The rainy season came from the Caribbean Sea in the East, bringing drizzle to the highlands and jungles. The busy scene of spring plowing started from the Apa Plain in the Kingdom of the Lake, extended to the Chapala Lake Region, then to the Patzcuaro Lake region, and finally reached the shores of Atoyac Lake!

The white stone fertilizer, along with the gray matured fertilizer, was providing nutrients for high-yield crops. With the construction of canals and dams, the chinampas by the Patzcuaro Lake were rapidly increasing. The iron farming tools continually shipped from the Black Stone mine area also made it much easier to open new fields and cultivate the soil.

"Praise the Chief Divine! The canal has water, the fields have fertilizer, the villagers have tools… This year is bound to be another bountiful year!..."

As the agricultural foundation improved, the population of the Kingdom of the Lake was growing rapidly. Although it was difficult to calculate the total population of each county in the kingdom, it was feared that it had reached 2.5 million, gradually approaching the over 3 million of the Mexica Alliance.

Along the river fields, one could always see children of various sizes helping with weeding, turning the soil, catching insects, digging wild vegetables, or going into the water to catch fish and shrimps. They muttered habitually, reciting the name of the Chief Divine. Just wait another ten years, when this generation of kingdom children grows up, the past tribes, beliefs, and memories will melt away like morning dew in the midday sun, disappearing without a trace.

"Praise the Chief Divine! Although these cassavas are poisonous and have killed a few people... the yield is really undeniable! One acre equals four of the chinampas! The tribe should plant more cassava!..."

The irrigation, fertilizer, and farming tool innovations of the Kingdom of the Lake only radiate in a large circle in the Mexican Plateau and to the western seaside. But for the thousands of miles of coastline on the eastern side of the Gulf of Mexico, the real agricultural change was brought by the continuous expansion of cassava cultivation and the compost promotion by the Chief God Priest.

Cassava is well suited to the high-heat environment of the tropical jungle and lowlands, with strong resistance to pests, birds, and diseases and not demanding on the land. Although it's easy to poison and doesn't store well, it is indeed "the rural food granted by the Chief Divine." From the interior of Warrior Lake of the Red Crow, to the riverside of Golden Bay City in the Totonac Alliance, one can see large and small cassava fields, like low shrub mounds, piling up little mounds.

Every day, many tribespeople dig in the cassava fields to unearth the roots, taking out cassava for one or two days' consumption. They usually don't dig too much because if they don't finish eating them, they spoil. They also don't completely dig out the root of one cassava, as it would die if completely dug out; they need to dig some from each plant evenly.

These cassava fields, like berry bushes attracting ants, firmly tie thousands to tens of thousands of tribes to this land day after day. They cannot and are unwilling to leave. After all, days when they can have enough to eat every day are really hard to come by...

"The seaside people's fleet has come again! The newly captured population from the North? Bring them all over!..."

"The Great Chief said this time we need not only grain but also axes, spearheads, and bow and arrow! The Young Chief in the North has fought many times over that so-called 'Black Stone Land' and with those Apache tribes. We must defeat them to delineate the territorial boundaries!..."

"O Great Bird Chief Divine! The seaside people have brought weapons! And some leather armor! People for goods, one hand delivers, the other hand receives! Oh! There's even salt this time!..."

The Heron River Estuary in the Red Crow territory had already formed a flourishing port, with various thatched and shed houses extending for several miles. At the center of the port was a large trade market and a trading post from the Seaside Alliance.

Fleets from the Seaside Alliance would unload various goods here, from food and cloth to weapons and leather armor, and even daily pottery, stoneware, and farm tools. Meanwhile, the trade goods provided by those "honest and hospitable," but with "fierce-looking eyes," tribe chiefs of the Red Crow were relatively limited in variety.

They usually escort captured "Northern tribespeople," or even surplus population from their tribes who can't be fed, here. These tribespeople carry heavy bundles of fur and miscellaneous goods on their backs, with the most common being buffalo hides and deer hides. Besides, tribal warriors would carry some small items themselves, primarily "feathers, herbs, and bone jewelry," sometimes also "gold sand, silver ore, and mineral pigments."

