Outside the chief palace, there were hundreds of thousands of people cheering and celebrating. The priest's chanting is accompanied by the poet's recitation, and the beautiful ocarina is mixed with the thundering rhythm of the drum.
There was solemnity and silence in the chief palace. The breeze blew the god's curtain, and rows of elder guards had expressionless faces, adhering to their duties that they had carried out for decades. They have dedicated the rest of their lives to gods and elders.
The elder looked at Shulot calmly. This is a smart kid, and he should be able to understand the meaning of bringing him to watch the ceremony. This is also an unknown child, and I hope he can express new insights that suit his wishes.
In the past ten years, he rarely changed his original plan and rarely gave people a second chance. In other words, it was the first time he showed tolerance to Shulot after his brother's death.
Shulot closed his eyes and meditated, and memories of scenes flashed through: his grandfather's message, the murals in the corridor, the paintings of the snake house, the sacrificial ceremony, the tribute ceremony, and finally settled on the elder's god-like gaze.
He opened his eyes again and nodded slightly.
"Today's ceremony is filled with blooming flowers. Under the flowers, there are burning flames!"
"Mexicans appear to be pious, but in fact they are shaky. People rely on costly sacrificial rituals to satisfy their spiritual needs. They fear the gods, but do not love Him wholeheartedly. Once they encounter a more powerful and complete belief in the gods , you will surrender to the strange god who is good at manipulating people's hearts."
"The city-states of Mexica appear to be subservient, but in fact they are loose. The alliance relies on the deterrence of the capital's core force to maintain a highly independent tribute system and maintain tribal unity. Once it encounters a strong external attack and damages the capital's core force, The alliance will fall apart."
Shulot looked solemn. He expresses his understanding of this society and also describes the fate that will actually happen in the future.
Hearing this, the elder's expression changed and his brows wrinkled slightly. The guard captain behind him had been watching the elder's expression silently, and silently pulled out the copper ax from his waist.
The elder waved his hand slightly to stop, and the captain of the guard put away the copper ax again, and everything was silent. But in an instant, the elder's face returned to calm. He turned around and headed towards the corridor of the gods. Shulot followed behind and could no longer see the elder's expression.
"My child, continue talking." The elder's words came slowly from the front.
"We need to unite the people of Mexica and strengthen the control and integration of the city-state. We need to unify the ideology and establish centralization!" Xiulote said firmly.
In the long corridor of the gods with changing light, the elder finally stood still. He stood in the inner darkness, while Shulot was in the light. History has reached the changing boundary between light and darkness, just like the changing gods.
"My child, what are you going to do?" The elder turned around again. He was in darkness, his eyes calm.
"The Reformation, the establishment of legal codes. Monotheism and religious law." Thulot was succinct.
The elder looked into Shulot's eyes and waited quietly for an explanation.
"The religious reformation led to monotheism. The main god Huitzilopochtli will be elevated to the only supreme god! He will become the great and almighty creator, the master of all things and the world, and will be eternal!
The Lord God wants to integrate the responsibilities of other gods, from wind, rain, thunder and fire, mountains and vegetation, to time and space, destiny revelation, from survival and death, war and peace, to weddings, funerals, food, clothing, housing and transportation... He wants to integrate infinite power and entrust all People's hearts. He wants to blur the specific image and become the highest concept in people's hearts!
Other gods, including the important rain god, were gradually demoted. They first became gods in this generation, and then saints in subsequent generations. And our ancestors and outstanding figures can also become saints. "
In Shulot's understanding, monotheism has a strong spread advantage over polytheism. Except for China, which has an extremely profound cultural heritage, and India, which has a deep-rooted caste system, the entire world has been transformed into a belief in one god.
In the future, in order to resist the invasion of Christianity, the ignorant Mesoamerican civilization must have a theoretically complete and well-organized indigenous monotheistic religion to gain sufficient religious resistance.
The elder fell into a long silence. He has done a lot on the road to upgrade to the God of War, turning the God of War into the patron saint of the Mexica people, and then upgraded him to the Sun God, giving him the mission of maintaining the movement of the world. And Shulot's idea of becoming a god was far beyond his plan.
This is the limitation of the perspective of the times. In the beliefs of ancient American civilizations, the concept of a single god never existed, and there was no history to draw from. In this age of many gods, Shulot's ideas are groundbreaking and beyond ordinary people's thinking. Of course, he stands on the shoulders of the entire world.
The elder said nothing. He just continued to move forward slowly, and Shulot followed silently. Silent darkness enveloped the two of them. The gods also became tools of mortals.
After a long time, the elder asked again.
"My child, you see beyond mortal eyes. I want to hear more details."
Shulot thought for a moment before revealing his thoughts.
"The Supreme God is almighty. He does not need human blood and hearts to keep the world running. Therefore, I want to cancel human sacrifice."
The elder stopped again. He stood in a corner without candlelight and looked at Shulot calmly. But Shulot felt a heavy pressure and a chill.
"Boy, the Mexicans want a war. The Mexicans want to conquer the world." Once again, the title changed.
Shulot stared firmly into the darkness. He explained equally calmly.
"We can launch a holy war. For forces that do not believe in the Supreme God, the warriors will also fight for the gods! The purpose of war is assimilation, not sacrifice."
