The past January was calm and steady on the surface, but in reality it was turbulent. Under the suppression of tens of thousands of royal troops, the southern nobles finally had no choice but to obey the changes after a painful struggle. They handed over their land and Dingkou, and took hundreds of people from their direct lineage to the north of the Leman River to guard the border. With the arrival of the capital's priests, the population of more than 200,000 in Zicao County is being organized into households and villages are being established in an orderly manner, and they are gradually being brought under the direct control of the kingdom. The Southwest Tekos tribe will also be solved together in the southern expedition.
In early January, seven thousand Imperial Guards spent a peaceful New Year in Purple Grass City, also known as Kuramo City. The king personally held New Year's sacrifices, summoned the priests from the capital who were sent to their posts, and appeased the purged Gyeonggi Army. Then, the fourth batch of five thousand rebels set off immediately. At this point, all 20,000 rebels embarked on the road of serfdom to the north. The Crow family took the lead in moving northward, and more than a dozen hereditary noble families from the south followed suit.
At the same time, the Black Wolf penetrated deep into the southwest mountains and lost contact with the Kingdom's army. After Ezpan left three thousand people in Apa City, he continued to follow the king's order to the west. He took over the 5,000 Guakili Legion left by Black Wolf, commanded nearly 10,000 soldiers, and pursued the retreating Tekos coalition day and night.
In early January, Shulot set off from Purple Grass City, escorted by 7,000 imperial guards, carrying forty bronze cannons, and headed west for two hundred miles. All the southern nobles along the way complied with the move north. The two nobles who dared to disobey were blasted through the wooden castle with condor cannons in one day, and all the men of the clan were killed!
In late January, the Black Wolf King's banner arrived at the gates of Apa City, and the Imperial Guards stationed themselves in the newly built siege camp. In the following days, the Guards were fully deployed and blocked all passages outside Apa City. Then, ten condor cannons were installed in the south of the city and bombarded the south city for days. Today is the second day of February and the fifth day of artillery bombardment.
Three days ago, Wang Jun organized a tentative attack to test the siege effect of the Rain God Tiger Crouching Cannon. The hundreds of corpses from both sides below the city were left over from that siege.
Under the cover of the shields of the heavily armored warriors, the gunners pushed dozens of squatting tiger cannons within fifty steps of the city wall. Afterwards, the archers of the royal army suppressed the bows and arrows at the top of the city, while the Crouching Tiger Cannon bombarded the top of Apa City, firing three rounds.
After all, the Crouching Tiger Cannon is an extremely light scattering artillery. When it shoots upward at a six-meter-high stone city wall, its power is greatly attenuated. The scattered stone pellets could only barely injure some civilian militiamen, but could not break the shield at the top of the city. Instead, it was the huge roar of dozens of cannons bombarding at the same time, which caused a huge shock to the hearts of the defenders. The militiamen in Nancheng panicked and shouted the names of the gods. They broke into the city twice and were driven back to the city by the palm warriors who supervised the battle.
The defenders still have fighting spirit. A strong attack will not only destroy the warriors in vain, but also reduce the number of Dingkou gained after the victory. Shulot looked at it for a moment and then stopped the attack. Then, the ten condor cannons fired slowly and slowly, creating psychological pressure on the defenders while studying the artillery tactics until today.
"Boom!...Boom!...Boom!..."
Amidst the thunder of the condor cannon, Shulot returned to the siege camp. He sat cross-legged in the king's tent in the camp and said to Bertard with a smile.
"God bless you! According to the alliance's 260-day sacred calendar, today is the last day of Ehecatl, the Day of the Jaguar (Ocelotl)."
"The sacred wind rotates in the sky, creating disorder and chaos. The old order disintegrates in the divine wind, and new rules will be conceived in chaos. And in the storm of death, unpredictable changes are coming, and in Life flows in the wind of death! The heroic jaguar symbolizes outstanding battles. Warriors are willing to sacrifice their lives to keep the sun's flames burning forever!..."
"The Lord God bless you! Praise Him for granting divinity to the storm and courage to the jaguar!"
Upon hearing the sacred calendar, Bertard bowed respectfully. Then he asked cautiously.
"Then, Your Highness, what does it portend in the eyes of the holy priest?"
"Well, it foreshadows..."
Shulot pondered for a moment, thinking of the black wolf somewhere, and smiled confidently.
"It indicates that good news will come soon!"
Black Wolf will not disappoint me. The king thought so, but he never said it.