Then, all the goods, including the tribespeople transporting them, would board the kingdom's fleet, waiting to be sent back to the Seaside Alliance and the Maya lands. And the tribal warriors who exchanged for food and weapons would happily check the exchanged items, especially the rare Bronze Weapons and fine bow and arrow!

"Leader, it's all exchanged. More than a dozen of the population have been delivered to the seaside people! We got two bows, two bags of arrows, four sharp-tipped spears, eight bags of grain, and a small bag of salt!..."

"Go! Go quickly! Stay vigilant! Don't let other tribes rob us!..."

As they spoke, the tribe chief, wearing an oxbone hat, hurriedly led dozens of warriors, cautiously and protectively, quickly leaving with their goods. You see, the Red Crow Tribe Alliance had always been loose, with never so many strict rules. Everyone originally came from different tribes, pressed southward by the cold current, then held together by the two chiefs of the Red Crow. If they were in a place without people, any conflicts or private plundering could easily occur!

In fact, if it weren't for the fleets of the seaside people being always heavily escorted by many seaside warriors, it would be difficult to act on the sea... Those large ships loaded with good cargo would have long been seized by the eyeing tribes, in swarms!

"Chief Divine's blessing! How much population has been traded?"

"Lord Priest, over these ten days, the main branch of the Red Crow brought over a thousand men and women, while each Barbarian Tribe Chief brought over nine hundred population... Most of the cargo on the ship has been unloaded, receiving a heap of buffalo hides, feathers, gold, silver, and miscellaneous goods, especially the many silver ore. It seems there are many silver ore lands in the western wilderness, possibly with large mines buried..." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"Indeed. In the wilderness, silver ore mines frequently grow. Near Qingqiu, a vast silver ore mountain stretching for several miles was discovered, and the priests claim it's the battlefield where the Sun Chief Divine slaughtered the Moon God and many brother evil gods. After their deaths where they were buried, their bodies turned into white silver ore... The gold stones at the seaside have all been requisitioned by a royal decree. For the newly sculpted Chief Divine statue at the Temple, just use this silver ore instead of gold stones!..."

The Coastal Priest on the fleet's flagship shook his head, lamenting that there was so much silver, always emerging from the wilderness. After all, 20% of the world's silver mines are buried in the Great Wilderness of the West. Then, he looked at the fleet filled with the population, thought for a moment, and ordered.

"Witnessed by the Chief Divine! The people are almost enough, the ships cannot hold any more, and the food supply is getting tight. Let's set sail today!"

"Sailing for six days straight, resupply some food and water at the Silver Raven Tribe's Crow City. With a little more effort sailing for another six days, we'll reach Golden Bay City! By then, we'll let these Northern tribes disembark, rest for ten or fifteen days, then after the conversion ceremony, continue onward to the Maya... May the Chief Divine bless us!..."

"Yes! May the Chief Divine bless us!..."

The pious prayers rang out on the seaside fleet. Then, against the wistful expressions of the Red Crow Tribes on the shore and under the watchful eyes gripping weapons, the kingdom's fleet sounded the horn for return,

"Toot! Toot!..."

Soon, the modified oar-sail ships raised their single-masted sails, rowing their dual rows of oars toward the southern coast. The four-monthly "Grand Market" at the Heron River Estuary thus ended. The next lively market gathering won't be until October.

During these few months of leisure, the tribe chiefs can inspect the mixed grains planted in the fields and search for game in the grasslands and forests. If they encounter the southward-moving small tribes, they can decisively strike again and capture more people!...

"Witnessed by the battle-capable Great Bird Chief Divine! When capturing more tribes, keep the women in the tribe to reproduce, and send all males here!"

The head of the tribe, carrying a copper spear, food on his back, and wearing newly exchanged leather armor, muses secretly. Half of his face is illuminated by the slanting sun, filled with the joy and anticipation of the tribe's prosperity, while the other half is cast in shadow, marked by the ferocity and indifference of slaughter and capture.