Shulot understood that human sacrifice in Mesoamerica had the effect of regulating the population. But he believed that under his leadership, the Aztec civilization would soon enter the Bronze Age and Iron Age when productivity was greatly developed. Then came the colonization of the vast Americas. Population will become the most important resource.
Not to mention, the diseases of the Old World are coming. American civilization needed a sufficient population to withstand the ravages of disease.
The elder was noncommittal. He thought carefully about the concept of "holy war" and gradually put away his murderous intention. After another moment, he said calmly.
"My son, warriors need more spiritual power to conquer the vast world. Warriors can only put down their war clubs after victory."
"Now, tell me, how do you unify consciousness and unite people's hearts?"
Shulot pondered. He closed his eyes again and found fragments that fit reality from his past memories and historical monotheistic religions. It took a long time before he opened his eyes again.
"We must use religion to unite people's hearts. Religion must occupy the hearts of believers and satisfy all their desires."
"The first thing to do in the religious reform is to outline a beautiful future life and perfect the world after death. It absorbs the red kingdom, the sun god kingdom, the land of death, and the warrior souls transformed into birds and flowers. Legend. Let the devout ascend to heaven, let the dead who fight for God have good things, and the sinners sink into the land of death."
In Mexica mythology, there are different realms of death. Brave warriors ascend to the Kingdom of the Sun God, the war dead and women with difficult childbirths will also go to the red kingdom of peace, the drowned people will go to the Kingdom of the Rain God, and the rest will go to Mictlan, the land of death. . There are nine levels of hell in Mictlan, with cold winds as sharp as knives. The first eight levels are endless darkness. Only wealth and the lives of slaves can protect the souls of the dead.
This polytheistic belief needs to be reintegrated to more effectively occupy the hearts of believers. The religious reformation wanted to establish the desire for heaven and the fear of hell, and guide people's behavior and thoughts.
The elder nodded imperceptibly. He remained silent in the darkness.
"Religious Reform, the meaning of faith is the pursuit of beauty. We must promote spiritual practice, combine it with the original precepts and customs, and guide people to yearn for beauty and kindness, just like they long for flowers. Teach people to obey one God, kindness, justice, politeness, wisdom, and trust. ..all the virtues we wish for.”
The elder's face was expressionless. If there is something beautiful that all Mexicans seek together, it is the courage of battle and the blooming of death, and mercy is obviously not included in it.
"Religious reform requires a system of confession. Now Mexica people have an opportunity to confess to the God of sin and use penance to free themselves from their sins. We must expand the system of confession and return the power of liberation to the hands of the Supreme God. No more Limiting the number of confessions and confessions allows priests to have more control over the hearts of believers.”
Shulot thought of the most powerful penance system in Christian rituals and the practice of the church in history, and then added.
"The secrets of these confessions should be kept firmly by the priests. Important confession information needs to be recorded and handed over to the senior priests, so as to have a stronger control over society and the people."
The elder pondered slightly. Daily confession? There is no doubt that the power of the priests will be expanded as a result. The control of divine power will be strengthened.
"Religious reform requires the system of pilgrimage. The great temple in the capital is selected as a holy place, and each believer is required to perform pilgrimage regularly. The frequency of pilgrimage decreases according to the distance, but it is necessary to perform pilgrimage once to obtain liberation in the hereafter."
"The alliance does not have much control over distant city-states. Because the speed of traffic limits the frequency of communication. We need an effective communication system to enhance control over distant people and influence distant city-states at the same time."
Shulot analyzes the role of Hajj. In an era of limited technological levels, if you want to enhance the centripetal force of the alliance, you cannot allow the city-state to meet all religious needs on its own. Pilgrimage to holy places has existed for a long time in history, and is practiced by Buddhism, Christianity and Tianfang Sect. It has an irreplaceable role.
"Religious reform also requires daily rituals. It can be combined with the existing harvest prayers and gods' blessing rituals to simplify the improvements and form a stable system. For example, three times a day, before meals and before going to bed. Twice a month, Set on the exact tenth day.”
The daily ritual is worship. It is equally designed to occupy the believer's heart and time. According to the popular Mayan calendar, there are 20 days in a month, so worship can be performed once every ten days.
The elder finally nodded again.
"My son, you have a good idea. The Alliance needs to further control the city-states and people's hearts. Whatever you think of, keep talking."
After saying that, the elder took steps again and headed underground to the palace.
Shulot kept up the pace and thought again. He hesitated slightly, but said calmly.
"Religious reform, collecting taxes in the name of God. The Alliance lacks control over the great nobles and city-state lords, and it is difficult to interfere with their taxes and private soldiers. We must tax the rich nobles and merchants, and provide relief to the poor commoners and Warriors. Weaken the great nobles, cultivate civilian warriors, and maintain class balance."
The elder paused. He frowned again, but did not look back. This idea is very good, but if you really want to implement it and deprive the great nobles of their benefits, you will inevitably swing a copper ax and kill people.
"My child, have you ever thought about the future with all the things you said?" The elder's words floated from the candlelight in front without any fluctuation.
Shulot was slightly startled. He looked at the faint candlelight and the blurry and tall figure of the elder, and asked himself: "What should the future of the Reformation look like?"
