In the golden autumn of October, a flock of geese come from the north and descend on the sparkling water. The clouds passed away with the breeze and melted into the clear sky. The sun is shining, the wind is light and the clouds are light, the birds and animals have changed into autumn down, and the fragrance of fruits is spreading between heaven and earth. After the last farewell drizzle, the rainy season has quietly passed and the corn harvest has begun.
On the banks of the Leman River, the warning bonfire was lit again, and the trusted messengers who were good at running fled from the river mouth fortress. He headed south from Acambalo State, passed through the short gap where the Mexicans were about to encircle, and ran through the overgrown northern fields, where everything he saw was desolate and murderous. He kept running, passing the dense villages of Patzcuaro Lake District. Wherever you look, the prosperous scene of the past is no longer there. Women and old people have sad faces, working hard in the vast farmland. In these villages near the front lines, the recruitment of young men has already been completed.
The envoy continued southward in silence, and finally came to the capital of the kingdom, the "City of Hummingbirds", with its copper capital Qin Congcan.
There are still young men working in the farmland outside the city, huge transport fleets are crossing the lake, and ruthless grain collection teams disperse from the city gate to various places. He walked through the city, passed by the vaguely prosperous urban market, passed by the huge craftsmanship building for making weapons, and looked at the smoke-filled "House of Wind" Akarta in awe. On the sacred pyramid, the priests chanted and danced wildly, and performed complicated sacrifices day and night.
The messenger showed the talisman of the Northern Marshal and finally arrived at the center of the kingdom, the supreme "Palace of Winds" Akatas. In front of the solemn chief minister, he knelt on the ground exhausted and conveyed the marshal's message word for word.
"Dear Chief Minister... Battle on the water... Mexica... Burning rockets... Legion of Chapala... Fleeing without fighting... Marshal of the North... Total defeat. ..”
Then, the messenger fell to the ground, not daring to look at the clouded face of the chief minister. He gasped several times and begged loudly.
"Chief, the Marshal of the North asked for help from the Supreme King! The Mexica people were as fast as the wind, and 20,000 troops arrived in a few days and surrounded the river mouth fortress. The Mexica fleet rushed into the river mouth, blocked the water gate, and the fortress support was completely cut off ..."
Hearing this, Chief Minister Zinzini frowned and finally couldn't help shouting.
"The estuary channel is narrow and long. The narrowest point is only 30 meters. Seven or eight large boats can block it. The fortress wall at the estuary is tall, and the western wall stands beside the river mouth. Archers and slingers stand on the high wall and can suppress the water channel at will. Up and down. As long as a few hundred elite naval forces block the waterway and thousands of archers throw stones at the wall, the Mexicans will not be able to break through the defense line even if tens of thousands of people die! How can the water gate in the west be blocked?!"
Faced with the chief's rebuke, the messenger bowed deeply again. He looked panicked and explained in a low voice full of fear.
"The Marshal was defeated in the water battle... so defeated that... he only returned with his body. The main force of the navy was lost, and all the large boats were lost, leaving only more than 300 small boats. The enemy's large boats were equipped with wooden shields to prevent arrows. , wooden sheds, carrying longbows with extremely long range, and rockets that can ignite the boats... The three hundred small boats were blocked for only one day, and were scattered by the enemy ships..."
Hearing this, Jinzini's chest tightened, and the pain was as painful as a knife. Of the mighty and powerful Kingdom Navy, only these shabby boats are left! This is the kingdom's accumulation over decades or even nearly a hundred years, and it is the most powerful naval force in the world!
The chief minister's face was as dark as water and he was silent. He felt fierce in his heart and made a secret decision.
"The Russian navy who ruined the kingdom deserves to be killed! When this battle is over, 'Crocodile' will take five points of his body and sacrifice it to the gods, and 'Crocodile' will take the fiefdom as his direct subordinate!"
The courier glanced furtively at the chief. He did not dare to mention in detail how the enemy obtained these large boats equipped with wooden shields and wooden sheds. He just continued to lie on the ground and reported back carefully.
"Dozens of enemy large boats endured the shooting from the city, forced their way through the estuary channel, and entered Lake Quetseo. Subsequently, the enemy troops besieging the city went around to the southwest of the fortress and established a stronghold on the edge of Lake Quetseo to prepare for this force. The fleet provides supplies. The Mexican fleet will be centered here, spying on the shores of Lake Quiceo, and cutting off the water support of the river mouth fortress!"
