Aztec Eternals

The rain in June is the rapid drumbeat, urging the busyness of the farmland. The corn has grown a foot, the beans have stretched their soft branches, and the pumpkins have sprouted new shoots and slowly stretched on the ground. Plenty of rain nourishes the roots of crops, and warm sunlight gives the plants the power to grow. Therefore, when the scorching sun of July appeared in the sky after the rain for the first time, everything on the earth was already flourishing.

The hot sun shone down on the banks of the Leman River. The Mexica warriors walked out of the narrow houses, happily praying for the gift of the sun god. They took out the clothes and cotton blankets that had been wet for a long time, hung them in various corners of the camp, and let the sun dry them. Clothes of different classes are red, yellow, black and white, and the simple wooden castle suddenly turns into a colorful street. The quartermasters also took out the soaked tortillas and miscellaneous grains and spread them out in the open space in the center of the wooden fort to minimize the loss of grain during the rainy season. The shattered wooden castle has become the valley society of the village again.

And outside the empty wooden castle, there is an additional fence. Under the strict guard of the samurai, the gunpowder artisans accompanying the army set up wooden sheds to dry the wet gunpowder in the shade. The faint volcanic breath drifted away with the wind, and as the green grass swayed, many grass snakes avoided it.

In the wide wooden house in the center of the wooden castle, Xiulot sat with his legs crossed, carefully looking at the sand table in front of him, which was the result of his days of hard work.

The size of the sand table is small, one meter long and one meter wide. A "river" of fine sand traverses east and west, and a "lake" is separated in the southwest. Between the river and the lake, there is a "fortress" made of clay, with a small door inlaid with wood. There is a shallow river in the east, which is the fortress at the mouth of the river.

The young commander thought about it, first he built a camp on the flat ground to the east of the "fortress", and then filled up the moat to the east. He gestured the distance from the top of the fortress wall to the river, and frowned. Then, he made another camp in the open space to the south of the fortress. After thinking for a while, he set up two strongholds further south as a precaution.

Shulot turned his gaze to the west again, looking at the small wooden "water gate" and the narrow river and lake passages. Using his memory again, he corrected the positions of the lower river and the west wall of the fortress. Afterwards, he put a wooden boat on the channel, gestured the distance from the wall to the boat, and remained silent in thought.

After a while, he simulated the movement of the boat again. From entering the shooting distance, the wooden boat moved forward slowly until it came to the water gate. He calculated a time in his mind, and then put in another small boat to protect the water gate with the support of the city head, against the first small boat. The young commander calculated again for a moment, and frowned deeply.

At this time, loud greetings from the guards came from outside the wooden house, and an equally plain reply.

"Heroic Sacred Eagle Warrior Commander, Ters salutes you!"

"Tels, there is no need to be too polite. The light of the sun god illuminates us at the same time! I have something to report to His Highness."

The wooden door opened with a "squeak", and the sunlight outside the door came in, illuminating the slightly dim big room. A tall figure in leather armor and a beast helmet walked in.

Shulot raised his head and waved to Tells, who was looking at him with a silly smile. The young holy city warrior bowed his head seriously and closed the wooden door again. The former boy is already His Highness, and now he is the guard guarding the gate for His Highness.

Then, the young commander looked at the fully armed Bertard with a smile.

"Botard, the weather is so hot, hurry up and take off your clothes!"

The warrior commander nodded, and took off the beast helmet, revealing the severed head and tattooed face, as awe-inspiring as a beast. Then, he took off his leather armor, revealing the robe underneath, which had already been completely soaked in sweat.

"Your Highness, these two days I took a team of jaguar noble warriors to the northern city of Ottopan to do some reconnaissance. The spring plowing of the Otomi people has basically been completed, and they seem to be gathering their forces and mobilizing the militia."

Shulot pondered for a moment, then said slowly.

"The Otomi have to be on guard, and the warriors must be on strict alert. In this way, two envoys were sent again to condemn the Otomi for their dishonesty. They accepted the food from the alliance and promised a treaty of peace, but they just made a show ...they didn't actually go south before the spring plowing and plunder the Tarasco villages! See how they respond.

At the same time, the city-state of Ottopan was invited alone to join the conquest of the Tarascos. In addition to land, feathers and clothing, gold, silver and precious stones, slave goods can all be promised to them, and even grain trade can be discussed again.

Let me think about it, during the last peace talks, the legion commander of Ottopan City should be Giova? Let the messenger visit him in my own name. In addition, the old priest Oort didn't know whether he was in Guamare or Ottopan. If he was in Ottopan Mountain City, he could go and find out what he said. "

Bertard nodded in obedience. He thought for a moment before speaking.

"Your Highness, I will arrange envoys when I go back. It's just that the Otomi people are like weeds in the wind, fluctuating. They always deal with the alliance with empty words. It may be difficult to reach a real agreement. Even if an agreement is reached, the army will not relax its vigilance at all. .They are like coyotes lurking in wait, ready to pounce and bite at any moment.”

The young commander-in-chief Lang laughed.

"Bothard, you are right. After the spring plowing is completed, the Otomi people have the ability to mobilize to fight, which is unbelievable. I just have to wait for two weeks, stick to the wooden castle, and wait for the fleet returning from the east to return , bringing a large number of reinforcements from the holy city.

