The end of October is always chilling and wandering. It is the chilly wind in the wilderness, and it is also the leaves floating everywhere in the long wind.
The next few days were uneventful. More than 15,000 powerful Confederate troops set up camp outside the entrance of Palms Valley. Subsequently, the Guamare Legion continued to attack the entrance of the valley, consuming wood, rocks, and rolling logs, and destroying the fences of the camp. The Guards Corps guarded the Black Wolf's flag and established the main Mexica camp on hills with sparse trees and difficult to burn.
At this moment, the king is sitting in the main camp. While sorting out the list of states in his hand, he was thinking about the next military plan. It is said to be a roster, but it is actually a pedigree of the Otomi noble clan with long flags, feathers and family crests.
Bertard looked calm and stood silently. His eyes sometimes fell on the roster, which had many strange markings and symbols, mainly red "X"s and "Os".
Shulot opened yesterday's battle report and calmly marked the fallen nobles with an "X" and the warriors who performed outstandingly with an "O". He also has another atlas in his hand, which records the land and Dingkou numbers of each noble clan. These figures are currently not accurate and are merely vague estimates based on complex sources.
Now, the three northern states have established new archdioceses of the main god and reported them to the capital city in the lake. The old priest Aort serves as the chief priest of the three states. The Church of the Original God is being fully adapted and integrated with the Church of the Lord God. It won’t be long before more priests will come from the Kingdom and be sent to all the three kingdoms. They will go deep into each tribe to preach and make more specific statistics on the area of cultivated land and the number of people living in the village. If the kingdom wants to rule the unruly tribes in the North, it must start with registration.
The big tent was quiet for a long time. Suddenly, a burst of fierce noise sounded from the periphery of the main camp, followed by rapid shouts of killing.
Bertard instantly grasped the bronze sword and his eyes became sharp. He strode out of the tent to check and made a guarding gesture. Tels came in with a dozen personal guards and held a large shield, covering His Highness' surroundings.
The sun fell from the ceiling of the tent, facing the king's desk. Shulot's expression remained unchanged and he continued to look at the album. After a while, the shouting outside the tent stopped quickly, and after a few shouts, it turned into intermittent screams.
After a while, Bertard returned calmly from outside the tent, bringing back a warrior captain who was in charge of the prisoners.
"Um?"
"Your Highness, a red-haired team of canine descendants just infiltrated and attacked a prisoner camp, and were then repelled by the bodyguards."
The warrior commander responded in a deep voice.
"oh?"
Shulot put down the book in his hand and looked up.
"What's going on now?"
Bertard patted the samurai captain. The other party immediately fell to his knees, looking ashamed.
"Your Highness, two-quarters of an hour ago, fifty or sixty red-haired men suddenly emerged from the mountains and forests on the east side and attacked the outermost prisoner camp. The prisoners in the camp also made noise at the same time. The warriors killed seven or eight Red-haired, but four slapped prisoners took advantage of the chaos to escape."
"Which tribe do the enemies come from?"
"Red Frog Scout identified the body and said it was from the Red Crow Tribe."
"Red Crow again...how many casualties have the warriors received?"
"The enemy's attack was extremely sudden, and the warriors also... suffered about ten casualties."
"Hmm...what to do next?"
"A team of a hundred people has brought the priest Shuroitzkunli and is chasing in the forest. There are more than two hundred prisoners in the camp. Four slaps escaped, and four slaps of barbarians were taken out and beheaded. The remaining prisoners Ten lashes for all!”
"Yeah. Very good, go down!"
The warrior captain bowed to the ground and left respectfully.
Shulot stood up and walked slowly in the tent.
In the Mexican Legion, the war priests accompanying the army would domesticate a small number of Mexican hairless dogs, namely xoloitzcuintli (xoloitzcuintli). "Shuluo" refers to the God of Death, and "Izkunli" refers to the dog. Together they are the "Dog of Death". This medium-sized dog's fighting ability is not outstanding, but it has a very important religious status. In Mexica mythology, they are guides to the underworld and can lead the souls of the dead, so they are also very important sacrificial animals.
"Bertard, let the chasing team come back, don't get caught in an ambush."
The king pondered for a moment and calmly gave the order.
"Take out one thousand warriors from the Otopan army and immediately escort four thousand prisoners south, escorting them all the way to the mountain city of Otopan."
In the past few days, the coalition forces have been moving northward. The main army, led by the guide Parmus and the red frog scouts, cleared the mountains and forests along the way.
The Guakili tribe was defeated in the night attack and was captured in large numbers. More than 4,000 canine warriors were captured. These warriors are the elite of the canine descendants from the east. They are familiar with life in the wilderness and are used to bloodshed and killing. As they recovered from their fear of skyfire, they became a source of unrest in the camp.
Shulot didn't have time to identify the soldiers one by one, so he simply packed them up and shipped them back to the south.
"As ordered, Your Highness."
Bertard immediately went out of the tent to arrange manpower.
"Tels, you guys should get out too!"
"Yes, Your Highness."
The loyal shield guards bowed their heads in salute and returned to guard outside the tent.
The king walked to the corner of the tent and looked at the dirt floor. There is a rosewood cactus, the most common in the wilderness. Most of this cactus was cut off by the dog's stone axe, leaving only the remaining thorny stems, still growing stubbornly. In the North where food is scarce, cactus is like tofu in my hometown and the most common daily food.
