In the center of Tenochtitlan are the pyramids and the Great Temple, and near the temple sits a large palace. That was the Tratoani of Trochititlan, the residence of the highest priest and supreme commander. Lan
Aztlan has many city-states, and each city-state has a ruler called a "Telatoani". Each Tratoani's status in the city-state is close to that of the king. Only the Tratoani of Tenochtitlan had the highest authority. He rules the entire Aztlan like an emperor, deciding the wealth, life and death of everyone in Aztlan.
Especially this term of Tlatoani, Motekusoma III, he expanded the territory of Aztlan to an unprecedented scale, ruling almost more than half of the land known to the Aztlan people. He thus gained unprecedented supreme power, standing high above the sky, just like the most important, noble, and indispensable sun. Therefore, Motekusoma III also has a special title-"Sun King".
However, today's Sun King's face was even gloomier than the dark clouds. Reports related to hailstorms came one after another, with hundreds of acres of farmland damaged, thousands of chinampas destroyed, and tens of thousands of houses smashed... The losses caused by the disaster were already worth the annual tribute collected from a large city-state. Total amount of endowment. And this was just the loss of one city-state, Tenochtitlan. When the losses from other Aztlan city-states are reported, this number will increase more than ten times.
"This is already the fourth year!" Mokut Soma roared. "The first year was the locusts, which ate up all our crops, for which I sacrificed a hundred hearts; the second year was the flood, It flooded our streets, for which I sacrificed a thousand hearts; in the third year there was a severe frost, which froze our crops, for which I sacrificed ten thousand hearts! We have had no food for three years Enough food has been produced! The grain in the Wang family's barn is almost empty, and all our prisoners and slaves have been killed. What on earth can I do to make the gods happy again!"
Seeing that the Sun King was angry, everyone below didn't even dare to say a word. He was afraid that if he said the wrong word, Mokutsoma would be turned into a sacrifice on the altar - he had done this more than once.
"Have you done anything to make the gods angry?" Mokutsoma continued to roar, "Today is the Trakasi Pevalistli Festival! Isn't there a sacrificial ceremony being held at the temple? Gods Why did the hail fall? What went wrong?
No one wanted to say anything. Seeing this, Mokutsoma panted like a bull and stretched his toes in front of a priest who was kneeling on the ground: "Weren't you on the altar at that time? Tell me immediately what happened on the altar!" Lan
The priest's body trembled, and he replied with some fear: "Sun King, actually, this ceremony did not go smoothly!"
Mokutsoma twisted his neck with a squeak: "It didn't go smoothly? What happened?"
"Among the prisoners of war was a disciple of Master Querakiri. She shamelessly hid a weapon, and the gods must have been angry because of it. In order to teach her a lesson, I ordered the killing of her other companions..."
Before the priest finished speaking, Mokutsoma suddenly grabbed his shoulders and lifted him above his head. The priest's figure was considered fat, but Mokutsoma lifted him as easily as he lifted a baby. He bulging his eyes, grabbed the priest, walked a few steps to a step, and threw the priest straight down according to the edge of the step!
"It's just a hidden weapon. Can't our warriors duel normally? Whoever loses will be skinned!"
After this fall, the priest's head immediately turned into a lake of flesh and blood, and it was no longer possible to answer Mokutsoma's words. So Mokutsoma walked up to another priest who was kneeling on the ground and asked in a horrifying voice: "So, how is that disciple of Master Kuilachiri doing now?"
The priest tremblingly replied: "She dragged our eagle warrior and jumped off the pyramid together. We found two pools of blood under the pyramid..." Lan
"So, she's dead?"
"No, both pools of blood belong to us! At that time, a soldier was patrolling under the pyramid, and he died somehow. Judging from the injuries on his body, it seemed that he was killed by a sharp weapon falling from the sky. And we searched everywhere We searched around the pyramid and found no clues about the disciple of Master Querachili. There was no blood at all on the ground, and she escaped unscathed!"
Mokutsoma shouted loudly, and suddenly kicked the priest's body over with a flying kick:
"Quilachri! I have looked for him many times. I have given him cocoa beans, cotton, gems, gold, feather ornaments, all valuable things, but he has never come to see me. He has never refused! What on earth is he going to do!”
Just as he was about to continue venting his anger, a report came: Nesa Hualcoyotl, Telatoani of Texcoco, had arrived.
Texcoco was a city-state in Aztlan. Like Tenochtitlan, it was the backbone of Aztlan. Every time there was a war in Aztlan, Texcoco, Tenochtitlan, and a city-state named Tlacopan acted as the main force. As for the spoils, Tlacopan received 20%, and Texcoco and Tenochtitlan shared 50% of the remaining 80%. Although the rulers of Tenochtitlan were nominally of higher status than the other two city-states, Texcoco was more like a vassal of Tenochtitlan than a vassal of Tenochtitlan. Tran's ally.
This is a guest that Mokutsoma cannot ignore. He immediately left the priests and nobles behind and went out of the city to meet Nezahual Coyotel. The man who was kicked by the priest rolled around on the priest's floor several times, scratching his skin a lot, but he was not sad but happy - at least, he survived smoothly from the angry Mokutsoma. Lan
Unlike the burly Mokut Soma, Nesa Hualcoyotl appeared elegant and easy-going, with a bouquet of flowers on his chest. He was both a king and a poet. During his reign, he built a library, a zoo, and a university to educate poets in Texcoco. He brought a gift to Mokut Soma - four thousand cloaks, eight hundred bundles of peppers, and twenty packets of feathers. This made Mokut Soma feel a lot better.
However, Nesa Hualcoyotl remained sullen. Mokutsoma entertained him with meat sprinkled with fresh human blood, and he was not happy either. During the banquet, he sighed several times, and finally made up his mind and said:
】
"Mokut Soma, when I came this time, I brought very bad news."
"Neza Hualcoyotel, once you came, all the bad news turned into good news." Mokutsoma patted him on the shoulder: "Have you seen Tenochtitlan? The year before last We just joined forces to build levees to withstand the floods, and today there is hail again. What news could be worse than this?"
"What I am going to say is related to this matter. A year ago, I sent a visiting group of 60 priests, carrying cloth and gems, to go north to find the hometown of our ancestors. Because there is a prophecy that we can Find there the mother of Huitzilopochtli, the sun god of war.”
"I know the prophecy." Mokutsoma personally poured a glass of wine made from agave juice for Nezahualcóyotel. "Did the result go well?"
"We didn't find the mother of the Sun God of War, but my group of priests got a new prophecy on a mountain-like island." Lan
Nesa Hualcoyotel drank the wine in one gulp, and then said somewhat depressedly:
"The prophecy says that Huitzilopochtli, the sun war god, is about to lose his power, and we, Aztlan, are about to run out of energy!"
Mokutsoma was stunned. He never dreamed that Nesa Hualcoyotl would bring him such bad news.
"No wonder so many disasters have occurred in the past four years. Is our Fifth Era coming to an end? No, no, no -" Mokut Soma grabbed Nesa Hualcoyotl's hand and used a He asked in a pleading but hopeful tone, "Nezahualcyotel, with your knowledge, you must have found a solution, right?"
Nesa Hualcoyotel broke free from Mokutsoma's hand and raised two fingers with red eyes: "I rummaged through my library and only found two ways. The first one is to go to the east of the sea. , to retrieve the missing Quetzalcoatl, the Quetzalcoatl. And the second one is for someone among you and me to master the 'crown' level magic to succeed Huitzilopochtli and become the new sun. !”
