blueteamnovel Chapter 440 - 347: Treasures of Civilization: Sacred Relics - Quyuan Plough
Chapter 440 - 347: Treasures of Civilization: Sacred Relics - Quyuan Plough
Chapter 440: Chapter 347: Treasures of Civilization: Sacred Relics - Quyuan Plough
Byron’s mind shifted, and the massive holographic map before him began to change.
As other areas shrank, the vicinity of Tayapan rapidly enlarged, quickly revealing the scene of black farmland outside the city.
Not long ago, this had been a forest, but after being burned, the ground was covered with a layer of ash from grass and trees.
A group of indigenous farmers had gathered at the edge of the field, prepared with carefully selected corn seeds, iron farming tools, and farm manure prepared in advance using the Composting Technique...
Compared to the slash-and-burn agriculture of other indigenous city-states, this was already considered the "cutting-edge technology" of the era.
Especially since they were accompanied by a novel device pulled by an ox; this device was the very pinnacle of cutting-edge technology.
Food is the foundation of the people! To completely win over the hearts of the people, to unite the fragmented Empire, ensuring they had enough to eat was naturally of utmost importance.
Byron didn’t hesitate to take out this trump card of a treasure and start a pilot program in his directly controlled territories.
Corn on Yucatan Island was usually sown between April and May. In the southern regions of the former Taya Empire, sowing could be delayed until June.
The plan was to start with Tayapan as the pilot area, and upon success, extend it throughout the territory.
As the vanguard of reform, this was the true "standard of the Taya People"—not clinging to outdated traditions out of pride in lineage.
"Let’s begin," he said.
Upon hearing Catherine’s command, the farmers respectfully acknowledged and were about to start work.
WHOOSH—!
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew over, bringing a patch of dark cumulonimbus clouds above Tayapan City and the farmland.
Then a light drizzle began to fall.
PITTER-PATTER...
It wet the farmers’ clothes and the soil.
It could only be said that the heavens were not cooperative; under normal circumstances, sowing seeds in the rain was out of the question.
But this was no ordinary situation.
Within Tayapan and the core territories of the "Sacred Golden Empire," he, Byron Lancaster, was that... Heaven itself!
Catherine reacted even faster than Byron, seizing his Starlight Body and swinging it towards the sky as if wielding a scepter.
A burst of golden light invisible to mere mortals sprang forth, instantly connecting all seven Crystal Skulls under their dominion, along with the various Guardian Spirits pledged to them.
No. 1 Crystal Skull "Heavenly God"; No. 3 "The Corn God"; No. 5 "Sun God"; No. 6 "Moon Goddess"; No. 8 "Feathered Serpent God"; No. 12 "Polar Star God";
Plus, No. 2 Crystal Skull "Earth Mother Goddess" Mano, offered by Uxmal City.
The seven skulls resonated intensely; their connection had never been so close since the collapse of the Taya Empire.
Moreover, things were different now; the Golden Law, as an extension, had already unified them into a single entity.
With the Law as the network, the seven gods as nodes, and Guardian Spirits arrayed around them, they together enveloped every aspect of this land, where all things possessed spirit.
Catherine, the "Executive Vice-Emperor," instantly extended her authority over agriculture, celestial phenomena, weather, medicine... all domains.
What she managed was no longer just the mortal kingdom but the entire natural world of Heaven, Earth, and humanity.
At the same time, she uttered softly,
"Decree: Today in Tayapan, there shall be no rain!"
A strong gust of wind arose, and the forming cumulonimbus clouds were swiftly blown far out to sea, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
The core ability of a Third Order Law Mage, "Decree," which she had "traded" from those three assassins, had long been entrusted to Catherine.
Furthermore, even the most supreme "Gods" were effortlessly held in the palm of her hand.
Within the reach of the Golden Law, she was practically omnipotent, her words carrying the weight of divine decrees.
"All right, continue," she said confidently.