"The canines in the wilderness are like the cactus in the north, surviving on the barren land. They are stoic and tenacious, have strong vitality, and have sharp spines that can pierce their hands."
Shulot looked at it for a moment and whispered to himself.
"But when you pluck the cactus, remove the sharp thorns on the surface, put it in your mouth and chew it... you will know how crispy and delicious it is."
Thinking of the smell of cactus, the king smiled and continued to sit cross-legged. He opened the atlas of each army and counted the troops in his hands.
When the expedition began in early August, the Guards Corps was at its full strength of 6,000 men. Then he fought in March and suffered more than a thousand losses. The main reason was that when the Black Wolf stormed the Red Fox Valley, it suffered 800 losses in one battle. Later, he recruited Otomi warriors from the three countries and selected hundreds of Guakili prisoners to fill up the army again.
The battles continued all the way, and the Otomi legions of the three countries suffered a lot of casualties. Six thousand of the eight thousand Ottopan warriors remained, and only a little over a thousand of the three thousand Parmus warriors remained. Five thousand Guamarei warriors left one thousand in the Red Fox Valley, and lost more than one thousand. Now there are less than three thousand.
In addition to the losses of warriors, the nobles of various states also suffered heavy casualties, leaving large tracts of hereditary territory vacant. How these territories are arranged is the key to establishing the rule of the kingdom.
"Buzz...bang!"
Shulot was deep in thought when he was suddenly interrupted by a low buzzing sound. He listened for a moment, with a smile on his face, then put down the album in his hand and waited patiently.
Sure enough, after a while, the curtain of the big tent was opened again, and Chief Chalki walked in cautiously, saluting His Highness and the warrior chief in turn.
"Your Highness, Divine Enlightenment, greets you!"
"Chalki, how is the situation with the legion?"
"Your Highness, twelve stone-throwing wood beasts have been shipped and have been assembled and are being tested."
Chalki knelt on the ground, looking extremely respectful.
"What was the reaction of the red monkey tribe guarding the camp?"
"There was some panic. Their chief appeared in person and calmed the soldiers' morale."
"Continue to test fire and get familiar with the range. When attacking the camp later, the stone-throwing wood beast may be useful."
Hearing this, the middle-aged chief paused slightly. He looked up at His Highness and asked tentatively.
"Your Highness, you said 'maybe'?"
"Well, maybe."
The king nodded, looking confident.
"If the trebuchet is used, more effort will be spent, more warriors will be lost, and fewer prisoners will be captured. If it is not used, it will be the other way around."
The gunpowder weapons in the legion still have the size of a battle, enough to burn down the Taniguchi camp. It would not be difficult to capture the valley mouth until the dogborn were fully accustomed to the skyfire and thunder. The real difficulty is how to prevent the canine tribe from escaping and consuming or capturing the strong men of each tribe to the maximum extent. To a certain extent, the leader of Chichika, who was able to force various units to fight to the death, solved the most difficult tactical problem for the coalition forces.
Chalki's eyes flickered as he chewed on His Highness's words repeatedly.
Shulot's expression remained unchanged and he asked again.
"Chalki, how is the situation with the legion?"
The middle-aged chieftain was startled for a moment, and then his expression suddenly dawned. He lowered his voice.
"Your Highness, the army attacked the entrance of the valley for three days and lost more than a dozen nobles who were unwilling to convert."
"Are the rest willing to convert?"
"Yes."
"Very good. Then summon the Guamare nobles to hold a prayer ceremony for the main god next to the stone-throwing wood beast. I will send you a war priest, and it will be done tonight!"
"Your will be followed, Your Highness."
"Go down and get ready!"
"yes."
Chalki kowtowed in awe and left quickly.
Shulot looked at the back of the middle-aged chief and began to think deeply again.
After the northern expedition, he would set aside some direct territories in Otopan and Parmesan states, leaving a garrison in each. The vast Guamare State in the west will basically maintain aristocratic autonomy. Therefore, for the nobles of Guamare, they only need to convert, and there is no need to clean up too much.
So far in the Northern Expedition, the political goals have been basically achieved. The stubborn nobles in the Three Kingdoms who resisted the alliance and converted have been almost eliminated. Both Chalki and Giowa took control of the situation, and gradually became worthy of the name from being leaders of the legion. The remaining economic and military goals are to capture as many dog-born Dingguchi as possible, enrich the foundation of the kingdom, establish a forward stronghold, and control the surrounding tribes.
Thinking of this, Shulot looked to his side.
"Bertard, how is our poet?"
"Your Highness, the poet is still in the enemy camp, negotiating."
"Well. Let the poet relay my words: The wooden beast of the Lord God has arrived, and the Lord God's people are about to be killed. The Lord God's anger cannot be restrained and will destroy everything... The conditions for surrender are the same as the Red Frog. They form an army alone. Three Thousands of people. Give him two days. If he doesn’t make a decision, the legion will summon heavenly fire and capture the Taniguchi camp. By then, everyone will be sacrificed!"
"Your will is the destined future."
The warrior commander bowed his head in greeting and left silently again.
The king stood up and slowly came to the corner of the camp. He looked at the incomplete cactus for a while and suddenly smiled brightly.
"Somebody come!"
The guards immediately rushed in and bowed their heads in obedience.
"Take care of this cactus and fry turkey eggs with oil in a copper pot. I want to eat them tonight!"
