The golden sun rises to the center of the sky and shines with the most dazzling light. The original sun has returned to its place in the sacrifice, and what follows is the blessing of the sun god.
The sun falls from the ceiling of the Temple of War, and the four-meter-high solid gold sculpture of Huitzilopochtli shines brightly. Around His neck is a necklace of hundreds of turquoise and yellow sapphires, glittering and translucent. In His right hand is a silver spear nearly three meters long, with a bright sapphire at the tip, symbolizing the power of lightning. In His left hand is a silver shield two meters in diameter, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, rubies and quetzal feathers.
Witnessed by the God of War, the God of the Sun and the God of Guardians, Avit wore the bright red Sun King costume, with the tall king's flag behind him. His left arm was covered with a feather shield, and with his hands free, he stood majestically in front of the Temple of War.
In front of him was the chief priest Kechar, who was also dressed as a god and had a solemn expression. Kechar raised the topaz's staff of inheritance with both hands and declared loudly to the sky.
"In the name of Huitzilopochtli, god of war, sun, and patron, a new sun has risen! Avitsso, grandson of the great Montezuma I, the beast of Lake Texcoco, Ter ascends the throne as the new Tratoani! The sun of Mexica will shine on his people again, leading the brave and fearless Mexica people to execute the will of the patron saint, to defeat the evil darkness, to conquer this world!"
In the large temple, Kechar's chant was high and exciting, and then hundreds of priests repeated it loudly, and the gorgeous chant shook the heaven and earth in an instant! At this moment, all the ceremonies in the temple area have stopped. The nobles and warriors of Mexico stood together, and the foreign merchants and envoys looked pale. There was solemnity between heaven and earth, except for the declaration of the gods.
Next, Avitt knelt down on one knee and raised his hands. Kechar then handed the scepter of inheritance into his hand with a dignified movement. This symbolizes the authority given by the gods to the king to rule the world of the Mexica people.
Avit then stood up and raised the staff with his right hand. The topaz shone brightly in the sun. Kechar then knelt on his knees and fell to the ground. This is the priest's loyalty to the king and following the king's will!
The chief priests immediately fell to the ground as well, followed by the feather-crested priests of all levels, then the nobles in fine uniforms, warriors in cotton armor, foreign merchants and envoys, and the slaves in the temple area.
The priest who conveyed the order ran all the way out of the temple area, shouting: "The king has ascended the throne, everyone salutes!" The priests along the way heard the sound and also shouted to pass it on, until they reached the edge of Lake Texcoco.
In Shulot's eyes, with the continuous shouting, the crowd fell to the ground in an instant, like a wave spreading from the center. The residents of the entire city stopped what they were doing, knelt down to the location of the great temple, and prostrated themselves in the soil in front of them.
"Congratulations to the king!" Kechar chanted again.
"Congratulations to the king!" The waves of voices rose and fell, and hundreds of thousands of people shouted, shaking away the clouds in the sky. From the golden statue, to the blue lake, to the distant sky!
Seeing this scene of thousands of people prostrate themselves, Avitt's face quickly glowed with excitement, and his face glowed red. He stared at the capital city at his feet for a moment, and couldn't help but open his arms to embrace his country.
"In the past, there was Chengtang, and the Di and Qiang came from there. No one dared not to come and enjoy it, and no one dared not to come to be king. It is said that Shang is the norm." Xiuluote sighed in his heart. In the past, Chengtang unified the world and gathered all the tribes in the Central Plains. This is what I think it is now. scene.
The salute lasted for two quarters of an hour before King Avit lifted the chief priest up. Then, the priests brought a huge brazier and placed it in front of the Temple of War. A priest who had already been arranged rushed over, holding a torch in his hand. This is the holy fire that is carried all the way from the top of the Holy Mountain of Estela, running all the way from early morning until noon.
"Light the sacred fire and pay tribute to the sun god!" Kechar sang.
King Avit took the sacred fire solemnly and lit the brazier in front of him. The blue fire suddenly exploded, and the pungent smoke quickly dispersed. The nobles and warriors under the great temple once again screamed and fell to the ground. After a while, the fire gradually became smaller and turned into a normal bright yellow color.
This is a new link added by the chief priests after witnessing the Tarascan people's sacrificial rituals. A certain amount of sulfur is placed in the brazier to color it, and liquid grease is added to aid combustion.
Seeing the people's subdued performance, Kechar nodded slightly. The effect was indeed good.
"Cut off the flesh and blood and pay tribute to the God of War!" Kechar continued to sing.
Wugel held an ancient obsidian dagger in his hands. Avitt took the dagger, exposed his left arm, and slowly penetrated his flesh with the blade. He secretly gritted his teeth, carefully controlled the depth of the dagger, and then slowly cut it flat. In just a few seconds, big beads of sweat were pouring down. Tens of seconds later, a large piece of flesh was cut off and thrown into the fire. Avitt threw away the dagger and raised the staff again in greeting.
