The stone hall of the Palace of Winds is simple and solemn. The walls are decorated with inherited ritual vessels, the ceiling is engraved with ancient murals, and the curtains of the main gods are fluttering. The candlelight in the hall shines brightly, and together with the bonfire in the hall, it shines on the festive faces of everyone, and also drives away the deep night outside the hall.
Shulot was sitting at the head of the banquet, and bright firelight surrounded him, just like the people surrounding him. According to the tradition of the tribal alliance, everyone sat down in four directions according to their different identities, forming a rough circle.
In the center of the upper head is the supreme young king, on the left is the trusted teacher Orosh, and on the right is the loyal captain of the guard Bertard. Next, below and to the left of the king is the noble theocratic priest. The two chief priests, Ugos and Marvelo, were in the front, and Bravo and other intermediate priests were behind. Below the right side of the king are the commanders of each legion who are loyal and good at fighting. According to the default alliance convention, the order is veteran Etalik, navy commander Anatri, monkey Kuruka, black wolf Toltec, quartermaster Bergire, miner Ezpan...crocodile Ospie, Orta, the head of the sky family, and Puap, the gray earth at the bottom. Opposite the king are the local administrative officials, headed by Chief Minister Jatiri, and Chalape of the Bronze Workshop is also among them.
"This is my team that runs Fengguo!"
Shulot smiled and raised the staff in his hand. Soon, the band's bamboo flute was played high, and the prayer songs sounded slowly, and the audience was in solemn silence.
"Praise the Lord God! He is omnipotent and gives us food, victory and light!"
The king spoke first.
“Praise the Lord God!”
Everyone bowed their heads to pray and praised in unison. The low echo echoed in the hall, symbolizing the will of the entire feudal kingdom.
Then, a team of maids came forward to deliver freshly prepared cocoa. Shulot raised his glass again.
"Drink this cup to the full to celebrate the supreme god and the king of the alliance!"
"Congratulations to the Lord God and congratulations to the king!"
“Have another drink and celebrate the new year!”
"Congratulations on the New Year, congratulations to Your Majesty!"
After drinking the sacred cocoa, the banquet officially begins. The main dishes include fragrant grilled corn tortillas, boiled black bean puree with honey, soft roasted pumpkin and slightly sweet sweet potatoes. Vegetables include hearty cold zucchini, tender boiled cactus, spicy boiled kidney beans, and crispy baked jicama.
After a tiring day, Shulot was really hungry. He took out a piece of baked corn tortilla, spread it with sweet black bean puree, sandwiched a few pieces of jicama and zucchini, then spread some chili sauce on it, and started chewing it happily. It wasn't until he finished two pieces of soft cake that the king had some thoughts and slowly tasted various fresh fruits.
Because it is in the tropics, the variety of fruits at the banquet is extremely rich, which is also a great feast for the eyes. In front of me are the sweet and sour pineapple, the soft guava, the sweet and glutinous custard apple, the ice cream-like Marmey fruit, the slightly upward cactus fruit, the purple fig as soft as honey, the Jamaican flower with a taste similar to hawthorn, and other There are delicious juicy tomatoes.
Of course, the king's favorite is the dark-fleshed persimmon that is rarely seen in later generations and is only produced locally in Mexico, commonly known as chocolate persimmon. The skin of this black persimmon is very thin, making it difficult to transport over long distances, and the flesh inside is as soft as jelly. And as soon as you take a bite, you will be instantly conquered by the amazing taste!
"The pulp is soft and sweet, like a mixture of cream and chocolate, carefully prepared to create the ultimate soft pudding!"
As Shulot enjoyed the delicious black persimmon, a hint of sincere admiration appeared on his face. Being able to enjoy this exquisite delicacy in the wild Middle Ages is a rare benefit for travelers to the Americas.
What will be most welcomed by the audience is the various delicious barbecues. Chunks of herb-roasted venison, skewered pineapple roasted turkey, whole pimento-roasted fish... Various roasted meats bring a tangy aroma, and there are optional chili powder, annatto powder, and garlic vine on the side. , Eryngium, Mexican cumin. These spices, regarded as gold by Europeans, can be found everywhere in wealthy Central America and are widely used in the diet of nobles.
