Aztec Eternals

Two full weeks have passed since that unforgettable mobilization, and the legion of the city-state of Teotihuacan has finally been formed. The dry season is over, the rainy season is not yet here, the cool wind becomes humid, and the warm sunshine is still so comfortable.

The south of the city was converted into a large military camp. During this period, Xiulot looked at his father, met with the hereditary nobles who participated in the war one by one, saluted, greeted, had dinner, made promises, and then exchanged gifts. I also watched him boxing, hugging, bragging, praising, exchanging martial arts with the elite warriors, and finally drank tequila until he was drunk.

Xiusock also occasionally met with representatives of the township soldiers to mediate disputes and show his majesty. Slowly, a military leadership group with Xiusock as the core finally took shape, and this newly formed 8,000-member regiment could barely be commanded.

The Aztec military system is based on a squad of 20 people, and the core of the squad is a captain. Then superimpose in units of 20, 200, 400, 800, until the last group of 8,000 people, Hikipilli. The ultimate force unit that measures all city-states.

Under Xiulot's tireless suggestion, Xiusoke finally divided the legion into ten battalions, each battalion has about 800 people. As for the specific number, no one here can count clearly except Xiulot.

Among the ten battalions, five elite battalions come from urban communities, and are basically composed of formally trained warriors. Among them, senior warriors of the fourth rank, including eagle and jaguar fighters, are gathered in a senior veteran battalion. Sufficient ability to use throwing guns. This is the core of the legion's combat effectiveness. And the battalion commander of the veteran battalion is naturally the most trusted number one warrior commander Olosh.

The rest are five civilian battalions, the conscripted militiamen from the subordinate villages, most of whom have only superficial training experience. Some warriors had experience in hunting with slings, and they were all gathered in a sling battalion, while the other four were melee battalions.

On this day, the reorganized legion finally gathered in the school yard of the barracks. The priests held up the banners of the gods and maintained the order of the scene together with the nobles at all levels. The warriors gathered together at the head of the battalion, forming circular formations with uneven areas.

Wearing a gorgeous battle suit, Xiu Suoke stood in the most conspicuous position, surrounded by the noble officers of each battalion, and all the people were full of ambition together, while proudly examining the "big army" under his command, they eagerly announced With the desire to fight.

Shulot took Akap, the new bodyguard and assistant sent by his grandfather, to visit the camps in the name of a priest.

The first battalion is the Veterans Battalion. Senior warriors wear yellow or green leather armor, red and yellow cloaks, and animal-shaped helmets. Holding a shield in one hand and a stick in the other, the obsidian sharp pieces on both sides of the stick gleamed sharply and coldly in the sun. Most of them carry a throwing spear behind their backs, and the spear throwing device is inserted at the waist.

The veterans stood naturally, and the team automatically formed an expanded battle formation. Their faces were relaxed, with the indifference of a long life and death. The callused right hand waved the baton casually, bringing out the charm of thousands of years of hard work. Shulot turned around twice and counted out more than two hundred menacing eagles and tiger heads.

"It turns out that we only have two hundred jaguar and eagle fighters." Shulot sighed in disappointment. "This is a bit far from the legion I imagined. I thought there would be a legion of jaguar and eagle fighters!"

"Eight thousand jaguar fighters?!" Acap chuckled, "The entire city-state of Mexico may not be able to make up this number. The three capital cities can probably produce more than 2,000 jaguars and eagles." , plus more than 500 'hair-breakers', this is enough for every king to coerce many city-states. You know, both the jaguar and the eagle battle group are the first-class military nobles of the alliance!"

"Okay. The eagle will have it, and the jaguar will have it." Shulot began to take notes in his mind, "Old barracks, ace, sword/stick and shield soldier, throwing a spear, leather armor, morale High-spirited, mediocre discipline, intimidating to the ranks. Excellent assault infantry." In some familiar way of appraising it, it helped him quickly grasp the force's strength.

Next, the second to fifth battalions are elite battalions. Depending on their level of affluence, warriors of all ranks wore leather armor or battle clothes, and some also wore capes. Most warriors wear pointed hats, the same obsidian clubs, and leather bucklers. All kinds of excitement and imagination about the battle are on the faces of the newly promoted samurai.

In the somewhat chaotic line, Shulot saw two familiar faces, one smiling warmly at him, and the other smiling stiffly at him.

"Elite battalion, elite, sword/stick and shield soldiers, semi-leather and light armor, average morale, poor discipline. The melee infantry maintaining the front line has a low armor rate. Well, it's acceptable."

