The night was deep, gauzy darkness shrouded Lake Texcoco, and blazing bonfires were lit all over the capital. The palace was brightly lit and servants were coming and going. The rose garden was filled with cheerful singing and laughter, but the King's Hall was still quiet and solemn.
Avitt was sitting on the throne, holding a pen and paper in his hand, handling the government affairs of the alliance. He has an indifferent expression, and the life and death of others is determined by the stroke of his pen. After a while, he put down the quill in his hand and looked at the dim sky outside the hall.
"It's so late..."
Avitt frowned slightly. He was indeed a little hungry after being so busy. He ordered the guards in the hall.
"Go and see what Alyssa is doing and whether she has eaten."
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
The guards hurried away. Avitt stretched out his hand and rubbed the center of his eyebrows. In a few months, the Alliance will launch a large-scale eastward expedition. A large amount of food and military supplies are now ready to be transferred, and nobles and warriors from various places will also begin to mobilize. The Eastern Expedition was a major military and national event, and it took several years to build up one battle, so it had to be planned carefully.
After a while, the guard quickly returned and reported respectfully.
"Your Majesty, the princess and your highness are in the garden, eating grilled fish and singing songs. The princess and your highness are in high spirits. There are musicians playing bamboo flutes and pottery xuns, and the servants have also prepared many fruits and snacks... .”
Hearing this, Avitt raised his eyebrows. he asked in a deep voice.
“Didn’t Alyssa invite me over to have dinner together?”
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty."
The guard bowed his head deeply, feeling a little nervous.
"The princess is in a good mood and having fun. Maybe, maybe, probably... she forgot. I'm going to ask..."
Avitt thought for a while with a sullen face, then waved his hand.
"That's all! Prepare some water, wine and food for me, and eat in the main hall!"
"As you command!"
The guard left quickly. Avitt sat on the throne and looked in the direction of the garden outside the palace. After a while, he sighed softly and shook his head.
"My daughter is getting older and I really can't keep her..."
Afterwards, the king of the alliance continued to lower his head and read the documents, feeling inexplicably irritated and helpless. He stood up and walked around the glorious hall like a god in a mural. He is aloof and rules everything, but he is alone and has no one to share with him.
After a while, the exquisite meals were brought into the hall and placed in a row on the table. Grilled fish, fragrant venison, stuffed turkey eggs, black bean puree with honey, and light corn tortillas.
Avitt looked at these meals and suddenly lost his appetite. He pondered for a while and then gave instructions to the guards in a deep voice.
"Prepare a portion of the same food for Alyssa and send it to the garden. Also tell her that the night breeze is cooler and she shouldn't stay too late..."
"...As you command!"
The guards bowed respectfully and exited the hall. He ran back and forth, sweating all over his body. A gust of evening wind blew, and he took a long breath of comfort. The wind in early summer is just warm, so how can there be any coolness at all?
The king was alone in the hall, looking up at the murals on the ceiling. Until the wooden door of the main hall suddenly opened, and a figure in black robe walked in silently.
"Kings!"
"Gillim, you're back."
Avitt glanced at it lightly and nodded slightly. He pointed at the food on the table and said calmly.
"I don't have much appetite by myself. Eat some food and drink some wine with me."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Gilliam nodded solemnly. He came to the desk and bowed his head, sitting upright and dignified. Avitt returned to his head and relaxed and sat cross-legged.
"Here, have a drink!"
Avitt casually drank a glass of tequila and asked in a deep voice.
"How about it?"
"Your Majesty, I personally checked His Highness Shulot's gift, and also chatted with some people in the imperial guard, asking for some public information."
Gilliam replied calmly. A large part of the Praetorian Guards are warriors from the Mexican Alliance. They have close ties with the royal family and are inextricably linked.
"His Royal Highness Shulot's gifts are quite valuable. There are hundreds of boxes...including 36 Rain God Tiger Crouching Cannons and 4 Sun God Eagle Cannons. This is about half of the existing artillery pieces in the Kingdom."
"Half the artillery. Yeah, not bad!"
Avitt nodded with satisfaction. Then, he asked in a deep voice with great interest.
"Rain God Tiger Crouching Cannon, Sun God Eagle Cannon?"
"Yes. The Rain God Tiger Crouching Cannon is a small bronze cannon used in the field, and the Sun Condor Cannon is a large bronze cannon that can be used to attack cities. Both of them are far more powerful than wooden cannons."
Gillim recalled the cannon he had touched with his own hands, his expression moved slightly, and his heart heaved.
