The stars are long and the world is in a hurry. At this time, green plums accompany me, and time flies by. In the silent place, across the distance, I hear my heart's voice.
After an unknown amount of time, the king's guards came quietly along the stone steps and under the moonlight. Shulot nodded with a smile, Alyssa looked back reluctantly, and then left gently with the guard.
The young man sat alone on the pyramid and looked up. The bright moon was high and the stars were still there. His mind gradually calmed down and he murmured to himself.
"The sky is as cold as water at night... If you are alone, this is how you feel."
Afterwards, Shulot stood up calmly, seeming to have matured a lot in the middle of the night. In this world, he anchored himself again and found his spiritual destination.
After a while, the young man looked at the empty Quetzalcoatl Temple. There were still solemn and ancient murals around it, praising the birth of Quetzalcoatl. He rules over the morning star, invents books and calendars, and selflessly brings corn to mankind. In Mesoamerican mythology, this is the only god who symbolizes peace and prosperity.
“Will He disappear completely from history?”
Shulot stood silent for a long time, deducing the future in his mind and exploring history with his eyes. He thought of Martin Luther's religious reform and Han Yu's ancient prose movement, and pondered in his heart.
"Let Him be a foreshadowing! After contact with Westerners for a long enough time, and after the priests begin to solidify, let the theologians dig it out again. This will be similar to the introduction of the Renaissance."
Shulot nodded secretly. Immediately, he turned around and saw Bertard standing quietly not far away, his eyes calm and his face vicissitudes of life. The young man nodded to the warrior chief and then went to the high priest's house.
Walking in the temple area after the ceremony, Shulot watched calmly.
Not far away, in the mansions of the nobles, the lights of banquets were flickering and the songs of celebration were flying. The solemn drums sounded, the nobles danced solemnly, the cheerful ocarina played, and the girls flew leisurely. In the grand night of praise, Mexicans sang and drank to their heart's content, enjoying the joy of the celebration and seeking solace for their souls.
Amidst the celebrations, Shulot's feet occasionally stepped on thick liquid. This is coagulated blood and sacrificial life, waiting to be cleansed tomorrow after the carnival. The sacrifices of Mexica festivals are like the grand gladiatorial ceremonies of ancient Rome. They use blood to please the people, promote the martial customs, and maintain the desire for conquest.
At this time, he was walking quickly under the moon, and the young man's expression did not change. After being soft in the middle of the night, he was once again forged by time, and his heart was already as hard as stone.
Not long after, Shulot strode into the high priest's house and went straight to the main hall. As soon as he entered the palace gate, the young man saw his grandfather standing alone in the palace, wearing a loose plain robe, slightly bowed, washing his hands in the pottery basin in the corner.
Shulot waved his hand and told the warrior commander to retreat. Then he waited for a moment, then quietly approached and saluted his grandfather respectfully.
Hearing the greeting, the high priest suddenly realized. He took his hand out of the pottery basin and slowly straightened up. Then, he turned his head and smiled kindly at the young man, his voice slightly hoarse.
"Xulot, my child, are you back? You have been sacrificing all day today, and there is a lot of blood on your hands. I just washed them well... Just in time, I have some important things to discuss with you."
Seeing his grandfather's gray hair and tired face, Shulot stepped forward and gently hugged the skinny old man.
"Grandpa, you have worked hard all day. Please sit down and rest for a while. I will come to discuss it with you later."
The high priest nodded, turned around and slowly walked to the center of the hall, sat down, closed his eyes and rested.
Shulot bent down and just picked up the pottery basin, then his eyes froze. I saw that the pottery basin was filled with clear water, and there was no trace of blood. He stood stunned for a few breaths, then went out without changing his expression, poured out all the water in the pottery basin, and returned calmly.
The young man put down the pottery basin, sat cross-legged opposite his grandfather, and waited silently. Grandfather seemed extremely tired. He lowered his head and dozed for a moment, then suddenly woke up. He raised his head and looked at the young man opposite him, laughing at himself.
"Haha, I'm really old, my eyesight is dim, and my physical strength is not as good as before... When I followed the late emperor, I could charge in armor and fight for two days without retreating... Even a few years ago, I could study all day long. The feathered serpent murals of our ancestors were translated into poetry overnight..."
Grandpa was chattering a little today, and Shulot listened to it with a smile on his face. Then, he silently reached out and took his grandfather's calloused hand.
