Aztec Eternals

Dry dry season, mild sunshine, lush forests, rolling mountains. The villages of the Otomi people are always placed in the valleys between the mountains, where flowing springs gather to moisten the barren bean fields. A shallow fence was erected outside the village to guard against coyotes. Small sheds are built around the village to raise turkeys and native dogs.

This crude defense means nothing to the warriors. The mountain people who are fettered by the village are like a bird whose feet are tied. Under the pounce of the cat, there is nothing left but a weak cry.

Soon, villages and farmlands were ablaze, and women and children were driven away, leaving behind only black smoke that blotted out the sun. This is brutal war.

Xiulot followed the team of 200 people, watching everything in front of him silently. His Three Views are like a block of iron, constantly being hammered, changed, and forged into steel.

He didn't know how Avet had persuaded the commander-in-chief. Maybe it's food, maybe it's efficiency, maybe it's friendship, maybe it's the future. Early the next morning, Totek changed his plan and divided the warriors into a team of 200 people, burned the village, executed the men, but spared the women and children, and drove them to Guamare as much as possible.

The process of destruction accelerated rapidly, and after a few more days, the villages within two days of Guamare had disappeared, and there were tens of thousands of hungry women and children in the camp. destroying.

Avit sent envoys to negotiate with Guamare City, and there was a quarrel at the scene, but no agreement was reached.

At night, Shulot saw messengers quietly coming to the camp, and then sacks of grain were hoisted down from the top of the city. After receiving two weeks of food for 8,000 people, Totek nodded with satisfaction.

Early the next morning, the army was preparing to break out of camp. Before leaving, Xiulot took one last look at Guamare City. Priests in black and white robes were also at the head of the city, watching the retreating Mexica legion below the city.

In the distance, the coyote young priest and the black and white old priest looked at each other, only seeing faint dots, unable to hear each other, only complex emotions surging.

Shulot shook his head and turned to leave. But I saw a young follower warrior digging a small hole in the ground with a wooden shovel. Then he put a small bag of cotton cloth into the pit and buried it again. There is something vaguely wrapped in the small bag.

Finally, the young warrior fell to his knees, prayed to the sun, and chanted the name of the god "Vizilopochtli".

Shulot was a little surprised, looked at the young warrior and asked, "My warrior, what kind of ceremony is this?"

The follower respectfully replied: "Dear priest, this is not a formal ceremony. I just gave birth to a boy last year before joining the war. His umbilical cord is in the cloth bag, and I always carry it with me."

"This is supposed to be the farthest battlefield I can reach. According to warrior custom, I buried my son's umbilical cord here, praying for the protection of the god of war. So that when he grows up, he can become a powerful Mexica warrior. , together with the Mexica Legion, set foot on this land again and completely conquer the Otomi people."

"Is it a warrior's custom?" Shulot murmured, and then nodded to the warrior: "The great patron saint will bless you and your son! We will come back again."

The legion set off immediately, burned down the camp outside Guamare, released the useless prisoners, and headed towards Ottopan.

The returning Mexica legion turned into a squid, and the warrior squad continued to stretch away like tentacles, and the warriors continued to return. Along the way, there were burning flames, fields turned into ashes, and scattered women. and children.

"Within twenty years, the city-state of Guamare will no longer be threatened." Avet walked, watching the fireworks along the way, and couldn't help sighing, "Because they can't get together the food for the expedition, and they can't get together." Without the manpower for logistics, even if there are still warriors, they can only stay in the city."

"But there are other city-states of the Otomi in the west." Shulot thought for a while.

"It's too far away, even if we send warriors, the food supply must come from Guamare." Avet smiled, "Not to mention, seeing the tragedy of Guamare, the small city-states of Tecaicos may not dare to continue Go to war."

Xiuluo nodded, which was also a deterrent.

"What's the situation with the king?" Shulot asked curiously.

"It's still the same." Avit shook his head, "The Ottopans couldn't be killed. The king was a little impatient, and tried to attack once, and was shot all the way from the bottom of the mountain. The ladder didn't reach the top of the city yet. Stones fell one after another. After trying to climb up once, the ladder was quickly pushed down, and the warriors in the lead disappeared. It is estimated that more than 400 warriors were killed, more than 500 militiamen were killed, and even more were injured."

Shulot also shook his head, "Another battalion was broken. This kind of mountain city cannot be taken down by force. The king has lost his head this time."

"Haha." Avet smiled lightly, "Totek is not here, and the king alone is not good at fighting. Casar is greedy for merit, and he is not a qualified commander in the siege battle."

"Indeed." Shulot thought for a moment about the king's theologian qualities, as well as the grandfather's dedication song.

"In the end, it's all about the food road. The efficiency of the food road in the mountains is too low," Xiulot said.

"I remember that the west of the capital is still connected to the Lema River. The Lema River flows along the plateau and flows westward through the Mexica city-state of Tepanikapan, and then flows westward across the border between the Otomi and Tarascos. , can flow to the southern border of the Ottopan city-state, and even to the mountains and forests in the south of the Guamare city-state."

"The shortest distance from this river to Ottopan City is less than a week's mountain road. If this river can be used, the Otomi people will not be able to threaten our food roads." Xiulot analyzed the situation that broke the situation. possible.

Avet turned to face the south, the mountains and rivers to the south, and across the river, there were the Tarascos.

"It is indeed the shortest route," Avit agreed, "but the Lema River is right under the eyes of the Tarascos. The Tarascos' legions can arrive at any time."

"We can't put the key node of food supply here, otherwise once the Tarascos declare war, the army will be cut off from supply."

"What if we maintain two supply lines at the same time?" Shulot pondered.

"This is the key now. We can't figure out the attitude of the Tarasco people, and we don't want to provoke them." Avit tapped his forehead lightly with his hand, "The scouts found that the Tarasco people were fighting with the Otomi people." Gather legions on the northern border of the North. There is a high probability that the weak Otomi will be invaded north, but we must also be careful."

"Actually, I am more worried about the movement of the Tlaxcalans, the life-and-death enemy of the alliance, than the changes of the Tarascos. This war has been going on for a long time. Now all the nearby forces have been mobilized, Prepare for war."

Xiulot was also worried, but this worry could not change the overall situation.

"Maybe, retiring from the army is the best choice."

The return journey of more than half a month passed quickly. Along with the black smoke along the way, the Mexica Legion mercilessly destroyed the foundation of the Otomi people and plundered the food along the way.

When he saw the solid mountain city standing in the distance again, Xiulot was already tired physically and mentally. The legion soon returned to the besieged camp, and Totek ordered it disbanded.

Shulot dragged his tired body back to the familiar hut with the help of Bertard.

The moment he entered the room, he finally relaxed, raised his head and shook off his feather crown, and yawned long. Then take out a piece of wood and write and draw on it. Then he let go of the pen, threw his head up on the deerskin carpet, and fell into a deep sleep.

Berthard gently carried Xiulot to the bed, and looked at the boy's sleeping face, he smiled slightly. Then covered the boy with a thin quilt.

Then he picked up the wooden board on the table, and saw a black tengu painted on the left, a three-color feathered snake painted on the right, and a line of writing underneath.

"War. And. Peace. Peace." Bertard recognized the Chinese characters word by word, and then couldn't help but sigh, "The priest is really a person who loves to learn."