The farmers had also heard Catherine’s decree. Having never witnessed such an astonishing spectacle, they wondered just how powerful the "Lord of the Celestial Kingdom" must be.
After this enlightening experience, they couldn’t help but first kneel and bow deeply towards the pyramid before continuing their work.
"MOO—"
The ox, brought from the Old Continent across thousands of miles, began to move, dragging behind it a strange device steadied by an indigenous farmer.
This novel scene immediately attracted many city-state residents, as well as Transcendents and soldiers from the Protective Army of the Church, who gathered to watch.
"Is this farming? How is it completely different from before?"
"Look at the ash on the ground; it seems the land has been cleared and burned once. Shouldn’t they just scatter the seeds now?"
"Exactly! After scattering the seeds, simply offer sacrifices to the Guardian Spirits. Isn’t that how we always did it?"
More and more people gathered, yet no one understood what was truly happening.
In the end, even the Great Shaman Cihuateteo of Uxmal City came upon hearing the news. Only by employing Black Sorcery to commune with her own earth-aspected "Spirit of the Great Bear" did she vaguely discern what was occurring.
Theoretically, in tropical rainforests, consistently high temperatures and abundant rain create conditions suitable for agriculture year-round, allowing for up to three harvests a year.
However, the prolific growth of the rainforest absorbs a great deal of nutrients from the soil.
Moreover, due to the frequent rainfall, the leaching effect on the soil is very strong, and most of the nutrients in the ecosystem are contained within the countless plants covering the surface.
Therefore, the soil in rainforests is extremely poor.
To compensate for this, indigenous farmers historically used a very primitive Milpa farming method:
"First, they cut down all trees and allowed the land to dry. Before the rainy season, they set fires to destroy the vegetation, using the ash as fertilizer to cover the impoverished rainforest soil.
One burn yielded one crop, after which they had to leave the field fallow for 1-3 years; in some places, it was even as long as six years, waiting for the vegetation to grow back thick enough to burn and re-plant."
This was feasible with a smaller population, but as civilization flourished and populations increased, the pressure on agriculture grew. Indigenous people cleared forests on a larger scale and reduced fallow periods as much as possible.
But as a result, rainwater could more easily wash away the fertile topsoil, leading to a continued decline in soil fertility and correspondingly reduced corn yields.
Furthermore, farming practices that damaged vegetation caused a massive loss of nutrients in the system, and the delicate rainforest ecosystem was easily prone to collapse.
Many times, they had no choice but to abandon their centuries-old city-state homes and retreat into more primordial forests.
The current decline of the Taya People, aside from the scrutiny of the Old Gods, is largely related to the continuous collapse of fundamental agricultural sustainability.
"A bit wider; different vegetation requires different furrow widths..."
At that moment, under Byron’s guidance, the farmers, having burned the cleared land and meticulously removed stones, tree roots, and other debris, plowed the fields, creating ridges and furrows of suitable spacing and varying heights.
The corn seeds were then sown onto the raised ridges, three seeds per hole.
This method of planting might not seem magical, but it is actually one of the most advanced agricultural techniques of the time—Ridge Tillage.
Ridge Tillage solves issues related to sunlight, ventilation, irrigation, and passage in the fields, saving a significant amount of labor.
What is more ingenious is that when a torrential downpour occurs, the relatively higher ridges and crops are not flooded, and the alternating ditches perfectly accomplish the task of water retention and drainage.
During droughts, ditches can also be used for irrigation.
Unless there are insurmountable events like severe droughts or floods, the fields don’t suffer too much in reduced yield.
This planting method is particularly suited for the rainy environment of Yucatan Island.
Most importantly, the ridges and ditches are swapped each year. After each harvest, farmers plow the entire piece of land again. The following year, the ridges and ditches are exchanged, realizing fallow rotation.
This ensures the soil doesn’t become impoverished from consecutive years of farming, and continuous production capability is maintained.