The high priest was stunned for a moment, shook his head with a smile, and withdrew his hand. Then, he straightened his back, showing some strength, and when he spoke again, there was a slight emotion in his tone.
"According to the last wish of the late king, I have studied Quetzalcoatl for a lifetime, and wanted to use it to unite all the tribes in the world...but I never thought that when I grow old, I will completely give up on him, obey the will of the elders, and become the high priest of the main god. ..I never expected that I would personally announce His death today and give all glory to the Lord God!...
My child, nothing is permanent. The original sun, Tezcatlipoca, controls destiny and is as omnipresent and unpredictable as the night wind. Who can understand Him? And now, even He will abdicate as a minor god and hand over his destiny to the Lord God... From now on, the Lord God will be supreme and great..."
The high priest's voice gradually became lower and turned into a chant-like murmur, and he closed his eyes and prayed.
Shulot looked at his grandfather with concern, with worry on his face. The ancestor whom my grandfather recalled was naturally not the short-lived Tisoc, but Moctezuma I, who ruled the empire for thirty years. My grandfather had never been so sentimental.
After a while, the high priest opened his eyes again and regained his former shrewdness and determination. Immediately, his face became solemn and he said seriously.
"How about meeting the princess today?"
Shulot smiled from the bottom of his heart.
"Very good. I am devoted to her, and she is also devoted to me. The hummingbird and the first lotus are in harmony, just waiting for the day to bloom."
Feeling the boy's true joy, the high priest smiled with satisfaction.
"Okay! My child, you have to go deeper into the heart of the princess, so as to leave a foreshadowing beside the king!"
Hearing this, Shulot's face froze. He savored his grandfather's words and had uneasy guesses in his heart.
"Leave... foreshadowing...?"
The high priest nodded seriously. He hesitated for a moment and then said in a deep voice.
"Although it has not been fully agreed upon, the plan has been decided today... You are my hope, and I will naturally not hide important matters from you... My son, I intend to push you to entrust foreign vassals, within the next two years. .You need to prepare in advance and leave some foreshadowing in the capital!"
Shulot was shocked. He opened his eyes wide and looked at his grandfather in confusion.
"Self-confessional vassals within one or two years? Shenqisu has only been running for two months. The gunpowder on Tianhuo Island has just been successfully developed. Alyssa and I just expressed our feelings to each other tonight... Why is this?!"
The high priest shook his head solemnly, with an affirmation on his face.
"This matter must be done. Although I had this intention, it was Gillim who came to me first. It is impossible for the 'King's Eyes' to act behind the king's back. Avitt must have promised... Since the estrangement has arisen, the power of Suspicions will persist and grow stronger over time...
Smart people always predict the arrival of the rainy season from the moist wind, thus planting the seeds of the future in advance. My child, you are always smart and you should know that there can only be one king in the capital city of the lake. The combined status of me and you is enough to threaten the king's power. And the better you perform in all aspects, the more inevitable the outcome will be...
Strong jaguars can only be safe if they are separated in different mountains and forests. Do you want us to take the final risk and step on the blood of the king to reach the highest level? "
After listening to his grandfather's words, Shulot's expression changed drastically, and countless images flashed through his mind.
He thought of Avitt's smile, imagined him lying in a pool of blood, and shuddered in his heart. Then, he remembered the dream he had long ago, where he was sitting on the throne, his face cold and indifferent. In the end, the scene freezes on the girl in white hugging each other tightly, with her pure eyes and innocent smile, suddenly crying and moving away.
"Why is this so..."
Shulot was in a daze and whispered to himself. He wanted to get up immediately, go to Montezuma Palace to find his teacher and friend, and explain his sincere feelings. However, his body seemed to be controlled by a spirit in the soil. He sat down to take root but was unable to stand up.
Looking at Shulot, who was having trouble accepting it for a moment, the high priest stretched out one hand and gently stroked his hair, while the other hand held the young man's palm.
After a long time, Shulot let out a long sigh and showed determination again.
"Grandfather, Avit...how did Gillim negotiate with you?"
The high priest looked at the young man calmly, with deep reluctance in his eyes.
"After today's sacrifice, we discussed it again. Although the specific details have not yet been determined, the approximate time and location have been set...
