The boat drifted northward up the Talsas River. It only took half a day to cover fifty miles. The messenger galloped across the flat basins and could cover the same distance in about half a day. As for the army dispatching and marching across the wilderness before spring plowing, it would take at most two days to reach the same destination.
Fifty miles is the distance from Shuigu City to Cholula City! From a ruined land where flames burned, corpses fell, and gunpowder smoke spread, to a prosperous holy city with flowers, crowds of people, and temples in full bloom!
As the morning sun rises, the bright sunshine falls on the Great Pyramid of Cholula, just like it falls on a holy mountain built by mortals. The divine smoke is lingering, and the pleasant aroma spreads among the sanctuaries of the gods, bringing the aura of blessing from the gods. At this moment, on the top of the towering holy mountain, in the open sanctuary, more than a dozen distinguished priests and elders were sitting cross-legged, facing each other in silence, looking down without saying a word.
"YoYo!"
The egrets screamed in the sky, stretched out their long necks, looked at these two-legged beasts that also wore feathers, and hovered curiously.
"YoYo?"
"Yesterday afternoon, the Mexican Southern Route Army captured Shuigu City."
After a long silence, Peter, the priest leader of the Holy City, spoke first. He wears formal sacrificial robes, holds a jade plate for prayer, and wears an obsidian pendant around his neck. At this moment, his usually kind smile had faded, and his expression had become gloomy, even a little cold.
"Acotel, the leader of the Water Snakes, was killed by the Mexica, and his head was hung on the gate of Water Valley City. The leader of the Black Snakes escaped on a boat without even notifying us. The three thousand warriors sent by the Holy City to support Water Valley City, enter Of the hundred priests, only 20% managed to escape. And now, the Mexica's 50,000-strong southern army is only fifty miles away from us."
After hearing the cold facts from Petel's mouth, the atmosphere in the sanctuary became quieter, as if you could hear a pin drop. The priests and elders sat motionless with their eyes lowered, not knowing what they were thinking about.
"Tell me what to do now!"
"what to do?"
The deputy leader of the Holy City, the priest and elder of Kuio, gave a cold "hum" and replied in a low voice.
"The solid Shuigu City, with a wall six to seven meters high, and more than 20,000 defenders, was fully prepared, but it only lasted for one month!"
Petel lowered his eyes, as if falling into meditation. Hearing this, he knew what this damn old guy wanted to say.
"Twenty thousand defenders only defended for one month!!"
Quiao stood up, his gray brow trembling. He asked in a deep voice.
"How on earth was Shuigu City lost?!"
"The Mexicans used some kind of trebuchet to throw fireballs into the city. Then they used some kind of bronze cannon to fire stone bullets at the top of the city. Then, they used armored longbowmen to cover them, set up long wooden ladders, and threw He made an explosive pottery ball. Finally, he used heavily armored ax warriors to attack and directly captured Nancheng."
The Holy City War Elder, Vizier opened his eyes and answered calmly and accurately. As a war elder, his understanding of military affairs is the most profound among the elders. As a high-ranking priest, he will not be intimidated by the false power of evil gods, nor will he be fooled by any divine power. He can clearly see the battle situation and ask for key information.
"Now, it is meaningless to discuss the fall of Shuigu City."
The Wezier looked determined and answered calmly.
"If the Mexica launches an attack, the holy city of Cholula will never survive. Even if we mobilize all 5,000 warriors, recruit 10,000 militiamen, and have another year's worth of food, we will not be able to defend it for a month." What’s more, the Holy City only has the inner city of the temple area and no solid outer city.”
"Damn!!"
Hearing this, the priests and elders of Quao shouted angrily. He slapped his palm on the cotton blanket and roared out the dissatisfaction buried in his heart.
"If I had known this, why would you rush to join the Tlaxcala people?! Now, the land promised by the Tlaxcalans is in vain, and the threat of the Mexica Legion is right in front of you! Heritage IV The great holy city that has existed for five hundred years is about to be destroyed in the hands of greedy fools like you!..."
"Ahem!..."
The leader of the Holy City, Petel, coughed twice, interrupting Quao's roar.
"Quio, joining the Tlaxcala war is a unanimous decision of the priests of the Holy City, and it is not the arbitrary decision of any one person. And we made such a choice because we were forced by the threat of the rapid expansion of the Mexica Alliance. A decision had to be made!”
Pate paused, a cold light flashing in his eyes.