The whole temple was filled with joy, and the nobles and warriors praised the king's courage and determination! In martial Mexica society, the king must be a true warrior. For two hundred years, every Mexica king had to sacrifice himself during the enthronement ceremony. The more expressionless and unafraid of pain, the more respected the warriors will be!
The priest next to him quickly stepped forward and wrapped the wound tightly with cotton cloth soaked in concoction. The white cotton cloth was instantly dyed bright red.
Avitt gritted his teeth and was in so much pain that he couldn't speak at all. The chief priest once suggested drinking special holy water before the ceremony, but he refused, and now he regrets it.
"Let the hummingbirds fly and pay tribute to the patron saint!" Looking at the king's performance, Kechar looked serious and smiled in his heart. As time goes on, there will always be a chance for the king to drink the holy water. And holy water is the best weapon to control the king.
This is the final step. The priests and elders handed a red hummingbird into the king's hands. Avitt stretched out his right hand and released it slightly. The hummingbird drew a red lightning bolt and flew from the bloody temple to the golden sun. From death to the sun, this is the destination in Mexica belief.
The nobles and warriors cheered and saluted again. The sacred steps have been completed, and with the approval of the Lord God, King Avit has officially ascended the throne!
After the crowd cheered, the envoys from each state went forward in turn to present their state's tribute. This enthronement ceremony was somewhat rushed, as a large number of tributes were being collected or transported to the capital. The messengers presented only symbolic gifts to the great temple.
The Aztec Empire was a city-state alliance with three city capitals as its core. It was similar to the administrative organization of the Chinese Yin and Shang Dynasties, and was also in line with the "Five Services" theory of the Celestial Dynasty.
"The system of the husband who preceded the king: the Dian uniform within the state, and the marquis service outside the state." The entire alliance can also be simply divided into: royal territory, within the state, and outside the state.
The Texcoco Lake area in the three capital cities is Wangji, and the remaining eight states of Mexico are within the state. Further outside, the surrendered Huastecs, Mixtecs, and Zapotecs were outside the country. The neighboring Tarascos, Tlaxcalas, and Otomi are neighbors.
"One hundred miles of tax will be paid to the general manager, two hundred miles of rice will be paid, three hundred miles of straw will be paid, four hundred miles of grain will be paid, and five hundred miles of rice will be paid."
Similar to China's "Five Servers" era, in the Stone Age when productivity was low and there were no large livestock, long-distance transportation was extremely difficult. The alliance's collection of tributes had to change with the distance, and at the same time, it also had a preference based on the city-state's products.
Following the loud announcement of the chief priest, dozens of city lords from the Mexican states came forward one after another, with respectful expressions. Because of the short distance, the tributes within the state are generally larger in quantity and lower in unit price, and are more likely to be given to ordinary warriors and military nobles.
The plain city-states provided a large amount of food. Includes corn, beans, squash, vanilla, bell peppers, and cocoa. There are also a variety of meats, such as deer, turkey, rabbit, domestic dog, wild duck, quail, honey, as well as river shrimp and ant eggs.
Forest City-States provide a variety of wood. There is sandalwood and rosin for burning, charcoal for heating, and wooden planks for building. Shulot paid attention to the hard sandalwood, ironwood and oak mentioned by the messengers. These are very good bow materials and can be used to make high-quality longbows.
Mountain city-states offer a variety of stone materials. Obsidian for making stone tools, granite and volcanic rock for construction, and lime for engineering. Along with the stone, there are cheap tin ore, daily mineral salt, and high-quality clay.
What all city-states will provide is a variety of cotton blankets. The size ranges from one meter to several meters, and they are magnificent and of different styles. The edges of the blanket are decorated with various silk threads and feathers, and the blanket is engraved with pictures that match the Mexican aesthetic.
Shulot observed carefully, and what appeared most was the skull symbolizing death, followed by the brave eagle and jaguar, then the great sun, and the long snake symbolizing Quetzalcoatl.
The blanket presented to the king by the riverside city-state is densely sewn with a layer of duck down, making it extra soft and comfortable. Avitt touched it and nodded with satisfaction. He wanted to take it back and leave it to his lovely daughter.
The craftsmen of the northern city-states inherited the craftsmanship of the Toltecs. They can weave all kinds of exquisite and gorgeous clothes. Usually, the front of the clothes is strung with bright feathers, the back is embroidered with delicate flowers, and the shoulders and hem are inlaid with glittering gold, silver and gemstones. These costumes were eventually given to the wives and concubines of kings and nobles.
Avitt specially left a few pieces of women's fine clothes in small sizes.
The southern city-state was close to the rainforest and sent a large amount of novel fruits as tribute. Includes pineapple, banana, cherimoya, sapodilla, guava, avocado and plum. Along with the fruits, there are also all kinds of beautiful flowers, among which the roses with roots are the most colorful. Some of them are purple, some are bright red, some are as white as snow, and their fragrance is rich and elegant.
Avitt nodded and accepted. He wants to open an additional rose garden in Montezuma Palace to facilitate Alyssa's visit.