Further on, the sixth to ninth civilian battalions. The equipment of the militia in these villages is much simpler. Most of them were bare-chested, and only a few were wearing combat uniforms. Stone spears, wooden spears, stone sticks, all kinds of weapons, and shields are widely used. Only a small number of leaders have standard battle sticks and shields.

The village militiamen chatted excitedly with each other, and the camp was noisy. Perhaps they share the same passion for combat, but this untrained passion is quickly worn down by the blows of the enemy or the harsh environment.

"Civilian battalion, ordinary, short spear soldiers, civilians without armor, low morale, no discipline." Xiulot put his hand on his forehead, "What can such armed men be used for? Filling the front cannon fodder? If they don't gather together The regiment cannot be maintained at all. Maybe after improving discipline, you can consider taking the long spear ashigaru?"

The Tenth Slinger Battalion gave Schlott some fresh feelings.

These experienced hunters hold a long rope and hold the ends of the rope with two fingers. Then use all your strength to turn the rope, so that the stone will continue to accelerate in the center of the rope, making a whistling sound. Then, based on feeling and experience, at a suitable angle, spread a finger, let the rope unfold, and launch the rounded stone with a whoosh sound, hitting a burst of dust on the school field.

Although the accuracy of throwing stones is impressive, the power of cluster launching is quite impressive, especially against opponents with no armor or light armor. It's a pity that although this equipment is simple, it will not take a year or two to practice it well.

"Slinger battalion, ordinary, slinger, commoner without armor, low morale, no discipline. Long-range strike units that need terrain support, and hit the morale of the enemy." Xiu Luote said that he could only accept the only long-range troops. As for the simple single bows used by some hunters, Shulot tried to shoot a few wooden arrows before expressing despair at the range and power.

"Why are our archers so weak?" Shulot asked puzzled.

"Bows and arrows are inherently weak. Only weak tribesmen will use such weak weapons." Akap said of course. "Well, not exactly. The Tlaxcalans have a single bow nearly a man's height, with copper arrows, which can shoot through a layer of cotton armor in fifty paces. Our warriors were killed by the despicable Tlaxa The Kara have sneaked up many times."

"50 paces of battered cotton armor, sounds very good. We can also form such archers, and powerful long-range troops are very important in certain terrains."

"Where is the long-range sneak attack done by the warriors, how can they capture the prisoners? Without prisoners, there is no promotion, so the Mexica warriors prefer melee combat and don't like to use bows and arrows." Akap laughed.

"Of course, another reason is that ordinary craftsmen do not have the skills to make bows. The wood for making bows takes a long time to prepare, and the bow skills also need long-term practice. Some leaders have a decorative bow, but it is far from enough to form an army What's more, the range of the Tlaxcala bow is very short, and its power is not as good as that of the spear, so the damage to the warrior's leather armor and cotton armor is always limited."

"Where did the Tlaxcalans get their raw materials and technology?" The boy was only concerned about technology. In his view, archers and cavalry are essential components of an army, and their tactical roles are irreplaceable. There is no way for the cavalry for the time being, and the archers still have to be formed.

"Who knows what craftsmanship they have? They worship Misquatel, the god of hunting, and there have always been many bowmakers. The leather, silk thread, bone glue and wood used should be homemade or from the Nahua people or Mayans on the seaside. Trade, those Mayan merchants have many sources of goods. But it doesn’t matter, without bows and arrows, our warriors swept the world just like that.”

"Sweeping the world? It is true now. But in the future, the world will sweep us away." Xiulot thought with a wry smile.

Spears, bows and arrows, leather armor, Xiulot seriously thought about the shortcomings and improvements of the legion. On the whole, the political structure of the city-states in Mexico is similar to the early Greek city-states, or the fifty princes in the Western Zhou Dynasty. However, the military equipment and organizational level were barely maintained in the Spring and Autumn Period when Wu and Yue fought for hegemony. Only military mobilization capabilities reached the level of the Warring States Qin Dynasty.

"There are no cavalry, no archers, and no heavy infantry. This is still hundreds of years away from the Roman Legion or the Great Qin Army. Europe is already in the era of matchlock guns and plate armor." Xiulot looked up at the sky. , Acap also followed to find novelties in the sky.

"Metal, only copper ore. Copper spear, copper armor, hoplites, Macedonian phalanx." Shulot's eyes lit up, then dimmed again. The only known copper mine was in the hands of the Tarascos.

"There is a long way to go." Shulot muttered words that no one could understand. "Fortunately, I still have time."

At this time, a messenger hurriedly came from the south gate, bringing a message: "The king's army has set out from the capital!"