Pure sunshine falls from the sky, full of curiosity about the prosperous world. When it falls on the left side of the Great Temple, it turns into the gentle Mayan blue of the Rain Temple. When it falls on the right side of the Great Temple, it turns into the thick volcanic red of the War Temple.
It continues down, dancing in the noble palaces and shining gilded light spots, condensed in the ancient black patterns of the warrior courtyard, scattered on the generous white stone walls of the civilian houses, and then overflowing with light, blending into the long green-feathered crown of the priest, blending into The gold and silver jewelry of the nobles, the long stick of the warrior's obsidian stone, the white cloth robe of the common people, reflected the light again, fell into Shulot's black eyes, and illuminated his brown pupils. The world of young people is so colorful!
Shulot walked among the solemn and majestic army, intoxicated by the beautiful scenery along the way. He walked along the white and wide bridge, crossed the sparkling water canal, entered the boundary of the main city, and came to the noble garden area. In front of him was a gorgeous and exquisite scene.
The gentle breeze blows, the faint sweetness of rushes drifts along the river, and the fragrance of Avevit pines and cypresses floats beside the embankment. And when Shulot passed by the courtyard of a noble, he always smelled the fragrance of different kinds of flowers, which lingered in the hearts of passers-by. His gaze crossed the low wall, where the magnificent tropical flowers were dazzlingly blooming, hiding behind the flower wall, he peeked at the fair ladies marching by the warriors.
"The flowers have faded to red and green, and the apricots are small. When the swallows fly, the green water is surrounded by people. There are few willows blowing on the branches. There is no fragrant grass anywhere in the world!"
Shulot took off his helmet and nodded to the lady with a smile. The lady returned the favor with a smile, revealing her pretty face without makeup and her neck wearing a turquoise necklace. This is a symbol of wisdom and also represents the noble students who studied in Kalmykak between the ages of fifteen and twenty.
There are fragrant grasses on the road and orchids in the courtyard. Flowers were a symbol of samurai life, gardens were a sign of nobility, and flowers were gifts to gods and lords. Tenochtitlan is the city on the lake, the city of white stones, the city of temples, and the city of flowers.
The messenger from the Great Temple has been waiting here for a long time. According to the high etiquette, the messenger respectfully presented a beautiful wreath and a bunch of bright feathers to Avitt. The garlands are plucked from flowers from the botanical gardens near the lake and woven by the temple's holy women. The botanical garden houses a variety of exotic flowers and plants as tribute, and is also a favorite herb collection point for priests.
The feathers also come from the city's bird zoo, a small island located in the East Lake of the capital, where egrets, cardinals, hummingbirds, crested pheasants, swifts, and many other brightly colored birds are attracted by the food. On the west side of the main island in the middle of the capital lake, there is an exquisitely built beast zoo, which contains smart tamarins, dexterous deer, cute guinea pigs, burrowing armadillos and tree-climbing lynxes.
To the north of the Beast Zoo and west of the city center, there is a city lake of nearly 100 acres. The surrounding area is carved with white stone and is divided into different small blocks. It houses ornamental and edible freshwater fish, colorful tropical fish, and strange carnivorous fish from the far south.
As usual, Avit tied feathers on his helmet, then put on a garland, and led by the messenger to the temple of Quesaltzin, the god of fire, not far to the south. The royal musicians then played the loud conches, stretched out the alto horns, and beat the thick leather drums, singing the praises of the world from gods to kings to warriors.
On the way down, Xiulote saw many interesting community street signs, and Hugos smiled and explained them beside him. The community of "Toldenko" is painted with rushes and is close to the waterway; the community of "Akaltan" is painted with reeds and is close to the lake; the community of "Amanalco" is painted with ponds and is newly filled in; and There is a community of "Ashui Donko" painted with long grass, located in the center of the island.
These names represent what the land beneath our feet looked like when the community was first founded. But now, Shulot looked around. On top of the soil and stones of the past, there were straight pines and cypresses, bright flowers, white stone bridges, painted houses, and bustling people saluting. There are also temples that can be seen everywhere, with gold and silver carved statues in the temples, the lingering scent of rosin, and the gorgeous singing of community priests, offering blessings to the returning king.
