The sun rises and the birds sing. The warm sunshine illuminates the green mountain forest, and the valley of the hot springs is a little brighter. The autumn wind blows from the forest, carrying the fragrance of vegetation and the water vapor from the hot springs, making it feel like a fairyland on earth.
Shulot lowered his head, kissed the sleeping Alyssa gently, and got up from the straw bed covered with cotton blankets. When he walked out of the wooden house next to the hot spring, the bright sunshine came towards him, making him couldn't help but squint his eyes.
"I actually slept until noon..."
The young man murmured, stretched his body, and did some simple warrior training. However, he felt that his back was sore and it was difficult to exert force. He looked back at the inner room and couldn't help but sigh.
"...Hey! Wenwen Township is really a tomb of heroes... No matter how brave you are, you can't withstand the obsession day and night."
Naxiu came silently carrying breakfast. Listening to His Highness' low sigh, she couldn't help but blush and pursed her lips.
A few days ago, His Highness became a little too brave after taking certain supplements. The princess begged hard and couldn't bear it anymore, so she had to make her resist several times. Although she was proficient in martial arts, it was her first time to go into battle. She was killed until she was bleeding and left in the oar, discarding her helmet and armor, and burst into tears.
When the princess regained consciousness the next day, she was ashamed, angry, and very regretful. But as His Highness's shadow slave, she is not an outsider after all. According to the customs of the alliance, she must serve His Highness after all... In the next few days, with a helping hand, the princess gradually became able to make peace with His Highness.
In the past two days, she finally figured out some tricks and applied the teachings of the priestesses one by one. Her raccoon-like vocals combined with her jellyfish-like dance made His Highness unable to resist...
Thinking of this, the cold female warrior stuck out her tongue and gently licked her upper lip. Then, she lowered her head slightly, placed the tray under the ups and downs, and said gracefully.
"Your Highness, please have lunch."
Xiulote tilted his head slightly and nodded when he saw Na Xiu standing tall and graceful. Then, he saw the two avocados next to the tortillas, and his heart tightened inexplicably.
"Naxiu, you..."
"Your Highness, you need to replenish your body, otherwise tonight..."
Na Xiu pursed her lips and smiled, winking playfully. Then, she raised her red lips, stood on tiptoes, and made a posture like a fox barking.
"Master, good master...wow~"
"Well!..."
Shulot's scalp felt numb and he felt a dull pain in his back. He quickly changed the subject.
"Have the envoys from the kingdom left?"
"Not yet, but soon. The envoys have rested for the night, and after lunch, they will travel day and night to return to the kingdom."
"Ah, very good!"
Xiuluo nodded, stretched out his hand, and took out a document from his arms.
"Add another royal order to the Chihuaco Battalion Commander of the Tuntian Army."
"As you command!"
Na Xiu put down her lunch and took the latest Wang Order. She took a quick look and saw only the shape of a ship and the undulating waves.
The female warrior hurried away, and Shulot looked to the west in the distance, feeling ups and downs.
The messenger from the kingdom brought news that this year's autumn harvest was good, and it was another good year from south to north. After the autumn harvest, the various legions participating in the Eastern Expedition began to assemble, and the pace of war was just around the corner!
The main force of the 8,000 Guaquili Corps and the 4,000 Guards Corps were gathered at the river mouth fortress on the Leman River in the north, waiting for the transportation of the Kingdom's fleet. The five thousand warriors of the Tekos tribe who surrendered during the southern expedition were all gathered in Zicao County on the banks of the Talsas River in the south, and were transported by the alliance and the kingdom's southern navy. The north and south routes combined, plus the three thousand guards in the Texcoco Lake area, are the kingdom's 20,000 troops!
According to the plan, the logistics of the 20,000 legions will be provided by the alliance nearby. The veteran general of Purple Grass County, Etalik, leads the Purple Grass Legion. Last month, he sent five hundred warriors to garrison at Tal Village, an important place in the upper reaches of the Talsas River. They will build forts as soon as possible to control the upper reaches of the river and provide another layer of guarantee for the Southern Route Army's logistical support.
As for the internal defense of the kingdom, the monkey Kuruka guards the north and defends the Chapala Lake area in the lower reaches of the west; Ezpan guards the southwest and pacifies the Tekos tribe in the southwest; and the jaguar Orosh guards the capital and takes charge of the situation in the kingdom. The three legions will not move lightly, nor will they participate in the Eastern Expedition.
After the miracle of the hot air balloon spread, the people of the kingdom became more stable. After harvesting the first batch of grain, the development of the Apa Plain in the south gradually got on track. In Atoyak Lake in Zicao County, Southern Shipbuilding Company has been operating for more than half a year, launching several batches of catamaran canoes and the first batch of Crocodile God paddle boats.