Jinjinni closed his eyes slightly and calmed down. Then, he asked in a deep voice.
"Look up at me! How many warriors are there in the Hekou Fortress? How many militiamen are there? How much food is stored? How long does the marshal expect to be able to hold on?!"
The messenger then raised his head, met the chief minister's stern eyes, and couldn't help but shudder. He answered truthfully, not daring to hide anything.
"The Mexica people are coming very fast, and only one-third of the remaining warriors in the northern defense line have time to enter the fortress. Now, there are two hundred family warriors left in the hands of the marshal, three hundred warriors in the hands of General Kukuna, and Akanbarobang The local nobles have a thousand warriors, a total of fifteen hundred!"
"As for the militia, when the war went out, there were 3,000 Chapala militia stationed at the fort and 5,000 newly supported Lake District militia. The two thousand remaining soldiers who escaped during the war, plus the 3,000 militiamen who were urgently transferred from nearby, totaled 13,000 people. !”
"...After supporting the fortresses, many fortresses in the north are empty of troops. Now there are less than 2,000 local warriors and 12,000 militiamen! The warriors and militiamen suffered heavy losses, but the originally stored food was sufficient. Each fortress has at least half a year's supply of food. , the Hekou Fortress has enough food for a year!"
The messenger was obviously a close associate of the Northern Marshal and knew the military situation everywhere. At this time, he took care of all the details, and once he went through them one by one, the situation in the north was completely clear. Finally, he kowtowed violently and shouted loudly.
"Before leaving, the marshal cut his palms and swore an oath! He will defend the fortress to the death until the food reserves are completely exhausted, and until the last soldier is killed, he swears to live and die with the Hekou Fortress!"
Zinzini looked at the messenger carefully for a while, nodded slightly, and then fell into deep thought.
In accordance with the king's request before leaving, he went to the north in one month to transport 10,000 lake district militiamen, 5,000 men each for the river mouth fortress and the northern fortress. These urgently recruited ordinary militiamen are not good at field battle formations, but they can be used to defend the city. The siege army in Mexico was no more than 20,000 people. Given the strength of the river mouth fortress, with 1,500 warriors and 13,000 militiamen, it should be able to hold on for at least half a year!
The problem now is that the north is extremely short of warriors and has lost the ability to fight outside the city. The communication between the defense lines was allowed to be cut off by the Mexica. The fortresses and fortresses fight on their own, and will eventually fall one by one.
According to his thirty years of experience in presiding over wars, if you want to defend the city for a long time, you must have the strength to defend the countryside! Only by having a capable warrior legion that can attack at any time and attack the enemy's weak points can the enemy's siege be prevented from advancing smoothly. Now, the river mouth fortress cannot support, so it can only support the weak northern line fortress group.
Thinking of this, Zinzini waved his sleeves and pointed at the messenger.
"Take it down."
The messenger opened his mouth to say something more for the marshal. The guards had already rushed up and took the northern envoy away.
Afterwards, the chief minister closed his eyes and frowned, counting with his fingers in his sleeves.
"Since the last time we discussed the war with His Majesty, the Lake District has conscripted 30,000 more militiamen. Ten thousand were sent to the northern front, and 20,000 were sent to the southern front. Since the war began, 100,000 strong men in the Lake District have been engaged in the war, and nearly half have died in the battle. !”
Thinking of this, Zinzini trembled all over. The Lake District, the core of the kingdom's rule, has a population of less than one million. This ratio of young adults to conscripts is almost devastating to agricultural production. At this rate of consumption, two entire generations are being wiped out, along with the future of the kingdom!
What made Zinzini even more desperate was that he only had three thousand warriors in his hands, and he had to further recruit strong men to maintain the situation between the north and the south.
The long wind blows into the majestic "Palace of Winds", causing a shrill sound of wind chimes, like the ominous sound of national subjugation. The chief minister's fingers shook violently, and finally he could no longer calculate. After a while, he finally opened his eyes suddenly, revealing a cold and captivating gaze, and shouted in a hoarse voice.
"All able-bodied men in the Lake District are to be recruited, and those who stand in the way of the nobles will be killed! Those who are over fourteen years old, under fifty, and who are half as tall as a spear will be recruited into the army! All strong peasant women who can wield a spear will be recruited into the army. !”