In one or two years, as the heir to the royal family, you will be entrusted with a foreign vassal to rule a land, and you will marry the princess when you are twenty at the latest. If there is no military summons, you cannot return privately when enfeoffing foreign vassals. In a few years, as long as I go to the Kingdom of God, you can return to the capital city in the lake. "
Hearing this, Shulot looked shocked again. He looked at his grandfather and squeezed his hand tightly, showing a rare hint of fear.
"Grandpa, your body..."
The high priest smiled gently and ruffled the boy's hair again.
"My child, don't worry. Although this old body is not very sharp, it should still be able to survive until you and the princess get married. At that time, I can also safely go to see the Lord God and reunite with the late king..."
Then, the high priest continued to speak seriously without pausing.
"I have carefully considered the location of the enfeoffment...Two weeks ago, Gillim asked me about the city of Herotepec in the north, but I refused directly.
The state of Herotepec is only four to five hundred miles away from the capital city in the lake. It only takes a few days for the messenger to travel by water, and the surrounding area is tightly controlled by the capital city. The place has been war-torn for a long time, and has long been sparsely populated and the fields are barren. To the east are the loyal Huastec vassals, to the west are the tenacious Otomi mountain people, and further to the north are the unruly dog descendants, with little room for development.
As for the east, I will naturally not let you go deep into the Tlaxcala people and establish a foothold in the coastal city-state of the Totonac people. It is too dangerous there... The only options are the south and the west.
Although the land of the Mixtec people in the south is rich, it is only a peaceful land. The situation there is complicated, and local tribes are colluding with each other. Although it has been attacked by the alliance several times, it has always been undecided about surrender. The Zapotec people farther south were even more unstable.
Only the land of Mickencho in the west, the territory of the Tarascans, is the place where great achievements can be achieved! Qin Congcan, the capital of the Tarascans, is six to seven hundred miles away from the Alliance. There is no direct waterway connection and it is beyond the reach of the Alliance.
There is the rich Patzcuaro Lake District, which can imitate the alliance to build a large-scale and highly productive Chinampa; there are a large number of open-pit copper mines, where bronze equipment can be forged, powerful legions can be trained, and bronze wares can be made to develop trade; There is territory suitable for expansion everywhere. The alliance between the Tesk people in the west and north is loose and weak, and the Trapanic people slightly east of the south are also weak and weak...
Haven't you always been obsessed with Colimabon? Starting from Qinchongcan and traveling westwards for 700 miles, we reach Colima State. If you conquer the Chapala Lake area in the extreme southwest of the Leman River, you can reach the hinterland of Colima State in just over two hundred miles from there. If there really is a 'big iron mine that changes the world' there, this is the only way to conquer it. "
Having said this, the high priest touched Shulot's head again, his tone was heavy and meaningful.
"My child, distance means autonomy, the lake area represents population, copper mines can be turned into force, and expansion has a future! Enfeoffed in the land of Mikancho, you will have a foundation for business. If the king is still there in a few decades , you can’t go one step further and command the alliance... Then, you can control this place and sit back. If you take a step back, you can still rule the world and wait for the opportunity!"
Hearing Colima Bang and thinking of the Colima Iron Mine, Shulot became energetic. He suppressed all the ups and downs of emotions and concentrated on meditation. After a moment, the young man asked in a deep voice.
"The enfeoffment is here... Isn't Gillim worried that our family will become more powerful in the West and break away from the alliance in the future?"
The high priest laughed lightly and shook his head with a complicated expression.
"We are a branch of the royal family, so how can we separate from the alliance? The most we can do is to separate from the main branch of the royal family. Once Tarasco is conquered, the Patzcuaro Lake area is seven hundred miles away from the capital, and messengers will rush back and forth, the fastest Communication also takes twenty or thirty days. The alliance must divide the vassal kings in order to stabilize the area.
And enfeoffing you in this remote place avoids power struggles in the capital and leaves the issue of succession to the future. For the main branch of the royal family, this is killing two hares with one stick, so they are naturally willing to do so.
What's more, the Tarasco Alliance is now extremely prosperous, with a total of fifty thousand warriors, the ability to mobilize one hundred thousand militiamen, and the ability to recruit vassal Tesk tribes. If you want to completely conquer this place, you need to mobilize the entire alliance and carry out the Western Expedition with the strength of the whole country. The two royal families, large and small nobles, internal and external priests, warriors from direct subordinates and city-states...all forces must be mobilized.