"Praise the Lord God, God bless Your Highness! The Southern Expedition will be a great victory!"
Hearing this, Bertard responded with a smile. He never had any doubts about the complete victory of the Southern Expedition.
Xiuluo nodded and said no more. He unfolded the map of the south, read reports from various places, and planned the arrangements after the southern expedition.
Time passed silently, and the sun set slightly in the west. Several red-haired hunters appeared from the western plains carrying red bamboo baskets and small red flags. Within two or three quarters of an hour, the red-haired hunters rushed closer. They looked in awe at the roaring, roaring, and emitting stone bullets of the bronze beast. Under the guidance of the imperial guards, they went through several inspections and came to wait outside the king's tent in the military camp.
"Your Highness, Miwa, the deputy general of the Red Frogs, came from the southwest mountainous area with news of victory!"
Shieldguard Tekos entered the account and reported back, with a happy face. Bertard looked surprised and looked at His Highness who had foresight with reverence.
"Ah? Good news? Good, very good! Let Miwa come in."
Shulot raised his head, was startled for a moment, and laughed happily. He remembered that the red-haired personal guard who was good at fighting and stubborn, once risked his own life to attack the enemy at night, and even got involved himself.
Miwa, the red-haired bodyguard, immediately entered the tent, carrying several bamboo baskets, and knelt down ten steps away. All weapons on his body were removed, and even his fingernails were inspected. On both sides of him, there was an axe-wielding personal guard on each side.
After the assassination of Medina, the vigilance level of the royal tent was greatly increased. Ordinary envoys must not only be inspected repeatedly, but also must report back ten steps away from the king under the personal supervision of personal guards.
"Supreme Death Chief! Four days ago, under the command of Chief Ezpan, Chief Red Frog defeated the Tecos coalition army, captured Hand Snake City, and destroyed the Shield Tribe! The army killed all the Tecos noble chiefs , priests and chiefs, captured nearly 4,000 tribal warriors, and captured more than 10,000 women and children from nearby tribes!"
The red-haired bodyguard Miwa knelt down and kowtowed, then handed over several bamboo baskets. The guards made a brief inspection, and a strong smell of blood spread in the tent.
When asked about the bloody smell, Shulot raised his brows and understood. He glanced at the bamboo basket, smiled and spoke.
"Praise the Lord God! Praise Him for giving us victory! You fought well, Miwa. To make a long story short. What heads are in here?"
"Ah! Great Chief, all the heads of Tekos noble chiefs are inside, there are twenty or thirty of them."
Miwa, the red-haired bodyguard, walked to the largest bamboo basket with a simple smile on his face. He reached out and groped for a moment, then suddenly lifted his hair and took out a middle-aged head with closed eyes.
"This is Shield Chief Chimali!"
"Oh? Chimali is dead? Not bad! Very good! Ezpan and Coca are very good!"
Shulot looked at the head and praised with a smile. He has been worried that the prestigious chief Chimali fled into the mountains with his tribe, and with the support of the Colima tribe in the west, relied on hundreds of miles of mountains and kingdom legions to fight guerrillas. Unexpectedly, the other party died so easily!
"Praise the Lord God! Praise the Great Chief!"
Hearing the great chief's praise, the red-haired bodyguard Miwa smiled brightly. He reached out his hand, grabbed his hair, and took out a middle-aged head with closed eyes. Looking carefully, the face of the head is quite similar to the previous one.
"Great Chief, this is Malina, the herbal elder. He is Chimali's younger brother. He also killed Chimali with his own hands."
"very good!"
Shulot looked at it twice and nodded. It sounds like civil strife broke out within the Tekos tribe. In fact, he had no knowledge of the negotiations in the southwestern mountains. Ezpin negotiated privately and promised to enfeoff the hereditary nobility, but naturally he was never prepared to fulfill it.
"God bless you!"
The red-haired bodyguard Miwa smiled and prayed, and then took out the last middle-aged head with open eyes. The man had short hair and tattoos on his face that symbolized bravery.
"Great Chief, this is the hunting elder Toppan. He killed Malina, and there was chaos in the city. Chief Ezpan seized the opportunity, defeated the enemy in one fell swoop, and killed him as well. As for the other Tecos noble chiefs, they were all killed, and their heads were It’s all here!”
"Oh? So, Shield Chief Chimali, Herb Elder Malina, Hunting Elder Toppan... the three of them attacked each other and ended up being turned into heads and sent here?"