It also allows overall monitoring and balancing of the soil’s pH level so as not to cause nutritional imbalance.
Year after year of farming can continuously improve the soil’s tilth and fertility, gradually transforming natural soil (raw soil) into fertile cultivated soil (mature soil) suitable for crop growth.
Only by doing so can a piece of land gradually turn from barren to top-quality cultivated fields over years, with rising grain yields, instead of repeatedly cycling through slash-and-burn agricultural practices.
Just the introduction of Ridge Tillage can undoubtedly increase the yield by four to five times compared to the traditional slash-and-burn method!
If Ridge Tillage is the objective, then the Quyuan Plough is the best tool currently available to achieve it.
And it is even a leap forward, skipping the "straight-beam plough" to the more advanced "curved-beam plough."
By using the adjustable ploughshare depth control, one can regulate how deep the ploughshare enters the soil; equipped with a moldboard, one can freely break up the soil, loosen it, and create ridges.
It can also push the turned soil to one side, reducing the plough’s resistance and speeding up plowing, making operation agile and easy.
Only one ox and one person are needed for effortless operation.
With each furrow the Quyuan Plough plowed, a speck of golden light entered its body.
After it had plowed a total of ten furrows, and the field finally began to look somewhat proper,
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!...
As expected, with a distant tolling of bells, a dazzling golden light shot up from the Quyuan Plough straight into the sky.
Then Byron, Catherine, and all the onlookers saw the Quyuan Plough, which shone like pure gold, suddenly break free from the control of the ox and the farmer.
In front of it, a translucent golden ox materialized, and behind it, a translucent silver horse appeared. The golden ox pulled the plough, while the silver horse supported the handle, and together they raced forward at a breakneck pace.
Every ten rows, the ox and horse automatically swapped places, one continuing to pull and the other to support.
Row after row, in the blink of an eye, the land was neatly plowed, and even the prepared corn seeds were sown.
Everyone was astounded at such a sight.
"A fully automatic plough?"
Byron and Catherine couldn’t help but clap softly at its performance.
"Awesome! A mature plough head should learn to till the land itself."
[Second-Class Relic · Quyuan Plough]:
"Just as demonstrated, it can activate different plowing modes for different crop types, automatically breaking up soil, loosening it, raising ridges, and sowing seeds. It can currently till a thousand mu a day.
It can also bring the tilled land to a perfect state for growth, increasing the base yield by an additional twenty percent.
Furthermore, as the Quyuan Plough becomes more widely used, its work efficiency will gradually increase, and there will come a day when it reaches the level of a First-Class Holy Relic."
Having witnessed the capabilities of the Quyuan Plough, Byron immediately realized its best use:
There’s only a limited window each year for tilling fields in any given location, and missing that window means waiting another year.
Even if it can till ten thousand, or a hundred thousand mu a day, that speed isn’t enough.
But if I had an Empire Where the Sun Never Sets, with different climates in the north and south, the crop planting times would naturally differ as well.
This way, it could move from north to south or from south to north, following the seasons in sequence.
With three harvests a year, it would only need three trips back and forth.
This way, it could operate all year without rest, maximizing the capacity of this ox and horse... oh, I mean the plough head’s abilities.
I sure am a good boss who goes to great lengths to preserve employment opportunities for my workers.
However, the Great Shaman Cihuateteo was utterly unaware of his deep thoughts and didn’t realize that, metaphorically speaking, the gallows for the world’s exploiters seemed to be shining ominously.
Kneeling on the ground, kissing the earth with tears brimming in her eyes, she cried out,
"My Lord is merciful! Our children won’t starve to death anymore, nor will they have to take their own lives!"
If followers also have ranks,
then this female Great Shaman, who had dealt with the land all her life, had undoubtedly transformed into a Zealot at this moment.
Byron, leveraging this one technique capable of saving countless lives, had effortlessly pushed his contribution to civilization several notches higher, truly deserving his roles as a major shareholder, Emperor, and deity!