Shulot simply ate two pieces of roasted venison. The venison is very tender, one piece is brushed with some fresh honey, and the other piece is brushed with some chili salt. Sweet, spicy and salty, two different tastes are mixed one after another, making you endless aftertaste.
By this time, the king was feeling thirsty. He picked up the tequila light wine on the table and drank it happily into his throat.
There are roughly three types of drinks at banquets. Tequila tastes light and more formal. Mead is mellow and sweet, and is the most expensive. Fruit wine has rich and varied flavors depending on the fruit, but it is not solemn enough to be presented to others.
Shulot raised his wine glass, and soon several close followers came forward to toast the king. The young king laughed heartily and never refused. Then, he took a sip and looked at everyone with a smile.
After a few glasses of water and wine, the atmosphere at the banquet became lively. Everyone began to drink together, shout and drink at each other. First, there was a gathering among the priests, generals, and civil servants, and then there were separate toasts. Compatriots, relatives, friends, comrades-in-arms, based on various connections, everyone drank together casually, and many barriers were vaguely reduced.
Shulot smiled. In order to rule for a long time, he encouraged large-scale intermarriage between the Mexica and Prepecha tribes. In the past few months, I have personally arranged some weddings. Marriage bonds were gradually established between the Mexica generals and the Prepecha civil servants. The integration of the nation is advancing, and the upper echelons of the kingdom are being integrated, but it just takes time to complete.
The night is beautiful and the music is joyful. The bonfire radiates warmth and the wine makes people happy! Before they knew it, the generals were already full of wine and food. The maids came forward again, removed the food from the table, and presented the sacred cocoa.
"Your Highness, you are our marshal, you are our sun! Please let your loyal warriors perform a dance for you!"
The black wolf Toltec stood up proudly and shouted loudly as the representative of the generals. He was the first to come to the open space in the center of the banquet, raised a cup of cocoa, and drank it in greeting to His Highness.
"Very well, my dear general!"
Shulot smiled and nodded, raising the staff.
Soon, the passionate drums suddenly sounded. The black wolf took off his shirt, bare his muscular upper body, crossed his powerful arms, and danced a wild war dance! His footsteps followed the rhythm of the drums, and he recited heroic poetry.
"A warrior should fight with all his heart! A warrior should sing with all his heart!
We pursue victory in battles and we hug each other's shoulders.
We live with a smile and look at the flowers on the battlefield!
Then we die laughing, the flowers and songs are no longer...
"
Shulot looked moved, smiled and nodded. This is a popular samurai poem that is often sung. But only a truly heroic warrior can sing its flavor!
After the war dance ended, Black Wolf was covered in sweat. Then, he strode forward, his muscles trembling like a cheetah, and suddenly fell to the ground in front of the king, holding up the warrior's garland with both hands.
"Your Highness, please accept the flowers presented to you by the generals! Our lives are like fresh flowers, blooming faithfully at this moment. We dedicate our lives to you, the highest sun!"
Shulot laughed loudly, stood up, and took the wreath with both hands. He patted Hei Lang's shoulder affectionately, then looked around at the attentive generals, smiling and nodding one by one.
"My warriors, my generals, I will be with you!"
Seeing this, the always serious Chief Priest Marvelo thought for a moment and pulled Ugos's sleeve.
Ugos stood up knowingly and came to the center of the banquet. The fierce drum beat turned into a vicissitudes of life. The young chief priest of the capital looked solemn, walked with mysterious steps, and chanted gorgeously.
"Ah, the sun god sends down his glory, the Lord God bestows divine enlightenment, and spreads his fame throughout the world.
That is you, the king created by the gods!
You sing in the valley, in Tenochtitlan, where the eagle soars.
You fly in the sky, and in the Lake District of Mikancho, the eagle turns into the sun!
Ah, I look up to the abode of God the Father, I pray for the Kingdom of God on earth, and you are on the Snake Mountain...