The border city-states focused more on the production of military equipment, and their tributes were various cotton armors, shields and throwing spears. The cotton armor will be pressed into several layers, which is tight and thick. The front is inlaid with hard crocodile skin and the back is decorated with feathers. Shields were mostly made of woven wood strips, or more difficult-to-handle rattan. Skinned wooden shields were more expensive. Feathers of various colors are attached to the droop of the shield. Throwing spears are often made of wood, with the tip grilled over a charcoal fire. Advanced throwing spears will be equipped with sharp stone blades.
From these tribute equipments, Shulot can judge the degree of armed force of the border city-states of the empire: slightly worse than the warriors directly under the capital, but obviously stronger than the inland city-states. The materials they use to craft their weapons are very flexible.
The chief priest Kechar announced again, and the envoys from abroad presented tributes in order of closeness.
The Huastecs are the Empire's most loyal subjects. They love music, art and dance, and are not good at war. Because they settled in the warm tropical plains, they also had the habit of being naked. The Huastecs brought as tribute a hundred young girls who were good at singing and dancing. The girls wore simple clothes that made people blush, with tempting shell accessories hanging from their bodies, and they walked with the rhythm and rhythm of music.
The Mixtecs are somewhere between loyal and disloyal. They are the people of the clouds, good at exquisite gold and silver jewelry, and are the best precious metal craftsmen. The Mixtec tributes include pure gold headbands, pure silver earrings, gilt stone tools, and gold and silver necklaces inlaid with turquoise.
The Zapotecs were the furthest away and therefore the least loyal. They also claim to be elves in the clouds, but they are influenced by Mayan culture and use words similar to those of the Mayans. The Zapotecs paid tribute with loads of ground and molded roux, from the cochineal beetle or cochineal tree. They also brought tropical flowers.
It was the turn of the neighboring countries to make the final announcement. Their gifts call themselves congratulatory gifts and declare them tribute gifts.
Cholulabang is the holy city of Nahuatl religion and has a special status, so it is ranked first. Their envoys also represented the people of Tlaxcala who were unwilling to bow their heads. The congratulatory gifts from the city-state of Cholula were an exquisite jade sculpture of the God of War, as well as the bows and arrows of the Tlaxcala people, wrapped with silk threads to create exquisite patterns.
The Tarascan messengers were incompatible with the Mexican tribes. He held his head high and presented a sharp bronze battle axe, a strong bronze helmet, and even a strong bronze armor in a half-intimidating manner. Avitt weighed the weight of the bronze armor with both hands and smiled. This kind of armor technology is not yet mature and is too heavy to be used in large-scale wars.
The Totonacs merged with some of the Toltecs and inherited the remains of the Olmec civilization. Their attire is quite simple, wearing solid-colored robes. The Totonac people's gift was an Olmec mask from hundreds of years ago, as well as beautiful shells, conches, corals and bags of pearls from the seaside.
Avitt carefully touched the mask of the ancient civilization and then handed it to the priest for safekeeping. This kind of treasure can connect the Mexicans with the ancient civilization and increase the legitimacy of the alliance to conquer the world.
Then came the envoys of the Otomi, from the city of Ottopan where the contract was made. Although the city of Hilotepec is still under siege, this does not prevent the city of Otopan from carefully maintaining its connection with the empire. As for the Otomi nobles who sacrificed today, the sacred sacrificial ceremony was a compliment to the noble blood, and in the eyes of the Nahuatl tribes in Mexico, it was not insulting.
The Otomi people's gifts were much simpler, just some blankets woven with agave thread, and some novel animals, such as northern hawks, kestrels, eagles, crows, wild cats, snakes, and even centipedes and scorpion. If the Otomi could cross the desert where the Chichimec roamed, they could capture another much-needed tribute to the alliance: bison.
Finally there are the Mayan merchants. As always, they brought tribute tobacco, spices, shells, and oriental plants and flowers. Shulot could vaguely see a familiar figure, but he couldn't be too sure about it. After all, the Maya's slender heads, fighting cock eyes, and strange facial accessories seriously affected the recognition of their appearance.
These are the "five servers" of the Mexican City-State Alliance. As for the other city-state forces, they are either too scattered and can only contribute some bright feathers, or they are too far away and there is no time to arrive.
The tribute ceremony finally came to an end. Avit held up his staff and greeted all city-state envoys. The envoys also knelt down respectfully and returned the gift. Under the slightly west-slanting sunlight, he walked down the high platform of the great temple, and the king's flag shone brightly in the sun. Behind him, the family warriors were fully armed and followed him.
The samurai's tour of the city has ended, and next is the new king's grand and majestic tour of the city. Let all the people in the capital have the opportunity to pay tribute to the great king.
At the great temple, the name of the sacrifice rang out again, but it was replaced by Ugel's voice. The chief priests once again opened the way to the Kingdom of the Sun God and sent the blue sacrifices home one by one.
In the chief palace, the elder watched the enthronement ceremony calmly. He finally turned his head and looked at Shulot calmly.
"My child, are you ready?"