"Mobilize a thousand warriors to support the fortresses in the north, and be careful to harass the Northern Army of Mexico!"
"Send an envoy to the west to express condolences to the Chapala Legion! Promise the prince of the 'Feather' family to be enfeoffed and quickly reorganize to come for reinforcements!"
"Send an envoy south to the mountainous state of Weitamo and order reinforcements from the north. We also promise the prince's enfeoffment!"
"Send the divine envoy, together with the Tlaxcala envoy, to escort the ancestors and princesses to the east and complete the marriage immediately!"
"Send divine envoys to urge the Tekos tribe in the south. The kingdom agrees to their autonomy conditions, but must send more warriors or militiamen. Each tribe will be granted a title based on the number of troops it sends, and the one with the most will be crowned Prince of Tekos, with a higher status than each tribe. The Supreme Royal Family will also grant a princess to marry Prince Tekos!"
"Send an envoy in a low-key manner to inform His Majesty on the southern front!"
Following the chief minister's order, the guards followed the order and left. Soon, only the old man in rich clothes was left in the solemn palace hall, with a majestic expression and solemn silence.
Jinzini was silent for a moment, then slowly took off the feather crown on his head, finally revealing a head full of white hair. He raised his head and looked at the ancient murals on the top of the temple. The hummingbird of the family accompanied the royal eagle, fluttering its wings and flying through the place for thirty years.
"Your Majesty, I have served all kings for thirty years. If this battle is won, I will use my life to be responsible for today's decision!"
The breeze blew by, and the old man's white hair was scattered in the wind, and he no longer looked majestic. Immediately, the breeze blew thousands of miles, and a new round of running messengers set off from the royal capital again.
The envoy from the royal capital rushed out of the city gate. He saw thousands of conscript warriors about to go to the eighty-one surrounding villages to squeeze out the last manpower in the lake area. Then, he quickly headed south, passing through the half-harvested fragrant fields, and caught up with a large group of farmers transporting grain. All he looked at were tired and numb faces. He passed the last group of supporting Lake District militiamen. The militiamen had no armor and only stone spears in their hands. Soon, the fields in front of us became deserted again, and this was already the frontline state of Sitacuaro.
Without stopping, he passed by the dots of rear camps and headed towards the stone castle where the king's flag was fluttering. He ignored the patrolling warriors' vocal inquiries and entered the solid bluestone fortress. He passed by the loosely disciplined barbarian mercenaries, passed by the pike regiments stationed in formation, and stopped briefly on the fortress's grounds. There were hundreds of archery warriors there, getting familiar with the huge Mexica longbows. The sound of arrows breaking through the air was like the roar of wild beasts.
The messenger lowered his head and continued to move forward quietly. He calmly walked past the neatly formed warriors, silently sizing up the serious-looking nobles, and finally came to the king's guard holding a big axe, and found a guard captain wearing a feather on his head.
"A letter from the capital, the moon goddess is blessing us."
The envoy from the royal capital said seriously.
The captain of the guard tensed up. This is definitely not good news for the Moon Goddess who symbolizes death! He nodded slightly and turned away. After a while, the guard captain returned silently and led the envoy to a side hall, where the supreme king was right in front of him.
Then, the guard captain turned and left. Not far from the side hall, he heard the king's angry low roar.
"Damn it!"
Then, there was another loud sound of falling gold and stones. Hearing the sound, the guard captain's heart trembled. He didn't dare to look back, so he quickened his steps and hurried away from danger.
In the stone house at the back, buzzing copperware and jingling gold ornaments tumbled on the masonry floor. King Suangua is dressed in military uniform, wearing gorgeous copper-inlaid leather armor and an eagle-shaped feather-inlaid copper helmet. He is as majestic as the incarnation of a god. At this time, with murderous intent on his face, he glared at the prostrate messenger on the ground.
After a long time, the king calmed down and spoke slowly.
"You're not guilty. It's not you who deserves death! Chief Hummingbird's handling of all matters is very safe. I will endorse his orders afterwards. Go down!"
The messenger then got up from the ground and walked away backwards.
There was no one else in the side hall. The young king whipped out his copper ax and chopped off the wooden table in front of him. Then, after thinking for a moment, he took the copper ax and headed straight to the highest watchtower.
