Aztec Eternals

The rain in July lingers on the boundless fields, and the scorching sun sprinkles the light of life from time to time. The green seedlings are lush and the fruit trees are lush, and the land in the lake area is full of vitality. And when the pumpkin seedlings took shape, more rain poured in, covering the sky. The heavy rain turns into streams and converges into a wider lake, making Lake Patzcuaro even more magnificent.

"This is the rainy season in August, dancing to the beat of the drums, swallowing mountains and rivers."

Shulot stood on the top floor of the Palace of Winds, looking at the lake in the north. During the height of the rainy season, the water level of the Great Lake rises significantly, submerging the entire surrounding circle. The radiant water is boundless, looking from a distance at this time, it is quite magnificent and heroic. The young king watched for a moment, then suddenly frowned.

"Lake Patzcuaro in the rainy season can expand so much! Although a lot of fertile soil by the river has been vacated, it is still submerged to the edge of the farmland. This is just an ordinary year. If there is a big flood, the submerged area may be. No wonder The villages by the lake are all built on high ground, so what needs to be done is to surround the lake and control the water! Lake Patzcuaro needs to be tamed, just like Lake Texcoco, which is divided and surrounded by countless dams, it must be completely governed and tamed!"

Xiulot thought silently, with intense passion reverberating in his chest. The pride of the king is sometimes similar to that of ordinary people, and sometimes it is quite different. The difference is that there is more confidence and boldness in reshaping the country!

The long wind swayed the wind chimes, and the crisp bells covered the sound of the rain. It is rainy and windy, so it is not suitable to travel. The young king looked at it quietly for a moment, remembered the new plan in his mind, then turned around and left for the main hall.

In the magnificent hall, the guards have already prepared breakfast. A soft grilled tortilla, a small bowl of tender grilled matsutake, a piece of grilled fish with chili sauce, two pieces of smoked venison with honey, and a cup of sweet hot cocoa.

Xiulot sat cross-legged at the table, eating a simple breakfast while reading the latest report.

The tense spring plowing has ended, and the country is peaceful. The garrison army and the common people are enjoying the rare peace in the wind and rain. Under the wind and rain, a large number of scouts have been dispatched to collect information on the southern nobles, and to listen to the movements of the surrounding ministries.

"The news of the destruction of the Kingdom of Tarasco has spread far and wide. All the ministries in the Quartet are shaking. In the southwest of the closed country, the noble chiefs of the Tekos have sent envoys, expressing their willingness to surrender and pay tribute. The latest envoy also hopes to redeem the lost captured nobles and warriors."

Seeing this, Shulot pondered for a while. Most of the southern Tekos warrior prisoners of war have been sent to the capital city in the lake, but he only left some guides and tribal militiamen who were incorporated into the garrison army.

"Since I was an enemy of the Alliance, I must pay the price! Sooner or later, I will go west to conquer the Colima Mountains myself. Well, at most, I can send back a few tribal nobles, warriors and militiamen who have combat capabilities, and it is absolutely impossible to send them back."

Shulot shook his head, and after giving brief instructions, he put the report aside. He continued to read to understand the situation of the surrounding states, and also gave the new foreign policy of the feudal state.

"After the spring plowing, the northern part of the country was closed, and the allied Ottopan city-state immediately sent congratulatory envoys to congratulate His Highness on his victory. At the same time, he sought support for the ownership of the land on the north bank of the Leman River? Tepopolo has already sent someone to ask for the wooden castle on the north bank and threatened with the conquest of the alliance. And the Otomi garrisoned in wooden castles on the north bank, and would not hand them over."

Seeing this, Xiulot fell into deep thought.

The Ottopan city-state is the ancestral city of the Ottomi people, and has an extraordinary status in the hearts of the Ottomi people. Under the influence of Ort, the old priest of the groundhog, Giova, the commander of the city-state's legion, has sworn a blood alliance with himself and is willing to be a subject. The Western Expedition was difficult all the way, and the 3,000 Otomi Legion put forth all their efforts, first looting and luring the enemy, and then losing most of them when attacking the strong fortress at the mouth of the river. And the city-state of Otomi is also a strong barrier against the Chichimek descendants in the north of the country.

As for the Tepopolo fiefdom in the northeast of the Lake District feudal kingdom. Although they come from the same origin and participated in the Western Expedition together, they cannot be counted as their own forces. There is no affiliation relationship between the two parties, and there is even competition.

The young king pondered for a moment before looking at the warrior commander standing beside him.

"Bothard, General Giova and I swear blood as an alliance, and the honorable noble Tepopolo will fight with us. I really don't want the two sides to fight each other for the fiefdom. It's just that His Majesty delineated the scope of the fiefdom in the Lake District and personally If you tell me, it is inconvenient for me to express my position directly on this matter.”

