Shulot lay on the soft straw bed, tossing and turning all night long.
The young man listened to the night rain outside the window, and the continuous pounding of raindrops seemed to hit his heart. His thoughts were like the long wind, drifting thousands of miles in the blink of an eye, flying to the distant capital city in the lake, landing on a graceful figure that he didn't recognize yet, trying hard to see clearly the smile of that beautiful figure.
Night always makes people think sharply. Shulot clearly understood that this political marriage was the most important guarantee for the alliance between the two forces, and there was no possibility of cancellation or change.
As for Shulot himself, he felt a little awkward and had many longings, imaginations, and expectations, which were complicated and difficult to describe. Regardless of his past life or this life, he is still a young man emotionally.
Early the next morning, when the genius dawned, Shulot stood up abruptly. He casually put on a robe and went to find his old friend Akap who lived next to him.
Akap also got up early. He was wearing neat priestly robes, his hair was combed, and he was wearing a formal feather crown. He was sitting in the tent, holding a wooden board in his hands and studying. The young man took a closer look and saw that it was the first version of Chinese characters revised by himself and Avitt.
"Akapu, what do you think of this text?" The young man thought for a while and then talked about it first.
"Very good! The text you invented has accurate meaning, standardized writing, neat and beautiful appearance. It is not only conducive to upper and lower communication, but also convenient for teaching knowledge and helping to pass on culture." Akapu smiled and nodded in approval.
"Do you think grandpa will be happy to use these words? Can it be promoted on a large scale?" the young man asked with some worry.
"The high priest shouldn't object, especially since you invented this." Akap thought for a moment and smiled. "He has always had the idea of reforming religion. Over the years, he has also guided the city-state priests to discover and organize the stories and records of Quetzalcoatl."
"However, other priests may not be happy to see the written specifications. The biggest resistance will definitely come from the chief priests in the capital."
"The Chief Priest Kechar has always been rigid and stubborn. Their line has held the power to interpret mythological records for generations, and they often use celestial signs and legends to interfere in the internal affairs of the alliance. The Chief Priest Group itself owns many fertile lands and a large number of warrior followers. This kind of The change in writing will touch their fundamental interests, and there will definitely be a violent counterattack." Akap analyzed seriously, and he looked at the young man with some worry.
Shulot nodded. The priest class is deeply rooted in the alliance and controls the hearts of warriors and civilians. If you want to forcibly overthrow the priest class, you are going against the majority of the people in the alliance, which means self-destruction.
For the priestly class, there was only the Reformation. The standardization and popularization of writing is actually a kind of educational reform. Next, he needs to stand with the reformists within the priesthood, constantly attack and eliminate the traditional conservatives, and at the same time improve the literacy rate of warriors and civilians.
Then there is the reduction of priestly privileges, modification of human sacrifice rituals, improvement of theological theory, sorting out the clergy system, decision on the unity or separation of church and state, and so on. These reforms can only be advanced step by step. It takes time to gather people's hearts and wait for the situation to develop further, thus nurturing the soil for the next reform.
The religious reform he hoped for was destined to be a long and difficult process, unless some uncontrollable force suddenly swept away all obstacles.
After a few small words, the young man looked around again. Well, there was no one around, not even Bertard.
He then sat down next to Acap, took his old friend's arm, and asked in a low voice: "Acap, that... Alyssa, the princess you proposed for me yesterday, um, princess... Well, is she good-looking? What's her personality like?"
Acap was stunned for a moment, and then the corners of his mouth twitched.
He suppressed his laughter and asked jokingly: "The princess is only eleven years old. She is still in the stage of home education and is not old enough to go to school in Kalmykak. How could I have seen it? You should ask about this matter." His Royal Highness, Brother Wang.”
The young man thought for a while, and indeed, should he ask Avitt? Then he touched his still aching cheek, and suddenly shuddered when he remembered Avitt's fierce eyes. "Forget it."
"Actually, you don't have to worry about the princess's appearance, Shulot." Akap laughed, "What do you think of His Royal Highness?"
"Pretty good." Shulot thought about Avitt's handsome face and distinct facial contours, and answered matter-of-factly.
"In this case, the king's wife is also a famous beauty in the capital, so how could their daughter be unsatisfactory? As for character, the royal family's tutoring has always been strict. And the princess is still young, so nothing has been finalized. If you are really worried, take the initiative Get in touch more.”