"
Hearing this, Shulot looked solemn. This is a traditional sacrificial poem, a deified object of praise, usually only dedicated to the kings of the past dynasties who possess divinity. The hall suddenly became solemn, with only high-pitched chants echoing continuously, falling into everyone's hearts. After a moment, Ugos stopped singing. He stepped forward with a smile and offered a piece of green jade, which symbolized wisdom and eternal life.
"Praise the Lord God! Distinguished Master Priest of the Sect, you are the incarnation of the gods in the human world. And we obey your orders and serve you like we serve the gods!"
"Praise the Lord God! Chief Priest Ugos, thank you for your poem! The future of the feudal country cannot be separated from the priests of the alliance. The glory of the Lord God will surely be spread throughout the world!"
The two looked at each other for a moment, smiling and greeting each other. Xiulote looked at Marvelo again and nodded slightly, and the other party returned the courtesy respectfully.
Jatiri watched silently. He pondered for a while, then took something from Chalape's hand and walked slowly into the hall.
"Your Majesty, I am not good at singing and dancing."
The knowledgeable elder smiled and saluted. Shulot stood up and returned the courtesy solemnly.
"Dear sage, you are the elder of the Prepecha people, so there is no need to be polite."
"Your Majesty, you have the foresight of an eagle, the will of a liger, the patience of a coyote, and the kindness of a tortoise. You treat the people of the Lake District well and are the king given to us by the Sun God... I would like to represent the millions of Prepei Cha people, I bow at your feet and offer my loyalty to you!"
Jatiri looked solemn. In front of everyone, he bowed to the ground and paid homage to the king above him.
"Ah! Sage..."
Shulot hurriedly took two steps forward, bent down, and helped the knowledgeable elder up from the ground. He persuaded sincerely.
"Sage, I treat you with the courtesy of a teacher, please don't do this!"
Hearing this, Jatiri smiled slightly. He held a long wooden box in both hands and presented it to the young king in front of him.
"Your Majesty, the people of Prepecha are willing to be your wings and fly into the sky!...This is the bronze weapon you ordered Chalape to forge!"
"He got inspiration from the obsidian sharp blades and wooden handles of the war stick, and mixed the strong spine of low tin and the sharp blade of high tin to cast, taking the best of both worlds, and then added fragments of the kingdom of God falling from the sky to cast A sharp and strong magic weapon..."
"Dedicated to you, my majesty! Tolerance and severity coexist, mercy and decisiveness, these are the true soldiers of the king!"
Shulot was startled when he heard this. He took the wooden box and opened it himself. A three-foot-long eight-sided Qin sword suddenly appeared in front of him. The sharp blade glowed with cold light, the strong spine was polished to a translucent finish, and the gold-plated hilt shone brightly, with two pictographic images engraved on it.
The king looked carefully and saw that the pictogram on the front was like a bolt of lightning, symbolizing the unpredictable power of the gods; the pictogram on the back was the pictogram of a person, with his hands spread out in a powerful posture. Obviously, this is the God and the King. The meaning of these two words, traced to similar oracle bone inscriptions, is...
"God...Xia..."
Shulot murmured to himself, reciting these two words in a low voice. A strange sense of fate surged into his heart in an instant, as if it had some kind of soul-shaking power. After a moment, he faced everyone, raised his three-foot Qin sword, and announced solemnly.
"Witness the Lord God! This is the Shenxia Sword! My sword of the king!"
"Generals, play music for me!"
When the king gave an order, everyone obeyed. Orosh played the bamboo flute, Ugos blew the bone xun, and Toltec beat the war drum. The fluttering flute, the desolate sound of the xun, and the passionate drums all played together in the stone hall, accompanied by the singing of the generals.
Shulot stood in the center of the hall and slowly drew out his sharp sword. He lightly traced the spine of the sword with his fingertips, violent emotions surged in his chest, and countless memories came to his mind, and finally turned into poems in his mouth.
"A sword is born with a pure heart, and a sword with a pure heart lasts for ten years."
The king raised his head slightly. He thought of the pure feeling in his heart when he first came to this world, and also thought of the child with clear eyes in the Butterfly Palace.