"Yes, exactly. Chief, the Southwest Tecos are eating each other, their morale is low, and they are completely discouraged. After the first battle, no one in the southwest dared to resist. When I set out, Chief Ezpan had already ordered that the troops Sweep three hundred miles southwest to trap the Tekos people who are short of food, until you reach the endless lake!"
Hearing this, Shulot was silent and frowned slightly. In the face of a formidable enemy, the Tekos people would not have civil strife for no reason... He could vaguely guess the hidden meaning, and Ezpan must have done something. As for killing all the Tekos noble chiefs, I'm afraid it was just to silence them and let everything in the past be buried in the dust. At this point, he was sure that Ezpin would leave no omissions.
Ezpin was born as a general, and in order to win the trust of the king, he was even willing to cut off his little finger despite the pain. His fighting style is both flexible and ruthless. He was once the monkey's lieutenant, and his flexible tactics came from the monkey's professor. And the ruthless style is innate in his bones. After the victory of the Western Expedition, he purged the old nobles of Tarasco in his jurisdiction even more thoroughly than the Mexica generals.
Miwa the Red Frog was born in a wilderness tribe and would not show mercy. You can imagine what the two of them can do when they work together.
"Forget it...if the water is clear, there will be no fish. Wait until he comes back and then tap again."
Shulot thought for a moment and nodded. He smiled lightly and looked at Miwa who was waiting with his head lowered.
"Miwa, Ezpan asked you to come, what else can you say?"
"Great Chief, Chief Ezpan asks you to send as much food as possible to the south!"
The red-haired bodyguard Miwa raised his head and answered respectfully.
"Great Chief, Chief Black Wolf raided the mountains and burned all the Tekos people's food with a fire! According to the news from the Tekos prisoners, Chief Black Wolf has arrived at the seaside. Thousands of legions plundered all the way to the southeast, completely sweeping through all parts of the southwest. , creating nearly 100,000 Tekos refugees!”
"Chief Ezpan is sure that the Tecos refugees are about to fall into famine and will not be able to stay in the mountains for long. As long as there is sufficient food, the Legion can surrender or trap most of the Tecos refugees and bring them back to the Northern Kingdom as slaves!"
"The black wolf continues to break in? One hundred thousand Tekos refugees?"
Hearing this, Shulot opened his eyes in surprise and stood up suddenly. He paced repeatedly, thought for a moment, and promised loudly.
"Yes! Very good, tell Ezpan and let him do what he wants! I will recruit the food of the southern nobles and supply it to him with all my strength!"
"The southwestern mountainous area is too far away and the environment is complex to govern directly. Tell him, I only want the population! As long as he robs enough people, no matter what methods he has used before, I will let it go! And if he can get 100,000 people, He is the number one hero of the Southern Expedition! Then I will reward him generously and give his legion a thousand bronze armors! And Coca’s Red Frog Legion will also be generously rewarded!”
"Ah! I obey! Praise you, great chief!"
The red-haired bodyguard Miwa fell to the ground, his face full of joy.
"Tell him again to guard the retreat and beware of the Colima tribes! The southwest mountainous area cannot support ten thousand legions. Let some of the legions come back with the plundered population and station in Zicao County. In addition, tell Ezpan and Coca, be nice to the ordinary Tekos refugees! Only the tribes that resist the royal army will be demoted to serfs, and the others will be incorporated into the flag corps to reclaim wasteland in Zicao County."
"I obey you, Warchief!"
Miwa kowtowed again. He was smiling brightly and with a fighting spirit on his face, like a hound waiting for prey.
Shulot gave a few instructions and waved Miwa to retreat. Then, the king looked at the three heads side by side and felt an arrangement of fate. However, there seem to be some subtle inconsistencies.
"Bertard!"
Shulot looked at it for a moment and suddenly spoke.
"Your Highness?"
"Close the eyes of the last head."
"As commanded."
The warrior commander immediately obeyed and closed Toppan's eyes. This time, the three heads stood side by side, closing their eyes together, and came to the northern kingdom to meet the king of the north.
"Yes, that's it."
Xiuluo nodded and looked at it for a while, feeling much more comfortable. He clapped his hands and ordered calmly,
"Send these three heads, together with these bamboo baskets, to Apa City! Let the Palm Family take a good look at the fate of their allies!"
"Do your will!"
Bertard saluted and stood up, smiling and looking to the north. When the head was sent into the desperate city of Apa, there was no longer any hope. And the divine omen will be fulfilled again.