"Your Highness, do you mean that there is a difference between intimacy and estrangement?"

Berthard's face was calm, but his eyes flickered slightly.

"Well, Bertard, the alliance has its own laws, it just depends on the specific implementation. Ottopan City has made great contributions in the Western Expedition, and has always been close to me. I will keep it fair. Stable. He has very little reliable power in his hands, and his prestige has not been established. It is absolutely impossible to send troops to the north within this year. The main force of the southern army has returned to the east. At this time, it is fighting the army of the Tlaxcalans on the southeastern border. Your Majesty looks forward The world will not take this small piece of wasteland on the north bank in mind. The warrior commander will send an envoy in a low-key manner to inform the old priest of Ort one by one of these facts. He will know how to do it."

The warrior commander nodded, took out a pen and paper, and wrote down His Highness's words.

Since Tepopolo arrived in the fiefdom, he has moved the old tribe, gathered nobles, recruited warriors, and stepped up spring plowing. This series of actions showed that the honored aristocrat who was transferred wanted to do something. Akanbaro state has gone through wars and is sparsely populated. Even with the transferred Glory family, there are less than 100,000 people, and there is no shortage of cultivated land. This time he made false threats and asked for the northern fief, probably more because he wanted to establish the prestige of the new fief in the hearts of the local nobles.

"Young jaguars rule the surrounding mountains. The land of the lake does not need another strong and ravenous wolf."

Berthard's eyes became dark. Xiulot didn't care, just continued to read the report.

"In the northwest of the country, the Feather Prince of the Chapala Lake District led the warrior army and defeated several powerful Guamal dog tribes in a row. Other tribes that were raging in the Lake District received news, and most of them brought looted property, food and small dogs. , and began to retreat to Tecacos State on the northern plateau. This time, the large-scale invasion of the dog-born should come to an end."

"Congratulations on your glorious victory, Your Highness. You are like an eagle soaring in the sky, ruling the vast and magnificent mountains and rivers. The chiefs of the various Guamal tribes sent people to ask the caravan if they would like to buy the captured slaves of Prepeca? Dog descendants I am not interested in gold and silver, and only ask for food, wine, salt or weapons in exchange. An adult Dingkou can exchange about 300 catties of grain, or a hundred catties of water and wine, or more than ten catties of salt, or two sets of weapons and cotton armor. It can be replaced with equivalent cocoa beans. Young and strong women are half priced, and children can be used as extras.”

"The number of captives estimated by the caravan ranges from 10,000 to 20,000 to as many as 20,000 to 30,000. Most of them are young men and women. Buying in large quantities can lower the price a lot. Please be kind and return those innocent lives as soon as possible, just as Like flowers in the summer rain, they rustled and trembled, falling down at any time, buried in the soil of the rainy season, because except for the precious craftsmen and doctors, the dog descendants had limited food, and would not keep too many food-consuming captives. For the goods, I bought a batch of slaves in advance. As long as they follow the Leman River, they can be transported back to the sealed country in less than a week."

Shulot frowned again. He looked at the newspaper in his hand. Among the common pictorial texts, there were also neat Chinese characters and even rhyming poems. The young king asked suspiciously.

"Who wrote this letter? It doesn't look like a samurai."

Hearing this, Bertard smiled lightly, with a bit of fun in his expression.

"Your Highness, you forgot. The leader of the northern caravan is Balamo. He has been blowing sand on the northern plateau for a year, and it is said that he has seen white snow. In the letters sent back every month, there are always There will be some poetry mixed in."

"Ah ha ha."

Shulot thought about it for a while, and couldn't help laughing. Shortly after the Western Expedition began, the Divine Blessed Legion arrived. He sent Baramo, the poet commander in the legion, to the north to take full charge of the caravan and scout matters.

There are many considerations in this. To do business in the barbarian tribe, one must first have excellent martial arts skills and extraordinary courage. Secondly, you must be flexible in dealing with things, be eloquent, and be good at communicating with people. Some cultures are even better. The last thing is to take advantage of the wind, sand and cold wave in the north to sharpen the poet's commander-in-chief.

"How is Paramo doing in the north? Looking at the newspaper, it seems that he is quite free-tempered."

Shulot asked with a smile.

"Balamo is a very good caravan supervisor. He is good at speaking, good at martial arts, and has learned some singing and dancing. He is very popular in the northern plateau. Well, he also maintains an excellent relationship with the wives of many noble chieftains. The customs on the plateau are different from those of the alliance, and the tribal people of dog descent often don’t know who their father is. In many cases, it is the noble woman who has the final say.

When Bertard said this, the two laughed together. After a while, the young king stopped smiling and said seriously.