"You need to cultivate feelings between each other and experience beautiful things together. At the same time, you must be kind and guide the girl's simple thoughts. When the princess grows up, she will be like soybeans entwined with corn, growing up clinging to each other. You will definitely be a perfect fit!" Karp smiled and followed the instructions.
In the young man's eyes, his old friend's gentle and jade-like face suddenly shone with "wisdom".
"Akapu, you are so smart!" The young man stood up suddenly, hugged Akapu happily, and babbled excitedly, "Let me recall it carefully and write a plan seriously!"
Acap just smiled softly and touched the boy's forehead, um, not bad.
The relaxing time passed quickly. In the evening of this day, Akapu changed into civilian clothes and said goodbye to the commander and the boy. Accompanied by several intelligence officers, he was going to the Otopan siege camp in the rain.
Then, Acap needs to get in touch with the leader of Shusok there, inform the high priest and the king's brother of the decision to form an alliance, and integrate the Teotihuacan city-state legion into the alliance.
Avit also sent envoys separately. While he contacted the officers at all levels in the siege camp, he kept the next plan strictly confidential and was just testing the attitude of the generals. In this way, he can confirm his old subordinates who still obey him, judge the wavering neutrals, and clarify the king's die-hard loyalty. His identity as chief intelligence officer gave him great operational convenience and cover.
On the other side, messengers were also communicating with supporters in the three cities of the capital. He showed goodwill to the great nobles and the High Priesthood, ensuring that they would at least remain neutral in subsequent actions. He made full promises to the small nobles and grassroots warriors, and formed a team of staunch supporters from the legions he had previously commanded.
Finally, the commander began to purge his more than 10,000 warriors: first marginalizing the officers loyal to the king. Then, based on the rewards for recent military exploits, officers who are loyal to them will be promoted. Then, in the name of victory in the battle, he generously rewarded ordinary warriors and militiamen, thus gathering the morale of the army.
Shulot stayed with his followers all day long, practicing martial arts and writing. Recently, he felt a little nervous when facing Avitt, so he decided to hide and adjust for a few days.
He now has 500 followers and has formed a bodyguard group of warriors, with Bertard serving as the warrior commander of the bodyguard group. Relying on the backbone sent by his father, his bodyguard regiment already looked like a strong force. The young man attaches great importance to the writing learning of his followers. He plans to train the Guards into a future officer corps and at the same time experiment with new tactics.
The Longbow Guards in the army also fall under his leadership. There are now one hundred and fifty longbows, and the guard has a full two hundred people, all of whom are relatively senior warriors. They have been exposed to spear throwing, have a basic sense of distance for long-range shooting, and the skills of aiming and shooting.
Shulot secretly opened a training base in the mountains and forests not far away. Rain or shine, he trained the Longbow Guards for days. At this time, their training program has been changed from overall horizontal shooting and projectile to focused fire at fixed targets within two hundred meters.
Time passed in the wind and rain, and the waves surged under the river. An invisible web is slowly and steadily unfolding.
Another two weeks passed by in a hurry, and there was peace on both sides of the river. Until one drizzly afternoon, a canoe suddenly arrived again.
The scout, covered in mud and water, flew forward and fell into the tent. He had just arrived from the city of Xilotepec, day and night. He had been walking non-stop for six days, and the boat had been rowing, and he was almost completely exhausted.
"The city of Hilotepec rebelled seven days ago! The Otomi people simultaneously attacked the grain transportation camp on the banks of the Tampen River and the grain storage camp in the mountains. The specific casualty information is not yet known, but the information provided to the Otomi people The logistics channel for Toppan’s siege camp has been temporarily cut off!”
The commander-in-chief and the boy looked at each other. The two looked calm and nodded gently: "Finally here!"
Early the next morning, Camp Tarasco on the other side of the river was also abuzz. Just after noon, Tarasco's boat division was dispatched repeatedly up and down the long river, transporting many militia squads across the river, making a gesture of large-scale attack.
"The beginning of the rainy season has passed, and everything in the world is developing. It is really a perfect harmony between heaven and man." The young man stood on the hill, raised his head slightly, looked at the rainy sky, and looked at the magnificent heaven, earth and river.
There was peace in the young man's heart, and even a trace of leisure. Now that things are coming to an end, it is time to be bold! He looked at the world in his eyes with a smile, and strode forward firmly, as if the world was coming towards him.