"Your Majesty, I asked the craftsmen of the Foundry Bureau. These two bronze weapons are quite large in shape and are very difficult to make. Especially the Sun Condor Cannon is the most difficult. The master craftsmen of the Alliance are not sure... They need to be obtained from the Kingdom of the Lake. If you want to recruit master craftsmen to come, you may ask for it in the congratulatory gift..."
"Um?"
Avitt's face darkened, showing displeasure.
“This is Alyssa’s marriage!”
Gillim suddenly understood. He bowed his head respectfully and immediately changed his words.
"Cannon casting technology is of great importance and can greatly benefit the alliance's campaign. You may be able to request the autumn harvest tribute and have the high priest and deputy commander convey it on your behalf."
"Um."
Avitt thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
"Xulot is missing a hole. Just exchange five thousand young men and women for a few cannon-smiths from the kingdom!"
"Yes. To obey your will."
Gilliam saluted solemnly. Then, he pondered for a few breaths and made another suggestion.
"Your Majesty, the Kingdom Navy has launched a new huge galley warship, which is much better than a canoe in water battles. The Alliance Navy also needs the manufacturing technology of this kind of warship..."
"Can."
Avit thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
"It's up to you! Give the Lake Kingdom some compensation and send a batch of food there."
"Obey you!"
Gilliam bowed to the ground. Then he looked up again.
"Your Majesty, based on the latest information, it can be inferred that the gems of the Lake Kingdom are produced in large quantities using a certain method, without the need for a large amount of manpower to mine..."
"Huh? Mass production?"
Avitt was stunned, a little surprised.
"You mean, such a hard and gorgeous lake gem..."
"Exactly."
Gilliam nodded in affirmation.
"There is a 90% chance that the gem in the lake is some kind of man-made creation."
"It's so true!"
Avitt was actually a little surprised. He had seen many gems in the lake, and many were kept in the treasury. He once admired the stable quality of these gems. Now it seems that, as the general intelligence officer said...
"The power of divine inspiration is so..."
"Your Majesty, the technology for making these gems..."
Gilliam's eyes flashed. He has the alliance's business intelligence and knows what kind of huge profits this gem in the lake can bring.
Avitt was silent. He lowered his eyes, thought for a long time, and finally shook his head.
"Forget it! The gem in the lake has nothing to do with the legion's campaign, it is just some property. Since it was invented by Shulot, let him continue to sell it!"
"Kings..."
Gilliam pursed his lips. He knew the number of legions in the Kingdom of the Lake. Without the gem trade as an important source of wealth, it would have been impossible to maintain an army of this size given the foundation of the Lake Kingdom. Thinking of this, he bowed respectfully and spoke again.
"Can we impose a luxury trade tax on the gems in the lake? In the past, due to support for the kingdom, the commercial tax on these gems has been very low."
"Add commercial tax..."
Avitt was a little moved. He pondered for a moment, looked in the direction of the garden, and said quietly.
"Go and tell Shulot that after you get married, you will hand over the kingdom's gem trade to Alyssa. If he doesn't agree, the alliance will impose additional business taxes."
"...yes."
Gilliam saluted again, feeling a flash of disappointment in his heart. The kingdom is located in the west of the world, and lucrative trade must go through the alliance. As long as he has the power to tax, he can find ways to control the gem trade. And if the gem trade is in the hands of the Alliance, the Alliance will be able to raise at least one more legion, and the Kingdom will have one less legion. The difference is huge.
"Gillim, are Alyssa's dowry ready?"
A faint voice came, with a will that could not be rejected.
"My daughter cannot bear any injustice."
"Yes, Your Majesty, everything is ready."
Gillim's expression remained unchanged and he answered solemnly.
"Jade, precious stones, gold and silver, feathers, clothing, painted pottery...all will be doubled as gifts from the kingdom."
"The five hundred hectares of Chinampa fiefdom, the ten thousand direct fiefdoms, and the five hundred family warriors are all ready?"
Hearing the question, Gillim's heart ached. His face was calm and he bowed to the ground. Having served the king for so many years, he knew the king's likes and dislikes very well. Nothing can be said about the princess's dowry.
"Your Majesty, the five hundred hectares of royal Chinampa can support ten thousand people in the Lake District. The princess's fiefdom is to the west of the Texcoco Lake District, divided from the confiscated Tlacopan noble territory. Five hundred families The warriors are all senior elites, and there are thousands of servants accompanying them. In addition, in the palace area of the royal capital, there is also a gorgeous prince's mansion, which serves as the residence for the princess to live in the royal capital. That mansion is far away from the king The palace is not far away.”