"There is a shortage of people in the closed country. The proposal to buy captives is feasible. All men, women, young adults, and children are all needed! Among the materials purchased, first use salt, then wine, then coarse grain, and finally the damaged weapons in the Western Expedition Equipment. Ask Balamo to lower the price, and then try to rely on the Leman River to trade. I will let the navy of Anatri to deliver. In addition, add a group of priests to the northern caravan, and bring the glory of the Lord God Spread it!"

The warrior commander quickly recorded it, and then saluted Shulot again.

"Your Highness is merciful!"

Xiuluo nodded. After the war was first established, the population of the closed country was more scarce than supplies, and it needed to be filled by all means. As for the future arrangement of the poet commander, some new ideas emerged in his mind, and they were quickly pressed into the bottom of his heart. The young king continued to look at the movements in all directions.

"The southern part of the country was closed, and the Trapanik tribal alliance sent envoys. They expressed their surrender to the alliance, and they were also willing to pay tribute to the southern rainforest specialties, trade feathers, spices, gems and salt. They asked His Royal Highness to continue to negotiate with the tower. The copper trade of the Kingdom of Lascaux, and equally eager for obsidian, which is roughly monopolized by the Alliance."

After reading this, Shulot shook his head.

A loose confederation of Trapanic tribes located south of the Wetamo Mountains. They are scattered between the mountains running east and west and the sea in the west, living in the lowland rain forests and coastal plains. The Trapanik tribe has a small population and not much arable land, but they are good at business and trade, and most of them are engaged in resale trade. Their east is the Alliance of Mixtec and Zapotec.

"No! The alliance prohibits luxury. Bronze wares and obsidian are strategic materials, which are centrally controlled by the kingdom and are not allowed to be sold by lords or merchants."

Xiulot criticized mercilessly. Formal vassalization of the Trapanics was of no benefit to the alliance. They are far away and live in the lowland rainforest with complex terrain. The land value is not big, and it is difficult for them to be threatened by the alliance's military.

".Send a squad of warriors to ban Trapanic merchants and monitor the private trade of the southern nobles. If found, just collect evidence and wait for a while."

The young king thought about it, and then wrote down the specific solution.

He used a jade seal to print a red seal on the document, and then handed over the document and the letter to the warrior commander, and left a concise note for himself. The samurai commander immediately summoned several personal guards, selected the person in charge, and delivered the documents and letters. Then, the guards in charge collected the documents, and immediately took the letters to the camp to dispatch troops to carry out His Highness's will directly.

Although the implementation process of this series of policies is a bit rough, it is simple and efficient, and only the orders of the authorities are obeyed.

With the improvement of Shulot's authority, a lot of information and various powers at home and abroad have also been completely collected to him. Generally speaking, he is the reviewer of information and the highest decision-maker; the generals and cronies around him are the decision-making circle participating in the discussion of politics; Executor. Attached to the execution circle are thousands of enlisted craftsmen, tens of thousands of Mexica legions, and hundreds of thousands of community civilians who have been effectively integrated.

This kind of governance system does not rely on a mature and systematic grammatical system, but on the authoritative control of the king himself. Compared with the mature civil service system of the Chinese Dynasty, the political form of the alliance is more similar to the nomadic tribes on the northern grasslands, with powerful "Khans" or "Great Chiefs" deciding major events.

"In the southeast of the sealed kingdom, the Mixtecs sent envoys to congratulate the pilgrimage, presenting dyes, gold, silver, gems, pearls, and maidens. Your Highness, they are looking for trade with the newborn kingdom, and they also hope to form an alliance with you. A closer cooperative relationship. At the same time, the monitoring scouts found that they were also constantly inquiring about the details of the Western Expedition, and they were very interested in the newly appeared weapons of the gods. In addition, according to the uncertain news from the distant merchants, Tarasco The commander of the kingdom's southern route, Prince Queuse, may have fled to Mixtec along the Talsas River."

"Exquisite craftsman of precious metals, people of the clouds, Mixtec Gunpowder Secret Queius."

Shulot was lost in thought. The feudal kingdom has nominally controlled the Apatchingam state, and is able to go up the Talsas River, pass through the vassal Chunthar tribe, and communicate with the Mixtec people in the southeast on a large scale.

Unlike the sparsely populated and politically loose Trapanic tribes, the Mixtec Alliance has the prototype of a country with a population of about 800,000 to 900,000 people, and under the pressure of the alliance, it advances and retreats with the Zapotecs. They have a prosperous population, have at least 20,000 warriors, occupy the rich southern land, produce many luxury goods, and have a large number of skilled craftsmen. Thinking of this, the young king picked up his pen again.