Accompanied by singing and rosin, the team headed southeast. His eyes gradually stretched, and on the east bank of the capital, a long white embankment finally appeared in Shulot's eyes.
This magnificent causeway stretches across the north and south for more than ten kilometers. Like the whip waved by the patron saint, it directly divides Lake Texcoco into two halves. On the west side is a carefully developed freshwater lake. The lake water is drawn from the Prepecha Highlands along a hundred-kilometer long canal, watering Chinampa along the way, and also supplying hundreds of thousands of citizens in the capital.
On the east side, there is a saltwater lake with thousands of boats, carrying merchant ships from all over the world, leading to the wider north-south water system, all the way to the Caribbean Sea. The causeway regulates the salt content of the east and west lakes and protects the capital from floods during the rainy season. This is a masterpiece of the chief architect of Mexico and is similar to the grand design of Dujiangyan.
On the east and west sides, light blue or dark blue, rippling with beating melody, flashes silver light in the sun, and then connects with the distant sky and merges into the garden of the gods.
"Smoke willows paint bridges, wind curtains and green curtains are scattered among hundreds of thousands of homes. Clouds and trees surround the dike and sand, raging waves roll up frost and snow, and the sky is boundless!"
Faced with the beauty and magnificence of this world, what can Shulot say. He just smiled unconsciously, pursuing the three-autumn osmanthus and the ten-mile lotus in his memory. Then thousands of troops gathered around, waiting for one day to drink and get drunk, to listen to flutes and drums, and to sing and enjoy the haze!
After walking for more than an hour, we passed through more than a dozen communities. The army finally arrived at the Temple of Quesarteszin, the God of Fire, a flat-topped pyramid more than twenty meters high, with the temple located on the top of the tower. Quesaltzin is the Mexica god of fire, lord of turquoise, and the Elder God. His other name was Vevete Otel, from which the meaning of "Vevey" the Elder comes.
The Fire Temple is not very tall, but it is extremely wide. The wall is made of red volcanic rock, which is extremely strong and durable, like a small fortress. At the outer entrance of the core area of the capital, there are four armories, which protect the core of the Great Temple area, the royal palace area, the residences of the great nobles and the capital market.
This is the northern armory and a strong northern stronghold. The southern armory is the corresponding temple of Shulotel, the god of death, the western armory is the Civilian Military Academy of Tel Bochkarli, and the eastern armory is the temple of the southern star in the southeast. There are usually several squads of warriors stationed in the armory to guard the order and security of the capital, and also to guard the core ruling class. The temples and military schools are tall and solid, natural boulder fortresses.
However, in the half century since they were built, none of the four armories has performed the military function of a stronghold. Because with the establishment of the Aztec Empire, no enemy could invade the capital. Mexico's wars are always unilateral expansion, bringing back countless tributes to water the blooming capital city in the lake.
In the temple is a several-meter-high statue of the God of Fire. The God of Fire is a strong man carved from rock. He wears a gold headband marked with fire symbols. His face is red and black, with silver teeth protruding from both sides of his mouth. His upper body is exposed, and he wears countless turquoise inlays on his chest. butterfly ornament, behind which is a brightly colored obsidian knife.
Under the leadership of the temple priest, everyone entered the temple and saluted the God of Fire in batches. The priest of the god of fire presented a turquoise breast ornament to Avit and tied it on the king's chest. Shulot also bowed and made wishes, praying for the wisdom enlightened by turquoise.
Next came batches of direct samurai. They prayed in small groups to wish for the end of the war and a safe return. When the solemn prayers were completed, the warriors paid homage to Avit, then temporarily dispersed and returned to their own communities. Next, the army will not enter the core of the capital.
According to the norms of Mexica's military society, the core temple area has the highest majesty, while the palace area is not open to ordinary warriors. This is the prestige of the royal family and the great temple, and should not be damaged at will.
After returning to the capital, Gillim had contacted the intelligence agency again and confirmed that the elder Tracaelal did not object to Avit's accession to the throne. Along the way, the welcome ceremony at the Great Temple is also that of a king. So after a simple discussion, Avitt disbanded the legion at the armory in accordance with political rules, leaving only the newly replenished two thousand family warriors.
