh! Beating craftsmen to death alive, just like I've seen before..."

After a brief outburst, shipwright Kim Sun-su becomes timid again, filled with fear. He stands hunched before Zuwaro, wanting to kneel and bow, but the barbarian chieftain tightly grabs his arm, not allowing him to kneel. Looking at Zuwaro's face, there's not a trace of anger, but seemingly a "smile"?...

"Bodhisattva! Am I dreaming again? Yet this barbarian chieftain never held back when chopping down Wa Country's Warrior Lords! Why is he so lenient with me? Just because I can build ships? But no matter how skilled I am, I'm just a craftsman..."

Seeing Zuwaro's kind smile, Kim Sun-su stands dumbfounded, feeling dreamlike. Facing such hospitality from the barbarian chieftains these past two days, he feels uneasy all over, even sleeping isn't peaceful.

Korea modeled after the Ming Dynasty, while Ming followed Yuan's system, always had a "fine" tradition regarding craftsmen. Ordinary civilian households in the Ming Dynasty were divided into three classes, "First is civilians, second is military, third is craftsmen." Meaning craftsmen in Ming had lower status than ordinary civilians, and even lower than impoverished military households, practically being in lowly ranks. Similarly, in Korea following this lineage, the status of craftsmen varied within the last two classes and non-human lowly ranks.

As an important shipwright, Kim Sun-su's status is slightly higher, barely considered as a third class commoner. But when he encounters Second Class lords, he always has to bow, even from afar, he must kneel as they pass by. Having knelt so many years, his knees naturally weakened, making standing not easy.

As for rewards, fiefs, nobility, described by Zuwaro but incomprehensible to him, even in his wildest dreams, he's never dared to envision such things!...

"Chief Divine shelters! Winter's freeze, this splendid sea ship can't sail away. It must be dragged ashore and left here. Fortunately, such a heavy ship can't be lost!... We just vanquished the Deer Moss River Tribe, soon a blizzard will hit, thus this winter it's impossible for any Mountain Part to dare migrate south... Come next spring thaw, we'll return on sleds and sail away on this big ship. Haha! By then, I must closely examine how this ship raises its sails and catches the wind!"

After brief contemplation, Zuwaro reaches out, pats the frozen solid ship hull, filled with emotion.

Before heading north, he thought he'd see another oar-sail large ship from the Western Sea Tribe, but unexpectedly, it's such an unseen multi-masted sail ship. Regardless, this wind-utilizing sail ship and the shipwrights and sail makers must be brought back to the Kingdom of the Lake. Let the Kingdom's Shipyard study the Western Sea Tribe's shipbuilding technology, achieving a leap in innovation!

"Praise the Chief Divine! Should it continually harness wind power, with breezes from all directions, the sea ship's sailing speed must be far faster and more effortless than the Kingdom's current oar-sail ships!... If the Kingdom can build such sea ships to transport support personnel and materials westward to the Western Sea Coast, it'll be incredibly convenient and swift!"

Momentarily reflecting, Zuwaro increasingly values the recruited shipwright Kim Sun-su and sail maker Park Sun-pan. He then orders the Kingdom's Warriors to escort the Gold Shipwright back to the deer-drawn sled tent for rest, turning to inquire tentatively to Warrior Captain Stonefirm, overseeing the camp.

"Stonefirm, how's it going? Is the camp's supplies all sorted?" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Captain! The sleds are already packed, with ironware and liquor all loaded. We have limited sleds and can only carry so much, especially now with nineteen captives... I've thrown out all those useless hides and herbs in the cellar, didn't take a single piece! Even if the Deer Moss River Tribe or Mountain Part hunters find them next year, I doubt they'd be interested. If the hides are still here next year, we can take them back on our way..."