Further to the southwest, outside the mouth of the Tulsas River, the iron ore in Black Rock Mountain has been set up, and a small amount of iron ore has been mined and smelted. The age of iron is looming at dawn!
According to the instructions left by Shulot, the kingdom's senior bronze craftsmen were mobilized to explore the original iron-making technology together. They built the kiln and it took them three months to produce the first furnace of iron - lump iron. The quality of the Heiyanshan iron ore is very low, and there are many impurities in the smelting blocks. The iron produced from the furnace is very soft and has a sponge-like shape, so it cannot be used directly.
Later, the craftsmen stuffed plant ash into the gaps between the iron blocks and repeatedly smelted and forged them to knock out the internal impurities and improve the quality of the iron. After another two months of groping, it was not until the beginning of September that the first batch of usable iron blocks was produced. These iron blocks are still just ordinary pig iron, hard and brittle, and cannot be made into weapons, only farm tools.
"Iron-making technology comes from scratch, and it is always slow at the beginning. But as long as there is a beginning and a direction, there is hope for the future!"
Shulot thought about it for a long time, his face showed longing, and his body was filled with strength. Afterwards, he had lunch and ate avocado, and then saw the kingdom's envoys setting off from the camp. The messengers headed south, bowed their heads and saluted the king, and then ran towards the north.
The wind is blowing, and the autumn leaves are slightly yellow. The group led Wang Ling over the mountains and ridges, running steadily and almost without stopping.
They walked past the edge of the capital city in the lake and saw thousands of alliance warriors gathering from various city-states. They walked through the villages on the shores of Lake Texcoco and saw thousands of people carrying autumn grain on their backs and transporting it to the granaries on the north and south roads. They boarded the galley of the kingdom's navy and headed westward, crossing the 500-mile Leman River waterway to Hekou County in the north of the kingdom. Along the way, villages were mobilizing on both sides of the strait. The militiamen trampled on the open fields and marched eastward in groups. On the convenient river channel, countless canoes carried warriors from the western city-states and tributes from various states to gather at Lake Texcoco.
The tribes of Tlaxcala are the old enemies of the Alliance! The hatred of nearly a hundred years of fighting was deeply ingrained in the hearts of nobles from all over the world. Almost all the great nobles of the city-state had relatives who died in the hands of the Tlaxcalans. For this Eastern Expedition, all states in the alliance have mobilized their warriors and militia! The goal of the war is not only to make the other party surrender, but to completely wipe out the descendants of the God of Hunting from the world!
The messenger continued westward and landed north of the river mouth fortress. Black Wolf Toltec, fully armored and leading the Guakili Legion, had been waiting by the river for a long time. He took the king's order for the Eastern Expedition, read it once, and then threw his head back and laughed!
"Haha, the Eastern March has finally begun! Brave warriors, good warriors, hold your spears high and follow me eastward! Kill all the nobles of Tlaxcala, rob them of their wealth and women, and capture some more for the kingdom. Serf!... I, the black wolf, swear to the Lord God that I will record my merits fairly and never rob anyone of their merits! Military merits will be awarded to the fields, military merits will be awarded, and killing the enemy will be rewarded! Ouch! Kill, kill, kill!"
"Ouch! Kill, kill, kill!"
Upon hearing the commander's mobilization, thousands of canine descendants howled with excitement, and their murderous intent boiled like crazy. The howl of the wolf spread far away, echoing in the vast world, and also reaching the river mouth fortress not far away. On the fortress, the monkey Kuruka stood up suddenly and looked at the black wolf and the kingdom messenger by the river, with a bit of envy and yearning in his eyes.
"Let's go! General Barda, the king's order is coming soon, we have to go out to meet him!"
Eagle warrior Barda stood aside, frowning slightly as he listened to the howls of the canine descendants. Then he nodded in response.
"That's right! Kuruca, I will send people right away to gather four thousand janitor warriors to prepare for boarding the ship... The Eastern Expedition will be long. When His Highness's army comes back victorious, we will have a drink together!"
"Okay! With the blessing of the Lord God, the Eastern Expedition will be victorious!"
Kuruca's eyes moved and he responded with a smile. He has been in charge of a party for many years and is no longer the ordinary civilian warrior he was back then. Among the six legion marshals in the entire Lake Kingdom, he was the most approachable and had good relations with all the generals.
"With the blessing of the Lord God, the Eastern Campaign will be victorious!"
Barda nodded solemnly and strode out. Your Highness is invincible and victorious. As long as His Highness is in command, the victory of the Eastern Expedition cannot be doubted!
After a while, four thousand elite guard warriors gathered from the fortress barracks. These senior warriors have simple movements and indifferent expressions. They have long been used to seeing life and death. Compared with the canine warriors, their killing intent is not obvious, and they use their weapons to declare death!
The envoys separated into two people, handed down the king's order, and continued to run south. They walked through the vast wilderness, through the villages full of life, and then under the dawn light, they came to the capital city where the morning prayers were thundering.