We need to take charge of the Northern Route Army. This time it is also necessary to summon all the branch nobles, use all the accumulation of the Holy City, mobilize the temple warriors of the priest group, and go to war with all their strength. This promised fiefdom must be exchanged for the blood of warriors! "
At the end, the high priest's words were full of generosity and heroism. There was a look of confidence in his eyes, as if he had returned to his high-spirited youth. However, this old body can no longer support the ambition in his chest. After a while, he bowed his waist and coughed hard.
Shulot quickly stood up and helped the high priest rub his chest and back to smoothen his breath. Then the boy brought a glass of water and asked his grandfather to moisten his throat.
It took a while before the high priest spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Today's New Year's sacrifice went smoothly. It was large-scale and shocked all the states. It seems that there will be no problems with the tributes from each state this year. After the two sacrifices, the morale of the tens of thousands of legions in the alliance is high. They will continue to wait for two months. Wait until After the tributes from all states are completed, the target of the campaign will be decided.
This time, as long as there is no major trouble in the southern states, the alliance will temporarily let them go. The real western expedition will begin after the autumn harvest. But in April, the direct warriors would gather in large numbers to pressure the Tarascans' borders and force them to mobilize on guard. Thereby consuming their food and destroying their spring plowing!
We have tens of thousands of hectares of Chinampa, and we can mobilize part of our army during farming to destroy the agricultural production of various states. This is why the states are afraid of us.
My son, when the time comes, you will need to lead thousands of elites and most of the navy to find a location and set up a stronghold on the Leman River in the north in advance, and repeatedly harass the north of the Tarascans. If the navy can penetrate deep into Lake Quiceo, it can completely destroy the farming of several states in the northern Tarascans, create hundreds of thousands of refugees, consume a lot of their food and population, and reduce their war potential!
This will make the Northern Route Army's post-Autumn conquest easier, but you have to act within your capabilities, especially relying on the navy. "
After hearing the plan to destroy spring plowing, Shulot nodded silently. The tragedy of the Otomi people came to his mind again. The young man closed his eyes slightly, and when he opened them again, his heart was as solid as iron.
The high priest continued to drink some water, rested for a moment, and then gave another important order.
"This time Ugor came back from Herotepec and talked about the situation in the important towns in the north. If what he said is true, the separation of the various classes you suggested should be very effective and can be promoted in the conquered areas. Spiritual disintegration The later Otomi warriors became quite devout once converted and were a force that the priesthood could effectively control.
In two days, the elders will transfer the two thousand minor nobles and warriors from Texcoco to the important towns in the north. I will let Ugel lead the team north again, and bring generous gifts to the royal noble Othello. you. Oselor is about to become the new city lord of Herotepec, and Ugel has always been on good terms with him.
When you lead your troops north in April, go meet Ocelot first and try to establish contact with him, or let others think that you have established contact. At the same time, you go and take a look at the situation of the four thousand Otomi warriors. If this legion is worthy of use, train it and add it to the Northern Route Army after the autumn harvest.
The important town in the north has a special location, this will be another foreshadowing! Although, the chances of it being used are slim..."
Hearing this, Xiulote bowed to the ground and bowed to accept the promise. He thought about the plan for the Western Expedition, and his fighting spirit slowly ignited in his heart.
It was not until deep into the night that the high priest finally finished giving all the important instructions. There was already a look of fatigue that could not be concealed on his face. The young man took two steps forward and helped his grandfather to rest in the bedroom. Not long after, my grandfather fell into a deep sleep. In his sleep, he still frowned from time to time.
Shulot looked at his grandfather who was sleeping restlessly and sighed softly. The always strong high priest is now just an old and skinny mortal, with the burden of the alliance and family on his shoulders, and his life is like a candle in the wind.
After a moment of silence, the young man left silently. He walked to the courtyard, stood under the cold moonlight, and looked at the distant stars. Coming this night, he had a lot of emotions. First he is as tender as water, then as protective as a mountain, sometimes as worried as the wind, sometimes as hot as fire. A hundred kinds of feelings came to my heart, but it was difficult to speak. Many expressions changed on my face, and finally returned to calm.
After a long time, the night wind blew, and Shulot felt a slight chill on his body. He tightened his black robe and smiled lightly.
"It's cold, but it's autumn. When the wind blows, it's time for the clouds to fly~"
The young man nodded to the stars and turned to rest. This night I slept without any dreams.