"Yeah. Not bad, very good!"
Hearing that everything was arranged properly, Avitt was quite satisfied, and his irritability disappeared a lot. He smiled heartily and raised his glass.
"Come, my female snake consultant, you have worked hard all the way, drink this cup with me!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The two of them raised their glasses and drank heavily, watching the bonfire in the main hall, finally feeling a little more lively in their silence.
The night passed in a hurry. The next day, Shulot woke up alone in the king's palace. It was already bright outside the window and the birds were singing happily. He turned around and saw that there was no one beside the soft cloth bed. Alyssa is not married to him yet, so naturally she cannot sleep with him.
Shulot smiled, recalling the joy of yesterday's date. He couldn't help but turn up the corners of his mouth and licked his lips gently, as if he could still taste the tenderness and warmth of the girl. After a while, the young man smiled, arranged his clothes, and went to bid farewell to the king.
Avitt got up very early, had already had breakfast, and was sitting in the main hall correcting documents. He looked at Xilote lightly, nodded, and gave some instructions. Shulot then bowed and said goodbye to his teacher and father-in-law.
Outside the main hall, a princess's maid was holding a cloak, waiting respectfully. After one night, Alyssa recovered from the joy of reunion. Thinking of yesterday's date, she was a little shy and did not show up. She just asked the maid to give Xilot an exquisite cloak.
Shulot smiled understandingly and put on his cloak. In Mexican culture, the cloak has a special meaning. In the sacred wedding, the cloak is also an important symbol. Next, he will go to the great temple, pray to the main god, and then formally visit the high priest.
There is always solemnity and solemnity in the temple area. Temple guards armed with sticks guard the temple complex, standing like sculptures. Priests of all levels who come and go wear different robes and hold scriptures and documents. Amid everyone's salutes and greetings, Shulot slowly climbed up to the sixty- to seventy-meter-high Pyramid Temple, with the entire capital at his feet.
Shulot changed into the attire of a high priest and stood solemnly in front of the sculpture of the hummingbird and the sun. He respectfully lit incense and offered devout prayers to the Supreme God. On both sides were a row of senior priests, chanting loudly at the same time, welcoming the arrival of the patriarch of the Huzhong Diocese. Afterwards, a third-level chief priest respectfully led Shulot into the priest's hall behind the large temple.
The priest's hall is magnificent and solemn. Large pieces of cloth flutter in the wind, with mythological images of the main gods painted on them. The surrounding walls are full of murals, telling all the miracles and legends since the birth of the Lord God.
The heavy incense slowly rose from the incense burner, bringing the aura of the gods to the entire hall. Seven or eight priests and elders were sitting in the main hall with solemn faces. In the middle of the hall, there is an old man in rich clothes wearing an obsidian feather crown, sitting on the throne.
Shulot knelt down in the temple hall and solemnly saluted his grandfather, the high priest.
"The Lord God bless you! The Patriarch of the Lake Diocese, Xiulote of Teotihuacan, pays tribute to the respected High Priest! May the majestic light of the Lord God shine on you, illuminate the entire Mexica Union, and illuminate thousands of people. People!"
"God bless you!"
The high priest's face is like a flat lake, as solemn as a god. Even when he saw his grandson whom he had not seen for four years, he did not show any joy.
"Priest Xiulote, you have come a long way and have worked hard all the way. May you spread the light of the Lord God in the wild lake parish. Let thousands of lost people take refuge in the glory of the Lord God! ... Lord God pray!”
"Praise the Lord God! You must believe in my god Huitzilopochtli. His power is infinite, from the past to the future, controlling all existence until the end!..."
The slightly fat Ugel looked solemn and took the lead in praying. The surrounding priests and elders also chanted, and then the priests standing outside the hall. Soon, the sacred prayers echoed in the towering temple and spread far away. The priests, warriors and nobles around the temple all fell to the ground and prayed devoutly to the Lord God.
The sound of prayer spread far away, like a loud bell, echoing in half of the lake city. It was the time for morning prayers, and community shrines everywhere responded, and tens of thousands of people in the lake also prayed loudly. In less than a quarter of an hour, the voices praising the Lord God spread like a tide and turned into rolling thunder!
Shulot knelt on the ground, listening to the prayers of the entire capital, and his heart was filled with shock. The majesty of the high priest,
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