"Don't forget, a few months ago, we negotiated with the Mexican envoys to join the alliance and retain the status of priests and elders... What were the conditions offered by the Mexicans at that time?!"
"...Hey! The conditions at that time...seem to be acceptable now."
Hearing this, Quao also sighed. After a moment, he replied in a low voice.
"As long as the independence and autonomy of the city of Cholula can be maintained, even obeying the Mexica king of Trochtitlan is not unacceptable. As long as taxes can be collected from the business travelers passing through the border and the worshipers can be accepted, even if they surrender The land and population will not affect our lives too much... As for respecting the high priests of the capital city in the lake, making the Holy City of Mexica the first holy city, and even raising the Mexica War God as the main god. ..They are all just false names!..."
"fart!"
Hearing this, the leader of the Holy City, Peter, was furious. He stood up suddenly, like a skinny raven, and shouted angrily.
"The king who obeys the alliance, won't he reach out and install elders in the holy city?! If we give up the land and population, where will we recruit the warriors to guard?! And in such troubled times, without the protection of warriors, people will interfere at will, How is it possible to keep power and wealth?! As for the false reputation you mentioned..."
Speaking of this, Peter was so angry that his whole body shook. He reached out his hand angrily, threw the expensive jade plate on the ground, and broke it into several pieces!
"False name, false name! Without these false names, how could our holy city of Cholula guide all the ministries in the world and gain the respect of believers? Quiao, you idiot, remember this! We can remain in high positions for generations without having to work hard. , you can enjoy divine smoked vanilla, gorgeous clothes and delicacies, beautiful girls... You can enjoy a life that ants can't even imagine, relying on this high and mysterious reputation!!"
"..."
Facing the rebuke from the leader of the Holy City, Elder Kuio's face turned blue and white, but he was speechless for a long time. After a while, he sighed again.
"Peter, I know you are right, it is all for the sake of the elders. However, the situation is like this, the ferocious Mexica barbarian came to our door with a war stick. If we can't deal with it well, the war stick If it falls, there will be nothing left!...You think, what should we do?”
"Hmph! Why panic! The gods protect the holy city!"
Petel took a few breaths and gave a low drink, still confident.
"This is the Holy City, the holy land of the Nahua gods, and a place where believers all over the world believe and respect! No matter how ferocious the Mexica people are, they would not dare to kill here! Otherwise, they will not only be enemies of all the people in the world, but It will also lose the popular support within the alliance! And the Mexicans are not a stubborn rock with no gaps..."
"That makes sense! How can this noble holy city be compared to any other city?"
"Chief Petel is right! Mexicans should also be wary."
"Well. At this time, I still need you to make the decision!..."
Several priests and elders had been silent until now, and then they spoke to express their agreement. Quiao also nodded, with more confidence on his face.
Only the war elder Wezier opened his mouth and wanted to say something. But when he saw the performances of the elders, he lowered his eyes and silently closed his mouth.
"The gods protect the holy city!..."
Everyone started talking and their emotions gradually subsided. Chief Petel waved, and a dozen pure priestess apprentices came up. With reverence in their eyes, they first lit a large bush of vanilla for the elders, then stretched out their arms to carefully hold the old priests and elders in their soft arms.
Elder Kuio raised his head and exhaled comfortably. He smoked the relaxing smoke, but he still couldn't understand the worries in his heart.
"Chief, the Mexicans are right in front of us, how should we deal with them?"
Chief Petel straightened up and frowned, unable to make up his mind for the moment. But this matter cannot be delayed and must be done quickly. After thinking for a moment, he looked at the elders and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"The people of Tlaxcala are probably no match for the Mexica. And the threat of the Mexica can only be solved by the Mexica."
"What's the meaning?"
Quiao was startled, then leaned forward and looked at the chief.
"Mexican?"
On the other side, Wezier suddenly opened his eyes, thoughtfully.
"After much thought, the key point now, the crisis in the Holy City, lies only with the three Mexicans."
Petel thought for a while and spoke more clearly.
"One is in the north, he holds the royal power and wants to overpower the divine power. One is in the south, he holds the military power and wants to get the king's power. The other is in the west..."
"He holds the divine power and wants to overpower the royal power?"
Hearing this, Quio asked tentatively.
"No! It's not that person. That person is about to die, with a murder knife in his hand that cannot be touched at all. It's not the more terrifying one..."
Peter narrowed his eyes and smiled meaningfully.
"It was another person, maybe two people. He looked at divine power and wanted divine power."
"We need to separate three people and go see them separately..."