"I fell from the pyramid, and I walked from the Butterfly Palace. I carried a pure heart, like spring water."
Hearing this, Orosh's expression changed. He watched the boy grow up, and many memories were naturally indelible.
"Once you drink the blood of mortals by mistake, you will always have the murderous intention with you."
Shulot lowered his eyes, raised his left hand to block, and stabbed out the long sword with his right hand. This was the first time he killed someone, something he would never forget.
"I wave the weapon in my hand, and I become a blood-stained warrior. I silently pray to the God of War, knowing that this will bring death!"
"The dragon sings in the shallows, thinking about the wind, and the sword is about to move in the box."
Shulot folded his sword over his chest and made a gesture to hide it. He thought of the time he was trapped in Tisok's army, and also recalled his first encounter with Avitt, their shared conversations and ambitions. Then the dragon and the sword, then the king saw the king.
"I experienced the battlefield of the first formation, and I held the funeral of the gods. I am an eagle that has just emerged from the nest, pursuing the sacred glory!"
Bertard's eyes grew dark. After a while, he silently clenched his fists on his chest and bowed his head in salute.
"Flying to the top of Qingming Ling, leaning against the sky and overpowering the heroes!"
Shulot took a few steps and waved his sword rapidly. Three years of bloody events flashed through my mind one by one.
The first attack, the first time leading an army to hunt down the king; the answers to the elders in the stone chamber, and the life and death lot from the chief priest Kechar; the first time leading the legion to the west, from the wooden castle on the north shore to Lake Eureria , from the river mouth fortress to the Takuro plain, from the battle of kings to the fall of Qin Congcan...
"I met many opponents, and I withstood the test of the gods. I overcame obstacles all the way, and walked out of life and death!"
The generals were quiet for a moment and cheered in unison. They followed the invincible His Highness and experienced several brutal battles, so naturally they felt the same way.
"The sword flies to Quanzhen, and the independent east peak opens the gate of heaven."
Shulot stood as straight as a pine, raised the long sword above his head, and lowered the sword in his hand again. He recalled the grand enfeoffment ceremony, the excitement of taking charge of one side, and the full ambition and pride.
"I captured the old king, and I ascended the throne of the Lake District. I built a new kingdom out of the ruins of the kingdom!"
Hearing this, Jatiri was the first to bow his head, and everyone also bowed deeply to pay tribute to the king.
Seeing the surrendered people, Shulot laughed loudly. Years of samurai training have made his body flexible and strong. The sword dance in his hand became more and more intense, with the sound of howling wind in the air, and then suddenly he retracted it!
The young king turned around and looked towards the west where the setting sun was setting. The past era is five hundred years later, and the distant motherland is 20,000 miles away. Everything is far away and has become illusory. For him, all reality, all existence, is only this country, only this home.
Shulot exhaled a long breath. He chanted slowly in a language that no one could understand, like a mysterious prayer.
“It suddenly clears up, rains and winds blow, and autumn comes and goes.
Once Dapeng has gone twenty thousand miles away, his sword is gone and he falls into the deep darkness of the furnace.
Fuliang does not remember human affairs, and forgets the river and wanders in the vast sea.
The sky, wind and earth roll into endless dusk, and the morning light is a little empty in the distance.
"
The king gently wiped the sword, and in a deep tone, whispered four lines of deep poetry. Soon, Alyssa's beautiful smile appeared in his mind, followed by the vast and undulating sand table of the world, and the world map that was memorized in his heart!
"...But the flowers are blooming but not the leaves, and one sword dazzles fifty states!"
Shulot groaned for a moment before suddenly pointing towards the sky. The history of later generations appeared before his eyes, all burned to ashes by the anger in his eyes. Under the influence of drunkenness, he suddenly thrust out the long sword in his hand and pierced the eastern sky! This sword carries awe-inspiring will, no matter how long the time is; this sword carries complete determination, no matter how long the life is!
"I came to the country here with the promise of the gods. I am destined to rule the world and dominate the continent at my feet!"
