Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 1953 1423: The Flowing Golden Sea Route, a

"Cough cough! Generous Golden Chief, there's no need for such enthusiasm...""Ah? This Shandan Tiger Warrior! Uh!..."

The river rushed, flowing into the Sea of Ezo. The clear river surface reflected golden light and also reflected a mighty Tiger Warrior, and a merchant bending by the Iron Tower. Two Monk Soldiers wanted to step forward to escort, but were knocked to the ground by the Tiger Warrior with a punch and a kick.

"Oh Buddha! Stop, everyone stop!... Cough cough!"

Mori no Kiyoshi coughed, trying hard to remove five kilograms of gold weighing down his neck. He raised his head with reverence, glancing at the tall and mighty Hu Nu. That immense pressure brought him instinctive unease and apprehension. Then, he shook his head with a bitter smile, looking at the "ferocious Shandan Chief," and sighed.

"Respected Golden Chief! I have already witnessed the strength of your division; no need to demonstrate further..."

"Chief Divine protect us! Great Merchant of the Japanese, I have lots of gold, but I only trade with friends!... I know you merchants are very clever, like foxes... But no matter how much power you have behind you in that 'Capital City,' you must abide by my rules here in the icy cold north!"

"I understand... Buddha bears witness! Golden Chief, we're now friends, genuine good friends! I greatly respect you, you are my best trading partner!..."

"Let's hope so!"

Zuwaro said a few pleasantries, expressionless. Then he waved his hand to let Hu Nu step back and turned his gaze once again to the group of craftsmen.

"Continue the trade, my friends!..."

"Hey!..."

Soon, two senior craftsmen came forward, forming a pair, a man and a woman. The tall sturdy man was named "Aso Aida," an expert in sowing hemp and weaving. The short thin woman was named "Weaving and Dyeing Yi," as the name suggested, a skilled weaver, dyer, and knotter.

"You weave hemp cloth? What's hemp?"

"Uh!... Hemp is... a straight, tall, thin big grass... Stem can be extracted for weaving... Hemp seeds can be pressed for oil, not tasty, but very cheap..."

Shandan Chieftain's first question nearly perplexed Aso Aida. He hesitated for a moment before reaching into a cloth bag to pull out a handful of "hemp seeds" to show Zuwaro.

"See! These are... hemp seeds!..."

"Oh! They look a bit like shelled peanuts, but smaller..."

Zuwaro widened his eyes, scrutinizing the unfamiliar "hemp seeds." Indisputably, East Asia and South Asia of this era cultivated cannabis hemp and ramie, while flax was primarily grown in the Near East and Europe. These tiny hemp seeds present nearly became East Asia's most important textile raw material over thousands of years. From Xia, Shang, Zhou, to Yuan and Ming, hemp fabric was most common in the Huaxia cultural circle!

"Hmm... Do you have any apprentices? Farming is the hardest and poorest, so no apprentices huh? Alright, then gather these seeds and go to the ship!..."

Zuwaro waved his hand, and Kingdom's Warriors came forward to lead Aso Aida away. Though uncertain about this man's "sowing hemp skill," the novelty of acquiring a new crop from the Western Sea Continent made it worthwhile!

"Chief Divine be my witness! You are into weaving and dyeing? Hmm... Can weave colorful patterns, dye colorful cloth?..."

Being the only female senior artisan, Weaving and Dyeing Yi timidly, with a very small voice, spoke, trembling all over. Her face was dusted gray, possibly to protect herself. In truth, for slender and flat women like her, the surrounding Tribal Warriors had no thoughts.

"M... master. I weave 'Omi Shang Cloth,' and am best at 'twist-dyeing in indigo'... This... is the strip I wove and dyed..."

While speaking, Weaving and Dyeing Yi pulled out a tied band from her hair bun, holding it open with both hands. The band had extremely fine warp and weft, very soft yet surprisingly resilient like hemp. A faint blue cloud pattern stretched along the band, landing in Zuwaro's eyes like a slender, graceful "Cloud Serpent."

"Ah! This craftsmanship!... Quite similar to those two silk garments!... Did you truly weave and dye this?..."

"Yes!... I dyed it..."

Weaving and Dyeing Yi's knees grew weak, her face flushed as if about to cry. She was originally an outstanding weaver at Omi Workshop, capable of creating "light as feather, soft as wind" Omi Shang Cloth, demonstrating masterful skills.

Even with its expensive price tag, sharing even a fraction with the weaver meant earning over ten koku a year, enough to support a whole family! Indeed, the weavers and master craftsmen were the workshop master's crucial wealth, though lacking personal freedom, ensuring food and clothing as long as they worked well. Until one dreadful bloody night, when the ferocious Shogunate army struck, burning the entire town below the castle to ashes...

"Hmm... Do I really look so ferocious? Why does this female weaver tremble like a rabbit upon seeing me?..."

Zuwaro was puzzled. His face had never failed him in front of a woman before. It could only be said that the intimidation of the "Shandan Chieftain" was too "terrifying" in the eyes of the agricultural tribes down south... But it didn't matter, as long as there was real skill!