Once Anatri's navy returned and cut off the banks of the Leman River, it would be difficult for the Tarascos to attack northward. And when the new legion arrives, the alliance will have an advantage in military strength, and the autumn harvest is just around the corner. At this time, you can use the army to threaten the autumn harvest of the Otomi people, forcing them to use practical actions to prove the sincerity of peace with the alliance! "

Berthard smiled knowingly, the tattooed faces on both sides trembled, with a bit of chill. Then, he looked at the window facing south and continued.

"The Tarasco navy in the south is dispatched very frequently. Their scouts have repeatedly appeared around the three wooden castles, and they often make provocative and attacking gestures. The warriors in the wooden castles are full of fighting spirit, and some are unbearable .”

Shulot thought for a while, then nodded slightly.

"After the rumors of the sun god's blessing spread, the warriors were excited and eager to fight. This kind of fighting spirit cannot be suppressed, but can only be guided. The current strategy is to stick to the main, and should not take the initiative to go south

In this way, several different hundred-man squads were sent every day to fight and kill Tarasco's scouts. There is no need to capture prisoners in the scout battle, the military exploits only depend on the heads they brought back! Then, evaluate the merits of all the teams participating in the battle, reward the top teams, and give them the honorary title of fighting!

Well, this is to find some psychological sustenance for the warriors. Maybe I should improve the rules of the court and let everyone have some daily entertainment. "

Having said that, the youth commander took out a pen and paper, and wrote down the words "basketball" and "football". He thought for a while, and then added "jiaodi" and "tug-of-war", together with the existing spear throwing, archery and martial arts, it was the Mexica Heptathlon.

Bertard nodded. He looked at the sand table on the ground, and his admiration flashed again. Sometimes, he would sincerely thank the Sun God for giving the Mexica such an inspired king with omnipotent wisdom and all-encompassing inventions.

"Your Highness, the fortress at the mouth of the river has a water gate on the west side, and the west wall controls the mouth of the river, preventing the boats from going south. This fortress cannot be besieged. It can receive continuous military support and food supplies from the coast of Lake Queteo. "

Looking at the sand table, the warrior chief analyzed slowly. He was waiting for His Highness' vision and strategy.

Xiulot nodded in agreement.

"That's true! The fortress at the mouth of the river can only be attacked by force, not besieged. A strong attack requires a quick attack, the sooner the better. The fortress here is full of rivers and rivers, the soil is soft, and the groundwater is rich. The army cannot dig tunnels, and cannot use gunpowder to blow up the walls. Of course, we also There are no miners who are good at digging."

Facing the new concept of warfare, Bertard seemed to have realized something. He is always by His Highness's side, able to keep learning and progressing, keep up with the thinking of young people, and make timely suggestions.

"Digging tunnels, gunpowder blasting the wall Your Highness, Tarasco's senior miners will dig underground copper mines, and Ezpan is a senior miner. When the army penetrates into the Patzcuaro Lake area, we can recruit the people and gather senior old miners. , to perfect His Highness's authentic tactics."

Hearing the suggestion, Xiulot laughed, and his thoughts drifted away briefly. Then, he went back to the topic.

"Before the storm, there are three necessary preparations. One is to look for opportunities to severely damage the main force of the Tarasco navy and destroy as many enemy ships as possible."

Having said that, the young commander paused, his thoughts clearer. He didn't elaborate for the time being, and continued to speak.

"The second is to concentrate our forces, establish sufficient advantages, and make a breakthrough as soon as possible. The autumn harvest is a key node. It cannot be delayed until after the autumn harvest to give the enemy a chance to gather on a large scale. Well, I will send an envoy to the northern general Othelor again , to ask for reinforcements. The troops from the capital must be brought in as soon as possible. The fleet will take one month to go back and forth, and it can transport tens of thousands of warriors and ten thousand people’s food for three months. I need to carefully plan the transportation plan.”

Schlott planned in his heart, wrote down the word "transportation" on the paper, and then smiled.

"The third is equipment preparation, making suitable siege equipment. Berthard, how are the three equipment I ordered before?"

The warrior chief thought for a while, recalling what he had seen and heard at the craftsman before the patrol, and nodded slowly.

"Your Highness, I have been researching a lightweight trebuchet that is easy to move for nearly a month, and the trial production has just been completed. I haven't had time to check the load and range of the ammunition. The light shield vehicle that shields the archers is relatively simple, and it can be put into the battlefield now. As for the construction after the investigation The craftsmen only restored part of the seven-meter wooden water gate, and it will take a long time to process it later.”

Hearing this, Xiulot laughed with satisfaction.

"Very good! The light trebuchet throws paper fireballs wrapped in gunpowder, and the requirements for load and range are not high. The light shield vehicle can be as simple as possible, the key is mass production. The water gate does not need to be completely restored, I just want to test how effective it can be destroy!"

Having said that, the young commander stood up. He patted the shoulder of the warrior commander affectionately, and laughed loudly.

"The sun is shining today, which is a rare and auspicious day. Come with me to see these sharp weapons for attacking the city!"