The disbanding of the Legion took several hours. Kuruca, Barda and Bergire all said goodbye to Shulot in turn. They wanted to return to their long-awaited home, embrace their missing relatives, thank the God of Death for leaving their lives, and thank the God of War for allowing them to return victoriously. Only Bertard, who was alone, still accompanied Xilot. The vicissitudes of life were engraved on his calm face, just like the volcanic rocks outside the temple that had been refined for thousands of years.
When two thousand warriors once again surrounded the king's flag and went south, the sun was already setting in the west. As we go towards the core of the city, the terrain becomes wider and wider, and the river gradually disappears. This is the center of the large island in the middle of the lake, where the capital of Mexico was first established, and where the temple area is located.
The vast temple area is neatly surrounded by three-meter-high stone walls. These once tall stone walls are now so small that they are not worth mentioning, lying at the foot of the great temple. It is worth mentioning that the stone walls are full of vivid serpentine reliefs, forming a strict square, and the length of each side is 365 meters. This is perhaps a surprising coincidence, symbolizing the 365 days of the year in the Mayan solar calendar.
The temple area contains dozens of different temples. The more important thing is the east and west corners, where there are two single pyramids with a height of 40 meters. One is dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, the Quetzalcoatl god. He has the incarnation of the god of wind, sky, and stars. He wears a mask in the shape of an eagle's head, curved shell pendants in his ears, and a shining conch on his chest.
The other is dedicated to the Prime Sun, Tezcatlipoca, who is also the god of night, magic, divination and destiny. He has a black face and body, a yellow headband, changing mirrors instead of feet, and different weapons. Then surround him.
The center of the temple area, the center of the city in the lake, the center of the Aztec Empire, and even the center of the Mexica world is the projection of the Kingdom of God on the human world, the sanctuary for communication between humans and gods, the sixty-meter-high The Twin Pyramids, the unrivaled great temple!
Thulot crossed the wall. He tried hard to raise his head and let the long feathers on his head hang down. Then he opened his mouth and forgot what to say. He could only watch the spectacle of this classical era quietly, with surging emotions in his heart.
The majestic temple is like a mountain, towering into the clouds, occupying all sight lines. The base of the great temple is two to three hundred meters long and wide. It is built purely with white boulders and supports the majestic upper platform. On top of the base are twin pyramids, consisting of four sloping steps, each about ten meters high, connected by a passage in the middle.
Climb the four steps along the passage to reach the top of the pyramid, a huge platform. The platform is 100 meters long and 80 meters wide, like a throne holding the gods. And above the flat roof is the temple high in the sky.
The temple is twenty meters high. On the left is the Maya Blue Rain Temple, dedicated to the god of rain, agriculture, and storm god Tlaloc. On the right is the volcanic red Temple of War, dedicated to the God of War, the Sun God, and the patron saint Huitzilopochtli. The blue color of the temple represents the rainy season and the summer solstice, while the red color represents blood and war.
These are the two most important gods in Mexica belief: Tlaloc grants good harvests in the fields and prevents the flooding of lakes, while Huitzilopochtli grants victory in war and brings light to the world. Along with the belief in the two gods, agriculture and war are like the instincts in the body, engraved in the flesh and bones of the Mexica people, guiding the advancement of the empire.
There is a huge brazier in front of each temple, and the holy fire is constantly burning all year round. The fire originated from the end of the previous 52-year cycle, the doomsday sacrificial ceremony in 1455. On the last day of that year, the then chief priest climbed to the top of the sacred mountain of Estela, waiting for the appearance of the Pleiades star cluster. Then, he lit the sacred fire in the chest of the avatar sacrifice, and was escorted by the most elite warriors until the sacred fire was rekindled in the great temple. This means that the world will turn again for the next 52 years.
The warriors of the Empire will always have a visceral sense of urgency. They must continue to wage war to please the gods in heaven and avoid the end of the world. War became as much a part of a samurai's life as death followed.