The two men took Wang Ling and ran into the city from the north gate. One person went to the residence of the chief minister, Sage Jatiri; the other person went to the military camp in the city to send a message to the commander of the Gyeonggi Army, Jaguar Orosh. The remaining people continued to run south, stepping on the fields after the harvest, to the two counties of Apa and Zicao in the south. When they arrived around Patzcuaro Military City, another person from the team separated and went straight to the nearby military camp.
The morning sun rose into the sky, illuminating the simple camp. Chihuaco, an old militiaman, was sitting outside the camp's kitchen with his legs crossed, his waist hunched, and his spear pressed under his butt, happily eating corn cakes. This year's harvest is good, and the warehouses are full of grain. The army in the field paid tribute and had enough grain in stock. They could finally grind some corn flour and make pancakes to eat on weekdays.
Chihuaco chewed the pancake carefully, not even a trace of residue leaking out. After a while, he finished eating a piece of cake. He felt comfortable all over and his old face smiled like a flower.
"Phew! Eating corn cakes and enjoying the peaceful time, these days... tsk tsk!"
"Uncle, I've been looking for you for a long time, and you're here!"
Wezti wore a turban, folded his hands, and hurried over with something in his pocket. Seeing his old uncle and father-in-law, a smile appeared on his face, and he smiled like a wooden flower.
"Mumu, why are you looking for me? You're in a hurry, just like a thief, not in a decent manner."
Chihuaco raised his head, glanced at Vezti, and curled his lips in disgust.
"In two days, I'll give you a holiday. You clean up your head, feel refreshed, and go back to see Luwei. I have to stay in the camp and can't leave. You work harder for me and leave a place for my family as soon as possible. back!"
"Ah? I'm on vacation again? I'm going out for three days and two. What do my brothers think of me! Besides, the birth of a baby always depends on the blessing of the gods..."
"You stupid idiot! If it doesn't work once, just do it twice, if it doesn't work twice, then ten times, but you can finally get it covered once! Besides, everyone in the field camp is just farming for the gentlemen and raising a family, no matter what What more are you doing?... You finally have a peaceful life, do you still want to hold a spear and lead people to the battlefield to be killed?... Huh? Let’s see if I can’t kill you!”
Chihuaco raised his brows and stretched out his hand, as if to strike.
"Uh, uncle, don't fight! I won't go to the battlefield, I won't..."
Weziti was startled and took two steps back. Then, he scratched his head and looked around to see if there was no one around. Then he proudly took out half a flat roasted agouti from his arms.
"Hey, uncle, look! I got some corn kernels last night and set up a few stone traps. Look this morning, hey, I got two rat pieces!"
The so-called slate trap is to get a heavy slate, support it diagonally on a thin wooden frame, put a trigger directly underneath, and place a few corn kernels. The greedy agouti will knock down the wooden frame if it wants to eat the corn kernels. Then the heavy stone slab will be completely smashed down with a "hula", and the agouti will be "snapped" and filmed into "mouse slices".
"Hmm? There are two roasted rat slices. If you eat one and a half slices, why don't you give me half a slice?"
Chihuaco scowled, pretending to be angry.
"No, I just ate half of one piece. There was also one piece that was dried and left for the reeds. She loves meat the most..."
"Well...I've been talking for a long time, but this is still like a human saying."
At this point, both of them had smiles on their faces. Vezti sat close to him, while Chihuaco gnawed on rat slices. The morning sun shone in front of him, making him feel warm for a moment.
However, such peaceful time did not last long. Within a moment, a young militiaman came running from outside in a hurry.
"Uncle, uncle! Oh no, something big has happened!"
"What?!"
Chihuaco stood up with a "swish", an ominous premonition emerged in his heart. Wezti didn't even see it clearly, but there was a spear in the old uncle's hand. Then, Chihuaco looked serious and shouted in a deep voice.
"Xiao Yauli, what happened? Tell me clearly!"
"The camp gate... Outside the camp gate, there is an envoy from the kingdom!"
"Hey! It turns out to be an envoy from the kingdom. What big deal is this?"
Hearing this, the old militiaman Chihuaco breathed a sigh of relief.
"Tell me, what is the purpose of the envoy? Is it to collect food from the camp, or to recruit soldiers to build canals?"
"Neither...none!"
Yayuli gasped several times before finishing his words.
"Uncle, he said, he said... he wants to conquer you! The king wants you to get on the boat and go to some big lake in the west to find some small island with guano!"
"Ah! Conquer me?!"
Chihuaco was stunned on the spot as if struck by lightning. The spear in his hand "clacked" and fell heavily to the ground. It bounced a few times and sounded a clear copper sound, like the waves of the sea.
"My God...you are blind again..."
After a while, Chihuaco grimaced and let out a helpless sigh.
"Damn!...This day is finally here!"