Warrior Captain Stonefirm wiped the snowflakes off his face and looked around the chaotic camp. This camp was located at the border of the Deer Moss River Tribe and Mountain Part's battle zone, a highly dangerous area. The Kingdom's forces were limited and wouldn't leave anyone here, as fewer people wouldn't be useful. It's better to take the necessary supplies and leave.

After carefully inspecting the camp's supplies, he casually discarded all the expensive furs that Murakami Kitamichi and Watanabe Masumi had painstakingly collected over the year.

If either of them heard this, they would probably be heartbroken to the point of vomiting blood. These wolf furs, deer furs, bear furs, fox furs, and sable furs from the Far North land, when transported to the Capital City, aren't they valued at tens, hundreds, or even hundreds of dozens of silver? What, you say selling furs is too troublesome, just bring out gold and buy directly with shiny true gold?... Sorry, but excuse me, I've never seen such quantities of gold! In this era, the Sado Gold Mountain and Kaikayu Gold Mountain in Wa Country are yet to be developed...

"Hmm, may the Chief Divine protect us! The furs will stay here then! As for that 'ginseng,' we can take some back to try, as the large ship's chieftain mentioned it is particularly effective... Oh! Stonefirm, have you loaded all those new crops, rice, millet, soybeans, and red beans?"

"Uh... Chief Divine as witness! Captain, I've loaded the feed needed for the horses; it's on the sled dragged by the horses. The strength of those big horses is indeed great, especially the largest one, pulling much more than the reindeer, though they are incredibly picky eaters!... As for rice and millet, I've loaded more than half, the rest simply couldn't fit, so I've buried them in the cellar, let's wait until next year!"

"Alright, so be it then! Let the Mountain Part hunters prepare to depart! Let's head south while the day is still bright... Chief Divine protect us! We'll be back next year!"

"Alrighty!"

"Woo woo! Woo woo woo! ..."

"Quick quick!"

The sky was dim, sunlight filtering through the clouds, illuminating the pale sky, resembling a twilight prison over the earth. Yet the snow plains of the Far North land stretched vast and wide, a desolate expansive white that seemed endless.

In the stopping snowfall under the cloudy skies, hundreds of reindeer, wolf dogs, and big horses neighed, dragging dozens of fully loaded sleds and tents, setting out on the snow-covered path southward. Mountain Part hunters and Kingdom's warriors, steering the running sleds, wore faces full of excitement and joy. They looked forward to returning to the safe camp, savoring hot soup, and resting in the arms of women, completely relaxing their battle-tensed spirits.

"Chief Divine protect us! This northern expedition has truly yielded abundant rewards!"

"Indeed! Chief Divine's power always protects us! Your Majesty's prophecy continually guides us!"

"Exactly! Praise the Chief Divine! Praise Your Majesty!"

Devout prayers resonated from the southward-bound team, awakening the groggy Wa Country warriors, chilled through their bodies.

Murakami Kitamichi pursed his lips, tightly wrapped in fur robes, gazing at the northern camp and sea ship vanishing from view. His resolute face was slowly streaked with tears. These recent days of ups and downs, he lost the ship to return home, lost all his goods, and even lost members of his team... Though heading south, towards the direction near Ezo land, his sense of home seemed suddenly distant, akin to the vanishing camp, unreachable...

"Home is in the south, I move towards home, yet it grows distant!~~"

Among the Kingdom's warriors' joys and prayers, Murakami lowered his head, wiped the tears from his eyes, and softly recited a rural haiku. Beside him, Watanabe Masumi heard, also lowered his gaze, sighed, and murmured a couple of verses from the Buddhist Scripture.

"All things are transformations of the mind, the only manifestation of consciousness. A benevolent mind leads to favorable conditions, a tranquil mind steadies adverse circumstances... I must calmly endure, follow the guidance of the Jiao People chieftain, and await the chance to escape the cage~~"

Whispering snow came from the murky sky, resuming the snowfall. And the footprints of the past gradually buried in the snow, while the path ahead lay in the wind and snow~~