The entrance to the temple is guarded by hundreds of temple warriors. And among the warriors who are as silent as sculptures, there are real sculptures of outstanding warriors of all ages. In a resolute manner, they held a flag several meters long and wide, with two gods in different postures flying on the flag. This represents the loyalty and devotion of nobles and warriors to the gods.
Shulot looked carefully and saw that the flag was lifelike. Tlaloc has a mask that covers his eyes, a headdress of heron feathers, fangs of a jaguar, and holds a golden cornstalk or symbolic lightning rod in one hand, and a kettle that brings rain in the other. His background is the sacrificial jaguar.
Huitzilopochtli wears a blue-green hummingbird helmet, with feathers blooming like the sun in his hair, yellow and blue stripes on his face, and holds a scepter like a snake and a mirror in one hand. The scepter also looks like a projection. Spear, shield with eagle feather in one hand, always ready for battle. His background is the sacrificial two-legged sacrifice.
This is the most outstanding painter using the most expensive paint, with the greatest reverence and fear, to depict the gods in the hearts of the Mexica people. As for what the real gods look like? But the decision lies in the hands of immortal figures.
From the temple to the base, the entire large temple is covered with thick black stripes and colorful paintings. The sinuous and ferocious snake is the most common image, followed by the jaguar favored by the rain god, and the eagle favored by the war god. The side facing the God of Rain is dotted with simple figures of corn, beans, pumpkins and cacti, while the side of the God of War is decorated with various captured birds and beasts.
The Great Temple is like the sacred mountain that descended into the world in mythology, standing high in the center of the capital city in the lake. Legend has it that the rain god Trolok came from the sacred mountain, and the god of war conquered the other gods in the Snake Mountain. The mountain is the source of the image of the Great Temple. And successive generations of monarchs have continued to expand the size of the mountain.
Since it was first completed in 1325, the Great Temple has been enlarged four times, each time creating a larger monolithic outer layer outside the original temple. In other words, within the twin pyramids in front of you, there are four levels of nested temples. Now, the fifth expansion is underway, which will continue to expand the outer walls of the pyramid but leave the temple unchanged. Every time the expansion is completed, it means a large-scale sacrifice of unprecedented scale. From the animals loved by the Rain God to the necessary sacrifices to the God of War.
In front of the magnificent temple, there is a long transverse canal, which extends into several channels and leads to neatly arranged water tanks. Under the golden light of the setting sun, the top of the great temple turned into a dazzling heaven, while the reflection of the temple shone in the long canal, like a dazzling human world.
An unparalleled solemnity and mystery descended on the hearts of those who worshiped the ceremony. The praying crowd held the setting sun on their backs, devoutly prostrate themselves at the foot of the great temple, trembling to feel the light of God. This even includes hundreds of family warriors.
Shulot looked up at the large temple in front of him, and he wanted to recite a few poems.
For example, "The palace is surrounded by red clouds holding the Purple Emperor, and the river is surrounded by clear electricity and auspiciousness."
Or, "The mountains are steep and the sea of clouds is there, the buildings are so high that they reach into the misty sky, I don't know where the palace is, and I look to the east at the vast mountains." But I always feel that something is wrong.
After thinking for a moment, Shulot realized the reason. In Chinese culture, gods are not worshiped as the supreme object. And all the magnificence of the so-called temples in this world only exist for gods, and are by no means a reflection of the human world.
So, the young man lowered his head slightly and faced the temple of the god. His emotions turned into an ancient hymn:
“Great praise is in the city of our God, on his holy mountain!”
The other side of the clouds and mountains. His eyes passed over the mountains.
At this time, on the east side of the great temple where the setting sun dyed red, there was an unusually old man at the palace of the chief minister. He was using his divine gaze to pass by the palace gate and the royal flag that was approaching not far away, without any emotion at all.
Next to him is the kind-faced chief priest Kechar, who wears an obsidian crown, the highest priest's attire, and a gentle smile. Further back, there is the round-faced and slightly chubby priest elder Ugel, who stands with his hands tied, respectfully accompanying him.
"Dear elder, please take a look." Kechar bowed his head in greeting and pointed to the center of the team. There was a handsome, unusually young boy there, looking at the temple in the sky in shock.
The chief priest then smiled slightly: "The death of the king must be caused by that child!"