"Do you have apprentices? Oh, they're all dead? Then when you return to the tribe, take in a few female apprentices!... For such delicate work, clumsy tribal women may not learn well... It's better to find some from the Ainu Tribe!... By the way, you also have to learn how to weave cotton fabric!..."

"Hu Nu, give the money!..."

"Pa!..."

The final Master Craftsman to step forward, although terrified, was neatly dressed and his skin was noticeably paler. He actually had an official name, "Kawasaki Ginko."

"Buddha's mercy! This one, is an outstanding silversmith from the Capital Region, skilled in crafting various exquisite silver ornaments... also gold ones, with extremely dexterous hands!"

Mori no Kiyoshi smiled, folded the fan in his hand, and gently tapped Kawasaki Ginko on the forehead. The latter's face instantly turned pale, his eyes showing fear and a hint of hidden resentment.

In this era, gold and silver craftsmen who could handle precious metals were never from a low-end industry! Their status in society was even higher than many lowly samurai. Because their daily dealings were often with clients of notable background, who commissioned gold and silver artifacts. Not to mention, in this business, even without mixing impurities, a little leftover from cutting could fill one's pockets!

"What a pity! This outstanding Gold and Silver Craftsman pledged allegiance to Nara's East Great Temple. And the Huayan Sect of East Great Temple has always been at odds with my Tiantai Sect. Last year, a battle involving hundreds of Monk Soldiers broke out... This Great Silver Craftsman from the Capital Region is really not under Buddha's protection. He was looted by my sect's Monk Soldiers and can't appear in public anymore, lest it tarnish the reputation of our Temples and Shrines..."

"Respectable Golden Chief, this one is a rare Gold and Silver Craftsman, especially renowned for crafting silver teapots and incense burners! Although he is a step away from being titled a Master Craftsman, he is truly skilled in making handicrafts, a future cash cow! Just like the rough Gold Talismans you hold, with a little precise carving, their value would increase greatly!..."

"So, this Gold and Silver Craftsman should at least be worth double, ten Gold Talismans!..."

"Hmm? A conflict between two Japanese Great Temples? Mutual raids? ...This means the background of this Gold and Silver Craftsman is not ordinary, he might know a lot of Japanese internal secrets?..."

Zuwaro scrutinized Kawasaki Ginko's pale face with a sharp gaze, pondered for a while, and then nodded.

"Hu Nu! Give him ten Gold Talismans!..."

"Pa! Pa!..."

As this batch of craftsmen were traded, both Zuwaro and Mori no Kiyoshi displayed satisfied smiles. Needless to say, Zuwaro was pleased, as these senior craftsmen possessed exceptional skills that the Kingdom had never seen before.

With the spread of these Western Sea Continent's skills through these craftsmen back to the Kingdom, the Kingdom of the Lake, the Mexica Alliance, and the entire Central American world's technological level would take a great leap upward!

As for Mori no Kiyoshi, a Master Craftsman, seven Senior Artisans, plus the forty or so apprentices and their families given as a bonus... With just this shipload of people, he exchanged for sixty Gold Talismans, a full sixty kilograms of gold!

"Sixty kilograms of gold, 8000 koku of rice! The generosity and wealth of the Golden Clan is almost unimaginable, like a golden dream come true!"

"And for such a large fortune, how much should the Kaozaki Family receive in dividends?... Half and half? Impossible! The cost of my sect in gathering, aiding, and transporting these craftsmen was... hmm... about 300, 400 koku of rice? No, this must include the risk borne by the Temples and Shrines, the reputation loss once exposed!..."

"Let me think... Then a third of this sixty kilograms of gold should be considered as cost, recorded in the accounts. The rest split equally with the Kaozaki Family, giving them twenty kilograms of gold as dividends! Ah! Twenty kilograms of gold! So much!... Ceasing desires, ceasing desires! Restrain greed, eyes must look far ahead!"

With quick mental calculation, Mori no Kiyoshi figured out that the profit of this trip was about 200%, which is a full 20 times! Compared to this massive profit from the "craftsman-gold trade," the previous livestock transaction and subsequently the material trade, with their 3-4 times profit, seemed somewhat insignificant!

"Buddha! The Shandan Tribe is really spending astronomical amounts to exchange for these technical craftsmen! What exactly are they planning to do?... How deep are their pockets?"

"If such returns can be maintained, then opening a 'trade route' to Korea... seems only appropriate, urgently needed, with unlimited opportunities!"

After thinking for a moment, Mori no Kiyoshi adjusted his attire and once again bowed to Zuwaro. Zuwaro also returned the bow with genuine sincerity and then, almost as if in unison, they both spoke.

"Chief Divine witnesses! I still need another kind of craftsman, very urgently and importantly! I'm willing to pay a high price!"

"Buddha's blessing! I have a 'trade route' that can connect to Korea, acquiring more and better craftsmen!"

"You speak first!"

"You please!"

Both paused at the same time and smiled at each other. At the mouth of the Korobetsu River in the Ezo land, in the golden light of the setting sun, the "Shandan Chieftain" and the "Kyoto Merchant" finally "colluded" together. They appreciated each other, whispered intimately, and planned to launch a "grand plan" to create a never-before-seen, gold-flowing craftsmanship road!...