The words of the Great Prophet are the will of God.
This was an ironclad rule passed down in the tribe. Although Tiger King did not fully understand, he nodded in agreement.
After the ball game, the enthronement ceremony would commence.
From the playing field to the temple, the path was covered with deerskin.
The Maya people lined both sides of the road, bowing their heads.
Deer King, holding a golden crown, walked slowly towards Fang Er. The crown was adorned with the tail feathers of colorful macaws, their colors exceptionally vibrant.
The colorful macaw was a sacred bird to the Maya people, and only those of the highest status were privileged to use its feathers.
Goat King carried a tray bearing a cape made of leopard skin.
Upon reaching Fang Er, the two respectfully said,
"Great Prophet, please!"
Fang Er felt a bit awkward looking at the two items. The non-mainstream fashion of later generations paled in comparison to these!
He glanced at the multicolored bird feathers, especially the green ones!
However, seeing the eager expressions of Deer King and Goat King before him, he picked them up and placed them on his head.
As a form of self-comfort, he mumbled, "May the bad not come, and the good come!"
Bah!
He corrected himself, "May the bad not come, and the good come!"
A leopard-skin cape and a bird-feather crown. As he donned these two items, the people below erupted in cheers.
"Great Prophet!"
"Great Prophet!"
"Great Prophet!"
~~
Tens of thousands of people in the city shouted in unison, their voices echoing in all directions. From the second level of the temple, countless colorful macaws flew out.
The ceremony was simple: Fang Er only needed to walk from the playing field to the highest level of the temple.
When he stood at the pinnacle of the temple, the people knelt once more, offering their worship to the temple.
Observing the three kowtows and nine bows of these people, Fang Er was once again convinced of the theory that they were descendants of the Shang Dynasty. This ritual seemed unique to China!
Three kowtows and nine bows was the most respectful form of salutation.
Of course, there was another, four kowtows and twelve bows, which was a ritual performed for the deceased~
(In my hometown, there is still the grand ceremony of twenty-four bows, which can exhaust a person~).
After the people finished their rites and rose, Tiger King received a scepter from a guard and respectfully handed it to Fang Er.
"Great Prophet, please!"
The scepter was entirely made of gold, inlaid with a fist-sized ruby at the top, which sparkled brilliantly under the sunlight, appearing exceptionally noble.
Fang Er nodded slightly, gripped the scepter, and casually performed a few flourishes with it.
Tsk, tsk, tsk, this thing felt pretty good in his hands!
Tiger King, Deer King, and Goat King, who were standing by, almost had their hearts leap into their throats when they saw his action.
Planting the scepter on the ground, Fang Er looked down at the city's populace from his elevated position and suddenly felt the need to say a few words.
He had ten two-meter-tall loudspeakers brought out, having them placed on the various platforms of the temple by Zhu Zi and the others.
He picked up the microphone and tapped it a few times.
"Bang, bang, bang~"
A deafening sound emanated from the speakers.
Tiger King and the others stared with wide eyes, truly worthy of being called the Great Prophet; such methods were beyond the capabilities of ordinary mortals!
"Ahem, well, let me say a few words~"
"This~"
"Yesterday, the Sun God had a dream and said that we originally migrated here from overseas."
"Although hundreds of years have passed, it is still necessary to acknowledge our roots and return to our ancestral land!"
"Although the ancestral land is far away, it always welcomes our return."
"Everyone there has clothes to wear and food to spare. We can go back and take a look when we have time."
"While relocating back might not be practical, learning some technology there is certainly possible."
"Learn mathematics and physics, and you'll fear no one under the heavens!"
"Did you see the airplane I arrived in? That was made using mathematics and physics."
~~~~
Standing atop the temple, Fang Er proceeded to brainwash the people below. Initially, they listened out of politeness and reverence for the Prophet, but by the end, their eyes were practically spewing fire!
It was the fire of hope!
Even Tiger King and the others listened with stunned expressions. After the ceremony concluded and they returned to the temple, their first action was to ask Fang Er:
"Great Prophet, where is this 'mathematics and physics' you speak of? Can we learn it?"
Fang Er casually sat down on a stone chair, lit a cigar wrapped in a maiden's bosom, and exhaled smoke leisurely before replying with great enthusiasm.
"Yes! Why not!"
"Let me tell you, after learning mathematics and physics, it will be of great use in divination and prophecy!"
"Let's not talk about other things; as long as you master it, you'll know the shape of a tortoise shell's cracks before it even breaks!"
Tiger King, overjoyed, grabbed his arm: "Great Prophet, where is this ancestral land you speak of? I want to go and see it now!"
"Have you considered it carefully? Do you truly wish for the tribe to return to the embrace of the ancestral land?" Fang Er asked, a smile on his face.
Tiger King nodded repeatedly: "Since we can learn the legendary mathematics and physics without immigrating, we should definitely return to the ancestral land!"
"Moreover, this can improve the lives of the tribal people. There's nothing to hesitate about!"
"Hooosh!"
Fang Er took out a flag with a sun, moon, and five stars, unfurled it casually, and handed it to Deer King and Goat King, who were standing by.
"Now that Tiger King has made his decision, I'll trouble you two to hang this atop the temple!"
"Hanging this signifies that Copan has returned to the ancestral land."
"From this day forward, should Copan face any trouble, the ancestral land will protect it with all its might!"
Deer King took the flag and nodded heavily, then said, "Great Prophet, rest assured, I will go and hang the flag now!"
With that, he and Goat King walked outside.
Meanwhile, Fang Er pulled Tiger King back to sit on the stone chair.
"To be honest, True Man, I returned to the tribe this time guided by the Sun God in a dream."
"He told me to bring some corn seeds back to the ancestral land so that the people there could also taste this delicious food."
"So, could you have your people collect some corn seeds?"
"Of course, in exchange, I can leave some other seeds."
As he spoke, he retrieved a bag of wheat seeds from the warehouse, along with two dried wheat ears.
He tore open the bag and displayed the seeds to Tiger King.
"This grain is called wheat. Its growing season is slightly longer than corn, but its yield is much higher than the corn you currently cultivate."
"Once ground into flour, it can be used to make various noodle dishes."
Tiger King merely glanced at the wheat seeds before fixing his gaze on the two wheat ears in Fang Er's hand.
"How should this be planted?"
After Fang Er clearly explained the matters needing attention during the planting process, Tiger King excitedly took the two wheat ears.
These wheat ears were prepared by Fang Er during the summer harvest and were still in the warehouse, along with a pile more.
Tiger King brought the wheat ears to his nose and inhaled deeply, a scent of wheat rushing straight to his mind.
"Great Prophet, is this thing really as high-yielding as you say?"
He had spent a considerable amount of time calculating in his mind to understand the area described as "mu" and the amount of grain referred to as "jin."
A yield of over 1000 jin per mu was truly astonishing to him!
After all, the corn currently cultivated by the tribe yielded only about a hundred to a hundred and ten jin per mu!