"Accept the trade request of the Mixtec people, but restrict the trading of strategic materials. Do not accept the intermarriage request of the Mixtec people, and marry the tribute girl to the soldiers of the Mexica Legion. Control the gunpowder artisans, and the gunpowder formula must be Strictly keep it secret. Clean up the battlefield of the Great War again, and strictly prohibit the leakage of new weapons! In addition, test the envoys of the Mixtec to see if they are willing to exchange a batch of weapons and leather armor with the nobles of Tarasco."

After a pause, Xiulot wrote again.

"If the Mixtecs are willing to sell slaves on a large scale, the Alliance is willing to sell a sufficient amount of copper, grain, salt and armaments."

The young king handed the paper to the warrior commander, and picked up the last letter on the table. He looked carefully at the text on the letter, and finally a smile appeared on his face.

"The Supreme King Avit led the Southern Legion to fight several battles with the Tlaxcalans in Wattstepek State in the southeast of the Union. The Mexica Legion relied on the range advantage of the longbow and crossbow to suppress the Tlaxcala People's bows and arrows, and won two field battles! Counting the militia, the Tlaxcala Legion lost nearly 10,000 people, retreated to the east of Watts Tepek State, and currently occupied several border fortresses. Now it is During the peak of the rainy season, the fighting between the two sides has temporarily stopped, and they are facing each other halfway across the country."

"Except for the two states that were invaded by the Tlaxcalans, the Union's spring farming this year is going well. After applying the composted manure, the crops in the Texcoco Lake area are growing well, and this year's grain output should increase a lot "

"The news of the great victory of the Western Expedition spread to the capital. The high priest personally led a group of twelve priests and held a grand sacrifice ceremony in front of the Great Temple to celebrate the victory of the Western Expedition! The ancestors of the past dynasties. The sound of celebration in the capital is like thunder in the rainy season, and there are cries of boiling all night everywhere!

The names of the king and His Royal Highness, like the great ancestor Montezuma, were prayed in unison by the warriors of the alliance in the sacrifice! Now, the people of the capital in the lake are only waiting for the king to return to the army in victory and hold a grand victory sacrifice! The victory sacrifice after the war is likely to be arranged on the New Year's celebration day. It will be an unparalleled grand sacrifice, with the most and most sacred sacrifices of the gods! "

Shulot was slightly absent-minded, and the sleeping face of King Suangua appeared in his mind.

In the past three months, the alliance's search team has successively captured several fugitive princes of Tarasco. And the king, royal family and many nobles of Tarasco have been handed over to the legion returned by Avit. Their fate is like a high pyre, which has long been chosen by the flame of the Lord God, and is destined to be turned into blue smoke floating in the wind amidst the excited cheers of hundreds of thousands of people.

The young king's heart is as hard as a stone. He just stared at it for a moment, then looked at the last text.

"The high priest and all the priests and elders have decided to form the Archdiocese of Tarasco. His Highness the Chief Priest will be promoted to be the youngest fifth-level suzerain, and he will be fully responsible for all affairs of the Archdiocese of Tarasco! At the same time, the Capital Priests will A large number of priests were dispatched, led by the newly promoted fourth-level suzerain Ugos, and arrived at Lake Mikencho before the autumn harvest to assist in the affairs of the new parish.

At the request of His Highness, the Divine Enlightenment Institute in the capital will also dispatch a large number of senior craftsmen to Qincong Cancheng together to form the second Divine Enlightenment Institute. His Highness entrusted the land in the lake. After the elders discussed with the high priest, the divine revelation in the capital is now taken over by the priests and elders. His Highness will be fully responsible for the newly-built Second Divine Enlightenment Institute."

"Well, the newly promoted fourth-level suzerain, Ugos, the son of Elder Ugel, the Archdiocese of Tarasco, the youngest fifth-level suzerain priest, a priest supported by a large group. Create a new divine revelation in exchange for the old divine revelation Well, As it should be, I'm short of capable manpower, so it's a good deal."

Shulot stood up, pacing thoughtfully. After a few lines of text, there is a series of political transactions and power games. Fortunately, as the high priest, grandfather was at the top of the central power, so the result of the transaction would be satisfactory.

With the sound of ticking rain, time passed gently in the king's thoughts. I don't know how long it took before a personal guard entered the hall. He knelt down on the ground respectfully, and responded loudly, which startled the pensive king.

"Your Highness! At your invitation, the original epic master in the Palace of Winds, the wise elder of the Prepecha people, the sage Jatiri has arrived. He is outside the palace, asking for an audience with the respected king!"

Um, addicted to sleep and unable to extricate myself. I felt a little uncomfortable on the weekend. I lay at home for two days and regained my strength today! (_) Well, remembering the great men who have passed away is destined to be recorded in the annals of civilization.